I. THE LEGEND:
Somewhere deep in the vast and rugged Superstition Mountains
of Arizona, there lies hidden a gold mine of immense richness. It
was allegedly discovered by a prospector named Jacob Waltz, an old
German immigrant who wandered the Superstitions during the early
1880's. He claimed the mine was so rich that the gold could be
removed with only a knife.
Waltz died on October 25, 1891, but he left behind many clues
as to the location of his fabulous mine. One clue was to look for
a pointed peek. Many people believe this peak is the landmark
known today as Weaver's Needle. He also claimed his mine was
located where no miner would ever look. Many old maps have
A surfaced purporting to show the location of Waltz's treasure, but
none have proven genuine.
Today the Superstition Mountains continue to draw those who
seek the fabled wealth of the King of precious metals. And
Weaver's Needle still stands guard over Jacob Waltz's tantalizing
secret... the LOST DUTCHMAN MINE.
II. THE STORY
The hot sun beats down on you and the dust from the
stagecoach ride still coats your throat as you look around at the
new surroundings. You are in Goldfield, a mining town nestled in
the foothills of the legendary Superstition Mountains of Arizona.
It's 1896, and gold fever has struck you, as it has thousands of
others who have dreamed of riches and set out to seek their
fortune in the West. Some have continued on to California but you
have decided to travel to the Superstitions because of the legends
that have reached your ears of the fabulous LOST DUTCHMAN MINE.
Your throat parched from the long, dusty ride, you decide
that the first stop should be the Saloon. You amble in through the
swinging doors and walk over to the well-stocked bar.
"What'll it be, old-timer?", the burly bartender asks.
"Old-timer, indeed", you retort angrily, but as you stroke your
white beard you have to admit that perhaps better days are behind
you. But age has also brought with it experience and a toughness
that belies the whiteness of your hair. Countless younger men have
searched in vain for the LOST DUTCHMAN MINE, but you are convinced
that you will succeed where all others have failed. You order a
drink and savor the cool liquid as it quenches the fires in your
throat and brings a smile to your lips. Yes, you will succeed!
Suddenly there is a commotion behind you. You turn to see a
tall, elegantly dressed man pull a gun from his coat and point it
across the table at a man seated opposite him.
"You accuse me of cheating?", he shouts loudly for all to hear.
"Other men who have said that are no longer drawing breath", he
continues ominously.
The other gentleman quickly gets to his feet and flees out
the doorway, while the gambler smiles and gathers the pile of
coins and bills into his bag.
"Thats Dapper Dan", explains the bartender under his breath.
"He's a card shark, but don't ever call him a cheat. He's fast
with a gun and he's not afraid to use it."
You eye him cautiously as you sip your drink. You know that
one day soon you'll have to try your luck. And hopefully live to
tell about it.
With the excitement over, the bartender now turns his
attention back to you. "Stranger in town?", he asks as he pours
you another drink. You reply with your story of arriving by stage
to do a little prospecting.
"Prospecting, huh", he replies with an indifferent shrug.
"Well, you may want to talk to Old Ned down at the Assay Office
before you head out to the mountains. He'll give you some good
advice on what you need to survive out there. He's also the one
who'll assay your gold, so you might as well get to know him."
You thank him, slap down a couple of coins for the drinks, and
head out to find Old Ned.
You find the Assay Office easily (there's only one street in
Goldfield), and pushing the door open, you enter the small
building. You find yourself in a dusty room with what appears to
be a ton of rocks of various sizes strewn about the floor. At the
back of the room you spy a bearded man chipping away at a rock
with a small hammer. He turns as the door closes behind you.
"Who's there?", he asks gruffly, squinting through old
spectacles perched precariously on the end of his long nose. As
you explain the purpose of your visit his manner softens and he
wades through the piles of rock to great you.
"If you're going to prospect, you've come to the right place.
There's gold out there, plenty of it, but it will take lots of
work, lots of sweat and lots of luck. First you'll have to
together a grubstake. That's your supplies. You'll be spending
weeks, maybe even a month at a time out there in the desert and
what you take with you will greatly determine whether you come
back.
"First off, you're gonna need a gun. You'll be traveling along
in the desert and you'll find it will come in mighty handy when
you're up against rattlers, Indians or robbers. Of course, you'll
need a pick and shovel, and a pan for panning in the river. And
you're gonna need food and lots of water. The hotter the
temperature, the more water you'll need so always keep your
canteens full.
