PC Gamer 7.7/2001-10_Disc_7.7.bin/Software/Demos/ThroneofDarkness/Readme.txt

Text File | 2001-07-17 | 36KB | 597 lines

THRONE OF DARKNESS DEMO
README
5/26/01

_______________________________________________________________________
TO ORDER: Please call Sierra On-line sales support at 1-800-757-7707
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I] MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
II] HOW TO START THE DEMO
III] HOW TO PLAY THE DEMO
IV] PERFORMANCE ADJUSTMENTS


I] MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
=======================================================================
Hard Disc Space Required: 138 Mb
Recommended swap space for gameplay: 40 Mb

Minimum Specs:
266Mhz CPU
32MB RAM

Suggested Specs:
400Mhz CPU
64MB RAM

**REQUIRED** Peripherals:
4X CD-ROM drive
DirectSound-Compatible Sound Card

Supported Operating Systems:
Win95B
Win98
Win2K
WinNT Service Pack 4.0
WinME

Supported Video Cards:
8MB DirectX-Compatible Video Card

This demo requires DirectX 7.0 or higher. The
latest version of DirectX can be downloaded at
http://www.microsoft.com/directX/.


II] HOW TO START THE DEMO
=======================================================================
To begin the demo, launch "Throne of Darkness Demo" from the game's
program group.  The default program group is "Sierra\Throne of Darkness",
so you would click the Start button, then select
Programs->Sierra->Throne of Darkness->Throne of Darkness


III] HOW TO PLAY THE DEMO
=======================================================================

Entering the World and Getting Your First Quest

Once your game is loaded, you will find your samurai standing in the middle
of their shrine room at the top of the clan citadel.  You immediately hear
the Daimyo in the room give you the first Quest: "clear the castle of the
invaders". Once he is done speaking, a Quest (Q) icon appears in the lower
left of the play screen, indicating that you have been given a Quest.  The
Quest icon appears whenever you are given a new quest or whenever a major
event has occurred toward completing an existing one.  Quests are missions
that help the story to unfold and, in completing these Quests, the player
advances closer to unraveling the mysteries within the game.
Clicking on the Quest icon brings up the Quest Log, which keeps track of
the quests you have been assigned, the status of current quests, which
quests you have completed, and how many quests are remaining.  You can
access the quest log whenever you wish by clicking on the Quest Log button
on the Taskbar or by hitting the Q key.  You can close the log by hitting
the button or the Q key again.

Finding Your Samurai

As you progress through your citadel you will find additional Samurai.
Click on a Samurai to have him join your party.  Samurai who join your party
will initially teleport back to the Shrine room.  To bring one into your
active party, click on the Daimyo button in the center of the interface to
access the Daimyo interface.  Click on the newly added Samurai portrait on
the right side of the central figure (The Daimyo).  Remember that only four
Samurai can be active in the field of battle.  If you are playing with four
active Samurai you must send one back in order to add another Samurai.  To
send a Samurai back to the Shrine room click on a Samurai portrait on the
left side of the Daimyo.

Switching the Active Character

The active character is the player that you choose to control directly.
The other Samurai follow the active character.  You can switch to another
Samurai in your party 3 different ways.  To switch your active character
with the mouse left-click on an inactive character's head in the Samurai
interface. Use F1-F4 to hot-key switch to an inactive Samurai. Use the space
bar to toggle through the Samurai in your party.  When entering into hectic
battles using the space bar often is a good way to control your team.

Using the Taskbar

Open the Taskbar by clicking the button at the center of the Interface bar
at the bottom of the screen.   The Taskbar has buttons that open/close the
Character Stats, Tactics Editor, Spell book, Map, Quest, and Exit Game.
Exit Game, Character Stats will not be available in the final version.
Click the taskbar button to close the taskbar.  Each of these buttons has
a quick key.

