Wombat Manual Page: 1 THE GOLDEN WOMBAT OF DESTINY by Huw Collingbourne * * * IMPORTANT * * * ... a brief guide to starting the game ... FILES NEEDED ON THE DISK: << NECESSARY FILES >> Your copy of the game disk MUST include all of the following files. If any of them are missing, the game won't work! WOMBAT.EXE ( the main game file ) R.DAT O.DAT T.DAT REC.DAT ( Data files ) << OPTIONAL FILES >> There are several optional files which you may wish to use such 'Setup.Com' and 'Read.Exe'. None of these is essential to the game but you should read the file 'Read.txt' before deleting any file from your game disk. To do this, simply enter the word READ at the Dos prompt. You should make a complete backup of the disk BEFORE altering or deleting any files from the disk. STARTING THE GAME: "The Golden Wombat of Destiny" is an all text adventure game. It is recommended that you make a special self-booting disk when playing it ( see section headed "Creating A Game Disk" later in this documentation ). However, it may be copied onto any floppy or hard disk and started by typing: Wombat at the Dos prompt. Thereafter, you are on your own! NOTES ON THIS MANUAL: You are not expected to wade through this lot if you don't want to. You may find it handy to refer to the accepted vocabulary and the editing commands which you may use. The rest is for reference only ( e.g. if you want to change the colours ). However, you should at least read the notes on SAVING A GAME and also the notes about MEMORY RESIDENT PROGRAMS. * * * * * * * * * * * Wombat Manual Page: 2 VOCABULARY: THE WORDS YOU CAN USE: The parser is not one of the most sophisticated the world has ever known ( I'm working on that one at the moment! ). But to be truthful, neither is it one of the least sophisticated the computer adventure game has ever known either! It understands a fairly rigidly fixed grammar and doesn't have a lot of time for unnecessary adjectives. It rarely accepts plurals. Although 'trees' would be OK, 'wombats' and 'mice' most definitely are not! You may only use one complete command at a time. "Put the small bottle on the ground" is fine, but "Put the small bottle on the ground and open it." isn't. This goes for taking and dropping things too. Get everything one at a time and don't try the old trick "take all" (often used by sneaky adventurers to fool a game into generating a list of significant objects - 'You can't take the axe, you can't take the sword' etc.), because this game doesn't let you get away with that! If you don't care for all these restrictions, there are, nevertheless, some positive points too. Unlike many other games, The Golden Wombat will rarely reject an input command simply because there are one or two words that it does not understand. If possible, it will always try to make some sense of input although this may mean that it has to check that you really did mean to say what it thinks you meant. For example, you might type in: "Listen to the acrobatic little wombat." The game will politely(ish) inform you that it didn't understand all the words you used, but: "Do you want to listen to the wombat? ...Y/N" If you type 'Y', then the noises the wombat is making will be revealed in all their wonderment. If you type 'N', then you will be free to go on and do something more boring. If you type in "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vale and hill," you are likely to generate a less sympathetic response! Wombat Manual Page: 3 This is a list of some of the verbs which The Golden Wombat of Destiny currently understands: break, drink, drop, eat, examine, feed, feel, get, give, go, hit, kick, kill, listen, look, open, pick up, press, pull, push, put, read, shout, shut, smash, smell, take, throw, touch, wake, yell. These commands may be used in various forms. All of the following examples would be quite acceptable (though few of them would actually be useful!): "Throw the lamp at the door." "Put the mud in the keyhole." "Give the vegetation to the mouse." "Look inside the box" "Listen to the tree." "Kill the wombat with the sign." Some of the words mentioned in the text may not be understood when you type them in. In particular, the room names and various locations are not in the usable vocabulary. Thus, although you may be told that there is a 'turret' or a 'tower' near the 'Ruined Area', none of these descriptions will be understood. Any semblance of intelligence in this game (artificial or otherwise) is purely accidental! You may type commands in upper or lower case. Punctuation is ignored, as are all numerals and extra spaces between words. "PUt the Mo2USe Into the Box!", although inelegant and also rather silly, would be OK. Wombat Manual Page: 4 ABBREVIATED COMMANDS: Abbreviations which the game understands are all outlined in the Instruction window which you should view at the start of the game (Type 'Y' when asked if you want instructions). Here is a brief summary of the most important ones: 'Q' : quit the game. 'L' : look. 'I' : Print an inventory (the things you are carrying). 'N','S','E','W','U','D' : Compass directions, plus 'U' for 'Go Up' and 'D' for 'Go Down'. They get you around the game. 