T A N G L E W O O D You've never played an adventure like TANGLEWOOD! -- TANGLEWOOD is ALL graphics (over 700K of them), is totally mouse-controlled, and has NO text entry. No hunting through the dictionary, or knowing the right answer (if only you could get the program to understand!). You control 5 mining mobiles, each with its own separate programs and data, searching the vast surface of planet Tanglewood for priceless D-crystals, and perhaps even an Ice Emerald. Venture into the six uncharted regions which require special computer data, and where skilled operators are rare. Go underground into the mines and risk the possibile corruption of your mobiles' programs. Brave the unpredictable landslips of the earthquake zone. And to make things tougher still, keep dodging the hostile mobiles which a rival company is using to try to stop you. They have stolen the documents which give you alone the right to mine the planet, and hidden them deep in the multi-floored complex which is their headquarters, protected by vigilant computers. You're involved in a desperate race against time. In 10 days the inter-galactic court meets to decide your fate -- and without those documents you've no hope. Somehow you must win the trust and support of the native Tanglians, a race whose culture is almost impossible for earthmen to understand. Only they are likely to provide you with the means to succeed -- if you can pass their weird initiation tests. TANGLEWOOD is played in real time. There are some things that have to be done at night, when the topside temperature falls to tolerable levels -- and only at night will the mysterious D-crystals function. There are over 3,000 locations which you can visit, out of a total of nearly 12,000, and unlike those infuriating games when you discover after 3 weeks that you should have done something different at the beginning, it's nearly always possible to finish TANGLEWOOD unless you do something delibrately stupid, like stamping on the disks. THE BACKGROUND OF TANGLEWOOD A CHALLENGE It all began one bright spring day when you found a tattered blue envelope waiting on the mat outside your door. It was from Uncle Arthur, a friendly but faintly black-sheepish sort of uncle, known for unusual (and unsuccessful) business ventures, usually connected with distant planets. Uncle Arthur was now in trouble. He knew of your brillance with computers, so had turned to you for help as his only hope. He was the sole owner (or so he claimed) of the mining right to T'ngl-y-wd, a small, undistinguished planet in a remote galaxy. He had purchased these rights from a large company who had unloaded a lot of useless property in an attempt to improve their cash flow. Little had come of it, and the planet was about to be added to the long list of Arthur's might-have-beens when a series of extraordinary events occured. To make a (very) long story short, one of Arthur's mining mobiles had been used to rescue a local inhabitant from the clutches of a rogue T'ngl-dog. This usually benign animal had been badly disoriented by a particularly violent earthquake, and had gone astray. The rescued inhabitant turned out to be the great sage of T'ngl-y-wd, and in gratitude, the local people showed Arthur (via the mining mobile), certain secret properties of some pretty, but otherwise unremarkable stones, which had previously been ignored. The properties of these stones - now christened Dog Crystals - might prove to be of great value, and might even have military potential. Their close relative, the very rare Ice Emerald could have important industrial use. Sadly, Arthur talked too much over a beer one night, and the news leaked out. The Big Boys began to muscle in. The company who (Arthur says) sold him the mining rights, now maintain that they never did so. They have re-established their operational base on the planet, with a hastily assembled new security system. They are deploying short-range Disrupter Mobiles to damage Arthur's own vehicles. Furthermore (Arthur claims), they have stolen the documents which gave him sole mining rights, and are bringing a case in the Inter-Galactic Court to have him thrown out. Right may be on Arthur's side, but what's right when faced by big money? His only chance is to find those documents before the court case - which gives him ten days. To make matters worse, his latest Mobile Operator, who was making some progress, has vanished under suspicious circumstances, and there is no time to get another. He appeals to you, with your knowledge of computers, to help him, and promises you a large share of the profits if you succeed. Well, you've got nothing special to do over the next few days - so why not give it a try? You may suspect that Arthur's side of the story may not be the only one, but he might just be telling the whole truth for once (and after all, family is family!). One thing's for sure, you expect to find some pretty rickety equipment, knowing Arthur's preference for second-hand hardware whenever he can get it (good thing he didn't have any say in the selection of Pyour @excellent, top quality computer equipment!). Even so, you could hardly have expected the antique load of junk you find when you get started. Computers out of the 20th