McMurphy's Mansion Copyright (c) 1984, 1987, 1989 martin-art P.O. Box 7493, Pasadena, TX 77508 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE. This manual is copyright 1984, 1987, 1989 byMartin-Art P.O. Box 7493, Pasadena, TX 77508. All rights reserved worldwide. *********************************************************************** SHAREWARE This game is a SHAREWARE product. This means for a small fee that you send to the software author, you receive a professional quality program. It does not mean that this program is free. If you enjoy playingMcMurphy's Mansion, you should send $16.00 to DavidMartin, PO Box 7493, Pasadena, TX 77508. Please register. $2.50 of each registration fee goes to feed hungry people includingchildren. In the spirit of shareware, we encourage you to copy and share this disk with your friends! Instructions for obtaininga game solution are on page 13 of this manual. FRENCH VERSION - An all French version of McMurphy's Mansion will be available inMarch, 1990. To order it, send $16.00 to the address shown below, and ask to be registered for the French version and if you do not already have the disk, ASK FOR A DISK TO BE SENT TO YOU! It is a separate registration from the registration of the English version. *********************************************************************** Game Difficulty Level: Average Playingtime: Approx. 80 hours ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION ===================== It was three weeks ago when you received the telegram that would change your life FOREVER... It seems that an unknown uncle has died infaraway Scotland and left you his entire fortune. $10,000,000 to be exact. There is only one small problem... Dear old Uncle McMurphy was a bit demented and has hidden your inheritance somewhere in his mansion or on the mansion grounds. The old man (Uncle Mac) felt as though any relative of his should EARN his inheritance. Therefore, he has left you with only one clue (a small brass key) proudly presented to you byhis laywer, Barrister Aaron McBee. It is now up to you to use your superior brain power to solve the puzzles left in the mansion byyour Uncle McMurphy and find your fortune. - PAGE 1 - ABOUT ADVENTURE GAMES ===================== NOTE: If you have played other adventure games and want to skip this section, please do so. But be sure to read about the ultimate goal of the game and also about the special command abbreviations used inMcMurphy's Mansion. McMurphy's Mansion is played like many other all text adventure games on the market today. In these adventure games, you will be readingabout what is happeningto your "computer self" on the screen and respondingwith a typed inmessage that tells your computer what you would like to do next. It's like beingina computerized book, with you beingthe maincharacter, decidingwhat is to be done next. The plot inMcMurphy's Mansion is simple; FIND THE FORTUNE. You type incommands to command your computer self to do what you would do if you were actually ina particular situation or location in the game. This is done bytypingincommands from the keyboard like this: >EXAMINE THE BOX There will be more command examples later in the manual. After your command is entered, the game will respond to the command or action you have just taken. The game's response to the "EXAMINE THE BOX" command might look somethinglike this: The box appears to be made of burl walnut. It is about the size of a cigar box. In this way you can explore your surroundings and manipulate objects that are in the game. Just like a real mansion,McMurphy's is full of strange and wonderful objects to be looked at and examined. Some are important to the puzzles of the mansion and others are not. You will have to determine which is which. - PAGE 2 - LOADING THE GAME ===================== LOADING FROM FLOPPY --------------------- Insert the game disk in the A: drive of your computer system. At the DOS prompt type inSTART so your screen looks like: A:\>START (then press the ENTER key) When you press the ENTER key some text will come on the screen for you to read. Then the game will load and you may start playing. Just be sure to always leave the game disk in drive A: while playingthe game unless you are prompted to do otherwise. The game program needs to access some of the files on the game disk while you are playing. If your game will not load using"START", try "MCMURPHY" instead. LOADING FROM HARD DISK ----------------------- To play usinga hard disk, just copy ALL of the files on the game disk to the hard disk directory of your choice. Then load the game from that directory when you want to play. The McMurphy's Mansion program searches for the game files in the default directory. GAME FILES ====================== The followingfiles are critical to the playingof the game and must be on the game disk or in your hard disk subdirectory. Again, when playingfrom a hard disk, be SURE all of these files are in the same directory. UNCLE.BAT MCFILE.DAT MCMURPHY.EXE MCWM.DAT - PAGE 3 - BEGINNING THE GAME ===================== YOUR NAME, PLEASE. --------------------- After you enter "UNCLE"from your keyboard, the game will load. The screen will clear