Introduction

Congratulations!

You are now the proud owner of Avalon, the first in a new world of computer games, the Adventure Movie.

Avalon introduces a number of features you will not have previously encountered and though you will quickly become accustomed to them, these instructions are necessarily lengthy. To obtain maximum enjoyment you are advised to read all the instructions carefully.

The controls for Avalon are very straightforward - 'UP', 'DOWN', 'LEFT', 'RIGHT' and 'FIRE'. You are asked to select you keyboard/joystick preference before the game begins.

No other commands are necessary during play although the 'P' and 'O' keys freeze and unfreeze the game respectively and 'SAVE' and 'LOAD' keys ('S' and 'J') can be used to SAVE the current game and LOAD it at a later date.

Loading A New Game

If you have a joystick then plug it into the edge connecter at the rear of your Spectrum. Connect your cassette player to the Spectrum in the usual way. Place the cassette in the player, rewind if necessary and press the 'PLAY' button. Type LOAD "" on the Spectrum keyboard and press the 'ENTER' key. Wait a few minutes and choose the joystick or keyboard option followed by 'ENTER'.

Getting Started

When Avalon has loaded and the initial screens are completed you will be presented with a three dimensional room with one door on the right hand side, a wizard sitting crossed legged, a large scroll at the bottom of the screen on which "MOVE" is written five time (this is a spell) and a large arrow pointing to "MOVE".

Press the 'FIRE' button once and the scroll changes to display "MOVE" in the top left of the scroll - this is the spell you have selected. Three M's to the right of "MOVE" tell you you have three or more uses of the spell xxxxxxxxxx the far right is a sxaff - this is the carrier of the "MOVE" spell and you will notice that your wizard is carrying a staff in his right hand. Underneath is the phrase 'project thy soul' which is a clue to the effect of the "MOVE" spell.

Across the bottom of the scroll is a flame. This is a display of the energy you have left. The longer the flame the more your energy.

Press the 'FIRE' button again and the staff on the scroll will flash. This tells you that the "MOVE" spell is now activated. Pressing the 'FIRE' again deactivates the spell and the scroll returns. try pressing the 'FIRE' button two or three times to see the different effects. When you have finished make sure the staff on the scroll is flashing.

You can now use the keyboard or joystick (depending on which was originally selected) to move the wizard round the room. Notice the wizard cannot pass through the walls.

To open the door take Maroc (the wizard) up to the door knob and the door will open. Now take Maroc through the door. This operation will take a little practice but you will soon get the hang of it.

Continuing Play

Explore the Gatehouse Level. There are many magic items for you to collect by moving Maroc so that he passes over them. you will not be able to open all doors, chests, etc until you have collected the necessary spells, keys or others objects.

If Maroc collects a magic item the word below the red dragon flashes. When this occurs, turn off the "MOVE" spell by pressing the 'FIRE' button. You will usually see that a new spell has been added to your Spell List. Sometimes you will collect a duplicate of a spell which you already have in which case your Spell List will be unchanged. However you will now be able to use the spell more times. For example if you collect more than one copy of the "ENERGISE" spell you will be able to fire it more times before it becomes exhausted.

Some useful Spells which you may collect early on are "SERVANT", "ENERGISE", "FREEZE", "UNSEEN".

The "SERVANT" Spell

The "SERVANT" spell gives you control of a sprite who can open some doors, pick objects up, give them to you or to other wizards, take things from your sack, throw objects, hit things with objects, etc. He is moved with the control keys or joystick. He cannot release an object unless he is switched off by moving him off the bottom of the screen, or unless Maroc or another wizard takes the object.

The sack on Maroc's back can hold a small number of objects. When you have collected a few objects using the "SERVANT" and placed them in the sack, find a quiet place and experiment taking things from the sack and replacing them. When taking an object from the sack steer it away from Maroc or he will take it back again. You will be able to use the "SERVANT" to look through the objects in the sack by moving the sprite to and from the sack.

Exploring Avalon

As you move Maroc from room to room you will encounter a number of creatures who will often attack you and drain your energy. You must learn how to deal with these creatures either by leaving the room and the next room as quickly as you can or by travelling down tunnels. You will also find that some of the spells that you collect can be used against your foes.

