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347 lines
8.6 KiB
Plaintext
347 lines
8.6 KiB
Plaintext
Interactive Fiction Reference Card for the
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Commodore Amiga [TM]
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__________________________________________________________
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This booklet tells you how to run your Infocom story on your computer,
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and provides a few other handy bits of information.
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I. What You Need
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Required
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[] Amiga computer
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[] (for Interactive Fiction PLUS only) A monitor that supports an
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80-column display, such as an RGB-type monitor.
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Optional
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[] 256K memory expansion cartridge (for faster execution,
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recommended for Interactive Fiction PLUS)
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[] Extra 3 1/2-inch double-sided disks (for SAVEs)
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[] Second disk drive (for convenience with SAVEs)
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[] Compatible printer (for SCRIPTing)
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II. Making a Backup Copy
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In accordance with the licensing agreement in your package, we
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recommend that you make a backup copy of the original story disk for
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your personal use. See your hardware manual for instructions on how
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to make disk copies. Store your original disk in a safe place and
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always start the story from the backup.
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III. Starting the Story
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Turn on the Amiga and wait for the Workbench to appear. Insert
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the story disk and open the disk icon into a window, then double-click
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on the story icon.
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The story can also be started from within the Command Line
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Interpreter (CLI). If the default drive and directory are not the
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same as the story's, they must first be changed with the "CD" command
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(for example, CD df1:). Then type in the story name.
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IV. Talking to the Story
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Whenever you see the prompt (>), the story is waiting for your
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instructions. If you make a mistake, use the backspace key to erase the
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error. When you have finished typing in your instructions, press the
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RETURN key. The story will respond and the prompt (>) will reappear.
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If a description will not fit on the screen all at once,
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"[MORE]" will appear at the bottom of the screen. After reading the
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screen, press any key to see the rest of the description.
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V. The Status Line
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At the top of the screen is a status line. This line is
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updated after every move to show your current position in the story.
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Depending upon the type of story, it may also show other information.
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Score and Moves
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In stories that keep a score, such as the ZORK [R] underground
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adventures, the right side of the status line will show something like
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this:
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Score: 245/920
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The first number is your score and the second is the total
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number of moves you have made. In the example above, you have 245
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points in 920 moves.
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Time
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In stories that keep track of the time, such as the mystery
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thriller DEADLINE [R], the right side of the status line will look
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something like the following:
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Time: 9:22 a.m.
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This shows the current time of day in the story.
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VI. SCRIPTing
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You can use the SCRIPT command to print out a transcript of
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your moves as you go along. SCRIPTing is an optional feature which is
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not necessary to complete the story and may not be available with
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certain hardware.
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1. Connect the printer to the appropriate port at the back of the
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computer. Use the Preferences tool (see Section IX below) to make sure
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the system is configured correctly for your printer.
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2. Turn on the printer and make sure it is ready.
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3. Type SCRIPT at the prompt (>) to start the transcript. To stop the
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transcript, type UNSCRIPT.
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4. SCRIPT and UNSCRIPT may be used as often as desired.
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If a problem occurs with the printer, the story will "timeout"
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(appear to hang) for 30 seconds or so, then a printer error message
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will appear. If you don't correct the problem before the 30 seconds
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are up, scripting is automatically cancelled.
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VII. Saving a Story Position
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You can save your current story position to a disk in any
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drive, space permitting. The save disk must have been previously
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initialized, and must not be write-protected. No other data on the
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save disk will be affected.
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1. Type SAVE at the prompt (>). A message will appear asking you to
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choose a name for the save file.
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2. If you want to SAVE to the story disk itself, just enter a file
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name and press RETURN.
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3. If you want to SAVE to another disk, you must prefix the file name
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with either the name of the second disk (e.g., Saves:) or the name of
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the drive containing it (e.g., df0:). The prefix is needed even if
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the two disks were swapped using a single drive. If the save succeeds,
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the prefix becomes the default, and need not be typed again for the next save.
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The disk drive will spin for several seconds. If all is well,
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the story will respond:
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OK
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If it responds:
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FAILED
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consult the Troubleshooting section below.
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After saving your position, you may continue with the story.
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Note: The file "Icon.Data" is used to create icons for new save
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files. If you delete this file, new save files will not have visible icons.
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VIII. Restoring a Saved Story Position
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You can return to a previously saved story position at any
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time. Type RESTORE at the prompt (>). The most recently saved or
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restored position will be displayed as the default. Then enter the
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name of a save file, as in Section VII.
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If you want to return to the default position, you can just
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press the RETURN key.
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IX. Amiga Preferences
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Several aspects of the story presentation can be changed using
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the Amiga Preferences tool, including text size (60 or 80 columns, except
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for Interactive Fiction PLUS, which requires 80 columns) and
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color. The size can be changed only before the story is started. You
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also use Preferences to specify your type of printer and the port to
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which it is connected. The Amiga supports both parallel and serial
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devices.
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X. Memory Usage and Multi-tasking
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On a multi-tasking computer such as the Amiga, tasks must
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share the available memory. Some tasks may require that a certain
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amount of free memory be available at all times. Also, actions like
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opening, resizing and hiding windows can temporarily require large
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amounts of memory.
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When the Infocom story loads, it will always leave a specified
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amount of memory free. The default minimum amount is 64 Kbytes
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(32 Kbytes for Interactive Fiction PLUS). This
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can be changed by starting the story from the CLI with a special
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argument of the form "F/n," where n is the new minimum number of bytes
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to leave free (for example, Deadline F/32000). If you supply an
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argument, memory use statistics will be displayed when the story
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loads.
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You may need to increase the amount of free memory if, for
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example, you are running several tasks and switching between them
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fails or causes the system to hang. On the other hand, you can
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probably decrease free memory if you are running only the story. This
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may reduce or eliminate disk activity on versions of the Amiga with
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limited memory.
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XI. Troubleshooting
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A. If the story fails to load properly, or if SAVE, RESTORE, or SCRIPT
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fails, check each of the following items. If none of these offers a
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solution, consult your Commodore Amiga dealer for assistance.
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1. Inspect all disks carefully for any visible damage.
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2. For SAVEs, make sure the save disk is not write-protected (the small
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opening in the corner of the disk should be covered).
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3. For SCRIPTing, make sure the printer is connected properly, enabled
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for printing, not out of paper, etc.
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4. Try again; the problem may only be momentary.
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If all else fails, you can call the Infocom Technical Hotline
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at (617) 576-3190. Please note that this number is for technical
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problems only, not hints.
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B. If the story produces an error message, run the following procedure:
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Restart the story. When the initial screen appears, type
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$VERIFY. The disk drive will spin for a minute or so, and a message
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similar to one of the following will appear.
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1. "DISK CORRECT." The disk has not been damaged; the data is intact.
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This may indicate a problem with your hardware (usually with the disk
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drive). It is also possible the story contains a bug. If you suspect a
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bug, call the Infocom Technical Hotline number.
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2. "DISK FAILED" or "DISK READ ERROR." This reply indicates either
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hardware trouble or disk damage. Repeat the $VERIFY process several
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times. Also try the $VERIFY process on another computer (such as your
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dealer's). If the story ever replies "DISK CORRECT," the problem is in
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your hardware.
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If you repeatedly get an error message on more than one
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computer, the disk has most likely been damaged. Please send the
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DISK ONLY to Infocom for testing and replacement.
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---------------------------------------------------------
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Amiga is a registered trademark of Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
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ZORK and DEADLINE are registered trademarks, and Interactive Fiction
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PLUS is a trademark, of Infocom, Inc.
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Infocom logo
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Infocom, Inc., 125 CambridgePark Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140 |