***************************************************************************** ** ** ** DISTRESS: Version 1.7 Information and Instructions ** ** Written by Mike Snyder (C) 2005 ** ** ** ***************************************************************************** "Covegn is dead. Huchess is unconscious. Strange sounds and stranger visions fill the desert night. The pod is a metal slag, and rescue seems unlikely. Something in the darkness comes closer. You may be stranded light-years from home, but you are not alone." .....................ooooOOOOOOOOOoooo..................... (( TABLE OF CONTENTS )) .....................ooooOOOOOOOOOoooo..................... (1) About DISTRESS (2) Playing Interactive Fiction (3) Credits and Thanks .....................ooooOOOOOOOOOoooo..................... (( SECTION 1: About DISTRESS )) .....................ooooOOOOOOOOOoooo..................... This is the competition version of Distress, entered in the 2005 (the 11th Annual) Interactive Fiction Competition. This version includes: distress.hex - The main game file. This is what you will run. distress.txt - This "readme" file -- some intro information. distress.sol - The complete solution to DISTRESS, in 3 forms. DISTRESS - A resource file, containing the title logo. To play, you will need to install the Hugo Engine (and then, you'll be able to play other Hugo games). A list of links to Hugo downloads, initially swiped from Greg Boettcher's "Spring Thing" page, can be found here: http://www.sidneymerk.com/hugofree.shtml In-game hints are available, although the ability isn't enabled until you have typed HELP at least once. Then, you can use HINT or HINT (object). Some additional information is also available using the ABOUT command. My website and email address (for Interactive Fiction) are: http://www.sidneymerk.com -- sidneymerk@hotmail.com I would appreciate feedback! After you have played the game -- even if it's during the competition voting period (October 1st to November 15th, 2005) please send me an email to let me know your thoughts. The absolute worst thing for comp authors is to be in the dark for six fulls weeks. Nothing in the rules prevent judges from giving us a heads up on what to expect. :) If you don't use the walkthrough during play, I would recommend checking it out at least after you finish. You probably don't have the ".sol" extension mapped to your text editor (which is kind of the point -- you won't open it by accident). Just open your favorite text viewer/editor, and then open the walkthrough that way. "Distress.sol" is just a plain text file. .....................ooooOOOOOOOOOoooo..................... (( SECTION 2: Playing Interactive Fiction )) .....................ooooOOOOOOOOOoooo..................... If you are not already familiar with Interactive Fiction, it's surprising that you have chosen DISTRESS as your first game. However, here are a few general pointers, to prod you along. Commands generally take one of three forms -- a verb alone, or a verb and an object, or a verb with an object and subject. Articles such as "the" or "a" aren't required, nor are adjectives, but adjectives are often useful to distinguish between two similar things. Here's a random sampling of some things you may try in Interactive Fiction. Your options are by no means limited just to these things. Most games will implement special actions needed to solve certain puzzles. The idea is to tell the game what you intend to do, and hope that it understands. GET KEY... or TAKE KEY FROM MAILBOX. REMOVE HAT... or TAKE OFF HAT. JUMP... or JUMP OVER STREAM... or JUMP INTO BOAT. SCRAPE BREAD... or SCRAPE BREAD WITH KNIFE. GO SOUTH... GO NORTH... or simply S... N... ENTER BUILDING... or GO INTO BUILDING TAKE INVENTORY... or INV... or simply I. LOOK AT TABLE... or X TABLE... or LOOK UNDER TABLE. TURN ON COMPUTER... or SWITCH COMPUTER ON. IN (to enter something)... OUT (to exit something). PUSH CART... PULL ROPE... TALK TO ROGER... or ASK ROGER ABOUT JESSICA. In order to be more precise about your intentions, modern IF usually requires complete thoughts and complete words. If your last experience with text adventures was from the mid 1980's, and especially if you played a lot of hobbyist games, you'll find that today's IF won't often understand "DRO KEY HOL" as a substitue for "DROP KEY INTO HOLE." Of course, it's not normally necessary to get too verbose in the other direction -- you may not have to "DROP THE SMALL BRASS KEY INTO THE DEEP DARK HOLE" -- but you probably could! Some conventions of IF can also be useful: ABOUT... Display the "about" information for the game. HELP... Ask the game for tips or hints about playing. UNDO... Take back the last action performed. SAVE... Save your game, so you can re-load it later in this version. RESTORE... Load a saved game, if the save was made in this version. OOPS... Fix a typo in the previous command line (see below). LOOK... When used without an object, will re-display the room. X is short for "examine" -- you can "x" or "look at" much of what the game describes to you. In fact, it's usually vital that you do. Use "OOPS" or "O" to correct a mistake in the prior command. For example: >PUT EGGS IN BAKET You see no "baket" here. >OOPS basket You place the painted eggs safely into the easter basket. Pronouns usually work, if you have just referenced something. For example, if you GET BOOK, you can usually follow this with READ IT. Or, TALK TO MARIE followed by ASK HER ABOUT COFFEE. You can sometimes reference certain things at the same time. For instance GET BOOK AND KEYS... or DROP ALL BUT LETTER... or GET ALL... or DROP ALL. Commands separated by THEN or a period can be done at once. To save time in performing a series of commands, you could specify (as an example) "N. N. E. S." (without the quotes) to go north, north again, east, south. You might also GET BOOK THEN READ IT to specify two actions at once. .....................ooooOOOOOOOOOoooo..................... (( SECTION 3: Credits and Thanks )) .....................ooooOOOOOOOOOoooo..................... First, a *BIG* thank-you to my wife! Without her encouragement and support, I probably would not have finished DISTRESS. More amazing is the fact that our newborn turns one month old as of the competition submission deadline. This game was started and finished with her understanding and assistance. Next, I want to thank my beta-testers! Their feedback, advice, and even the brutal criticism has made this a game far better than it might have been. If flaws still exist -- technical *or* design -- it's my fault, not theirs. Greg Boettcher, Kevin Venzke, Ray Rantala, Drew Mochak, Zach Flynn, William Head, James Cunningham, Robert Fogt, Ramona & Anna White. It's in no small way that I also owe thanks to Kent Tessman, for creating Hugo to begin with, and for being an occasional resource when I've had questions or stumbled upon weird quirks. The Hugo Book is a life-saver!