MINDSTONE ------- PLAYING AND LOADING INSTRUCTIONS To load Mindstone simply ensure that the tape is fully rewound, and then enter the following command, press play on your recorder, and the game will load and automatically start when loading is complete. LOAD"" and press ENTER Note that there is an on-screen counter counting down during loading, and when it reaches zero there will be a brief pause before the game begins. Control Selection When the game is loaded you will be presented with a choice of playing controls: Kempston Joystick, Sinclair Joystick, or Keyboard. Select 1, 2 or 3 depending upon which method you wish to use. However, if you select one of the joystick options please note that the game does assume that the relevant interface is attached. If it is not then you will have to power-off, attach the interface and reload, or simply reload and select a different option. Once selected, the game assumes that method of control for the entire game. Mode Selection Having chosen your method of control you will then be faced with another menu requesting you to choose between the keyboard-based method of playing Mindstone or the 'icon' based method. Having selected one or the other key '0' then starts the game. In the keyboard mode each key has a specific function such as for moving North, or South, or to Buy, or Eat, or to Fight, and so on. In the icon driven mode you control an arrow which you move to select direction control or an action by one of the 4 characters of the game. The various activities or methods of fighting are then selected using cursor control from menus and icons. Controls 1: Keyboard mode The following commands/activities/etc are on the following keys: Q - North, A - South, O - West, P - East, Z - Pick Up, X - Drop, U - Use, G - Buy, T - Trade, H - Examine, M - Meditate, L - Look, D - Drink, F - Dig, E - Eat, SPACE - Attack, S - Status. The keys 1 to 4 select the four characters in your troupe (1 - Prince Kyle, 2 - Merel, 3 - Quin, 4 - Taina). Spells are picked up with B, Dropped with V and cast with C. We recommend that you write out this list of keys onto a separate piece of paper to have with you by the board whilst operating in this mode. Controls 2: The Icon Mode In this mode you will find that you need to remember less in terms of which key does what, but the above keyboard mode (once learnt) does tend to be a faster mode to play in . . . but the choice is yours. In the icon mode you move a flashing arrow to be below either one of the four characters or below the compass icon (indicating your wish to move). The arrow is moved using the O and P keys - which also double as the West and East keys too. To select an icon you simply move the arrow beneath it, and press ENTER to select it. Having selected, for instance, the compass to move you then simply select which direction you wish to move in by pressing one of the following: Q - North, A - South, O - West, P - East. Having moved the game leaves you once again ready to move if you wish. If you do then simply press one of the keys for a direction and you will move that way (if it is possible). If you do not wish to move again, then simply press ENTER to exit from the movement mode. Should you try to move in a direction where there is no exit then the program will tell you so. Selecting one of the characters is similarly done. Having selected one of the characters you are then faced with a menu of three items: EXIT, ACTION or ATTACK. Select ACTION (for example) by using the Q and A keys to move the indicator up and down, and ENTER to select the option. You will then be faced with another menu with further options on it such as BUY, EAT, MEDITATE, EXAMINE, TRADE, etc. Any of these can easily be selected by use of Q, A, O, P and ENTER. To get back to the main screen with the characters and compass again you simply select the EXIT option. To FIGHT or to use, pick up, or drop spells then select the FIGHT option. Playing the game You are Prince Kyle leading your band of loyal warriors in search of Nemesar and the Mindstone he has secreted away. Your troupe of warriors and you move together through the Shadowlands in search of the Mindstone, but you will note that each of you has differing 'Psyche' and 'Strength'. If the character's Psyche is high he/she is more likely to enjoy success in using Spells, but only if his/her Strength factor is high is he/she likely to be successful on armed combat. Each of you may carry up to four objects and one spell. Needless to say, which character is carrying what, or trying to use which spell is a key factor in this game. You share your money as a group, and so when any one of you wishes to buy something an indication of the total Gold (Gs) you are carrying between you is given. Usually when being asked how much you wish to pay for something the Q key will increase your offer, and the A key decreases it. ENTER should be pressed when you have decided what to offer. Note that you can often use the EXAMINE facility to determine just how much you can 'get away with' offering to buy something. Indeed, this facility can tell you if there is anything worth buying in the first place . . . EXAMINE will generally tell you about the location you are in. It will tell you whether something is blocking your way, and what it is. It can tell you that a trade is present, what he has, and possibly what he wants in exchange for it. However, you will have to use the LOOK facility to see what objects (if any) are lying near by. Note, though, that SPELLS are magic and you will learn little about