Our story begins many, many years ago. You are a peaceful, ordinary citizen of a society known simply as The Empire. You are governed by the benevolent lord who is called The Emperor. Since leaving your home in the towne of Trojan at a young age, you have provided for yourself and your sister Marissa happily for a long time. Your parents have since passed on, and you have moved to the quiet, isolated farming community of Horseshoe. All was well until two years ago.
Exactly two years ago today, your sister Marissa was murdered. She had been stabbed in the chest with a poisoned dagger for no apparent reason. You found her body in front of your house on your way home from a short shopping trip. You have never known who killed her, but until now you have never really cared. All that mattered was that your innocent loving sister had been struck down in cold blood.
Last night everything changed. You had a dream in which you watched her killed by a masked assassin; you were unable to move to prevent it. You had this same dream over and over, forced to watch her killed over and over. This made you realize that you do in fact care who killed her. Now you absolutely must know who it was so that you can make them pay for their cruelty. It has consumed you. You must make sure this vicious predator can never do this to anyone else. You've come to realize it is now your turn to be predator. To stalk the stalker.
So you've woken up early this morning, packed up what few possessions you have, and have set off to exact your revenge. You've decided to start in Horseshoe and question the locals about your sister. After that, you'll travel wherever the trail takes you.
Introduction
Wanderer I: The Cult of Misery is the first roleplaying game based on the Pisces Roleplay™ system. The Pisces Roleplay™ system is a proprietary roleplaying engine developed independently by Quinn Dunki, exclusively for the Macintosh. The Pisces Roleplay™ engine is entirely modular, and entirely expandable. Watch for other roleplaying games (of every genre) based on this. For further details, see the Contacting the Author section of the online help, or in this documentation.
System Requirements
Wanderer I: The Cult of Misery requires at least System 7, 5MB of memory, 8 bit colour, a 68020 CPU, and 32-bit addressing. Sound Manager 3.0 is optional. Disk usage for the program ranges from 3-10MB, depending how far into the game you get.
For maximum game performance, avoid running other applications in the background, and remove any unnecessary system extensions. Virtual memory should be turned off, but the game does perform well with it on. If you have VM turned on, you'll probably want to turn off the game's music, since excessive hard drive access will cause the music to break up. See Preferences for more details.
Credits
Game concept: Quinn Dunki
Production: PlayMaker, Inc.
Programming: Quinn Dunki
Artwork: Quinn Dunki
Sound Effects: Quinn Dunki
Music Composition: Anonymous
Beta Testing: Quinn Dunki, William Browning, Brendan
Lane, Robert Vollman, Raymond Tong,
Special Thanks to Steve Myers for help during the final debugging phase.
This game is dedicated to Lord British, creator of the last truly great roleplaying game- Ultima V. Thank you, Richard Garriott, for giving me and so many other Apple ][ users hours and hours and hours of roleplaying enjoyment with the Ultima series. You pioneered a game programming technique, and you gave us a hereto unheard of level of detail in a computer game. Remember the Codex!
Contacting the Author
I can be reached at any of these addresses: They are listed in order preference. Try the top address first; if your mail bounces, try the next one down, and so on.
InterNet: dunki@calgary.sgi.com
dunki@acs.ucalgary.ca
quinn@griffin.cuc.ab.ca
Snail Mail: Quinn Dunki
P.O. Box 1141
Cochrane, AB, Canada
T0L 0W0
I love to hear from people using my software, so if you'd like to drop me a line, please do! I'm always open to suggestions, ideas for improvements, bug reports, etc. If something isn't right or could be better, let me know!
The Interface
The interface for playing Pisces Roleplay™ games should be fairly intuitive. The game window consists of two main sections- the area map on the left, and the status display on the right.
The Area Map
What you see here is the world around you for as far as you can see. You'll find yourself in the middle of the display. As you move, the display shifts to reflect what you can see. Areas of the map that are solid black are areas that can't be seen, either because it is too dark, or there is something obstructing your view (such as a wall).
Moving around the world is simple; press an arrow key on the keyboard, and you'll move in that direction. You can also use the numeric keypad, or if you prefer to use the mouse for movement, you may do so. Simply positioning the pointer around your character (but not too close) and clicking will move you in that direction. To examine something anywhere on any display, simply Click on it. Things in the area map can only be examined if they are immediately adjacent to you.
The map also shows objects that you can manipulate. You can only interact with items that are immediately adjacent to you! Remember this! If you'd like to pick something up (or try to), drag it from the map to a box on the status display. This will be explained further under The Status Display . To move an object from one location to another on the map, just drag it. Both the object and the place you want to move it to must be close to you! To drop an object out of your character's inventory, drag it from the status display to a location on the map that is close to you.
Some things on the map can be double-clicked. If you see something that you feel should do something, double-click it. For example, doors open and close when double-clicked. Experiment!
The Status Display
The status display is composed of several indicators. The most important one is the person-shaped silhouette with the boxes below it. This is your character and your inventory. Everything your character is wearing will appear on the silhouette, and anything your character is carrying will appear in the boxes below. Your character can wear things on his/her head, torso, and legs. Your character can carry 6 things in his/her pack, and one thing in each hand.
