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Therefore if you read this document or use the information herein you do so at your own risk. ********* The Project 64 etext of the ~Archon II manual~, Typed up by Jeff Lodoen , Retrieved from Morbid Guy's Atari 8-bit Manual Archive http://www.best.com/~morbid/manuals/archonii.txt ARCHO210.TXT, September 1997, etext #297# ********* ARCHON II: ADEPT THE MANUAL Long, long had the Master of Order struggled with the Mistress of Chaos. Ancient as time, changeless as death was their conflict -- waged in mundane realms by magically potent Adepts. No more. The old, secure wellsprings of magical energy are failing. To control the new sources, the Adepts are bringing forth new armies of reluctant Demons and Elementals long unsummoned. Change is at hand and the battle would find an end. This is that battle. The ending is yours. MANUAL WRITTEN BY JON FREEMAN. MANUAL DESIGNED BY WILLIAM GIN. SOFTWARE (C) 1984 FREE FALL ASSOCIATES. ARCHON II: ADEPT AN OVERVIEW THE TWO SCREENS The game is played on two screens. On one -- the main screen -- you and your opponent (human or computer) take turns maneuvering your pieces (called icons) into favorable positions. When you move to a space already occupied by one of your opponent's icon, the game shifts to the second display, the battleground. There you must fight a fast-action battle to determine which icon will return to the board in possession of the disputed position. THE MOVES You begin the game with 4 Adepts on a side. On each turn you may use whatever magical energy you have left to: 1) move an Adept or 2) use an Adept to cast a spell (including Summon which lets you bring new icons into the game) or 3) move an icon conjured up (with a Summon spell) on a previous turn. WINNING You win if you occupy all six power points at once or if you triumph in the Apocalypse (evocable with a special spell). You also win if your opponent runs out of magical energy or icons. THE BOARD The main board is composed of four bands representing the classical elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Additionally there are four squares which are not part of any band. Two are black, neutral squares representing the Void. The others are citadels, the home squares of Order and Chaos. While the Void squares can be occupied by icons just like any position in the four bands, the citadels remain empty throughout the game. There are 6 flashing power points. Two are the Void squares. The other 4 move from turn to turn through the outermost corners of each of the four elements. Occupation of the 6 power points is the major goal of the game. MOVEMENT If the hollow square (or "frame") is on your side, it's your turn. Use your joystick to move the frame atop the icon you want, and push the button. Next, use the joystick to move the icon (or the frame, in the case of the Adepts) to your intended destination and press the button again. (If you accidentally press the button over an icon you don't want to move, press the button again without moving your stick to cancel the selection and start over. Once you've moved an icon at all, you cannot cancel your selection. NOTE: The rule for cancelling an Adept move is different. See Magic Spells below.) Elementals and Demons (conjured up with the Summon spell) slide freely along the element they are on. You may slide them as far as you like with two restrictions: they cannot pass another icon and they cannot end their move atop a "friendly" icon. Alternately, you may jump them from one element to an adjacent one on a turn. No icon may slide and jump on the same turn. Adepts can teleport anywhere on the board, but it costs them a bit of magical energy to teleport from one element to another. MAGIC SPELLS Instead of a move, on any turn an Adept can cast any spell it has enough energy for. Simply select the Adept with the frame, press the button, and then press the button again. Instead of canceling your Adept's move, this action produces the message "SELECT YOUR SPELL". Move the joystick forward and backward to produce the different choices described on the next page. Press the button to select the one you want. If you change your mind and decide you would rather return move the Adept (or another icon) instead, select "CANCEL SPELL". To cancel a spell after you've already selected it with a button push, move the frame over your citadel and press the button again. Magic lies at the heart of the action -- and so does the fact that it costs. The amount of magical energy you have (shown by a vertical bar next to the board when it's your turn) varies throughout the game. You gain energy from each power point you occupy and -- for the first few turns only -- from your home citadel. Moving icons is mostly free, but it takes magical energy to maintain each Demon and Elemental on your side and substantial amounts to cast spells. The cost of different actions is shown by the mark which appears next to the energy bar as you explore your options. You will not be allowed to take actions you do not have enough energy for. The effects of spells are limited to the elements the conjuring Adept is on. Adepts cannot cast spells from a Void square and Adepts are immune to all spells except Heal. THE SPELL LIST SUMMON -- This is far and away the spell you will use most often. When you select it you may choose among 4 Elementals and 4 Demons by moving the frame from monster to monster. The cost in energy goes up as you move up the column of choices. Remember, Adept magic only within the element of the conjuring Adept. An Adept in Fire cannot, for instance, summon an icon to the band of Earth. You may summon an icon and direcly attack an opposing icon, but it takes extra magical energy to do so. Adepts are immune from such attacks. For them, you must use icons already on the board. HEAL -- This spell cures half of an icon's wounds and all paralysis. WEAKEN -- Use this to cut an enemy icon's current lifespan in half. IMPRISON -- Cast this spell and the imprisoned icon cannot be moved. The cost in of maintaining imprisoned icons falls on the imprisoner and not the original conjurer. RELEASE -- Use this when you can no longer afford to keep an icon imprisoned -- or no longer need to. BANISH -- Very expensive to cast. On the other hand, an icon you can't defeat can be very expensive to try and live with. And occupied power points on elements without Adepts make very tempting targets. APOCALYPSE -- This spell begins a battle that ends the game. In that apocalyptic battle, your icon's lifespan, missile power, and missile speed depend on your magical energy, icons remaining, and Adepts left, respectively. Use to put a hopelessly overwhelmed