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Text File | 1996-10-09 | 20KB | 455 lines

======================================================== INNER WORLDS Copyright 1996 Sleepless Software -- All Rights Reserved Salt Lake City, UT 84102 receptionist@sleepless.com http://www.sleepless.com 1 888 222-7402 ======================================================== Welcome to Inner Worlds! Inner Worlds is an incredible new side-scroll fantasy action adventure, for DOS & Windows. In Inner Worlds you play the role of a strong and beautiful woman whose quest-name is Nikita. Nikita has the astonishing ability to turn into a ferocious she-wolf! Her quest is to track down the evil monster creation of a misguided genius which has plagued the world for generations. This file contains the software license agreement for Inner Worlds, describes how to get the game up and running on your system, and provides other important information that you should read before playing the game. =========== PLEASE ... =========== When contacting us, please use the WWW or email addresses at the top of this file if possible as we can not guarantee that this copy of Inner Worlds has the most recent address and phone number for Sleepless Software. Thank you! ======================== Distribution Information ======================== Software License ---------------- THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND SLEEPLESS SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. SLEEPLESS SOFTWARE SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SOFTWARE. You may freely copy and redistribute the SHAREWARE version of Inner Worlds, which contains only Episode 1 ("Wizard's World"), as long as it is distributed in its full, original, and unmodified form. If you wish to distribute the SHAREWARE version as part of commercial shareware software distribution, you must first contact Sleepless Software to obtain written permission to do so. The REGISTERED version of Inner Worlds may NOT be copied; it is commercial copyrighted software, and may only be used by those who have paid the registration fee to Sleepless Software (see Ordering, below). Note that paying for a CD-ROM distribution containing Inner Worlds does not constitute registration, since none of the money you spend for that distribution ever finds its way to Sleepless Software; in order to obtain and use the REGISTERED version of Inner Worlds legally, you must pay the registration fee directly to Sleepless Software. How to get the latest version ----------------------------- There are several ways to get the latest SHAREWARE version of Inner Worlds. You can try your local BBS or online service provider, or if you have access to the Internet, visit our web site to get the very latest version! World Wide Web: http://www.xmission.com/~nosleep/inner-worlds Anonymous FTP: ftp.xmission.com /pub/users/n/nosleep/inner-worlds ======== Ordering ======== The registration fee for Inner Worlds is $29.95 plus shipping and handling ($5 in the US, Canada & Mexico, $6 for other countries) and state sales tax where applicable. To order by check, money order or credit card, you can use our new online Internet web site by visiting: http://www.sleepless.com Or send email to: orders@sleepless.com Or call toll free: 1 888 222-7402 After registering, you'll receive all three episodes in the amazing Inner Worlds trilogy: Episode 1 "Wizard's World" In Wizard's World, you play the role of the strong and beautiful woman whose quest-name is Nikita. Nikita has the astonishing ability to turn into a ferocious she-wolf! Nikita's quest is to track down The Gralob, the evil creation of a misguided genius. The Gralob has plagued the world for generations and it is Nikita's wolf-born destiny to free her people from its evil clutches. Episode 2 "World of Change" After defeating the Gralob at Castle Drofanayrb, Nikita learns that the Gralob was only one of two brutal minions of a still more terrible threat. Although the land of her birth is safe for now from the Gralob's cruel reign of terror, she returns to her homeland only to discover that her true destiny still lies ahead. All new landscapes await her as she undertakes a cross-country odyssey through a World of Change. New scrolls, potions, weapons, monsters and adventures! Nine new levels! Tons of new graphics, sounds and music! Episode 3 "Heart of the World" In the last episode of the Inner Worlds trilogy, Nikita finally learns her true destiny and sets out on the final adventure which she will undertake in this world. She must travel to a huge volcanic mountain inside which lives the secret of Drofanayrb's horrible experiments. Will she reach the Heart of the World? Will she be able to face what she finds there and do what she must to banish the evil unleashed by the Wizard's unspeakable tampering with nature? Nine totally new levels with even more new weapons, monsters, treasures, stunning graphics, music and sound effects! =============== Getting Started =============== System Requirements ------------------- PC with 486 processor or better VGA compatible display 8MB RAM minimum, 16MB recommended MS-DOS 4.0 or better, or Windows 95 Hard drive with 12MB of free space (SHAREWARE), 22MB (REGISTERED) Sound card (optional): Soundblaster or compatible, or Gravis Ultrasound CDROM drive recommended Installation ------------ (If you are reading this file from within the installation program, then Inner Worlds is already installed; you can skip this section...) To install Inner Worlds from floppy disk, insert the installation floppy into the drive and type A:INSTALL (or B:INSTALL if the floppy is in drive B). The installation program will prompt you for the source drive and directory name (the location of the installation floppy), and the hard drive letter and directory name indicating where to install Inner Worlds, providing generally suitable defaults for each. The installation program will then prompt for each floppy in turn. To install from CD-ROM or from a network drive, simply type <path>\INSTALL, where <path> is the full path (drive letter and directory name) of the directory containing