Avalon is very complex. There are over 200 rooms, tunnels and caves on eight levels for you to explore in your quest to banish the Lord of Chaos. Here are some important clues to help you:

• Almost all significant objects are coloured differently from the room in which they are found.
• Some doors are locked and you must find the key.
• Some doors are invisible until you solve a problem.
• There are some spell and objects to help you maintain your energy as you penetrate deeper, and also to return you close to your previous position if you are destroyed.

Making a Map

If you wish to pause to make a map or for any other reason press the 'P' key to freeze the game and the 'O' key to unfreeze it.

Levels

Gate House Level: First line of defence (now largely xxxxed which xxxxxxx barracks and guard rooms.

2nd Level: Caverns of Doom. Natural Limestone formations carved into rooms.

3rd Level: Mines of Despair. Caves cut into an iron lode which once fed the forges of the Lord of Chaos.

4th Level: Great Halls of the Deep. Once the living quarters of the armies.

5th Level: Goblin Warren. The breeding grounds of the goblins.

6th Level: Labyrinth. Only the wraiths occupy the lower levels.

7th Level: Catacombs of the Undead where they unlive.

8th Level: The place where the Lord of Chaos hides himself.

The Spell Scroll

The Spell List

Maroc collects spells as he explores the underground complex. These are added to his Spell List and displayed on the Spell Scroll when no spells are active. The Spell Scroll is scrolled using up and down. When the desired spell is indicated, activate it by pressing 'FIRE'. The scroll then shows information about the activated spell. To use the spell press 'FIRE' again. A picture usually flashes whilst the spell is running. To return to the Spell List, press 'UP' or 'DOWN'.

Spell Display

At the top of the spell display is the spell name which is a clue to the spell's use, and a number of magic tokens. This part of the scroll is replaced by the name of the part of the underground citadel you have reached whenever you pass into a new room.

Magic Tokens

The number of tokens indicates how many more times the spell may be used. When there are three tokens, the spell may be used three or more times more. When only two tokens appear it warns that you can only use the spell twice more. On the spell's last use, only one token is displayed.

Energy Display

On the lower half of the spell display is a dragon's tongue of flame. This is a visual display of your remaining energy. when the flame grows short and disappears you will be returned to the start room. An audible beep can be heard every time you lose or gain energy. The higher the beep, the more energy you have.

Active Spells

There are several types of spell and you must experiment to find out how each spell works. A general list of spell types follows:

Background Spells e.g. "UNSEEN"
Background spells when activated last until you switch them off. you are allowed to select another spell while these are running, for instance, you can "MOVE" whilst "UNSEEN". When activated, the spell list is displayed. The background spell name, shown on the small scroll on the bottom right of the screen, reminds you that you have a background spell running. energy used up by the spell will be deducted every few seconds. To turn background spells off, reselect the spell and press 'FIRE'.

Foreground Spells e.g. "ENERGISE"
These have an instant effect when activated after which the spell scroll is redisplayed.

Cursor Spells e.g. "SERVANT"
These display some form of object whilst active and the object can be directed with the keyboard controls or joystick. To switch the spell off, press 'FIRE' or move the object off the bottom of the screen.

Missile Spells e.g. "MISSILE"
These are rather like cursor spells. The spell energy is fired from Maroc to the cursor by pressing 'FIRE' and switches off automatically after firing. The spell may also be switched off without firing by moving the cursor off the bottom of the screen.

Repeat Missile Spells e.g. "FLAME"
These are like Missile Spells, except that they are not switched off after firing until the cursor is moved off the bottom of the screen.

Scoring

Every time you are returned to the first room, your current rank is displayed on the scroll. There are 16 main ranks which are subdivided into eight stages as follows:

You start the game as an Apprentice Lore Seeker and advance by penetrating the dungeon, acquiring spells and defeating your enemies. If your energy runs out this counts against you so that it is possible to lose rank as well as gain it.

Saving And Loading Games

The game may be saved in its current state at any time by pressing 'P' to freeze the game, placing a blank cassette in your recorder and pressing the 'SAVE' key. On completion, or if an error is detected or 'BREAK' is pressed, press 'O' to restart the game.

An old game can be reloaded by first LOADing the original "Avalon" cassette and then pressing the 'LOAD' key and LOADing the cassette on which you saved your previous game. If an error is detected or 'BREAK' is pressed then the game resets for you to try to LOAD your saved game again.