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/********************************************************************** The following text originally appeared in the pages of the GATEWAY. * game manual. * **********************************************************************/ What Is A LEGEND Adventure Game? In an adventure game from Legend, you become the main character in an evolving story that takes place in a world populated with interesting people, places, and things. You see this world through your main character's eyes, and you play the game by directing his actions. Like a book or a movie, the story unfolds as you travel from location to location, encountering situations which require action on your part. You can think of each of these situations as a puzzle. The key to solving these puzzles will often be creative thinking and clever use of objects you have picked up in your travels. You will get points as you solve puzzles, and your score will help you monitor your progress. Throughout the game the richly textured graphics, prose, sound effects and music will draw you into a spellbinding adventure that could only be brought to you by the master storytellers of Legend Entertainment Company. Technical Support CompuServe E-Mail Game Publisher's Forum type GO GAMEPUB, Section 7 E-Mail 72662.1021 America On-Line Legend Entr Internet E-Mail 72662.1021@CompuServe.COM Telephone Fax Line 703-222-3471 (NO HINTS WILL BE GIVEN ON THIS NUMBER) From the continental U.S. call toll free 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays EST/EDT 1-800-658-8891 From Canada, and other locations 703-222-8515 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays EST/EDT Hint Information The full hintbook is included in the Gateway Directory. To access this file type < MORE HINTBOOK.TXT Executive Offices Legend Entertainment Company P.O. Box 10810 14200 Park Meadow Drive Chantilly, Virginia 22021 ========================================================================== Table of Contents SECTION Introduction to GATEWAY ...................................... 1 Quick Start: Installation ................................... 2 Quick Start: Playing the Game ............................... 3 Installation and Start-up .................................... 4 Configuration Options ........................................ 5 Music and Sound .............................................. 6 Introduction to the Game Interface ........................... 7 Playing the Game With a Mouse ............................... 8 Playing Without a Mouse ...................................... 9 Save, Restore, and Quit ...................................... 10 Talking to the Game .......................................... 11 Operating the Heechee Ships .................................. 12 Helpful Hints ................................................ 13 Things to Try at the Start of the Game ....................... 14 Game Commands and their Abbreviation ......................... 15 Sample Transcript ............................................ 16 About the Authors ............................................ 17 Credits ...................................................... 18 Help! Troubleshooting and Technical Assistance ............... 19 Legal Stuff .................................................. 20 Even if you are an experienced adventure game player who thinks that instruction manuals are best used as confetti at sporting events, you should still read the sections with names in bold for valuable information about this game. SECTION 1 - Introduction to GATEWAY ========================================================================== The gamble is the same for every Gateway prospector. You strap yourself into an alien starship whose destination was programmed 500,000 years ago by a race called the Heechee. At journey's end you may discover a motherlode of technology that will make you rich. More likely, you will die. This is the gamble that many of the 20 billion inhabitants of Earth dream of taking. This is the adventure that you find yourself about to begin. During the month of December, 2101 you won the monthly lottery sponsored by the State of Wyoming and your employer, the giant chemical food conglomerate known as PetroFood, Incorporated. The prize was a one way ticket to Gateway, a passport out of the food mines in the blasted moonscape of Wyoming, and a chance to become rich beyond your wildest dreams. After a four-month trip in one of the huge interplanetary transports that ferry people and equipment to destinations like Titan, Io, Venus, and Mercury, you arrive at Gateway. This immense alien space station, discovered by accident in 2077, is home to the 1,000 operational faster-than-light starships that give it its name. The once derelict station is currently owned and operated by the most powerful multinational corporation in history, and the ships are used for the exploration of the galaxy by volunteers like you. Your first ship handling class is scheduled for this afternoon. There you will be certified by the Corporation as flight crew. One day later you can head down to the hangar spaces on Level Tanya and sign up for a prospecting mission. You will be put aboard a Heechee starship and will take your life in your hands as you punch out for a destination that could be the core of a star, a deadly black hole, or a new planet filled with the riches of ancient Heechee technology. SECTION 2 - Quick Start: Installation ========================================================================== The installation process is quite simple: 1. Place the Gateway II CD in your CD-ROM drive. 2. Make sure you are at the DOS prompt ( > ). 3. Switch your DOS prompt to the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive. 4. Type INSTALL <ENTER> to run the installatin program. 5. Follow the installation instructions on the screen. SECTION 3 - Quick Start: Playing The Game ========================================================================== Like other Legend adventure game products, GATEWAY features a very flexible game interface that you can customize. You can use the mouse to interact with the picture, build game commands, and change the game interface (using the "buttons" in the upper left hand corner of the screen). You can also enter game commands by typing them in at the command line. You are in control and can decide what works best for you. Using the mouse you can: 1. Move from place to place by clicking on the compass rose. 2. Single-click on an object in a picture to look at it and double-click on an object to take it, open or close it, etc. 3. Select a verb from the verb menu and then click on an object in a picture to apply the verb to it. 4. Build complex commands quickly from the verb, object, and preposition menus. (Single-click selects the word, double-click finishes the command.) You can start typing at any point, and the words you type will appear on the command line. You will be entering game commands, combinations of words that tell the main character in the game what to do at each turn (i.e. EXAMINE THE DESK, TAKE THE DEBIT CARD, PUT THE DEBIT CARD IN THE SLOT, ASK TERRI ABOUT HERSELF, etc.). Press the <ENTER> key to execute a command. If you do not have a mouse, you can simulate one by pressing <TAB>. This puts a cursor on the screen which you can move around using the arrow keys. "Click" by pressing <ENTER> and "double-click" by pressing <SHIFT> <ENTER>. Again, if you do not have a mouse, there is yet another fast way to build commands using the keyboard. Press <TAB> again to begin using this feature. Then use the arrow keys to move the highlight bar back and forth between the menus, press the space bar to select a word, and press <ENTER> to execute your command. SECTION 4 - Installation and Start-up ========================================================================== INSTALLATION START-UP To start an installed copy of GATEWAY, follow the instructions in the Installation section above and then: 1. Change to the directory in which the game was installed (The default directory that the installation program puts GATEWAY in is \GATE). For example, if you installed GATEWAY in D:\GAMES\LEGEND, you would type: D: <ENTER> followed by CD \GAMES\LEGEND <ENTER>. 