'Save', 'Restore' : saves a game or returns to the point at which you saved it. ( see notes which follow ). SAVING or RESTORING A GAME: You may Save a game at any time by typing the word 'save'. You will then be prompted for a save file name. You may restore a previously saved game by typing 'restore'. The game is saved on the default save drive. This will be the same drive that your game disk is in unless you specify another drive when you first load the game. This may be done in the 'Help Window' which may be entered by typing 'Y' when asked if you'd like to read the Help notes or change the save drive in the opening screen. Alternatively, it is possible to specify the save drive when first loading the game. This is done with a single parameter which must be a letter between A and D. For example, 'Wombat b' will set 'B' as the save drive. The opening screen will be bypassed when the game is loaded in this way. The extension '.Sav' is automatically added to the file name which you specify when saving. If you experience any problems with the save/restore feature, you should carefully read the notes on Memory Resident Programs and on 'What To Do In case Of Problems' in this manual. Wombat Manual Page: 5 INPUT FOR LAZY TYPISTS: In addition to the abbreviated commands, there are several other ways in which you may reduce the amount of typing you have to do in The Golden Wombat. ^F: To repeat your last command, type Control-F. (hold down the control button and the F). The entire command is repeated and may then be edited in the usual way. ^D: You may also repeat (and edit) a command by typing Control-D. In this case, your previous command will be brought up one letter at a time, which allows you to alter it. For example, you say "Take the wombat". You are told "The wombat isn't here." You hold down Control-D. One letter a time "Take the " appears on screen once more. At this point you stop holding Control-D and enter some other word in place of "wombat". EDITING COMMANDS: To edit a command that you've typed in ( or retrieved with ^D or ^F ), use the delete-backspace key |<--| rather than the cursor movement arrows. SCORE: Much as in life, there is no scoring in The Golden Wombat. However, for those of you who may be impatient for the day of judgment, a summary of your progress is provided in the closing screen of the game. THE POINT: The point of The Golden Wombat is Destiny itself. Obviously. You'll know when you've found it. Possibly. Wombat Manual Page: 6 SCREEN COLOURS: I wrote and tested this game on an Olivetti M-24 and a Compaq III, each of which has a colour graphics adaptor and a monochrome screen. The default colours look OK on a mono screen such as the Olivetti's (or AT&T) with colour graphics card. Since the default colours may look pretty yuck! on other computer systems, I have allowed the colours to be configured to your own tastes. Please note, that (contrary to what has been said in Public Domain journals) the ability to change the colours of the game does NOT mean that a colour monitor is required! THE SETUP PROGRAM: This is where you alter the Wombat's colours. To start this program, enter: SetUp at the Dos prompt. SetUp shows you just what all the chosen colours will look like as you actually choose them. When you are satisfied, it writes a special Colour definition file called 'Colours.txt' which will re-define all the colours in the game itself. You may quit Setup at any time by pressing Control-C or Control-Break. COLOURS.TXT: Colours.txt is a purely optional file. If it's not there the game will work anyway but it will use the default colours. TEXT-MODE WOMBAT The Setup program also allows you to play the Wombat in pure text mode. This means that you won't be shown a separate window at the top of the screen containing details of location and moves. I have added this option since some computers may have no graphics card or a display which is unable to use the windowing feature. In general, I suggest that you select text mode ONLY if you have already tried playing the game and found that you have problems with the display. PROBLEMS WITH ALTERING COLOURS You can alter colours as often as you like. This causes no incompatibility problems as regards restoring games which have previously been saved. However, if you restore games that were saved as text mode while using the default windowing setup (or vice versa), you may hit some snags. The saved game may try to write to windows that are no longer there or write to a full screen which is now divided into windows. The simple answer is, if you choose text mode, then stick to it! Wombat Manual Page: 7 DOING IT THE HARD WAY You can manually create a file called Colours.txt using any standard text editor or word processor which saves in ASCII format. I don't advise this. But I'm providing details anyway- for instance, you may want to run it in text mode but alter the colours even so. If you must use this method, be sure to enter one number or character per line and not omit any lines. Probably the easiest way to alter colours for text mode wombat is to set the game to text mode using the SetUp program then manually adjust only those colours you don't care for. The first line contains an upper case character. All other lines contain an integer colour code as follows. Line 1: 'C' or 'T' (specifying CGA or Text mode) Line 2: Integer( 0 to 15 ) = Main text colour Line 3: " " = Background Line 4: " " = Highlight Line 5: " " = Top Frame Line 6: " " = Line around top Frame Line 7: " " = Text in top window Line 8: " " = Background of top window Line 9: " " = Intro text Line 10: " = Intro background Line 11: " = Subtitle( version number etc.) Line 12: " = Intro frame Line 13: " = Line around intro frame Line 14: " = Highlight in intro help window Line 15: " = Game name in Intro Line 16: " = Help frame Line 17: " = Help background Line 18: " = Line around help window Possible integer values to be entered in lines 2 to 18 are: 0 - black; 1 - blue; 2 - green; 3 - cyan; 4 - red; 5 - magenta; 6 - brown; 7 - light grey; 8 - dark grey; 9 - light blue; 10 - light green; 11 - light cyan; 12 - light red; 13 - light magenta; 14 - yellow; 15 - white. Wombat Manual Page: 8 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * * * WARNING * * * !