Prologue

To: Her Royal Majesty Queen Victoria
Buckingham Palace
London, England

September 30, 1893

Dearest Vicky,

After a perilous journey through the Sahara, we have at last located the Tomb of Ra. For fear of this correspondence falling into the wrong hands, the exact location of the treasure cannot be disclosed in this letter.

The expedition began in an orderly fashion. However, several days of digging in the extreme heat led to a series of disagreements among the team of archeologists. As the leader of the expedition, I attempted to maintain order but the other members refused to accept my helpful guidance. Being the author of nineteen critically-acclaimed etiquette books, I was diligent in trying to teach the others proper digging methods and the proper way to keep their khakis starched.

However, they became increasingly dis- respectful - refusing to starch their khakis andhave high tea on schedule. As a result of their impudence I was forced to remove some of their privileges.

The first evening I grew weary of arguing and retired to my tent for the night. The next morning, I awoke to find that they had abandoned me in the middle of the desert with no water, shelter or kippers! It was highly irregular. Personally, I hope they were eaten by cobras and scorpions.

Fortunately, while ransacking my tent, they overlooked my compass which was in the left pocket of my khakis. I always sleep in my khakis, which I consider proper behaviour. Using my compass, I was able to overcome the unfavourable meteorological conditions, find the Tomb of Ra, make my way back to the Nile, and then have a brief respite in Cairo.

I am looking forward to returning to Oxford. The treasure has been claimed in the name of the Empire!

Respectfully yours,

Sir Percy XXX

Introduction

The sand scorches your feet, the sun sears your skin. The middle of the Egyptian desert - a place suited only to nomads and an assortment of desert creatures. You are wandering... wandering amidst the towering cliffs and ancient pyramids.

Why are you here? You are searching for the wonderful and terrible treasure of the Tomb of Ra, the sun god and supreme deity of the ancient Egyptians. Try to capture the Coptic relics and escape with your life. You must find your way to the tomb, go inside it, claim the treasure, and find your way back to the safety of civilisation.

The desert is treacherous and the elements are against you. Don't waste any time. Begin now!

Tandy Corporation presents this new adventure featuring animated colour graphics. As you attempt to overcome the scorching elements of the desert, you will see the blue sky and moving clouds overhead, the towering cliffs, the ancient pyramids, and other objects along the way.

The object of the game is to find the treasure in as few moves as possible and escape as Sir Percy did in 1893. You can claim the treasure in the name of your homeland, or if you prefer, harbour the secrets of the desert for your own profit. The papyrus in your hands is a gift from those that know the secrets of the ancient tomb.

Required Equipment

To start this adventure, you need the following:

• A Color Computer with a minimum of 32K memory
• A Color Computer Disk Drive with Controller and Cable
• Optional map-making equipment (paper and pencil)

Note: Two program disks of Sands Of Egypt are included in this package. Neither of these disks responds to backup procedures. Attempts to backup these disks could result in damage to the program.

Setting Up

1. Make sure that the disk system is properly connected to the computer. Consult your Owner's Manual for instructions.
2. Turn on the TV, Computer and Disk Drive. The screen should show:
   

   
      DISK EXTENDED COLOR BASIC v. r.
      COPYRIGHT (C) 198x BY TANDY
      UNDER LICENSE FROM MICROSOFT
   
      OK
   
   

   (v. r. stands for version release and specifies which version of Disk Extended Color BASIC you have.)
    
   If you do not see this copyright message, turn off the computer, check your connections, and power up again.
3. To load the program, insert Sands Of Egypt program disk into the Disk Drive and close the drive door.
4. If you have Disk Extended Color BASIC 1.1, type DOS (ENTER). If you have Disk Extended Color BASIC 1.0, type RUN"EGYPT" (ENTER)

After the program loads, the screen shows a colour test. Check the boxes shown and, if the colours are correct, press ENTER to begin the adventure.

If the colours are reversed, press RESET until the colours are correct. Then, press ENTER and the screen shows the game's title, followed by your position in the desert.

The screen is divided into two parts. The upper half contains a picture of your current location. The bottom half contains an explanation of your situation. At the starting point, you are lost in the desert and you see sand. At any given point in the game, you should read the description and also watch the visual display at the upper portion of the screen. Your compass directional choices (lower right on the screen) are North, East, South and West.

The cursor is to the right of "Well?" -- waiting for you to enter a response.

Choosing Directions

There are six possible directions: North, East, South, West, Up or Down. Not all of these directions are possible all of the time. The compass tells you the directions you can go. Consult it each time you change positions to find out which directions are permissible.

For your choice, you can type the first letter of the direction and then press ENTER. For example, to go North, type N (ENTER). Or, if you dislike abbreviations, you can type GO [the direction] and press ENTER. For example, GO SOUTH (ENTER).

Note: The program also responds to lower case characters. Press SHIFT-0 and you can type in lowercase. Press SHIFT-0 to return to upper case.

Using Commands

The ancient prophet and architect of the Tomb of Ra, Au Tin Lis Ten once said, "To survive in the desert, one must not let HELP escape him."

This adventure has an extensive vocabulary. It may take some experimentation to discover the correct command to uses in certain situations.

Often you must enter a command consisting of a verb and a noun. Insert a space between each command word. There are times when the verb and noun command is followed by another question such as How? In this case, you must answer the subsequent question with a two-word command.

The computer only reads the first four letters of each word you type. Therefore, typing the first four letters of each word of a command suffices.

Obtaining Objects

You will encounter various objects along the way. Some are useful and some are not. To determine which objects you are carrying at any given moment, take an inventory by typing INVENTORY.

You are told when you are thirsty. Throughout this adventure, you will need to take "water" breaks.

Making A Map

To avoid wandering in circles, you might want to make a map. When making a map, always remember that the desert is a very deceptive place. Make notes of the surroundings for each move you make. Eventually, you should end up going the right way.

Scoring

Your score consists of the number of moves you make. An Inventory or a typographical error is not added as a "move". After you complete the adventure, you are told your score.

During the game, you can type SCORE (ENTER) to evaluate your current score. Asking for this does not change your score.

Saving Games

You can save up to nine games on one disk. Save a game in progress by using the following steps:

1. Type SAVE (ENTER)
2. Enter a number from one to nine.

Note : You cannot save a game if the disk is Write Protected.

Reloading A Saved Game

1. Type LOAD (ENTER)
2. Enter the number of the saved game you wish to reload. The program should then reload at the point at which you saved the game.

To become an accomplished adventurer, use observation, imagination and common sense.

Cheerio!