Melee and Ranged Combat

Go down the stairs to the first combat area and wander around until you
encounter a monster (it shouldn't take too long).  Now position the cursor
over the monster you wish to attack.  The bar indicating the health of the
monster will appear at the top of the screen.  Once you have targeted the
monster, left-click on it to attack.  Your active character will attack the
chosen target.  The other Samurai in your party, depending on the size of the
enemy, will attack the same target or search for the next closest enemy to
attack  Continue to click on the monster to repeat your
attack.  For each click, the currently selected character will attack until
the monster dies.  Other characters not currently selected will run their
AI defined by their aggression or tactic.  This is a major factor in the
game play, since you are controlling only one of up to four characters at
any given time.  Defining tactics for the other three is a must if you want
to be efficient.

The Game Interface

The mid to upper area of the game screen is the Play Area.  The Play Area
displays your characters, the surroundings, and any creatures or items that
are within your line of sight. The lower part of the screen is the Interface bar.
The Interface bar displays important information about the state of your
characters and provides the controls you need to access additional information
and game features. You can access the controls on the Interface Bar by left-clicking
on them.  To get more information about a control or button, position your mouse
over the control for a moment to bring up a tool tip description.
The Interface bar is composed of several elements:

Character Portraits-     The four Character Portrait slots left of center are slots
            for images of the up to four player characters that can be
            active at one time.  Left-click on a portrait to select that
            character (a colored border will appear around the portrait).
            The red bar at the top of each portrait displays the health
            of the character, and the blue bar at the bottom displays
            the available Ki.

Health Sphere-         The red orb on the left of the Interface bar indicates the
            health or life of your currently selected character. Life is
            the amount of damage your character can endure before he
            will die.  Life does not automatically regenerate. It must be
            replenished by drinking Health Potions, or by visiting the
            Daimyo, who can heal and resurrect.  However, you may also
            find items with the power to regenerate life.
Ki Sphere-
            The blue orb on the right side of the Interface bar indicates
            Ki or energy of your currently selected character.  When you
            run out of Ki, your character is temporarily unable to cast
            spells.  Ki does not automatically regenerate.  It must be
            replenished by drinking Ki potions or by visiting the Daimyo,
            who can refresh characters.  You may also find items with the
            power to regenerate Ki.

Tactics Button-     The green orb on the left overlapping the Life Orb is the
            Tactics Orb.  This shows the current tactic and can also be
            left -clicked on to open a list of the Tactics.  Right
            Clicking will open up the Tactics editor.

Spell Button-         The orange orb on the right overlapping the Ki Orb is the Spell
            Orb.  This shows the current spell for the currently selected
            character and can also be left -clicked on to open the list of
            spells available for that character.  Right clicking on the Spell
            Orb will open up the Spell Tree allowing access to other spells
            once spell points are accumulated.

Switch Weapon Button-    The button just to the left of the Spell Button is the Swap Weapon
            button.  Pressing this will swap weapon 1 with weapon 2 of the
            currently selected character.

Daimyo Button-        In the center of the Interface bar are three buttons in the shape
            of a triangle, and a single smaller button in the center.  The top
            button opens the Daimyo interface.

Inventory Button-    In the center are three buttons in the shape of a triangle, is a
            single smaller button in the center.  The bottom right button opens
            the inventory of the currently selected character.

Character Stats Button- In the center of the Interface bar are three buttons in the shape
            of a triangle, and a single smaller button in the center.  The
            bottom left button opens the Character Stats screen for the
            currently selected character.

Taskbar Button-        In the center of the Interface bar appear three buttons in the shape
            of a triangle, and a single smaller button in the center.  The small
            button in the center is the Taskbar button.

Potion Belt-        To the right of the center three buttons are four slots for belt items.
            These four slots hold potions that each character might need to get to
            quickly during game play such as a Health Potion.  Each character has
            four belt item slots, and the items in the current view are the items
            on the belt of the currently selected character.

Open Taskbar Button-    A taskbar will appear under the potion belt.  This panel is toggled on
            and off by using the center button in the middle of the larger three.
            From left to right, the buttons on the Taskbar are Character Stats
            Tactics Editor, Spell Book, Map, Quest, and Exit.

