======================================================= Soft-Sect presents: -> S H O G U N <- Brought to you by: The Crasher & El Cid Docs by: Ware Jerk Released: 07/09/89 ======================================================= ==================== Preface to the Story ==================== In Shogun, you play the role of resourceful English seaman John Blackthorne, Pilot-Major of the Dutch trader-warship Erasmus, which is on a secret mission of trade and plunder to the Spanish-dominated Pacific Ocean. The year is 1600, and the powerful Catholic empire of Spain and Portugal is locked in a death struggle with the upstart Protestant nations of England and Holland. The Catholic nations have spread their political and religious influence across the world, reaching as far as China and the almost mythical land of Japan, extracting great wealth in spices and precious metals. Their extensive knowledge of the Asian seaways is highly secret information coveted by English and Dutch traders. But while the European powers battle each other, a longer and even more vicious struggle is raging among the feudal lords of Japan. After hundreds of years of anarchy, Japan was unified by the great warrior Nakamura, was Taiko, or military ruler. But the Taiko has died, leaving as heir a seven-year-old boy, and a five-man Council of Regents to rule in his name. The dominant figures on the Council are Lord Toranaga and Lord Ishido. Each is a daimyo: powerful warrior-rulers who follow the ancient samurai traditions. Each harbors the ambition to be Shogun: supreme ruler under the divine but nearly powerless Emperor. Toranaga and Ishido are each backed by lesser daimyos and hordes of samurai. They jockey for position, nearly evenly matched, looking for any way of bolstering their chances. Perhaps the Jesuits will swing their support behind one candidate, or hostages will neutralize a powerful supporter. The balance is delicate, and the appearance of the Eramus creates excitement and new possibilities. It is into the center of this momentous conflict that you, John Blackthorne, have been thrown, and soon you discover that the perils of the sea are almost trifling compared to the danger and intrigue among the samurai loards of Japan. Life in Japan can be a hazardous affair. If you choose the wrong friends of confidants, you may find your head detached from your body. But strict adherence to the rules of etiquette, some judicious questions, and careful listening will enhance your pleasure, prestige, and prospects for survival. Shogun is one of a new family of Infocom stories which utilize vivid graphics to enhance the story. So now, along with the quality interactive fiction that you've come to expect from Infocom, you can also expect beautiful artwork as well. You'll find that the art in Shogun is tied very closely to the story and gives you a "fine-focus" on the mood or locale as you play the role of John Blackthorne. ===== Hints ===== Shogun contains on-screen hints! If you ever get stuck, just type HINT and follow the instructions on your screen. The hints generally progress from a gentle nudge to a complete answer. Don't let the presence or absence of hints on a particular subject affect your thinking. In fact, fake hints have been added to prevent this. We strongly recommend that you look at only one hint at a time. Avoid the temptation to use the hints too often; this inevitably spoils, or at least lessens, the fun of solving a solving a puzzle. If you don't have the will power to stop looking at the hints you can type HINTS OFF. This will deactivate the on-screen hints (unless you RESTART or RESTORE to an earlier point). ============= Function Keys ============= As described elsewhere in this manual, many commands have abbreviations: you can type N instead of NORTH, for instance, or I instead of INVENTORY. With function keys, you can use a single keystroke as an abbreviation for whatever you choose. You can use a function key to abbreviate a long word that you don't to type (like TORANAGA), or to abbreviate a commonly used command (like RESTORE), or even to abbreviate a whole sentence (like LOAD THE PISTOL). The 10 user-defined functions (F1-F10) are accessed by holding down the Closed Apple/Option key and simultaneously pressing the number key (1-0) which corresponds to the function you want to use. The arrow keys have also been defined as function keys. Initially, they are defined as the four cardinal directions. You may, however, change them also. Please note that the left arrow key is defined as WEST and cannot be user as a backspace key. You start the story with the function keys already set to commonly used commands. To see what the function keys are to, or to change the settings of the function keys, type DEFINE at the prompt {>} and press the RETURN key. Then use your mouse or up and down arrow keys to highlight the setting(s) you want to change. The vertical bar {|} or exclamation point {!