The Hacker's Encyclopedia 1998

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ The Hacker's Encyclopedia 1998 / hackers_encyclopedia.iso / pc / softdox / princeop.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 2003-06-11 | 12.5 KB | 320 lines

Prince of Persia User's Guide page 1... It is a time of darkness, while the sultan is off fighting a foreign war, his Grand Vizier Jaffar has seized the reins of power. Throughout the land, the people groan under the yoke of tyranny, the dream of better days. You are the only obstacle between Jaffar and the throne. An adventurer from a forieign land, innocent of palace intrigues, you have won the heart of the Sultan's lovely young daughter. And in so doing, you have unwittingly made a powerful enemy. On Jaffar's orders, you are arrested, stripped of your sword and possessions, and thrown into the Sultan's dungeons. As for the Princess, Jaffar gives her a choice, and an hour to decide: Mary him -- or die. Locked in her room high in the palace tower, the Princess rests all her hopes on you. For when the last sands drain from the hourglass, her choice can bring only a throne for the Grand Vizier...a new reign of terror for his long-suffering subjects...and death for the brave youth who might have been...Prince of Persia. Page 2... Getting Started IBM/Tandy Prince of Persia can be played with a joystick or from the keyboard. If you have a joystick, be sure it is properly installed. Note to Tandy owners: Prince of Persia features special digitized sound for the Tandy 1000SL and TL machines. In order to hear these sound effects, the game must be pl using the keyboard. If you want to play with a joystick, load the program with the following command: PRINCE STDSND (loads standard sound effects & allows use of the joystick). To play Prince of Persia you will need at least 512K of memory for EGA, CGA, Tandy or Hercules monochrome graphics, and at least 640K for VGA. Floppy disk users: Start your computer with DOS 2.11 or higher. Insert the 3.5" Prince of Persia disk or 5.25" Prince of Persia Disk 1 into drive A. At the A> prompt, type INSTALL, press ENTER and follow the on-screen prompts. The install procedure will automatically create a directory called PRINCE in your root directory. If you wish to put Prince of Persia in another directory, enter the desired pathname during the install procedure. To play Prince of Persia from the hard disk, enter the PRINCE directory, type PRINCE and press ENTER. Once the title screen appears, press a joystick button, or any key to start. Page 3... Apple p t p o p d i d 1 l s u i y h a j m s i i c t o y c a m t o t s w b f b a p a a s-r d w y a r t p p a j b o a k t s. Joystick Control I y u a j i s b t s-c k t j b c b u i w y b t d t p a c i t m y p j d p i y j s t b s y c r i b p CONTROL-J i t d f t p t a t j t c a p CONTROL-J a w y p CONTROL-J m s t j i i i c (r) p Page 4... Running, Jumping, and Climbing to turn around: Tap the joystick to the left or right. to run: Push the joystick in the direction you want to go (l or r). Release the joystick to stop. to take careful steps: Hold down a joystick button and push the joystick in the direction you want to go. You can use careful steps to move right up to the edge of a pit or a suspicious-looking floor section. to jump up: Push the joystick straight up. to jump forward: When you are standing still, push the joystick up diagonally in the direction you want to jump. You can jump farther with a running start. For a running jump over a chasm, back up at least two full strides from the edge. Push the joys. forward to start running, then up to jump. Don't be afraid of pushing the joystick up to early; your character will wait until the last possible moment to jump. to climb up onto a ledge: Stand facing the ledge and push the joystick straight up. If necessary, use careful steps to position yourself below the ledge. to hang from a ledge: Press a joystick button and hold it down. To let yourself drop, release the button. To pull yourself up onto the ledge, push the joys. up. Any time you jump or fall within reach of a ledge, you can grab onto it by pressing a button. Remember -- when you release the button, you let go of the ledge. to climb down from a ledge: Step up to the edge, turn around, then push the joystick down. To hang from the ledge, press a joystick button and hold it down. to duck: Push the joystick straight down. Release it to stand up. to pick something up: stand in front of it and press the button. Page 5... Sword Fighting When you come face to face with an armed opponent, release the joystick. You will automatically draw your sword--if you have one--and go en garde. In this stance, the controls are somewhat different: to strike: Press a joystick button. to advance: Push the joystick in the direction you're facing (towards your opponent). To retreat: Push the joystick away from your opponent. To block your opponent's strike: Push the joystick up just as your opponent is striking. It may take some practice to get the timing right. Watch your opponent carefully, and wait for him to strike. To stop fighting: Push the joystick down. Once you have put away your sword, you are free to run, jump and climb as usual. Be careful, though--when you are off guard, a single sword blow can kill you. To draw your sword again, press a joystick button. Practice: IBM/Tandy: From within the game, press SHIFT-L on the keyboard to advance one level. Apple: From within the game, type SKIP on the keyboard to advance one level. This special feature allows you to practice and impove your running, jumping, climbing and swordfighting skills on levels 2 through 4. When using the practice mode your time remaining is reduced to fifteen minutes and it is not possible to win the game. When you are finished practicing, press CONTROL-R to start the game over. Page 6... Keyboard Control In keyboard mode, use the following keys in place of the joystick: IBM: 7 8 9 Button: <SHIFT> 4 5 6 Apple: U I O Button: <Closed or Open Apple> J K L Page 7... Hints * To get the maximum distance from a standing jump across a chasm, use careful