Dungeoneer

Explore huge caverns, look for weapons, devices. Defend your self from roaming monsters.

Dungeoneers Player's Guide

By Andrew Brault (c) 1998

http://www.tiac.net/users/ajb/dungeoneers/index.html

E-mail: [email protected]

OVERVIEW

--------

Dungeoneers is an adventure game for the PalmPilot handheld computer.

You will explore huge caverns, looking for weapons, devices, and other

items to help you defend yourself against the roaming nasties. Along

the way, you will find stores which will sell you anything from

commodities such as energy, to exotic devices, to upgrades for your

personal explorer vehicle. Mineral ore can be found scattered around

the caverns and refined into valuable chips. You must manage your

resources carefully and plan ahead to succeed. Many surprises await

you as you explore the vast expanses of underground caverns!

REQUIREMENTS

------------

You need a PalmPilot with about 95k of free RAM. You can still

play with only around 75k of free RAM, but you will not be able

to save your game without at least 95k.

This game may not run on the older Pilot 1000/5000 models because

of certain restrictions in their system software. Pilot 1000/5000

models which have been upgrades to PalmOS 2.0 or higher should run

this game without problems.

This game will run fine on the new PalmIII devices. It will also

run in the Palm OS Emulator (with the appropriate ROM), but you

will get a couple of initial warning messages which can be safely

ignored.

SHAREWARE NOTICE

----------------

Dungeoneers is being sold as a shareware product. In the unregistered

version, you will not be able to travel beyond level 3 of the caverns.

The registered version removes this restriction. The unregistered

version should provide enough material for you to evaluate whether to

buy the full registered version ($15 US).

You can register this product by sending a check or money

order to me directly (US currency only, please), or via the

PilotGear web site, which can process phone, fax, and online

credit card orders as well.

If you want to send a check or money order to me directly,

my postal address is:

Andrew Brault

6 Condy Rd.

Peterborough, NH 03458

If you send a check, please specify whether you would like

to be e-mailed the registered version (be sure to include an

e-mail address!) or if you would like the program on a floppy

disk (specify format). Add $5 for diskette orders to cover

the cost of the floppy disk and disk mailer.

To order through the PilotGear web site, go to:

http://www.pilotgear.com

and search for the name Dungeoneers. You can then order

on-line. Alternatively, you can order by phone through

PilotGear at: (817)-461-3480 or by fax at: (817)-461-3482.

If you have any questions about registering, e-mail me

at: [email protected]

You can always get the most recent version of this game

(and my other software) at my WWW site:

http://www.tiac.net/users/ajb/index.html

Thanks for supporting the Shareware concept!

GETTING STARTED

---------------

This program comes in two parts: PART1.PRC and PART2.PDB. You

must install both. You can install the files using the Palm Install

Tool program that came with your PalmPilot. Once installed, the game

will appear in the application launcher screen.

The game can be driven either from the pushbuttons or with the

stylus. By default, the keys are set up as follows:

Date book - move left

Address - move right

To Do List - action key

Memo Pad - cancel key or pass a turn

Up key - move up

Down key - move down

You may customize these key settings via the "Set Up Keys" option

on the title screen.

You may switch between stylus and button input at will. To make

a selection using the buttons, move the selection highlight and

then press the "action" key (the To Do List key, by default).

To make a selection using the stylus, tap on the selection you want.

After starting Dungeoneers, you should select the "Instructions"

option to get a brief overview of the game. Tap the screen or

press a button to proceed from each screen.

NOTE: You may save your position and quit at any time by tapping

the "Applications" button in the silkscreen area. This will take

you back to the main application launcher. None of the other

silkscreen buttons (or the Graffiti area) will have an effect

during game play.

If the greyscale shades are too light or too dark, you may either

use the contrast knob on your Palm Pilot to adjust the overall

screen contrast, or select the "Adjust Colors" option from the

title screen. In the Adjust Colors screen, you can tap on the

arrows to make the colors lighter or darker. To go back to the

title screen, press the "cancel" key (Memo Pad key by default),

or tap on an empty part of the screen.

When you are finished setting up, select "Start Game" from the

title screen. You must then choose an exploration vehicle to

"pilot". Beginners should select the Stinger vehicle (the one

in the center). If you want a harder challenge, you can select

one of the other vehicles. During the game, you may have a

chance to take control of other vehicles, including ones not

on this list.

After making your selection you will be presented with a

shareware notice. Then you must wait a short amount of time

(15 seconds or so) for the first dungeon level to be created.

Note that this delay is _not_ a shareware "annoyware" delay.

EXPLORING THE DUNGEON

---------------------

After the delay, you will find the vehicle you selected in the

center of the screen. Your "map" of your surroundings extends

for a ways in each direction, and as you explore by moving

around, more of the dungeon is revealed. You can move by using

the up, down, left, and right buttons, or by tapping the stylus

above, below, or to the left or right of your vehicle.

The dungeons are randomly generated, so you will never play

the same level twice!

You may come across many different things in your explorations.

Treasures and other goodies may be acquired by moving atop them.

Some treasures will be picked up automatically, giving you a

message such as "Found 5 chips!" in the status line at the

bottom of the screen. Other treasures require that you pick

them up explicitly (because they may not in fact be beneficial).