"They're expensive", he continued, "but as soon as you can,
you'll want to buy yourself a burro. They can double your load
carrying which means you can carry more food and supplies which in
turn means you'll be able to travel farther out into the
mountains. The burro you can buy at the Livery Stable. The rest of
your food and supplies can be had at the General Store. It's the
green building down the street called the Mercantile. You might
want to carry some fish hooks. In an emergency you can catch a few
fish in the river. They'll tide you over if you run out of food
and you can make it back to town."
Old Ned paused and scratched his scruffy beard. "Let me see
what else I can tell you. Oh yeah, carry some anti-venom with you.
You're bound to get bit by a rattler but if you drink the anti-
venom it will counteract the effects of the poison. If you get bit
and you haven't got any anti-venom, then get to the Doc as fast as
you can! He's got an office at the end of town and he'll fix you
up if you get bit or shot. He's a nice guy. He'll even extend
credit in case you don't have enough to pay him.
"Watch out for Indians and bandits. The Indians will be after
your burros, the bandits after your gold and cash. You can usually
scare off the Indians if you put up a little fight, but the
robbers you'll have to wound or kill before they'll give up. If
you do capture a robber, you can sometimes collect a reward at the
jail.
"One more thing. There are lots of old mines and caves out
there. Be careful if you go exploring. And if you do find the
'motherlode', come back here to stake your claim.
"Good luck, partner. Oh, and here's one more piece of advice.
Stay away from Dapper Dan. He's a real card shark and a dangerous
man. Although I have heard rumors that he carries with him a piece
of an old map showing the location of the LOST DUTCHMAN MINE."
With Old Ned's words ringing in your ears, you head down to
the Mercantile to begin your adventure.
III. PLAYING THE GAME
Unlike most computer games, LOST DUTCHMAN MINE makes use of
both the mouse and the joystick throughout the game. Use the mouse
in port 0 and the joystick in port 1.
You guide the Prospector through his adventures using the
joystick. Where appropriate, you can move in one of four
directions; right,left,up or down. The joystick button is used as
an action button in various circumstances (firing a gun, for
example). The mouse is used solely as a selection device. Think of
the mouse being the prospectors hand. Using the mouse is simply a
method of allowing the prospector to choose items or options
during the game such as purchasing items at the store. To activate
the mouse at ant time during game play, simply click the left
mouse button once. With the mouse active, use the left mouse
button to click on icons or press section buttons on the Status
Panel.
The game isn't protected and CAN be played from the Hard Drive.
IV. THE STATUS PANEL
The Status Panel is displayed at the bottom of the screen and
is assessed by clicking once on the left mouse button to activate
the Hand cursor. Once the cursor is in view, you may select an
icon by clicking with the left button or by pressing the F1-F6
keys corresponding to each icon's position.
The Icon's:
THERMOMETER (a thermometer)
This displays the current temperature. If the temp. rises
above 90 degrees, you will require water more often. If the temp
drops below 50 degrees, and you are not adequately dressed, you
will require more food.
TIME (a clock)
Displays the current time and date. At night, the temp will
drop and all buildings in town (except the Saloon and Livery) will
close at 6 PM.
F1-CASH (coin)
Displays your current cash on hand. This amount does not
include any money you may have in the bank or any gold being
carried.
F2-HEALTH (head)
Changes color depending on your overall heath:
GREEN==good TAN==fair RED==poor
A flashing red means that your health is in extreme danger
and requires immediate attention. Selection this icon will display
a status box showing your heath, food, water, and any wounds.
F3-FOOD INVENTORY (pan n' fire)
This icon will show your total food inventory. To eat a food
item, click on the item then click on CONSUME. To drink water from
a full canteen, click on canteen and then on CONSUME. The canteen
will remain in your inventory but will now be empty. Canteens can
only be filled at the river. To move an item, click on the item
once with the left mouse button to select it, then click on an
empty inventory box with the right mouse button to place it. In
this way items maybe moved between yourself and any burros.
F4-TOOLS INVENTORY (pick n' shovel)
Displays your inventory of tools and non-food supplies. You
must be carrying a tool in your personnel inventory to use it.
Items maybe moved by the same means as the F3 key selection.