and you will see a copyright notice and some text to read. Before you actually begin the tough part of playingMcMurphy's Mansion, you will have to answer several questions about yourself. The first question concerns your first name. Answer this question bytypinginyour first name and then press ENTER. Any 11 letters (or less) may be entered as your name. The game uses your name duringyour explorations of the mansion. LADDIE OR LASSIE? --------------------- It is traditional inScotland to call youngadventurers by "laddie" (boy) or by"lassie" (girl). When prompted, simply press the key shown for the correct choice, either "1"for "Laddie" or "2"for "Lassie". GAME INTRODUCTION --------------------- Included in"McMurphy's Mansion" is a detailed introduction and explanation that will helpfamiliarize you with this mess your uncle has left for you. There is a good description of the mansion and the mansion grounds. The first fewtimes you play the game, you should read this introduction carefully. The detailed description of the mansion will helpyou ingettingto know the old place. (There evenmay be a clue or two in the introduction.) After you read the introduction on the screen a fewtimes, just answer "N" to the question about readingthe introduction and go straight to the playingof the game. You may of course read it anytime when you load and run the game. - PAGE 4 - YOUR FIRST COMMAND --------------------- The game introduction included inthe program tells you about McMurphy, his lawyer McBee and the mansion. Each time you read the introduction, you will need to use the game command "LOOK" for your first actual game command. This allows you to read a description of your bedroom (the room you find yourself inwhen the game begins). Just type inthe word "LOOK" and press the ENTER key. >LOOK (then press the ENTER key) The description of your bedroom is included at the end of the game introduction. Because it is there on the screen anyway, you will not need to enter "LOOK" as the very first game command when you read the introduction. After the game gives you the description of your bedroom, you are ON YOUR OWN! Just decide what you would like to do next and DO IT! But, be careful, an old mansion can be a DANGEROUS place!! COMMANDS USED IN THE GAME ========================= "McMurphy's Mansion" is played ina manner similar to many other adventure games. You should enter commands (beingas brief as possible) and as though each one started with "I would like to:", for example: Actual commands you enter: -------------------------- "I would like to" >EXAMINE THE BOX or "I would like to" >LOOK UNDER THE SOFA NOTE: A list of sample game commands is found near the end of these instructions. - PAGE 5 - MOVING AROUND IN THE GAME ========================= To move from one location in the game to another, simply enter the compass direction you would like to go in. You may use all 8 compass directions (N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SW, and SE) and two additional directions, UP and DOWN. You may either spell out the entire word or use the abbreviation as shown. As you travel around the mansion and the mansion grounds, it is also important to draw yourself a map of the mansion and the mansion grounds. Thenmaybe you won't become a lost adventurer! Actually, the game has a built-inmap that is shown on the screen, but it is more fun to turn off the screen map and draw your own map on paper. (The command to turn on the map is "MAP" and the command to turn it off is "XMAP". See next section.) GAME COMMANDS =============== There are many commands that you may use inyour quest for your fortune. The explanation and abbreviations (show in parentheses) are listed for the commands that have a special meaninginthis adventure game. Part of the fun of the game is findingout which other words the game understands (hundreds, bythe way). LOOK (L) - The LOOK command gives you a viewof your current surroundings and the objects that you can see. Use this command to look around where you are or to see if an action you have just taken has changed things around you. EXAMINE (X) - This command will give you a description of an object. Some objects must be inyour possession (inventory) before they can be examined. INVENTORY (I) or (INV) - Lists your current possessions that you are carryingaround with you. Duringyour adventure, you will need various objects to perform certaintasks. Of course, the things you need are never where you need them, so you will have to "TAKE"them and carrythem with you. Objects in the game may be moved from place to place and left whereever you wish (DROPPED). - PAGE 6 - The game will display your inventory list on the screen. The command to turn on the list is "LIST" and the command to turn the screen list off is "XLIST". Those commands followinthis section. TAKE (+) - This command is used to add items to your inventory. Some things such as doors simply can't be "taken", but if you see somethingyou want, TAKE IT! It may be "takeable" and may not be. The only way to find out is to try. Also, some items in the game must be taken and placed inyour inventory before they may be examined. To make it easier to take objects, you