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Text File | 1992-07-30 | 24.8 KB | 496 lines

The Dragon's Domain III Death Rising. v1.20 7/21/92 (C) 1992 Ed T. Toton III All Rights Reserved. OVERVIEW: Welcome to The Dragon's Domain III!! This game was inspired by ADVENTURE on the Atari game systems ages ago. The concepts and goals are quite simple indeed, but actually accomplishing it is a different matter. You will have to face many perils in your quest. 3 great dragons are waiting to stomp on you, and many other creatures gaurd key points in your quest, including skeletons, fire elementals, ogres, ghosts, and more. (Sound's familiar, eh?) The graphics are still a vector-based design (but stored in a bitmap-like array), as with the previous games. --===Dragon's Domain IV===-- will have more detail in the background using bitmaps, and the new graphics system will be MUCH faster (meaning less flicker! And not as much "slow down" on slower computers!). To all of you who think a decent game absolutely must have scanned oil- paintings, high-res, ultra-colorful, mega-detailed, high-speed graphics, all in one package in order to be fun, I think this game and it's successors will prove you wrong. It is not a combat-based game (although it has plenty of fighting to go around). It is a pathfinding/labyrinth/puzzle/strategy game. You will find many challenges. There is much strategy involved in slaying those pesky evil dragons. You will need to find your way through the mazes, and discover what items will aid or hurt you in your quest. The task is not easy. Your best friends will be your weapon, and the save-game feature. TECHNICAL INFO: This game requires DOS 3.0 or greater, and at least 512k RAM (total). The graphics are simple in appearance, but drawn using a new technique I have designed using XOR operations and virtual screen memory. Also, this game has a much improved map system over the first one. The entire map is loaded into memory at the beginning of the game, and so very little disk access occurrs during game play. More features are built in, including a save/load game system. It is recommended that this game be played on a 286 12mhz or better with a 28ms hard-drive or better. The lowest it has been tested on is a 286-12 with a 17ms hard-drive, and the highest is a 486-33 with a 13ms drive. The minimum you need for it to look really good (no flicker) is a 386-20 DX. I apologize about the flicker of the dragons and the spotlights in the games for those of you who are using 286's and 386-SX's. There was little I could do. The new image loader and palette setter are MUCH faster now. The game starts up lightning quick compared to previous ones. RUNNING THE GAME: To run the game, simply make sure all of it's files are in the same directory and type DRAG3 at the dos prompt. The controsl are extremely simple. You use the cursor keys/number keys to steer your guy. SPACEBAR is your fire-button. In the beginning of the game you have a stick to use as a weapon (very weak), and later you can get the sword. To pick up an object, simply walk into it. You can carry as many keys as you need, but all other objects can only be carried one at a time. You will automatically drop what you have when you try to pick something new up (keys are permanent, there is no way to get rid of them). BTW- it IS ok to put all three Dragon's Domain games in the same directory. It has been designed to do that. Controls: Cursors: Movement Numbers: Movement D: Drop Object Q: Quit Game S: Save Game L: Load Game P: Pause T: Toggle "accelerated time" mode. R: Restart. STORY: Long long ago, in the land of Tikki-tikki-nowbanna, there was a powerful wizard. He was a very good wizard. He defended the land for many centuries against evil. One day, his dragons (Fexdon, Rantor, and Kellwith) turned against him and took the sacred chalice and hid it. With the chalice gone, the wizard was all but powerless. Many evil creatures quickly sprang forth and covered the countryside. These were the last of the dragons. Once, they were a powerful and honorable race, not evil in the least. But the last three dragons resented being "controlled" by a wizard (they forgot that the agreement was that they would get paid, and could leave whenever they wanted to). They then turned to a life of evil. A hero arrived to help save the land from emminent domination by the evil dragons. Soon the chalice was returned, and all was good. Many years passed, the old castles were rebuilt and repainted, and many changes occurred. After a long time, the dragons returned. They have aged quite a bit (so did our favorite hero for that matter, but that's a different story). The town elders devised a plan. The idea was to retrieve the eggs that the dragons have laid. Since the dragons weren't live too much longer, these eggs are the last hope for restoring the proud race of GOOD dragons. The eggs were retrieved, and have since hatched. While the eggs were incubating, the evil dragons waged war on the humans. The war was long and hard, and the cities were completely destroyed. Finally the dragons fell, and the cities were rebuilt. Shortly afterward, our favorite hero grew weak, old, and ill. Normally such heroes are granted the privelige to drink from the chalice, and thus restore their vitality, but the chalice was lost in the war. One of the new young dragons, the red one, YOU, must recover the chalice to aid the one who has saved the people so many times. You must also locate the flask. It contains the magically prepared water the must be put in the chalice for him to drink. You must also get the wand. It is required to finalize the spell to make the revitalization complete. Unfortunately, soon after the war, an evil wizard named Mordenz has come to power in the area. He has summonned many foul creatures to