* * * The Return to the Colossal Cave * * * Created and Designed by Thomas W. Penner Figment Story System by Bob Clayton of Patch Panel Software Based Upon the Original Adventure by Will Crowther and Don Woods Lead Playtesters: Chris Harner, Don Barlow, Brian Winslow, and Patrick Miller The Prologue and The Return to the Colossal Cave, Copyright (c) 2001 Figlet.exe, Copyright (c) 1988-2001, Patch Panel Software, All Rights Reserved. Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of the author. The software described in this document may be copied by the purchaser only for backup purposes. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose other than the purchaser's personal use without the written permission of the author. Distribution of Figlet.exe is by license from Patch Panel Software, Largo, FL. Figlet may be used only for the purpose of running this story. Other distribution or use of Figlet is not authorized. INTRODUCTION During the mid-seventies, a program by the name of Adventure was made available through ARPAnet (ARPAnet was the first nationwide computer network). The game had been created by Will Crowther and was later improved upon by Don Woods of Stanford University. Adventure was originally written in Fortran on a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-10 computer. However, the game's popularity spread quickly, and various adaptations of Adventure can now be found for almost every sort of computer. The goal behind Adventure was for the player to navigate his way through an underground complex (known as the "Colossal Cave") and return all of the treasures found in the labyrinth to a small brick building on the surface (the well house). The player would use two-word commands to journey through the cave and to perform various other actions in order to solve the cave's clever puzzles. If the player should solve the entire labyrinth, he is finally carried away on the shoulders of cheering elves. Adventure is considered the first adventure game ever created. As a result of Adventure's popularity, numerous other adventure games have been written by various authors, and this continues on even till today. It is for this reason, that after a passing of fifteen years, it is now time to return . . . to the Colossal Cave. The story you are about to play has been broken into two parts: The Prologue and The Return to the Colossal Cave. The Prologue explains the events that transpire before the beginning of your quest. The Return to the Colossal Cave is the actual adventure itself. It is not necessary to play The Prologue, but it is highly recommended. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS The program will run on any IBM or 100% compatible with 640K of RAM and a hard drive. If you should experience any trouble running the program (game runs slow or it starts to do strange things) you may need to remove some unneeded memory-resident programs from your system or load them into upper or extended memory. Microsoft Windows Users: This DOS program is compatible with Windows ME, however, it does not work with Windows 2000. 2 GETTING STARTED Before starting the game, it is recommended that you first make a backup and put the original disk in a safe place. Refer to the instructions that came with your computer for more information on copying files. To begin the story, switch to the correct drive and directory that the program resides in. For example, if the story is located on drive C: in the subdirectory CAVE2, you would type: c: cd c:\cave2 As mentioned before, the story is broken into two parts. To start The Prologue, type: prologue To start The Return to the Colossal Cave, type: advent2 The adventure will then load and begin. The story automatically tests and selects the appropriate display mode, but some clone adapters (notably non-register- compatible EGA clones) can confuse the test giving undesirable results. The system appears to "hang". If this symptom occurs, try specifying the adapter manually with the display switch: prologue /D3 ;3 = EGA Color /Dn where n= 1 MDA Monochrome Display Adapter (No graphics) 2 CGA 3 EGACOLOR 4 EGAMONO 5 VGAMONO 6 VGACOLOR 7 MCGACOLOR 8 MCGAMONO 9 HERCULES EGAMONO and VGAMONO tells the story to use Black & White text even though the devices can model colors as shades of gray. Conversely, you could force mono screens to "color" when you want them to display gray text. Note: Forcing a non-Hercules device to Hercules mode might not be a good thing to do. 3 THE SCREEN DISPLAY Once you have started the story, you should note four distinct regions on the screen. These regions are "dynamic", meaning they stretch and shrink as needed to accommodate changing needs. 1) Status Indicator The Status Indicator, printed in reverse video at the top of the screen, displays the status of a few key story parameters. The information includes the following: The name of the current scene, informs the adventurer as to his whereabouts in the story. The number of moves, keeps track of the total number of commands typed by the player. The player's score, will increase as the adventurer solves puzzles and progress is made in the story. The player's skill level, is determined by the player's score versus the number of moves made. For example, if the player's score is higher than his number of moves, then he will have the skill level of a Wizard. Whereas, if the player's score is extremely lower than his number of moves, then he will have the skill level of a Novice. There are five skill levels: Novice, Average, Pro, Expert, and Wizard. 2) Inventory The Inventory region grows as your list of acquisitions grows. 3) Scene Description As the story progresses, elements of the Scene Description change. The newly changed descriptions are displayed in reverse video to emphasize them making it easy to see the effects of your commands. 