Transylvania

GETTING STARTED

	Step 1: Turn your Amiga computer off.

	Step 2: Place the "kick-start" disk in the disk drive and turn on
	        the computer.

	Step 3: When prompted for the workbench disk, place the COMPREHEND
                disk in the disk drive instead.

	Step 4: Begin your adventure!

PLAYING A COMPREHEND INTERACTIVE NOVEL

	You communicate in your novel by typing commands in English.  Tell
COMPREHEND what you want to do by typing in your command, press RETURN, and
COMPREHEND will respond with the results of your actions.

	The simplest commands, and most often used, are those for
traveling.  To walk north, you can type Walk North, Go North, or you can
abbreviate with simply North, or even N.  Press RETURN after your command. 
Other directions you can abbreviate are E for East, S for South, W for
West, U for Up, D for Down, I for In or Enter, and O for Out or Exit.

	To see what you are carrying at any time, simply type Inventory.

	More complex commands can contain any combination of verbs, nouns,
prepositions, adjectives, pronouns, and direct and indirect objects...
basically any type of imperative command.  Examples are commands such as 
Read the note, Look at the tree, Look under the wagon, Catch the squirrel
with the box, and Feed the penguin sardines.  Commands can also be combined
into longer sentences, like Catch the cat by the tail and throw it into the
tree. (Of course if you can't catch the cat, you won't be able to do too
much throwing.)
	
	Each action in a command generally takes some amount of "time".  In
other words, if you are in a perilous situation, stringing a lot of
commands together into one sentence will not get them done any faster. 
Generally, commands within a sentence are those separated by commas, the
word and, or the word then, such as Grab the rope and the food, then run
out.  That sentence contains three commands: "Grab the rope. Grab the food.
Run out."  If something drastic is about to happen, you may be interrupted
before your command is completed.  For example, if grabbing the robe in the
above example causes a rock to be dislodged and to start falling, you may
be told "Before you can continue... a rock begins to fall from above"
before you even get the food.  This gives you a chance to react differently
to the falling rock than just getting the food while it crushes you!

MAPS

	When traveling throughout your novel, a map will eventually be
handy so you can get back to places and explore paths that you missed
earlier.  The best way to draw a map is to describe each location in a box
on a sheet of paper, then draw lines to other boxes and label the
directions taken to get there.  Be careful.  Some writers create worlds
with twisting paths, so if you go north to get somewhere, south may not
necessarily return you to the original place!

GRAPHICS MODE AND TEXT MODE

	When you start your novel it will be in graphics mode.  A picture
of your current location appears on most of the screen.  There is a window
with a set of special-option buttons on the right edge of the screen and a
window for four scrolling text lines at the bottom of the screen.  This is
where you type your commands, and where the results are given.  If a text
passage is too long for those lines, COMPREHEND will pause and wait for a
keypress before completing the text.

	You can switch to all-text mode at any time by just pressing RETURN
at the input prompt without any command.  The all-text screen keeps several
lines at the top that describe your current location, in case you need to
refer back to the description after it has scrolled up.  Pressing RETURN
again from text mode returns you to the graphics mode.

	Besides being useful for re-reading a long passage, checking
previous commands, and checking the location description, text mode can be
used to speed travel around areas of the "universe" with which you are
already familiar.  When in text mode, the graphics are not updated as you
move from location to location.  They are only updated when you return to
graphics mode.  Be careful when traveling in new regions with the graphics
mode off, however.  Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words...

SPECIAL OPTION BUTTONS

	On the right side of the screen is a group of buttons that simplify
frequently-used actions and commands.  The middle set of buttons is a
compass for movement.  Instead of typing go north, south, east, or west,
just click on the compass point.  Below the compass is a button marked
List.  Clicking it will list what is in your inventory.

	The other buttons are for saving and restoring "novels in progress"
(Save and Load), quitting, or restarting from the beginning (New).  If you
"quit", you are given the option of saving also.

SAVING AND RESTORING "NOVELS IN PROGRESS"

	It is acknowledged that occasionally it is wise to switch off the
computer for such trivial things as eating, sleeping, or visiting with
other humans, a method is provided for saving "novels in progress."  If you
click on the Save button, a dialog box appears that lets you select a
number from 1 to 4. There is room to save four different situations. 
Clicking on the number you choose will save your exact situation for later.
 To restore a situation, at any time while playing, click on the Load
button.  For both saves and loads, a Cancel button is provided in case you
change your mind.

HINTS

	If you get stuck, don't panic!  Just send a self-addressed, stamped
envelope to:

	Hint Department [the name(s) of your interactive novel]
	P. O. Box 311
	Geneva, IL  60134

We'll rush you a hint book free of charge.

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         DOCS PROVIDED BY  -+*+-THE SOUTHERN STAR-+*+- for M.A.A.D.                                                               
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