To do this, press the action key or tap the stylus on your

vehicle. A menu will pop up, and you should select "Pick Up"

to pick up the object you are standing upon.

Sometimes you will encounter enemy vehicles, which will often

chase you and try to attack you. You can fire back at them by

facing them and then choosing "Attack" from the pop-up menu

given by pressing the action key (or tapping on your vehicle).

Alternatively, you can tap on the name of your armed weapon

(below the main map view) to fire. The status line at the

bottom of the screen will give you a blow-by-blow account of

the battle. Each successful hit will decrease the hull (armor)

value of the ship that was hit. When the hull reaches 0, the

ship is destroyed. You can repair your hull by visiting the

repair shop at a shipyard.

Fighting enemies requires a certain amount of strategy. You

should try to get in the first attack by using the "Rotate"

and "pass" functions. Rotate is a choice in the action menu

(described below), and choosing "pass" by pressing the Cancel

button or tapping on the right edge of the screen will pass

one turn.

By selecting "Inventory" from the pop-up menu, you can manage

the devices carried by your vehicle. Initially, you begin with

one weapon (a M2 laser for the beginner's Stinger ship) and one

other free gift which varies from game to game. The number of

item cells shown (5 for the Stinger) indicates the maximum

number of devices you may own at a time.

By selecting a device and pressing the action key (or tapping

on it), you can bring up a short menu containing the following

options:

Use - attempt to apply the device, or arm it

(put it into use) if it is a weapon

Drop - drop it on the ground beneath you

Destroy - remove it from the game entirely; used

for worthless or harmful items

At the bottom of the screen is a short synopsis of the

selected device and an appraisal of it's value (in chips).

To get out of the inventory screen and back to the main game,

either press the cancel key or tap on the bottom area of the

screen (or on the small "Back" button).

THE GOAL OF THE GAME

--------------------

The goal is to locate the huge diamond at the bottom of the

caverns, rumored to be somewhere below level 10. Then you must

find a way to escape with your treasure. As the difficulty

increases the further down you go, you must build up your strength

at each step of the way.

On each level there are one or more exits to the next level.

These exits appear as downward-pointing arrows. Your goal on

each level is to collect as much treasure as possible, find

stores and purchase equipment, and then descend to the next

level.

VEHICLE STATUS

--------------

Along the right side of the screen are five boxes indicating

the status of your vehicle. From top to bottom, they indicate:

Hull: The strength of your vehicle's hull.

Attacks from nasties damage your hull.

When this value reaches 0, your vehicle

is destroyed. Certain stores will

repair your vehicle (for a price).

Each kind of vehicle has a maximum hull

value which may be increased by purchasing

upgrades at stores.

Ener: The amount of energy you are carrying.

Energy is used when firing weapons and

when using certain devices. You may find

energy cells scattered around the caverns

or left behind by destroyed enemies. Each

vehicle has a maximum energy capacity,

which may be increased by purchasing

upgrades at stores. If you go over this

capacity you will be told "Can't Carry"

when you try to pick up more energy.

You start the game with half your maximum

energy capacity.

Chip: The number of crystite chips you are

carrying. Chips are used as money for

purchasing items at stores. You may carry

up to 2000 of these.

Ore: The number of ore units you are carrying.

Ore can be traded for other commodities at

certain shops. The maximum number of ore

units you may carry is shown by your "Hold"

value (next).

Hold: The maximum number of ore units your ship

can carry. Some shops sell hold expansion

units which will allow you to carry more.

Below the 5 status boxes are two boxes labeled X and Y. These

give a continual readout of your current position within the

dungeon, as a navigational aid.

THE ACTION MENU

---------------

By pressing the Action key or tapping on the picture of your

vehicle, you can bring up the Action menu. It contains the

following choices:

Attack - fire your currently armed weapon in the

direction you are facing.

Inventory - bring up the inventory management screen.

Rotate - change the facing of your vehicle; this takes

no game time, so you can rotate and attack an

enemy in the same turn. After selecting this

option, press (or tap) in the direction you

want to turn.

Pick Up - pick up the device you are standing on (if any).

Options - bring up a list of game options (see below).

Note that you can cancel out of this menu (or any other menu) by

tapping outside the menu itself.

THE OPTIONS SCREEN

------------------

By choosing "Options" from the Action menu, you will get the

following list of options:

Continue game - leave the options screen

Restart game - quit, and go back to the title screen

Adjust colors - adjust the greyscale shades

Set up keys - change the meanings of the keys

Save and Quit - save your position and leave the game

Quit - leave the game without saving

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

----------------

Many thanks to the authors of Dolphin Smalltalk

(http://www.object-arts.com), without which this project

would not have been possible. In addition, thanks to those

who helped beta test. Many refinements and bug fixes in

the game are due to them:

Earl R. Wilkie

David M. Putzolu

Duane Hentrich

J. Carter

Rick Culler

Yeechang Lee

Tim Gonsalves

Julie Strietelmeier

Ed Garbacz

M. V. Inocencio

I hope you enjoy this game. Please e-mail any comments or

questions to me at: [email protected]

Don't forget to register!

---

Andrew Brault