TITLE: The Secret of St. Bride's PLATFORM: 48K ZX Spectrum PUBLISHER: Audiogenic Software AUTHOR: The St. Bride's Games Mistresses YEAR: 1985 CATEGORY: Adventure >BEGIN Controls Keyboard only >END Controls >BEGIN Scenario ST. BRIDE'S is a real school. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting at a desk in St. Bride's right now, writing this. But it isn't an ordinary school. Even though it exists today, it's just like a girls boarding school from fifty years ago. Girls pay money to come here and live the life of an old-fashioned schoolgirl. And that's how our adventure begins. You are Trixie Trinian, a girl just out of school herself. You've come to St. Bride's for a 'school holiday', but things aren't quite the way you expected - in fact they're very strange indeed! Once the game has loaded. you'll find out exactly how strange. From then on, it's up to you. Your task is simple - but not easy. You must find out just what's going on at St. Bride's and find some way to return to normality. But be warned - your quest will take you into heaps of unexpected places and bizarre situations. If you complete the game and discover the Secret of St. Bride's, just write to us at the School and tell us the WORD which finished the game and you'll receive a genuine St. Bride's certificate of merit. But our headmistress always was a stiff marker, and if you do all this (and believe me, you'll have done a lot) your score will still only be a stingy 50% (chiz). If you want to get top marks you'll have to find the Amulet. What Amulet? Pipe down, I'm coming to that. Somewhere in the game - somewhere you probably won't even get to while you're solving it - is hidden an Amulet. Finding the Amulet is a whole new game in itself involving dozens, of puzzles and new locations - nd it is much, much tougher than just solving the game. In fact, if you can find the Amulet, St. Bride's own examining board will award you an A-Level in Adventuring. More than that, the first person to find the Amulet will get a free copy of every game St. Bride's produces - and there are going to be lots of them - for the rest of your life. Mind you, we think our money's safe for a while yet. Several experienced adventurers have already tried to find the Amulet and failed. But we promise that the journey to the Amulet is quite fair. All it takes is logic, inventiveness and perhaps a little homework - but I'd better pipe down myself before I give something away! For now your goal is to discover the Secret of St. Bride's and help Trixie to get herself out of the fine mess she's got herself into. Press Load "" to load, and good hunting. May the best Trixie win. >END Scenario >BEGIN Instructions AN ADVENTURE is a very special type of computer game. It puts you right into the middle of a story and makes you the hero or heroine. It allows you to go where you want and do most of the things you would be able to do in real life (For example, if a door is not locked you can go through it. If it is locked and you are still determined to go through it you will have to try to find some way of getting it open). TALKING TO THE COMPUTER In this game the computer understands most simple English sentences: "Open the box", "Look under the table", "Jump out of the window" etc. Press ENTER (on the Spectrum) after each command and the computer will tell you what happens. The computer can only deal with one OBJECT in each command. So if you want to use one object to do something to another one you must first say what you want to use and then what you want to do with it. For example, instead of saying "Peel the apple with the knife" you must type: "Use the knife", press ENTER and then type: "Peel the apple". GETTING AROUND The computer understands all the main directions: North, South, East, West, Up, Down; so you can say "Go North". "Run East" and so forth. It will also understand phrases like "Go upstairs". If you wish, you can abbreviate these commands to a single letter - "N" will take you North etc. The more complicated directions, Northeast, Southwest etc. MUST be abbreviated to NW, SW, NE and SE. You can use the standard adventure commands, "Get knife", "Drop knife" and so forth, or the computer will also understand a more natural phrase like "Put the knife down". SPECIAL COMMANDS Here are some special commands which will help you. Some of them can be abbreviated to one letter which is placed in brackets after them: INVENTORY (I)gives a list of everything with you. REDESCRIBE (R)redescribes the scene. EXIT ends the game. EXAMINE looks more closely at an object. SAVE:For this instruction you need a blank tape. Once you have typed it in follow the instructions on the screen and you can save your position in