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Text File | 1999-08-26 | 14KB | 275 lines

DARKSTONE Demo 1.0 ATTENTION: IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE DEMO, MUSIC AND VOICES HAVE BEEN COMPRESSED. THIS MAY HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE QUALITY, HOWEVER THE QUALITY OF RETAIL VERSION REMAINS EXCELLENT. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE FULL VERSION OF DARKSTONE INCLUDES: * More than 100 evil creatures based on 30 character types * 32 levels of dungeons * More than 200 enemies and interactive characters * 8 playable characters (male or female) based on four castes -- warrior, thief, magician or monk. * Simultaneous control of 2 characters * More than 30 types of weapons; many of which hace multiple variations. * A Random Quest Generator that ensures maximu playability -- you get new maps and new quests each time you play. This demo is deep and will give you a taste of what the full game has to offer. If you want to find out more about Darkstone, visit www.godgames.com TABLE OF CONTENTS I. BEGINNING YOUR QUEST II. GAMEPLAY III. SYSTEM REQUIRMENTS IV. HOT KEYS AND COMMANDS V. TECHNICAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I. BEGINNING YOUR QUEST CASTES AND CHARACTERISTICS: To play the game you have to choose one from several characters belonging to different castes (Warriors, Wizards, Thieves, Priests). The caste your character belongs to determines his strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Warrior's main asset is his physical strength, whereas the Wizard relies more on his extensive knowledge of magic. Therefore, the former would overwhelm his opponent best in direct combat, while the latter would rather keep his distance and cast spells. These various attributes are integrated into the game by defining, at the start of the game, a set of four characteristics (strength, vitality, dexterity and magic). Each of these characteristics is allotted a number of points, which varies depending on the caste. The higher the number of points allotted to the characteristic, the greater the influence this characteristic will have on the character's actions. EXPERIENCE LEVEL: Your character also has another very important attribute: experience level. Your hero starts the game with very little experience. He has been well trained, but is a beginner in the field. So his experience level starts at level1. But as your character takes on opponents, his experience level will rise. LIFE, MANA, AND FOOD: Your characters also have another three attributes, which have to be closely monitored during the game. These are their life level (vital energy), mana level (magic power used for casting spells) and food level (physical energy). THE TOWN: You begin the game in the town, which is a populated area harbouring no enemies. You will meet various people who are likely to help you in your quest. You can buy and sell arms in the town, as well as magic spell books, scrolls, potions and food. You will have to discern how best to spend your money to ensure that you are fully prepared when the time for battle comes. WHAT NEXT? Once you have been around the town you should explore other different lands and discover the entrances to various shady places (dungeons, cellars, caves). You should speak to the local people, fight monsters, gather and use various objects (weapons, scrolls, gold pieces, food etc.). Ultimately, you may succeed in completing your quest. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. GAMEPLAY ENGAGING IN COMBAT: You are likely to encounter numerous ruthless enemies on your journey. You should, therefore, choose your weapons wisely. Some types of weapon, such as swords, are intended for close combat, whereas others, such as bows, are intended for ranged attacks. Different weapons affect different creates differently. For example, bows have relatively little effect on Skeletons, while crushing weapons like the mace inflict much greater dammage. Choosing the right weapons to deal with the creatures threatening you means that you have already achieved your first milestone on the path to victory. HOW SPELLS WORK: The scrolls that you acquire during your adventure will enable you to cast a spell, just once. They don't use up mana. You prepare a spell by right clicking on the scroll (in the bag or on the belt). The mouse cursor will then change shape. You then select an enemy, object or place and left click to cast the spell. Alternatively, there are magic spell books that provide you with the opportunity to learn spells, and therefore, be able to use them all the time. These spells use up mana and require different levels of knowledge. The higher the level, the more powerful the spell is. It may also have several variants. To attain a greater level of knowledge, your character must ensure he has a high enough magic level, find another copy of the spell book and re-read it. When you find a spell book, put it in the inventory and right click on it if you wish to read it. The spell associated with this spell book will then feature in the Book of Spells. You should use it when you feel it is appropriate and as often as you wish, providing you have sufficient mana. EQUIPMENT, WEAPONS, AND ARMOR: You will find numerous different types of weapons and protection (helmets, armour, amulets, rings etc.) during your journey through the dungeons. You can also buy them in the Town and at various stages throughout the game. The basic types of equipment have particular features (amount of damage inflicted on enemy, level of protection, durability etc.) and this information is displayed in the description box, which appears when you point at these objects. You should, however, bear in mind that these objects don't last forever; they eventually wear out and break. If the icon for any of these objects is highlighted in red at the bottom left or right of the screen, this means that the item will soon be destroyed. You should get it repaired by the blacksmith to make it as good as new, or you should use the "Repair" skill, if you have acquired it. The more skilled you are at it, the better your repair will be. You can also get the blacksmith to enhance these objectsÆ features, but this will result in a loss of durability points. USING SKILLS: Skills can be purchased from Master Dalsin in the town. There are a whole range of skills and attributes that can serve your character well once