KNIGHT ORC
by Level 9 Computing

Loading Instructions and Gameplay Guide

Introduction

In a hole in a mound there lived an orc. Not a clear, dry sandy hole with only
spiders to catch and eat, nor yet a comfortable hobbit-hole. It was an
orc-hole, and that means a dirty, clammy, wet hole filled with bits of worms
and a putrid smell.

It had a perfectly round garbage heap, blocking the doorway, with a slimy
yellow blob in the exact middle for spitting practice. The doorway opened
onto a sewer-shaped hall - a deeply unpleasant tunnel filled with smoke,
with secret panels, and floors snared and pitted, provided with treacherous
chairs and lots and lots of booby traps - the orc was fond of visitors.

But what is an orc? Orcs are not seen much nowadays, since they are shy of
human beings. They are a pungent people, little bigger than overweight
elves, with the charisma of blow flies and the appetite of gannets. Orcs have
little or no magic, except a rudimentary skill with knives and strangling
cords and, in short, they are evil little pits.

This ore was unusually ugly, even for an orc. His name was Gringleguts.

Grindleguts had lived in the neighbourhood of The Mountain for about a year
and most people considered him two steps lower than a tapeworm, not only
because of the smell and the plague, but because he kept eating their
household pets.

Knight Orc follows on from the events described in "The Sign of The Orc".
Grindleguts has been volunteered as their champion by the other orcs, while
in a drunken stupor, and tied to a horse so that he won't escape, or fall off,
before the joust. Your first task, as the orc in question, is to live long enough
to escape over the viaduct to Orc Mountain.

Good luck, Grindleguts. You're going to need it ...!


Loading Instructions

Cassette users: To remove a cassette from the box, firmly press the top of
the cassette label inwards, and the cassette will pop out.

Remember to always have a blank cassette or a formatted disc at hand to save
your game position on. See section 6 of Game Instructions for more
information about saving and restoring your game position.

Each version of Knight Orc has a Menu program, which will instruct you in
the further loading of the game (if necessary). Simply refer to the table
below, and select the appropriate loading instructions:

MACHINE DISC CASSETTE TAPE

Amiga Insert game disc at the
Workbench prompt

Amstrad CPC 464/664/6128 RUN"MENU" Disc users type |TAPE
To load game type RUN""
Amstrad PCW Load CP/M and type
MENU

Apple II/IIe/IIc/IIGS Insert disc in drive and
turn computer on

Atari ST Insert disc in drive and
turn computer on

Atari 130XE/800XL* Hold START & OPTION Hold START & OPTION while
while turning computer while turning computer on.
on. Start tape and press RETURN.

Commodore 64 LOAD"MENU",8,1 Press SHIFT and RUN/STOP
and start tape.

IBM PC and compatibles Load MS-DOS and type
MENU

Macintosh/Macintosh Plus Double-click the menu
icon.

MSX 64k RUN "CAS:"

Spectrum 48k LOAD "" and start tape

Spectrum 128/Plus2/Plus3 Enter BASIC and type Switch computer on, and
LOAD "MENU" press ENTER

* 8-bit Atari users should turn off the machine and remove all cartridges
before loading.


Loading Advice

If you're having any problems loading Knight Orc into your computer, then
try the following...

Cassette

1. Try the other side of the cassette.
2. Load another game from cassette that you know works correctly, to
check that everything is connected correctly.
3. Vary the volume and tone settings on the recorder if you are able to.
4. Clean and demagnetise the recorder (following the maker's instructions).
5. Try another cassette recorder if possible.

Disc

1. Try again from the very beginning. Remove all discs and turn the computer
off completely and back on again.
2. Is the disc the right way up? (This applies especially to Amstrads).
3. Load another game from disc to check that everything is connected correctly.
4. Have you added any non-standard or peculiar hardware to the computer?
5. Clean the drive (following the manufacturer's instructions).

Guarantee (What to do if the program doesn't work!)

