231 lines
9.2 KiB
Plaintext
231 lines
9.2 KiB
Plaintext
ECSTATICA
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For the love of one
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shall briefly disclose the matters of mine
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which the Ancients do Alcamye call
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or others, Alchemy.
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Wherefore, it is here, understand you shall,
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this wonderful art and gift of the Almighty
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which was never found by labour of man,
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but it, by teaching or revelation began.
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He, and more surely she, so as I find,
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of noble mind, who
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searched nature will find this art,
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in manner of physik
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and magic natural.
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But
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all these writings are very dark
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despise all books and them defy
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wherein is nothing but recipe and accipe.
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Few learned men within this realm
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can tell thee aright what I do mean;
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I could never find man but one,
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which could teach me the secret of Alcamye
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and that was the old man on the close of Tirich,
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the guardian of our castle.
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This olde philosopher wise
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by wey of kind in sundry wise
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a deamon made prisoner
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of the stone circle.
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This devil, one of the worst, so as I finde,
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through our craft only could be defeated
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the nature of evil
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both in substance and figure.
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But teacheth the great worke
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a foule labour,
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not fit for lesser men or women,
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in which is found great travail
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with many perils and many a faille.
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Whomsoever thou art that presumest to dive
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into the fountain of work and hopes to obtain
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by ambitious enterprise,
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the reward of our arte,
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I tell thee by the eternal creator
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for a truth, for all truth
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being small is going far.
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If thou keep thy secrets in store unto thy shelve
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thou hast conquered the power
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and all the devils thou holdyst at will,
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maybe
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for wise men done say store is no sore,
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but women know more...
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Ecstatica, 928 AD
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A prelude...
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I started out on my journey in good spirits, riding through the
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lowlands and enjoying the solitude, as my horses hooves beat out a
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relaxing rhythm. Finding a waterfall above a deep pool I swam and
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refreshed myself, stretching out in the afternoon sun to dry.
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Perhaps we lingered too long though....
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Trying to make up time, I pushed my stallion hard....too hard, and the
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rough country and burning heat took it's toll on horse and rider.
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Travelling through this part of the country is a demanding experience,
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treacherous mountain paths criss-cross endlessly, and more experienced
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riders than me have become hopelessly lost. The sun was starting its
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descent as we rode past a monastery, the twilight engulfing us in
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disturbing shadows. In the deepeing gloom we found ourselves
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at a cross-roads just outside a small village....
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It had seemed the right thing to do at the time. With darkness falling,
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water and shelter were needed.
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The village was on the far side of a small bridge. A short distance to
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travel, for sure, but as I crossed that bridge, the atmosphere seemed
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to change, as quickly as a thunderstorm can turn the weather on a
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summer's day. On reaching the other side, I could feel that something
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was amiss....
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Everything was still, and quiet as the grave. There were no children
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playing, no women cooking an evening meal, no men joking and laughing
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on the way home from the tavern.... what could be wrong?
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A shop to my right looks harmless enough, but why is the door hanging
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from its hinges and what are those foul scrawls daubed on the walls?
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What the... Oh my god........
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An objective...
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---------------
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You have arrived in a village that seems to be deserted. However,
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you'll soon discover that first appearences can be very deceptive.
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The village of Tirich is under the influence of dark, supernatural
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forces that have manifested themselves in a menagerie of ghouls and
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demons.
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Your survival depends upon your ability to discover why strange
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creatures prowl otherwise peaceful streets. You must free Tirich from
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this unholy spell, or perish trying. A diary may provide some clues as
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to why these fearful events have come to pass, and that's as good a
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place as any to begin your quest...
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Installation:
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-------------
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Place disk 1 in your diskdrive. Type the letter of your diskdrive
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followed by a colon and press Enter e.g. A: <enter>
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Type INSTALL and press ENTER
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Follow the on screen instructions.
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Select a sound card from the list of supported cards.
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Select the directory that you want the game to install to e.g.
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default C:\ECSTATIC.
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Once installed, the game will be immediately playable.
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In order to play the game on future occasions, you must make the
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installed directory the current directory e.g. cd C:\ECSTATIC. Then
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type ECSTATIC and press ENTER.
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In game options:
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----------------
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At any point in the game you can press escape to access the in game
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options. A pop up menu with the following choices will appear on
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the screen:
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[Start Game (male)] - restarts the game from the beginning
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[Start Game (female)] - restarts the game from the beginning
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[Save Game] - Gives you ten slots in which you can save a game
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[Load Game] - Enables you to select any of the saved game
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[Options] - Selecting this will let you access another on screen menu
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with the following choices:
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Turn [music] on and off
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Turn [sound effects] on and off
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Turn [subtitles] on and off
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If you wish to alter the sound card settings then key in the following
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commands:
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Make the installed directory the current directory (e.g. cd
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C:\ECSTATIC). Type SETUP and press ENTER. You can then choose from the
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list of soundcards. The game will then play with the new settings.
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Controls:
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---------
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Ecstatica's controls, via the numeric keypad on your keyboard, remain
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consistent throughout the game.
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You can move your character forwards in the direction that he/she is
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facing, via the '8' key, regardless of which viewing perspective the
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in-game editor editor offers you. (i.e., regardless of whether you are
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moving into, or out of, the screen).
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The keypad controls via the numeric keypad:
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1 - Pick up, or put down, an object with your left hand (note that
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your character one object in either hand at any one time)
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2 - Walk backwards
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3 - Pick up, or put down an object with your right hand
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4 - Turn left
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5 - Dodge
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6 - Turn right
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7 - Hit with the left hand (or held object/weapon etc.)
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8 - Walk forwards
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9 - Hit with the right hand (object/weapon etc.)
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Your character's movement modes are...
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F1, F2, F3, F4 - Stealth (very useful for sneaking past enemies who
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are best not disturbed...)
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F5, F6, F7, F8 - Walk (quicker than stealth, but not too fast for
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comfort)
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F9, F10, F11, F12 - Run (might just get you out of trouble, but be
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careful you don't simply run out of the frying pan and into the fire)
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Credits:
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--------
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Programming Andrew Spencer
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Animation & Story Alain Maindron
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Producer Greg Duddle
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Music & Sound Effects PC Music
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Sound Co-ordination Phil Morris
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Voice Characterisation Sharon Ashton
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Russ Lane
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Kevin McMahon
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Product Manager Pat Cain
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Public Relations Mark Blewitt
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Gleon O'Connel
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Packaging & Manual Design Keith Hopwood
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Mark Day
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Packaging & Manial Words Mark Day
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Huw Thomas
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Playtesters Paul Charsley
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Paul Holmes
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Jenny Newby
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Gary Nichols
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System Designed By Andrew Spencer
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Directed By Andrew Spencer
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Alain Maindron
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Illustration By Carl Critchlow
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Typed in by PADISHAR CREEL
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