To pick something up, drag it from the map to the location on your character display where you would like that item placed. So, if you see a helmet on the ground and want to put on your head, drag the helmet to your head. To move something from one location to another in your inventory, just drag it. To drop something, drag it out of your inventory to the spot on the map where you'd like it dropped.
Next to your character display, there are 8 bars. These indicate the levels of the various statistics representing your character. Each of the statistics is described in detail under Statistics. The unlabelled bar directly under your character silhouette represents your fatigue.
Under the character silhouette and the boxes, there's a row of gold coins. This shows how much money you have.
Under the statistics bars is a large blank area that will fill with scrolling text as the game progresses. This is your message area. Look here for descriptions of items, dialogue from people, and other important messages.
Between the text area and the statistics bars is a little horizon. As the game goes on, this will tell you where the sun and moon are, and allow you to estimate the time of day.
Around the character silhouette there are 5 little green circles. These will be explained under Health.
Important: Throughout the documentation, the character's body parts are referred to in terms of right and left. The character silhouette you see on the screen is facing you, which means your left is your character's right. Remember this!!
The Statistics
Your character is represented by 7 primary statistics, and 2 secondary ones. Each is described below.
The primary stats are:
Might
This is your character's physical strength. Your ability to lift heavy things, how hard you can swing a weapon, and so on.
Body
This is your character's physical constitution. This shows how well you can take abuse, withstand physical tests, and so on.
Willpower
This is your character's ability to resist and delay the inevitable. Experiment with it!
Agility
This shows how well your character can control his/her body. It's your ability to climb, dodge, jump, and so on.
Dexterity
This is a measure of your character's control over fine movements. This affects how well you perform delicate or tricky tasks such as picking locks and setting fuses.
Intelligence
This is simply how smart and/or well educated your character is. It affects your ability to use or control forces and objects you wouldn't otherwise understand.
Karma
This represents your character's spiritual centeredness and empathic strength. This will be important in places and with things mortal beings weren't meant to mess with.
The secondary stats are:
Fatigue
This shows how tired your character is. The shorter the bar, the closer you are to exhaustion. If you let this get too low, you risk passing out. Passing out at the wrong time could be most detrimental! When you rest, this slowly goes back up again.
Encumbrance
This is an abstract representation of how much weight you're carrying. The more you're carrying, the more physical tasks will tire you. Also, carrying too much can adversely affect your agility in combat and other critical situations.
Health
Around your character silhouette, you'll notice little green circles. These are actually pie graphs that indicate how much abuse each body location has taken. The green in the pies will gradually run out, filling with blue, then yellow, and finally red. If the pie for an arm or a leg is totally red, it is broken. If the pie for your head or torso fills with red, you are DEAD!
You can heal yourself up by various means which you'll learn soon enough.
If your legs are broken, you can't walk. If your right arm is broken, you cannot attack. If your left arm is broken, you cannot carry things with it.
The pie directly above your character's head is for your head, the pie over your character's left shoulder is for your torso, the pie next to each hand is for that arm, and the pie next to the legs is for the legs.
The Local Residents
Naturally, you're not alone in this roleplaying world. You'll notice local residents in various places in the game. They have their own lives, and daily routines. If you catch someone at a dull moment, you can strike up a conversation with them by double-clicking them. Note that you can talk to people who are somewhat far away from you. If they're willing to talk to you, they'll say something (which you'll see in the message area). You'll then see a small box appear under your character with the word "Goodbye" in it, highlighted. In this box, type what you want to say to the person. Their response will appear in the message area, and you can continue this way until one of you ends the conversation. You can end the conversation by saying "Goodbye".
Be warned, some residents are not particularly friendly, and may chase and attack you for no apparent reason. These unfriendlies also tend to travel in packs, unfortunately. Anyone who isn't normally unfriendly will defend themselves if attacked. Never underestimate your opponent!
Tip: If you’re having trouble getting any information out of anyone, good things to ask people about are their name and job. Simply saying “hello” can sometimes be helpful, too!
The Ancient Art of War
If you should find yourself being attacked (or wish to pick a fight, for that matter), you must know how to defend yourself. To attack someone, Option-Click them in the map. You'll attack them with the object that is currently in your character's right hand. The results of the attack will be shown in the message area. Each time you attack someone by option-clicking them, they will attack you back right away. You continue to exchange blows this way until one of you is dead or one of you runs away. If you succeed in knocking your opponent out cold, your character will automatically try to hit them again in an attempt to kill them while they’re down.
Should you find yourself badly outmatched, you may wish to flee. To escape a hostile foe, you must get far enough away from them that they are out of sight. Once you're out of sight, your enemy will usually give up on you.
Most weapons are of the melee variety, and only work when the enemy is nearby. Some weapons, however, work at long ranges. These long range weapons are ineffective in close quarters, however. You have been warned. This includes some lengthy polearms which work well at a short distance, but become unwieldy at melee ranges.