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MEMORY RESIDENT PROGRAMS: The saving and restoring of games may not work if memory resident programs are loaded. Some common examples of such programs are 'friendly interfaces' to DOS and utilities which may be called up on top of other programs. Even bits of DOS itself can alter memory, so beware of using MODE or other Dos programs. Programs to watch out for include: SideKick, Windows, Gem, SuperKey, ProKey, Spoolers, RamDisks, International keyboard programs (KeybUK.Com, Keybit.com etc.), Networking software, Desqview. This does not mean that Save and Restore will never work when using these programs. In fact, most of them should not affect saving and restoring done in any one game session. However, because The Wombat saves using absolute memory locations, Memory Resident Programs may screw up restores done at earlier sessions. This is because the resident program may load itself into a bit of memory where The Wombat expects to find the things it has saved. If you absolutely cannot bear to be without resident proggies, then at least be consistent. If you always load the programs in exactly the same order and don't make any alterations to their previous configurations, then your saves should restore without problem. To ensure that this is the case, you might like to create a Batch file using an ordinary text editor. An example of such a file might be: superdrv b: sk wombat The batch file must then be saved with a '.Bat' extension Then, instead of loading the programs separately, you need only enter the name of the batch file at the Dos prompt (for example, you would enter 'Wom' for a file called 'Wom.Bat'). If you are unsure whether resident programs are likely to affect your saves then << Always save your current position BEFORE restoring a game saved from an earlier session >>. If the restore fails you should be able to restore your more recently saved game without problem. Wombat Manual Page: 9 If a restore has failed, you should get an error message to tell you so. You will then be given the opportunity to restore a different file ( the one you just saved! ), to restart the game or to quit. If you restart the game, the Golden Wombat is reloaded just as though you'd started it up for the first time. Note: some programs may 'alter' the state of memory so that even when they have been unloaded, they can still cause problems with restoring a game. If you have been using a program which causes this problem, the best thing to do is to reboot before playing The Wombat. Programs which do this kind of thing should be frowned upon and despised as being definitely a bit on the naughty side - (and you thought hypocrisy had gone out of fashion!) CREATING A GAME DISK If you have any doubts about whether or not you use any memory resident software which might clash with Wombat, you might consider creating a special 'self-booting' game disk. To do this, format a disk using the command 'Format /s' (explained in your Dos manual). Then copy all the files needed by Wombat using the command 'Copy a:*.* b:' (on a twin disk PC this command copies all files from the a: to the b: drive. On a single disk PC exactly the same command will copy all files back onto a new disk in the a: drive - even though 'b:' was specified). Now create an autoexec.bat file using a text editor or by entering the following command at the 'A>' prompt: Copy con autoexec.bat wombat ^Z ( The ^Z is added by holding down the Control key and pressing the Z key ). Now, to load the game, simply place the disk into the a: drive and re-boot or switch off the computer and switch it back on again. This self-booting disk will load no extraneous programs so you should never experience any memory-resident clashes. Wombat Manual Page: 10 WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF PROBLEMS... * If the program crashes for any reason, check - a) that all required files are on the current disk and directory. These include all the data files with a '.dat' extension. The required files are listed at the beginning of the manual. b) are all the files valid? An invalid file is one with the same name as one of the required files but which isn't the one the program expects. An 'O.Dat' from an earlier version of the Wombat would be an invalid file, for example. In this case, the Wombat will try to use this file even though its contents are not what it's expecting. The Wombat's responses to errors of this type are unpredictable...! c) have you read the warnings about memory