the game. You can SAVE at any time. LOAD:When you have SAVED a game position you can type in LOAD at any time and load the position back into the game. You will then find yourself exactly where you were at the time you SAVED with all the possessions you ten had. It will save you from playing all through the game again to get back to where you were! SAVE when you stop playing for the day. Some people like to SAVE each time they try something which might be dangerous! >END Instructions >BEGIN Hints/Cheats GENERAL PLAYING TIPS Computers are queer creatures. In some ways they are remarkably clever. In others they are remarkably stupid! Sometimes you will give a simple command and the computer will say that it does not understand. Just try some different words. Other times it will tell you that you cannot do something that you should be able to do. There can be three reasons for this: You really cannot do it (perhaps you were trying to open the box when you did not have it). You could do it in real life, but it is not part ot the game (eg. "Fold treasure map into paper aeroplane"). You have not used the right words. Really the computer should have said "I don't understand" but it thinks it does understand and that you cannot do it! For example, you have said "Climb up the wall". The computer thinks you want to climb something called an Up and tells you that you can't! Say "Climb the wall" and all will be well. Just experiment with different ways of putting things - it's all part of the fun. But don't let all this lead you to underestimate your computer. It can understand much more than you might imagine. So try everything. And have fun. The game has a walloping great vocabulary of over 300 words. Not all of them are commands, of course. Here is a list of the main command words in the game. You will need some others, and not all ot them will necessarily be very helpful (some could be fatal used at the wrong time), but they should help you to get about the game: Blow; Board: Break; Buy; Call: Catch: Climb: Crawl; Cross; Dissolve; Drop; Eat: Examine; Get; Go: Greet: Hire: Hit; Hook; Knock: Light: Listen; Look; Make: Move: Open; Pay; Push: Put; Ram; Read; Remove (clothes etc.); Run (with direction); Rub; Set (off); Shake; Shout; Show; Shriek; Smash: Smoke: Snuff: Swim: Switch; Taste: Turn: Unleash; Unlock; Wait; Wake; Wear; Write. One more hint: Look - and listen - before you leap. SOLUTIONS TO SOME PROBLEMS Those of you who are stumped by the blasted oak should try turning your cloaks inside out. Sinclair User 49 (Apr.1986) p.67 To open the Forbidden Door at the start: USE PAPER, UNDER DOOR, USE PENCIL, IN KEYHOLE To get rid of the Roundhead: SHOOT ROUNDHEAD with something you get from the station in the middle of nowhere [a shotgun]. Your Sinclair 18 (Jun.1987) p.73 Where to find the gold to pay the dwarf at the ferry: Go to the foothills and EXAMINE ROCK, EXAMINE CRACK, USE CANE, HOOK COIN. Your Sinclair 19,37 (Jul.1987,Jan.1989) p.78,93 How to return the cat from the island: BOARD BOAT (it's still there, although you can't see it). What use is the fire extinguisher?: NONE WHATSOEVER Your Sinclair 22 (Oct.1987) p.83 How to get cat: EAT MUSHROOM and USE CATMINT How to shrink in size: EAT OTHER SIDE OF MUSHROOM When you're arrested for not having a ticket: PRETEND TO BE ILL [or FAINT] How to give proof of identity: SHOW LIBRARY TICKET How to show some magic to Fir Bolg: WRITE ON PAPER AND RUB OUT WRITING Your Sinclair 33 (Sep.1988) p.105 To hire a carriage: USE TELEPHONE, TELEPHONE CARRIAGE HIRE Your Sinclair 45 (Sep.1989) p.55 >END Hints/Cheats >BEGIN Reviews "Niggles apart, this isn't such a bad adventure and creates a lot of atmosphere" (overall 6/10) Crash 21 (Oct.1985) p.108 (Derek Brewster) "The Secret of St Bride's is humorous, well written and full of odd connections. It is a tongue in cheek romp through the realms of Angela Brazil" (5/5 stars) Sinclair User 43 (Oct.1985) p.102 (Gordo Greatbelly) "St Bride's has quite a wacky atmosphere to it, and if you can forgive the occasional Quill-like quirk - like waiting an age before replying to your commands - you should find these antics give you quite a kick." Your Spectrum 20 (Nov.1985) p.35 (Steve Cooke) >END Reviews >BEGIN Information Written using The Quill and The Illustrator. St. Bride's School, Burtonport, Co. Donegal, Ireland Catalogue number:STB1SC ISBN:1-85110-506-9 >END Information >BEGIN Sources cassette inlay (scenario,instruct,hints,info) Crash 21, Oct.1985, p.108 (review) Sinclair User 43,49, Oct.1985,Apr.1986, p.102,67 (review,hints) Your Spectrum 20, Nov.1985, p.35 (review) Your Sinclair 18,19,22,33,37,45, Jun,Jul,Oct.1987, Sep.1988, Jan,Sep.1989, p.73,78,83, 105,93,55 (hints) >END Sources