enemy out of his or her misery or as an act of suicidal desperation. COMBAT TIPS ATTACK METHODS -- On the battleground, icons hurl, hammer, flame, sing, fling, stare and otherwise harass the enemy in whatever direction you move the joystick while simultaneously pressing the button. (See the hints under Attack Styles below for some exceptions and variations.) The lifelines at either end of the arena indicate the current lifespan (health/strength) of the two battling icons. When an icon is wounded, its matching lifeline is reduced. When its lifeline is gone, the icon is dead, the battle over. IMPORTANT: Except for the Juggernaut and the Wraith, you cannot move icons while pressing the joystick button. THE ATTACK INTERVAL -- Combat is fast but you can't just fire away a rapidly as your finger twitches. It takes a moment after all to conjure a whirlwind or generate a tidal wave. At the exact moment your joystick button can launch another attack, the computer rings a bell -- a high note for Order, a lower one for Chaos. ATTACK STYLES -- Each icon is most effective when it is used in friendly -- or at least neutral -- elements and when its special strengths and weaknesses are understood and exploited. You will mostly learn what you need to know painfully, on the battleground. The hints below are intended only to help you begin thinking about how to use the 6 icons which have the most unusual attack styles. 1. Adept missiles can be steered as long as you hold the button down. Of course, Adepts cannot move as long as the button is down. Nothing comes free. 2. The Gorgon does not wound; it paralyzes. After every hit from a Gorgon's eye beams, an icon moves more slowly. When it can no longer move, it dies. 3. Wraiths are not nice. They are invisible except when they're trying to hurt you (and to "reload"). They can move even while they attack. Their circular attack aura steals the life force from all caught in it. Wraiths can leave battles stronger than they entered them. They can be devastating in the hands of the skillful 4. When the Firebird explodes it cannot be hurt nor can it move. But unlike Archon's Phoenix, you can end the explosion early by releasing the button. 5. Sirens don't have to aim. Press the button and they start singing and their opponents start dying. If you're attacked by one, don't waste time wondering what to do or the problem will solved for you. 6. Juggernauts are in effect their own missiles. In "missile" mode, they only travel in straight lines and they are invulnerable -- except to the song of the Siren. "ADEPT" MAGICAL ENERGY (These numbers represent relative bar graph lengths) Normal Starting Energy 56 Income: Corner 9 Void 4 Costs Summon Elemental 12 - 16 Summon Demon 16 - 24 Maintain Elemental 2 Maintain Demon 4 Heal/Weaken/Imprison Elemental 7 - 8 Heal/Weaken/Imprison Demon 8 - 12 Banish Elemental 24 - 28 Banish Demon 32 - 44 Apocalypse 36 - 72 BATTLEGROUND EFFECT OF CONTACT WITH BARRIER ELEMENT MISSILES ICONS Earth Destroyed Stopped Water Slowed Slowed Air Deflected Slowed Fire No effect Wounded ELECTRONIC ARTS(R) 2755 Campus Drive San Mateo, CA 94403 (415) 571-7171 COMMAND SUMMARY XL owners, please hold down the Option key while booting until the Electronic Arts logo appears. To Select Number of Players and Who Moves First -- Use Select and Option to produce choices. Press Start when you're ready to play. Or wait awhile and the computer will begin playing a game against itself. Note: Since the player who moves first has an advantage, the player who moves second receives additional magical energy to keep play evenly balanced. To Choose Levels for Each Player -- Before pressing Start to begin a game, press the space bar to produce handicapping options, then use the Option key to pick a level for Chaos and Select to pick one for Order. Press the space bar again to return to the player/move choices. Beginners start with more magical energy. Advanced players start with less. Further the lower a player's rank compared to his or her opponent's, the slower the opponent's icons will move, the slower their missiles will travel and the longer it takes them to attack. How to Move Icons on the Board -- Use a joystick in port 1 to control the Chaos icons and one in port 2 to control Order icons. When it's your turn the selection frame will appear on your side of the board. Use the joystick to place it over the icon you want to move and press the button. Next, use the stick to move the icon (or the frame again in the case of the Adepts) to the desired location and press the button again. If you change your mind, press the button again before you move the icon. For additional information about board movement rules, see page 3 of the manual. How to Move and Fight on the Battleground -- When you move into a space occupied by an opposing icon, you must fight for the disputed territory. Use your joystick to move your piece. To fire, move the stick in the direction you want to aim and press the fire button at the same time. See the combat tips on page 5 of the manual for more information. How to Cast Spells -- Place the frame over an Adept and press the button, then press it again. Move the joystick forward and backwards to scroll through the list of spells. Press the button when you see the spell you want. If you change your mind, choose Cease Conjuring. If you change it in mid-spell, move the frame over your citadel and press the button. Casting spells costs magic energy. Occupying power points increases your energy. The amount of energy you have is shown by the bar that appears next to the board when it's your turn to move. See the back of the manual for a chart showing the relative costs and income amounts of each action. See pages 3 and 4 for more information about spells. Note: If you lose all your Adepts, the Apocalypse spell is automatically invoked. To Start Over in the Middle of the Game -- Press Select or Option to return to the setup choices or Start to restart with the same setup. To Pause a Game in Progress -- press the space bar. Music (Theme from Adept) c 1984 by T.V. Dunbar. IMPORTANT INFORMATION 1. Against the computer, your Wraiths will be visible. (Since the computer actually "knows" where they are, it seems only fair that you know as well.) 2. To give a beginner the best possible chance against a skilled player (computer or human), follow the instructions on first page of the Command Summary card to choose the Beginner level for the least skilled player and the Advanced level for the most skilled one. 3. The Command Summary card instructions referring to XL owners apply only to owners of Atari computers. ELECTRONIC ARTS (R) 105406 ********* End Project 64 etext Archon II manual. *********