} is used as an abbreviation for the RETURN key automatically pressed when you use that function key. Note: Only one RETURN can be included in each function key definition. Anything typed after the first RETURN will be discarded. You can restore all the original settings of the function keys by highlighting the RESET DEFAULTS command and pressing the RETURN key. You can save any changes you make by highlighting the SAVE DEFINITIONS command. If after saving your own definitions you wish to RESET DEFAULTS, or save a new set of definitions, you may retrieve your previous definitions save by highlighting the RESTORE DEFINITIONS command and pressing the RETURN key. To leave the DEFINE screen, highlight the EXIT command and press the RETURN key. ================ Special Commands ================ Below are explanations for a number of useful one-word commands. In many cases, these will not count as a move. Type the command after the prompt {>} and press the RETURN key. Most of these commands appear in all Infocom games, but those that are starred (*) are new. AGAIN - This repeat your previous input. For instance, typing TURN THE WHEEL TO PORT then typing AGAIN would be like turning the wheel to port twice in a row. You can abbreviate AGAIN to G. BRIEF - This command tells Shogun to fully describe a location only the first time you enter it. On subsequent visits, Shogun will tell you only the name of the location in BRIEF mode, and remain in BRIEF mode unless you use the VERBOSE or SUPERBRIEF commands. SUPERBRIEF tells Shogun to display only the name of a place you have entered, even if you have never been there before. In this mode, Shogun will not even mention which objects are present. Of course, you can always get a full description of your location and the items there by typing LOOK. SUPERBRIEF mode is meant for players who are already familiar with the geography. The VERBOSE command tells Shogun that you want a complete description of each location, and the objects in it, every time you enter it, even if you've been there before. *COLOR - If you are playing Shogun on a computer with a color monitor, you can type COLOR to change the colors of the text and background on your screen. This command works only on computers which support a color display. *DEFINE - This command allows you to change the settings of the function keys. See the "Function Keys" section above. DIAGNOSE - Shogun will give you a report of Blackthorne's (ie: your) physical condition. *HINT - If you have difficulty while playing the story, and you can't figure out what to do, just type HINT. Then follow the directions at the top of your screen to read the hint of your choice. INVENTORY - Shogun will list what Blackthorne is carrying and wearing. You can abbreviate INVENTORY to I. LOOK - This give you a full description of your location. You can abbreviate LOOK to L. *NOTIFY - Normally in Shogun, the game will not notify you when your score changes. You can turn on this notification feature by using the NOTIFY command. Typing NOTIFY a second time turns the feature back off. OOPS - If you mistype a word, such that Shogun doesn't understand it, you can correct yourself at the next prompt by typing OOPS and the correct word. For example, if you typed ATTACK THE NINAJ WITH THE SWORD and were told "[I don't know the word 'ninaj']" you could type OOPS NINJA rather than retyping the entire sentence. You can abbreviate OPPS to O. QUIT - This lets you stop. If you want to save your position before quiting, follow the instructions in the "Starting and Stopping" section below. You can abbreviate QUIT to Q. *REFRESH - This command clears your screen and redraws the display. RESTART - This stops the story and starts it over from the beginning. RESTORE - This restores a previously saved position. See "Starting and Stopping" below for more details. SAVE - This puts a "snapshot" of your current position on you save disk. You can return to a saved position in the future using the RESTORE command. See "Starting and Stopping" below for more details. SCRIPT - Tells your printer to begin making a transcript of the story. A transcript may aid your memory, but is not necessary, and will work only on certain computers. SCORE - This command will show your current score and a ranking which is based on that score. SUPERBRIEF - Tells Shogun to give you the sparest level of description. See BRIEF above. *UNDO - You can use this command to "back up" one move. Suppose, for example, that you found a package but didn't know what it was. You might