century - and who on earth wrote the software? The only help you've got are the notes Arthur's last operator, P.A.T., made before he vanished (just in case anything "happened" to him). NOTES ON T'NGL-Y-WD (BY P.A.T.) THE HISTORY Discovered in the early 21st century by a Hungarian Gypsy with vaguely Celtic ancestors, it is called PTanglewood@, since nobody (apart from the locals, and Pete Lyon) can pronounce its name. THE CULTURE The local inhabitants are called T'nglians. They are basically friendly and seem to be on our side, though difficult to contact. There are rumors that they are telepathic. Ritual is very important to them, even when it seems to have absolutely no purpose. They are basically non-technological, but have strangely adopted and adapted a few of our ways (in addition to a few strange traditions of their own!). SPACE FLIGHTS There is a daily shuttle flight to the three moons - Neera, Fahtha and Furthers. We can not figure out why - they're only barren chunks of rock! It is suspected the journey is some sort of ritual observance. TRADING There are four Trading Centers, but they each have their own system. T'nglians only seem to offer what they think you need (and they are not always right). Each center used only one form of currency, but only to accomodate us (T'nglians themselves don't use currency) - but they don't seem to understand the system properly: they won't give change! All trade requires proper ritual protocol first. TELEPHONES We have no idea what they use these for. They possibly may be an integral part of some elaborate initiation ritual, or may even be just a practical joke. They must be answered, however, the T'nglian etiquette requires a reply to any form of "communication", even when it does not seem to make sense. COMMUNICATIONS There are currently two known forms of information exchange. One is straight forward and direct, and our mobiles can translate it with no problem. Other forms require correct ritual response (such as when trading). One of the mobiles has a collection of the known necessary data for this second form, but the disk was left in one of the bases, and we don't know which one! T'NGLIAN BASES Due to recent developments, we can't get to either of the two allied bases. One's the earthquake zone, and we can't get the road repaired since a landslide buried the equipment. The other requires understanding of a particularly obscure T'nglian ritual. We suspect the local church is somehow involved. INITIATION RITUALS T'nglians won't completely trust us until we've passed various tests. Trouble is, they won't let us know what the tests are! Surprisingly, their trust seems to be based on our skill at following the rituals rather than on our integrity! DOG CRYSTALS We haven't found any of these yet, but the great T'nglian sage told us the following: The crystals are inert during the day due to the great heat of the T'nglian sun. At night they may be tuned into certain electronic frequencies that will then feed off the tiny quantities of radiation such as our mining mobiles give off. They are breathtakingly beautiful. Also (and this is what interests The Military), once they are tuned in they will protect their hosts against certain forms of nuclear energy, and are able to absorb and store great quantities of toxins without harm to themselves. The T'nglians claimed to have used them in their political negotiation ceremonies for years. (You can believe all of this if you want - though it may be just a local, old wives' tale, or superstitiously used as another part of their weird ceremonies). ICE-EMERALDS These are apparently very rare (so rare you may never find one). They are closely related to Dog Crystals, but absorb heat. They could therefore be very valuable in industrial applications which need small efficient cooling systems. They are also made inert by exposure to the T'nglian sun, though probably because they very quickly absorb as much heat as they need. OPERATOR'S MANUAL THE OPERATING SYSTEM RITTER-PAVLOVSKY TRANSFER (EARLY VERSION): It's ancient! Modern systems use a development of Ritter-Pavlovsky Transfer, but Arthur couldn't affort that. We use a hybrid of pre-digested data plus an early form of R-P transfer for unmapped areas. This means that what you see is not what is actually there (so don't believe it just because you see it!). The map of the planet's surface is continually re-created from mobiles' pre-recorded data. For unmapped areas (like the forest), we have to switch to R-P transfer, and it's as primitive as the original pioneering system. As it is usually impossible or incomprehensible to provide an exact image of alien landscapes, the mobile matches what it actually sees against its data banks, and provides us with the nearest equivalent in Terrain terms. Since data banks are limited, views which are actually different may be transmitted to us looking the same. There is also a time-lapse while the computer carries on the conversions, so that the mobile cannot transmit continuously. By the time the picture gets to us, the mobile has moved on - it may have gone around full circle, or found a dead end and returned, changed direction, etc. There is no guarantee that if you go back the way you came, you