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                        Lunatix: The Insanity Circle
                     Interactive Fiction by Mike Snyder
                  Copyright (C)1999 by Prowler Productions

                        Version 1.1 (For IF.COMP 99)
                           Released on: 9/30/1999
                              *** FREEWARE ***

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      (1) ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
            - It's free, visit us, and learn more about IF.
      (2) INTRODUCTION
            - Welcome to the asylum! Have a crazy day!
      (3) HOW TO PLAY INTERACTIVE FICTION
            - How to play adventure games (the commands, etc).
      (4) USING THE ENGINE
            - How to play using this engine
      (5) COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS
           - How to play in text-only mode, disable sound, etc.
      (6) CREDITS & THANKS
           - People who helped make this game possible.
      (7) CONTACT THE AUTHOR
           - My email, the Prowler Productions web site, etc.

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 (1) ** ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
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    This game will play on IBM PC/Compatible computers through DOS or in
 Windows as a DOS program. If you are using Windows, the game should
 automatically go full-screen when started. If it does not, be sure to press
 [ALT]+[ENTER] to make it full-screen. The game colors/palettes will not
 function correctly if the game is run "in a window".

    Also note that if you run Lunatix directly after doing PkUnzip from a
 DOS window in Windows 95/98, Windows may report a crash in the DOS window.
 This is due to PkZip/PkUnzip using 32-bit instructions. I have no idea why
 this causes Lunatix not to work directly afterwards, but it does. Anyway,
 simply exit the DOS window and start again, or use the "-3" parameter when
 using PkUnzip.

    L:TIC is available absolutely free. If you were charged any money for
 this program, you have been ripped off. A walkthrough is available upon
 request. Email wyndo@prowler-pro.com and ask for the walkthrough for
 The Insanity Circle. This contains step by step commands for solving the
 game and you should only do this if you are stuck beyond all hope.
 ***NOTE: If you are running the IF-COMP-99 version of the game, then the
 walkthrough "lunatix.sol" should be automatically created after your first
 time playing.

    Because L:TIC *is* free, we ask that if you *enjoy* this game, you take
 the time to do a few simple things.

 1) Visit the Prowler Productions home page at http://www.prowler-pro.com/.
    You'll get the latest info on what new projects we're working on, such
    as web-based multiplayer games, new interactive fiction, cgi scripts,
    and more.
 2) Visit Lunatix Online at http://www.lunatix-online.com/. Become a patient
    in the wackiest asylum ever. Lunatix Online is a multiplayer web-based
    RPG with integrated chat and lots of ways to interact with other players.
 3) Play more interactive fiction! You'll find a huge resource of games you
    can download at the IF-ARCHIVE at ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/. Also,
    check out the usenet newsgroups rec.arts.int-fiction (for the discussion
    of creating interactive fiction) and rec.games.int-fiction (for most
    discussions on playing it).

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 (2) ** INTRUDUCTION
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    In L:TIC, you are Dr. Armund Hammer. After another uneventful day of
 goofing off and not attending to the mental patients in your asylum, you
 awaken from an afternoon nap. It's time to go home. Unfortunatly, your
 keys are missing and you find yourself locked in Imenz Aine. You are about
 to get a taste of what it's like to be a patient.

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 (3) ** HOW TO PLAY INTERACTIVE FICTION
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    If you have played interactive fiction ("text adventure" games) before,
 then you probably won't need much in the way of instructions. If you have
 NOT, then let me welcome you to a great gaming experience.

    In interactive fiction, you communicate directly to the game by typing
 commands at the game command prompt. What you attempt to do is limited only
 by your imagination.

