Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the product documentation in this manual. However, because SmittyB is pretty much winging it, we are unable to guarantee the accuracy of just about anything before or after the date of publication and disclaim liability for changes, errors, growth of extra limbs, and omissions. Reproduction of this document or any portion of its contents is allowed without the specific written consent of SmittyB, just mention he said "Hi". ============== ~Story so far~ ============== you pursue the hooded figure into the mountains towards the impenetrable spire of the ancients. you among few know of the maddening rites contained within the stolen book you now race to retrieve. you recall the sounds of splintering wood as the secured oak doors of your library`s occult section were smashed off their hinges, and the footfalls of the escaping thief as your blood ran cold when you realised what had happened. with no time to procure so much as a butter knife with which to defend yourself you give chase. with that book and a suitable place to perform the ritual it would be possible to open a doorway for l`qxlmn`s tentacular form so that the world binder may pull our very existence back into the aether from which we came. you return to the moment when ahead you see the figure has abandoned its horse and is now stepping through the trees, carefully examining each one as if searching for something. the dense foliage forces you to continue the chase on foot, but when you close in your quarry simply disappears behind one of many similar trees. you finally reach the tree that masked the thief`s escape when you notice a weakness in the ground under your feet, and rooting through the dirt and leaves you find the handle to a trap door... ================= ~Getting Started~ ================= With your television switched on, insert the Spire of the Ancients cartridge into your ATARI 7800 ProSystem as explained in your Owner's Manual. Plug a 2-button compatible controller into the left controller jack, and optionally plug an additional controller or save device into the right controller jack (see Optional Peripherals). Turn on the console (see Startup Combinations). The opening credits appear. ~Optional Peripherals~ Spire of the Ancients supports a number of additional add-ons which, with the exception of High Score Cartridges, should be plugged into the right controller jack before turning the console on. Supported peripherals include 1-button compatible controllers, 2-button compatible controllers, Atari Keypad compatible controllers, SaveKey, AtariVox, and High Score Cartridge. ~Startup Combinations~ When turning on the console with the POWER button, combinations of other console buttons may be held down to activate additional functions. Prior to pressing POWER, hold the chosen combination then press POWER to turn on the console. Release the other console buttons when the opening credits appear. SELECT + RESET - If a High Score Cartridge, SaveKey, or Atarivox is connected holding SELECT + RESET while turning on the console with POWER will delete any Spire of the Ancients save data on the device. PAUSE - To improve picture quality Spire of the Ancients sends a black & white signal to the television during certain screens and in the heads up display during gameplay. On some televisions this can actually worsen the picture quality so holding PAUSE when turning on the console will cause a colour signal to be sent during these screens. ====== ~Menu~ ====== When the opening credits fade away you will be presented with the title screen. Pressing either fire button on the left controller will bring up the menu. Use the left and right directions to change selection, and then press either fire button again to choose the selected option. 'Start' starts a new game, 'Continue' displays the password entry screen, 'Thanks' shows a list of special thanks and acknowledgments, and finally 'Cast' shows the cast of characters. =========== ~Passwords~ =========== Spire of the Ancients has a password system to restore progress and allow you to continue where you left of. During gameplay you will find save-points marked with a ring of spheres and standing in one will generate a new password and save it to your SaveKey, AtariVox, or High Score Cartridge if one is in use. You can view this password by opening the password entry screen from the menu. When you next turn on your 7800 you can re-enter the password to continue, or if you have previously saved to a SaveKey, AtariVox, or High Score Cartridge the password will be entered automatically. On the password entry screen use the left and right directional buttons to move the cursor, and the up and down directional buttons to change the selected character from 0 to F. With the left arrow (<) highlighted press either fire button to return to the menu, or with the right arrow (>) highlighted press either fire button to confirm the password. A tone will sound if the entered password is not valid. Note: If you are using a second controller during gameplay but want to store your password to a SaveKey or AtariVox you must first make a record of your password, turn off your ATARI 7800 ProSystem, unplug the controller in the right controller jack, plug in your SaveKey or AtariVox, power on the ATARI 7800 ProSystem, select the 'Continue' option from the menu to open the password entry screen, enter the password previously recorded, highlight the right arrow (>), and press the fire button to start the game if the password is valid. The password will then be recorded to your chosen device when the game starts. ========= Controls: ========= ~Title Screen~ Left Controller: Left / Right = Select the menu option Left /Right Fire Button = When the title screen first appears, pressing the button will show the menu. Pressing the button again will accept the visible menu option. ~Password Screen~ Left Controller: Up / Down = Change password character Left / Right = Select password character / Select back (<) arrow / Select continue (>) arrow Left / Right Fire Button = Goes back to the title screen if the back arrow is highlighted, or starts the game with the password if it's valid. ~Text Screens~ Left Controller: Up / Down = Scroll text one line Left / Right Fire Button = Move one screen down. When on the last line (no down arrow showing) this will close the text screen and continue ~Cast of Characters~ Up / Down = Change distance from character Left / Right = Select next / previous character Left / Right Fire Button = Select Normal / Attack animation Reset = Return to title screen ~In Game~ Left Controller: Up = Move forward Down = Move backward Left = Turn left Right = Turn right