DRAGON'S LAIR (Software Projects) INTRODUCTION Thank you for buying a Software Projects game. We hope you enjoy playing DRAGON'S LAIR (r) on your SPECTRUM 48/128. LOADING INSTRUCTIONS CASSETTE Place the cassette tape in your recorder. Load side 1 first. Type LOAD "" OR LOAD "DL" then press key marked ENTER on your Spectrum and then follow the computer's prompts. (The main program has been recorded twice on side one. If the program fails to load, fast forward to approximately halfway through the tape and re-load). Because of the size of DRAGON'S LAIR (r) this game will load in several stages. Because of the multi-load the computer will prompt you to rewind the tape so the game can be re-started once all lives have been lost. DISK If you have purchased the version that runs on the OPUS disk drive please follow these instructions carefully. First switch on your computer. Now insert disk into the drive, type RUN then press (ENTER). Each screen will load in as you reach it. BONUS DIRKS You will earn Bonus Dirks (extra lives) after completing the weapons room and one Dirk for each screen completed after that up to a maximum of five Dirks (you will need them!). HIGH SCORE To record your high score of the day, just press the space bar when on the title screen and you will be able to put in your initials. SPECIAL KEYS AND JOYSTICK MOVEMENT When playing the Ramps and Giddy Goons screen you will need to press the ENTER key to jump from ramp to ramp. In Skull Hallway, the Weapons room and the Tentacle room, the joystick will only accept the correct action at the correct time. The correct action at the wrong time will be ignored, and the wrong action at the correct time will result in an audible buzz. If you hold the joystick in anticipation of a move it will be ignored, resulting in losing a life. So be warned, timing is very important in these rooms. To use your sword just press L to draw and slash with the sword (at the correct time). You always have your sword with you except on the final screen when you will need to collect it from the top of the cliff before slaying the dragon. Z = LEFT X = RIGHT K = UP M = DOWN L = DRAW SWORD / JUMP ENTER = JUMP ON GIDDY GOONS SCREEN DRAGON'S LAIR (r) supports KEMPSTON, PROTEK, INTERFACE I and RAM TURBO JOYSTICK interfaces. DISK UPGRADE For those people who have purchased the cassette version of this game and would like to have it on an OPUS disk please return your cassette and its packaging to us with a cheque, access card number or postal order for #4 and we will send the disk version to you. DRAGON'S LAIR INSTRUCTIONS Long ago, in a magical time, a good King named Aethelred ruled a peaceful kingdom. Now his kingdom had many treasures, but its greatest prize was Princess Daphne, the King's only child. Brave Knights and handsome Princes came from afar just to pay her court, for she was a maiden of exceeding beauty and grace. But, though they laid vast riches at her feet and pleaded most earnestly for her hand, Princess Daphne refused them all. For her heart had long been given to another ... Dirk the Daring, the King's champion and bravest Knight. Then one dark day, Singe, an evil dragon who ruled over a shadowed land, appeared in Aethelred's kingdom and demanded that the king deliver up his kingdom and people to him. When Aethelred refused Singe's vile demand, the monster kidnapped the beautiful Daphne and imprisoned her in a crystal sphere in the horrible dungeons beneath his enchanted castle. Singe then sent Aethelred this message: Relinquish your kingdom before the setting sun or your beloved daughter will perish. Aethelred and all the people of the kingdom were plunged into despair. All except for Dirk who vowed to go to the enchanted castle and free the Princess ... if he could survive the dungeon's many perils ... if he could reach the Dragon's lair. YOUR QUEST BEGINS THE FALLING DISK Jump onto the falling disk and ride it to the dungeons beneath the castle. Will you ride the disk and then enter the enchanted dungeons or will you join the other, less fortunate adventurers whose bones lie at the bottom of the shaft ... ? Move carefully down the ramp and jump onto the disk. Ride the disk down through the shaft. Ramps that lead to the dungeons will appear at the side of the stone shaft and the disk will stop for a short time. When the disk and ramp are lined up, jump onto the ramp. One of Singe's most fearsome creatures, an Air Genie, guards the shaft against intruders. Be wary. You can defeat this conjured creature if you keep to the centre of the disk and move into the gusts of wind. SKULL HALLWAY Tread most carefully as you pass through this horrible hallway. It's haunted with spectres from your most terrifying nightmares Snapping skulls, clutching skeletal hands, gruesome goo and whirling clouds of bats. Can you avoid these visions of doom or will you perish hideously in their grasp ... ? Time your moves and sword swings carefully. Don't react too soon or too late! Battle some of these gruesome foes with your trusty sword avoid; others with an agile dodge. THE BURNING ROPES Flames roar from