the Inner Worlds install program and the compressed data files (INNER.GZ*). Then just answer the prompts as described above. If you prefer, you can play Inner Worlds directly from the CD-ROM; this will reduce hard disk space requirements to a minimum, although loading may be somewhat slower and you will have to ensure that the Inner Worlds CD-ROM is in the drive whenever you want to play it. To run Inner Worlds directly from the CD-ROM, you do NOT need to run the installation program as described above. Instead, just create a directory for Inner Worlds somewhere on your hard disk, change to that directory, and run <drive>:\IW, where <drive> is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive. Inner Worlds will then run using your hard disk directory only to store configuration information and saved games, and load all Inner Worlds data directly from the CD-ROM. For example, if your hard disk is drive C: and your CD-ROM is D:, you can use the following commands: C:\> MKDIR C:\IW C:\> CD IW C:\IW> D:\IW The Inner Worlds installation program does not modify your CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, or any other aspects of your environment; it merely creates the installation directory you specify and writes the appropriate files into it. Therefore, you can uninstall Inner Worlds simply by removing its directory and all of its contents. Audio Setup ----------- Inner Worlds should work with most SoundBlaster cards or cards that are 100% hardware compatible, as well as Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) cards. If your system has an appropriate BLASTER or ULTRASND environment variable, then Inner Worlds will automatically use the settings they contain. Normally the installation software that comes with your sound card will change your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to set up these environment variables automatically. However, if you are running Inner Windows under Windows 95 in DOS mode, or if your sound card installation software did not set up the appropriate environment variables, then you will need to configure the sound card manually using the Inner Worlds setup utility. The installer will automatically start the setup utility after it finishes installing the game; you can also run it at any time later just by changing to the Inner Worlds directory and typing SETUP. To configure Inner Worlds for your sound card, just select "Sound card configuration" from the setup menu and answer the questions. You will need to know your sound card's I/O address, IRQ number, and DMA channels; to find these numbers under Windows 95, go into the Control Panel, click on the System icon, then the Device Manager tab, open the entry for your sound card, and finally click on the Resources tab of the configuration window for that device. ================ Playing the Game ================ To run Inner Worlds, change to the Inner Worlds installation directory, type "IW", and press ENTER. Inner Worlds must be run in DOS mode on many Windows 95 machines; the Inner Worlds installation utility will automatically add a shortcut in the Programs folder of your Start menu which will run Inner Worlds in DOS mode for you. After showing the title screen, a new game will be started on Level 1, and you will be given a chance to choose from three skill levels; the middle skill level should be suitable for most people to start with. If you want to load a saved game instead of starting a new game, press ESC to get out of this menu, then press ESC again to get to the main menu. Keyboard Controls ----------------- Following is a list of the primary keyboard controls used in the game: * LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys make Nikita run. * SHIFT makes Nikita jump. * ALT makes Nikita transform from wolf to human form, or back again. Note that this transformation will consume mana (represented by the tree in the lower left corner of the status bar); you can't transform unless you have enough mana. * SPACE makes Nikita attack. While in human form, she can only attack after finding a suitable weapon; while in wolf form, she can always attack with her teeth. * DOWN arrow key crouches if Nikita is on the floor, or climbs down if she is on a ladder, pole, vine, etc. Also, you can use the DOWN arrow to pick up weapons and treasures, or type T (for "take"). * UP arrow key gets up from a crouching position, climbs up, enters doorways, or makes Nikita flip upwards while hanging from a handhold. Also, if you hold the UP arrow when jumping, Nikita will flip into the air, gaining a little additional height. Finally, if you hold the UP arrow while attacking in wolf form, Nikita will go into a frenzy and MAUL anything nearby. You can still use the left and right arrows to move while mauling. As with transforming, mauling is a special magical maneuver and requires mana; it continues to consume mana for as long as you hold down the attack button to keep mauling. * CTRL key activates levers, switches, and SAVE GAME signposts. * TAB or "T" key picks up any object Nikita is currently positioned over. * "U" or "G" key picks up and immediately use any object Nikita is over. * "A" or "I" key accesses the inventory menu, allowing you to use, drop, or throw items in Nikita's inventory. * F1 through F8 activate the object in the corresponding slot of Nikita's Inventory or Pack. * 1 through 5 activate the magic spells Nikita can learn during the game, which appear as small icons between the two snakes on the status bar. * ESC and "P" (Pause) keys pause the game and enter the main menu. * F10 displays the help file which also contains all of this information. Health & Mana ------------- In the status bar across the bottom of the display, you will see a large golden jar containing a bubbling blue fluid. This fluid is the Seltzer of Life and represents Nikita's health. When nikita is injured or hurt, the fluid level goes down. If the jar becomes completely empty, Nikita dies and you have to start over at the beginning of the level, or at the last place you saved your game. You will also see a tree in the status bar. This is the mana