4) Command Window The Command Window scrolls your commands and their responses. The story displays its ready prompt, "Adventurer:". The Command Window scrolls split-screen fashion as you give commands so that the scrolling lines do not destroy the Scene Description. Ordinary reports to your actions are given to the command region: >go east You can't go that way. The Command Window can also process multi-page responses, but note that the command dialogue is always sacrificed; it scrolls off the top of the Command Window and is lost. Therefore be sure you have read this message before typing any key to continue. 4 THE OBJECT OF THE STORY Most interactive fiction is driven by manipulating objects, meaning you can examine them, take them, drop them, etc. Some objects, function as containers which can hold many other objects. Opening these objects reveals their contents while closing them conceals the contents. Object names are composed of a few words, at least one of which should be embedded in the scene description so that you have a couple of chances of guessing right. Either of the words is a legal handle to identify the object. An object called "oil lamp" might be addressed in any of the following ways: >take oil >take the oil lamp >take the lamp lighting the room >take the lamp and jump in the lake Common modifiers like "a", "an", "the" etc. are ignored. The command processor gets the drift early in the command and ignores any elaborations you tack on the end. You may use upper or lower case letters as you like. By now, you should recognize that commands begin with verbs. Verbs cannot be abbreviated: >ta balloon I don't understand the command: "ta". >take balloon You take the Red Balloon. Object names represent arguments to the verb functions. Names can be abbreviated: >take ball You take the Red Balloon. This presumes that the string "ball" is unique within the current scene. If, however, there were an object called "Blue Ball" in the same scene, then you would be just as likely to get the Blue Ball as the Red Balloon. COMMAND LINES The story can tolerate commands longer than several lines. If your command should reach the end of the screen line, keep typing. The cursor will "wrap around" to the next line to continue echoing your typing. Finally, hit "Enter". 5 Many punctuation operators are supported. Spaces before or after these operators are optional. It is best not to use punctuation except for cases as described here. 1) Multiple Sentences in a Command - the Period Operator Multiple sentences can be given in a single command separated by a period. Thus: Take the bat. Go north. Give the bat to the boy. The story will stop executing at the first failed command (caused either by user-error or the story's inhibiting the command) and wait for a new command line. If you hit F6 immediately, you will get the failed command for editing. The last period on a line is optional. 2) Series Operations - the Comma Operator A comma between objects signifies a series of objects to be submitted to a command for repeat processing. A series may also use the modifier "and", and spaces are not required when the comma separates the objects. Note that a series can be as short as two objects: take bat,ball take bat and ball take bat, ball, glove. take bat, ball, and glove take bat, ball and glove take bat,ball,and glove A series may be embedded between the verb and its modifier: take bat,ball,glove from box give bat,ball,glove to boy but a series cannot be used with destinations after the modifier: take candy. give candy to Bobby, Billy and Mary A series cannot be used with verbs. "Take, drop and kick the football" is illegal. TEXT EDITOR FOR COMMANDS The full-screen text editor is implemented for the command buffer so that you can correct mistakes. Hit F6 anytime while typing to get the text editor. "Escape" exits the editor and leaves the cursor at the end of the newly edited command line waiting for you to hit Enter. 6 PRONOUNS 1) "it" Substitutes the last object used. If no previous definition for "it" exists, the message "vague pronoun reference" is issued. Take the book from the box and give it to the boy. Note that this will give the book to the boy and not the box to the boy. This pronoun can lead to some confusion: Take the arrows and give it to the indian. Technically, this is correct since the object named "arrows" is a single object, but the name implies a plural case causing some people to say "them" which would substitute a series yielding unexpected results. 2) "them" A pronoun that is used to substitute the last series used. Take the bat and box, and give them to the boy. This variable is also global between command lines and it also returns a message, "vague series reference", when no definition exists. SYNONYMS The story supports synonyms for the command functions and for the object names as well. This makes the story more flexible and lets it flow smoother. COMMAND LOGS Commands can be recorded or logged in a disk file for later replay. Mistakes are not logged. The replay can be automatic like a player piano or single-stepped by hitting the F9 key. The log playback can be interrupted and restarted so you can stop and study the story. You may play or step a log file to any point in the log. If you then turn logging on, your commands will be added from that point on, effectively changing the log to your new sequence. However, the best way to make command logs is to use your text editor. That way, you can put comments on the end of any line indicated with a prefixed ";" character. Thus a command sequence such as: take the ball ;the boy left it here north ;enter the house 7 pause ;stop to examine current scene put ball on table ...commands continue like this can be written in a word processor and used as a log file. Comments must end before the end of the line. Of course a log file made in the story cannot generate comments. The text file from your