F5-SHOTS LEFT (gun)
Icon become active only after you buy a gun and then shows
how many shots you have left.
F6-DISK (disk)
Displays a selection box which enables you to SAVE, LOAD,
RESET, or QUIT the game.
SAVE-a game in progress, click on SAVE, after a selector box
appears, enter the filename for the save. You may save your
position anywhere within the game including within mines,caves,or
in the town. Because you may enter a unique filename for each
saved game, multiple save can be saved on one disk.
LOAD-to load a previously saved game.
RESET-allows a brand NEW game to be started without turning the
computer off.
QUIT-The preferred method of exiting the game!!
To PAUSE the game press <TAB> key! Press <RETURN> to continue.
V. THE TOWN
Your adventure begins in the town od Goldfield. As you walk
down the main street, you will see many building which may be
entered to conduct business. Normal open hours are from 8 AM to 6
PM, however the Saloon and the Livery are always open for your
convenience like 7-11 and Stop n' GO.
The town doctor maintains a small office next to the Saloon
and treats snakebites as well as victims of gunfights and Indian
attacks. The Doctor will mend them for prices stated. All wounds
will be fully healed by clicking on the appropriate button and the
fee will be automatically deducted from your cash. The doctor will
extend credit if you are short on cash. If you have money in the
bank, he will take the money automatically from your account. If
you have no money, he will collect the remainder at the next
opportunity.
VI. MERCANTILE
The Mercantile carries a wide variety of food an supplies
needed by any enterprising prospector. Many items are available,
most of which are necessary at some point in the game for for your
success or survival. To make a purchase, click on the item with
the mouse cursor. An arrow will appear next to the item confirming
your selection and a description of the item and it's price will
be displayed. Click on the BUY button and the item will be added
to your inventory, with the purchase price being deducted from
your available cash. Food items are automatically added to the
FOOD inventory, other items are added to the TOOLS inventory. If
you attempt to purchase more items that you can carry, you will be
alerted of that fact. All purchased items are added to your
inventory only. If you have a burro, move some items to the
burro's inventory which will allow you to carry more items. The
Mercantile does not extend credit.
VII. SALOON
DRINKS: To buy a drink, approach the bar. A selection box will
appear offering you a choice of drinks. Select one. All drinks
cost $1.00 and will add to your water status, although too many
drinks may decrease your overall health status.
SLEEP: After 6 PM, an option to SLEEP is available. Although your
health does not rely on sleep, there are times when you will want
to take advantage of this feature. Clicking on SLEEP will result
in the immediate passage of time. After a brief fade to black, you
will find yourself in front of the saloon at 9:00 the following
morning.
GAMBLING: If Dapper Dan is sitting at a table in the Saloon, you
can choose to try your luck in a friendly game of poker. Just walk
over to Dan's table and move the joystick up. Dan will ask you if
you want to play a game. Click on the PLAY button to begin
playing. Dan plays a simple game of poker with the following
rules:
$10 ante for both players...pot=$20
a) DISCARD- After each hand is dealt, you may discard upto 4
cards. Click on the card(s) you wish to discard. If you select
fewer than 4 cards then you must select DONE to receive your
replacement cards. If you discard 4 cards, your replacement cards
will be dealt without any further action on your part.
b) FOLD or BET- After you have discarded and received your new
cards, you may place a bet. If you do not think your hand is good
enough to win, you may choose to FOLD. Iived your new
cards, ou choose this option,
you will forfeit your ante and be asked if you want to play
another hand. The rest is just like poer.
c) CALL- If Dan chooses to raise, you may respond by either
Calling, Raising or Folding.
d) RAISING- Any time Dan raises, you may counter with your
own raise. Anytime you you select RAISE, you are actually placing
an amount equal to Dan's raise into the pot PLUS the amount of
your raise!
VIII. ASSAY OFFICE
The Assay Office has two functions in Goldfield; to assay
your gold (exchange gold for cash) and to file your mining claim.
To get your ore assayed and converted to cash, enter the assay
office. Once inside, press the ASSAY button and you will see your
personnel inventory. Click on a bag of ore. It wl be removed
from your inventory and its ore content and value displayed. The
cash amount (if any) will be added to your cash. Repeat for any
extra bags you or your burro(s) carry.
