Nahlakh
Version 1.30
October 1995
copyright 1994 by Tom Proudfoot, all rights reserved
Introduction
------------
I've played a lot of adventure games, and nearly every game has something
special about it, like the spell system and strong plot of the Ultimas,
or the item and combat system of Wizard's Crown, or the ease-of-use of
Sierra's games. But it seems that each game fails to learn from its
competitors. Why does the Ultima combat system still mainly consist of
running up to your opponent and whacking him with a really big sword?
How come I couldn't talk to more than about five people in Wizard's Crown?
I wish I knew. So, tired of seeing every new game that comes out with a
neat new feature fail to use all the other neat new features that are out
there, I decided to write my own game, using what I felt to be the best
features of all the games I've played, hopefully combining them into a
great game of my own. Now you have the chance to decide for yourself if I'm
right.
So what's original about this game? The way in which these ideas are
combined. There is no game out there that plays like this one. It's
like a wargame with a plot and character development.
There are no "experience points" in Nahlakh... skills are learned by
doing, not mystically improving out of thin air. Nahlakh has been
extensively playtested for both bugs and balance, something that seems
unfortunately rare in today's marketplace. The rest, you'll just have to
discover as you play...
Features
--------
* A party of up to eight characters.
* An huge number of towns, dungeons, castles, and islands to explore.
* Over 100 spells.
* Over 300 different monsters.
* The most complex tactical combat system I've ever seen in shareware, yet
still easy to use.
* A detailed system for items... there can be millions of different
combinations of the item properties. Example:
- there are about 400 kinds of weapons, and weapons can be
of 6 levels of enchantment, be made out of at least 50 materials,
and be special in about 6 different ways, making 14,000 weapons.
Requires
--------
* VGA graphics. Sorry, EGA and below is not supported.
* A 286 or better. The game was waaaaay slow on 8086 and 8088's. I decided
to compile for 286 and up because there is really no reason not to, since
it is unplayable on slower machines.
* Sending me $15. Nahlakh is shareware.
Recommended (in order of importance)
------------------------------------
* A disk cache. There are a lot of disk accesses, sometimes at
inconvenient times. Use a disk cache to minimize this effect.
* A lot of free time. Nahlakh will probably take at least 200 hours
to solve.
* A relatively fast VGA card. The limiting speed factor for Nahlakh
seems to be the VGA card. My 286 runs the game faster than a friend's
386, just because my VGA card is faster.
* An open mind. I'm not out to force my views on anyone, so don't try to
force yours on me. There is some mild swearing in this game, a fair
amount of blood, and some ideas that some people may not agree with.
Tough luck.
Registration
------------
The only thing different about a registered and unregistered version
of Nahlakh is.... well, there isn't anything different! I'm taking a
different approach to shareware than the Apogee guys here... here's how
it goes:
Nahlakh is shareware. If you don't send me $15 after deciding to
keep the game, you are breaking the law. I spent over two years writing
this damn game, and if you play it for the 200 or so hours it takes to
solve, you should feel reeeeeeal guilty about not sending me any
money. (Hey, that's only 5 cents an hour.)
In order to encourage your payment, I will send you a hint book as soon
as I receive your $15.
There is nothing in the hint book that you can't figure out on your own,
perhaps after many hours of grueling effort. Here's what the book has:
* Lists of items and their effects.
* Lists of magical properties and their effects.
* The spell list. No more looking for spellbooks!
* Combat strategies and tips.
And if you are a dedicated and/or masochistic gamer, enclose a note
saying "Here's my registration money, but don't send me the hint book.
I don't need it." The hint book is not necessary.
But registering _is_ necessary. So, send a check or money order for
$15 to:
Tom Proudfoot
P.O. Box 180
Brentwood, CA 94513
Remember to include a note with your address, and _please_ add any
comments or bug reports.
About the Author, proudft@ccnet.com
----------------
I am a senior at U.C. Berkeley, majoring in anthropology (emphasis in
archaeology). Writing computer games is my hobby, not my profession.
I write games to entertain myself and other people, and with the release of
Nahlakh, my first shareware game, I hope to make some money to help pay the
ever-increasing cost of education.
Update: I graduated, and got a job as a game programmer. Yay!
