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CROSSBOW - THE LEGEND OF WILLIAM TELL
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To his homeland - suffering under the yoke of a cruel and oppresive
empire - he is a symbol of hope. The crossbow and the apple have become a
flag of freedom.

To the Emperor he is a dangerous spark that must be extinguished
before it can become a flame. To the Resistance he is a figurehead, a
powerful ally if they can only persuade him to adopt their cause.

To Gessler, the man who created him, he is Nemesis. Gessler pushed
him beyond the limit of human endurance...and now he is back for revenge.

William Tell. A reluctant hero.

A man forced to become a legend.

Gessler has placed the ducal hat on a pole in the market place and
pronounced that anyone who passed it without respectfully removing their
hats would be punished without mercy. Tell's son has been arrested and
imprisoned by Gessler's Black Knights for refusing to bow down to the
hat, and they are on the look-out for Tell himself, as a suspected
subversive.

YOUR AIM

You lead Tell in his search for his son, and his continuing feud with
Gessler.  This takes place in the woods and mountains near Tell's
village, Claremont, and the surrounding settlements, and the towers and
dungeons of Gessler's castle.

Tell is an extraordinary croosbow archer, and can hit targets other
people cannot sometimes even see! He is also a natural leader and can
hold the respect and loyalty of the good people of the village and local
area. It is only with their help and co-operation and his constant
vigilance against the forces of evil and repression that Tell stands any
chance against Gessler's obsessive tyranny.

You must find and free your son, and then find Gessler, and deal him the
justice he so richly deserves.

You must interact with the characters from the surrounding areas - if you
stop and talk to them or give them useful items, they will help you and
give you objects in return. Only after trying other methods should you
resort to violence, as the penalties for killing innocent people can be
high.  Watch out also for people who appear to be bad, but are simply
angry or upset - Tell can often be well rewarded for a little kindness.

The game will end when Tell's vitality sword disappears. However, before
this happens, Tell will often collapse from exhaustion and recover a
little of his energy.

The food found in various locations in the game can be eaten to increase
Tell's vitality. Fighting with other characters and using 'warp attack'
are the only ways to lose vitality.

GAME CONTROLS

The game is generally controlled with the mouse or joystick guiding a
pointer around the control panel, the left mouse button taking the player
into specific play modes, the right returning to the general 'Top Mode'.
When a message comes up in the top text box, game-play is halted for a
few seconds to give the player time to read; pressing the right mouse
button will remove the message more quickly.

SUMMARY OF CONTROLS USED IN THE GAME.

Mouse -
Left Button     Selects icons or fires arrow
Right Button    Exits back to 'Top Mode' or exits from aiming down bow or
                removes text messages
Help    -       Displays game map
Esc     -            Displays game save/load menu
4 arrow keys    Selects appropriate direction icon (if highlighted)
Return -             Stops Tell if walking (via stop icon)
Space Bar        -   Enters 'Combat Mode' from 'Top Mode'
F1      -            Toggles in-game music on/off
F5      -       Pauses the game (any key to continue)
F6      -            Gives the player's current score
F10     -            Terminates the current game

CONTROL PANEL

The control panel is situated at the bottom of the screen, and has a
pointer controlled by the mouse or joystick which is used to select from
the two groups of icons on each side of the panel.

In the middle are two text boxes which give the player information duch
as their score or status and messages spoken by other characters they
meet.  The bottom box contains any description of the current location of
objects nearby, while the top box is used for the view down the
crossbow's sights when aiming, spoken messages, or more specific
descriptions of objects.

While next to an object which can be picked up, its general description
will appear in the lower text box by selecting this box with the pointer,
a detailed description can be called up onto the box above.

Objects and actions which are available to the player at that point in
the game will be indicated by their particular icon being in colour, any
others not available will have their icon in black and white. When a
coloured icon is selected with the pointer, the icon will animate or
change colour for a moment to confirm that selection.

LEFT-HAND GROUP OF ICONS

Selecting one of the left-hand group with the pointer will bring up a new
selection of icons connected with the icon. ie 'Valuables Mode' will show
a Ring, Crown, 2 Necklaces, a Jewelled Cup, and Coins, and Jewels, each
of which can be individually selected for use. The exception to this is
the 'drink' icon, which when selected, will simply increase the player's
vitality (and reduce the stock of drink carried), and is handled in the
same way as food.  With these new icons comes a new mode of play, which
can be left to return to the top (original) level by pressing the right
hand mouse button.