the fiery pit below. Tongues of flame climb higher and higher, engulfing everything in their path. Will you swing through the burning room before it's too late or will you plunge into the fiery abyss ... ? Get ready to conquer the blazing inferno, move to the end of the ramp. Then jump from the ramp to the stone platform, closest to the first rope. When you are on the stone platform, jump from the platform to the swinging rope. Make your jump from the platform to the rope when the rope swings closest to you. Then jump from rope to rope on the fiery tier. Jump to the platforms at the ends of the first and second tiers when the rope swings in a forward arc. The stone platforms will magically raise you to the next tier. Exit from the platform at the top of the screen. THE WEAPONS ROOM Singe's armoury ... an enchanted chamber of whirling death. An evil spell protects this room from all intruders. Lethal weapons take on lives of their own and the mindless clay golems become instruments of death. Can you run this gauntlet of death and survive ... ? Battle your way through the Weapons Room. Some of the bewitched room's foes can be defeated with a well-timed sword thrust; others with a skilful move. A magic door will open to the side of the room; exit there. RAMPS AND GIDDY GOONS A series of ramps topped with enchanted ice lead to the next perilous level of the dungeons. The Giddy Goons laugh scornfully as they battle you to death. Jump skilfully and quickly from ramp to ramp as they vanish suddenly. Tarry too long in this accursed place and you could plunge into the ebony void. Jump from ramp to ramp. Try making your jump from the edge of each ramp. Swing your sword to battle the Giddy Goons. THE TENTACLE ROOM Singe's laboratory ... where his evil experiments are conducted. The room crawls with the hideous results of those experiments. Danger can slither from anywhere, above or below. Keep a wary eye out and tread cautiously or you may find yourself in the grip of something very unpleasant. This room contains some creepy and crawly adversaries - battle some of them with a timely swing of your sword, and others with a normal move. Exit the Tentacle Room through the door to the side of the screen. THE SECOND DISK Another falling disk takes you to the last level of the dungeons. You can feel the dank air grow thicker as though evil is gathering its forces for the final battle. Ride the disk and be vigilant ... dark forces are all around you. As you did before, keep to the centre of the disk, because another of Singe's conjured creatures lurks in the shaft. THE DEADLY CHECKERBOARD Dirk's gambit ... the game is deadly and the prize is your life. Battle Singe's fiendish champion, the Phantom Knight, on a deadly checker-board that hangs suspended in mid air. Can you defeat the Phantom Knight and reach the door at the other side of the room or will you be checkmated by the forces of evil ... You're getting closer to the dragon's lair and Singe has sent his greatest champion to stop you. Jump across the checkerboard squares and swing your sword to battle the Phantom Knight. The Phantom Knight will appear for a short time and then vanish ... only to reappear on another square of the checkerboard. When the Phantom Knight lands on a square, he changes a line of harmless checkerboard squares to a line of certain death. Don't linger on these squares or you'll pay with your life. Stay away from the checkerboard's edges or you could plunge into the yawning depths. You must defeat the Phantom Knight to exit through the door. When the Phantom Knight changes colour he can be defeated with a blow from your sword. Each time your sword swing hits the Knight when he's black he'll stay vulnerable longer next time. SLAYING THE DRAGON Fair Daphne waits in the dragon's lair for rescue from the crystal sphere. Flame-breathing Singe waits, too. Slay Singe and release your Princess. Remember your dragon lore or things could get pretty hot for you ... Cross the ledge to reach the magical sword. Use the boulders to shield yourself against the dragon's flaming fireballs. If you're especially lucky, fabulous hidden treasure may lurk beneath a boulder. When the treasure is revealed just run over it and it's yours! Carefully cross the dangerous precipice and seize the magical sword at the edge of the cliff. Go back down the narrow ridge to the wooden ramp. Jump and victory (and Princess Daphne) is yours. SCORING As you adventure through the enchanted dungeons, you'll earn points for vanquishing foes, overcoming obstacles, finding treasure and conquering dungeon rooms. Watch your score indicator. But remember Dirk, you're the King's bravest champion and your thoughts should be of rescuing fair Daphne, not the accumulation of points and treasure. Rescuing Princess Daphne is your greatest reward! You start your adventure with five Dirks and will earn bonus Dirks as a reward for successfully conquering dungeon rooms. DRAGON'S LAIR (r) copyright 1983 Magicom, Inc. All rights reserved. Character designs copyright 1983 Don Bluth. This version (c) 1986 Software Projects Ltd.