======================
|| PLAYING ATLANTIS ||
======================

Atlantis is a platform for text-based adventure games. That means that you,
the player, interact with the computer using nothing but the keyboard and the
screen. (Well, and of course your imagination...)

This guide aims to give you a quick run-down of what you will need to know
to play Atlantis. If you are interested in more details, such as how to create
your own worlds, you are hereby referred to the accompanying documentation.

The current development version of Atlantis can be found at:
www.github.com/atlantis


THE MAIN MENU

This is where you find yourself when you first start Atlantis. Your options are
listed underneath the game banner. At the very bottom, you see the "command
prompt" (>>>), which is the indication that the computer expects some input from
you. In a menu like this, you can choose an option by typing the relevant number
and pressing ENTER. (Commands to the computer must always be terminated by
pressing ENTER.)
	
The first option, "Start playing", will first ask you for your name. (This is
needed to save the game.) If you've played before, you will then have the choice
of whether you want to continue where you left off, or if you want to start a
new game. If this is your first time, you'll be taken straight to the setup
for new games. Here, you can choose which game world you want to play. (At the
moment, only the "Winnie the Pooh" world is fully functional. You may peruse
the other one, but it's far from complete.)

Going back to the main menu, the second option prints out a list of players on
this computer. (Apart from being interesting, this can be useful if you've
forgotten your player name...)

The third option displays this help text; the fourth option shows a copyright
notice and the Atlantis software license. The fifth option quits the game.


BASIC GAME PLAY

When you decide to start a new game in one of the game worlds, you may be
given a choice of characters to play. (Some worlds are only intended for a
single character. In that case, you are taken straight to the game.)

Once inside the game world, you no longer navigate using a numeric menu but with
commands. Most commands take the form <verb> <noun>, whereby <verb> is replaced
with the actual command (e.g. look) and <noun> is replaced with the object in
question (e.g. bed).

Typing "help" (without the quotation marks) will bring up a list of the core
commands, along with a short description. This is very useful!

If you want to stop playing, you can use the commands "quit" or "exit". Don't
worry, your game progress will be saved when you leave.

Note that although capitalization does not matter in Atlantis, spelling does.
So if you get an error message telling you that a command is not available, make
sure that you spelt it correctly.

However, having said that, Atlantis will try to guess the correct command from
an abbreviated input. The rules for this are pretty complex, but as long as your
input is unambiguous, Atlantis ought to be able to figure out what you meant.
(Example: Say you are in a room with an NPC called "young child". Then the
command "l child" will be expanded to "look young child". However, if there is
also a "crying child" in the room, "l child" is no longer unambiguous and will
now return an error.)


THE GAME SCREEN

All game worlds consist of a network of distinct places. Your current location
is always displayed at the very top of the screen. Below the location's name,
you will find a more detailed description of your surroundings. It's worth
reading this carefully, as it may contain important clues!

Underneath the place description are various lists, starting with neighbouring
places. There may also be items, NPCs (= non-playing characters) or even
monsters, all of which you can interact with.


CORE COMMANDS

Below you will find a list of the core Atlantis commands. Some places or items
may offer additional commands that are available when you are in that place
or in possession of the item. If any place/item provides commands, it is so
indicated in the game.

help - This will give a list of game commands with a concise description for
	   quick reference.

look - This is the most versatile command in the game. With it, you can inspect
       any item, NPC or monster (e.g. look cook). You can also bring up
       information about yourself with "look me" or about your current location
       with "look here". Finally, "look around" is an alias for "search".

goto - The second most important command in Atlantis. With "goto" you can change
       your location to a neighbouring place. Enter the name of the place you
       wish to go to after the actual command (e.g. goto Kitchen). Note that
	   there is no space in the word: it's "goto", not "go to".

search - Some rooms contain hidden items. To find them, you first need to search
         the room. Don't forget to do this regularly!

take - This command is used to pick up an item. Most items in the game can be
       picked up, many are useful.

drop - This, obviously, is the opposite to take. If you no longer require an
       item, just drop it.

talk - This command allows you to interact with NPCs. Almost all NPCs will have
       something to say to you, and occasionally, it's important! It's worth
       talking to NPCs more than once, because some will have more than one
       thing to say. Some NPCs also offer further options, such as buying or
       selling items, or quests. (Quests are tasks that you can undertake for
       the NPC. You prove that you have completed the task by returning a
       certain, quest-specific item to the NPC, upon which you will of course
       receive a reward.)

hold - Some items can be used as weapons or tools. These need to be held in
       order to be usable and can be equipped with this command. If you ever
       find yourself in a fight with a monster, you will want to have a weapon
       on you! 'hold none' removes whatever item you currently have equipped.

attack - Some places contain monsters. (In Atlantis, a "monster" is any hostile
         non-playing character.) While some monsters attack you first, you also
         have the choice of attacking them. After all, there may be rich
         treasure in store for the brave adventurer... (Make sure you are
		 holding a weapon, though!) When you attack a monster, or vice versa,
         the computer calculates the amount of damage you both take based on
         your various strengths and weapons. Make sure that your health doesn't
         drop too low! If it ever reaches 0, you're dead... (You can check up
         on your current health with the "look me" command. There may be some
         ways in-game of healing yourself - but you'll have to find those out
         for yourself.) Each time you use the "attack" command is equivalent to
         one round of fighting. Eventually, you'll kill the monster, or decide
         that discretion is the better part of valour...

clear - Sometimes, your screen can get rather cluttered up with the output of
        the various commands. With "clear" you delete all text except the place
        description.

archive - This is intended for debugging purposes for games on my server. If
          Atlantis crashes, do the following: Restart Atlantis and reload your
          game. Then, *immediately* execute this command. Finally, send me a
          short bug report with your player name and the command that caused
          the crash. This will help me track down the problem. After that you
          can continue playing.


Daniel Vedder
Last modified 07/01/2018