/********************************************************************** The following text originally appeared in the pages of the GATEWAY 2 * 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 place to place, 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, and music will draw you into a spellbinding adventure that could only be brought to you by the master storytellers of Legend Entertainment Company. *************************************************************************** Table Of Contents Section Introduction to Gateway II: HOMEWORLD .................................. 1 Quick Start: Installation ............................................. 2 Quick Start: Playing the Game ......................................... 3 Installation and Start-up .............................................. 4 Configuration Options .................................................. 5 Music .................................................................. 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 Using the Alternate Interfaces ......................................... 12 Helpful Hints .......................................................... 13 Things to Try at the Start of the Game ................................. 14 Game Commands and their Abbreviations .................................. 15 Help! Troubleshooting and Technical Assistance ......................... 16 Legal Stuff ............................................................ 17 SECTION 1 - Introduction To Gateway II: HOMEWORLD ============================================================================ Five hundred thousand years ago, an alien race called the Heechee ruled the galaxy. They were a powerful race that mastered faster-than-light travel and built starships; a race that colonized hundreds of worlds across thousands of light years of space. Then they vanished. The Heechee left behind a few abandoned artifacts and installations to mark their passage. One of those artifacts was Gateway, a space station in orbit around Earth's sun. Humanity discovered Gateway by accident in 2077. Gateway was home to nearly 1,000 small but operational faster-than-light starships, and these ships brought new hope to the 20 billion inhabitants of a starved and tired Earth. You became a Gateway prospector in 2102 after winning a lottery that freed you from a hard life in the food mines of environmentally devastated Wyoming and Montana. As a prospector, it was your job to ride the alien starships from Gateway to their pre-programmed destinations, looking for other Heechee technology that might be of use in solving Earth's problems. Being a prospector was a tremendous gamble: you might return with a motherlode of technology that guaranteed vast wealth, or you might materialize out of Tau space inside the core of a star. Your adventures as a Gateway prospector earned you $50 million and a place in history. Soon after your arrival on Gateway, you learned why the Heechee disappeared. During their colonization of the galaxy, they had discovered traces of an ancient and deadly race of electronic beings, strange intelligences that had little regard for organic life. The Heechee called these beings the Assassins because evidence suggested that they were responsible for actively seeking out and destroying hundreds of other spacefaring civilizations. The Assassins had established a network of surveillance stations across several galaxies that were designed to search for signs of faster-than-light travel, communications broadcasts, and other indications that new spacefaring races had evolved. The Assassins monitored these stations and made periodic sweeps to destroy developing civilizations before they became too powerful. The Heechee were beginning to register on one of the Assassin scanners, a huge moon-sized sensor station that the Heechee called the Watchtower. The Heechee feared that the Assassins were getting ready to come out from wherever they were hiding and annihilate the Heechee. The Heechee had a plan for disabling the Watchtower, a plan that involved the activation of a cloaking system that would warp space around the Assassin sensors, shielding them from activity in half of the Milky Way galaxy. The Heechee built enormous shield generator towers on four planets and a complex control system to orchestrate the tremendous energies involved in building and maintaining a stable spacetime disruption. But after they built the cloaking system, the Heechee didn't turn it on. They fled rather than risk the horror of a confrontation with the Assassins. They left the cloaking system within a few steps of being activated, hoping that another spacefaring race would evolve and complete their plan. Unfortunately for you and the rest of humanity, the discovery of Gateway and the development of advanced technology played right into the hands of the Heechee and their ancient plan. Earth was now faced with the same dilemma that the Heechee had wrestled with 500,000 years ago. Earth's leaders had to make a choice: follow the Heechee plan and activate the cloaking system, risking a confrontation with the Assassins in the process, or stop space travel and halt Earth's technological progress. You were selected to activate the cloaking system. You embarked on an odyssey that took you across the galaxy and finally inside the Watchtower itself. Your mission was a success: You activated the cloaking system and hid humanity from the watching eyes of the Assassins. While you didn't defeat the Assassins, you did buy time for Earth. The elimination of the Assassin surveillance station provided humanity with time to develop and room to grow. You retired from the life of a Gateway prospector after that fateful mission. It is now 2112, ten years after your return from the Watchtower. SECTION 2 - Quick Start: Installation =========================================================================== If you are new to DOS and game playing on the PC, then skip this page (and the next one) and move to the section entitled Installation and Start-up. If you are an experienced gamer, wise in the ways of DOS, hard disks, and music cards, then these "Quick Start" sections will get you up and running in no time. To install the game on your hard drive: 1. Place the Gateway II CD in your CD-ROM drive. 