will get back to where you started, although you often do. In the early days, this used to drive operators crazy until they learned to use the mapping techniques well known from certain sorts of computer game (imagine, they used computers to play games in the old days!). It's tough, but not impossible. CONTROLS THE CONSOLE Everything on the console works by mouse control - you don't need to type anything in. If you want to use something, or open it up, click on it with the left mouse button. If you want to know more about it, use the right mouse button. There are 7 switches on the console, and five numbered buttons. These are easy to use (with the left mouse button). There are 5 smaller screens apart from the main one. On the top is a picture of the mobile (if it hasn't been zapped), then there are three frames that show what it's carrying. The bottom screen is used by the mobile to show anything it finds (these objects don't show on the map - see notes on the OPERATING SYSTEM). To pick something up, drag it to the carrying screens; reverse the procedure to drop something. It won't drop anything where there's already something (it confuses the computer), or in certain other places where it might not be retrievable. Be careful - the hostile mobiles sometimes collect the things they find (and steal from us when they zap our mobiles) and hide them in their Control Center. MOBILE MOVEMENT You may move the mobiles by joystick or mouse. The F10 key lets you activate and deactivate the joystick. When the joystick is activated, the mobile will be controlled by the joystick around the planet. However, the mouse is still used to select the necessary controls on the console. With the joystick deactivated, the mouse is used for both mobile movement and selecting the necessary controls on the console. DIALS The dial on the top left is the HHeat Gauge@. This changes between red and white during the day, and between light blue and deep purple during the night. Bands move across the gauge to give a visual impression of the time. The PDay Elapsed Number@ is also shown. The yellow dial below the mobile picture is the HEnergy Gauge@. The dial to right of text indicates when an object is found. STEERING When you call a mobile (with the numbered buttons) it will appear in the center of the screen - or if it's in a building or a base, the building or base will appear center screen. To set the mobiles in motion, move onto the main screen (the bulb comes on), and click either button. The mobile will then follow the mouse/joystick movements if it is able. If it was hidden in a building, you'll have to direct it out before it will appear. If it can't move, it won't tell you - it just won't move. If it gives you a reason for not being able to move into a certain area, then one of the other mobiles probably has the ability to go there. All the mobiles have limited energy, and will stop when they run out. They recharge automatically while one of the others is being used - but it's not good to get caught out in the open and energy can be difficult to judge (seeH Computer Reports@). HNote:@ Steering with the mouse can be tricky until you're used to it. When you start, imagine the mouse is in the center of a small four-pointed star, and use the points as your directions. The biggest move rules, so if you've shifted the mouse a long way right, that direction will rule until you move back again, or move even further in another direction. Very small moves are enough to change direction, and if you anticipate a turn slightly, it helps. To stop, click again with either button. Since all commands are effective with the buttons up, hold down the button a little longer than usual to be sure. In some sections (i.e. during R-P transfer), you will get an arrow on the screen. The PNorth@ (rust colored and pointing upward) pointing arrow will cause a change of LOCATION in whatever direction you are facing (and due to the problems of R-P transfer, that may not be the direction you thought you were facing). The green arrows (PWest, East @andP South@) will cause a change of DIRECTION only (turning on the spot), not a change of location. COMPUTER REPORTS While you're moving, the computers are fully occupied keeping track of your position. You can only get updates on things like energy, time of day, heat and so on, when you leave the main screen (and then, of course, the hostiles start tracking you). THE MOBILES Most of these are fit for the scrap yard. They've not been properly maintained, and most of them have bugs in their data (for example, all climbing data seems to have been corrupted). HMobile 1:@ This is a pretty ancient mining model, but it works fairly well. It was reinforced with extra plating for defense against Disrupters, but it didn't work and all we've got now is a very heavy mobile. It also lost its mining data somewhere, so you can't even get the thing into the mines at present. However, it has been adapted to use simple tools. HMobile 2:@ A bit more modern than Mobile 1, but not necessarily any better. It's still got its mining data, but the climbing data has gone awry. It's been fitted with a fancy jet-propulsion program to help it jump short distances, but it won't work! Also its shock-absorbers