2. Start the game by typing GATEWAY <ENTER>. 3. The installation program will create a batch file named GATEWAY.BAT. You may decide to override these defaults by running the application directly by typing GATE followed by one or several of the configuration options described in the section that follows. For additional information concerning configuration options and defaults, refer to the Configuration, Options and Music and Sound sections. SECTION 5 - Configuration Options ========================================================================== If you wish to override any of the defaults for the game configuration, you may type one or more of the following options, separated by spaces, after typing GATE (MS-DOS Version 5.0 users should type LOADFIX GATE ) on the MS-DOS command line: CGA Forces the game into black and white CGA graphics on computers with an EGA or VGA graphics adapter. EGA Makes the game display EGA graphics. SVGA Makes the game display Super VGA graphics. XMOUSE Overrides the default Microsoft mouse driver. Use when you have a mouse that is not Microsoft compatible. ADLIB Causes music and RealSound sound effects to be played through an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card, if present. BLASTER Causes music and RealSound sound effects to be played through a Sound Blaster card, if present. You may set the IRQ number and I/O address for your Sound Blaster card by typing: GATE BLASTER <irq number> <i/o address>. MT32 Causes music to be played on a Roland MT-32 (or compatible) sound module, if present. You may set the IRQ number and I/O address for your MIDI interface by typing: GATE MT32 <irq number> <i/o address>. NOCYCLE Disables color cycling animation for computers with EGA and VGA adapters and color monitors. REAL Disables AdLib, Sound Blaster, and Roland music and plays RealSound sound effects through the PC's internal speaker. NOREAL Disables RealSound sound effects. So, for example, if you have a VGA graphics adapter, a Sound Blaster sound board on IRQ 9, and you want to see EGA pictures and play RealSound sound effects through your sound card, you would type GATE EGA BLASTER 9 <ENTER> at the MS-DOS system prompt. The XMOUSE parameter is used for mouse drivers that are not Microsoft compatible. If your mouse is not responding or the software is behaving erratically (i.e. the mouse cursor is "eating" the graphics), then you may want to start the game by typing GATE XMOUSE to override the default. Refer to the next section, Music And Sound, for more information on music card and sound module configuration. SECTION 6 - Music And Sound ========================================================================== GATEWAY supports the following music and sound effect technologies: RealSound (TM) AdLib Music Synthesizer Card Creative Labs' Sound Blaster Roland MT-32 and compatible MIDI sound modules including Roland's MT-100, CM-32L, and LAPC-1 RealSound sound effects will be played through the PC's internal speaker if you do not have an AdLib or Sound Blaster card. See the Installation section for instructions for proper installation of the game. REALSOUND (TM) RealSound is used throughout the game to play sound effects on the PC's internal speaker or an AdLib or Sound Blaster card, if present. No additional hardware or software is required to hear RealSound effects in GATEWAY. If you do not have an AdLib card, Sound Blaster, or MIDI sound module, you will hear RealSound sound effects on your PC speaker. RealSound is a Patent Pending technological breakthrough that works with any IBM compatible computer with a built-in speaker. If your machine beeps when you turn it on, it is compatible with RealSound. ROLAND MT-32, MT-100, CM-32L, AND LAPC-1 OWNERS To use your MIDI sound module, make sure your equipment is configured as shown in the MIDI wiring diagram on the next page. If you have problems, check that the following steps have been taken to properly configure your equipment: Note: LAPC-1 owners may ignore items 1, 2, and 3. 1. A PC to MIDI Interface card is installed in your PC. 2. The PC to MIDI Interface card is connected to an MPU-401 or compatible MIDI Interface or MIDI Processing Unit. 3. A MIDI cable is connected from a MIDI OUT connector on the MIDI Interface to the MIDI IN connector on your sound module. 4. The audio output jacks on your sound module are connected to the audio input jacks on your amplifier or stereo. 5. One or two speakers are attached to the speaker connectors on your amplifier or stereo. If you are having trouble getting your MIDI sound module to operate, the difficulty can probably be traced to one of two causes: First, you may have two cards in your computer that are set to the same IRQ. If this is the case, you can change the IRQ value for one of the cards by using the card's jumpers or switches (although some cards do not allow this). Consult the manual that came with your MIDI interface. The second possibility is that your MIDI interface may be set to an IRQ other than the default value of 2 and/or an I/O address other than 330. In this case, you must specify the appropriate IRQ value and/or I/O address in the command line when you start the game. For example, to use a MIDI interface card set to operate on IRQ 5 and I/O address 300, you should start the game by typing: GATE MT32 5 300. _____ | o | ============ | O |---------- | -------- | :_____: | | | | | _____ | | -------- | SPEAKERS | o |_____.. | ================== | O | | | <-speaker | IBM PC | :_____: | | wires - | | | | | ================== | | | | | | midi audio audio | | | .-----------. cable .---------- cables in_______ | | |.____ | o o o-----------o o o o--------o< o----- | | ^ | |^ o--------o o_______| :___________| |.