2. Go into DOS (bring up the > prompt on the screen). 3. Switch your DOS prompt to the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive. You can do this by typing the CD-ROM drive letter followed by a colon, then pressing the key. For example, if your CD-ROM drive is set up as drive D:, then you want to type D:. 4. Type INSTALL to run the installation program. 5. Follow the installation instructions on the screen. If the above makes no sense to you, or if it doesn't work, or if you just like to read manuals, then turn to the Installation and Start-up section detailed installation and start-up instructions. SECTION 3 - Quick Start: Playing The Game =========================================================================== To bypass the introductory sequence, press ESCAPE. If you are a fast reader and the game displays messages too slowly for you during these scenes, press the space bar when you are ready to move to the next message. Like other Legend adventure game products, Gateway II 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.Talk to characters by double-clicking on them. 2.Move from place to place by clicking on the compass rose. 3.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. 4.Select a verb from the verb menu and then click on an object in a picture to apply the verb to it. 5.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 (e.g. EXAMINE THE DESK, TAKE THE CRYSTAL, PUT THE DEBIT CARD IN THE SLOT, ASK EXEGESIS ABOUT HIMSELF, etc.). Press the key to execute a command. If you do not have a mouse, you can simulate one by pressing . This puts a cursor on the screen which you can move around using the arrow keys. "Click" by pressing and "double-click" by pressing . Again, if you do not have a mouse, there is yet another fast way to build commands using the keyboard. Press 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 to execute your command. SECTION 4 - Installation And Start-up ============================================================================ INSTALLATION The CD-ROM version of Gateway II requires an IBM compatible computer with an 80286processor or better, 640K of memory, MS-DOS version 5.0 and above, a VGA or Super VGA graphics card, a CD-ROM drive, and a hard drive. You can install this game to play directly off your CD-ROM drive or you can choose to install part or all of the game to your hard disk. 1.Minimum installation to your hard disk of a game configuration file and save files (approx. 250,000 bytes required). 2.Installation of game executable files to your hard disk (approx. 3,000,000 bytes required). 3.Full installation to your hard disk to enable play without CD-ROM (approx. 30,000,000 bytes required). We recommend option 2 or option 3 for optimum performance on single speed CD-ROM drives. Regardless of your CD drive type, you will see significant performance increases using the hard disk installation options. The installation process is quite simple: 1.Place the Gateway II CD in your CD-ROM drive. 2.Go into DOS (bring up the > prompt on the screen). 3.Switch your DOS prompt to the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive. You can do this by typing the CD-ROM drive letter followed by a colon, then pressing the key. For example, if your CD-ROM drive is set up as drive D:, then you want to type D:. 4.Type INSTALL to run the installation program. 5.Follow the installation instructions on the screen. The installation program will create a file named LEGEND.INI in the directory you specified on the hard disk. When you start the game this file will provide the information necessary for the game to recognize your configuration without special command line parameters or batch files. You may still use command line options (see your manual) to override the INI file temporarily. To run the game with a minimum installation (option 1), you will need to change directories to the \GW2 directory on the CD-ROM and type HOME . To run the game with either of the hard disk installations (option 2 or option 3), you will need to change directories to the game directory on your hard disk and type HOME or GW2 . Before playing the game, make sure that your mouse driver is loaded. You should also make sure you have enough free memory to load and play the game in the selected graphics mode. We recommend that you have at least 580,000 bytes free to play the game. TROUBLESHOOTING Although we expect that most systems will be able to run Gateway II without difficulty, we know that low memory may cause trouble for some users. We have included the following troubleshooting information for users who experience problems. Memory Requirements and Configuration New CD-ROM drives come with two drivers, one to control the CD-ROM (usually loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file), and another called MSCDEX.EXE (usually loaded in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file) to provide DOS services on the CD-ROM. The combination of these two drivers in addition to any other files loaded in memory before playing the game can reduce available memory. To check your available memory with DOS 5.0 (or higher) type MEM ; you should see: in DOS 5.0: 580140 largest executable program size in DOS 6.0: Largest executable program size 580140 bytes in DOS 6.2: Largest executable program size 566K (580,140 bytes) If you have less than 580,000 bytes of free memory, you will be warned that certain features, such as UNDO, may become unavailable during game play. You may also be unable to hear some of the music in the game. To get more available memory, you should load as many drivers as you can into high memory and eliminate TSRs. You may want to create a boot disk with a bare-bones CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT that contains the minimum required to load your mouse and CD drivers. If all else fails, you can do a full installation of the game to your hard drive from the CD-ROM, and then play the game directly from your hard drive. If you are unable to resolve problems with memory, please contact our Technical Support personnel at 1-800-658-8891 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday. 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 HOME on the MS-DOS command line: VGA Makes the game display VGA graphics (the default mode). SVGA Makes the game display Super VGA graphics. XMOUSE Overrides the default Microsoft mouse driver display routines. Use if you experience problems with your mouse. ADLIB Causes music to be played through an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card, if present. This option is automatically added to the LEGEND.BAT file when you select Super VGA during installation. BLASTER Causes music 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: HOME BLASTER . 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: HOME MT32 . NOCYCLE Disables color cycling animation for computers with VGA adapters and color monitors. So, for example, if you have a VGA graphics adapter, a Sound Blaster sound board on IRQ 9, you would type HOME VGA BLASTER 9 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 (e.g. the mouse cursor is "eating" the graphics), then you may want to start the game by typing HOME XMOUSE to override the default. Refer to the next section, Music, for more information on music card configuration. SECTION 6 - Music ========================================================================== Gateway II: HOMEWORLD supports the following music technologies: 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 Unlike Legend's previous games, Gateway II: HOMEWORLD does not have sound effects. ROLAND MT-32, MT-100, CM-32L, AND LAPC-1 OWNERS To use your MIDI sound module, make sure your equipment is configured as described below and as illustrated on the accompanying diagram. 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: HOME MT32 5 300. SECTION 7 - Introduction to the Game Interface ============================================================================ To install and start up the game, see the Installation and Start-up section. 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 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 various activities, you will spend the most time interacting with this screen. GRAPHICS WINDOW This window can contain one of the following: 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 A map COMMAND BUTTONS Many of these buttons have function key equivalents. See the information on function keys on Page 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 MAP Displays a map of your immediate environment 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 parser 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 that the elevator boxes are only displayed when there are more menu entries than there is room to display at once. STORY WINDOW The story's text appears here. 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 for a half-screen or 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 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 Examine objects by single-clicking on them in the graphics window. Take them by double-clicking. TALK TO CHARACTERS If a person is someone who is interesting to talk to, a simple double-click on the character in the graphics window will bring up a list of questions you can ask. Click on one of these and the character's response will appear. CUSTOMIZE THE INTERFACE Click on the command buttons in the upper left hand corner of the screen to change the display in the graphics window or to eliminate the menus. You can build game commands using the menus on the left hand side of the screen or you can type them in. 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 to execute a command. After reading this section, if you need additional information on how to build commands, please refer to Talking to the Game and Game Commands and Their Abbreviations. At several points in the game you will interact with different screen interfaces including a starship control panel, a combination lock, a remote control for an alien robot, and other pieces of equipment. These screen interfaces are designed for easy point and click operation. For specific information on these alternative interfaces, please see the section entitled Using Alternate Interfaces. 