Daemon Quest The first saga: The Legend of the Door Introduction: This file contains a quick manual to help you get started with Daemon Quest and to tell you a bit about the history behind the game. For those of you who are too impatient to read the interesting stuff I've put the essential stuff first and the fun stuff at the end so that you don't have to wade through all my ramblings to get to the meat. Shareware: First of all let me say that Daemon Quest and all of the code used to create Daemon Quest is copyrighted. It is not public domain and it isn't free. Daemon Quest is being marketed under a concept called shareware. Shareware (for those of you not acquainted with the term) is a system whereby users are encouraged to copy software and pass it along to their friends with the understanding that if they choose to keep the software they are obliged to pay a users fee. The Legend of the Door (this saga of Daemon Quest) costs $10 so should you decide to keep it, please send ten dollars to Steve Blanding at the following address. If you are cheap and don't feel that it's worth $10 then please be so kind as to pass the game on to a friend or two and delete your own personal copy. Now I realize that no one is playing police man and no one is going to throw you in jail if you keep it without paying (probably) but I'd like to think that the majority of you are nice honest citizens and hey, it's worth ten bucks if you ask me. Here's the address: Steve Blanding 1600 Olympic Blvd. Suite 301 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Starting Daemon Quest: Daemon Quest will operate on any IBM compatible computer that operates in MSDOS. It can be played off of a floppy disk or it may be copied to a hard disk. If you decide to copy Daemon Quest to a hard disk then make sure that you put all the files in a single directory. To start the game type "DQUEST". It's that simple. Playing Daemon Quest: I've tried to make Daemon Quest understand as many words and phrases as I can but naturally it has quite a few limitations. While the vocabulary is extensive it is hardly possible to include every word in the english language, or even every word used in the game. Also, due to the complexity of the english language, it is impossible to understand every sentence. Daemon Quest understands simple sentences consisting of up to a verb, a direct object, a preposition (or direction such as east, west, in, or out), and an indirect object. Most of the time a verb and a direct object or just a verb are sufficient. The simpler you try and word it, the better chance the game has of understanding it. Daemon Quest also ignores most articles and punctuation and is case independent. Thus "Get the coin." is the same as "GET COIN". One important thing to remember is that Daemon Quest does not understand adjectives or adverbs. Thus a sentence like "CAREFULLY get the COPPER coin." will probably generate an error. The best tips for playing the game are: explore everything, look at everything, talk to everyone, and try anything. Also there is a limited help function. Typing "HELP" while in the game will bring up a list of common commands and also bring up a list of the system commands. Common Commands: There are some commands that you will need to use extensively throughout the game. Below is a list of these commands and some examples of how they might be used, (remember that most of these words also have synonyms and this is by no means an exhaustive list): GO - tells the game that you wish to move. For example: "GO NORTH" or "GO IN THE PUB". There are eight basic directions: north, south, east, west, up, down, in, and out. Each can be abbreviated with a single letter: N, S, E, W, U, D, I, and O respectively. Thus instead of saying "GO NORTH" you could simply type "N". GET - tells the game that you wish to pick something up and add it to your inventory. For example: "GET THE ROCK". DROP - tells the game that you wish to drop something that is currently in your inventory. For example: "DROP THE ROCK". LOOK or L - if no object is specified then LOOK will show you the full room description along with all visible items in the room. If an object is specified then LOOK will give you a detailed description of the object. L is shorthand for LOOK. For example: "LOOK AT THE BOX" or "L BOX". INVENTORY or INV - lists all items in your inventory (items you are carrying with you). For example: "INV". BUY WITH - tells the game that you wish to buy something and what you want to pay for it. For example: "BUY A DRINK WITH THE COIN". ASK ABOUT - allows you to ask the people you meet about different topics. They are most likely to know information about things that relate to them. For example: "ASK THE BARTENDER ABOUT THE ALE". This list is by no means comprehensive. There are several other words that you can use (and at times will need to use). I've tried to make it so that just about any simple english sentence that you type will generate some sort of response so long as it relates to the situation. If you are having trouble with one word or phrase then try another. System Commands: There are a couple of commands that you need to know just to run the game. Below is a list of the system commands: QUIT - the last resort. Exits the game and puts you back in the DOS shell. SAVE - allows you to save a game under a two letter code so you can come back and finish it later. LOAD - loads in a previously saved game. Additional Help: I have created a help utility for this game. If you would like a copy (and have purchased the game for yourself and are hence on our mailing list) then send a blank floppy disk and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the above address requesting one. Please send no money. The help utility contains all the clues and hints necessary to solve the game. I would also be happy to respond to individual questions. Once again please send me a self-addressed stamped envelope. PLEASE DO NOT CALL ME! If you call me up I am very likely to be rude to you and you may get the wrong impression about me. And we wouldn't want that. I'm a nice guy, really I am. It's just that my wife HATES it when I do business on my personal phone. So please, no calls. About Daemon Quest: Daemon Quest was originally a graphic adventure written for the Apple II. It was sold for a VERY brief time and while it was selling it sold well. The reason it never went big is that I didn't really have the time to work out all it's shortcomings and I didn't have a sponsor who was willing to pick up the advertising bill. I also didn't really have the time to finish the other four installments. That's right, Daemon Quest was originally planned (and at the moment is still planned) as a five part series. So keep looking for the others. If nobody gives you one then by all means write us and ask us for one. If we've got it done then we'll be sure and ship you a copy on the same Shareware basis. Well anyway, I took a slight leave of absence to study and stuff and by the time I came back I found that the Apple II was no longer "the thing to have". IBM was in and fast becoming the standard and so was Macintosh so I bought a second hand IBM and began catching up. Anyway, to make a long story short, here it is and I hope you like it. Personally I think this version is quite a bit better than the first. I hope you do too. Incidently, if you have ever seen a copy of the original Apple II graphic version of Daemon Quest, please let me know! I'm dying to find out if anybody ever really played that game. (I know from all the late night calls I received that somebody must have.) Why a text adventure? Why not graphics? Well ask Infocom. They figured out long before I did that the only way to create a realistic mood on a computer is to tell it with words. A picture is worth a thousand words but unfortunately, on a computer one of those words is usually "comic strip". It is just too difficult to let your imagination run wild when you have a picture in front of you telling you exactly what it looks like and convincing you that it isn't real. Hopefully by making the Daemon Quest adventures all text I can allow your imaginations to fill in the holes. I'd really like to let you loose yourself in the world of fantasy and provide some honest escape. And who knows, maybe some of you might recognize a little bit of literature in there as well. Well, that's it. Have fun playing and please write and let me know what you think. Steve Blanding 1600 Olympic Blvd. Suite 301 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 NOTE: Infocom, Macintosh, IBM, and APPLE are all trademarks belonging to other companies. I assume you know who they are.