__________: :_________| midi out midi in MPU-401 ROLAND SOUND AMPLIFIER (OR COMPATIBLE) MODULE OR STEREO MIDI Wiring Diagram for Roland MT-32, MT-100, and CM-32L SECTION 7 - Introduction to the Game Interface ========================================================================== To install and start up the game, see the Installation and Start-up SECTION 4. When the game begins, you will see the title screen, followed by the introduction sequence. If you wish to skip to the beginning of the story, you can hit <ESC> at any time to skip the introduction. The game will then ask you if you wish to restore to a previously saved position. After the introduction sequence, the main interface will appear. While there are many alternate screen interfaces for flying the ships, operating equipment, and solving puzzles, you will spend most of your time interacting with this screen. It looks like this: GRAPHICS WINDOW This window may contain: A picture of your location Your inventory (what you are wearing and carrying) Your status (score, number of turns taken, etc.) A verbal description of your surroundings COMMAND BUTTONS Many of these buttons have function key equivalents. See the information on function keys on SECTION 15 for more details. HELP Displays a help screen HALF Removes the menus, making more room for text ERASE Removes the last word from the command line DO Executes the command on the command line PICTURE Displays a picture in the graphics window STATUS Displays your score and status in the graphics window INVENTORY Displays your inventory in the graphics window LOOK Puts a verbal description of your surroundings in the graphics window COMPASS ROSE AND DIRECTION BUTTONS If you have a mouse, you can move around in the game environment by clicking on the various points of the compass rose and the IN, OUT, UP, and DOWN buttons. Legitimate exits from your current location are always highlighted. VERB MENU The verb menu contains every verb you need to play the game. There are other verbs you can use, but you will have to type them in. The most commonly used verbs are grouped at the top of the list. The rest of them are in alphabetical order. PREPOSITION MENU After you select a verb, the verb menu is replaced with a preposition menu. The amazing thing is that the game will display only those prepositions that you can use with the verb you have selected. Voila'! No more pesky cursor errors. OBJECT MENU This menu contains all the things that you see from your current location. If you want to refer to other objects in the game, you must type them in. HIGHLIGHT BAR This is a highlighted bar you can move around to select the next word you want to place on the command line. ELEVATOR BOXES Clicking on these boxes and dragging them down is a fast way to move through the menus. Clicking in the column above or below the box will cause rapid movement up or down the menu. Clicking on the arrows at the top or bottom of the column will move the highlight bar up or down one entry in the menu. (Note: Elevator boxes are only displayed when there are more menu entries than there is room to display at once.) STORY WINDOW This is the window where all that wonderful prose we have been telling you about appears. If the window fills with words and you see "MORE" at the bottom, press any key or click the mouse button and the rest of the message will appear. If you would like to expand the size of the window and you do not mind sacrificing the menus, press <F3> for a half-screen or <F4> for a full screen of text. If you would like to see the text displayed before the picture is updated, then type the command TEXTFIRST. To switch back to the default of pictures first, type PICFIRST. COMMAND LINE All your commands will appear on this line, whether you enter them by typing, selecting from the menu, or clicking on the compass rose or graphics window. STATUS LINE This line displays your location and the local time of day. SECTION 8 - Playing The Game With A Mouse ========================================================================== If you have a mouse, playing this game is simplicity itself. While you are using the main interface, you can do all of the following by pointing and clicking: MOVE AROUND from place to place by single-clicking on the compass rose or the directional buttons next to it. Legitimate exits from your current location are always highlighted. Double-clicking on an exit that is pictured in the graphics window will move you through that exit. EXAMINE objects by single-clicking on them in the graphics window. Take them by double-clicking. GREET characters you meet in the game by double-clicking on them in the graphics window. CUSTOMIZE the interface by clicking on the command buttons in the upper left hand corner of the screen. You can build game commands using the menus on the left hand side of the screen or you can type them in directly. If you choose to type, you will see the words that you type appear on the command line in the story window on the screen. Press <ENTER> to execute a command. For more on how to build commands, read the next two paragraphs and refer to the sections entitled Talking to the Game, Game Commands and their Abbreviations, and the Sample Transcript. At several points in the game you will find yourself interacting with different screen interfaces including a starship control panel, a combination lock built by aliens, a two-way computerized telephone, and other pieces of equipment. These screen interfaces are easy to use with a mouse or keyboard. Simply point and click with the mouse or press the key for the number or the first letter of the word associated with the control you want to activate. For more information on the most important alternative interface (the starship control panel), please see the section entitled Operating the Heechee Ships. BUILDING COMMANDS WITH THE MENUS A single-click on a word in the verb menu will place that word on the command line. The verb menu will then be replaced by a preposition menu that lists the prepositions you may legitimately use with the verb you have selected. At this point you can select one of those prepositions, select a word from the object menu, or execute your command by clicking on the DO button. Naturally, we have built in some short-cuts. For example, if you know prior to clicking on a word that it will be the last word in your command, you can double-click on it and your command will be executed. Or, if you've already clicked on the last word in your command and you do not want to move the mouse up to the DO button, just double-click on the last word and the command will be executed. Another short-cut is to select a verb from the menu and then single-click on an object in the picture in the graphics window. FINDING WORDS QUICKLY Because the menus sometimes contain many words, we have also included a few short-cuts for getting to words that are far down in the menu. You can click in the grey area to the right of each menu to rapidly move up or down in that menu. (If there is no grey area, the entire menu is visible.) Or you can click on the "elevator box" in the column to the right of each menu and drag the box up or down while keeping the mouse button depressed. An even faster method is to hold down the <SHIFT> key on the keyboard and then press the first letter of the word you want. The highlight bar will then jump to the first word that begins with that letter. You can also use the <HOME> and <END> keys on the keyboard to jump to the top or the bottom of the list, or the <PGDN> and <PGUP> keys to move up or down the list quickly. NOTES To remove the last word from the command line, click on ERASE. Double-clicking on an object in the graphics window will "do the obvious thing" with that object. For example, climb stairs, eat food, turn off