Realms of Arkania--Star Trail Released

"Sir-tech is back with a role-player's dream come true: great graphics and
true FRPG feel. It's been awhile since FRPG fans had anything this good to
look forward to." -- PC Gamer, November 1994

Ogdensburg, New York . October 28, 1994 -- Sir-tech Software, Inc.
announced today the release of Realms of Arkania -- Star Trail. Star
Trail, the second title in the Realms of Arkania fantasy role-playing
trilogy and sequel to the award winning Blade of Destiny, is available to
consumers for IBM platforms.

Realms of Arkania -- Star Trail was developed by Attic Entertainment
Software for the computer in close cooperation with the original authors,
Fantasy Productions in Germany. The combined talents of Attic
Entertainment, Fantasy Productions and Sir tech have produced a fully
translated version of Sir Trail for the English market.

Since its introduction in Germany in the first quarter of 1994, Realms of
Arkania--Star Trail has garnered top reviews and kudos from the German
media including PlayTime Magazine's PlayTime Star, PC Games Award, TV
Movie Magazine's Movie Star, ASM's August 1994 Game of the Month, Power
Play Magazine's Power Play Award and PC Joker's Hit Award. Star Trail
received additional awards from Chip Magazine and PC Professional
Magazine.

Storyline

A band of foolhardy adventurers have emerged into a land of unrest. A land
shrouded with hatred. Feuding between the elves and dwarves and the
disappearance of the Salamander Stone have fueled the Orc's thirst for
war. The Salamander Stone, a gem of mysterious powers, must be found to
restore harmony between the elves and dwarves. For these enemies, banding
together may be their only hope against the bloodthirsty Orcs.

Ask And You Shall Receive

After the release of Realms of Arkania--Blade of Destiny, Sir-tech gathered
players' compliments and criticisms from correspondence and telephone
calls. In Germany, Attic Entertainment incorporated new feature upon new
feature until, one and one-half years later, they had created a product
the gaming public had asked for and a design that no one in the industry
could match.

"Star Tail has everything a fan could want in an RPG, including an advanced
character creation routine, an absorbing storyline with plenty of twists
and turns, and complex combat with all the extras you could want," said
Trent Ward, PC Gamer.

Engine

Star Trail has the most advanced smooth scrolling engine on the market.
Star Trail allows the gamer to look up, down, forward, backward, right and
left and his or her pitch and bank changes as they turn corners.
Additionally, depending on the character leading a gamer's party,
perspective changes. A tall Thorwalian tends to see things differently
than a runty dwarf.

Diary Feature

As each day passes, Star Trail's diary automatically records any important
events. Gamers can make their own entries or use the diary as an unusual
day planner. Incorporated in Star Trail's diary design is a powerful
search feature and print option.

Automapping

The picture players see using Star Trail's automap feature is literally an
overhead view of the town. Star Trail's automap allows the player to move
his or her party to another location and to zoom in or out for a better
look. Additionally, players can enter up to 100 memos about locations on
the map.

Combat

Realms of Arkania is known for its phased, isometric, turned-based combat
system. Star Trail offers gamers four different combat options: a total
computer fight showing only the outcome, a total computer fight that
allows players to watch the action unfold, a character computer fight that
puts the computer in control of one or more characters, and a manual
combat that lets the player control everything. Additionally, gamers have
the option of allowing their characters to fight in three alternate modes:
aggressively, carefully or normally.

Save Games

In response to gamers' requests, players are no longer assessed a penalty
for saving the game outside of a temple. Additionally, Star Trail allows
the player to enter notes about each save for future reference.

Macros

Since characters tend to do the same things in combat and camp, Star Trail
collects certain macros that allow the player to repeat the previous
actions without selecting them all over again.

Print Option

Realms of Arkania--Star Trail offers gamers a character print option making
character stats easy to view. Players may print a character's statistics,
skills and spell values to a standard dot matrix printer or an ASCII
file.

Packrats Welcome

Players like to keep everything they find. Star Trail has added warehouses
so players can keep their stuff without slowing down their party. Of
course, this feature has a bit of a twist. Like other businesses in
Arkania, warehouses are susceptible to thieves.

Character Generation

Star Trail follows the same path as its predecessor, Blade of Destiny.
Players once again can create characters from a variety of classes:
Warrior, Rogue, Jester, Thorwalian, Hunter, Dwarf, Magician, Witch, Druid,
Green Elf, Silvan Elf and Ice Elf. Star Trail also offers a band of
pregenerated characters ready and waiting for the adventure to begin.
Gamers who ventured through Blade of Destiny may also transfer their
characters into Star Trail.

The Advanced and Novice Mode options continue to allow players the chance
to customize their characters in automatic or comprehensive modes.
Additionally, the inclusion of Positive and Negative attributes continues
to give Realms of Arkania's characters personality that no other FRPG
offers.

Skill System

Realms of Arkania -- Star Trail offers a variety of skill classes. Combat,
nature, intuition, craftsmanship, lore, body and social skills offer
characters distinctive profiles and personalities determining a
character's success in a variety of fields. As in Blade of Destiny, the
player can choose the Novice mode so that the computer will manage their
character's individual skills or choose Advanced mode where the player has
full control and access to the character information.

Magic System

Over 80 different spells, rituals and prayers are offered to magic users. A
character is not confined to a special spellbook but may learn a variety
of spells which makes specialization imperative. Included in Star Trail's
magic system are wand rituals. These powerful rituals allow a Magician or
Magicienne to "charge" a wand with certain spells. An appropriately
charged wand is ready and waiting when duty calls.

Herbs & Poisons

Traveling through Arkania's wilds, characters will likely come across a
vast array of herbs that may prove useful during the adventure. Some herbs
can be used without prior preparations, while others require a skilled and
knowledgeable character before the herb's use becomes apparent. When mixed
together, some of Arkania's herbs can form wonderful healing agents or
deadly poisons.

Realms of Arkania--Star Trail is available for CD-ROM and holds a suggested
retail price of $79.95. The 3.5" floppy disk version of Star Trail carries
a suggested retail price of $69.95. The Star Trail Speech Pack will be
offered later this year at a suggested retail price of $19.95.

Additionally, Sir-tech will release the Realms of Arkania -- Star Trail
Clue Book in conjunction with the release of the final product. The Star
Trail Clue Book will retail for $19.95.

Realms of Arkania--Star Trail is available through Babbage's, Best Buy,
CompUSA, Computer City, Egghead Discount Software, Electronics Boutique,
Software Etc. and other independent stores in the United States.

Sir-Tech Software Inc
PO Box 245, Ogdensburg Business Center, Suite 2E
Ogdensburg, NY 13669

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