Movement

To move your characters around the game environment in the Play Area, place your mouse cursor
over a location and left-click.  If there is a clear path to that location, your character will
move there.  Notice that the screen moves to stay centered on your currently selected character
at all times and reveals new areas as you move about the world. To move continuously, hold down
the left mouse button.  Your character moves in the direction of the cursor until you release
the mouse button.  Note that obstacles such as walls, monsters, or closed doors may prevent
your character from reaching the desired location.

Tactics and Roles

Left-click on the green tactics button and it will bring up a list of tactics,
represented by a series of creatures that are known as styles of combat.  Move
the mouse over one of tactic icons and left-click again.  This calls the selected
tactic.  Lines stretch from the current location of each Samurai to a new location
defined by the tactic.  This formation can be rotated in real-time using the mouse.
Rotate the formation by moving the cursor around the active Samurai using your mouse,
then left-click to move the Samurai into a new formation.  After a tactic has been
called you may re-orient the formation without calling the tactic again by pressing
the Formation key (F).  F5-F8 have been designated as hotkeys for tactics.  To
customize a tactic hotkey left-click the tactics button and put your mouse over a
tactic icon then press F5-F8 to bind the key to a tactic.
After gaining familiarity with the functionality of the built-in tactics, you can
gain finer control by editing your tactics using the advanced features found in the
Tactics Editor.  Editing tactics is perhaps the most advanced feature of Throne of
Darkness.  Some familiarity with the use of tactics is recommended before you attempt
to edit them.
To open the Tactics Editor right-click on the green tactics button or press the Tactics
key (T).  There are two parts to this interface, the Role Editor and the Tactics Editor.
Click on the Role Editor tab to edit the roles.  You assign roles separately for each of
your characters.  The role assignment lists the order of preference for primary weapon
(Weapon 1), secondary weapon (Weapon 2) and spells.  In addition to specifying the
order of the roles, the Role Editor also allows you to select which spell this
character will use when he is engaged in tactics.  To select a different spell, click
on the spell icon and choose a spell from the spell list in the lower right corner of
the play area.
The order specified in the roles page determines how the character will
fit in to the tactics created in the Tactics Editor.  For example, the Wizard's top role
(role #1) is set to spell.  As a result, when you use a tactic that has a slot for a spell
caster, the Wizard will be chosen for this slot.
Click on the left arrow or right arrow to switch to a different character.  The roles are
preset but can be customized to suit your playing style.  After you have defined the role
for each of your characters, you can edit a tactic.
Click on the Tactics Editor tab to edit the currently selected tactic.  At the
top of the Tactics Editor panel are four character slots marked by the slot icons (X),
Circle, Square, and Triangle).  Each slot has two settings, combat style and aggression.
To change a setting, click on the current setting and choose a new setting from the
drop-down list.  The top setting specifies the preferred combat style (Melee, Ranged, or
Spell).  The bottom setting specifies the level of aggression (Aggressive, Neutral,
Defensive), which determines the distance at which a Samurai will attack an enemy.  An
aggressive Samurai will attack any enemy on screen, whereas a defensive Samurai will wait
for enemies to come to him.
Based on these settings and the roles you have defined in the
Role Editor, the tactic then picks the best character from your party to fill each slot.
The resulting slot assignments are shown at the bottom of the panel.  The assignment is
based on a best fit.  However, if there is no good fit, the next best choice is made.
For example, if your tactic slots call for four ranged attackers but none of your active
Samurai are carrying ranged weapons, you will end up with four melee attackers.  Also keep
in mind that these assignments may change any time you edit the roles, any time you change
the characters in your party, any time you change the weapons carried by your samurai, and
any time you edit the slot settings.  Placing your cursor over the character icon will
display a tool tip describing the details of that character's tactic behavior.
The middle of the panel shows the formation window.  The position of the icons in this
window determines the formation the characters will use when the tactic is called.  To
change the position of an icon, left-click on the icon, and while holding the mouse button
down, drag the icon to a new position.
The icon for the currently edited tactic is displayed in the upper-left corner of the panel.
To edit a different tactic, click on the icon and select a different tactic from the tactic
list.  When you finish editing your Tactics and Roles, closing this screen automatically
saves your changes.