tree and represents Nikita's mana level. Mana is used to transform from wolf to human form and to invoke magic attack spells. The number of leaves on the mana tree represents how much mana she has. As Nikita uses her mana, the leaves fall from the tree and must be replenished by picking up gems or potions or finding sanctuaries. Spells ------ As Nikita progresses through the game and defeats enemies, she will learn additional magical spells, which you can activate by pressing the 1 through 5 keys on the keyboard. As with transformation and mauling, casting these spells requires mana; more powerful spells require more mana. The first two spells, Stinger and Fireball, are available in the SHAREWARE version of the game; however, the three most powerful spells, Doball, Ghibli, and Lightning Bolt, are only available in the REGISTERED game. There are also various magical scrolls, potions, and wands scattered throughout the levels of the game, which Nikita can pick up and use. Some of these items correspond to the spells described above; in this case, Nikita does not have to have learned the spell yet in order to use a scroll or wand to cast it, and using a scroll or wand does not consume mana since the mana comes "pre-packaged" in the magical item. There are also various other powerful magical items that do not correspond to any of the standard spells; you will learn about them as you encounter them. Amulets ------- There are three types of magical amulets which Nikita can collect during her adventures. These amulets are very valuable and should always be collected whenever possible. There is exactly one amulet on every level. If you miss the amulet on a level, then that level will be marked in red rather than in blue on the episode map, indicating that you may want to go back and replay that level later to find the amulet. Health amulets are blue. If Nikita has more health amulets, her blue health level will go down more slowly when she is hurt or injured. Mana amulets are green. If Nikita has more mana amulets, her mana level will not go down as quickly as she uses mana. Strength amulets are red. Nikita's strength is increased when she collects more of them, making her attacks more powerful against enemies. Inventory --------- When Nikita picks up objects in the game, they are collected into her Inventory or Pack. There are eight slots in Nikita's pack. Each slot may be able to hold more than one of a given type of object. Selecting "Inventory" from the main menu will display a new menu of the objects in Nikita's pack if there are any. You can also access the inventory menu directly with the "A" or "I" key. If you select an item from the inventory, a new menu will appear asking you what you would like to do with that object. You can either "use" the object or remove it from the inventory by "dropping" or "tossing" it. Since more than one of the same type of object can be stored in each inventory slot, you are also given the option of taking the action on just one of the objects or on all of the objects within the slot. Function keys F1 thru F8 are shortcuts to using the items in Nikita's pack. For example, pressing F1 will use one item from the first slot in the inventory. To make it easier to know at a glance which slot corresponds to which function key, there is a small empty space on the status bar between the F4 and F5 slots, corresponding to the space between the F4 and F5 keys on most keyboards. =============== Troubleshooting =============== If the Inner Worlds installer fails to run under Windows and prints a message of the form "DPMI error 0501", close other running applications to free up more memory and try again. The 0501 is Windows' cryptic way of saying that it doesn't have enough memory for a DOS program. If the installer stops or hangs in the middle of installation, make sure you have enough disk space on the drive on which you're installing Inner Worlds (see the "System Requirements" section above). The lack of proper disk space checking in the installer is a known problem in the installer and will be fixed. If Inner Worlds locks up when you run it, your BLASTER or ULTRASND environment variables may be set wrong, or you may have such a variable set when in fact you don't have a sound card installed. Adjust the environment variables or run the Inner Worlds SETUP utility to configure the sound card, as described in the section "Audio Setup" above. If you are running Inner Worlds on an 8MB system and the game terminates unexpectedly, you may need to remove software from your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT to free up more memory. If you are running SMARTDRV or another disk caching program, try removing that first, because disk caches typically consume a large amount of extended memory which is needed by Inner Worlds. You may also want to try booting clean from a floppy disk containing only MS-DOS with no TSRs or other resident programs. If Inner Worlds starts becoming very jerky or starts pausing briefly at regular intervals, this may also signify low memory. Try removing other software as described above, or boot clean from a floppy disk. If that still doesn't work, try saving and immediately re-loading the game at each save point you encounter; this will reset various internal state and allow the game to continue with less memory. ================= Technical Support ================= Technical support is provided ONLY for the REGISTERED version of Inner Worlds. If you have purchased the registered version of Inner Worlds and have a problem with the game, visit our web site at: http://www.sleepless.com http://www.xmission.com/~nosleep/inner-worlds You will find the latest up to date information about any bugs or incompatibilities that have turned up as well as the phone number to call if you need other assistance. You may also send email to: techsupport@sleepless.com If you do not have access to the Internet, you may call our toll free order line to get the current technical support phone number. ========== That's it! ========== We hope you enjoy playing Inner Worlds. Have fun, and remember ... DON'T GET FLEEKED!