NORMAL RIGHT-HAND GROUP OF ICONS

Selecting any of the right-hand group with the pointer will operate a
short-term action, which does not have any extra, related icons. The
'Arrow Ready' icon, when lit, will give the number of arrows currently
loaded in the bow if selected.

On each side of the main game area of the screen is a tiled area, the
left is overlaid with a gold sword which represents Tell's vitality: the
more exposed it is, the more strong and resiliant he is, when the sword's
hilt reaches the icon panel, Tell will die.

The right-hand area is overlaid with a silver sword which only appears
when Tell is in 'Combat Mode' and there is someone in front of him. This
represents the character's vitality in the same way as Tell's.

VALUABLES MODE

This shows which valuables are currently carried. When found and picked
up, all will give Tell a score bonus, and can then be used as general
bribes to make people more friendly.

Selecting any of the valuable icons once wheen no-one else is nearby, or
twice when next to someone, will give a description of that particular
object plus its value.

COMBAT MODE

This mode brings up a new selection of action icons on the right-hand
side which are all to do with combat:

The Short Sword and Staff are short-range weapons, but all the others
require varying amounts of space between Tell and his opponent. If you
cannot move the weapon, try backing off from the character.

If there is more than one opponent on the screen, the enemy vitality
sword which appears in this mode is for the nearest character to Tell in
the direction he is facing. However, characters behind Tell can still
attack and inflict damage.

'Parry' is the only defensive move available to Tell, ie only with this
move can he avoid injury from blows aimed at him.

The 'warp attack' forces Tell to stay in 'Combat Mode' for a set amount
of time but allows him to execute all combat moves much faster than
normal, the effect being to allow him to kill most other characters more
easily. The disadvantage of this is that Tell's vitality will go down
faster than normal from the immense effort involved, which can leave him
very vulnerable to exhaustion.

At the start of the game or after Tell has collapsed, no weapon is
selected, and Tell can use his fists!

CROSSBOW MODE

Shown here is a display of the type of bow the player has (wood,
composite, or steel). Any winding equipment picked up (this will speed up
the arrow-loading process, and increase the number of arrows that can be
held loaded on the bow if available), and any sights carried.

When a crossbow icon is selected, the panel crossbow is tilted to an end-
on position with a section of the side view, (as seen by Tell) shown
(together with any targets, if present) to aim at. At this stage, the
number of arrows currently loaded will be put up on the bottom text box,
and is updated as arrows are fired. The bow's sights can then be pointed
at the desired target, and pressing the left (or fire) button will fire
the arrow.

The type of arrow and bow used will affect how easy or hard it is to
actually hit the target. Pressing the right button will return the player
to the main menu without firing the arrow.

Selecting any of the bow winder icons will give its description.

When Tell is at the apple-shooting location, he will not be able to move
in any direction or turn around. He has three attempts to hit the apple.

QUIVER MODE

Shown here is a display of the type of quiver (smallest one at the start
of each game) and how many arrows the player has (wood, iron, or extra-
sharp steel).

An arrow can be loaded onto the crossbow by selecting one of the arrow
icons; at this point any coloured arrow icons will change to grey to
indicate that the bow is being loaded, these will change back to colour (
and so be open to further use) after loading. This process will vary in
time according to the crossbow and winding equipment used, but when the
arrow is ready to fire, the 'Arrow Ready' icon (on the right hand side)
will change from grey to colour.

If winding equipment has been picked up, more than one arrow can be
loaded onto the bow, the only restriction being that they have to be of
the same type. If there is more space available in the bow and if there
are more of the same type of arrow, then that particular arrow icon will
be re-lit, permitting further loading.

The number of arrows loaded in the bow can be checked at any time by
selecting the 'Arrow Ready' icon on the right-hand side (unless, of
course, it is grey which would indicate that no arrows were currently
loaded.)

When picking up arrows in the game, the type added to Tell's quiver will
depend on the type of bow he currently has: BLunt for the Wood bow, Sharp
for the Composite bow, and Broad for the Steel bow. If Tell already holds
the maximum for this type of arrow, and his current quiver can hold more,
additional arrows of the other twp types will be added to the quiver.

Any surplus arrows from the cache will be lost permanently once the
quiver has become full. At this point, Tell will not be able to pick up
any more arrows until he has used some from his quiver.

Selecting any of the quiver icons will give its capacity, whilst
selecting any of the arrow bar scales will show how many Tell has of that
particular type of arrow.

