******************************************************************************
*                                                                            *
* Original MINDTRAP test scenario notes from 1988                            *
* Program copyright (C) 1983-1988 by the Izard of Woz                        *
* Permission granted to distribute for non-commercial use                    *
*                                                                            *
* 1996 introduction and historical notes by John Miles (jmiles@pop.net)      *
*                                                                            *
* Note that the .NIB files are Apple //e disk images, and must be "run"      *
* with an Apple II emulator program.  Two of the most highly-recommended     *
* PC-based emulators are:                                                    *
*                                                                            *
*  WINDOWS  ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/emulators/applewin       *
*                                                                            *
*           Win 3.1: Download AppleWin 1.10.zip from this directory          *
*           Win 95:  Download aplwin95.zip from this directory               *
*                                                                            *
*  MS-DOS   ftp://users.aol.com/davidells/ApplePC                            *
*                                                                            *
*           Download ApplePC.zip and Apple.IIe.ROM.zip from this directory   *
*                                                                            *
* To run Mindtrap, load MT_PROG.NIB into the emulator's "slot 6, drive 1,"   *
* and MT_TOWN.NIB into "slot 6, drive 2".  Booting the emulator will launch  *
* the game.                                                                  *
*                                   -------                                  *
*                                   History                                  *
*                                   -------                                  *
*                                                                            *
* This demo was created in the late 1980s at Origin Systems, Inc., publisher *
* of the well-known 'Ultima' and 'Wing Commander' titles.  It was intended   * 
* to serve as a product proposal and feasibility study for a revolutionary   *
* new kind of game, one which would merge two of the most compelling themes  *
* in the history of interactive fiction: the unlimited interactivity of      *
* 'Zork' and the role-playing aspects of 'Ultima.'                           *
*                                                                            *
* Called 'Mindtrap,' the new game would represent perhaps the most ambitious *
* project ever undertaken on an 8-bit microcomputer.  Yet, as the demo made  *
* clear, the game's creator -- the equally-ambitious Apple programming       *
* prodigy known to his peers as 'The Izard of Woz' -- was equal to the task. *
*                                                                            *
* In 1989, however, tragedy intervened.  The promising young Izard of Woz    *
* passed away that spring due to complications arising from Bachman's        *
* Syndrome.  Long before his dream could be realized, its nascent            *
* incarnation was consigned to a musty desk drawer in Austin, Texas, where   *
* it would rest, forgotten and undiscovered, for over eight years.           *
*                                                                            *
* My own cubicle at Origin Systems was only a few short steps down the hall  *
* from the Izard of Woz's spacious office, so I was perhaps the one Origin   *
* programmer who saw and spoke to him most frequently.  That more or less    *
* automatically made me his best friend and confidant, as none of us had     *
* much of a social life outside the workplace in those days.  (The world of  *
* a game programmer was a much harsher place then; there were no million-    *
* dollar homes in the country, no reserved parking spaces at the office, and *
* no Ferraris to park in them either, for that matter.  Some might say the   *
* games themselves were better back then.  But I digress.)                   *
*                                                                            *
* So I was surprised, but not shocked, at being contacted by the young man's *
* parents a few weeks ago.  It seemed that two unfamiliar-looking diskettes  *
* labelled 'Mindtrap' had surfaced in the midst of a pre-Christmas house     *
* cleaning, and would I care to have them as a reminder of my friend's       *
* enthusiasm for his art?  Damned straight, I would.  As a fellow Infocom    *
* fanatic -- never mind being one who had literally learned to program by    *
* disassembling and studying the early Ultima games -- I was delighted to    *
* hear that some trace of the Izard of Woz's creation had survived his       *
* passing.                                                                   *
*                                                                            *
* I know my friend would have been gratified by the continuing activity in   *
* the IF field today.  He would certainly have found the time to be an       *
* enthusiastic participant even at this late juncture had his career not     *
* been so cruelly cut short.  The contents of those two tattered and faded   *
* diskettes are hardly earth-shaking in today's world of multi-gigabyte      *
* interactive movies with $10 million production budgets, but the 'Mindtrap' *
* demo will certainly serve its purpose as a fascinating signpost on a       *
* road not taken.  At the wishes of his parents, I'll respect the Izard of   *
* Woz's anonymity, passing his work, if not his name, to the few who still   *
* like to fire up the old Z-machine every once in awhile to see if she       *
* still runs like she used to.                                               *
*                                                                            *
*                                     Austin, Texas / January 5, 1996        *
*                                                                            *
******************************************************************************