resident programs? Take heed. d) you may have a dodgy disk! e) you've found a bug. Turn off the machine. Swear very loudly at me. Try again. ERROR MESSAGES It is possible that the program may terminate with an error message. Normally these messages should be self-explanatory (e.g. "Disk full"). If you get a message that is not clear, it may be worth bearing in mind the following: Errors numbered between 1 and 199 are IO errors. Errors numbered above that are 'Fatal errors'. Many IO errors may be recovered from. You will be given a message and the game will continue. Some errors inevitably cause program termination. For example, the program will halt if one of the data files cannot be located. The error numbers are standard Dos error numbers as listed in the Technical Reference Manual which, unfortunately, you (and I) are most unlikely to own. Common IO errors may involve trying to save or restore files that don't exist, restoring a corrupt file, reading in data that is incorrect (may affect files with the .dat extension or Colours.txt), trying to save a game on a disk which is full, unformatted, protected by a tab, in the drive the wrong side up, formatted for a different machine (formatted for 1.2Mb but used on a 360K drive, for example). If the cause of the problem isn't clear, check your disk, check that you have all the correct data files on the current drive/directory. Check your hardware. Run 'Chkdsk' on your game disk (see your Dos manual for guidance). Most IO errors can be corrected if you take the time and trouble to track down the cause and rectify it! Wombat Manual Page: 11 N.B..... The Golden Wombat is a public domain adventure game. It is absolutely NOT 'user supported' or 'shareware'. That is to say, I am happy for anyone who wants to play it to do so without paying for the privilege. Naturally, some clubs, bulletin boards and commercial organisations may charge a fee to cover costs of copying and distribution. In the case of a commercial concern, I accept that they may charge a bit extra too so they can make a profit. But please bear in mind that I am the person who did all the work and even so, I'm giving it away. You may, therefore, feel justifiably annoyed if somebody charges you a great deal more than the costs of media and postage for the game. If you find yourself in this position, I suggest you kick up a stink with the people you bought it from (I emphasise again, I don't receive any money from anybody whether they be 'end users' or distributors). If somebody cons you that the Wombat is Shareware or if you are ever asked for a 'registration fee', you have been well and truly had. In this case, please contact me as well as the people who sold it to you. << CHANGES TO PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF THE GOLDEN WOMBAT >> Version 1.1 * Bug fix done to improve save/restore. You still need to be cautious about memory resident programs, however. * It is now possible to load the game with a parameter to specify the drive on which you'd like to save the game. The parameter should be in the form of a single letter between A and D. For example, entering: 'Wombat C' at the Dos prompt sets the save drive to 'C'. The opening screen of the game is bypassed when it is loaded in this way. * In case of a bad restore you are now given three choices - restore another file, restart the game, quit. * The SetUp program: you can now break out of SetUp using Control-C or Control-Break. No file will be written. Wombat Manual Page: 12 Version 1.2 * Overlay files removed. The Golden Wombat program now resides in a single program file - Wombat.exe. This means that the game requires more memory to run (around 250K) but there are no longer any disk swaps during game play. * Although there is still no score, a comment and a 'ranking' have been added at the conclusion of the game to give you some indication of your progress. Note that ranks are not given lightly, so don't despond if your efforts seem to be poorly rewarded. * Control-F is now the way to repeat a command - not Control-R. * The game may now be run in pure 'text mode' for those with computers which cannot use the Wombat's windowing. This must be set using the Setup program. * The game now clears the screen on exit. This was added by request - I'm told it's handy for anyone who sees their boss approaching when playing the game at work! ...not that I approve of that kind of thing, of course. * One of the puzzles has been made slightly more difficult. I realised that you Wombatters were being given an easy time- and that was never my intention! Wombat Manual Page: 13 NOTES FOR NOVICE ADVENTURERS: * Make a map. * When you enter somewhere for the first time, you'll be given a full description of your surroundings. If you enter the same place later on, you'll only get the name of the place. The full description may be recalled if you type 'l' or 'look'. * 'i' is a very useful command. It prints a list of all the things you are carrying. * All of the puzzles may be solved from information given in the game itself. True, some of them can be solved using other sources of information (some people have resorted to books on Antipodean wildlife and the Works of Shakespeare) but this is not really necessary. Often you'll need to find a clue in order to solve a problem. Have fun.... Huw