type OPEN THE PACKAGE and be told "The package explodes as you open it, destroying all your possessions." You could then type UNDO, and you would "back up" one move. Your possessions would be intact, and you could try giving the package to an enemy, or leaving it alone, or something else. UNSCRIPT - This tells your printer to stop making a transcript. VERBOSE - This command tells Shogun too give you the wordiest level of description. See BRIEF above. WAIT - This causes time in the story to pass. Since nothing happens until you type a sentence and press RETURN, you could take a nap, eat dinner, then return to the story to find that nothing has changed. You can use WAIT to make time pass in the story without doing anything. For example, if you saw two soldiers arguing, you might WAIT to see what they'll do; if you were aboard a ship, you might WAIT to see where it goes. You can abbreviate WAIT to Z. ================= Sample Transcript ================= This transcript is not from Shogun, but will give you a good feeling for how Infocom's interactive fiction works. It contains some simple puzzles and their solutions. The player's commands appear in capital letters after each prompt {>}. >LOOK You are at the helm of the tradeships Dek Twintig, about to make port in Goro. >LOOK AT THE SEA The sea is as calm as the day is beautiful. The sails are full and the brisk wind moves the ship along at a quick and steady pace. Directly to port lies the barrier reef which makes Goro an ideal harbor, sheltered from the relentless battering of the sea and safe from easy enemy attack. >LOOK AT THE REEF The reef is to port, marked by a line of churning surf and broken two hundred yards ahead by the mouth of the winding channel that leads to the anchorage in Goro Harbor. The Dek Twintig is running before the wind parallel to the reef. >LOOK AT THE CHANNEL The channel is ahead and to port, marked by red and green buoys; red buoys mark the channel's left side and green buoys mark the right side. >WAIT Time passes... From atop the mainsail in the crow's nest you hear the lookout yell, "Coming up on the channel now." >TURN THE WHEEL TO PORT You turn the wheel to port and the Dek Twintig slips into the channel. >LOOK AT THE CHANNEL The channel surrounds you on both sides, about twice as wide as your ship, with red and green buoys marking its boundaries. Beyond the buoys lie shallow water, rocks, and disaster. The channel bends to starboard about three hundred yards ahead. >WAIT Time passes... The ship moves deeper into the channel propelled by the stiff winds. >WAIT Time passes... The ship moves deeper into the channel propelled by the stiff winds. The ship seems to be moving away from the center towards the left side of the channel. You hear the lookout yell excitedly, "Approaching red buoy dead ahead!" Startled, you look to the left for the buoy but it's too late because you've just left the channel and run aground. Luckily, you're on a sand bar, and not the rocks. >UNDO (UNDO done) >TURN WHEEL TO STARBOARD You quickly turn the helm to starboard just avoiding the red buoy. The Dek Twintig responds, veering back towards the center of the channel. >LOOK AT THE CHANNEL The channel surrounds you on both sides about twice as wide as your ship. The ship seems to be veering off to the right side of the channel. You remeber your recent close call as you hear the lookout yell, "Green buoy sighted, Captain!" >STRAIGHTEN WHEEL You quickly straighten the wheel and the ship immediately centers herself in the channel. >LOOK AT THE CHANNEL The channel surrounds you on both sides, about twice as wide as your ship. The lookout yells, "Channel turning starboard, Captain." >TURN THE WHEEL STARBOARD You turn the wheel to starboard, expertly following the center of the channel. >STRAIGHTEN THE WHEEL You straighten the wheel holding the Dek Twintig to the center of the channel. The lookout yells, "Anchorage dead ahead, Captain." >LOOK AT THE CHANNEL The channel surrounds you, about twice as wide as your ship. The channel opens up into Goro bay about two hundred yards ahead. >WAIT Time passes... You enter the harbor under full sail, a tribute to English seamanship. The anchorage is just a hundred yards away now. >CREW, LOWER THE SAILS The crewmen, who had been taking in the first sight of Goro, snap to and scurry up the riggings and smartly lower the sails and the Dek Twintig coasts majestically to the anchorage. You notice a small boat being launched from the shore and heading your way. >TELL THE FIRST MATE TO LOWER THE ANCHOR Seersucker orders three men forward to lower the anchor. Presently, you hear a splash and first part of your voyage is complete. The small boat is getting closer. >LOOK AT THE BOAT The small