S h a d o w T h i e fby R. Zane Rutledge------------R E A D    M Ev.0.97	(12/7/98)for PalmPilotI n t r o-------Action! Adventure!....Sarcasm!ShadowThief is an action/adventure game for PalmPilot. Explore complex castles, dungeons, and diverse medieval environments as you interact and do battle with enemies both mortal and monstrous. Character thoughts and speech balloons make every encounter unique. Arcane weapons, magic, potions, powers, tricks, and traps await you at every turn. Swords clash, arrows fly, as your nimble thief dodges, jumps, jabs and stabs. Included: Adventure 1, "The Circle of Stealth," with more downloadable adventure scenarios to follow. See http://www.dnai.com/~zane/shadowthief for more details.I n s t a l l a t i o n   I n s t r u c t i o n s------------------------------------You can hotsync the three (3) necessary files to your PalmPilot, or use one of several other shareware programs available for transfering files to and from the PalmPilot unit (such as Palm Buddy for Macintosh). The three minimum needed files are:MACINTOSH (.sit/.hqx)*- ShadwThief.prc (about 55K)- shThief1PartA.pdb (about 25K)- shThief1PartB.pdb (about 90K)(about 170K total)PC (.zip)*- shThief.prc (about 55K)- shTh1A.pdb (about 25K)- shTh1B.pdb (about 90K)(about 170K total)*There is no difference in the Mac/PC files other than naming convention.IMPORTANT: You must have BOTH Parts A and B for any downloaded adventure to work! Parts A and B of "shThief1" is the first adventure designed for the game; it is entitled "The Circle of Stealth." Without both of these files, ShadowThief operates in a very boring demo screen mode which is extremely limited. Future downloadable adventures will also be in this 2-part format, though the "1" will be replaced with a unique adventure number. Coming soon: Adventure 2, "The Three Shades of Night," and Adventure 3, "Shades of Night Magic." Watch for both at www.dnai.com/~zane/shadowthief. Any single adventure must be installed to play, but no more than one adventure (both parts) need be on your Pilot at any given time. (i.e. when you finish Adventure 1, you may delete it before loading Adventure 2, if space on your PalmPilot is limited.)R e g i s t r a t i o n------------------ShadowThief is shareware; if you enjoy playing it, please register your copy. Registered users will no longer be nagged by the thief's occasional wise-cracks regarding registration. Additional features and (non-critical) aspects of the game may also become available to registered players (surprise!), and you will also be eligible to download the final adventure in the Shades Trilogy -- Adventure 3, "Shades of Night Magic" -- when it becomes available. (Registered users will be sent a password and URL for downloading via email. The estimated release date of Adventure 3 is February 1999. Adventure 2 should be available in late December of 1998 or early January of 1999.)P r i c i n g----------ShadowThief registration is only $15 and can be purchased at PalmPilotGear H.Q. (www.pilotgear.com) or via Kagi Shareware (www.kagi.com). The included Register program uses Kagi Shareware, but both services support most methods of payment. PalmPilotGear H.Q. additionally offers payment by phone (817.461.3480). In either case, a registration code will be sent from the author within 4 days from purchase (and usually inside of 1-2 days). Registration online is the most expedient way of receiving your authorization code and unlocking further game functionality.R e g i s t e r i n g    O n l i n e---------------------------You can register ShadowThief via Kagi online at either Kagi:     http://order.kagi.com/QF1&or PalmPilotGear H.Q.:     http://www.pilotgear.com/Online registration offers several payment methods, including payment by credit card, First Virtual account, as well as other methods of online payment.P a y i n g    v i a    K a g i ' s    R e g i s t e r    P r o g r a m------------------------------------------------------Paying for ShadowThief is simple. Open the Register program that accompanies ShadowThief. Enter your name, email address, and the number of single user licenses you wish to purchase. Save or Copy or Print the data from the Register program and send the data and payment to Kagi Shareware (by email, fax, or snail mail). Kagi handles payment processing and accepts a wide variety of payment options. More specifics on the Register program to follow.G a m e p l a y   I n s t r u c t i o n s--------------------------------Instructions are available online, but briefly reviewed here. Tap the "?" in the upper right corner to see the Controls help screen. Tapping the playfield shifts into "Stats" mode and pauses the game. In Stats mode, you can drop or use/read any objects you have picked up (if they are usable/readable), as well as check your health, ability statistics, and total gold. (Note: Some objects, like keys, are "used" automatically at the appropriate time during play (i.e. attempting to open a locked door or chest).Controls: The four hard keys and the up/down arrows are primarily used to control your thief. The arrow keys move you up or down stairs. If your are not on stairs, the up arrow jumps and the down arrow ducks (hold it down to stay ducked). Left and right motion is the two hard keys to the immediate left and right of the arrows (Address Book and To Do List respectively). The leftmost key (Datebook) opens doors, enters doors which are open, picks up objects, and checks walls for secret doors. The rightmost key (Notepad) attacks, using the current weapon in hand (or fists).H i n t s   a n d   T i p s---------------------On combat: It is indeed possible to dodge every projectile weapon shot at you, with careful timing and either a jump or a duck (jump over low shots; duck under high shots).On jumping: Jumping over pits and gaps takes a little practice. Jumping too early is usually worse than jumping a little late.On killing enemies: Some enemies will beg for their lives, often in exchange for hints or clues to what is ahead. Sparing an occasional bad guy can be a wise