*************** General Instructions ****************
System Requirements: IBM-PC or comp., 640k, hard disk, VGA color
(game uses 320 x 200 mode, using 16 out of 256 possible colors),
and about 1MB of free hard disk space.
Mel Odius goes Six String Searchin' is a graphic adventure game. You
must type in verb/noun combinations to interact with the game. The
following verbs are most commonly used: (but try others!)
Look - used to look at an object, person, or place
Get - used to get or pick-up an item or object
Talk - use this when you want to talk to someone
Use - when you want to use an item in your inventory, you usually
do not lose the item when you USE it
Open - used to open objects, etc, also used to enter a
building by typing 'Open door'
Walk - use this when you are inside a building and you want to
Walk to another part of the room or a different room
Give - use this to give someone an item from your inventory, you
usually lose the item when you GIVE it to someone
There are two shortcuts you can use for statements which are used often:
L A -- used to Look Around the room or scene
X S -- used to eXit Scene (for leaving the current scene)
Remember, you DON'T need to use prepositions like 'the, and, or, etc.'
Just type the verb and the noun (ex: talk man).
Whenever you enter a building, the view switches to a first-person
perspective, which means you no longer move your character with the
keys. You are now seeing each scene from Mel's eyes. For example, if
you wanted to walk to the bar after you have entered the room, you would
type 'Walk to bar' (or Walk bar) and the scene would change. When you
want to leave the bar area, you could either type 'walk to room' or
'X S'. Either statement will return you to the main room.
When you talk to certain people, the game will switch to a close-up of
that person with some text lines next to them. These lines are statements
you may make to that person. The first two words of each statement are
highlighted, so you only need to type those two words to say that phrase.
In these scenes, you may use any verb/noun combination, but use the lines
that are given to interact or talk with the person. Type 'X S' when you
want to leave the scene.
If you need help during the game, hit F1 followed by F6 to see a shorter
version of this document.
There are a total of 500 points in the game. (in case you were wondering)
I have included two batch files for turning the sound on or off. They
MUST be typed prior to playing the game because once you start playing,
you do not have the option of turning off the sound. When the game is
first installed, the sound is on by default. To turn it off, just type
SOUNDOFF before you start. The sound will remain off until you turn it
back on. Type SOUNDON to turn the sound files back on.
When you are moving your character with the keys, sometimes the character
seems to disappear. Don't worry, however; he is still there. Just try
moving a different direction and he should reappear. Also, if you type
something and nothing happens then whatever you typed was not valid in
that scene. It may be valid somewhere else, however. In other words, you
will not always get a repsonse back for everything you type in.
To register the game, please print the order form (order.doc) and fill
out all the information requested. Thank you for your support.
* Some helpful hints *
Use the shortcut L A whenever you enter a new scene. This is a easy way
to get a quick overview of the scene or situation. Also, I found that
it was much easier to use X S to leave a scene then to type 'walk to...'
every time. You must use 'walk to...' when you are walking forward to a
bar or another room, however. Always write down any important information
you may be given because often you will not be told again! Remember to
save your game often since it is always a good practice to use in these
type of games. Finally, have fun and enjoy the game!