board, now coming up beside the Dek Twintig, is manned by a crew of twelve. They are dressed in strange but beautifully wrought clothing. Some of the men look like warriors. >SEERSUCKER, LOWER THE LADDER With the help of Hornung and Shalle, Seersucker lowers the ladder over the side. >WAIT Time pases... Four heavily armed men board the ship and position themselves around the top of the ladder. After a few moments a fifth man climbs the ladder. His manner and dress set him apart from the others, he is obviously their superior. >INVENTORY You are carrying official letters of introduction from the Dutch government, a sword, and a box containing a present to the people of Goro from Prince William of Orange. You step forward to address the leader. Immediately the four armed men jump forward, drawing their swords. You quickly step back. >BOW TO THE LEADER The leader takes a much more relaxed stance. His guards relax but eye you warliy. >GIVE LETTERS TO THE LEADER You hand the letters of introduction to the leader. He looks at them but doesn't comprehend their meaning. >GIVE THE BOX TO THE LEADER The leader takes the box and opens it. Inside is a globe of Europe and Japan outlined in precious stones. The leader runs his hand over the European portion of the globe letting it come to rest on the purposely unadorned country of Spain. You feel uncomfortable with his choice of resting place. >WAIT Time passes... The leader closes the box and speaks to one of the guards. The guard goes to the side of the ship yells down to the men remaining in the small boat. Another man, obviously of Spanish decent, climbs the ladder and boards the ship. Eyeing you suspiciously, he approaches and introduces himself. "I am Dario Glaz. This man," he points to the leader, "is Admiral Sukata, commander of the port of Goro. He wishes to know who you are?" >I AM CAPTAIN WICKS Upon hearing your name, Glaz becomes livid with rage, turns to Admiral Sukata and anxiously says something to Sukata. Instantly, Sukata yells something to his men and then to Glaz. The guards on deck come to a fighting posture while those remaining in the small boat begin to scurry up the ladder. Glaz faces you and says, "Captain Jeremiah Wicks, I hereby place you under arrest in the name of Admiral Sukata for the crime of piracy." As he speaks the guards move towards you. >I AM NOT A PIRATE The guards continue their advance. Your crew is not sure what to do. >I AM CAPTAIN ALEXANDER WICKS You hurriedly explain to Glaz that Jeremiah Wicks is your half-brother, a scrourge to your family and an enemy of England and all nations. He turns and speaks once more to Sukata, Sukata listens intently then orders his men to stop. ===================== Starting and Stopping ===================== On your screen, you will see a description of the opening location of the story, Bridge of the Eramus, followed by the prompt {>} indicating that Shogun is waiting for your first input. Here are a few inputs for you to try at the first several prompts. After typing each input, don't forget to hit the RETURN key. >INVENTORY >TAKE THE WHEEL >SIT IN THE CHAIR >TURN THE WHEEL TO STARBOARD You should now have a feel for interacting with the story. You decide what to do next. Saving and restoring: It will probaly take you several days to complete Shogun. Using the SAVE feature, you can continue the story at a later time without having to start over from the beginning, just as you can place a bookmark in a book you are reading. Even if you aren't about to stop playing, it's useful to SAVE before (or after) trying something dangerous or tricky. That way, even if you get lost or "killed" in the story, you can return to your saved position. To save your place, type SAVE at the prompt {>} and then press RETURN. Using a disk with data on it (other than for Shogun saves) may result in the loss of that data, depending on your computer. You can save your position as often as you like by using additional blank disks. Any time you want to return to a saved position, just type RESTORE at the prompt {>}, and hit RETURN. You can then continue the story from your save. Quiting and restarting: If you want to start over from the beginning, type RESTART and press the RETURN key. (This is usually faster than re-booting.) Shogun will ask you to confirm this command. If you want to stop entirely, type QUIT and press RETURN. Once again, Shogun will ask to make sure this is really what you want to do. Remeber: when you RESTART or QUIT, you must SAVE if you want to return to your current position in the story. =================== Interactive Fiction =================== In Shogun, you type your commands in plain English each time you see the prompt {>}. Most of the sentences that Shogun will