Credits
-------
Nahlakh was designed, written, and programmed by Tom Proudfoot.
Design Assistance: Dorothy Chou, Trevor Pering.
Playtesters: Ian Bell, Robert De Hart, Chris Ferejohn, Yuval Oren,
John Sugden, Mark Vargus.
Bibliography
------------
Brussel, Jack (1961) "A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration
and Use of Arms and Armor", The Southworth Press.
Arem, Joel E. (1977) "Color Encyclopedia of Gemstones", Litton Educational
Publishing, Inc.
--------------------------------------------------------
GAME SWITCHES
There's only one right now, '-notitle' skips the title screen. In case
you were curious, 'notitle' and '/notitle' also work. And here's an
example:
nahlakh -notitle
Wasn't that informative?
--------------------------------------------------------
PLAYING THE GAME
Note #1: Read the damn help screens! I chose not to put little lists of
things to do "(Attack, Shout, Jump, Spin?)" at the bottom of the screen
because once you know how to play a game, they're just annoying. But at
first, rely heavily on F1 and ? to tell you what all your choices are.
--------------------------------------------------------
MAKING CHARACTERS
You need to make eight characters. It's pretty straightforward.
Use the arrow keys to change the attribute values until you get
the combination you want. These are the four attributes:
Strength: affects how much damage you do, how much you can carry before
being slowed down, and how many spells you can cast.
Intelligence: affects some of your skills.
Dexterity: affects some of your skills, the order in which you attack
in combat, and your movement.
Health: affects your movement and how long you can stay alive.
Most people have concluded that the four attributes are of equal
worth, except that Intelligence for non-mages and non-priests is relatively
unimportant.
Then you must select an image for the character. The image you select
will help determine the character's starting race (which doesn't mean
anything except aesthetically) and skills.
Most of the pictures are self-explanatory. A character WILL NOT be able to
cast spells unless you pick one of the following images:
The red, blue, and gray wizards are mages.
The white, blue, green, and black priests are priests.
The purple and blue-robed women are priestesses.
The small brown halfling with glowing hands is a mage.
The black-robed woman is a mage.
The rotund men are merchants. The weird green thing has an odd mix of
skills.
Characters start with a knife or spear (randomly determined), possibly
some quilted armor or a bandage, three edible things, and a spellbook if
they can cast spells. Possession of the spellbook is not required to cast
the spell, and you might want to sell it right away for easy money
(see 'M: Shout words of magic power').
--------------------------------------------------------
MAIN SCREEN
Rough sketch of the screen:
_____________________________
| |
| ----------- char st ht |
| | | fred 10 10 |
| | (map) | joe 33 12 |
| | | burt 13 45 |
| | | yurg 3 4 |
| ----------- |
| 12 coins |
| |
-----------------------------
Your active character is shown at the center of the map on the
left side of the screen and also highlighted in blue on the list
of characters. The active character is the one who performs each command.
Change the active character with '[' and ']' or '<' and '>'.
Use the arrow keys or number pad to move around. You can move diagonally.
Each move outdoors will take from ten minutes to half an hour, depending
on the terrain. Inside, each move takes 10 seconds.
ESC: Options menu.
A: Toggle the side stats.
This command changes the display next to each character's name so that
it shows the spells currently cast on that character. Press 'A' again to
change back to the ST/HT display. Repeat. Repeat. Are you having fun?
B: Bandage a character's wounds.
The active character must have a bandage in his possession. Select
the poor wounded recipient of the bandage. Bleeding will always be
stopped by this command, and some HT may be restored, depending on
the bandager's Medicine skill.
E: Enter something.
This command enters a town, dungeon, castle, cave, or whatever.
F: Full party stats.
This command displays the attributes of all eight characters, any
important wounds such as poison, bleeding, disease, etc., and the
spells currently on each person. Pressing 'Z' from here will display
the skill list and show who in the party is best at each skill.
H: Hunt for food.
This command has the active character attempt to find some food for
the party. It will probably take several hours, and it is possible that
no food will be found. The hunter will be fatigued (loses ST temporarily),
and if his ST is low, might be injured as well.
I: Examine a character's inventory.
This command enters Inventory Mode. (Next section.)
