TOTAL ECLIPSE FEATURING FREESCAPE BY MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS SPECTRUM WELCOME TO EGYPT. BACKGROUND It is written that, in the heart of ancient Egypt hundreds of years ago, the High Priest of the day had become annoyed. His people were revolting and refused to continue the sacrifices to Re the God of the Sun. His anger had erupted so he set an ominous curse as punishment to the people. A great pyramid was erected and at the topmost chamber a shrine was built for Re the Sun-God. The curse was set. Should anything ever block the sun's rays during daylight hours it would be destroyed. It is now 26th October. 1930 and in just 2 hours the moon will totally eclipse the sun, triggering the curse of Re, causing the offending moon to explode showering the Earth with colossal meteorites thus upsetting the ecological balance and plunging civilisation into a dark age of starvation and conflict. YOUR MISSION It is 8 o'clock, you have just landed your bi-plane next to the great pyramid. Your mission is to reach and destroy the shrine of the Sun-God Re, which is located at the apex of the pyramid. TREASURE Collect as much as possible - you're gonna be rich! First day's target £125,000. YOUR EQUIPMENT A revolver - plus an ample supply of bullets. Your wrist watch - the eclipse is due just before 10 o'clock. A water bottle - keep this topped up - it is very hot! It is not healthy to be without water for long periods. Your trusty compass - an essential item for successful orientation. THE SCREEN DISPLAY Top left - Ankhs collected. Top middle - Value of treasure collected. Top right - Current state of the eclipse. Main window - Freescape 3D generated view of your present surroundings. Message display - (Under main window). This normally indicates your current location plus the height of this chamber above sea level shown in cubits eg. 24c = 24 cubits. The entrance to the shrine is at a height of 72 cubits. Bottom left to right - Wrist watch, water bottle, heart beat, compass. 26th OCTOBER 1930, EGYPT... After a three day journey involving most methods of transport one can think of, and a few one probably would not like to, I arrived at Ankh-Arah village. It was a fairly typical North African town, with dry dirt streets, square whitewashed houses, and a stone well in the main square. I jumped clumsily down from my "taxi" and payed the camel driver his money. Doing a quick calculation in my head I came up with the same answer as when I started the journey - five shillings and sixpence for a six mile camel ride. Captive markets such as helpless English Archaeologists obviously lend themselves to exploitation by the locals ... oh, well. At least I had learned the knack of getting off a camel without landing on my head, and that probably lowered the price by sixpence or so. The driver unstrapped my two cases and let them drop to the ground. Without any ado he spurred his camel, turned about and was gone, leaving me looking rather lost in a slowly settling cloud of dust. I retrieved my cases and set off in searcn of somewhere to stay. It took me twenty minutes to find the only inn in the village: a small sandstone building like all the others, with two bedrooms, a hole in the ground for a latrine and enough insect life to set the whole English population scratching themselves. One of these was the owner, who charged in similar vein to the camel driver, and grudgingly showed me my room. Although the straw-stuffed bed was scratchy and lumpy, I fell asleep almost immediately, intending to get up early the next day in order to start my exploration of the gigantic pyramid, which stood in the dried up river valley a couple of miles to the south of the village. That should give me a few hours at least before the eclipse. As I drifted off to sleep, I dreamily wished that I had brought an alarm clock. I need not have worried. The innkeeper's cockerel awoke me far too early in the morning for my liking. Silently cursing it and the population of bedbugs in the mattress, I dressed and packed my equipment for the day. In a sudden fit of self-reflection, I noted how calmly I was taking it all. The End of the World is, after all, not your normal run-of-the-mill sort of problem. Panicking would have achieved little, so I held back the urge to do so. The sun was just creeping sleepily over the horizon as I left the hotel and turned south along