understand are imperative sentences. See the examples below. When you have finished typing your input, press the RETURN key. Shogun will then respond, telling you whether your request is possible at this point in the story, and what happened as a result. Shogun recognizes your words by their first nine letteers, and all subsequent letters are ignored. For example, Shogun would not be able to distinguish between DEMONSTRAtion, DEMONSTRAtive, and DEMONSTRAtor. To move around, just type the direction you want to go. Directions can be abbreviated: NORTH to N, SOUTH to S, EAST to E, WEST to W, NORTHEAST to NE, NORTHWEST to NW, SOUTHEAST to SE, SOUTHWEST to SW, UP to U, and DOWN to D. IN and OUT and PORT, STARBOARD, FORE and AFT will also work in certain places. Shogun understands many different kinds of sentences. Here are examples, using objects and characters that don't necessarily appear in Shogun: >WALK TO THE NORTH >WEST >NE >DOWN >TAKE THE APPLE >OPEN PANEL >READ THE RUTTER >LOOK AT THE COMPASS >TURN WHEEL TO PORT >LIFT THE SWORD >TEAR THE CLOTH >STEER TOWARD BAY >GIVE THE CHOPSTICKS TO THE WOMAN >CLIMB INTO THE PIT You may use lower-case letters and words like A and THE if you wish. Shogun doesn't care one way or the other. You can use multiple objects with certain verbs if you seperate them by the word AND or by a comma. Some examples: >TAKE THE PISTOL AND THE BAG >DROP THE SWORD, THE COMPASS, AND THE TOWEL You can include several sentences on one line if you seperate them by the word THEN or by a period. Each sentence will be handled in order, as though you had typed them individually at seperate prompts. For example, you could type all of the following at once, before pressing the RETURN key. >TAKE THE ROPE. GO UP THEN TURN THE WHEEL TO PORT If Shogun doesn't understand one of the sentences on your input line, or if an unusual event occurs, it will ignore the rest of you input line. The words IT and ALL can be very useful. For example: >EXAMINE THE APPLE. TAKE IT. EAT IT >CLOSE THE HEAVY METAL DOOR. LOCK IT >TAKE THE KIMONO. PUT IT ON >TAKE ALL >GIVE ALL BUT THE PISTOL TO THE PRIEST The word ALL refers to every visible except object those inside something else. If there were an apple on the cabinet and an orange inside the cabinet, TAKE ALL would take the apple but not the orange. There are various kinds of questions that Shogun understands. Examples include: WHO IS {someone}, WHERE IS {something or someone}, and WHAT IS {something}. For example: >WHO IS TORANAGA? >WHAT IS A SAMURAI? >WHERE IS OSAKA? When you meet other people in Shogun, you can talk to them by typing their name, then a comma, then whatever you want to say to them. >PRIEST, HELLO >YABU, TELL ME ABOUT THE PLAN >MARIKO, GIVE ME THE DAGGER Sometimes Shogun "knows" you mean to answer a question posed by another character. In these situations you can omit the name and comma. For example if Mariko asked, "What's you favorite color?" you could answer. >YELLOW You can also ask questions of characters by using the form ASK {someone} ABOUT {something}. For example: >ASK OCHIBA ABOUT THE SAMURAI >ASK OMI ABOUT ISHIDO >ASK YABU ABOUT THE PLAN Keep in mind, however, that most people don't care for idle chatter, you should listen to others and answer their questions. Often your actions will speak louder than your words. Shogun tries to guess your intention when you give incomplete information. When it makes a guess, it will tell you. For example: >UNLOCK THE DOOR {with the key} The door is now unlocked. If you command is ambigiuous. Shogun will ask you to clarify. You can answer these questions simply by supplying the missing information at the very next prompt. For example: >GIVE THE PROCLAMATION Who do you want to give the proclamation to? >THE QUEEN The queen smiles as she accepts your gift. ================ Tips for Novices ================ 1. Draw a map. It should include each location, the connections to adjoining locations, and any interesting objects there. Remeber, there are 10 possible directions (NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST, SOUTHEAST, SOUTHWEST, UP AND DOWN) plus IN and OUT, PORT, STARBOARD, FORE and AFT. 2. EXAMINE all objects you come across in the story. 3. TAKE as many things as you can carry. Most objects that you find are important for solving the puzzles that you'll run into. 4. SAVE your place often, so that if you mess up or get "killed", you won't have to start over from the beginning. 5. Read the story carefully! There are often clues in the description of locations and objects. 