If you have no success in getting the program to run correctly, return it to
Rainbird (or Firebird in the United States) without our packaging, and we'll
replace it (if you're returning a disc, make sure it's safely packed!). Please
include a short letter telling us exactly what the problem is, and what
equipment your computer system comprises of.


Game Instructions - Commands

Knight Orc understands a wide range of commands in plain English, from
simple one or two word instructions up to complex multiple sentences.
This chapter is split into sections describing ways in which to communicate
with the program.

1. Movement

To move around The Land, use the following commands:

Word Abbrv. Word Abbrv.
NORTH N NORTHEAST NE
EAST E NORTHWEST NW
SOUTH S SOUTHEAST SE
WEST W SOUTHWEST SW
UP U DOWN D
INSIDE IN OUTSIDE OUT
CLIMB - JUMP -
CROSS -

These commands take you to an adjacent location. Use the EXITS command
if you want to know which directions are allowed (when EXITS lead in "all
directions" this means the eight main compass directions: N, NE, E, SE, S,
SW, W and NW).

To save time, and so you don't need to draw a map, Knight Orc provides the
commands below:

FOLLOW <person> (e.g. FOLLOW INNKEEPER). Try to stay close to
someone, moving when they do. Other people can be
ordered to follow you as well, see section iii. However,
they can sometimes get left a little way behind, because
even the most loyal follower will not obey you 100% of
the time. Either wait for them, or command them to
move to the destination with you following them.

GO TO <place> (e.g. GO TO CASTLE or GO TO WELL). The program
works out the sequence of short moves needed to
reach your destination (e.g. OUT, NE, N, NE, IN) and
carries them out.

RUN TO <place> (e.g. RUN TO INN). This is like GO TO, but does not
print the descriptions of the places you run through.

FIND <object> (e.g. FIND GOAT). Again, this works like GO TO and
takes you to the place where the object is. Note that
you can FIND just about anything, including people,
moving objects and things inside containers.

Of course, there is not much that the program can do if you try to FIND
something that does not currently exist. Or if the way to your destination is
blocked (for example, there is a Thorn Hedge around the tower). In such
cases, the program does the best it can.


2. Actions

The majority of commands that you will use are actions, such as opening
doors, stealing treasure and hitting dumb animals. Here are some examples:

Command Comment
GET THE KNIFE Take a stabbing weapon for later use
EXAMINE KNIFE Stare closely at a tin-plated object
TIE THE CORD TO THE ROPE Fasten one thing to another
PUT MOUSE IN THE SACK Best place for it, if you ask me
EAT THE RAT PIE Delicious
REMOVE THE TETHER Untie something or take it from a container
PUT KEY UNDER THE MAT I bet you've always wanted to do this
WEAR THE HELMET Avoid headaches later on
OPEN THE CHEST There may be treasure inside it
KICK THE FROG It's smaller than you

To save typing, commands can refer to more than one object, e.g:

EXAMINE THE HORSE, KNIGHT AND LANCE
TAKE THE CLOAK AND THE KNIFE

Knight Orc understands the following collective nouns:

ALL, EVERYTHING, EVERYBODY, TREASURE, WEAPONS and CLOTHES

Thus, you can enter things like:

GIVE THE TREASURE TO THE INNKEEPER
TAKE ALL THE CLOTHES
EXAMINE EVERYBODY

Exceptions are also understood, for example:

TAKE EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE MAT
DROP ALL THE TREASURE BUT THE GOLD BRICK AND THE GOLD FISH

And you can refer to the last mentioned thing as HIM, HER or IT, e.g:

TAKE THE AXE
EXAMINE IT
THROW IT AT THE GREEN KNIGHT
STEAL THE COIN AND PUT IT IN THE BUCKET

You can type several commands on one line, using punctuation or AND to
separate them if you like, though this is not usually needed, e.g:

N NE NE CROSS (Though RUN TO PLACE is better)
OPEN DOOR. GO IN AND TAKE EVERYTHING

Using the fun range of command features allows you to enter near-English
sentences of considerable complexity. More important, it means the game is
more likely to understand what you mean.