M: Shout words of magic power.
This command has the active character attempt to cast a spell. You must
type the three syllables that are the spell's "code" in order to even
have a chance at casting it. Use this command to cast both magic spells and
prayers -- it will know which skill to use. The _player_ -- you -- are
the only limitation on which spells can be attempted. If you know the
syllables, you can try and cast the spell, even if you don't have the
spellbook. Incidentally (reminder...), in the hint book, I list all the
spells and their syllables.
O: Open something.
This command has the active character attempt to open a chest, door, or
something similar. The active character should probably have a good
Traps and/or Lockpicking skill.
R: Rest for a long time.
This command has the party automatically rest until all lost ST has been
restored (or 10 minutes, in any case). You cannot use this command if
you are being chased by monsters.
S: Search an area.
This command has the active character search something for special
objects. Good places to search are bookshelves, barrels, pots, etc.
T: Talk to someone.
This command has the active character talk to a townsperson. They will
probably say something to you, or you may enter a store.
U: Heal up.
This command has the active character attempt to heal the entire party, and
then rest to regain the lost ST. You cannot use this command if
you are being chased by monsters or the active character is too lame at
Prayer.
Z: Single character stats.
This command looks at the skills of the active character. You may page
to other characters using PgUp/PgDown or the arrow keys. Pressing 'Z' from
here looks at the character's entire attributes (this screen is sort of
useless).
Spacebar: Rests.
This command rests for 10 minutes (outside) or 10 seconds (inside).
Ctrl-I: Change a character's image.
If you don't like a character's picture, you can change it with this
command. The character is otherwise unchanged.
Ctrl-J: Junk a character. If there's some lamer in the party, replace him
with this command. Make sure you take all of his cool stuff first, though!
Ctrl-Q: Quit.
Ctrl-R: Reorder characters.
The active character is swapped with the selected character. In combat,
characters 1-4 are in the front row, 5-8 are in the back.
Ctrl-S: Save.
This command saves your game.
Ctrl-V: Sound toggle.
---------------------------------------------------------
INVENTORY MODE
When you are looking at a character's inventory, you see
the list of what a character is holding, how much it weighs, and what
his movement it. At the bottom, if you can transfer items, your
party is shown so that you can select who to transfer stuff to. If you
are in a store, the person who talked to the shopkeeper is shown in the
lower right with a dollar sign, to remind you whose Merchant skill is
being used.
Things to do:
Arrows up/down: highlight items.
PgUp/PgDown: change characters. (not in combat)
left/right: change transfer target. (not in combat)
D: Drop Item. It will be gone permanently.
E: Examine the game statistics of the highlighted item.
Armor:
'Defense' helps you deflect blows.
'Armor' helps you absorb them.
G: Check the glossary for a description of the highlighted item.
I: Look at the page showing your readied items and combat statistics.
Press 'I' again to come back to the main inventory.
S: Sell item (only in a store, obviously).
T: Transfer item to another player. The item is headed for the
player shown with a box at the bottom of the screen. Change the box
with the left and right arrows.
U: Use the spell on an item. This is for 'wands of ____', 'potions of
____', etc, or other items that look like they can be used. Remember
that bandages have their own command, 'B'.
Spacebar: Ready an item (puts on armor, readies weapon, etc.) On the
readied inventory screen, Spacebar unreadies the item.
X or Esc: Leave inventory mode. (If looting dead, unclaimed items are
lost).
-----------------------------------------------------
COMBAT
The processes involved in Nahlakh combat are rather intricate and
I will only give a quick overview of them. Most of it you will figure out
as you play.
Moving
---------
Moving around is pretty self-explanatory. Moving next to a hostile creature
will lower a character's remaining Moves to 1. Moving next to a guarding
creature will result in an attack. Guarding creatures are shown in their
"attack pose".
Attacking
---------
A character attacks with the appropriate weapon skill. This is his base
chance to hit. This chance may be modified by whatever body part he is
aiming for.
If the swing or shot is successful, the victim's armor may deflect the blow.
A high base attack skill may lower this chance somewhat. The chance of this
deflection is called Defense in game terms. It depends on a character's
current move and the Defense of his armor. Sometimes a Defense is high
enough so that the blow is dodged altogether. Attacks from behind and the
rear corners will lower a target's Defense considerably.