decision.On secret doors: Without some experience, finding secret doors may be tricky. It may take more than one look in a particular area to discover the hidden passage. It will rarely, however, be necessary to look at random for a secret door; hints or clues will usually guide the way. Your "find hidden" statistic (tap the screen for stats) indicates the percentage change that you will find a hidden or secret door when pressing the left button in any area.Adventure-specific clues without spoilers will soon be available online at www.dnai.com/~zane/shadowthief.D o w n l o a d a b l e   A d v e n t u r e s------------------------------------The Shades Trilogy by R. Zane Rutledge:Adventure 1 - The Circle of Stealth (v0.95 or higher)Adventure 2 - Three Shades of Night (coming soon)Adventure 3 - Shades of Night Magic (coming soon to registered players)Watch for more official and third-party ShadowThief downloadable adventures soon!Also available soon: the ShadowThief Level Editor! For information on beta testing the Level Editor and developing your own registered ShadowThief adventures, send email to zane@dnai.com.K n o w n   B u g s / L i m i t a t i o n s   (for all versions prior to v1.0)-----------------------------------v0.97- Enemies (and very rarely, the player) can sometimes end up "through" walls and off-screen. (You may still hear their footsteps.)- There may still be a small number of places in the game where it may not be possible to "return from death" and the game may have to be restarted at the beginning. Please report these, as there is now a gameplay mechanism for dealing with them properly.- There is a stray jumping/repositioning bug that occasionally shoves the player or the enemy through a floor onto the ground below or through a wall to the other side.- Enemies on stairs can sometimes get turned around and go the "wrong" way up or down stairs (perpendicular to the actual slope of the stairs).- It is sometimes possible to "fall" to your death *through* grass, rather than landing on it safely.- There is sometimes imperfect precision when landing on stairs from a fall.- Sometimes the DONE button on the inventory screen does not appear to have returned to the game, though inventory functions do not work either. (Workaround: temporarily open and close the "About" box.)- Pressing the UP arrow in the inventory screen when you have 10 items does not wrap around to the last item; instead, the inventory screen exits.- You cannot touch select items in the inventory screen yet (use the arrow keys instead).- ShadowThief has currently only been thoroughly tested on the Palm III, though it should work on Palm OS 2.0 models as well, memory permitting.R e p o r t i n g   B u g s   /   S e n d i n g   C o m m e n t s ,   S u g g e s t i o n s ,   R e q u e s t s---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please send any comments or bug reports to zane@dnai.com. If you are reporting a bug, please check the latest version of "Known Bugs/Limitations" at the website (www.dnai.com/~zane/shadowthief) before sending the report. Feature requests are also welcome, but check our FAQs page out first for any comments I may have already addressed. Please indicate version number and level title where the problem occured (i.e. "Castle Estride," "Dungeon Cell 1," etc.). If the problem or bug is repeatable, give me details on how to recreate the problem. Non-repeatable bugs are the hardest to eliminate.V e r s i o n   H i s t o r y-----------------------(beginning with v0.93)v0.93- Added Registration Scheme and PartA/B naming conventionv0.94- Multiple Adventure Load- Win animation addedv0.95- Registration bonus added- Fixed some jumping bugs- Added enemy jumping intelligencev0.96 (first public beta release)- Fixed a HotSync bug on Adventure 1 Part A- Minor cosmetic retouchesv0.97GAME:- Fixed the "Stuck in Hell" bug when you die and quit while in Hell and are not properly restored to life after passing through the Return Gate. You should now return to life on the screen where you died, or in a safe place nearby.- Added a special "return from Hell" flag to levels where returning to the point of origin might lead to an immediate death again (i.e. "Beyond the Walls" in Adventure 1). Play-testing is still needed to determine all of these possible places in Adventure 1.- Fixed a bug that allowed the thief to jump through walls.- Made "readable" objects storable in chests.- When Sound is OFF, some sounds (incorrect ones at that) were still happening in the inventory screen. This now behaves properly (silently).- Text garbage no longer occasionally appears in the talk balloon right before it vanishes.- Bumping into right-facing stairs now positions the thief better at the edge of the stairs.ADVENTURE 1 - "THE CIRCLE OF STEALTH":- Redesigned Hell in Level 3 to be more interesting/playable/difficult.- Added missing clue scroll to chest in Level 3.- Fixed death when you leap from the East Tower on Level 3. (Did restart you at the beginning!)I m p o r t a n t   L i n k s-----------------------ShadowThief Website (www.dnai.com/~zane/shadowthief)PalmPilotGear H.Q. (www.pilotgear.com)Kagi (www.kagi.com)668 Main Website (www.dnai.com/~zane)L e g a l   G o b b l e d e g o o k---------------------------License AgreementPLEASE READ THIS SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT (ÒTHE LICENSEÓ) BEFORE USING SHADOWTHIEF AND ANY ACCOMPANYING FILES (ÒTHE SOFTWAREÓ). THE SOFTWARE IS A PROPRIETARY PRODUCT OF R. ZANE RUTLEDGE (ÒTHE AUTHORÓ) AND IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW. BY USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, YOU MUST PROMPTLY DISPOSE OF ANY COPIES OF THE SOFTWARE IN YOUR POSSESSION.1. LicenseThe Software is licensed, not sold, to you by the Author. All copies and distributions of the Software which this License authorizes you to make are also governed by the terms of this License. All rights pertaining to the Software that are not expressly granted to you in this License are retained by the Author.Upon purchase of a Single User License, or at the discretion of the Author, you will be provided with a registration code (ÒThe Registration CodeÓ). After you enter the Registration Code into the Software, as described in the documentation accompanying the Software, the altered version of the Software (ÒThe Registered SoftwareÓ), will no longer display occasional messages. Prior to your entry of this Registration Code, the Software is considered unregistered (ÒThe Unregistered SoftwareÓ).    