3. Talking to Other Characters

Orcs are not known for their small-talk and much prefer action to words,
especially when that action is mindless, violent and aimed at someone
smaller than them. So conversation is limited in this game.

People can be asked about things, and a few of them may even answer you.
One in particular is a mine of information. For example:

HERMIT, TELL ME ABOUT THE KNIFE
TROLL, TELL ME ABOUT THE RING

People can be commanded to do the same sort of thing that you can do
yourself, using the full range of commands. Denzyl is the only person who
will obey without being recruited and I leave it to you to work out how to
make other people and creatures follow your commands. Remember that
you can't finish the game without help. Example commands are:

DENZYL, FOLLOW ME

DENZYL, FIND THE WELL, TAKE EVERYTHING, FIND ME, GIVE
EVERYTHING TO ME

DRAGON, FLY SOUTH AND KILL GROK THEN FOLLOW ME

In some other adventure games, when you give someone a command, they go
off and do whatever it was while you have to stand there and wait. Knight
Orc is somewhat more realistic.

If you tell Denzyl, "DENZYL, GET THE FISH, FIND ME AND GIVE THE FISH
TO ME, he will head off to find it - moving roughly once for every move you
make. Then you can get on with solving other puzzles, doing whatever you
like, while Denzyl carries out his task. Eventually he will wander back and
hand over the fish.

By the end of the game, you may well have acquired a lot of followers, and
they can all be given orders to carry out at the same time. For example, if you
want a simultaneous attack on the vampire, you might enter commands as
follows:

TROLL, WAIT 2, IN, KILL VAMPIRE
MOUSE, WAIT 1, IN, KILL VAMPIRE
IN, KILL VAMPIRE

Needless to say, a lot of puzzles in the later stages of Knight Orc require
co-operation between creatures.


4. High Level Commands

Knight Orc provides a number of powerful multi-stage commands, where you
enter a single command such as 'RUN TO THE TOWER' and the program
carries it out in stages. (The idea is that it is easier to enter one command
than a lot of little ones.) Most of these have already been described above,
and the full list is:

FOLLOW <creature> Try to stay with someone. STOP FOLLOWING later.
GO TO <place> Go to the place (the program works out the route).
RUN TO <place> As "GO TO", without printing location descriptions.
FIND <object> GO TO where an object is.
KILL <creature> Hit and/or pursue creature in a fight-to-the-death.
WAIT FOR <creature> Wait until the creature arrives.
WAIT FOR <number> Wait for the specified number of 'turns'.
WAIT UNTIL <time> (Use the TIME command to learn the current time).

If something unforeseen happens, these commands can be paused by pressing
SPACE. The program will ask if you want to continue: Press Y or N for yes or
no.


5. Magic

Magic works in the Knight Orc world and there are twenty-one spells to
learn. You'll be able to learn them in later stages of the game and will have to
know every spell in order to finish.

To learn a spell, you just need to see or hear its name. To use it, once learnt,
enter CAST <spellname>, or CAST <spellname> AT <target>. E.g:

CAST GLOW
CAST FIREBALL AT DRAGON
CAST LOCATE AT RING

The functions of the spells are fairly obvious from their names and the rest is
up to you!

& Special Commands

Knight orc provides a number of general purpose commands:

INVENTORY (INV) What are you carrying? (Try EXAMINE ME, too.)
SCore How badly are you doing?
AGAIN (A) Repeat the last command
HELP This sometimes gives you a clue.
QUIT Stop the game.
BRIEF Don't report unnecessary text. e.g: exits and shouting.
VERBOSE Report text in full.

Several commands are provided to control the adventure system, rather than
to make progress in solving the game, and these are described below.

Please note that some of these facilities marked with an asterisk are not
provided on some smaller computers and that the best way to find if a
command is present in the version of Knight Orc for your micro, is to try it.