word processor must not contain any word processing codes such as margin settings, fonts, indents, page breaks, etc. If the resulting text file will not type cleanly with the DOS "type" command, it will not be suitable input for the story. Logs can be played back at user-defined speeds. The command: play demob 5 will play the log file called "demob.log" with a 5 second delay between commands. Users with high speed 386 processors will probably want to use this option to slow the playback down. The delay is specified in integer seconds. You cannot specify delays less than one second. You can specify any log file name you like. If you do not indicate a log file name, the system will use the last log name used. Failing that, it will use a log file with the same name as the story. See also the Special Command Reference for the "play", "log" and "step (F9)" commands. COMMONLY USED COMMANDS Use the following commands when playing the story. Of course the story has ways of inhibiting or subverting these commands, so you might not get the anticipated effect, but that is the challenge of interactive fiction. It should also be noted that this reference does not give a complete listing of all the synonyms for the various commands. Thus, there are many more word variations than what is listed. Ask Drop Go Shoot Blow East Hit South Climb Eat Lock Take Close Examine North Unlock Dig Fight Put Up Down Find Read Wave Drink Give Say West SPECIAL COMMANDS Aside from those normally used to play the story, there are several commands that require special attention in there operation and use. 8 In the following syntax definitions, "< >" means you insert something at that point in the command. For example, would mean that you would supply an object's name. The symbols "[ ]" mean that the part of the command enclosed therein is optional. You do not actually type the characters "< >" or "[ ]". F9 - Step a log file Syntax: F9 Function Key The step function is used to execute a log file one command at a time. It is implemented as the F9 key. Before you play your log file, you must re-establish the state of the story when the logging process was started. Do this with the "restore" or "restart" functions then hit F9. Each time you hit F9, one command will execute. You can step partway through a file, turn logging on, and log a new sequence of commands. When you play back your log, you will get your original sequence up to the point where you re-enabled logging. From there on, you get your new sequence. It is wise to make an insurance copy of the log before modifying it. The step command does not let you specify a file name. It will use the last log name used, if none was used, then the log name matching the story name. You can step through a log then say: play continue t where t = delay time in seconds The log will then play out to the end automatically. F10 - DOS Shell Syntax: F10 Function Key You can leave the story to go to the DOS command interpreter by hitting F10. You may then do any work on your machine that you like (word processing, spreadsheets, document printing, communications, etc.) When you are ready to return to the story, simply type "exit". You will return to the adventure exactly where you left off. This is a useful feature for searching through various floppies for files. If you will be gone a long time, it is probably wise to save your story before you leave. (See the command Save.) This function expects to find the DOS command interpreter, "COMMAND.COM" on the diskette in the default disk drive. You get an error message and remain in the story if COMMAND.COM is not found. 9 This function depends on your having enough memory to do useful work once you are out of the story. Use the CHKDSK program on your DOS disk to see how much memory you have once you have left the adventure. If too much memory is used up, the story will display the COMMAND.COM error message and will remain in the adventure. While you are gone, the story sleeps in memory awaiting your return. DOS reminds you of this fact so you will not forget, switch off your machine, and lose your progress. Help Syntax: Help This will come in handy whenever you find yourself unsure of what to do. The help command will give the player hints to the puzzles that are in the current scene. Log Syntax: Log [name] [on or off] The command: >log on turns on command logging. A log file with the name of the story and an extension of ".log" will be created if none exists. If the said file exists, it is opened and commands are appended to the end of the file so previously logged commands will not be over-written. If you want a fresh file, you will have to use "F10" to go to DOS and delete the existing log file before you begin logging. Playback is dependent on the exact state of the scene and its objects at any given time. Thus, unless you save your story before logging, you will not easily recreate the same state so you can play your log back. The command: >log off turns logging off and closes the log file. Typically, you will not see any disk activity until you turn off logging since DOS buffers small writes until you accumulate enough data to justify writing. The command, "log" with no modifiers (on or off) toggles the logging feature from "off" to "on" and vice versa allowing you to stop logging momentarily and turn it back on again when you are ready to log commands again. 