                               NortQuest I
                               (Series 1)
                               Scenario 2

Starting The Game:
   Run TITLE to Reset the maps and start the character creation.  At the end
   of creating the character, you have the option of rerolling (throwing away
   the current character and trying again.)
   The maps are changed while playing the game, so you should reset them every
   time you start over.

Character Creation:
  CLASSES
   Fighter - Strong combat skill and high hit points but no special abilities
   Thief - Good combat skill and hit points.  Excellent at avoiding traps.
   Cleric - Good combat skill and hit points.  Healing spells mostly but some
      miscellaneous and offensive as well.
   Wizard - Poor combat skill and hit points but can gain powerful offensive
      and defensive spells as you progress.

  RACES
   Human    -   No alteration
   Dwarf    -   +1 Constitution   -1 Charisma
   Elf      -   +1 Dexterity      -1 Constitution
   Halfling -   +1 Dexterity      -1 Strength

  ABILITIES
   Strength     - Modifies hand to hand damage
   Intelligence - Determines spell point advancement
      Fighters and Thieves can't tap into their magical capability
   Wisdom       - Modifies a cleric's spells  (Increases their healing power)
   Dexterity    - Agility at dodging attacks
   Constitution - Modifies hit point advancement
   Charisma     - No current effect


Main Map:
   Use direction keys to move.  You are the figure in the center of the
   display.  (Third over and third down in the 5x5 display.)
   It's now about twice as fast as Scenario I, but ML would still make it
   faster.  <Hint Hint>
   C - Cast a spell
   U - Option screen to use an item (Potion) and view current money.
       Press the top left key (A) to use a potion.
   W - Rest  (Regain some hit points and spell points)
   Backspace - Quit and save the game at your current point
               Also exits Use and Cast menus
               Continue playing the game with the program DMAP
               (Just remember to always exit with the backspace key - it's
                pretty easy anyways.)

Saving the Game
   Important!!!      You must always save the game.
   When you want to leave the game, return to the main map and press the
   backspace key.  The program takes care of saving the program and will exit
   automatically.  Simply run the game from DMAP to continue playing where you
   left off.  I don't think this feature was pointed out as well in the first
   version, but it is the same as before.

Casting Spells:
     Spells vary greatly in effectiveness and results, but they can be very
   useful.
     In the Cast Spell menu, use the up and down arrow keys to select the spell
   to cast and ENTER to cast the spell.  If you don't have enough spell points,
   nothing will happen.  Backspace will exit this menu.

Combat:
     Combat takes place in real-time with an animated sequence where you control
   your actions.  It has been made quite easy in this first game in regards to
   the enemy speed.
   A - Attack by hand
   C - Cast a spell
   R - <Does not perform any function in this version>

Items:
   Gold/Gems/Chests - No use in version 2
   Food - Regains a small number of hit points
   Potion - Regains a larger number of hit points than food.  You can carry
      them with you.
   Scroll - Adds one to your repitoire of spells
   Armor/Shield - Protection
   Weapon - Used in hand to hand combat  (A button)
   Rings - ?

Commands:
   TITLE - Runs introduction screens, calls LoadMaps to reset maps, and then
       runs NewG.
   LoadMaps - Resets map information or creates new maps.
   NewG - Creates a new character or reads CHARDAT from a previous scenario.
   DMap - Run this to continue a game saved with the backspace key.
   ReOrder - Places the four previous commands at the beginning of the
       directory.

Hint:
   If you've gone down deep into the mountain, have come back up and can't
   beat the dragon, consider exiting the mountain on the west side and looking
   further west through the countryside.  Two additional mini-quests await
   there to build you up.

   Magic spells are powerful, but it takes a while to build up your spell
   points again.  You're often attacked by wandering monsters.  Bolt spells
   are very effective against small creatures, but you'll find it may take
   five or six to kill a larger creature, by which time you may run out.

   Wizards are good at attacking enemies, and may be able to beat a creature
   outright with magic, but watch out if it isn't enough!  Priests can heal
   themselves during combat, making them a lasting opponent.  Thieves aren't
   too useful this time, since you'll encounter few traps if any, but you may
   want to build one up for next time.  Warriors have no special abilities, but
   when it comes right down to it, they're skillful enough to hit quite often.