6. Try everything you can think of. Even strange or dangerous actions are fun and may provide clues: you can always save your position first. Here's a silly example: >GIVE THE BROKEN COMPASS TO TORANAGA Toranaga scornfully refuses your offer. He continues to look in the bushes for his dagger. Thus, you discover that maybe giving something else to Toranaga (perhaps your dagger?) might be better. 7. There are many possible routes to the end of Shogun. If you get stuck on one puzzle, move on to another. Some puzzles have more than one solution; other puzzles don't need to be solved at all. Sometimes you will have to solve one puzzle in order to obtain the item(s) or information you need to solve another puzzle. 8. Play Shogun with a friend! Different people may find different puzzles easy and can often complement each other. 9. If you really have difficulty, you can type HINT. The screen will then show you a list of questions to which you can get answers. (Simply follow the instructions at the top of you screen to see the hint of your choice.) You don't need to use the hints to enjoy the story, but it will make solving the puzzles easier. 10. Read the sample transcript above to get a feel for how interactive fiction works. 11. You can word a command in many different ways. For example, if you wanted to stop the ship, you could type in any of the following: >DROP THE ANCHOR IN THE WATER >THROW THE ANCHOR IN THE WATER >PUT ANCHOR IN WATER If you type a sentence that Shogun doesn't understand, try rephrasing it or using synonyms. If Shogun still doesn't understand, you're probaly trying something that isn't important for completing the story. ================= Common Complaints ================= Shogun will complain if your input confuses it completely. Shogun would then ignore any further sentences on your input line. (Certain events, such as attack, will also cause Shogun to ignore any additional sentences on your input line, since the event may have changed your situation drastically.) Here are some of Shogun's complaints: {I don't know the word _________.} That word is not in the story's vocabulary. It may help to use a synonym or rephrashing the command; more likely, you're just barking up the wrong tree. Shogun uses many words in the descriptions that it will not recognize in your inputs. So, you might read, "The moon casts violet shadows across the crater," but discover that Shogun doesn't know the words MOON or SHADOW or CRATER in your input. When this happens, you can assume that you don't need to refer to those things to complete the story; they are there only to create a more vivid image of your location. {I think there's a verb missing in that sentence!} Unless you are answering a question, each sentence must have a verb (or one of the special commands). Among the most important verbs that Shogun understands are TAKE, DROP, PUT, GIVE, LOOK, READ, EXAMINE, OPEN, CLOSE, ENTER, EXIT, EAT and WEAR. There are many more. Remeber, you can use a variety of prepositions with your verbs. (For example, LOOK can become LOOK AT, LOOK INSIDE, LOOK BEHIND, LOOK UNDER, LOOK THROUGH, and so on.) {I can't understand that many nouns with ________.} Shogun recognized your verb, but it can't understand so many noun "phrases" with it. For example, Shogun may recognize SKIP but not SKIP THIS PART. {You can't see any _________ right here!} The object you refered to is not visible. It may be somewhere else, or it may be present but in a closed container. {You can't use more than one object at a time with _________.} You can use multiple objects (that is, nouns or noun phrases seperated by AND or a comma) or the word ALL only with certain verbs, such as TAKE, DROP, and PUT. For example, EXAMINE will not work with multiple objects; you couldn't say EXAMINE ALL or EXAMINE THE BOWL AND THE SWORD. {There isn't anything to __________!} You used the word ALL, but there aren't any appropriate objects visible. {Sorry, but I don't understand. Please that another way, or try something else.} The syntax (sentence structure) you used is not among the hundreds of syntaxes that Shogun recognizes. For example, SIT UNDER THE TREE and SKIP AROUND THE MAYPOLE are syntaxes that Shogun wouldn't recognize. There's a limited amount of space in the program, so syntaxes that are less common or not useful aren't included. Try rephrasing the sentence. {I beg your pardon?} You pressed the RETURN key with typing anything. ============================================================ If you are interested in supplying new //e or //gs wares to Soft-Sect, please leave mail to The Crasher or El Cid on: Ethereal Exclusive (Soft-Sect's homebase) 301-529-6418 A private system running at 9600 w/104 megs. of storage ============================================================ Also be sure to call: Magnetic Field - (312) 966-0708 Midwest Exchange - (312) 447-3857 ============================================================