When you're attacked, you'll see the results reflected by the pie graphs for the location hit. Some forms of clothing and armour will protect you to some degree if worn in the appropriate location. Naturally, your enemies have these same body locations. Which body location you hit depends largely on what the enemy is doing, how they are standing, and so on. A particularly dexterous or agile fighter may be able to strike vital locations at will. If you are such a fighter, you will find yourself automatically hitting the most damaged body locations, and targeting critical areas such as the head and torso. Rest assured, the enemy may be capable of such feats as well.
Things to Keep in Mind
There are many items throughout the game that you will find (or be given) that will prove to be useful. If you have an item, and wish to use it, simply Command-Drag the item from your inventory to the location in the map that you wish to use it in. You must pick up an object before using it, and you can only use it on locations nearby. If you wish to try using an object on yourself, command-drag the object onto the image of your character in the centre of the map display. You'll have to experiment with the various goodies throughout the world. Examining the item you want to use (by clicking on it) and the location you wish to use it on (again, by clicking on it) will often provide insights into what the final result might be.
As mentioned earlier, you use the arrow keys, keypad, or mouse to move around. As a side note, pressing any other key simply causes time to pass. During this passage of time, you'll rest up a little bit. You can rest like this in combat as well, but you may find this a little risky.
You'll notice it gets very, very dark at night. If you must travel at night (which isn't recommended, since you're easy to sneak up on in the dark) you'll probably want a torch or two. Torches, when held in your character's left hand, help light up the night a little. As long you hold a torch in your left hand, it will burn. Torches don't burn forever, though, so don't waste them!
If you find yourself physically worn, and tired, you can try and sleep it off. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning! To sleep, simply double-click yourself. Be cautious where you choose to sleep, because some locations are safer than others, and a sleeping target is an easy one. Tip: Inns are particularly nice places to sleep. You'll have to pay to use a room for the night, though. Buy a room key from the innkeeper and spend the night in the room of your choice. Don't lose your key, or you may get locked in your room!
If you get tired of traversing the game on foot, you can also move by horseback. To mount a horse, double-click it. To get off a horse, double-click the space you wish to get off to. To start your horse trotting, double-click it. To go back to walking again, double-click again. To buy a horse, you must find a merchant who sells them. The merchant will sell you a key to the corrals. Use this key to go get your new horse.
One more thing to note- because the game is played in a 3/4 overhead perspective, doors on the north and west sides of buildings are hidden by the roof of the building. When this happens, the game will place an arrow on the roof over the door to alert you to its position, like this:
?
Shoppes & Shoppekeepers
Some people in the game run stores and small shoppes as their means of income. If you'd like to have a look at what a shoppekeeper has to sell, double-click them to start a conversation (as usual). You'll see the map display replaced by a list of the items this person is selling. To look at something, click it (as usual); it will be highlighted, and you'll have it described in the message area. Clicking on an object also displays it's price below the list, in gold coins. If you see something you like, drag it from the shoppe display to your inventory to purchase it. If you have something you'd like to try and sell, drag it from your inventory to anywhere in the shoppe display. If the shoppekeeper wants it, you'll be given a "fair" price for it.
Click the button labelled "Done" below the list when you're finished buying and selling. You'll then be brought into conversation as usual. Some people have information as well as goods!
Preferences
There are several aspects of the game which you can control:
Sound: Select this to toggle the sound effects on and off. A checkmark indicates the sound is currently on.
Animation: You have two choices for animation- fast and safe. Fast is the default setting, which gives much smoother game play by bypassing the System's graphics tools. However, you may find this animation technique crashes or is unstable on your particular hardware. If this is the case, you can switch to the safe setting. The safe setting uses the System's built in graphics tools, so it is guaranteed to be compatible, with a moderate penalty in speed. Users most likely to encounter trouble with the Fast setting are those with unusual display hardware such as PowerBook colour screens, Radius Pivot screens, and third-party video accelerators.
Music: Music has been disabled in version 1.2
Multitasking: If you need to run other programs in the background while playing the game, you'll want to change this from its default setting. The top setting gives the game almost all of the system's time, thus virtually suspending any other programs you have running. The bottom setting gives background programs lots of time, but makes the game run poorly. The middle setting is a compromise between the two.
Command Summary
Examine: Click the space you wish to examine.
Attack: Option-Click the person you wish to attack.
Use an item: Command-Drag the object from your inventory to the place you
wish to use it.
Talk: Double-click the person you wish to talk to.
Sleep: Double-click your character in the map display.
When in doubt: Try double-clicking something if you think it might do
something.
Movement: Arrow keys on the keyboard, the numeric keypad, or position
mouse around character (not too close) and click.
Kill Time: Press any key.
Buy Something: Drag the item from the shoppe display to your inventory.
Sell Something: Drag the item from your inventory to the shoppe display.
Known Bugs
As of version 1.2 of Wanderer I: The Cult of Misery, I am aware of the following bugs:
• The music does not work.
• The scrollbars in the online help facility don't behave themselves.