steps to move right up to the edge of the pit before you jump. * If you jump a chasm but fall short, you may still be able to grab on to the opposite ledge by pushing a button. Remember, when you let go of the button, you let go of the edge. * Every time you block an opponent's sword strike, the force of the blow pushes you back slightly. If you adopt a defensive strategy, you will find yourself steadily losing ground. Try following up a successful block with a strike. * Test for loose floor sections by jumping up and down. * You can knock out a loose floor section by standing directly beneath it and jumping up. Try not to be there when it lands. * There are two kinds of pressure-activated floor plates. One kind raises gates, the other lowers them. With experience, you can learn to distinguish them from ordinary floor sections and from each other. * Learn to recognize different kinds of potions by sight. * You can cross a bed of spikes safely by taking careful steps. * A two-story drop will hurt you. A three-story drop will kill you. * You never know what you'll find in a dungeon. Don't be afraid to explore, and to experiment. After all, you've got nothing to lose except your life, the Princess, and the entire kingdom. Page 8... Life and Death The row of bullets in the lower left corner of the screen indicates your current strength. Every time you get hurt, you lose one unit of strength. When the last of your strength disappears, you die. You start the game with three units of strength. Later on, you may be able to increase your strength beyond this limit.) Things that cost you one unit of strength include a blow by a guard's sword, two-story falls, and having a section of the floor collapse on your head. Other, more serious accidents can kill you outright. An opponent's strength is indicated by a row of bullets in the lower right corner of the screen. To kill an opponent, you need to take away all his strength units. Adventuring Although this is your first time inside the Sultan's palace, you do have some general information that may help you: * The Princess is imprisoned in the high tower of the palace. To reach her, you must find your way out of the dungeons, through the palace's main building, and up to the top of the tower. * Generally speaking, the guards on dungeon duty tend to be the dregs of the Sultan's corps. The more capable ones are usually assigned to the palace's main building. The very best of them -- the deadliest swordsmen in the Sultan's employ -- are responsible for the personal safety of the Princess and of the Grand Vizier. * Since your arrival in the city, you have heard some strange rumors. It is whispered that the Grand Vizier Jaffar is a magician, a master of the black arts of enchantment; that his powers are more than mortal. Knowing, as you do, that much of what passes for magic is mere trickery and superstition, you are reluctant to take these stories too seriously. Nevertheless, they don't do much for your peace of mind. Page 9... Death and Continuation When you die, the message "PRESS BUTTON TO CONTINUE" will appear on the screen. Press a button to return to the beginning of the current level. If you don't press a button, the message will remain on the screen for about 20 seconds, then start to flash in warning, accompanied by a chime. After ten chimes, the game will end and you will be returned to the title sequence. If you get yourself into a situation where you can find no way out, press CONTROL-A to restart the level. You can continue a game as many times as you want without penalty. Remember, though, the sands in the hourglass are draining away.... To see how much time is left, press the space bar. Disk Access Becuase the Prince of program needs to access the disk occasionally during play, the disk should be kept in the drive at all times with the drive door closed. IBM/TANDY The 3.5" Prince of Persia disk or the 5.25" Prince of Persia Disk2 should remain in the drive at all times with the drive door closed. This applies only to floppy disk users. Apple a t e o l 2 t m t d o w a w y s t m t t p o p d o o t d a p i b i w t l s f d c t d d a p a j b o a k t c t g y w n n t t t d o a u y e t g a r t t t s. Page 10... Saving Your Game Once you have reached Level 3, you will have the option of saving your game to disk and continuing it later. To save your current game, press CONTROL-G at any time during play. The program will briefly access the drive, then continue with the game. The next time you boot the Prince of Persia disk, instead of pressing a joystick button or any key to start a new game, press CONTROL-L. The game will resume from the beginning of the level you were on when you last saved it. Page 11... Special Keys Esc.............Freeze frame. Press again for single frame advance Press any other key to resume play. Control-J.......Selects joystick control. Also recalibrates the program to match your joystick. Make sure that when you press this key, the joystick is in its center (released) position. Control-K.......Selects keyboard control. Control-R.......Ends the game and returns you to the title sequence. Control-A.......Restarts play from the beginning of the current level. Control-S.......Turns off all sound. Press again to turn the sound back on Control-N.......Turns off the music. Press again to turn the music back on. (Apple only) Control-G.......Saves the current game to disk. Control-L.......Resumes the last saved game. (Press during the title sequence.) Control-Q.......Quit the game and return to DOS. (IBM only) Space bar.......Press to see how much time is left. Page 12... About the Author j m 25 i t a o t a-w c g k h b g m a a s l k b n g i t u o c t t t a s w a c g a h s o 400,000 c w t a t e r o t a i p o p j s h o l-a f i s s f c h s f o t t t y i t m p o p i t c o a l f w a a o t y o h o t a II a n n y a a 1985 g o y u j n l i s f. About the Music The music for Prince of Persia uses a "leitmotiv" approach in which each themem is associated with a specific character or idea. The basic themes are: Prince, Princess, Jaffar, Danger, Sword, Shadow, Death, Time, and Magic.