lamp, etc. If you are using the mouse and you want to type, go ahead. However, once you have begun typing on the command line, you cannot go back to using the mouse until that command has been executed or erased. If you select a noun as the first word in your sentence, the game assumes you are trying to speak to that person or thing, and therefore it adds a comma after the word. (For example, SAILOR, GIVE ME THE ROPE.) If your mouse is not responding or is destroying the picture, then the mouse driver is probably not Microsoft-compatible. Try returning to DOS and restart the game by typing GATE XMOUSE. If you definitely do not want to use the menus, press <F3> and they will go away, creating more room for text. If you want to return to the golden years of adventuring, press <F4> for the all-text look. SECTION 9 - Playing Without A Mouse ========================================================================== EMULATING THE MOUSE If you do not have a mouse, there are still quick and easy ways to build commands from the menus on the main interface without typing. To do this, first press the <TAB> key. When you do, a mouse cursor will appear on your screen. You can move this cursor around by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Then you can "click" by hitting <ENTER>, and "double-click" by hitting <SHIFT><ENTER>. This will let you do all the things mentioned in the previous section, Playing the Game With a Mouse. USING THE MENUS If you do not want to use the method outlined above, pressing the <TAB> key again will give you yet another alternative. This system puts a highlight bar over the first word in the verb menu. You can move this bar back and forth between menus (and up and down within them) by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Once you have highlighted the word you wish to select, hitting the space bar will place that word on the command line. After you have finished building your command, hitting <ENTER> will execute it. ALTERNATE SCREEN INTERFACES You will encounter a number of alternate screen interfaces during game play. While these interfaces are graphical in nature, they are easy to use with keyboard commands. If you look at each of the pictures, you will see that there is a number or word associated with each control on the screen. By pressing the key that corresponds to the number or the first letter of the word, you can activate the control (if it is a button, you will press it). For more information about the most important alternate interface, the Heechee starship control panel, please see the section entitled Operating the Heechee Ships. TYPING If you like to type, go ahead. No matter what method you have been using to build commands, you can always start to type. The cursor will appear on the command line and you can enter your commands. Press <ENTER> to execute a command. FUNCTION KEYS You can use function keys to customize the interface as follows: <F1> Displays the help screen <F2> Returns the menus to the screen if they are not there <F3> Removes the menus and creates more room for text <F4> Puts you into full-screen text mode <F5> Displays a picture in the graphics window <F6> Displays your score and status in the graphics window <F7> Displays your inventory in the graphics window <F8> Describes your surroundings in the graphics window Many of these function keys have command button equivalents. See the information on command buttons on Page for more details. SECTION 10 - Save, Restore, and Quit ========================================================================== Once you have begun the game, you can use the SAVE command whenever you want to capture and store everything you have done so far. SAVE allows you to define a point which you can return to if you are "killed" or if you just want to turn off your computer for a while. When you type SAVE (or when you select it from the verb menu), you will be asked to name the SAVE file. Choose a name that will remind you of where you are, like "After First Mission" or "Solved Book Puzzle." The description of the saved game can have up to 33 characters in it. In the course of playing this game, you may create up to 128 simultaneous SAVE files. You can delete SAVE files by pressing <ALT><D> when the highlight bar is positioned over the name of the saved game. If you pick the name of an already existing file when you save, the original file will be erased and the new file will take its place. You can edit an existing description by moving the highlight bar to the appropriate line and pressing the space bar or single-clicking on the description if you have a mouse. <ENTER> or a double-click will save your current game with the new description. When you are ready to return to a place you have saved, type RESTORE (or select it from the verb menu). As a reminder, a list of your previously saved games will appear in the RESTORE window. When the game asks you for a description, move the highlight bar to the description you want and press <ENTER> or type in a new description. If you type in the beginning of a valid description and hit <ENTER>, the game will automatically match it and fill in the rest of the name. Once you have entered a valid description, you will return to the spot you left as if you had never been away. You will have the same score, inventory, status, etc. that you had when you left. If you want to stop playing, use the QUIT command. However, if you quit without saving, you will have to start from the beginning of the game the next time you play. SECTION 11 - Talking To The Game ========================================================================== You "talk" to GATEWAY by telling the game what you want the main character in the game to do during each turn. You do this by typing your input on the keyboard, or by clicking the mouse on the menus, the compass rose, or the pictures (See Introduction to the Game Interface and Playing the Game With a Mouse.) Your simplest inputs will be directions -- moving around from place to place: >NORTH >DOWN >SW Equally simple are inputs which are just verbs: >JUMP >SCREAM Let's get a bit more complicated, and add some nouns (or, if you combine them with adjectives, noun phrases). >TAKE THE DEBIT CARD >READ BOOK >EXAMINE THE GLOWING BLUE BRACELET >KISS THE PRETTY BLOND WOMAN (Note that you can use articles like "the" or "a" if you wish, but most people just omit them to save time.) Shall we add a dash of prepositions? >SIT DOWN >LOOK OUT WINDOW >HIDE BEHIND BROWN CURTAIN Take a deep breath. So far, the noun phrases we have looked at have all been the direct object of the sentence. Now we are going to throw in a second noun phrase, the indirect object! >GIVE BOOK TO WOMAN >SHOOT GUN AT THE ALIEN >BUY DRINK FOR TERRI Sorry, it is time to introduce some mind-boggling complicated concepts. You can include several inputs after a single prompt, as long as you separate them by a period or by the word "then": >GET IN SHIP THEN CLOSE HATCH >LOOK AT MACHINE. TAKE IT. You can also use pronouns: >TAKE MACHINE. TURN IT ON. >TAKE ARTIFACT FROM STAND. EXAMINE IT. You can use multiple objects with certain verbs (like TAKE and DROP) as long as you separate the noun phrases with a comma or the word "and." You can even use the amazingly useful word "all": >TAKE BOOK AND DEBIT CARD >DROP BOOK, DEBIT CARD, BADGE >TAKE ALL >GIVE ALL THE ARTIFACTS TO RECEPTIONIST You will probably want to fortify yourself with some good strong scotch before moving on to the next area: talking to characters in the game. This can be useful if you want to ask a character for some information: >ASK TERRI ABOUT GATEWAY >ASK OLD MAN ABOUT HIMSELF >ASK RECEPTIONIST ABOUT EARTH or if you would like them to do something for you or give something to you: >ASK RECEPTIONIST FOR BOOK SECTION 12 - Operating the Heechee Ships ========================================================================== The screen you see below is the Heechee ship control panel. This control panel allows you to program the Heechee ship guidance system, activate the faster-than-light interstellar drive, land and take off from planets with the chemical rockets, and get sensor readings and camera views from outside the spacecraft. COURSE CODES In the upper left hand corner is the course code display. This is where you lock in the course code for the ship's destination. Click on the triangualar yellow buttons or press the corresponding number keys (1, 2, 3, or 4) under each of the little windows to set a course. You can also click on the course codes displayed in the window in the lower half of the screen (see CODE button below) to enter a course into the course code display. Note: The characters that appear in the windows of the course code display are Heechee numbers. Clicking on the triangular buttons will increment or decrement the number in the window. If you are using the keyboard, you can press <SHIFT> and the corresponding number keys (1, 2, 3, or 4) to decrement the number in the window. FTL CONTROLS The two buttons labeled "GO" and "RETURN" are the faster-than-light drive controls. When you click on "GO" (or press <G>), the ship will go to whatever course code is programmed in the four little windows of course code display. Once you have arrived at your destination, you must return to Gateway before you can enter a new course code. Click on the "RETURN" button (or press <R>) to return to Gateway. Note: You cannot activate the FTL controls from the surface of a planet. If you have landed on a planet and you want to return to Gateway, then you must return to orbit again before you can click on the "RETURN" button. LANDER CONTROLS The two buttons labeled "ORBIT" and "LAND" are the landing system controls. If you are in orbit around a planet and you want to land, simply click on the "LAND" button (or press <L>). The ship's autolanding systems will manage the descent and touchdown next to whatever concentrations of Heechee metal were detected from orbit by sensors. When you are ready to take off and return to orbit, click on the "ORBIT" button (or press <O>). CODE, VIEW, INFO BUTTONS The gray box on the lower half of the ship control panel is a human built sensor system that has been piggy-backed on the Heechee panel. On this system you will find three buttons: CODE, VIEW, and INFO. Click on the "CODE" button (or press <C>) to get a list of Heechee course codes. Click on the "VIEW" button (or press <V>) to get a camera view outside the ship. Click on the "INFO" button (or press <I>) to get information about the planet you are circling or on which you have landed. EXIT To exit the ship control panel and return to the normal game interface screen, click on "EXIT" or press <ESC>. SECTION 13 - Helpful Hints ========================================================================== Here are ten rules of thumb for those of you new to adventure gaming: 1. Crime pays. TAKE everything that isn't nailed down. 2. Keep your eyes open. EXAMINE things that you come across; you'll get extra tidbits of info. 3. Two heads are better than one. Play with a friend, relative, spouse, lover, etc. Even your pet cat may think of something you've overlooked. 4. Jesus saves. And so do all the apostles, when they're playing a game as dangerous as GATEWAY! SAVE early, SAVE often. 5. If at first you don't succeed.... If you get stuck at some point, do not go away mad, just go away! Come back later with a fresh mind. 6. Draw a map. Your hand-drawn map can include other information, such as what things are found where. 7. We didn't create this manual to support our local printer. Read all the documentation, especially the sample transcript. 8. Take it slow. Read ALL the text and examine all the pictures carefully. 9. Try weird stuff. Sometimes trying wacky things will pay off with a clue; at the least, you'll probably uncover some wacky responses! 10. It never hurts to ask. Many computer magazines and bulletin boards will run tips and hints for GATEWAY...especially if you ask! If all else fails, you can look in the hint book that came with your package. SECTION 14 - Things To Try at the Start of the Game ========================================================================== If you are really stuck on how to get started, try these twenty inputs right from the start of the game: >LOOK >TAKE THE DEBIT CARD >EXAMINE THE DEBIT CARD >LOOK AT THE PV COMMSET >EXAMINE THE CARD SLOT >PUT THE DEBIT CARD IN THE PV COMMSET >LOOK AT DESK >OPEN DRAWER >TAKE BOOK >EXAMINE BOOK >INVENTORY >EAST >LOOK AT THE BLUE HELL BAR >EAST >LOOK AT DANCERS >SIT DOWN >EXAMINE THE BAR COUNTER >EXAMINE THE DRINK ORDER PANEL >PUT DEBIT CARD IN COUNTER SLOT >WAIT Note that these are not necessarily the "correct" first twenty inputs. Many other inputs are possible during the first twenty turns. SECTION 15 - Game Commands and their Abbreviations ========================================================================== Many of the game commands below have function key or command button equivalents. These are listed in parentheses after the description of the command. In addition, many game commands have single key equivalents. AGAIN (G) repeats your last command. BRIEF tells the game to give you the normal level of descriptiveness, in which you see a full description of a place only the first time you go there. On subsequent visits to the location, you will not get a description, although you can always get one by saying >LOOK (or by playing with the graphics screen in "LOOK" mode). (See also VERBOSE). CREDITS displays a list of everyone who worked on GATEWAY and what they did. FULL MODE removes the menus, compass rose, and graphics window, leaving you with a full screen of text. HALF MODE removes the menus, but still displays the compass rose and the graphics window. (<F3> key) (HALF button) INVENTORY (I) tells you what your character is carrying. LOOK (L) will give you a full description of your current location. This is always a good thing to try if you do not know what else to do. LOOK MODE displays a verbal description of your surroundings in the graphics window. (<F8> key) (LOOK button) MENU MODE restores the menus to the screen if you have removed them previously. (<F2> key) (MENU button) MUSIC OFF turns off the music. (To turn off the sound effects, use SOUND OFF.) MUSIC ON turns the music back on. NOTIFY normally, the game will tell you when your score changes. If you do not want to be bothered, NOTIFY will turn off this feature. And, if you change your mind, NOTIFY will turn it back on. OOPS (O) if you mistype a word, use OOPS