The blow may also be avoided by parrying it (using a Fencing weapon)
or blocking it (using a Shield). A block, if successful, completely
blocks the blow. A parry may be technically successful, but if the attacker
is very strong, it may just be blown aside. Both of these defenses are also
lowered by a high base attack skill and rear/rear corner attacks.
If the blow actually has struck the victim, their Armor may prevent
some of the damage. Armor is not 100% effective -- sometimes blows find
joints or hinges. Characters' armor is entirely dependent on what they
are wearing.
Injury
------
If your HT falls below half, you may fall unconscious. If your HT reaches
0, you may die. Bleeding and poison will lower HT gradually. Disease prevents
you from regaining strength. Many monsters have special attacks that
you will discover on your own.
Combat Commands
---------------
Use arrow keys or number pad to move. You can move diagonally.
To use a hand weapon to attack a monster, move onto it.
A: Change attack style. Hitting various body parts will cause more
damage or have other effects. The part you are aiming for is shown in
the lower right corner in parenthesis to remind you that you are attacking
in this way.
B: Bandage wounds. You must be standing next to the bandagee. Otherwise,
this is the same as when not in combat.
F: Fire a ranged weapon. You are put in Targeting mode -- move around
the map until you find who you want to shoot at.The cursor will flash
red when you are out of range. Press the space bar (or 'F' if you're lazy)
to select a victim, ESC/X to cancel.
G: Stand guard, waiting to attack. You wait for someone to step next
to you, then swing. This is fun.
I: Examine the character's inventory. Just like when not in combat,
except you cannot transfer items from character to character.
M: Shout words of magic power. Just like when not in combat.
Q: Enter Quick Combat. If you're fighting a really easy group of
monsters, and you're lazy, this puts your people on automatic. If you're
getting your butt kicked, pressing ESC will return to normal.
R: Rest this turn. You will get back from 1-6 points of lost ST. You
cannot be next to a hostile combatant.
S: Party status screen. Look at the party's current attributes and
wounds.
T: Throw a weapon. This command is like 'F'iring, except the thrown
weapon is lost until after combat.
W: Wait until later. Let the next person go first.
X: Look around the map. This command enters targeting mode. Look around
at people, see what they're using, and their various wounds and spells.
Z: Single character stats. Just like on the main map.
< and >: Change facing. Turn the character without moving. This is
mainly used just before 'G'uarding, because characters automatically
change facing when moving and targeting.
Spacebar: Pass your turn. You probably would rather 'R'est.
LEGAL MISCELLANY
----------------
You are required to register this software if you decide
to keep it after a couple of weeks. This game only costs $15!
That's cheaper than any other adventure game I've ever seen!
Once registered, you are to treat this software exactly
as a commercial package that you had purchased. The
software and the disks on which it is contained are licensed
to you, for your own use. This is copyrighted software.
You are not obtaining title to the software or any copyright
rights. You may not sublicense, rent, lease, convey,
modify, translate, convert to another programming language,
decompile, or disassemble the software for any purpose. Any
copy made of this program for any person other than the
registered user this copy is licensed to is to be treated as
a shareware copy, and should be evaluated and registered
accordingly.
This software is provided as-is.
There are no warranties, expressed or implied.
For all you wanna-be lawyers out there (Whoo-hoo):
TOM PROUDFOOT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THIS
SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ALL SUCH
WARRANTIES ARE EXPRESSLY AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED.
NEITHER TOM PROUDFOOT NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN
INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF
THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT,
CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE
USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH SOFTWARE EVEN IF TOM
PROUDFOOT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL TOM PROUDFOOT'S
LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID
FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE
FORM OF CLAIM. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL
RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE.
Some states do not allow the exclusion of the
limit of liability for consequential or incidental
damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you.
This agreement shall be governed by the laws of
the State of California and shall inure to the benefit of
Tom Proudfoot and any successors, administrators, heirs
and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by
either party against the other arising out of or
related to this agreement shall be brought only in a
STATE or FEDERAL COURT of the competent jurisdiction
located in Contra Costa County, California. The parties
hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said
courts.
*** END ***