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 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 and keys on the keyboard to jump to the top or the bottom of the list, or the and 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 HOME XMOUSE. If you definitely do not want to use the menus, press and they will go away, creating more room for text. If you want to return to the golden years of adventuring, press 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 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 , and "double-click" by hitting . 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 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 will execute it. TALKING TO CHARACTERS If a person is someone who has something to say to you, then the command will bring up a dialogue interface. Use the arrow keys to move through the list of questions. When the question of your choice is highlighted, press and the character's response will appear. ALTERNATE SCREEN INTERFACES You will encounter a number of alternate screen interfaces which are graphical in nature, but are still easy to use with the keyboard. Simply press TAB and then use the "mouse emulator" to steer the mouse cursor around the screen and then press to "click" on features. For additional information, see the section entitled Using Alternate Interfaces. TYPING If you like to type, go ahead. No matter what method you have been using to build commands, you can start typing at any time. The cursor will appear on the command line and you can enter your commands. Press to execute a command. FUNCTION KEYS You can use function keys to customize the interface as follows: Displays the help screen Returns the menus to the screen if they are not there Removes the menus and creates more room for text Puts you into full-screen text mode Displays a picture in the graphics window Displays a map of your surroundings in the graphics window Displays your inventory in the graphics window Describes your surroundings in the graphics window Displays your score and status in the graphics window 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 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. 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 or type in a new description. If you type in the beginning of a valid description and hit , 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 this game by telling the main character what you want him to 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. For more information, 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 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 There are many people in the game who are fun to talk to and who can give you useful information. A double click on the character in the picture window will bring up a list of questions you can ask. Click on one of these and the character's response will appear. If you are playing without a mouse, type , then use the arrow keys to move through the list of questions. When the question of your choice is highlighted, press . SECTION 12 - Using the Alternate Interfaces ============================================================================ As you play Gateway II: HOMEWORLD you will encounter several screen interfaces that are different from the standard Legend interface described earlier. These alternate interfaces include cut scenes, dialogue trees, various futuristic computer systems, an alien genetic manipulator, a starship control panel, a robot interface, and other interesting devices and interfaces. CUT SCENES Cut scenes are used to move the story along, and may include text, graphics, and animation in a cinematic sequence. Press any key to move forward through the narrative in the cut scene. Press to skip the cut scene entirely. DIALOGUE TREES You will be interacting periodically with Legend's new dialogue system which permits you to hold conversations with game characters. To use the dialogue system with a mouse: Move the mouse to highlight the desired dialogue response, then click to select it. If you are faced with a single statement or a response (as opposed to a list of choices), simply click the mouse to move on to the next statement or response. Click on response nodes that are identified by the words "Goodbye", "I'm done chatting", or "exit" to finish your conversation and exit the dialogue interface. To use the dialogue system without a mouse, simply use the arrow keys to move through the dialogue responses and hit to select a response. If you are faced with a single statement or response instead of a list, press to move forward. OTHER ALTERNATE INTERFACES Most of the other alternate interfaces are simple and should be quite intuitive to use. There are some easy ground rules to remember when you find yourself faced with one of these interfaces: If you don't have a mouse, you can steer the mouse cursor around with the arrow keys, then "click" by pressing . If you see a little white box in the upper left hand part of the screen, you can exit the interface by clicking on that box (regardless of the other ways you might be able to escape from the interface). Square, round, or other regularly shaped areas that look raised or shadowed are likely to be buttons. Clicking on buttons is the way to make things happen in one of these alternate interfaces. Buttons can become "active" or "inactive" depending on your status within a given interface. If you see yellow buttons that change from being dark to being highlighted, or bright yellow, this indicates a change from "inactive" to "active". If you click on a dark or inactive button, nothing will happen. The slightly more complex interfaces include control panels for alien equipment. Some of the fun in using these interfaces is in figuring out how the controls work. Three of the more complex alternate interfaces have corresponding sections in the Hint Book. If you are having trouble with one of the alternate interfaces listed below, consult the Hint Book for a complete explanation: The genetic inducer in the lab between the second and third zoo environments on the Artifact (Part II of the game) The control interface for the robot in the Rescue Station on the ice planet (Part 3 of the game) The Temple interface in Part 4: Homeworld SECTION 13 - Helpful Hints ===================================================================== Here are ten pieces of advice for novices, or even for old pros who are just plain stuck. 