may use the "+" key for an abbreviation of this command. Also, the "=" key has been temporarily fixed so it will be a "+" key instead. That way, you don't have to hit the SHIFT key all the time for "+". (You're welcome.) To use this abbreviation, just press the "=" key, a space, and then enter the object you wish to take. For example, >+ BOOK means the same thingas >TAKE BOOK DROP (-) - If you have somethinginyour inventory that you don't need any longer, or don't want to carryaround any longer, DROP it. The object will then remainin the location where you dropped it just in case you want to come back later and retrieve it. MAP - This command turns on the screen display of the map. Only simple minded adventurers and "weakies" actually need the map. It is more fun and a greater challenge to draw one by hand. XMAP - What is turned on can be turned off. XMAP turns off the screen display of the map (the more preferred method of play). REPEAT (R) - If you should want to repeat a command more than once, just enter "R"the second time instead of retypingthe entire command over again. This will helpkeep the blisters off your fingers. - PAGE 7 - COLOR - If you don't like the default colors of the screen and text, you can use the command COLOR to changethem. Just enter the command and followthe instructions on the screen. WORDY - When enteringa location for the first time, you will be givena lengthyand complete description of that location. After you enter a location for the first time, you will only be giventhe name for that location (YOUR BEDROOM). If you would like to have the longdescriptions giveneverytime you enter a newlocation, enter the command WORDY. SHORTY - Turns off the longdescriptions of each location. You will still get the longdescription the FIRST time you enter a location, but after that, you will only get the name of the location. LIST - Shows inventory items on the screen under the map. List will show your inventory evenif the map is off (XMAP). Only "sissies" use this command. XLIST - Turns off the screen display of inventory items. MANUAL - This command causes the game program to print the McMurphy's Mansion manual for you. Be sure to have your printer on-line and ready to print when usingthis command. QUIT - Used to end the game. (Be sure to SAVEyour position first if you plan to play from this position later.) USING NUMBERS - An occasion mayarise inthe mansion when you would like to include a number inyour command. If you need to use a number, just enter the number instead of spellingit out (5 instead of five). HELP - This command will give you a brief overviewof the game and remind you of some of the more important game commands and the abbreviations for those commands. ABOUT THE MANSION ===================== McMurphy's beloved mansion is truly beautiful and full of antiques. Although the mansion has many rooms, only the important ones are included inthe actual game. Sorry, no bathroom. - PAGE 8 - All of the doors inthe mansion are open for your convenience, unless closed for a reason. Also, there may be objects mentioned inthe descriptions of the rooms that you cannot TAKE or EXAMINE. Theyare included to give you a "feel" for the room and your surroundings (for example, the china in the diningroom). Of course, this old mansion has plenty of windows. While in the mansion, it may be helpful to look out the windows. To do this, enter the command LOOK EAST or LOOK NORTH or LOOK inwhatever direction the window is located. If there is a window in that direction, you will be giventhe viewout of that window. If there is no window in that direction, you will be giventhe same response as the normal command "LOOK". Game abbreviations will workinthis command ("LOOK SOUTH" may be entered "L S"). FINDING THE FORTUNE!! ===================== MASTER CLUES - As you solve the puzzles of the mansion that dear old Uncle Mac left you as his legacy, you will receive a total of 3 MASTER CLUES. When you figure out what the MASTER CLUES are for and use them correctly, the FORTUNE WILL BE YOURS!!! GOLD BARS - That's right! 24K GOLD!! There are 12 gold bars hiddeninthe mansion. After you have found all 12 bars you will be givenone of the three master clues that lead to the fortune. Once "TAKEN", a bar cannot be dropped. You will have to use your brain(till it hurts) to figure out the way to get the other two MASTER CLUES. - PAGE 9 - SAMPLE COMMANDS ===================== The commands listed below are to give you anidea about complete game commands in general. These particular commands may or may not workwhile playingMcMurphy's Mansion. >X THE BOX same as >EXAMINE THE BOX >NORTH same as >N >LOOK UNDER THE DRESSER >TAKE THE RING THEN GO WEST >- BOX same as >DROP BOX >TURN THE HANDLE >OPEN THE TRUNK >LOOK UNDER THE SOFA >X THE CHAIR. X THE SOFA >N.S.S same as >NORTH.SOUTH.SOUTH. >PULL THE LEVER MULTIPLE COMMANDS As you can see from the example commands, you can enter more than one command at a time. When you do enter more than one, be sure put a period (.) after each command just like you would after any sentence in normal writing. You mayalso use the word "AND" or the word "THEN"to separatethe multiple commands instead of the