Introduction

Twin Kingdom Valley is a complex adventure game using full screen high resolution graphics. There are over 175 different locations, each of which is represented by a graphical illustration. Commands are entered in simple English.

Game Objective

The object of the game is to collect as much treasure as you can, without being killed. To measure your progress you are given a score, which will increase as you collect items of treasure. The maximum score is 1K points (i.e. 1,024 points). To achieve this, you must collect all items of value.

As you play the game, your path will be beset with traps and puzzles, so mind where you go! The last puzzle is, of course, "What do you do when you have 1,024 points?"

In The Beginning

You start the game standing on a road, running from each to west. Nearby is a wooden cabin, which you have just rented from the innkeeper of The Sword Inn. A message similar to this is given:

You are on a road.
North you can see a wooden cabin.
North east is a forest path.
East you can see a road.
West you can see a road.
South is a wooden fence through which you can see forest.

What you do next is entirely up to you!

Playing The Game

To play the game, you must type in actions which you wish to perform. E.g. from the place described above, MOVE NORTH (RETURN) or ENTER CABIN (RETURN) will place you in the cabin. In fact, whenever you wish to move to another place, you need only enter the corresponding compass direction. E.g. To walk east along the road (again from the starting point), you could type EAST (RETURN).

Remember, after each action (or "command") you must press the RETURN key. If you change your mind, you may delete your command by pressing CTRL-U together, instead of the RETURN key, then type your new command. You may use the DELETE and COPY keys as normal to make corrections and to copy words off the screen respectively.

You may not ask questions of the computer. E.g. "Where is the treasure?" as the computer only simulates the actions of your body, reporting what you see and feel. You must use your own mind! Similarly, you can't say "Find the treasure" or "Go home".

There are in fact only a small number of commands which you may enter (apart from the compass directions). They are:

HELP, OPTION, INVENTORY, SCORE, DRAW, PICTURE, VIEW, LOOK, QUIT, END, DRINK, SWIM, WAVE, WAIT, ASK, EMPTY, POUR, FILL, GIVE, OFF, ON, LIGHT, UNLOCK, OPEN, CLOSE, SHUT, LOCK, GET, TAKE, DROP, THROW, CUT, HIT.

E.g. you may say HIT THE GUARD WITH A HAMMER (assuming you have met a guard, and you are carrying a hammer!) or DROP THE JUG (assuming you are carrying a jug) thereby making use of the commands HIT and DROP.

If you get the message "I don't understand" when playing the game, try to rephrase your command using one of the above words (or any compass direction). You may use the special command HELP to list the above command words on the screen.

There are 10 commands which, like HELP, do not perform any actions. These are simply provided to give you status information. They are:

1. SCORE, which tells you your current score and strength (190=totally fit)
2. HELP, see above
3. INVENTORY, which lists the items you are carrying
4. OPTION, which is used to control the amount of description you are given about places (or "rooms") which you visit
5. QUIT, which is used to abandon the game
6. END, as Quit
7. LOOK, which you may use to repeat the description of the place you are in, or to look at the items you are carrying, or at pictures hung on walls
8. VIEW, as Look.
9. PICTURE, which draws a picture of the place where you are
10. DRAW, as Picture

These special commands are assumed to take up no time. After any other command, a dotted line will appear, indicating the passage of a short time. If you can see any other people or animals nearby they will be mentioned immediately after the dotted line. You will also be told if they are carrying anything.

Most places in the valley have a picture. Some of the pictures contain clues which help you to draw a map, or to decide which way to go next. Normally, a picture will vanish after 10 seconds, or if you press DELETE or type your next command. If you want a picture to remain longer (so that you can make notes) you should press the ESCAPE key whilst the picture is being displayed. The picture will then remain until you press DELETE, or type your next command.

If you manage to get yourself stuck in a maze, think hard on the following clue - it may help. Each place in the game has a description. If you visit the same place twice, you will of course get the same description.

If you are set upon by nasty creatures, who beat you until you are weak or dying, keep on the move until you find a weapon or recover your strength. Remember, death is irreversible!

Unusual Commands

Three special commands are included (which may be used after any yellow prompt). These commands must start with a "*".

1. *SAVE, which saves the current state of the game on tape (a blank cassette is therefore needed)
2. *LOAD, which loads a previously saved game
3. *TEXT, which alters the printing speed of the text. Normally, text is printed as fast as possible. After typing *TEXT, you are prompted for a "text delay" from 0 to 9 (in 1/100 sec. per letter), which can be used to set printing speed to your own preferred rate (0 is fast, 9 is slow). This is for those of you who feel that you are missing messages when text "whizzes" past.

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CHAIN"" (RETURN)