stop you. He has also reanimated the dead evil dragons, which are now large powerful zombie-dragons. You must navigate five seperate mazes, two of which are dark. To aid you in these dark mazes, a torch can be found. Six castles lay ahead of you, each locked with it's own key of the same color as the castle. Do you have what it takes to defeat the evil beasts and recover the chalice? Note- Remeber there are several new objects out there. Some will help, many are useless. ALL do at least SOMETHING. And in any event, the bat will pick them up and move them whenever he may encounter them! This includes items (suchas the chalice) that you have already retrieved! Beware! GOALS: 1. Get the chalice back to the room you started in. 2. Get the wand there too. 3. Get the flask there also. 4. Keep from getting mangled, diced, brutally murderes, slayed, and so forth. HINTS: -If the bat is carrying something that you want and you have something else that you DON'T want, you can place it in front of him and he will do a swap!! -Don't be afraid to SAVE OFTEN!! You must save often and reload if you lose more energy than is necessary in a confrontation. It is very difficult to win the game if you don't do this! -The dragons rarely hurt you if you stand AS CLOSE as possible to the edge of the screen in a doorway. Likewise, if leave objects there, the dragons are just as unlikely to move them. The bat and the young purple dragon CAN find them there though. -NO ONE will move the chalice or the flask until you have. If you move one and leave it somewhere, it's just as likely to be gone when you return as any other object. -Unlike previous games, EVERY object does SOMETHING.. As to whether it helps or hurts, we leave that up to you to discover. -There is a "master key" out there that may help you. It will open all castle gates. The problem is that the gates close QUICKLY, and thus there is no way to enter a place and return with anything you may find. This simply provides a way for you to explore a little before you get the REAL keys. You will probably have to hold the cursor key down in order to even enter the gate before it closes. And to make matters worse, you can't even pick up the chalice unless you have all 6 REAL keys. -BE CAREFUL with the master-key. If you drop it, you can get stuck somewhere with no way out and will have to reload or start over. This is especially true if you drop it IN the gateway, and then continue on to the other side, thus letting the gate close ON the key, trapping you on the other side. DRAGONS: [Remember that all percentages listed below are approximations made by various scholars and mages based upon old records, and the true accuracy of the data can not be known for certain.] The dragons are an ancient race of giant creatures. They are warmblooded, yet have the skin and basic architecture of a reptile. Some have wings, others do not. This is a trait that may be passed from parent to child, whether or not the parents were winged themselves. Color also is not completely dependant on the parent. While it is fairly likely that the young dragons will be the same color as one of it's parents, it is also quite possible it will be a different color. Dragon offspring come from eggs. The eggs have a leathery skin, much like the eggs of various reptiles. What makes them unique however is that the eggs have wrinkled/scaley surfaces, and are the color of the dragon contained within. Dragons are about the size of an average adult human when they first hatch. Young dragons grow quickly and eat large quantities of food. Despite the size they must reach, they are full grown by about the age of 20, and become mature between the ages of 20 to 30 (assuming they aren't one of the ones that don't grow, as described below). Although dragons are quite intelligent, they tend to be very absent minded, stubborn, and have quick tempers. They are often egotistical, yet clever. They can easily manipulate the simple minded, yet at the same time, the more intelligent humans can often manipulate the dragons with flattery and offers of gold. Dragons LOVE gold. Not all dragons are egotists, and not all can be manipulated. Likewise not all are intelligent either, but the above description will hold true in part or whole to most dragons. It is a common misconception that a dragon's physical and mental attributes are directly related to it's color. There does however seem to be a SLIGHT correlation between a dragon's personality and it's color, due to a possible genetic link. There is a chart below showing the general tendancies towards various traits for each color. Remember, these are stereotypes and tendancies, not absolutes. Dragons somehow manage to speak english, and sometimes several other languages as well. This has been a subject of mystery for centuries, since their mouth structures are obviously quite different than that of humans. Those that can speak and are rather intelligent may be capable of spell- casting. The usual size for an adult dragon is approximately 30 to 50 feet in length, head to tail, when fully outstrretched, and they usually stand about 12 to 16 feet high. Not all dragons are like this. Some stop growing soon after birth, staying about human-sized. Others may grow to an enormous length. In fact there are some ancient skeletal remains of a dragon in the southern mountains so large that the average adult dragon can stand erect completely inside one of the eye-sockets of the skull. One can only speculate about what caused such an occurance. Dragon's come in various shapes as well as sizes. There are several possible configurations. Usually about 75% of dragon offspring have the same shape as one of it's parents, the others will have any of the other possible configurations. These different shapes include numbers and types of