instead of retyping the entire input. For example, if you type >TAKE BOK, and the game responds, "I do not know the word 'BOK'," you would simply type OOPS BOOK. Naturally, you menu users will never need to use OOPS. PICFIRST displays room pictures before room descriptions. PICTURE MODE restores the picture to the graphics window. (<F5> key) (PICTURE button) QUIT (Q) tells the game "Hey, I'm outta here!" You might want to SAVE first. RESTART starts the game over. Again, you might want to SAVE first. RESTORE brings you back to any point in the game where you have previously saved. SAVE creates a file which the RESTORE command can use to return you to this point in the story. You should SAVE now and then, and especially before trying dangerous things like >ATTACK GIANT SCORPION. SCRIPT sends all the text output of the game into the specified file, which you can then read, print, edit, delete, etc. SOUND OFF turns off the sound effects. (To turn off the music, however, type MUSIC OFF.) SOUND ON turns the sound effects back on. STATUS gives you a brief report of your score, the number of turns you have taken, and other information about your progress through the game. STATUS MODE displays your status in the graphics window. (<F9> key) TEXTFIRST displays room descriptions before room pictures. UNDO probably the single most useful thing ever conceived of in all of recorded human history. UNDO simply takes you back one turn, undoing the effects of your last move. UNSCRIPT stops sending the text output to a file. VERBOSE puts you in the level of maximum location descriptions; you will get a full description of your location every single time you enter it. (See also BRIEF). VERSION gives you the release number of your copy of GATEWAY, as well as some legal stuff. VOLUME # if you have a sound card or sound module, the VOLUME command, followed by a number from 1-10, allows you to control the volume of the game's music. This command has no effect on the volume level of the RealSound sound effects. WAIT (Z) your character will just stand around while time passes in the story. You can also enter commands like WAIT 45 MINUTES or WAIT 3 HOURS. Abbreviations A-You would think this would be the abbreviation for AGAIN, wouldn't you. Well, you would be wrong. If that were the case, then a simple input like >GIVE A DOG A BONE would turn into the nightmarish GIVE (AGAIN) DOG (AGAIN) BONE. Consequently, we treat "a" as an article rather than an abbreviation, and shorten AGAIN to "G". D - down E - east G - again I - inventory L - look N - north O - oops Q - quit S - south T - time U - up W - west X - examine Y - yes Z - wait NW - northwest NE - northeast SE - southeast SW - southwest SECTION 16 - Sample Transcript ========================================================================== The following sample transcript shows a typical interaction with the first couple of rooms on Gateway Station. The transcript includes the game responses as well as the player commands for the first few inputs described in the section entitled Things to Try at the Start of the Game. >LOOK Your Quarters Your room is a spartan cubicle furnished with a desk, a chair, a wall locker, and a fold-down bed. The only decorative touches are a sickly looking plant sitting next to the desk and a lonely picture of Earth adorning the far wall. A PV commset is set into the south wall. Above the PV is a vent. To the east is a door that leads outside.On the desk you see a debit card. The message light on the PV commset is blinking. >TAKE THE DEBIT CARD You take the debit card from the desk. [Your score has just gone up by 2. NOTE: You can activate and deactivate score-change notification using the NOTIFY command.] The message light on the PV commset is blinking. >EXAMINE THE DEBIT CARD Your Gateway Enterprises debit card is a small plastic card about the size and shape of a 20th century credit card. On the back of the card in small print is the following: "GATEWAY ENTERPRISES DEBIT CARD Code 398G-29A2. By accepting or using this card you agree to the rules and regulations that govern cash transactions on Gateway. Account status information can be accessed through your PV commset. All amounts are in U.S. Dollars." The message light on the PV commset is blinking. >LOOK AT THE PV COMMSET The PV commset is a terminal linked into the on-board computer and communications systems. The console has a screen, a card slot, a message light, and a small keypad with ten numbered keys.The message light on the PV commset is blinking. >EXAMINE THE CARD SLOT A small placard above the slot says "Insert your Gateway Enterprises debit card here." The message light on the PV commset is blinking. >PUT THE DEBIT CARD IN THE PV COMMSET You insert your debit card into the slot. After using the PV commset, you take your debit card from the slot. >LOOK AT DESK The desk is standard Corporation issue: Undistinguished styling, drab colors, and thermoplastic construction. The desk has one drawer, which is closed. >OPEN DRAWER You open the drawer and discover a book. >TAKE BOOK You take the book from the drawer. [Your score has just gone up by 3.] >EXAMINE BOOK The book is a hardcover volume entitled "Everything We Know About the Heechee." >INVENTORY You are holding a book and a debit card. You are wearing some boots, a white badge and a blue coverall. >EAST You leave the barracks that is your temporary home, walk along a narrow alley for a few moments, and reach the center of Heecheetown. Heecheetown Heecheetown is a huge spindle shaped cave in the center of Gateway station. Empty when the Heechee left, Heecheetown is now full of ugly Corporation pre-fab buildings. The barracks that house your quarters are in a small alley to the west. To the northwest is the Corporation Administrative Section building. The Blue Hell bar and casino lie to the east. Corridors lead north and south. >LOOK AT THE BLUE HELL BAR The Blue Hell Bar is located in a pre-fab structure to the east. The building's battered and worn exterior lives up to the seedy reputation of this famous prospector watering hole. >EAST Blue Hell Bar The Blue Hell is a rough and tumble bar inside a large pre-fab structure in Heecheetown. The counter is located near the entrance, across from a raised dance floor on the far side. Prospectors, off-duty Navy crewmen, and Corporation employees sit in groups and converse in a multi-lingual babble. The casino lies to the east. Heecheetown is to the west. You see an empty seat here. >LOOK AT DANCERS The dancers are gyrating wildly to the pulsing, pounding, painfully loud loud music blaring out of the speakers over the dance floor. >SIT DOWN You sit in the empty bar seat. >EXAMINE THE BAR COUNTER The bar counter has a drink order panel and a card slot. >EXAMINE THE DRINK ORDER PANEL "INSERT DEBIT CARD IN CARD SLOT TO ORDER DRINK" >PUT DEBIT CARD IN COUNTER SLOT You insert the debit card into the slot in the bar counter. The bar computer hums and the order panel lights up with a menu of exotic cocktail selections. You order a drink for yourself. The bar computer acknowledges your order with a series of musical tones and spits out your debit card. >WAIT Time passes... The famous Gateway robotic bartender trundles over to where you are sitting. It extends a tray bearing a