period: >TAKE THE BOX.EXAMINE THE BOX or >TAKE THE BOX AND EXAMINE THE BOX or >TAKE THE BOX THEN EXAMINE THE BOX All three of these commands workinexactly the same way. Because the word AND is used to separatecommands, do not use it to do somethingto more than one object. The command TAKE THE BOX AND THE KEY will not work. (Please reviewsample commands) - PAGE 10 - When usingmultiple commands, you should limit your total command to include only two or three. If you enter more than that, the game responses could scroll off the screen before you have a chance to readthem. SAVING AND RESTORING YOUR POSITION ==================================== Playingthis game takes many hours. So that you will not have to beginfrom the verybeginningeach time you start to play, special commands are used to save the progress you have made duringa playingsession. These saved positions also helpin case the power should go out while you are playing. SAVING A POSITION ===================== When you are about to quit for the day or you are about to do somethingdangerous inthe game, use the SAVEcommand: >SAVE All of the information about what location you are inand the items inyour inventory and the progress you have made will be stored on your diskina special file. Then when you restart the game at a later time, you can RESTORE the old position and beginexactly where you left the game. You will be inthe same room, with the same inventory, etc. Here is how to SAVEa position: 1. Use the game diskto save positions OR use any formatted diskwith at least 10,000 bytes free. 2. Enter the command SAVElike this: >SAVE 3. You will be giveninstructions on the screen about which keys to press to save the position. Don't worry, it's simple! 4. Make a noteabout the position number you have just saved for later reference. You maysave up to 9 separatepositions on a single disk. This allows you to save positions for several different people who are playingMcMurphy's Mansionfrom the same game disk. - PAGE 11 - RESTORING A POSITION --------------------- The command RESTORE is used to restore one of the previously saved positions on your SAVEdiskette. To restore a position, enter the restore command like this: >RESTORE If you wish to restore a position, the RESTORE command will usually be the first command you will issue when you loadthe game. Of course you mayrestore any position at any time. 1. You must changedisks if the position to berestored has been saved on a diskdifferent from the game disk. The instructions givenon the screen will tell you when to changedisks. 2. Followthe instructions givenon the screen and your position will be restored. 3. Make sure the game diskis indrive A: or you are in the correct subdirectory on your hard diskand the game can PROCEED! Now all of that hard workwon't have to be repeated each time you beginthe game. JUST ONE MORE THING... ---------------------- Well, that's about it for the instructions. But there is just one more thingyou should know before you go play. If you should find an old diary somewhere inthe mansion, and you want to readon a specific page, enter a command that looks like this: >READ ON 9-1 IN THE DIARY or >LOOK ON 9-1 IN THE DIARY The entry of "9-1" inthe example would be for September 1st. Just use whatever day you wish. Readingthe diary mayhelp you, it may not. - PAGE 12 - And REMEMBER!!! If you DO SUCCEED, NO MORE WORK!!! SLEEP TILL NOON!!! The McMurphy fortune CAN BE YOURS!!! You now have our permission to go play. --------------------------------------------------------------- **** REGISTER YOUR GAME **** As mentioned inthe beginningof the instructions, the shareware feeof $16.00 should be sent to the address below to register your McMurphy's Mansion. When you register, you will receive a game hint sheet and a game solution. Please include a stamped self- addressed return envelope alongwith your registration. (Please remember that $2.50of each registration goes to feed hungry people includingchildren. AVOID INSANITY! If you have been playingand are about to be sent to a rubber room somewhere, register your game and GET THAT HINT SHEET and SOLUTION!! David Martin P.O. Box 7493 Pasadena, TX 77034 - PAGE 13 - This sheet is provided for your notes. You will need it. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Gold Bar 1 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 2 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 3 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 4 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 5 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 6 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 7 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 8 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 9 _____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 10_____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 11_____________________________________________________ Gold Bar 12_____________________________________________________ MASTER CLUE #1 _________________________________________________ MASTER CLUE #2 _________________________________________________ MASTER CLUE #3 _________________________________________________ - PAGE 14 -