limbs, existance of and number of horns, whether it has spines along it's back, size of claw-nails, type of tail (such as a forked tail, arrow-head tail, etc), and so forth. As far as limbs are concerned, all dragons have two, four, or six limbs. If it has only two, they will be wings about 90% of the time, otherwise they will be powerful legs. If a dragon has 4 limbs, 80% of the time it will be two strong hind-legs and two arms/front-legs (usualy arms), and the remaining 20% have two legs and two wings. Of those that have 6 limbs, two are hind-legs, two are wings, and the other two are arms/front-legs (again, usually arms). The two most common configurations are 6-limbed, and 4-limbed with no wings, thus most dragons have two legs and two arms (with or without wings). Whether or not the front limbs are in fact arms or front-legs, they will always have a decent level of manipulative ability. Fairly often, of those who have wings and no other front-end limbs, there will be fingers on the wings, much like a bat. Thus the dragon will still be able to grasp and hold objects, but not while in flight. Horns, spines, claw length, tail type, scale size, and so forth are all fairly random. There is no telling what a dragon will be shaped like in those respects. One must wait for the dragon to hatch and then see for one's self in order to know. So in respect to these attributes, it is quite rare that two dragons will be the same. Dragons also slightly have the ability to change color. Don't get me wrong, a red dragon will always be red. But Dragons will have their color darken or lighten depending on their state of health and the weather. As you can see, dragon genetics allow for quite a large amount of diversity. Every single dragon carries the genetic code for all of the possible traits, thus allowing any combination to occur in it's offspring. However, since certain traits are dominant in itself, those traits are more likely than others to be dominant in it's children. Hence 75% of baby dragons resemble one of their parents in color and limb configuration. The dragons were once a proud and honorable race. They worked with humans often. Both races shared a set of mutual benefits from aiding one another. The race of dragons quickly diminished as a plague worked it's way through their society. Xanton the wizard tried hard to cure the disease, as it was his job to protect and serve his people in times of such dire need. He worked VERY hard. Eventually he concocted the formula, but only in time to save the three remaining dragons. These three maintained a slight resentment towards Xanton for not being able to save the rest of the dragons, yet at the same time were quite thankful for their lives, and felt an obligation to Xanton. They agreed to work for him, with a payroll of gold peices, paid by the hour. As time lagged on, they started to forget their sense of loyalty. As they aged, they grew bitter and felt that Xanton was "controlling" them. They decided to move up in the world by conquering it, and thus left the castle of Xanton. Xanton was powerless to do anything, since they stole the chalice, which was Xanton's only connection to the ethereal plane, the source of all paranormal and magical energy. The chalice was soon retrieved, but the dragons were not yet vanquished. Realizing that they were not to be with the world for much longer, and would soon pass on, they quickly set upon themselves to try to raise young, and start a powerful army of dragons. There was but one chance left if there were to ever be peace between the humans and dragons. Four eggs had been laid. Green, red, blue, and purple were the colors of the eggs. The purple egg hatched, and the young purple dragon had already started a life of mischief. The other three eggs were recovered. Since then the three evil dragons fell in battle. Now the recovered eggs have hatched, the yound red dragon (you) has a great quest ahead of him. You will have to face those same 3 evil dragons that our hero fought before, YOUR PARENTS! They are back from the grave! Will they EVER give up??!?!? Dragon Colors: [Note- About 20 to 30 percent of all dragons will at least slightly fall under their appropriate color-definitions below. Only about 5 to 10 percent actually fit these descriptions to the letter. After all, these are mostly stereotypes, and have only slight manifestations. Again, this is based off of old records kept by humans, and the true accuracy can not be ascertained.] Blue: - Blue dragons are quite intelligent, employing spells more often than other dragon types, and are usually quite honest and honorable. However, they are usually stubborn and once their mind is set, there is little one can do to change it. Green: - Green Dragons are often greedy and clever enough to satisfy that greed. They are often the con-men and the theives of the dragon's domain. They are also the show-offs and class- clowns, but it is usually tolerated, since they will only do dishonorable acts behind ones back, thus with a little caution they can be kept under control. They are good fighters. Cyan: - Cyan dragons tend to be heavy on the absent-mindedness. They have a poor memory capacity, and thus the ones capable of spells often forget how to cast them, thus such dragons will usually keep a spellbook. They are witty and humorous however, and enjoy games. Red: - Red Dragons almost always have very hot tempers. They are strong and powerful dragons (since they are constantly involved in tests of strength, they work out and keep in shape), but a little on the dim side mentally. They can be rather self centered, but have a strong sense of duty. Purple: - These dragons tend to be a little more egotistic than the others, and rather tame. They don't get angered as easily as others, but once they have been pushed too far, they are relentless in retaliation. They have a strong sense of justice and retribution. Yellow: - Yellow dragons are often lazy and laid-back. They aren't terribly strong (since they never do anything), nor are they terribly intelligent. Thus the only jobs they usually perform are secretarial, or they act as body guards for humans who can't afford to hire a red dragon. Grey/white: - These dragons are the sages of the Dragon's Domain. They are wise and intelligent. They make fantastic spell-casters, and commanding officers for military operations. They have great strategic and logic abilities. Dragon age-brackets: Young: 0 - 10 (very young) 11 - 20 21 - 30 (adolescent) Adult: 31 - 120 Old: 121 - 180 181 - 220 (very old) 221 - 300+ (ancient) * * AVERAGE Life expectancy for COMMON dragons is roughly 180 years, although several will live longer. There are enough who live only to an age between 120 and 180 to compensate the average for the few who live to an age up to 300 or more. There is a legend of a few HIGHLY magical ones that are dormant beneath the mountains in large subterranean caverns, in a nearly immortal state. NAMES: Rantor: Undead Red Dragon Fexdon: Undead Green Dragon Kellwith: Undead Blue Dragon Turgo: Bat Targil: Young purple dragon Seflor: Young red dragon (you). VERSIONS: 1.1 - The first publically released version. Great improvements were made to the bitmap files, making them smaller and faster to load. - Images are now loaded directly to RAM, and more assembly code has been utilized, thus making the entire beginning of the program lightning fast compared to the previous games in the series. 1.2 - New XOR routine makes graphics faster!!! This means less flicker and slow-down on slower computers. IMPROVEMENTS: Things this sequal does better than the first in the series: 1. The bat is MUCH more visible. 2. Elementals emit light in dark places. 3. The torch is needed to illuminate dark areas 4. The dragons and especially the bat can carry objects. 5. There are 20 objects in the game (the first had 8). 6. The map is stored in one data file instead of 50 ascii files. This has many advantages: A. Game speed, since it is loaded ONCE. B. Disk space C. More portable D. Easier to design maps (from my point of view) 7. You can SAVE and LOAD games. 8. Accelerated time function allows you to travel large distances more quickly. 9. FASTER loading of images at program's beginning. With each new episode in the Dragon's Domain series, many improvements are made to the software system it uses. Dragon's Domain IV is being planned and I intend to use bitmapped backgrounds instead of the present vector-based maps, which means the graphics will look much better!! I'm also thinking of added MANY new objects, both enchanted and cursed, and I may use a map much larger than the present one. If you have any suggestions, feel free to contact me by mail or modem (my BBS number is listed at the end of this documentation-file). NOTICE: (BIG change over previous versions!!) This program is being distributed on the "shareware" concept. It is by no means completely free. If you think the program is of use to you, please send a registration fee of $5. If you think that is rediculous, then send less (or more for that matter). If you hate the program or found too many bugs, write me and tell me, and include a graphic explanation (but don't be too harsh!! Heheheh). In any event, write to: Ed T. Toton III 7101 Talisman Lane Columbia Md 21045 And WHY should you register it? 1. To support my continuing efforts to bring you some level of functional programs. If I get no cash, you get no improvements in these programs, and I won't be encouraged to make new and better software! 2. To get that warm glow for knowing that you supported the author of at least one of the many shareware programs you probably use. 3. To find out if there is a newer version. All you need to do is ask! But letters with money take priority! 4. You could be sick and demented and thus register everything you get your hands on. NOTE- Whether you register it or not, and would like a copy of the latest version, send me a blank disk and include return postage. I will then send it to you with the latest version of all the games in the series. I can handle 360k 5¼", 1.2mb 5¼", 720k 3½", and 1.44mb 3½" disks. DISCLAIMER: This program is provided "AS IS" and I make no gauruntees about it's performance. I will not be and can not be held responsible for any damages incurred during it's use. It's on a "use at your own risk" basis. Nothing at all should happen, the program is harmless, but I have to say it anyway. Using the program AT ALL means that you agree to these terms. COPYRIGHT: This program may be freely distributed (which is actually encouraged) AS IS. No one may modify this program in ANY way. ESPECIALLY where names and credit is given, and INCLUDING all the documentation and data files. It may NOT be used for comercial or profit-turning ventures of any kind, including sale by disk vendors, without the written consent by ME, with ONE exception. Disk vendors MAY sell it without my written consent ONLY if they charge no more than $4 higher then the cost of the disk, AND they register it first. NOTHING may be added to it either. NO BBS ads are allowed EXCEPT as zip comments, or as a single SEPERATE text file. FINAL NOTE: If you have any questions, concerns, suggestions, criticisms, donations, remarks, praise or opinions, please write! I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!! (the address is listed above). If you are curious about where these games came from, or how you can get more of my software, or whatever else, please feel free to call me BBS! Here's the stuff: Sorcerer's Quarters BBS (410) 290-3752 24 hrs/day, 7 days/week 2400 Baud Ed T. Toton III "Necromancer" -1992