full glass. >TAKE GLASS The robot bartender emits a happy "cheep" as you take the drink. >EXAMINE THE BARTENDER The robotic bartender at the Blue Hell is the stuff of legend. The robot was originally a heavy industrial model designed and built by Hitachi for work in high radiation environments. Imported by the Corporation in case the Heechee left any hazardous materials aboard Gateway, the robot languished unused for several years before it was modified by a group of whimsical engineers and put to work serving drinks. >EXAMINE THE COCKTAIL The glass contains a locally brewed concoction that is known as a "Heecheetown Special." It looks lethal. >DRINK THE COCKTAIL You gulp down your Heecheetown Special. Your eyes bulge out, the little hairs on your neck stand up, and your stomach is coated with a wave of cold fire. You put the empty glass on the counter, your head spinning. You barely notice as the glass is whisked away by the robot bartender. SECTION 17 - About The Authors ========================================================================== Glen Dahlgren (1967 - ) Glen was born in Richland, WA. Shortly thereafter, due to events beyond his control, he moved to Pittsburgh, PA. While practicing his self-taught computer skills, Glen enrolled at Penn State University and emerged with a B.S. in Computer Science and years of experience in programming, marketing, and design of game software for the Tandy Color Computer. He moved to Virginia to work with Legend Entertainment, and has not yet (seriously) regretted it. His interests include music composition (some of which you will hear in this game), fantasy/science-fiction literature, and real volleyball. Michael Lindner (1959 - ) Michael was discovered in the wilds of Florida in 1959 by wandering nomads. After a series of serious but unexplained incidents, he moved north to court his beloved companion-for-life, Heather Peck. Mr. Lindner spends most of his time imagining how much fun he would be having if he were working on adventure games. Michael, Heather, and their mentally disturbed cat, Nigel, live in the urban wilderness of Arlington, Virginia. Mike Verdu (1964 - ) Mike was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up overseas. After returning to the United States in 1981, Mike spent two years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and then founded a small programming services company in the Washington, DC area. His fifteen person company was acquired by a large defense contractor in 1987, and Mike spent the next few years working on US Army, Navy, and Air Force software development contracts. In 1989 Mike came to his senses and founded Legend Entertainment with Bob Bates, fulfilling a life long-dream of working in the field of entertainment software. While Mike co-produced two of Legend's previous products, GATEWAY is his first writing effort. SECTION 18 - Credits ========================================================================== Design & Implementation of Part I:Gateway Prospector...Mike Verdu, Duane Beck Design & Implementation of Part II:Other Worlds....Michael Lindner, Bob Bates Design & Implementation of Part III: Endgame................... Glen Dahlgren Additional Design ................................................ Bob Bates Computer Illustration ...................... Tanya Isaacson, Kathleen Bober, Fred Holz, Doug Chezem, Paul Mock, Chris Moore, Mark Stutzman, Cindy Kovalck System Architecture ................................. Duane Beck & Bob Bates System Programming .................. Duane Beck, Mark Poesch, Glen Dahlgren, Michael Lindner Special Cinematic Effects and Animation ............ Mark Poesch, Doug Chezem Graphics Systems Development ................................... Mark Poesch Music Composition ............... Arfing Dog, Glen Dahlgren, Michael Lindner Music System Development .................................... Michael Lindner AdLib Transcription ........................ Michael Lindner & Glen Dahlgren Sound Effects ................................................ Glen Dahlgren Production Coordination ....................................... Peggy Oriani Cover Art ...................................................... Chris Moore Game Testing ....Barbara DeFilippo, Raff Brooks, Ed Storazuk, Michael Sonesen Additional Testing ........................... Steve Meretzky, Alyssa Verdu, Wendy Pry, Linda Duchaineau, Bob Bates, Dennis Kucharzyk, Caryl Evans, Judy Loveless, Glen Dahlgren Produced by ..................... Mike Verdu, Michael Lindner, Glen Dahlgren SECTION 19 - Help! Troubleshooting and Technical Assistance ========================================================================== Some common problems and their solutions are described in this section. If your problem is not addressed, please call our toll-free customer support line (1-800-658-8891) between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EDT/EST. If you live outside the United States, call 703-222-8515 and ask for customer support. For game hints, look in the enclosed hint book, or try dialing into one of the on-line services (with a modem) where you can talk to real live gamers who have probably been stuck at the same place you are. -I've got an MT-32 and I do not hear any music If you have a Roland MT-32 (or compatible) sound module and you are not hearing any music, start the game with the command GATE MT32. If you are still not hearing any music, the difficulty can probably be traced to one of two sources: 1. You may have two cards in your computer that are set to the same IRQ. If this is the case, change the IRQ value for one of the cards by using the card's jumpers or switches. Some cards may not allow this. Consult the manual for the card for more details. 2. Your MIDI interface may be set to an IRQ or an I/O address other than the default values of 2 and 330, respectively. In this case, you must specify the appropriate IRQ value or I/O address in the command line when you start up the game. For example, to use a MIDI interface card set to operate on IRQ 5 and address 300, you should start the game by typing GATE MT32 5 300. -I'm getting a low memory warning If you get a low memory warning when you start up the game, make sure you have taken all of your TSR (terminate & stay resident) programs out of RAM. You can also save memory by specifying CGA graphics instead of EGA or VGA (type GATE CGA to force CGA graphics). -The mouse cursor is eating the graphics! If moving your mouse cursor over the picture destroys it, then the mouse you are using is probably not Microsoft compatible. If this happens, try exiting to DOS and starting the game again by typing GATE XMOUSE. -The mouse cursor isn't anywhere to be seen If the mouse doesn't seem to be working, make sure you install the mouse driver before you start up the game. You can usually accomplish this by typing MOUSE <ENTER> from the MS-DOS prompt. If you get a "Bad command or file name" error, find out where the mouse driver lives on the disk or consult the documentation that came with your mouse and its driver software. -I have a color monitor and I'm seeing pictures in black and white If you have a CGA, MCGA, or TGA (Tandy Graphics Adapter) compatible graphics interface card, then the pictures will appear in black and white, 640x200 resolution mode. If you have a VGA or EGA card and you are seeing CGA black and white pictures, then your VGA card may not have enough "on board" memory or it might not be register compatible. -None of this has helped me! If you have a hard drive and are suffering from problems that you cannot explain, then there is one step to take before calling us: Try booting your machine from a clean "system boot floppy" uncluttered with autoloading TSRs, device drivers, and complicated CONFIG.SYS files. Then run the game and see if the problems go away. To create a boot floppy, follow these instructions carefully: 1. Find a blank diskette for your A drive. 