10 While logging is "on", the story warns you by printing "Logging" in reverse video off to the right side of the command line. The log file is an ASCII file that can be read directly in your text editor. It can also be written by same. Pause Command The command "Pause" is an empty command whose sole reason to exist is to be logged in a log file. When the "play" function encounters a pause statement during playback, it stops the playback at that point. Pause is particularly useful with text editing of log text files (see below). Playback can be continued with the command "play cont". Do not confuse "pause" with "wait". Play Syntax: Play [name] [cont] [delay] The "play" command replays a log file created with the "log" command or your text editor. You will want to restore your saved version of your story before playing back the log file. The playback can be very rapid so you may want to hit your "pause" key to study the responses or use the "step" command (F9) to execute logged commands one at a time. You can slow down the playback by specifying the delay interval between commands. The delay is specified as an integer representing the delay between commands in seconds. Thus "play 5" plays the default log with a 5 second delay between commands. If you strike the key, "i" or "I" while the story is playing a log, the playback will interrupt playback immediately. The "step" command (F9) may then be used to advance the log file or the playback can be resumed with the continue option. The option "cont" continues the log playback after it has been interrupted or paused. Of course, it also works after stepping a log file any number of moves with F9. The form of the command is: >play cont You can specify log file names in the play command. This means you can play or step to a pre-determined point then switch to a different log. Quit Syntax: Quit 11 Ends your story session and returns you to DOS. Consider saving your session to disk first. This is the only legal way out of the story (Ctrl-C works, but it isn't legal). Restart Syntax: Restart [] This restarts the story at the beginning. If you do not specify a name it assumes you want to restart the current story you are playing. If you garble the name, you get a list of available stories. You cannot restart a story that you saved with the "save" command. Use "restore" for that. Restore Syntax: Restore [] This reloads a file that was saved previously with the "save" command (See below). If you do not specify a name it assumes you want to restore the story you are playing (For example, if you're playing The Prologue, the story would look for a save file named PROLOGUE.SAV). If you garble the name, you get a list of available stories. Restore differs from restart. The state of the story returns to the state at the time the story was saved. Save Syntax: Save [] This function saves the story in its current state in a file on the disk with the specified name. Do not specify a file extension. A save file is reloaded with "restore". If you do not specify a name, the story assumes you want to save the data under the current name of the story (For example, if you're playing The Prologue, the save file would be named PROLOGUE.SAV). If you specify a name, the adventure changes the current story name to that name. If a save file is saved to a disk with a save file of the same name then the adventure keeps the last save file as a backup renamed to a ".bak" extension. In order to use a ".bak" file, you must rename it to a ".sav" file. You do this with the DOS command "rename". Again, exit with F10, make the changes, return and use "restore". 12 Script Syntax: Script [on or off] The script command will output the story to a listing file. The resulting text file can be read into your word processor or printed on your line printer. The listing is contained in a file with the name of the story and a ".lst" file extension. This command is modeled after the "Log" command so you should recognize the usage. While scripting is enabled, the story prints "Scripting" in reverse video at the right of the command line. It is probably best to play a log file with scripting enabled, but you can also use it when you are giving commands manually. You can toggle scripting on and off by saying "script" with no on/off modifiers. This lets you turn off scripting while you experiment then reenable scripting and proceed. Wait Syntax: Wait [number] Skill suffers by waiting. If you specify a number, the story will wait that number of moves. Any events that would normally transpire on those moves will still take place even though waiting is in itself an empty command. A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE ADVENTURE As you may have noticed, the manual says very little concerning the quest that is before you. This has been purposely done to make the story as exciting as possible. However, here are a few helpful hints that should help you on your way: - While playing The Return to the Colossal Cave, keep in mind that the Keeper gave you a book entitled Adventures & Adventurers Guide. You'll need to read it from time to time. It contains valuable information that is needed to solve several of the story's puzzles. - Take everything that you can pick up. Almost every object that you find in the story will serve some kind of purpose. Also, examining objects will yield useful information as well. - If you get stuck, try looking through all the items you've found and think about how each one might be used. Think about where you've been and the people and creatures you've met. More than likely, you'll figure out what to do next. - Save the game periodically, there's a lot of dangerous places in the Colossal Cave. Also, don't be afraid to use the HELP command. 13 THE SOLUTION TO THE PROLOGUE AND THE RETURN TO THE COLOSSAL CAVE Two log files have been included which will take the player completely through both parts of the adventure. This should only be used as a last resort after the HELP command has been used and all else has failed! To use the log files, simply start either The Prologue or The Return to the Colossal Cave by typing: prologue or advent2 The log files are named PROLOGUE.LOG and ADVENT2.LOG, so as soon as the story has loaded, you can either step through the log using the F9 key or you can type: play 5 This will play through the entire log with a five second delay between commands. 14