IX. BANK
Bank transactions are very simple. When you enter the bank,
your current balance is displayed and DEPOSIT and WITHDRAW buttons
appear in the Status Panel. To deposit cash use the DEPOSIT button
and enter the amount to be deposited. The same procedure is used
for Withdraws. Use the bank to keep safe large amounts of money!
X. NEWSPAPER
You may peruse the daily newspaper and find out whether the
Indians are on the warpath, whether a hot spell is forecast, or
catch up on the latest town gossip.
XI. JAIL
Upon entering jail, you will see the wanted posters of some
of the claim jumpers and bandits that unfortunately roam in this
area. If you engage in battle with one of them in the desert and
choose to collt the reward for capturing him, you will
immediately in the town jail to collect the reward.
XII. LIVERY STABLE
The Livery Stable has burros for sale. These sturdy little
beasts of burden eat little and have amazing endurance in the
desert. You may purchase up to three burros during the game, with
each pack animal greatly increasing your load capability. To
purchase, click on the one you wish with the hand cursor and then
on the BUY button in the Status Panel. The burro will now be yours
and you will be able to transfer items from your FOOD and TOOL
inventories to the burro.
If you decide to sell a burro, return to the Livery Stable,
click on an empty stall and select SELL. YOU WILL RECEIVE ONLY 50%
of the amount originally paid!
XIII. THE DESERT
Once you leave town, you'll find yourself looking down from
an aerial view of the surrounding desert. Use the joystick to move
in any direction over the terrain. Movement is faster and easier
along the main road. If you decide to head out over the desert,
remember that you will move slower and your need for food and
water will increase. At any time, you may stop and press the
joystick button to reveal a ground level view of the area and
allow you to see details that you would otherwise miss from the
overhead view. You can travel through the desert to the
surrounding mountains to search for caves and abandoned mines,
fish or pan for gold at the river, or return to town.
Travel in the desert is not without its hazards. You must be
ready for rattlesnakes, robbers, and indian attacks. These attacks
will generally occur without any warning. Your screen will
immediately switch to a ground level view and your adversary(s)
will proceed to attack. You may choose to run or fight. You may
run from rattlesnakes without penalty (in fact most people do).
However, running from Indians or robbers will result in the loss
of most of your possessions. (if you kill a rattler, it will be
added to your FOOD inventory...It will keep you alive if needed!)
XIV. THE RIVER
Move to any area of the river on the overhead map and press
the joystick button. You will be at that point at a ground level
view.
a). PANNING FOR GOLD
If you have a pan in your inventory, a new button
labeled PAN will appear on the Status Panel. Click on it to begin
panning for gold. The results of each panning are added to your
inventory as a brown bag of ore. Some areas of the river will
produce better results than others.
b). FISHING
If you bought a fish hook, a new button will appear on
the Status Panel labeled FISH. Click on it to fish. Each fish
caught must be brought to the surface and will then be added to
the FOOD inventory. As in real life, there won't be any fish in
certain areas of the river, and it is possible to clean out the
river by over-fishing!
c). WATER
Click on the WATER button to give yourself a soothing
drink from the river. In addition, any empty canteens marked with
an 'E' (empty) in your inventory will also fill up and show a 'F'
for FULL.
Clicking EXIT will return to the overhead view.
XV. CAVES AND MINES
There are over 100 caves and mines within the area of
Goldfield that can be explored. From the overhead aerial view,
move to any desired area and press the joystick button to have a
quick look around. As you get closer to the mountains, you will
start to see certain details such as a cave opening. Get as close
as you can until you are at the cave or mine opening and you will
automatically enter it. Be sure you have a lantern and some
matches to light your way. Also make sure you have everything you
need in your personnel inventory while exploring these areas as
you cannot bring your burro with you.
Using the PICK: In some parts of the mines there maybe a small
deposit of raw gold ore. Pushing the joystick button will allow
you to begin digging. After several swings of the pick, the
results of your efforts will be added to the TOOLS inventory as a
bag of ore. The pick is also useful for clearing away falling
rocks.
Using the ROPE: If you have rope, you can descend the shafts in
the caves by pressing down on the joystick. A rope will attach to
a convenient point overhead and you can descend to the lower
level. Climbing up is just the reverse...just press up on the
joystick.
Using the LADDERS: Simply move the joystick up or down to use
them.