keep seizing up - they've got an oil leak or something equally ludicrous. HMobile 3:@ This one is similar to Mobile 2. It has some data which is supposed to work in conjunction with a gravity reducer to reduce its weight. Ideally, it could then go into the swamp. But guess what? The gravity reducer's been lost. Arthur reckons it went into one of the lakes during the big earthquake. HMobile 4:@ This is supposed to have an adaptation to let it go on water as well as land. It's also supposed to have the tool-using extension like Mobile 1. I wish I knew more, but we can't even contact this one, since the opposition stole its receiver aerial. The mobile's in its base but useless. If the aerial can be recovered, it goes in the bottom left section the base. HMobile 5: @This is the most modern of the lot - but it's got to stay near water during the day because the cooling system can't cope with land temperatures. Some idiot also had the bright idea of programming it not to go into any buildings (to protect it or something). Still, it is invulnerable to disrupters, and it has a new repair program to fix any of the others if they get zapped, though the program's only on Beta-test. This one might just turn out to be the most useful of the lot. All mobiles will tell you where they are, and whatever they know about what they're carrying. Just click the right switches. They also report any other communications directly, including messages from the Opposition's computer. THE OPPOSITION There's not much information available but here is what we know: Their mobiles have limited intelligence and range. If you keep moving, they're not very good at tracking you down, but if you stop - watch out! Also they constantly run out of gas, and new ones have to be sent out. They haven't gone into buildings that we know of. Their Control Center is protected by a computer system which I managed to hack into very briefly before I was noticed. It seems to work in two ways. The external system will zap any unrecognized mobile unless it is protected. The internal system allocates a security level to any mobile which gets in - and that's where the bug is, if there is one. If you get past the external system, the internal one assumes you must be authorized, even if it doesn't recognize you. The only trouble is that so far we haven't been able to get in! Also, use of the internal computer itself is probably part of the security system, so if you get in to use it at all, you probably must be a recognized user. In the end, the best plan might be to somehow cause a power failure in the system, but the problem is how (unless the Dog Crystals really do work like the old sage said). SUMMARY HMovement and commands: Mouse-controlled 1. To summon a mobile, click on one of the numbered mobile buttons (left hand side) 2. Move mouse pointer onto the main screen (bulb in lower right corner will come on) 3. Click mouse to start mobile movement 4. Mobile follows mouse 5. Click mouse to stop mobile movement Movement and commands: Joystick-controlled 1. To summon a mobile, click on one of the numbered mobile buttons (left hand side) 2. Then maneuver the mobile with the joystick OBJECTS To pick up an object, drag it from the PFound@ screen to any one of the three PCarrying@ screens. To drop an object, reverse the process of picking it up. You cannot drop objects: a) Where there is already another object b) Off the main map c) Certain locations wich might later change To use or open an object (i.e. a box), use the left button to click it on. To get information about an object or a program in the HMobiles @suite of programs, use the right button to click on it. HNote:@ to simplify things a bit, whenever you have used an object correctly it is simply removed from the game. This gives you less to worry about. HSWITCHES (Don't read this section if you'd rather find out by experiment.) There are 4 switches at the foot of the main screen. From left to right: 1. Quit game (confirmation required). 2. Save or restore game (up to 5 files). To restart use either and select RESTART from window. 3. Sound on/off. 4. Pause. Only Switch 1 will work before a mobile had been selected. So to restore a saved game, load the program, select a mobile, then use Switch 2. There are 3 more switches underneath mobile picture. From left to right: 1. Suite of programs. 2. Brief location description, and sometimes more. 3. Time warp (moves from day to night and vice-versa). DIALS: 1. Top left - Heat/time gauge. 2. Under mobile picture - Energy. 3. To right of text - indicates object found. The console is only updated when you stop moving and exit the main screen. CONCLUSION Tanglewood is a game designed to challenge and develop your problem solving abilities rather than your reflexes. It may seem foreign and incomprehensible at first, but that is how it should be! The conclusion to Uncle Arthur's saga depends on your skill in unraveling the mysterias of Tanglewood. Take time to learn the layout of the planet and the charisterictics of your mobiles - your perseverance will soon be rewarded with remarkable discoveries of many kinds. You may even come to consider Tanglewood a habitat worthy of permanent relocation...but we doubt it! End.........