MANUSCRIPT MODE

Here are shown the eight manuscripts and the bible which can be found in
the game. These are mainly for use as identity papers to get past guards
of Black Knights on the look-out for Tell. When near to other people,
they can be offered to them by selecting first their own icon, then the
'Offer' icon on the right-hand side, which will be coloured if the
character is valid (ie not an animal!)

The player has to be very careful in this, since although the guards
won't take the wrong papers, they will start to become suspicious (and so
more hostile) of anyone who obviously is not familiar with the correct
procedures.

The bible, although it cannot be offered to anyone, has a beneficial
effect on some types of people.

Selecting any of the manuscript icons once when noone else is nearby, or
twice when next to someone, will give a description of their contents in
the top text box.

Manuscripts can also be given to people who do not ask for them.

KEY MODE

This shows which keys are currently carried, plus a key hole icon which,
when Tell is by a locked door and selected a key icon, will be in colour.

To unlock a door, Tell must first walk towards it until he gets a message
informing him that the door is locked (this will also tell him which key
is required). You must then go into Key Mode, select the correct icon,
then select the keyhole icon; you will then be told that the door is now
unlocked. If the wrong key is selected, you will be told that it is the
wrong one, at which point you can try again.

Selecting any of the key icons once when not near a locked door, or twice
when next to one, will give a description of that particular key.

FOOD MODE

Here are shown the various types of food that can be found during the
course of the game. Any icons in colour indicate that Tell is carrying at
least one piece of that food.

Food can be eaten by selecting a coloured food icon, and then selecting
the 'Speak/Eat' icon on the right-hand side. At this point, Tell's
vitality will be increased by an amount relative to the food's
nutritional value unless, of course, his vitality is already at its
maximum value. Some mushrooms, however, are poisonous, and vitality will
be list and Tell will suffer from the poisoning is one is eaten. They are
identical to normal mushrooms.

Pressing on any of the food icons a second time will give how many units
Tell has of that particular type of food.

Food can also be used as bribes to improve other people's attitude
towards Tell.

SHIELD MODE

This shows which shield is currently carried. Only one shield can be
carried at a time, so when a more protective one is obtained, the old one
is discarded.

In addition, the chain mail and holy relic show up here when picked up.
The chain mail gives extra protection against certain forms of attack,
and the holy relic helps Tell see the current attitude in advance of the
Monks.

Selecting any of these icons will give a description of that particular
item.

GAME SAVE/LOAD OPTIONS

Pressing the 'Esc' key will bring up a Game Save menu, which allows you
to save off your position and possessions at any particular point in the
game.  This is very useful if you are about to start something dangerous,
as if it goes wrong, you can load your original position back in and try
again with a different tactic.

Some versions will need a separate disk to be formatted by the program
before you can save off, this is done via a 'Format and Save' option.
This has the advantage of allowing several different positions to be
saved off at any time.
These disks have to be formatted by the game itself, as any other
formatted disks will not be recognized by the program.

HINTS

It is not helpful to kill good characters you meet, as any items they
might have given you if you had been nice will not be found on their
bodies.

Bad people (Knights generally) will not respond to friendliness, and your
only options are to go away, or to kill them, as you will not be able to
pass a hostile person. However, some Knights and mad Monks take a few
seconds to become hostile. They can be passed quickly if you don't hang
around or antagonize them. If a bad person has anything of use, you will
be able to pick it up off their dead bodies.

When someone has been killed, their dead body will often remain at the
place where they died for the rest of the game.

It is inadvisable to go into 'Combat Mode' when negotiating with friendly
or ambivalent characters, as this will be interpreted as threatening
behaviour, which could lead to them to either refuse to offer useful
items (otherwise available in friendly situations) or actually start
attacking Tell.

Since he starts with a fairly small quiver, it is a good idea for Tell to
keep the few better-quality arrows given to him at the beginning, because
until a larger quiver is obtained, there is no way for him to collect
more arrows of greater accuracy, and thses are almost essential if Tell
is called upon to shoot the apple off his son's head.

The staff and short sword are of great importance to Tell if he is not to
put in a position where he cannot escape, since the wolf and the wart-hog
can come very close to Tell and therefore cannot be hit by any of the
long-range weapons, and also Tell will often find himself placed (eg on
the edge of a location or between two people) so that retreating to give
more room for a long-range weapon is not possible.

Picking up duplicate weapons is not useful, as Tell could lose his own
copies of them in the course of the game. At that point, it can be very
handy to know where to replace his weapons, so the player should keep
track of any extras found. It is important to enter the castle by the
drawbridge.

Checking the game map is often more useful when Tell is at a major
feature in the game, as a red pointer on the map will then indicate
exactly where Tell is.