CATACOMB

SG
catacomb
wholething 70,58

^Cby John Carmack

Your hand gestures, palm upward, in a delicate, practiced
position. Suddenly, a small ball of light appears from
nothingness, sparkling with energy.  You turn your hand forward,
extending your fingers rigidly.  A bolt of brilliant light leaps
out with supernatural fierceness, making the hairs on your arm
stand on end.  The bolt courses through the air, illuminating
the room with harsh light, and striking a metal container.  Its
contents begin to bubble,then boil with incredible heat.
Grimacing, you withdraw your hand and the light is gone.

    "I'm the most powerful magician in the world," you think to
yourself, "and here I am making tea."

You walk over to the kettle, pour a cup, and sit down at the
kitchen table.

    "There must be more to life," you think, sipping your Orange
Pekoe.

There is a rap on the door.

    "Come in," you say listlessly.  The door opens, revealing an
impressive cloaked figure.

    "Petton Everhail," its voice booms out.

    "Yes?" you say, trying to stop the teacup from shaking
against the saucer.

    "You must journey to the ruins of the Kieralon Empire," the
raspy voice says. "There you must find the Kieralon Palace.
Great powers of evil have entered it, seeking to rob its
treasures and reap its magic.  You must see that the evil ones
are vanquished and the Great Palace is open to the powers of
good.  Only your great magic will triumph.  "And besides," the
voice said in a confidential tone, "you seem kind of bored."

You cringe at the last comment, though you know the creature is
right.

    "Who are you?  Why are you telling me this?" you demand.

The creature floats forward, its raspy breath growing louder.
Slowing and stopping silently, it lifts its cowl.  It is a man,
his weathered face betraying wisdom and pain.  He stares at you
for a moment.

    "Aw, why can't you just go there, blast stuff, and get my--er
--the treasure back?  We'll split it fifty-fifty," he says.

    "YOUR treasure?" you ask, uncomprehendingly.  "The Kieralon
Empire fell apart over two hundred years ago."

    "And I am Terexin, High Wizard of the Kieralon.  I left all
my scrolls back there, which you are welcome to.  But in the
deepest catacombs I stored all of my great wealth.  More than
you can imagine.  I left when the castle was taken, but the gold
is still there.  Retrieve it and we will live as kings.

    "Take this Bag of Holding.  Just whip all the chests into it.
It is a magic bag and will hold anything you put into it."

You take the bag and look at Terexin.  You look at all the dusty
mementos on the wall from adventures long ago.  You look at the
teacup.


You look into Terexin's eyes.  You believe him.  A smile grows
on your face.

    "Let's do it," you say.  You collect your things and march
off for the Catacombs under the Kieralon Palace.



^BHOW TO PLAY CATACOMB^B

There are ten levels to the Catacombs.  To exit the level, you
must enter a magic teleportation mirror.  There are many things
that will prevent you from doing this:

 Doors          You must have a key to get through a door.
                Just walk into the door while holding a key to
                open it.

 Walls          Most block your path, but some may fall under
                the strain of your magic.

 Goblins        These nasty folks will kill you if you are not
                careful.

 Skeletons      They inhabit the area, and you are really hoping
 Ogres          you don't meet up with any dragons.
 Gargoyles


There are also many neat things to collect:


 Keys           Get you through doors

 Potions        Heal all your wounds

 Chests         Give you money (points)

 Scrolls        May contain a bolt (powerful strike in one
                direction) or a nuke (powerful strike in all
                four directions). These are good for very
                desperate situations.


You have a certain number of body points.  When that goes to
zero, you die. When you die, the game is over.  Drink a potion
to heal up.

When you cast a bolt of energy, holding the button down until
the Power gauge is full will release a superbolt, destroying
most everything in its wake.


^BCONTROLS^B

 You may use the joystick, keyboard, or mouse.

                 JOYSTICK        KEYBOARD        MOUSE
 Move            Move stick      Arrows (8462)   Move mouse
 Fire            Button 1        Ctrl            Button 1
 Keep facing in  Button 2        Alt             Button 2
 same direction

(This allows you strafe a whole hallway by just moving back and
 forth and firing.  Try it--you'll like it.)

 Take Potion    SPACE or P      SPACE or P      SPACE or P
 Bolt           B               B               B
 Nuke           Enter or N      Enter or N      Enter or N


^BOTHER CONTROLS^B

    Pressing F1 brings up the Help screen.

    Pressing F2 will turn the sound on and off.

    Pressing F3 allows you to choose what controls you wish to
    use (joystick, keyboard, or mouse).

    F4 will reset the game.

    F9 will pause the game.

    F10 will quit Catacomb.



^BPLAYING HINTS^B


   Keep an eye on your body points.  They disappear quickly.


   There are TEN levels. Really.


   Many things are hidden behind explodable walls.  There may
    be no other way to get into a room besides shooting through
    a wall.


   Save up nukes for really dangerous situations.  Nuking two
    goblins may look impressive, but it is wasteful.


   These levels were made by a twisted, devious intellect, so
    watch out for dirty tricks!



^BCONCLUSION^B

Good luck, Petton.  You're going to need it!


^C^BOutside PCDD^B

To run this program outside ^BPC Disk Downunder^B, type: ^BCATACOMB^B.

DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:

CATACOMB.EXE
DEMO.CAT
SOUNDS.CAT
ALL LEVEL*.CAT