their whereabouts by use of either EXAMINE or LOOK. Instead you should look out for the following icon which will appear for a moment just below the right hand side of the upper third of the screen to indicate that a SPELL is present: =-=-=- You can also tell by a similar method if there is an object to be found at a location. In this case a 'hand' icon appears just below the right hand side of the upper third of the screen. Note though that these icons flash on and off fairly quickly - so be vigilant! All actions (such as trading, fighting, buying, etc) are animated in the upper third of the screen. You will encounter many traders and foes in your travels through the Shadowlands, and you will also have the chance to find a multitude of objects and spells. Not all objects have great significance or use, though, so think well before picking up absolutely everything you find! Saving games and Loading saved games You can exit the game at any time by pressing BREAK. When you do this you will be offered a choice of 4 options. You can Save your current situation to tape, Load in a previously saved position, and then you can either Abort that game, or resume the game where it was left off. The Quest Some say that the Mindstone is part of the original substance that formed the Land, others claim that the Gods themselves dropped it to earth, yet others would have us believe that it is of little value at all. But this is not so. Since before the dawn of man in the lands of the Teia the Mindstone was, and it will be even when man is long since forgotten on this place. Centuries have passed since it was first used by the Rulers of Calalia, the Land of the Wise as it came to be known. For all that time the Rulers had kept it safe within the Castles of their Rulership, and each had used it in turn to influence good and deter evil in the Land. But the Teia had fallen on unfortunate times when Nemesar was born to Shalmera, the Queen of Jorma - current ruler of the Teia peoples. Jorma had two sons, Kyle and Nemesar, but from near birth Jorma could not help but favour the blond haired Kyle, who would one day inevitably take over from him as the new Ruler of the Land. Nemesar was barely 17 years of age when he became drawn in by the dark side of his nature. Being perhaps too concerned with the larger picture of his Kingdom, Jorma made the error of overlooking the tragic developments in his son, and the growing jealousy that was clearly gaining a foothold in Nemesar over his elder brothers favoured position. If King Jorma had but used the powers given to him by the Mindstone more fully he could easily have averted the events of that terrible evening. That evening when all the Land seemed so calm that the birds seemed to have ceased to sing, the grass ceased to waft in the winds. Movement there was, but not a sound to disturb the atmosphere surrounding the Royal Castle of Jorma-Krarn. Nemesar moved swiftly, seeking first the location of the stone within his parents private quarters. Facing opposition from his own Mother he cruelly despatched her in a crazed mind that could only have meant that the dark side was in almost total control. In Nemesar's hands the Mindstone at once both screamed a psyche scream of complaint and distress, and also throbbed with the energy of the dark side, giving powers to Nemesar that even Walpron the Wise never feared in the worst of his visions. Prince Kyle awoke with a sound in his mind such as he had never experienced before - as if every living creature on the face of the Land was screaming as one voice in bitter distress. But his mind was clear, unusually so. He rushed to the window in time to see a shadowy figure galloping off on a stallion garneshed in silver trimming. Only one person could ride that beast and that was his master Kyle's younger brother Nemesar. Fearing the worst Kyle ran to his Parents apartments to find his father weeping over the still form of Queen Shalmera. With blood on his raiments King Jorma slowly raised his head and with a silent scream opened his mouth wide. Transfixed and in disbelief Kyle saw each moment pass as if moving in treacle, as before his eyes his father aged into a man seemingly more than a century old, with hair white and thinning to near total baldness. King Jorma's mouth came together and in what seemed to almost be a parody of speech his mouth formed the words: "Kyle, my son . . . you must . . . must seek your brother . . . all is lost for the land and the rule of Teia if you fail . . . your brother must be . . . the Stone . . . you must find the st. . ." And his father collapsed seeming to have aged some fifty years in as many seconds. A day past whilst Kyle arranged for his closest and most loyal companions to join him on the quest, and whilst he ensured that both the Kingdom and its King, his father, would be well looked after in his absence. This done he made his farewells to his ageing father, who by now seemed older than any human Kyle had ever seen. "My son", Jorma whispered, "My son, you must not fail us, I wish you luck . . ." And so it was that Prince Kyle and his companions Merel, Taina and Quin set off for the forbidden Shadowlands in search of Nemesar and for the Mindstone. Acknowledgements Are due to many people, but in particular to John Parsons, Andrew Mellanby and Jack Wilkes of The Edge. Thanks too to The Edge for their encouragement and support. Mindstone is copyright © 1986 The Edge/Softek International Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 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