The Automap

The Automap opens a map of the current world in the upper-left corner of the screen.  As you
move your characters around the world, the map is uncovered, revealing where you have and have
not been.  The red icon shows the location of your currently selected character, and the other
three green icons reflect the locations of the other three party members. To increase the map
size, hit the (+) on the number pad of your keyboard.  To decrease the map size, hit the (-)
on the number pad of your keyboard.

Portal Gates

The world in Throne of Darkness is huge and often there are great distances between intended
destinations.  At various places throughout the game you will find Portal Gates.  Click on a
Portal Gate to have your characters activate one.  Once activated, a menu will open showing
all possible destinations.  Be sure to click on Portal Gates as you find them to add their
locations to your Teleport menu.  Teleport destinations appearing in gray text are ones you
have not yet discovered and activated.  You can jump between any Portal Gates by clicking on
their buttons in the Teleport menu.  Moving your active character off the portal gate will
automatically close the Teleport interface.

Using Items

Enemies will toss out an item when defeated.  The item will often conform with the general
nature and equipment of the creature.  For example, Shadow Archers will often give bows or
treasure.   To pick up objects or interact with objects in the world, highlight the item or
object with the cursor and left-click.  In this way you can open doors, unlock chests, talk
to NPCs, or pick up items on the ground.
When you pick up an item, the item goes into your character's Inventory.  You can open your
Inventory at any time by pressing the Inventory button from the Taskbar or by pressing the
(I) key.  Each of your characters have their own Inventory.  Clicking on their portrait on
the Control Panel while Inventory is open selects their individual inventories.  This can
also be done by clicking on the arrow key under the portraits on the Inventory screen.  The
Inventory screen takes up half of the Play Area.  Notice that the game continues in the other
half without pausing.
The top part of the Inventory screen contains several boxes representing the different areas
of the selected character that can hold equipment.  The rectangular grid at the bottom of the
Inventory represents the character's Inventory. If you pick up an item that can be equipped
and the character has the appropriate equipment slot free, the item is auto-equipped.  For
example, if your character does not have a helmet and you pick one up, the character
automatically wears the helmet.

The equipment areas on your characters include:
Head - This is where you equip any helmet or head armor.
Arms - This is where you equip any armor for your character's arms.
Mask - This is where you equip masks.
Weapon 1 - This is where you equip your character's primary weapon.
Body - This is where you equip basic body armor.
Weapon 2 - This is where you equip your character with a secondary weapon.
Amulet - This is where you equip Amulets.
Medicine Case - This is where you equip Medicine Cases.
Legs - This is where you equip any Leg Armor.
Talisman - This is where you can equip a Talisman.
Prayer Beads - This is where you equip Prayer Beads.
Inventory - The large area near the bottom of the screen is your selected character's Inventory.

Items of different sizes take up varying amounts of room in your Inventory.  As your character
acquires more items, the Inventory will automatically move and sort them to maximize the
amount of available space.  In the event your character's Inventory becomes full, you will
need to decide what to carry, what to sell, and what to simply throw out on the ground.
You can gather information on any item in Inventory by holding the cursor over it for a few
seconds.  The pop-up menu will give you specifics regarding the items attributes, requirements,
and other specifics.  To drop an item, left-click the item and then click it in the Play Area
and it will fall to the ground.  If you drop the item onto another item in Inventory, the items
will swap places.  You can put away an item by dropping it into an empty area of your Inventory.
To equip weapons, armor, or other wearable items, simply pick up the item from your character's
inventory and drop it onto the appropriate location on your character.
Note that if you pick up an item from the Play Area while your Inventory screen is open, the
item is not automatically placed into your Inventory.  You must put it there yourself.
You can drink potions and activate other usable items located in your Inventory by right-
clicking on them.
In the Inventory for each character, you will find any gold he has picked up during play.
Hold the cursor over the gold to display how much gold your character is carrying.  The
Blacksmith and the Priest require gold for the services they provide. To close the Inventory,
click the Close icon in the Inventory screen.