he has developed them. The skill level ranges from 1 to 10. The higher the figure, the more competent your character is in that particular skill and the more effective it will be. When you are learning a skill, its name appears in the Skills window, which is displayed by right clicking on the "Skills" button in the interface bar. Some skills are latent (i.e. hidden). Once your character has acquired them you don't have to actively apply them as they are controlled automatically. When a skill displayed in the list is latent, you cannot select it when you place the mouse cursor on it. If you wish to use the other skills available, left click on the "Skills" button to display the list of skills and scroll down the list and select the relevant skill, then right click on the object or character you wish to allocate the skill to. Skills don't use up mana. PLAYING WITH TWO CHARACTERS: In DARKSTONE you have the option to play with two characters at the same time, but only in Single Player, not Multi Player. One of the characters is controlled by you, the other by your computer. This companion can watch your back for you, fight side by side with you and accompany you everywhere, unless you ask him to wait at a specific place for you ("chain link" button). If you wish to swith the character you are controlling, simply click on his portrait, or hit the PgUp/PgDn keys. It is crucial that you learn to use your two characters effectively to succeed in your quest. MULTIPLAYER OPTIONS: In Multiplayer mode you can control only one character, but the objective of the game still remains the same: to re-create the Time Orb and overcome Draak. At the beginning of a multiplayer game, one player should be made game master. He is responsible for starting the "session" and can allow other player to join in the game. The saved multiplayer game resides on the host's computer and can be restarted at any time by loading it just like you would load a Single Player game. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Minimum configuration Operating system Windows« 95 or 98 Processor type and frequency Pentium« 233MHz MMX (or equivalent) Video card 4MB Direct3D accelerator card Mode 65536 colours [16-bit] Free hard disk space 170MB RAM 32MB CD-ROM drive 8x speed with a Windows« 95/98 CD-ROM driver DirectX (supplied with CD) DirectX6.1 or later; DirectX Media Input devices Keyboard, mouse Recommended configuration Operating system Windows 95 or 98 Processor type and frequency Pentium II 350MHz (or equivalent) Video card 4MB 3D AGP or 8MB Direct3D PCI compatible accelerator card Free hard disk space 380MB RAM 64MB CD-ROM drive 8x speed with a Windows 95/98 CD-ROM driver DirectX (supplied with CD) DirectX6.1 or later; DirectX Media Input devices Keyboard, mouse Multiplayer mode For 2 to 4 players Via LAN: IPX (recommended) or TCP/IP Via Internet: TCP/IP (recommended) or IPX via KALI ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. HOT KEYS AND COMMANDS NOTE! ALL KEYBOARD KEYS ARE REMAPPABLE IN THE KEYBOARD.INI FILE IN THE Mouse Left button: Movement, action (including, speaking, picking up objects), attack Left button + CTRL: Change character's speed (walking/running) Left button + SHIFT: Attack without moving Right button: Cast a spell (clicking on target), activate an object, reading letters or spell books Keyboard 1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7 and 8 Select a stored spell or skill B Book of spells ENTER Open message window (in Multiplayer mode only) ESC Display or quit main menu SPACEBAR Return quickly to the game and close all menus F1, F2, F3 and F4 Use objects on the first character's Belt (if playing with two characters) F5, F6, F7 and F8 Use objects on the second character's Belt (this applies to the first character if playing with one character) F9 Default camera mode F10 Camera top down mode F11 TRACKING 1 camera mode F12 TRACKING 2 camera mode ARROW KEYS LEFT/RIGHT Camera rotation ARROW KEYS UP/DOWN Camera zoom in/out F Automatic/manual combat mode G Enable/disable solo mode H Display history of current adventure I Inventory L List of places visited TAB Display or quit map (Num Lock OFF) Page Up Change character Page Down Change character Numeric keypad 4 and 6 Rotation (Num Lock OFF) Numeric keypad 8 and 2 Zoom (Num Lock OFF) Q Quick save R Enter rest mode BACKSPACE Run or walk S List available spells SHIFT + ARROW KEYS LEFT/RIGHT/UP/DOWN Scroll through map when displayed SHIFT + selected spell Save spell CTRL+ ENTER Enter guild code T Open/close the Skills list +/ - Adjusts brightness of Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. TECHNICAL NOTES * You should have DirectX 6.1 installed before starting the game. * If you have a secondary video card in your computer it will automatically be used by default. If you want the primary card to be used change the option in the configuration menu. If the system jams, delete the file Darkstone\config\option.txt, and restart the game. * If you wish to find the default configuration settings delete the file Darkstone\config\option.txt, and restart the game. * If, when in multi-player mode, you wish to use the TCP/IP protocol on the Internet, you can display your IP address by connecting to the Internet, starting the game and press the "A" key. You can also select Start/Run and type WINIPCFG and confirm. A window will appear displaying your IP address. * If you notice that the game's performance has been deteriorating, you can disable the options in the configuration menu. You can also reduce the window size by pressing SHIFT+F9. * It is recommended that you disable screensavers during the game, restrict the number of programs open in the Taskbar and resident programs. You may also wish to defragment your hard disk * If your computer has a TNT chipset-based card you may have to change the text alignment option in the card properties menu to 7. * When Darkstone is uninstalled the games and characters you have saved will not be deleted. If you need space on your hard disk and the game has not started you can delete all the temporary files in the Darkstone/temp directory. * If you have a 3-button mouse with a wheel, you can use the middle button to display the list of available spells and the wheel to scroll through the pre-recorded spells. * If the message: "Duplicate objects detected and removed" is displayed, this means that an object has been duplicated. Only one copy of the object will be kept.