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- JACARANDA JIM
- -------------
-
- Version 3.00
-
- Howdy! And congratulations (it says here..) on acquiring
- yourself a copy of JACARANDA JIM. In this adventure you can
- expect three things; Excitement, Intrigue, and two broken
- promises..
-
-
-
- Everything you ever wanted to know about
- JACARANDA JIM but were too afraid to ask
- ----------------------------------------
-
- 1. This is a shareware or user-supported adventure game.
- Whilst I retain copyright to the program I am perfectly
- happy for you to give copies of JACARANDA JIM to your
- friends, colleagues, bulletin boards and user groups provided
- no profit is made at my expense and the files are not
- tampered with in any way.
-
- It is possible that you received this adventure
- from a shareware library or public domain group. Money you
- may have paid to these groups is NOT passed on to the
- author of the software, you have merely paid for the media
- (ie the disk, or modem connect charge) on which the
- software is contained. The fee shareware companies charge
- for their services should be minimal.
-
- If you find yourself enjoying JACARANDA JIM please
- consider registration. Registration entitles you to a 5¼
- inch disk containing the very latest version of JACARANDA
- JIM, detailed maps of Ibberspleen IV, help and program
- updates.
-
- The registration charges are shown in the main program.
- Please note that for a 3½ inch disk update it is necessary to
- add £1 to the appropriate registration fee.
-
-
- 2. The character of Alan the Gribbley is based upon someone I
- once knew - although not really qualifying to be described
- as a "person". He was a failed accountant with vaguely
- homicidal tendencies. Yes, he did have a beard, did hum
- smugly, and did have a copy of PC Tools Deluxe. Thankfully
- I have not had the pleasure of bumping into this gentleman for
- some time now, though I can still feel the bruises from his
- infamous "I can kill a cow with my bare hands in 157
- different ways" demonstration. If I were you I'd follow my
- example and just not have anything to do with bearded men..
- they're bad news.
-
- If you are ever in a Guildford pub and you see a man in a
- stripey jumper.. just be careful.
-
-
- 3. An adventure such as JACARANDA JIM will expect you to enter a
- wide variety of commands such as "GO NORTH", "ASK ERNIE
- ABOUT HIS NOSE", "PUSH THE PINK BUTTON WITH THE CUCUMBER",
- "DUFF HIM UP", and "GET ALL". As you can see it is a
- good idea to think of any command by the phrase "I would
- like to.."
-
- For example, you might decide "I would like to GO NORTH", and
- so all you would have to do is type in "GO NORTH".
- Similarly the thought "I would like to TAKE THE TAPE" could
- be entered as just "TAKE THE TAPE".
-
- All of these "commands" are entered at the > prompt.
-
- A wide vocabulary is understood by the adventure.
- Obviously if I were to list all the words understood by
- JACARANDA JIM many of the puzzles would be given away, but
- here are a few that might come in useful...
-
- SAY, HIT, ATTACK, GO, WALK, SHOUT, ASK, LIST, INVENTORY,
- EXAMINE, LOOK, SCORE, GIVE, PULL, PUSH, HELP, WEAR, GET, DROP,
- WAVE, CLIMB, EAT, and so on...
-
- All in all the parser for JACARANDA JIM is quite strong
- and should not give you too much trouble.
-
-
- 4. The "LIST" and "INVENTORY" commands will tell you which
- objects you are carrying at any one time.
-
- As well as this the up and down arrows on the keyboard scroll
- through the last 10 commands you have entered. This can be
- very helpful if you are a slower typist.
-
- 5. At any time during the adventure's proceedings you can "SAVE"
- your position on disk. This is a particularly good idea
- if you're about to do something really daft like jumping
- off the top of a double-decker bus.. not that there are any
- in JACARANDA JIM. When you do fail miserably at whatever
- ridiculous activity tickled your fancy you can always
- restore your old position with the "LOAD" or "RESTORE"
- command.
-
-
- 6. In moments of extreme emergency you may just wish to quit this
- program. Earlier versions of this program required the user
- (thats you by the way) to type "QUIT" at the prompt. However,
- this proved too difficult for some people and so you now have
- three ways of quitting:
-
- i. Type "QUIT" at the prompt.
-
- ii. Pressing ESCape. Often accompanied by screams of "Oh my
- gawd how on earth did all these words get on my telly".
-
- iii. Pressing F10.
-
- Other useful abbreviations can be used by poor typists, or the
- plain lazy:
-
- X for EXAMINE object/thing/person
-
- L for LOOK
-
- I for INVENTORY of objects carried
-
- Frequently used directions like NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, UP
- and DOWN can be abbreviated to N, S, E, W, U and D
- respectively.
-
-
- Once you have already referred to a person by name you
- can generally refer to them again by using the words "HIM"
- or "HER". An example follows (user input is shown in upper
- case):
-
- > EXAMINE ALAN
- Alan is very handsome and sports a fine beard of
- tickertape and banana peel. He raises a distinguished
- eyebrow and blows me a discrete kiss.
-
- > ASK HIM ABOUT HIS BEARD
- Alan winks, "It was given to me by the Wild Women of
- the Hills. I had to give them a teapot first mind
- you".
-
- A similar approach can be taken when referring to objects
- which can be carried. For example,
-
-
- > TAKE KEY
- Okay. I have taken the gold key.
-
- > EXAMINE IT
- (the gold key)
- The gold key glistens in my hand. A length of seaweed
- clings bravely onto it.
-
- > ASK ALAN ABOUT IT
- (the gold key)
- Alan takes a look at the key in my hand. "Mmmm
- seaweed!", exclaims the Gribbley, "That'll look
- mighty fine in my beard". He snatches the gold key
- off me.
-
- > HIT HIM ON THE NOSE
- Oof! Alan begins to cry, I apologise for my cruel
- behaviour by kneeing him in the stomach..
-
-
- 7. A recent survey conducted by Miss Sian Kentrolle of Houston,
- Texas came to the conclusion that 98% of those who
- registered their copy of JACARANDA JIM with the author went
- on to have a life of eternal bliss, untold riches, and no
- Gloria Hunniford. All for a fiver.. Huh! Such a simple act,
- for such fulfilment..
-
-
- 8. Seriously folks, I need your money. In return I can
- promise you detailed maps, free updates and all that
- jazz. Upon registration you will be sent a 5¼ inch disk
- containing the very latest version of JACARANDA JIM. I will
- also mow your lawn, fix your plumbing, and be your
- ever-loving honey-bun till the end of time. Well,
- possibly. Please note that if you require a 3½ inch disk of
- JACARANDA JIM for your computer you should add £1 to the
- appropriate registration fee.
-
- Registration fees and details are shown in the main program.
-
-
- 9. If you DON'T register you're going to keep getting
- crummy two elastic bands and a tube of toothpaste
- software. You'll only have yourself to blame. I will
- personally see to it that a smaller African republic comes
- round your house next Wednesday and mortars your shed
- into smithereens. It makes sense to register shareware
- software.
-
- Registration details are included in the program. Type
- "HELP" if you're not sure. Okay? Ta.
-
-
- 10. Finally, many players of JACARANDA JIM ask me what the point
- of the game is. Do you have to discover the secret of the
- Wild Women's teapot, uncover a vast treasure hoard or
- simply get a nice haircut for less than two bob? Well,
- just as in life the final objective of JACARANDA JIM is a
- mystery. However, it just might be a good idea to escape
- from Ibberspleen IV, and continue your journey back home to
- Earth..
-
-
- Be seeing you
-
- Graham Cluley