Potion Belt - The Potion Belt is designed to allow quick and easy access to the potions your
characters find or buy.  The Potion Belt is represented on the Control Panel by a row of four
slots.  Each slot can hold a single potion, and each slot has a specific potion type that goes
in it.  After a potion is used, if another one of the same type is available, it automatically
will be moved from Inventory into the belt.
Potions are used by either opening the Inventory and right-clicking a potion, or by using the
Potion Belt on the Control Panel.  The Potion Belt may be used by either right-clicking on the
potion, or using the respective hotkey associated with the Potion Belt Slot (hotkeys 1-4).
Characters will automatically use Ki and Healing potions to rejuvenate themselves during AI play.
If a character uses all but 10% of their Hit Points, he will automatically use a Full Healing
potion.  Lesser potions for Healing are used only when none of the potion will be wasted.
As soon as one can be used without wasting any, it will automatically be used.  Characters
will use Ki potions only when their Magic Points run out or when they can no longer use the
selected spell, because their Magic Points are too low.

Developing Your Characters
Interacting with NPCs

Interacting with NPCs (Non-Player Characters) in Throne of Darkness is important.  They tell
you about relevant events and other people in the world.  To talk to an NPC, highlight them with
your mouse cursor and left-click.  Your currently selected character will automatically walk up
and start a conversation.  Note that not all NPCs are inclined to engage in conversation.  Rest
assured that silent NPCs do not have any important information for you.

Quest Interface

Often, NPCs will ask you to complete a quest for them or you will come across a quest while
adventuring.  When you receive a quest, a button titled New Quest (Q) appears in the lower left
corner of the Play Area.  Clicking this button opens up the Quest Interface.  This screen
informs you of the status of quests, and tells you what you need to do next.  Quests that you
have not yet received appear empty and grayed-out and are not selectable.  Assigned quests
appear in red and are selected by clicking on them. Quests that have been completed appear
full and are lightly grayed-out.  Anytime an important event occurs that affects the status
of a quest, the Quest button appears in the lower left corner of the Play Area.  Click
the Quest button to display the new information.
Gaining Experience Points and Leveling up one of your primary goals in Throne of Darkness
is the development and advancement of your characters.  As you play through the game you
gain experience points by defeating the evil creatures inhabiting the land.  When you achieve
certain predetermined levels of experience, your character levels up.  You can check your
progress toward the next level by examining the experience to next level found on each
character's attribute screen.  When a character levels up, a plus sign button (+) will
appear next to their portrait on the Control Panel.  Click this button and the Character
Attributes screen will open.

Character Attributes

Each time a character levels up, they are awarded six points that you may distribute among
your characters attributes.  On the Character screen, assign your new points by clicking the
(+) button next to the attributes you wish to increase.  Each click increments that attribute
by one point.  Once you have allocated all of your Stat points, the New Stats icon disappears
from the Character Portrait on the Control Panel.

NOTE: Each Stat point assignment is permanent, so choose wisely!
To help you decide where to assign your points, take a moment to examine the information
displayed on the Character Attributes screen:

Level - This is this character's current level.  All characters start at Level 1.

Experience - This is the amount of experience the character has already earned.  Your character
             gains experience whenever he deals damage to a monster in combat.

Next Level - This is the amount of experience a character needs to reach the next level.

Strength -     This attribute affects the derived Strength Damage Bonus and satisfies
           strength prerequisites for using certain weapons and armor.

Dexterity -     This attribute affects skill bonus and satisfies dexterity prerequisites for
           using certain weapons.

Skill -     Displays the weapon category of the current weapon and the character's skill for
        that weapon category.  The Skill stat is used to compute a character's  chance
        of hitting a target with one of the weapon types: Unarmed, Bow, Sword, Polearm,
        or Thrown Weapon.

Armor Class -     Armor Class determines the amount of protection the character has against
        Normal Damage attacks (as opposed to Magic Resistances).  Normal Damage is
        dealt by melee and ranged weapon combat.  AC affects the amount of damage
        dealt in the case of getting hit.

Vitality -     This stat affects the ability of the character to take damage via the Health
          Points derived stat.