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. Adventuring can be a dangerous business. SAVE early, SAVE often. 5. Take it slow. Read ALL the text and examine all the pictures carefully. 6. 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. 7. Draw a map. Although there's an on-screen map, your hand-drawn map can include other information, such as what things are found where. 8. We didn't create this manual to support our local printer. Read it! It was designed to remove technological obstacles and make your adventuring experience an enjoyable one. 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. If you're really desperate - look in the hint book. We promise we won't tell. But if you enjoy thrashing it out with other gamers, many computer magazines and bulletin boards will run tips and hints for Gateway II: HOMEWORLD ...especially if you ask! 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: >EXAMINE CONTROL UNIT >GO SOUTHWEST >EXAMINE MATCHBOOK >TAKE MATCHBOOK >READ NEWS FAX >NE >SOUTHEAST >READ SIGN >SOUTH >READ SIGN >OPEN DOOR - WATCH CUT SCENE - >NORTH >NW >EXAMINE WASTE BASKET >EXAMINE TRASH - WATCH CUT SCENE - >LIGHT MATCH >DROP MATCH IN TRASH CAN >SE >SOUTH >OPEN DOOR >EAST 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 this game 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. ( 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. ( key) (LOOK button) MAP MODE Displays a map of your surroundings in the graphics window. (F6> key) (MAP button) MENU MODE Restores the menus to the screen if you have removed them previously. ( key) (MENU button) MUSIC OFF Turns off the music. 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. ( 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. 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. ( 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 this software, 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. 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 - Help! Troubleshooting and Technical Assistance ============================================================================ Some common problems and their solutions are described in this section. If your problem is not addressed, first make a boot floppy by exactly following the instructions in the next section. If this does not solve your problem, please call our Technical Support Department at one of the numbers listed in the front of this manual for specific help. For game hints, you may refer to 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'm not hearing any sound effects Unlike previous Legend games, Gateway II: HOMEWORLD does not contain sound effects. I've got an MT-32 and 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 HOME 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 HOME 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 and Stay Resident) programs out of RAM. You need at least 570,000 bytes of free memory to avoid the low memory warning. To solve this problem, follow the instructions in the next section entitled, Creating a Boot Floppy. 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 HOME 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 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. If you know the mouse driver is loaded and you do not have a mouse cursor, try hitting and then click on the mouse button. I have an SVGA monitor and I'm having trouble Trouble can take a variety of forms - from faded or missing graphics, to overwritten text, to missing portions of the screen. In most cases, unusual problems are due either to interference from TSRs or an incompatibility with your SVGA adapter. First, follow the steps in the next section to make a boot floppy. If you are still having problems, then your SVGA adapter is not VESA compatible. You will be able to play this game in VGA mode by using the install program to select VGA graphics. I've never had a problem like this before... Don't panic, chances are you are getting interference from a forgotten TSR. Turn to the next section and create a boot floppy by following the instructions exactly. If you are still having problems, please call our Technical Support Department at one of the numbers listed at the front of this manual. SECTION 17 - 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. Why can't lawyers go to the beach? A: The cats keep trying to cover them up.) 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. "Sherlock! The Riddle of the Crown Jewels," and "Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur" are trademarks of Infocom, Inc. "CompuServe" is a trademark of CompuServe Incorporated. "GEnie" is a trademark of General Electric Information 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 Third Printing