    Although no game is sophisticated enough to understand everything you
 might attempt, The parser in L:TIC should work without much need for verb
 and noun guessing. For example, "PICK UP THE BOOK" and "PICK THE BOOK UP"
 would work just as well as "GET NOVEL" for achieving the same function.
 In addition, some things can be determined by assumed intent. For example,
 if you're carrying a key and a dead trout and you attempt to "UNLOCK THE
 SOUTH DOOR WITH THE TROUT" then the parser will probably accept the command
 but use the key instead. This isn't always the case, but as a rule of thumb
 the game will allow "assumed intent" parsing when it's obvious that you're
 attempting the right thing or that you've solved the "puzzle" so that you
 aren't forced to guess the exact syntax verb/noun combo to make it work.

    Commands can often be two words (verb/noun) but this is just to allow
 you to do less typing. As described earlier, adjectives rarely hurt and
 typing a short sentence such as "SPEAK MAN" will have the same result as
 "TALK TO THE STRANGE GUY WHO'S STANDING IN THIS ROOM." Don't be confused
 though. Not all commands work as simple verb/noun pairs. Sometimes you
 may need to be more specific such as "WRITE AUTOGRAPH ON PAPER." If you
 were to simply type "WRITE AUTOGRAPH" or "WRITE ON PAPER," then the parser
 might not consider that as assumed intent. The same is true when examining
 things. "LOOK BOULDER" may not be the same as "LOOK BEHIND BOULDER" but in
 many cases it will be.

    There are a few commands (verbs) most adventure games recognize, and
 knowing them is a great start. Most verbs have several synonyms which can
 be used if you prefer which may not be listed here (such as "GO INSIDE" for
 "ENTER" or "PICK UP" for "GET"). As examples:

    N (or NORTH): Will walk to the North (E/East, S/South, and W/West too).
    NE (or NORTHEAST): Will walk to the NorthEast (also NW, SW, and SE).
    U (or UP): Will climb up ladders, go up stairs, etc.
    D (or DOWN): Will climb down ladders, go down stairs, etc.
    I (or INVENTORY): Will display a list of objects you are carrying.
    QUIT (or EXIT) will end the game and exit the program.
    GET (or TAKE): Will pick up something here (example: GET PUMPKIN).
    DROP (or LEAVE): Will drop something you are carrying (DROP PUMPKIN).
    LOOK (or L or X): Will look at or examine something (LOOK DOOR).
    LOOK: If typed by itself, will re-display the room description.
    TALK TO (or ASK): Speaks to a person. Optionally, TALK ABOUT something.
    SAVE (or SAVE #): Will save your game where the save # is 1 to 9.
    LOAD (or LOAD #): Will load a saved game (RESTORE will also work).
    OPEN: Will open something, such as a door or a box. (OPEN DOOR).
    UNDO: This will "undo" the last command of any importance.

    There are many other action verbs. Some you may try and the game doesn't
 understand them. Some might only be understood in the right context.

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 (4) ** USING THE ENGINE
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    NOTE: If you are familiar with popular IF-specific engines then you may
 notice that things like UNDO, arrows to recall commands, multiple commands
 at once (such as "E THEN OPEN DOOR THEN N"), GET ALL and DROP ALL, pronouns
 (such as "GET BOOK THEN READ IT"), X for "Examine" and more WILL WORK here
 as well. Although I don't feel that these things should have any impact on
 a game, many people feel otherwise and are (for lack of a better term)
 "spoiled" on them.

    L:TIC is an "illustrated" text adventure. This means that even though
 it has graphical scenes, they're mainly there to make the play experience
 more enjoyable. It's still a "text" adventure. Clicking things with your
 mouse on the picture of the room will have no effect.

    However, you can use your mouse for other things. In the upper-right
 corner of the play area is an "X" you can click to exit the game. The
 room description area and the contents area can be scrolled up and down by
 clicking the scroll bar. The input box at the bottom has an UP and DOWN
 arrow for retreiving previosly typed commands and an OK button to sending.

    A mouse is not required, though. Everything is available by pressing
 keys too. Use the TAB key to select the area (room description, contents,
 or input box). Use the Up/Down keys (arrows and Page Up/Down) to simulate
 scrolling. Type "EXIT" instead of clicking the "X". Press the ENTER key
 to send a command without having to click on the "OK" button.

