The Hound of Shadow manual
-------------------
THE HOUND OF SHADOW
-------------------
CREATING A USER DISK
It is necessary to have a user disk ready before starting play, simply
format a blank disk using the initialize command.
Insert the Hound of Shadow Disk 2 into drive 0(df0:) and turn on your
computer.
The disk starts normally up, then it prompts for an empty disk to
initialize.
After initializing it prompts for the Hound of Shadow Disk 2 (DiskB).
Then the computer copies the character files into your RAM.
After prompting for your User Disk it will copy the character files
into your User Disk from the RAM:
Now you have an User Disk and the game can commence.
GETTING STARTED
Before you can start playing a scenario it is necessary to select a
character with which to play.
If you have previously created characters or wish to use the
pre-designed characters then choose Select Character from the main
menu. You are then prompted to insert your user disk and select the
character of your choice. Having selected your character you may either
Begin A Scenario or Examine This Character.
If you wish to create a new character then see below.
CREATING A CHARACTER
Choose the Create Character option from the main menu. You will find
the instructions on how to create a character in the manual. Once you
have finished you will be asked to save the character record to disk.
Simply enter a name of up to 8 characters you must use the Select
Character option from the main menu before you can Begin A Scenario.
BEGINNING A SCENARIO
Once you have chosen your character select Begin A Scenario. You will
be asked to insert your user disk.
PLAYING A SCENARIO
This is a role-playing game that uses a traditional adventure-style
parser system. This means that you must use the keyboard to type in
commands that the game interprets. Since this is an investigative
horror role-playing adventure, you must be careful to remember the
information presented and unravel the plot if you are to succeed. To
help you do this, the game has a command to summarise the extent of
your plot knowledge - type "What do I know" to get this information. Do
not rely on it to store all of your knowledge, just use it as a helpful
reminder.
To help you, here are a number of commands relating to the game:
EXITS Lists all possible routes from one place, this includes ways of
getting lost and stranger less substantial routes.
HELP This offers some quick advice about conversation.
R This describes the location that you currently are in. It will
also display the picture for the location again, if there is
one.
INV This gives you a list of the objects that you are carrying.
GRAPHICS/TEXT
These switch the graphics on or off, although when switched off
the picture will be displayed once when you enter that location
for the first time.
PAUSE Forces a pause and waits for a key press.
Press the Escape key to return from the full screen graphics.
At the ------=====oOo=====------ pause marker press any key to
continue. Press any key to continue when "[more]" is displayed on the
screen.
The function keys have some pre-programmed responses:
F1 Get F2 Drop
F3 Inv (+return) F4 Examine
F5 Time (+return) F9 Load Saved Position
F10 Save Position CURSOR can be used to input
KEYS Directional Movement
HELP echoes "Help"
INSERT echoes the last entry
At the "ENTER FILENAME" prompt during load saved position enter a "?"
to catalogue the saved positions on your user disk.
There are a number of conventions that allow you to move about and
live in the real world, rather than a problematic adventure world. You
are able to 'Go To...' places simply. For example typing 'Go To The
Bedroom', will take you straight into the bedroom, allowing you to move
quickly and easily between locations. Sometimes this facility is
disabled due to circumstance. If you are having a conversation you will
probably be able to walk out. However, you can't use the 'Go To...'
command, whilst you are in the middle of a conversation, you must end
it first. The game relies on meetings and events taking place at
certain times and places, in fact peoples lives depend on it. To help
with your control of time there is a simple 'Wait Until...' command.
This allows you to wait for up to 12 hours at a time.
SAVING, LOADING AND DEATH
Three things that are not usually connected. When your character dies
in this game they are really dead and this fact is saved to their
character record. You cannot use them in this or any other Timeline
game.
You can save your position to paues the Scenario at any point, allowing
you to switch off the machine or take a break. A saved position is
limited to the specific character that was playing at the time of
saving. To load a saved position you must be playing the scenario with
the same living character that was used to save the game. This means
that when your characters die they are dead.
COMPLETING THE HOUND OF SHADOW
Once a particular character has completed the Hound of Shadow they
will not be able to play the Hound of Shadow scenario again. Completion
of a scenario does not always mean successful completion. You can
finish a scenario in a number of ways, most of which are unsuccessful.
THE PRE-DESIGNED CHARACTERS: A BRIEF SYNOPSIS
BRIAN O'DONELLY Filename: Brian
The young Brian O'Donelly grew up on the streets of New York, and what
he lacked in formal schooling he made up for in street smarts and
native toughness. It was all too easy to use his natural charm and
Irish blarney to make money from backroom card games and, but for the
intervention of a brother in the Priesthood, he might have ended up
rose to the rank of Sergeant in the Police force. One of the first to
volunteer for service in France, he survived the carnage in the
trenches, only to find on his return that the politicians were in the
pockets of the mobsters. Disillusioned with the Police, he left two
years ago to become a Private Eye. Now, 1925 finds him in London....
SALLY CHEVERTON Filename: Sally
The daughter of a prominent surgeon, Sally grew up helping her father
in his charity work in the slums of Southampton. No shrinking violet,
she can take care of herself in most situations and has inherited her
father's strength of will. Educated at a progressive ladies college,
she chose not to follow a scientific or medical career but instead
aimed to become a Historian. Frustrated by the conservatism and
chauvinism of the academic establishment and unable to earn a living
from her first love Photography, she has decided to follow the example
of Mary Anne Evans, who became famous as the novelist George Eliot, and
write. She however, is not going to use an assumed name. By 1921 sha
hass already had one book published and is ambitious for greater success.
SIR EDWARD BEAUCHAMP-SMYTHE Filename: Edward
Born in India, Sir Edward's family moved back to England when he was
only six months old. Expelled from half a dozen schools for wild
pranks, the only academic subject that interested him was the classics.
The young Edward was the despair of his parents, university was out of
the question and his natural talent for things mechanical was hardly
the basis of a fitting career for a baronet. It was not until a trip to
France in 1909 that he found his true vocation, when he saw Bleriot's
triumphant cross-channel flight. For the next five years, his time was
evenly divided between flying and High Society. When the Defence of The
Realm Act outlawed civil aviation for the duration of the Great War, he
had only one option, and for the next four years flew over the Western
Front. Not as famous as Ball, Rickenbauer or Lafayette, he was none the
less decorated for valour, and more than that came back alive. Four
years later, he is toying with the idea of attempts on several long
distance aviation records, and is waiting for Mrs. Sopwith to finish
the BS Special....
