 
DOG STAR ADVENTURE
written by Lance Micklus
(c)(p) copyright 1979-81 by
Lance Micklus, Inc.
Burlington, Vt, 05401
All rights reserved
     Welcome to the world of Adventure. Most instruction booklets tell you how to play the game. This instruction book won't. The object of the game is to figure out how to play it. There are clues almost everywhere you look, so use your imagination.
 
PREMISE OF THE GAME
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     I, your computer-puppet, am hidden in the cockpit of Princess Leya's shuttle craft. I will be your eyes and your ears. You will tell me what to do in plain English. If I can understand your commands and can do them, then I'll do exactly what you asked and will tell you the result.
     The shuttle craft where I am hiding is inside General Doom's Battle Platform, which is almost like an aircraft carrier in outer space. The shuttle craft is located on the flight deck and is held in place by a tractor beam.
     The evil General Doom and his Roche Soldiers are ready to launch an attack against the Forces of Freedom, led by Princess Leya. Enroute to a secret command center on the planet Harris Seven, Princess Leya's shuttle craft - the ship I'm in right now - was attacked by a fleet of General Doom's Rat Tail Fighters. The princess was taken prisoner, brought here, and now I don't know where she is.
     To make matters worse, on board Princess Leya's ship was the entire treasury of her Freedom Fighting Force in a chest containing Melidium Crystals, the currency in this part of the galaxy. The Princess is also wearing a necklace made of Shinestones.
Encoded in one of the stones is the location and strength of her Freedom Fighting Force. Hopefully, Doom has not yet discovered the secret of the necklace.
     It is possible, although very difficult, that we may be able to save the day by rescuing Princess Leya, her necklace, and the treasury. But even if we don't, anything you and I can do to foil General Doom's plans may help win a victory for peace and freedom in the galaxy.
     We must be very careful of guards who are all over the ship. We could easily be caught and imprisoned. Sometimes you may only have enough time to give me one command which, if not the appropriate action to take, could easily end the game for both of us.
     Remember, I understand ordinary English in one- or two-word commands. If you want me to go somewhere, just give me the direction - like SOUTH. You can abbreviate directions if you like by just typing the first two letters - like SO. I can GET or DROP something just by your typing one of those two words followed by the name of the object you want me to manipulate. Other words I understand include HELP, INVEN, LOOK, SCORE, and QUIT. Of course, there are many other words in my vocabulary but you'll have to figure them out for yourself as you play.

LOAD & SAVE GAME
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     If you have to stop playing in the middle of a game, you can save your current game on tape so that the game can be continued later where you left off. To do this, first load a blank tape into your tape recorder. Make certain that when you start recording that you will not be recording on the tape leader. Instead of typing your next move, issue the command SAVE GAME to the computer. The computer will then ask you to press the (ENTER) key when you are ready to record on the tape.
     To restart a previously saved game, begin by loading the program and then the data tape as if you were going to start from the beginning. Once the game has started, load your tape recorder with the tape that contains the previously saved game and get the recorder ready to playback the tape. Instead of entering a move, type the command LOAD GAME. The computer will tell you to press the (ENTER) key when you're ready to play back the tape. After pressing the (ENTER) key, the tape should read into the computer's memory and you will now pick up the game exactly where you left off when you saved the game.

HISTORY OF THE GAME
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     DOG STAR ADVENTURE is just one of many Adventure type games which have been written over the years. Adventure type games have their roots in a game called Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) which you can buy at almost any hobby store for around $12.00.
     D&D is a role playing game that requires several players. Each player creates a character and the group of players together explore a fantasy world. The game is controlled by one player - call the Dungeon Master - who makes up the fantasy world and acts as the referee.
     The Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Standford University created the first Adventure game. In fact, the game was just called ADVENTURE. Like D&D, the players explored a fantasy world but this time the world was inside the computer instead of on a playing board. Rather than having several players, ADVENTURE had only one player which was the computer's character controlled by the human. Furthermore, the computer also played the role of Dungeon Master.
     The problem with the original ADVENTURE was that it required a very large computer system to play on. In recent years, a large number of programmers have been able to use the ADVENTURE format to create new fantasy worlds using programs that could run on the average size microcomputer.
     In playing the game, it is easy to get discouraged. Adventure-type games are basically a puzzle with a finite solution. It's not only a matter of knowing what to do, but it is also a matter of figuring out how to explain it to the computer. Once you know all of the secrets, you can play DOG STAR ADVENTURE is ten minutes and get a perfect score. Good luck.

DON'T BE A PIRATE
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     This program is sold to you with the understanding that it will be used solely for entertainment purposes on a single TRS-80(tm) computer system. You have every right to make backup copies of this program to protect your investment. Please don't use that right to infringe upon the rights of others who receive their fair royalty only when a sale is made. By all means, invite your friends over to play this game on your computer; but don't let them borrow your copy to take home. If they like it enough to want to take it home, encourage them, instead, to buy a copy from their software dealer. If you want to trade programs, go ahead. But trade only those programs which you and your friends wrote or which are in public domain.