2. OwnershipOwnership of the legal rights, titles, and interest in the Software remains solely with the Author. These rights may include copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and other rights as applicable. You may not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, modify, rent, lease, loan, sublicense, distribute, duplicate, create derivative works based on the Software, or transmit the Software over a network except as expressly permitted under the terms of this License.3. Duplication and Distribution of the Unregistered SoftwareIn accordance with the other terms of this License, the Author grants you the non-exclusive right to duplicate and install the Unregistered Software on any computer.Unless expressly prohibited by the Author, such as may be the case with non-public pre-release versions of the Software, the Unregistered Software may be distributed through the internet, electronic bulletin boards, and other computer networks, or from person to person.Whenever the Unregistered Software is distributed, all files accompanying the Unregistered Software (the documentation, the Register application, the Installer, and any other accompanying files) must be distributed along with the Unregistered Software. The accompanying files and the Unregistered Software must be distributed intact and in their original form, without modification and without exception. If the Unregistered Software and all accompanying files are contained in a single Installer program, only that Installer may be distributed.Distributors of the Unregistered Software may not sell, charge for, or otherwise demand payment for the Unregistered Software for their own profit, or otherwise misrepresent or misconstrue the terms of the License under which the Software may be purchased by the end user.The Unregistered Software may not be distributed on computer-readable material such as floppy disk or CD-ROM without the consent of the Author.With the consent of the Author, CD-ROM distributors may charge end users for those costs associated with the distribution of the material upon which the Unregistered Software is recorded, such as the costs associated with materials, postage, packaging, or labor. CD-ROM distributors may not attempt to make a direct profit from such charges. With the consent of the Author, CD-ROM distributors may provide end users with copies of the Unregistered Software free-of-charge for the purpose of promoting or marketing another product by which the distributors hope to make a profit (such as a magazine), as long as the other terms of this License with respect to the distribution of the Unregistered Software are met.4. Duplication and Distribution of the Registered SoftwareThe purchaser of a Single User License may duplicate the Registered Software and install it on a computer different from the computer for which the Single User License was purchased, provided that the Registered Software on the original computer is then promptly deleted.You may not distribute the Registered Software in any other way, including but not limited to any computer-readable material, floppy disk, CD-ROM, computer network, electronic bulletin-board service, or the Internet.The Registration Code may not be distributed in any way, including but not limited to any computer-readable material, floppy disk, CD-ROM, computer network, electronic bulletin board service, the Internet, oral, written, or signed communication, telephone, telegraph, or fax machine. You may store the Registration Code for your own personal use for the purpose of reinstalling the Software as necessary on the computer or computers governed by the terms of this License.5. Warranty and limitations of liabilityTHE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ÒAS ISÓ. USE THE SOFTWARE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE AUTHOR MAKES NO WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION FROM OR INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE USE, MISUSE, OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THESE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY IN ALL JURISDICTIONS. YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS AND SOME OF THESE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.In no event shall the AuthorÕs total liability to you for actual damages, from any cause whatsoever and regardless of the form of the action, whether in contract, product liability, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, exceed US $50.6. ExportYou agree to comply with the laws and regulations of the United States of America and other countries regarding the export of computer software as those laws and regulations pertain to the Software governed by this License.7. Governing lawThis License shall be governed by the laws of the United States of America.8. SeverabilityIf for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of this License, or portion thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision of the License shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to effect the intent of the parties, and the remainder of this License shall continue in full force and effect.9. AmendmentsThis License constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the use of the Software and supersedes any prior agreements or understandings. No amendment to this License will be binding unless agreed to and signed by the Author in writing.CopyrightsShadowThief©1998 R. Zane Rutledge / 668 SoftwareAll Rights Reserved WorldwideSix-Six-Eight Software7020 Sayre DriveOakland, CA 94611email: zane@dnai.comhttp://www.dnai.com/~zaneEND OF README