It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

As a self-employed computer consultant, working at home was the logical
decision: no more long commutes, no expensive office to lease, no boss.
Unfortunately you also have no secretary, no janitor, and no weekends.
Your living room has become a glorified break room and apart from your
Aunt Edna your only human contact is by Electronic Mail.

Thank God for your computer.

It is 1:00pm on Friday the 7th of September, 2001. Everyone else in your time
zone is finishing up work and looking forward to a relaxing evening. But you,
R.J. Wright, (overtired, undernourished, overeager, programmer that you are)
have promised to deliver a complete software package to a client in the
morning. The courier will arrive at 8:00am to pick it up.
                      
Time to get to work....


PLAYING COSMOSERVE

CosmoServe differs from other text adventure games in that much of the
game will be played in a simulated computer environment where 'normal' text
commands will not be relevant. Your simulated computer will respond to
simple DOS commands -- you can change directories and run programs, but
not much else. When you log onto CosmoServe, you should be able to navigate
through the online menus without much trouble.

When your computer is off (and later in the game when you are logged onto
CosmoServe in virtual reality mode) the game will play exactly like a
traditional text adventure. CosmoServe's parser can handle a wide range
of commands and words, but it will not always understand what you are trying
to say. If that happens, try entering your command again, in a different
(simpler) way. Generally declarative statements are called for. For instance:

  TAKE THE FROZEN DINNER THEN EAT IT
  EXAMINE THE BILLS AND CORRESPONDENCE THEN READ THE LETTER
  ASK THE MAN ABOUT THE PASSWORD
  EAST THEN NORTHWEST


GAME UTILITIES

The game uses the following commands for game management:

  HELP          May (or may not) give you a hint.
  INVENTORY     Displays a list of the objects you are carrying/wearing.
  LOOK          Gives you a full description of your current location.
  LIST EXITS    Lists the visible exits from your current location.
  SAVE          Saves the current game on disk.
  RESTORE       Restores a previously saved game from disk.
  SCORE         Summarizes your progress.
  COLORS        Change the screen colors (try COLORS MONO or COLORS RED WHITE)
  SCRIPT        Sends output to both the screen and a printer (via LPT1).
  UNSCRIPT      Sends output only to the screen.
  QUIT          Quits the current game session.

SHORTCUTS
Direction commands can be abbreviated as: N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW, U and D.
You may use EX for EXAMINE, L for LOOK, H for HELP, I for INVENTORY,
G for AGAIN and Q for QUIT. You may also use your function and cursor keys
to enter frequently used commands.  For a list of key definitions type ?.

HINTS

When in doubt LOOK. Then EXAMINE everything mentioned in the room
descriptions. If you have no idea what to do, HELP will bring you some
direction. As always, SAVE your game so you can RESTORE it to an earlier
place if something goes wrong.
                              
You can interact with characters by TALKING TO [ someone ] or by ASKING
[ someone ] ABOUT [ something ], or by OFFERING, SHOWING or GIVING
[ something ] TO [ someone ].

Remember that this game was written in the early 1990s and reflects
communication technologies of that time. This is before the Internet,
when DOS was still a widespread PC platform. You will have a certain
advantage if you were a CompuServe member during that time, but if you
weren't, you'll probably figure things out anyway. 

If you need a hint beyond those which are built into the game (and there
are a lot), try leaving a message in CompuServe Gamer's Forum (section 2).
If no one comes to your aid and you are desperate you may contact Judith
by CompuServe E-Mail 76636,2067 (or via Internet: 76636.2067@compuserve.com).
                                                   
REGISTRATION INFORMATION

CosmoServe was written using a modified version of AGT (the Adventure Game
Toolkit) developed by Mark Welch and Dave Malmberg. AGT is now freeware
(though they retain the copyright) and widely available. CosmoServe is
also freeware. Enjoy! If you'd like to register the game, send Judith your
name and e-mail address along with the Meaning of Life.

In the meantime, enjoy!


P.S. Check out the Internet Interactive Fiction 'zine, XYZZY at
http://www.users.interport.net/~eileen/design/xyzzynews/html for a review
of CosmoServe (issue # 1) and an interview with the author (issue # 11).