Left Fire Button = Use the item / Ability held in the left hand Right Fire Button = Use the item / Ability held in the right hand Console Buttons: SELECT = Select next left-hand item RESET = Select next right-hand item PAUSE = Pauses and un-pauses the game. Pressing RESET while paused will quit to the titlescreen and unsaved progress will be lost. POWER = Turns off the 7800 so don't press that unless you're a quitter. Difficulty Switches: Left Switch = (Left/Beginner) Enable Music / (Right/Advanced) Disable Music Right Switch (With SaveKey / AtariVox) = (Left/Beginner) Enable enhanced sound effects / (Right/Advanced) Disable enhanced sound effects (use TIA sounds) Right Switch (With Keypad Controller) = (Left/Beginner) / (Right/Advanced) Optional Controllers: 1-button controller - Up = Next left item, Down = Previous left item, Left = Previous left item, Right = Next right item 2-button controller - 2-button controllers are treated the same as 1-button controllers (see above for details). Keypad controller - 1 = Next left item 2 = Next right item 3 = Pause 4 = Previous left item 5 = Previous right item 6 = Select 'Key' key item 7 = Select 'Fireball' key item 8 = Select 'Grapnel' key item 9 = Select 'Hammer' key item 10 = Select 'Lantern' key item 11 = Unused 12 = Select 'Hag Stone' key item ========== ~Gameplay~ ========== Stats: HP (Health Points) - Your health points are a measure of your vitality. If this reaches zero you die and return to the title screen. STR (Strength) - Your strength determines your effectiveness with certain weapons. The stronger you are the more damage you can deal to your foes. ARM (Armour) - Along the way you may find pieces of armour which increase your armour rating and help absorb damage dealt to you. MP (Magic Points) - Strange energies permeate the spire and its grounds. Your magic points are a measure of the magic available to you and is depleted by using magical abilities. FOC (Focus) - Your ability to focus and harness the unnatural properties of the spire. As your focus increases new abilities open up to you and others become stronger. LCK (Luck) - In everything there is an element of luck, and you're going to need all the luck you can muster to survive. Items and Abilities: Hands - You were born with a pair of hands and you carry them wherever you go. As well as holding your other collected items your hands can be put to many uses. When facing a torch you can light or extinguish it as you see fit, you can find your way around in the dark by tapping on the walls, and in a pinch your fists can fend off some of the weaker creatures. Key - The spire has many doors, some of which are locked by complex mechanisms, others by the humble key as indicated by a key symbol above the door. These aren't your average house keys though, and their significant heft mean you can only carry one at a time. A key in your back pocket will do you no good however so to unlock a door you must hold the key in your hand and approach the door to unlock it. When the key has unlocked the door it is discarded. Boots of Fleeting - Unnaturally light boots made from the leather of some forgotten creature not of this world that give the wearer the ability to run with ease. Lantern - When held, the flickering glow of the lantern will provide some light for darker areas. Grapnel - A metal hook and short length of rope that might just be enough to help cross some gaps. Hag Stone - A small, almost trivial stone with the exception of a hole naturally carved through it. Looking through the hole reveals the world as it truly is. Lucky Horseshoe - It is said that a horseshoe will bring the owner luck providing it's held the correct way to stop the luck running out. Knife - Pointy thing Sword - Pointier thing Hammer - Heavy thing Bow - Pointy-thrower thing Staff - Wooden whacky thing Kite Shield - Metal blocky thing Leather Armour - Though cracked and fragile from years of neglect, the remaining patches that are usable provide some small amount of protection from blows. Iron Armour - Much tougher than patches of leather armour, but cumbersome. The bulky armour prevents you from making practical use of both hands at once as is the trade-off for greater protection. Fireball - Fiery thing Lightning Bolt - Electricity thing Focus Edge - Magic sword thing Focus Shield - Magic shield thing HP Up - Magic healing thing Health Potion - A revitalising green potion that both increases your maximum HP and heals your wounds. Strength Potion - Red Focus Potion - Blue Luck Potion - Yellow Revival Potion - A foul smelling concoction marked with a skull on the bottle that can bring life back to the dead. It's said to be lethal except after the drinker has drawn their last breath and you're not eager to put it to the test. Should you receive a mortal wound while holding the revival potion, with your last moment of consciousness you'll drink from the flask and if chance is on your side you'll feel your life return. Save Points: On your journey you will come across rings of glowing spheres that will restore you to full strength when you step into the centre. Your password will also be updated with your current progress, and saved to a High Score Cartridge, SaveKey, or AtariVox if one is present. Doors: There are many paths and passages connected by doors but not all doors are open to you. To go through an unlocked door simply walk forwards to automatically open the door and move to the next room. You must be facing the door to open it, stepping backwards into the door won't let you through. Some doors will have a symbol on the lintel indicating that they require a key, or some external trigger to be unlocked, and others (indicated by a darker colour) are simply jammed shut and cannot be opened. Portcullises: These heavy, iron barriers will block your progress, but many can be raised out of the way by finding a switch such as a pressure plate or magically-bound torch. Some portcullises will be rusted shut and cannot be opened. Be warned, cultist's can attack you with their magic through the bars, though they are also not protected from yours. Torches: A necessity in the gloomy interiors of the crumbling structures and caverns. Torches found on the walls can be lit or extinguished with a free hand to change the level of light, and some may be bound to trigger obstacles and traps when lit individually or as a group. Pressure Plates: These disguised sections of floor will sink when you step on them to trigger something like a door or portcullis. Pits / Ladders: Fans: Scrolls: Scrolls may be found lying around which may provide useful information that can help you on your way. Walk up to a scroll to automatically read it. Grapnel points: