Welcome to Unnkulian Underworld: The Unknown Unventure! ( ST version )
(In this version, several earlier bugs are fixed.)
For those of you who have played text adventures, the format of this
game should be quite familiar. Like most text adventures, Unnkulian
Underworld places you in a situation and lets you figure out how to
manipulate your environment using commands phrased in simple English.
This game is the first in a series of adventures, and was created using
TADS ( see below for more information ).
I. THE GAME
Boot up your ST, and run UNNKUL.PRG *from the desktop!* ( It doesn't
run from GULAM for some unexplained reason... )
For those of you unfamiliar with text adventures, here are some sample
commands:
get lamp examine shrine
put green key in red box eat slice of pizza
attack monster with pike kick golden door
north ( can be just 'n' ) look under chair
get the key and the sword and the axe and the widget
get all put the widget on the thingy
...and so forth. There are several specialized commands supported
that will be familiar to adventure junkies:
- 'x' can be used for 'examine'
- 'i' for inventory - lists all carried items
- 'g' for again - repeats last command
- 'l' for look - prints room description
- 'z' for wait - wait one turn
- 'verbose' - prints room descriptions each time a room is entered
- 'brief' - prints room descriptions only the first time a room is
entered - standard mode
- 'save' 'restore' 'restart' - commands to save or restart a game
- 'score' - prints your current score and gives you some idea of how
well you're doing
Unnkulian Underworld has a vocabulary of well over a thousand words. If
the game doesn't understand a word, try a synonym.
The game is also fairly large - a bit over seventy rooms, and a good number
of objects. Making a map may help.
II. SPEAKING WITH CHARACTERS
You're not the only one wandering around Unnkulia! There are several
ways to talk to others in the game - try any or all of these syntax
constructions...
Examples:
There is a huge green dragon here.
>dragon, hello
The dragon nods politely at you.
>ask dragon about the purple key
The dragon doesn't want to talk about that.
>tell dragon about the sword
The dragon's ears perk up.
>show sword to dragon
The dragon cowers in fright!
>dragon, follow me
The dragon bows its head in submission and agrees to follow you.
III. GENERAL HINTS
Examine everything, and not just the items you can pick up. There are
many things in the game that can be manipulated.
Save often. There are many ways to die. Even the most innocent object
is potentially deadly.
The puzzles are all fairly logical. Some, however, require violating
certain sacrosanct principles of traditional adventure gaming.
IV. SHAREWARE!
This game is shareware - that means if you like it, I'd appreciate some
monetary compensation. I'd like $10; I feel that amount reflects the work
and time I've put in. However, any amount would be appreciated.
For the $10 registration fee, I'll send you a hint sheet for some
of the tough, early puzzles, a map of the surface and first underground
part, and put you on my mailing list so that you know when Unnkulian
Unventure II - currently being written by my close friend and Public
Domain Games God ( author of Hacman I & II ) Dave Baggett - is coming
out. The hints include:
- How to open the iron grate
- How to fool the droll
- What to do about the monk
- Things you probably missed on the surface
- The solution to the maze ( no more slogging through it! )
- Things to try for fun
Make checks payable to D. A. Leary, or just send cash, to:
5105 Starsplit Lane
Columbia, Maryland 21044
Any specific questions, requests for hints, or suggestions will be
answered in detail if a SASE and the registration fee ( $10.00 )
is included. I'm always happy to hear bug reports too...
V. TADS
Unnkulian Underworld was designed using TADS, the Text Adventure
Development System. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in
writing adventures - anyone with a minimum of programming experience
can pick up TADS quickly and easily. For information, write to:
High Energy Software
P. O. Box 50422
Palo Alto, California 94303
...or contact the authors through electronic mail on CompuServe
(user ID 73737,417) or GEnie (mail ID M.ROBERTS10). Do it today!
VI. A FINAL WORD
Unnkulian Underworld was written on an Atari ST. Mac and MS-Dos are
also available now.
Thanks to Dave Baggett, Chris Nebel, Tien-Seng Chiu, and Tim "Timon Marmex"
Trzepacz for all their help.
Look for Unnkulian Unventure II: The Secret of Acme (tm) coming soon!