Health Points - Health Points determine the total amount of damage a character can take
        before dying.  The HP stat represents the maximum value of the character's
        current HP counter.

Ki -         This stat affects the amount of magic spells the character is able to cast
        via the Magic Points derived stat.

Magic Points -     Magic Points determine the total amount of spell casting a character can perform.
               The MP stat represents the maximum value of the character's current MP counter.

Charisma -    This stat affects the magic points cost of starting a tactic, as well as
        affecting the cost of transactions and duration it takes the NPC to complete a
        task.  The concept of this stat is that the more charismatic a character, the
        easier it is for him to convince others to do things like lead tactics and build
        items.





The Spell Tree

Your characters all have access to their spell trees. To open a spell tree right-click on spell
icon or press the Spell Tree hotkey (S).  You acquire points to spend on spells when one
of your characters goes up a level or makes an offering to the Priest.  When a character makes
an offering, the value of those offering accumulates until a spell point is earned.  When
Spell Points are available, the Spell Point icon will appear in the Play Area.  Clicking this
icon will open the Spell Tree.

The spells displayed on the screen are laid out in a branching order.  Spells available to your
currently selected character are divided up into the four spell disciplines.  Left-click on the
discipline button at the top center or click on one of each of the four tabs at the screen
bottom to step through the four different disciplines.

Spell Points -     This field displays the number of Spell Points that the currently selected
        character may distribute within the currently selected discipline.
Spells - In order to view a particular spell, hold the cursor over it for a couple of
    seconds to get its tool tip description.  These tool tips explain what the spell does.
    For instance, how much damage it causes, its range, and its KI cost.  If you have put at
    least one point into a spell, its description also details how much the skill would
    improve at the next level.

Left-clicking on a spell when Spell Points are available assigns one point to the spell.
To apply Spell Points left-click the desired spell.  Keep in mind that increasing the
effectiveness of an old skill may be more useful that learning a new one.
NOTE: Each spell point assignment is permanent, so choose wisely!
Only a few spells are available to a new character.  Only the first tier of spells are
available in the demo. No further levels of spells open..

Daimyo Interface

The Daimyo is the warlord of your clan and its ultimate authority.  As narrator of Throne
of Darkness, he will give you orders throughout the game to direct you towards your
ultimate goal of destroying the Dark Warlord.  Listen carefully to his instructions.
Any Quests given can be reviewed through the Quest interface.
The Daimyo remains in the shrine room of the citadels.  When a character is with the Daimyo,
he is in the Shrine room.  To open the Daimyo interface, left-click the Daimyo button,
which is the top button in the triangular grouping of three at the center of the Control
Panel.  Characters shown on the left side are in the Play Area.  Characters shown on the
right side are in the Shrine Room.  Between these two groups of characters is a Ki globe
surrounded by four buttons.  The Ki globe reflects the Daimyo's
current level of Ki.  The four buttons surrounding the Ki globe give you easy access to the
following functions (starting at the top right and going clockwise): Close the Daimyo Interface,
Open/Close the Priest Interface, Open/Close the Blacksmith Interface, Open/Close Inventory for
the currently selected character. The Daimyo, by using his Ki, can teleport characters to
and from the Play Area to the Shrine Room as well as resurrect dead characters.  While in
the Daimyo Interface, left-click a character's portrait to move them from the left side of
the Control Panel to the Right side and vice versa.  This is how you teleport characters
to and from the Play Area.
If the Daimyo doesn't have enough Ki the attempted teleport will fail, nothing will happen,
and you will hear the spell fizzle.  Fortunately, the Daimyo's Ki regenerates over time.
If the Daimyo has enough Ki, he can resurrect dead characters.  To resurrect a character they
must be in the Shrine Room.  Dead characters' portraits will appear in gray, and will have a
tool tip available above them when they are in the Shrine Room.  This button initiates the
Daimyo's resurrect spell on this character.  As with teleporting, if the Daimyo doesn't have
enough Ki, the attempted spell will fail and you'll hear it fizzle.  Remember, the Daimyo's Ki
regenerates over time.  If you attempt to teleport and/or resurrect a character and fail, wait
and let the Daimyo's Ki regenerate and try again later.