    When you enter a room, the room description frame is the first to be
 highlighted. This will allow you to arrow up and down to read it if you
 don't have a mouse. Simply start typing and the focus will jump down to
 the input box automatically (or you can TAB down to it if you want to do
 it the hard way). To use the up/down arrow keys to retreive previously
 typed commands, you should press ENTER first if the input box isn't
 currently highlighted (such as when first entering a room). With only a
 little practice, using the keyboard will probably be faster than mousing.

    You can also play in TEXT-ONLY mode. Although the larger font of the
 graphics mode might be hard to get used to initially for "jaded" players,
 it has been designed to be easy to read and any discomfort from it "not
 being what you're used to" should go away after playing only a while. To
 play in text-only mode, start Lunatix with the /T parameter (for example,
 LUNATIX /T to play in text-only mode). Text-only mode plays the same but
 there is no mouse support and no graphic illustrations.

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 (5) ** COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS
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    Several command-line parameters have been set up to allow you to
 run the game a variety of ways. You don't have to use any command line
 parameters and the game will run with defaults. Or, you may opt to use one
 or more command line arguments:

    /M - Disable the mouse (game will play with the keyboard only).
    /Q - Quiet Mode, has no music or sound effects.
    /C - Turn key clicks on (clicking sound when entering keystrokes).
    /T - Play in Text-Only Mode (in color, but no graphics or mouse).
    /B - Same as text mode, but all text will be black & white (no color).
    /U - Display all text in upper case (works in text and graphics modes).

    Because these options can be combined, you can do things like play in
 black-and-white text mode without sound, or play in text-only mode with
 key-clicks turned on and all text in upper case. Here are a few examples:

    LUNATIX /T       - Play in Text-Only mode
    LUNATIX /Q       - Play without music or sound effects.
    LUNATIX /BC      - Play in Black-and-White Text-Only Mode with KeyClicks
    LUNATIX /TQ      - Play in Text-Only mode, no sound effect or music.
    LUNATIX /TQC     - Play in Text-Only mode, no music, DO enable KeyClicks

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 (6) ** CREDITS & THANKS
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       Mike Snyder - I did everything that's not listed below, which includes
                     concept, programming, parser, story, writing, layout,
                     graphic editing/resizing, documentation, music, and many
                     other things I can't think of. In other words, I wrote
                     the game. However, many other people helped in one way
                     or another with its creation, as described below.

       Anna Kasl   - Designed original artwork for Lunatix Online, some of
                     which has been used in Lunatix: The Insanity Circle.

     Steven Tucker - Additional original artwork for Lunatix Online, some of
                     which has been used in Lunatix: The Insanity Circle.

     www.scour.net - Some public domain images which were modified/resized
                     and altered for use in Lunatix: The Insanity Circle.

        Tim Truman - Public domain source code for programming sound card's
                     FM register. Was intended for sound effects, modified
                     for Lunatix: The Insanity Circle to play music as well.

           Unknown - Public domain source code found at www.qbasic.com which
                     simply loads a .gif image to the screen. Modified to
                     save as QB-compatible sprite array into a resource file.

       James Kurth - Public domain source code to extract palette information
                     from a .gif image. Modified to save as a QB-compatible
                     string into a resource file.

        Ken Rockot - Public domain source code for handling a customized
                     graphic-mode font. Modified to improve font and save
                     as a QB-compatible string into a resource file.

  Also, a big thanks to the people who helped beta test this game, including
  Stephanie Powell, Gary Mattson, Blind_Igor, Jennifer Baxter, Ben Rachlin,
  Night Raven, Chastity Vore, MasterP, Michele Wyse, CrazyLady, and
  Cortney Campbell.

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 (7) ** CONTACT THE AUTHOR
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    My email is wyndo@prowler-pro.com.
    My company home page is http//www.prowler-pro.com/
    My personal info page is http://www.prowler-pro.com/mike/
    Lunatix Online (web-based RPG) is at http://www.lunatix-online.com/

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