T A N I S                  
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(C) Light & Magic 1994
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TANIS is a first person text-graphics adventure game. The scenario is that of an old AGT text adventure game named "Deena" and created by E. L. (Ev) Cheney (1987-1988). Due to the full graphic interface, there is
no need for the player to type her/his commands. She/He may choose verbs (23 in total)
and nouns from scrolling lists. Furthermore, there are also 17 actions 
available, which are accessed by LEFT clicking of the mouse on certain screen buttons.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
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PC-IBM compatible computer, MS DOS, 500Kb free RAM, 2Mb free space on your 
hard disk, VGA graphics adaptor (640X480 resolution).


USE:
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Go to the TANIS directory, type TANIS and press <ENTER>. The title screen
appears. Press <ENTER> again to see the Intro. Read it! Press <ENTER> again
to access the main game screen.


THE WORLD OF "TANIS"
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At the upper right part of the screen you see the Room Picture Box (RPB).
In the RPB appears the image of the current location (unless it's dark!..)
In the same box, in a window, appears the image of the person of creature
(if there is one) which is located in the current location. At the top right
edge of the RPB you may read the location's name.

Under the RPB there is the Text Box (TB). You may read there the descriptions
of locations, objects, creatures as well as the responses and messages related
with the player's actions. Needless to say, it is the most important part of 
the screen.

If you click at the RPB, you can read a description of the current location in
the TB (this description appears automatically whenever you enter a location).
If you click at the "creature window" you get similarly a description of the
creature (doesn't appear automatically).


FUNCTIONS
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The left part of the screen is reserved for the player's commands and actions.
Under the title there is group of command-activating buttons.

The first column of buttons activates (from top to button) Loading, Saving and
Exiting. If you press the Save (middle) button, you are prompted to enter a
filename for the saved game. You must type it WITHOUT an extension, e.g. 
GAME1 (the program gives automatically the extension SAV). If you enter an 
invalid filename, saving will be canceled and you get a related message. If 
there is already a file with the same name, you will be warned and asked if 
you insist. Answer with (Y)es or (N)o.

If you press the Load (top) button, you will be asked first if you are sure,
and, if (Y)es, a scrolling list will appear, containing all the saved games in
the directory (you cannot change directory). You select by clicking the name
you want. To see more names, you can click at the top or bottom arrows of the
list (this applies for ALL scrolling lists in the game). You can see up to
128 saved games. (You can save more, but you can see and load only 128).

If you select the Exit (bottom) button, you will be asked if you are sure, and
after displaying the statistics, the game ends and you return to DOS.

From the other buttons, the middle one (compass-shaped) displays the player's
current status. That is, the objects carried, total weight and size (volume)
carried (you can only carry up to 100 weight units and 100 size units), the 
current score, the number of turns played and the number of locations 
visited. The objects carried, if any, are displayed in a scrolling list. 
To return to the game you click one of the objects. If there are no objects, 
you return to the game by pressing <ENTER>.

The other buttons are the DIRECTION buttons. Their first function is to show
you which exits from the current location are visible (gold-yellow color). The
other function is MOVEMENT. By clicking one of the visible exits you move to
the corresponding direction. These directions are (as displayed):

NorthWest     North     NorthEast     Up     In

West            *       East          -      -

SouthWest     South     SouthEast     Down   Out

NOTE:
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1.  Movement can be effected towards a NON-VISIBLE direction, though not in
    the same way. You must issue a COMMAND for this purpose...

2.  It isn't necessary for the exits displayed at the room picture (RPB) to
    coincide with the REAL visible exists. Only the button-displayed exits are
    valid.


COMMANDS
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First, let us give a definition of what is a GAME TURN. A turn is the time
unit in the game. Generally it has statistical significance, but it is very
important when dealing with a HOSTILE CREATURE (these creatures block 
movement). Every hostile creature will tolerate failed attacks or even the 
very presence of the player in the same location, only for a specific number 
of turns, number which differs from creature to creature. Due to this, you 
must be very carefull and not make unnecessary actions when confronting such 
a creature.

A turn counts every time you issue a command, as described below, or every 
time you move or attempt to move towards a VISIBLE direction. A turn DOES NOT
count when you Load, Save or Exit, when you click at the RPB or the "creature 
window", when you click the status button (compass) or when you randomly 
click or press keys. 

To issue a command, you must first press <SPACE>. A scrolling list, light grey
backgrounded, will appear containing all available verbs. The verbs are 
alphabetically ordered except for "Get" which is displayed first. If you click
on a verb, you can read it in the Command Box (CB), under the button group, 
while a new list (cyan backgrounded) appears, containg the objects available
for the verb selected (e.g. GET SWORD). After clicking on an object, you
can see the full command displayed in the CB. If you press <SPACE>, the 
command is activated and the turn COUNTS, while pressing <ESC> cancels the
command and the turn DOES NOT COUNT.

Remarks:
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1.  Some verbs require a second argument. In this case, a third list (magenta
    backgrounded) appears, from which you may select (e.g. OPEN the DOOR with
    the KEY).

2.  If the verb concerns the creature or person which is in the current
    location, the creature or person is automatically included in the command.
    For example, if you select the verb TALK and there is a GUARD in the 
    current location, the command will be formed automatically to "TALK to 
    the GUARD".
    
3.  Sometimes you will be prompted to press <ENTER> after a command or 
    function.

4.  For the rest, it'better to try for yourself. It's more fun...



                                 HAVE A GOOD TIME
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                                                        Light & Magic
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