Priest Interface

Players have the opportunity to Offer, Purify, Identify, and Buy items from the Priest.

Offer-  The player left-clicks the Offer button in the Priest Interface and then selects
    items to drag and drop into the appropriate Shrines at the bottom of the Priest
    interface.  Once offered, items may not be brought back.  Items offered increase
    the Elemental Spell Points available associated with that god.  Accumulated Spell
    Points can be spent in the Spell Tree interface.
Purify- Cursed items are essentially magic items that cannot be used by the characters.
    They must be purified first.  To do this, left-clicking Purify button in the Priest
    Interface and then drag and drop the cursed item into the slot.  The cost to Purify
    is displayed.  Left-click the Proceed button to spend your hard earned gold and
    Purify the item.
Identify- Left-click the Identify button in the Priest Interface. Select an item to be
    identified in character's inventory and drop it in the slot.  If the player agrees
    to the cost 50 gold, less a Charisma discount, and left-clicks the Proceed button,
    the object is identified.  All unidentified non-unique magic items must be identified
    before their magic takes effect.
Buy-    Left-click on the Buy button and the purchase display grid pops up in the Priest
    Interface.  Players may buy any of the available potions.  Left-click on an item,
    it will pop up into the slot and display the cost.  Click Proceed to purchase the
    item. The gold deduction does not occur until a check to see if there is space in
    the character inventory is successful.  As the character's advance in level, they
    will be able to purchase higher levels of potions.  The purchase screen is limited
    in stock.  As items are purchased, they will disappear.

The Blacksmith

Players have the opportunity to Repair, Make, Customize, and Give items to the Blacksmith.

Give -     By left-clicking the Give button in the Blacksmith Interface, the player may give
    basic (non magical) items to the Blacksmith as a base for the Blacksmith to use to
    create more items.  Each given item will be stored in the appropriate category.
    The three categories are Armor, Swords/Polearms, and Bows/Thrown Weapons.  The
    more you give, the more Recycling Units are available and the better items the
    Blacksmith can make.
    Make - When the Make button is left-clicked, the player will have three categories from
    which to choose: Bows/Thrown Weapons, Armor, and Swords/Polearms.  By clicking on the
    appropriate tab, the Display Inventory grid in the Blacksmith interface will show the
    items he can make.  The best possible item to make is based on the accumulated Recycling
    Units available.  Highlighting an item allows you to see the specific stats for it.
    Note that Masks and Miscellaneous Magic Items may not be given to the Blacksmith.
Customize - To customize an item, the player left-clicks the Customize button, left-clicks
    the item to customize from the character's Inventory, and drags and drops it in the
    slot. The item will pop into the Blacksmith's customize display grid.  Components of
    the appropriate type in the character's Inventory can be added to the current item.
    Components added must be dragged and dropped into the customize grid.  Note that
    Components are specific to items.
    Highlight each to see information regarding item types and general spell discipline.
Repair - To Repair an item, left-click the Repair Button, then left-click an item and drop it
    into the slot.  The item will be tossed into the Active Item box.  The time and gold
    requirements necessary to implement repairs are listed next to the item.  Click the
    Proceed button to initiate repair.  You can close this interface while repairs are
    being made.  A tool tip Completion button above the character's head will appear once
    repairs are done.

IV] PERFORMANCE ADJUSTMENTS
=======================================================================

If you find that the demo is running too slowly on your computer, you can make the following
modification.  Under the demo install directory, locate the file "Throne.cfg", located in the
"Config" subdirectory.  Edit this file in Notepad, and find the following line:

seta "SkipType" "0"

Change the number from 0 to 3, so it reads as follows:

seta "SkipType" "3"

and save the file.

This setting allows the game to skip drawing some frames of the game in order to keep the action
running at full speed.


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Sierra's end user license agreement, limited warranty and return policy is set forth in the
EULA.txt, displayed during the installation of the demo.

Copyright (2001 Sierra On-Line, Inc.)