the little-used track that ran to the only airfield within twenty miles. The mechanic who seemed to be the only inhabitant of the place showed me to their only plane. "Tiny" had called ahead and arranged everything in advance, so all I had to do was pay for it. Again. It was a clapped-out Sopwith Camel. As I climbed into the cockpit, I reflected that, in Egypt, you tend to find yourself travelling by Camel most of the time. The mechanic heaved on the propellor several times before the plane's engine spluttered into life, and only just managed to jump clear of the blades as I rolled forward. I am not an experienced aviator and had no real idea as to the practical value of chocks. Still, he seemed unharmed and gave me a friendly wave as I passed overhead. At least, I think it was friendly. It was still early morning by the time I reached the pyramid, and I stood in awe at its base, looking up at its silhouette against the sky. By squinting into the sun I could just make out the tiniest sliver of crescent moon, which would soon eclipse the sun. All the other exploration work I had conducted had been very much smaller than this, and took months of painstaking effort, researching and training. It was too big. I would never make it in time. The shrine that "Tiny" had identified was right at the apex. Skirting the base of the pyramid, I saw the door into the ante-chamber ... LOADING SPECTRUM CASSETTE - SPECTRUM 48K and SPECTRUM PLUS LOAD "" then press ENTER CASSETTE-SPECTRUM 128K, SPECTRUM +2 and SPECTRUM +3 Select 48K Mode. LOAD "" then press ENTER DISC - SPECTRUM +3 Insert disc into drive then press ENTER CONTROLS Move Forward /\ or O Step Size Change S Look Up P SLOW, MEDIUM OR FAST Move Back \/ or K Angle Change A Look Down L SMALL, MEDIUM OR BIG FOR CURRENT STATE SEE HEIROGLYPHICS Face Forward F Turn Left < or Q ABOVE THE WATCH USEFUL IF DISORIENTATED U Turn U Turn Right > or W Height Change H STAND OR CROUCH THESE CONTROLS ABOVE Draw Gun / ALSO MOVES SIGHTS IF Replace Gun Space GUN IS DRAWN Interrupt Game I Rest R SAVE, LOAD AND ABORT HOLDING R CALMS Fire Gun 0 OPTIONS THE HEART ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Total Eclipse has been designed and programmed by Major Developments. Chris Andrew, Ian Andrew, Sean Ellis & Paul Gregory. Cover Artwork by Steinar Lund. Additional Artwork & Design by Peter Carter. Additional contributions by Kim Carpentier, Helen Andrew, Andy Tait & Mary Moy. WARRANTY If Total Eclipse fails to load, please return the actual disc or tape only, ensuring it is protected in the post to the address below and it will be replaced free of charge. This offer does not affect your Statutory rights; Incentive Software Ltd, Zephyr One, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Berks, RG7 4QW NOTICE ©1988 Incentive Software Ltd The enclosed software product, all associated artwork and documentation is copyrighted. All rights are reserved by Incentive Software Limited. Unauthorised copying, hiring, lending, performance and broadcasting are strictly prohibited. FREESCAPE (TM) is a trademark of Incentive Software Limited. ALSO Also from Incentive - Driller featuring Freescape,TM price £14.95 cassette, or £17.95 disc and Dark Side price £9.95 cassette, £14.95 disc. Available from all leading retailers or direct from Incentive POST FREE. INFORMATION TREASURE Touch treasure to collect. ANKHS Look out for and collect the Ankhs - the symbols of life. LOCKED Use to remove CHAMBER some barriers on BARRIERS locked chambers. Touch barrier to Touch Ankh to open Requires collect it. one Ankh. WATER THOUGHS Touch trough to collect water. There are many unsolved mysteries, and undiscovered chambers. Watch out for poison darts, many previous explorers have perished by these! HINTS 1. Heart. Keep your heart beat slow. If this gets dangerously fast you may have a heart attack, so it is best to REST (See Controls). 2. Watch Your Feet. Look before you walk - ensure there is steady ground in front of you by loading down, especially when entering a new area. 3. Entry to the shrine is via the Shabaka Chamber at a height of 72 cubits (72C). 4. Disorientated? Use the face forward control key for quick re-orientation. 5. Leave no stone unturned! Explore everywhere, look around, under and behind everything. Making a map of your travels could be helpful. 6. If all else fails try shooting it. THE ONLY WAY IS UP! GOOD LUCK.