Thank you for using Mantra! Mantra is FreeWare, so there are no obligations, fees, or time limits attached to this game. We are making Mantra free as a way to contribute to the Macintosh gaming community and because it is our first game. Of course, if anyone wanted to send us money, checks, or credit card numbers we would be the last to object. Actually, what we would like most is feedback on Mantra: since this is our first game and we would like to know if people like/hate it, if you would like to see more games of this sort available, how you acquired Mantra, et cetera. The Syzygy Cult may be reached at:
E-Mail:
SyzygyCult@aol.com
Us Mail:
The Syzygy Cult
114 Noyes Street
Portland, ME, USA, 04103
Story
Saric, a servant of the Ambassador of Kish, had been aboard the ship Seraphim, en route to the kingdom of Zarin. A great storm arose, however, blackening the sky with great billows. Rain smashed across the decks day and night, as if it planned to torture the ship before smashing it across whatever land was handy. Sometime near the peak of the storm, Saric ventured out on deck, partly from curiosity, and partly from a need for fresh air. As he was leaning against the rail, he and several other crew members were lifted from his feet by a huge wave and dashed overboard. Struggling to the surface, Saric saw that the ship was already passing away, too far to reach.
Sure that he was doomed, Saric was relieved when he caught sight of one of the sailors, clinging to a piece of flotsam. He and the sailor clung to the barrel, simply drifting with the current, as neither had either knowledge of the direction of land, nor the strength to seek it out. As dawn broke, Saric could see a most welcome sight ahead: Land! A beach pink on the horizon beckoned to him and the sailor. The two swam with all their might, and now, on the beach at last, Saric has recovered his wits, but the sailor, fatigued and suffering from injuries incurred as he was washed overboard, is dying.
Now Saric wonders where he is, whether this is the land of Zarin, and how he can possibly find his master, the Ambassador, again.
Movement
Both the arrow keys and the keypad can be used to help you move Saric around the screen.
The Command key (the “” key, also known as the “Open Apple” key) makes Saric run whenever it is held down with one of the movement keys. Keep in mind that running for too long will deplete Saric’s stamina.
Weapons and Items
The Space Bar will make Saric thrust out his sword or dagger, if he has one.
The Shift Key will make Saric use the selected alternate weapon or item. These items can range from magic spells and wands to keys and healing potions.
You can select your weapons by pressing “I” at any moment during game-play. This will bring up a list of all of the items that you have. You can then select, for example, the sword you want to use by clicking on it and then pressing the “select” button. (As a short cut you can double-click on the sword/item in the list to select it.) A check-mark will appear to the left of the icon to show it’s your current weapon.
Important: You must select a weapon before you can use it: nothing is automatically equipped.
To find out more information about Saric you can press “S” at any moment during game-play. This will show a dialog with some statistics concerning Saric.
You can acquire weapons and items from treasure chest, bags left over from dead enemies, or from people. To pick up bags and open treasure chests all you have to do is walk over them.
People and Signs
To see what a person (or a sign) has to say, simply walk up and run into them. A box containing the message will appear. Messages tend to vary from useless to very important, so talk to everyone!
Some people are merchants, and when you talk to them, a store dialog will appear. You can then use cash acquired from enemies which you have killed to purchase various types of healing potions.
Extra Information
To get information on your current status press the “S” key at any moment during game-play.
If you forget what certain controls are you can press the “H” key for extra help.
Problems
Mantra has no known bugs and should run with no difficulty on any 68020 (or greater) or PowerPC system capable of 256 color/grays. In other monitor settings Mantra will run equally as well, but at a slower speed.
Mantra works best with Sound Manager 3.0 or greater. Mantra has problems using sound and music at the same time on earlier versions of the Sound Manager.
If the game is slow or jumpy try setting the animation speed from the “Game” menu and using the “Animation” sub-menu.
If memory is low, Mantra should be safely able to squeeze into an allocation of 1,700 kilobytes.
Please report any bugs to SyzygyCult@aol.com.
Special Thanks
“We would like to thank Brett Thayer for doing the graphics in this game. He is a superb graphic artist and has made the game of a higher quality. Thank you for all of your patience!”