* WORDS Turn off the pictures.
* PICTURES Turn them back on again.
* OOPS Restore the position as it was before you last moved.
OOPS (or UNDO) is a very useful command and, on larger
machines, it can be used several times in succession to
step backwards through the game.
SAVE Stores the game position on cassette or disc. Insert a
formatted disc, or start a blank cassette before using
this command. (Commodore 64 users may specify
whether to save to cassette or disc by adding ,1 to the
filename for tape, or ,8 for disc). When the SAVE has
finished, stop the tape, or replace the Knight Orc game
disc in the drive, as appropriate.
RESTore Loads a previously SAVEd position from cassette or
disc. Enter RESTore and then answer YES as
confirmation. To restore from tape, rewind the
cassette on which the position was SAVEd and start it
on PLAY (if the cassette doesn't move, press ENTER or
RETURN). To restore from disc, put the disc on which
the position was saved in the drive, before using
RESTore. If you are asked for a filename or
equivalent, enter whatever you called the position when
it was SAVEd. When the RESTore has finished, stop
the tape, or replace the Knight Orc disc in the drive, as
appropriate.
* RAM SAVE Saves the game position in memory. This is quicker
than saving on tape or disc, but the data is not as
permanent and will be lost if the computer is turned off
or reset.
* RAM RESTore Loads a previously RAM SAVEd position.

Note: OOPS, SAVE, RESTore, RAM SAVE and RAM RESTore can also be entered
in response to a YES/NO question. For example, if you have just been
killed in the game and the program is asking if you want to play again,
you can use one of them to return to a previous position instead.

Picture Moving

On computers such as the Amiga, Macintosh. and Atari ST, the mouse can be
used to move the picture up and down - allowing you to choose how much
text is visible below it. Disc versions on some other computers, e.g the
Commodore 64, control this feature by means of the up and down cursor
(arrow) keys.

Command Editor

Some of the machines with larger memories provide a command line editor
which keeps a copy of your previous commands and lets you edit and
re-enter them. The command editor is controlled by the cursor keys, delete
and backspace, and works in insert mode. Press cursor-up to display your
previous commands: the other details are best learnt by trying it.


Game Details

Knight Orc is a single game, with three sections, and you must start with
part one, Loosed Orc, and solve this before proceeding. The computer will
display instructions on how to do this, when the time comes.

Parts two and three, A Kind of Magic and Hordes of the Mountain King, are
linked together, and you can move freely from one to the other.

Scoring

Loosed Orc
The idea is to learn the adventure system and tie ropes together to make a
single rope, long enough to use in crossing the chasm. You score points
according to its size.

A Kind of Magic and Hordes of the Mountain King
Learn magic, recruit followers and escape. You score points for each spell
learnt, each follower recruited (providing they have powers which
complement, rather than duplicate your own), plus bonuses for solving the
final stage of the game.


Hints

When adventurers recognise an orc, they attack.

You are not likely to win many fair fights. Why not run away, or distract your
opponent, or cheat in some other way.

You can't take it with you (usually), so it's better to be poor than dead.


Are you really stuck? Take a hint from us...

Blocked by the thorn hedge? Infuriated by the Hermit? Can't recruit the
helpers you KNOW are needed to complete this game? Don't despair!
Although Rainbird brings you the most fiendishly devised adventures, we've
got a heart (who writes this stuff?), so if you are really stuck trying to solve a
seemingly unsolvable problem, fill in the Hint Request Form provided with
this package.

Credits

Idea, design and text Pete Austin
Game programming Mike Austin
Adventure System Mike and Nick Austin and John Jones Steele
Map and Testing Andrew Deeley
Testing Paul Coppins
Original Paintings Godfrey Dowson
Additional artwork Nell Strudwick and Stuart Lee
Poster Paul Human

With thanks to all at Rainbird (and the Dragon, Mouse and Troll) without
whom this game could not have been completed.