                               NortQuest I
                               (Series 1)
                               Scenario 3

                           Difficulty : Medium

   Query:
      Anyone have some interesting combat sounds to suggest?

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.  Most are healing spells but
      there are some miscellaneous and offensive spells as well.
   Wizard - Poor combat skill and hit points but can gain powerful offensive
      and defensive spells as you progress.  You start out with only one
      practical spell, and you'll need it at first.  Later on, you'll find bolt
      isn't very effective.  Find those scrolls!

  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 about twice as fast as Scenario I, but ML would still make it faster.
     <Hint Hint>
   C - Cast a spell
   O - Turn calculator off / suspend operation
   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.
     In addition, you now have the option of pressing O to turn the calculator
   off.  Then, when you turn it back on, you'll be at the same place you were
   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.
     I've just added four additional spells (two for each spell-using class).

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>
   U - Use a potion / view current GPs

Items:
   Gold/Gems/Chests - Most give you more gold, which has no current use.
   Food - Regains a small number of hit points.
   Potion - Regains a larger number of hit points than food.  You can carry
      them with you and now use them in combat.
   Scroll - Adds one spell 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.  You can delete this if you like.  All it does is show the
       title screen and opening text.  Once you read it once, you may not need
       it anymore.  You'll save 1187.5 bytes.
   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.  You can also delete this, but it's only 68 bytes.

Hint:
   Having problems when you try to enter the tower?  Look around the small
   woods north of the tower to find an entrance to a spider cave.  Those giant
   spiders are nasty!

   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.

   Keep some potions handy and don't waste them!  You can use them during
   combat now.

   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.

   Play through NortQuest 2 and save your character to use here.  It makes it
   easier, but still, you'll find it is possible to be killed even with 118hp.

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 possibly 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 files.  Almost all programs have disclaimers
   like these, but you should always stay aware of suspicious activity such as:
      Normal commands taking way too long to execute.
        Note: There is a much longer wait the first time LOADMAPS is executed.
      Errors coming up not as a result of anything you have done.
      An annunciator coming on - I don't access these myself in this program.

   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.  If you halt the game, you can try to continue on, but
   it won't put you back at the correct spot.

   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 eight levels to this scenario, and look for more in the future!
   However, these levels are bigger than before.

   NortQuest 1  - About 18200
   NortQuest 2  - 18228
   NortQuest 3  - 18081.5
     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 hope other people have more ideas.

     At first, I ended up using over 19000 bytes, but through major Comp
   improvements and enhancement, I ended up using less space than before.  The
   text seems to use quite a lot of memory.


Future Plans for changes in further scenarios:
** Faster command entry in the Main Map -- This is a big improvement!
** More detailed storylines   (getting much better, but memory intensive)
** More monsters         (now 50% more)
*  Less memory usage     (always a main consideration)
*  Larger game maps      (larger than scenario 1 - 4631 bytes)
*  Additional spells     (about time)
*  Off Command           (a nicety)
*  More commands during combat   (potions would be nice to use here)
.  Additional items      (also about time)
.  Sound effects          (about time, but still rather limited)
.  Further general speed optimizations with my COMP and GRCL programs
+  Random potion effects  (this could be interesting...)
+  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)
   Full-Length Musical Interludes  (If I ever go ahead with this, you'll be
        presented with a seperate RAM card series.)
   Optional Story files   (a last-ditch effort to save memory for some)
   More realistic game play   (no more instant healing through waiting around)
   Status screen          (useful for long-term protection spells)
   Class Restrictions for items   (to help balance game play between classes)

** - Larger Improvements
* - Implemented
. - Slight Improvement
+ - In work

   More overall memory usage is always forseen, 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.


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 1100 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)

   You can also find me as:
       Nortaneous on the HPBBS

   Further games are on their way, but it's mainly a matter of deciding what
   to create.  NortQuest is VERY complex and detailed now.