2. Insert the blank diskette in the A drive and close the drive door. 3. Type DIR A: then hit the <ENTER> key. 4. If you see any files listed, you need to go back to step 1 because the disk is not blank and if you continue from here you will wipe out everything on the disk. 5. Type FORMAT A: /S then hit the <ENTER> key. 6. Type N when DOS asks if you want to format another diskette 7. Type DIR A: then hit the <ENTER> key 8. You should see COMMAND. COM listed in the newly formatted disk's directory. If you do not, type COPY C: \COMMAND.COM A: then hit the <ENTER> key 9. Type A: then hit the <ENTER> key. 10. Type COPY CON CONFIG.SYS then hit the <ENTER> key; the DOS prompt is now gone, but the cursor is still there. 11. Type FILES=20 then hit the <ENTER> key 12. Type BUFFERS=20 then hit the <ENTER> key 13. Hold down the <CRTL> key and hit the letter Z once, then the <ENTER> key. DOS tells you it copied one file and the DOS prompt is back on the screen. Congratulations! You just made your own DOS system configuration file on your own DOS system boot floppy. Now reboot your computer with this diskette still in your A: drive. When the boot process is complete you will see this DOS prompt: A:> 14. Type C: and hit the <ENTER> key 15. Type CD GATE for GATEWAY and hit the <ENTER> key 16. Type the command listed in your game manual to start the game. If you have any further trouble, please call Customer Support toll-free between 9am and 5pm Eastern time Monday through Friday at 1-800-658-8891. SECTION 20 - Legal Stuff ========================================================================== We appreciate your purchasing a license to use our product, and we want you to feel good about that purchase. Unfortunately, our lawyers have forced us to put some rather obnoxious verbiage here. Fortunately, all of our competition puts the same stuff in their manuals. Some of the things written below may appear to be outrageous and unconscionable. But then, so are our lawyers. (Q. You see 500 lawyers buried up to their necks in concrete. What's missing? A: The last 12 inches of concrete.) 1. Limited Warranty. This manual and the related software product are sold "AS IS," without warranty as to their performance. Wait a minute! You mean that if the program does not have a happy ending, I do not get my money back? Yes. We have probably already spent your money to keep our programmers in pizza anyway. Here comes some more legalese to try to nail down that concept. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the computer software program is assumed by the user. However, Legend Entertainment Company warrants for a period of 90 days to the original purchaser that the medium on which the software is recorded is free from defects in material and workmanship. If during that period ending 90 days from purchase a defect should become apparent, return the disk to Legend or your dealer and Legend will replace the disk without charge to you. Your sole and exclusive remedy in the event of a defect is expressly limited to replacement of the disk as provided above. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. (NOTE: After the warranty period, a defective disk may be returned to us with a check or money order for $7.50 U. S. and we will replace it.) THE WARRANTIES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE IN LIEU OF ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO EVENT SHALL LEGEND ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY OR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION OR PRODUCTION OF THIS COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROGRAM BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF USE OF THIS SOFTWARE OR ANY BREACH OF THE WARRANTY SET FORTH ABOVE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. For example, you may be playing our game when a friend passing by is distracted by some of the graphics. He walks into a floor lamp. The lamp falls over, scaring your cat. The cat streaks from the room, upsetting a heater which sets some curtains afire. Unfortunately, it is a windy day and the fire is soon out of control. Three days later Chicago is still ablaze. If we took out an insurance policy against such remote contingencies, we'd have to charge $1599.99 for the game, and you would not be reading this lame copy. Anyway, we do not assume liability for things like this, even if the city is a small one like Muleshoe, Texas. 2. Copyright. This manual and the related software product are copyright (C), 1992, by Legend Entertainment Company. All rights are reserved. This document may not, in whole or part, be copied, reproduced, plagiarized, or otherwise ripped off without our express consent (which we are not going to give). The money you spent on this product purchased a license to use it (check your other software; almost no software is sold these days). The scope of the license is to make such copies as are reasonably necessary for your personal use. You do not have the right to give copies to your friends (or enemies). Unreasonable copying and/or distributing of this product is a violation of law. The U. S. Copyright Act provides for statutory damages of up to $50,000 for willful infringement of a copyright. Giving copies of our software to your friends is an infringement. GOTCHA! Now that you know that unauthorized copying is an infringement, if you do so it will be willful, and you can be nailed for some big bucks if we catch you. 3. Other Copyright and Trademark Notices. "Legend Entertainment" is a registered trademark of Legend Entertainment Company. "AdLib Music Synthesizer Card" is a trademark of AdLib Inc. "Sound Blaster" is a trademark of Creative Labs, Inc. "RealSound" is a trademark of RealSound, Incorporated. Part of the software on your disks which implements the RealSound music is Copyright (C), 1990, by RealSound, Incorporated. All rights reserved by RealSound. MIDI Interface Toolkit Copyright (C), 1987 and 1989, by MusicQuest, Inc. All rights reserved by MusicQuest. "MT-32," "MT-100," "CM-32L," and "LAPC-1" are trademarks of Roland Corporation. "CompuServe" is a trademark of CompuServe Incorporated. "GEnie" is a trademark of General Electric Information Services Company. "PRODIGY" is a trademark of Prodigy Services Company. "IBM" is a trademark of IBM Corporation. "Microsoft" is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Portions of the game code are Copyright (C), 1988-1990 by Genus Microprogramming, Incorporated. (C) 1992 Legend Entertainment Company All Rights Reserved ========================================================================== END OF DOCUMENT