Notes:
   This game makes extensive use of alternative Syseval commands and, if used
   improperly, could blow up on you.  I can think of very few situations where
   that could ever possible occur, but it is possible, and I would suggest not
   tampering with:
        GR, any of the maps, DMAP, or RFU
   These are the most critical programs.  Almost all programs have disclaimers
   like these, but you should always stay aware of suspicious activity such as:
      Normal command taking way too long to execute.
      Errors coming up not as a result of anything you have done.

   If you suspect suspicious activity, save the game if you can, or else press
   ON-C as quickly as possible.  Sometimes, you can avoid major problems if you
   press this in time.


   Lutz Vieweg's wonderful RF program has been used to optimize the space of
   this program and decrease the memory usage to help those who don't have a
   RAM card.  Without it, the program would require about 4-5K more.

   There are only six levels to this scenario, but look for more in the
   future!  However, these levels are bigger than before.  Why, level 4 and
   5 are almost equal to levels 1-3 and 6.

   As a side note, the last version was about 18000 bytes and this one is
   19000.  A LOT of time went into making this program as fast and small as
   it could be, but I'm always finding more things to optimize.  I uploaded
   my Comp program to the HPBBS in the hopes other people have more ideas.
   If you take a step back, though, 1000 bytes is a small price to pay for a
   better interface (rerolling, loading old characters, etc.) and impressive
   when you note the huge GROB in the title and all the extra memory taken in
   story and graphics over the previous scenario.


Future Plans for changes in scenario 3:
   Less memory usage     (always a main consideration)
   Larger game maps      (already larger than scenario 1 - 4300+ bytes)
   Faster command entry in the Main Map, but no change to redraw speed forseen
   Additional spells     (about time)
   Additional items      (also about time)
   Save game capability to provide multiple saved games
       (especially in case you die later on - this could take a LOT of memory
        to store a game - it's probably only going to be useful to those with
        RAM cards)
   Further general speed optimizations with my COMP and GRCL programs
   Sound effects          (about time..)
   Optional Title screen  (would you believe it uses almost 4K uncompressed?)
   More detailed storylines   (definitely lacking, but memory intensive)
   More monsters          (what more can I say?)
   More realistic game play   (no more instant healing through waiting around)
   More commands during combat   (potions would be nice to use here)
   Random potion effects  (this could be interesting...)
   Status screen          (useful for long-term protection spells)
   Off Command            (a nicety)
   Class Restrictions for items   (to help balance game play between classes)


   More overall memory usage but I'll still try to remain faithful to the
      "no RAM card" limit.


Credit
   Thanks goes to the creator of the ->HEX and HEX-> programs.  They're really
   wonderful.

   As you may have guessed, this game is really BIG compared to just about
   any other single program.  Why, the program code alone is over 10000 bytes.
   That's quite a lot considering it used to take 12000.


Further creations:
   If you found this game to be interesting and would like further scenarios,
   I ask a minimal $5 US for registration.

   With registration, I'll send a 3.5" or 5.25" disk (your choice), formatted
   by MS-DOS (IBM).  Sorry, but I don't have a Macintosh available and must
   restrict it to DOS formats only.

   I'll send you my most recent versions of:
      Wheel of Fortune   (yes, it has sound effects)
      NortQuest          (All previous scenarios that will fit on disk)
      Comp               (Saved me over 500 bytes in space by converting
                          my programs.  Also responsible for some speed
                          increase.  I consider it very reliable if you
                          follow my instructions.)
      GRCL               (Inserts objects into programs or lists.)
      PIM                (A fully graphical Rolodex system.  It looks nice,
                          but isn't as fast as I would like it to be.)

   My address is:
              Nortaneous
              753 Ticonderoga Ave.
              Severna Park, MD.  21146.
              (USA)

   Further games are on their way, but it's mainly a matter of deciding what
   to create.  NortQuest is VERY complex and detailed now, at least after I
   decreased the memory usage about 1K by better coding alone.