     MINDTRAP test/demo scenario, Apple 128K MDOS version 1.0 of 10/88

                             "Escape from Belsaena"

You are Lord British's chief military advisor.  Or, at least, you were until
you were caught selling magic axes to the Blackthorn regime in exchange for
the promised release of Iolo the Bard and other politically-important
hostages.  Now, you and your partners have been tried by the Great Council
and exiled to the distant Yriearth city of Belsaena, a rehabilitation 
community for convicted stock-market racketeers, ex-televangelists, and 
laid-off Electronic Arts employees.

Having just arrived in Belsaena, you immediately begin planning your big 
escape.  The odds seem stacked against you from square (hex) one: you're 
free to roam about the city, but there is only one way out of town, and that's
through the constantly-patrolled southern gate.  A trackless forest surrounds
the northern part of the city, and all who venture within must face the 
dreaded Hellhounds.  (Native to lands even farther distant than your beloved
Britannia, even the smallest hellhound is fast, fierce, and capable of 
devouring a human 12 times its size in 3 1/2 seconds.)

But with your own unmatched wits and the new MINDTRAP NLI on your side, how
can you lose?  In the MINDTRAP test scenario, your destiny is finally in 
your hands.  You can become the Greatest Adventurer of All Time... 
or a hellhound's hors d'oeuvre!

                                      * * *

                                 GETTING STARTED

MINDTRAP combines full natural-language interaction with classic role-playing
elements.  Consequently, role-playing character creation and party management
utilities are present, in addition to the game's natural-language interface.

Normally, a beginning player would need to create Thief, Cleric, Knight, and
Mage characters to get started in the game.  In this test scenario, however,
the attributes and character classes don't have much of an effect on gameplay.
For this reason, the three latter characters are already present in the
roster, and all you need to do is create a "Thief" character (unless, of
course, you find the stunning graphics in the character-creation module too
magnificent to rush through).  Without a consistent means of expressing
player-character individuality during gameplay, there's currently no need
to spend much time on attribute assignment.  (Nevertheless, all available 
points must be assigned to your character's attributes, with at least 5 
assigned to each, before you can name your character and continue with 
the creation process.)

Both character creation and party formation are accessible by pressing 'C'
(for Create Character) or 'J' (Join Party) at the title screen menu.  The 'E'
(Enter Yriearth) option takes you into the game itself.  Once you've been
sufficiently dazzled by the opening graphics (or not; see notes below), you 
can press 'C', 'J', or 'E' at any time during bootup to get down to business 
in a hurry.  (Pressing ESC during the introduction sequence will pause it.)

                                PLAYING THE GAME

There are two basic "modes" of interaction with MINDTRAP.  "Movement mode"
allows rapid travel across the game map without using the natural-language
interface.  This is the game's default mode, and is characterized by a 
flashing block cursor.  "Command mode" allows you to tell your party (or a
particular character) what to do, through the use of conventional English
commands.
        
MOVEMENT MODE (flashing block cursor)
-------------

In Movement mode, only the following keys are used:

                        U I O
                        J K L

                     Return/Enter

The UIOJKL key cluster moves the party to a new hex in any of six possible
directions, while the Return/Enter key is used to toggle between Movement
mode and Command mode, described below.

COMMAND MODE (flashing underline cursor)
------------

Several important features are available in Command mode:

* Press Return/Enter on a blank input line to re-enter Movement mode.

* Enter a valid command sentence in English.  A valid sentence is made up
  of one action phrase and one indirect-object phrase and/or one
  direct-object phrase, which may itself consist of one or more direct
  objects.  In other words, if it makes any sense at all, the NLI can
  probably parse it.  (Only the first 5 letters of each word are used by the
  current version of the NLI.) 

* In addition to over 100 basic actions (many of which are recognized but not
  used in the test scenario) the following "utility" commands are
  currently available.  These commands execute functions in the game which
  are similar to those of the standard Infocom utility commands.

  SUPERBRIEF 
  BRIEF 
  VERBOSE
  LOOK (L)
  QUIT 
  SAVE 
  RESTORE
  INVENTORY (I)
  WAIT

* Your input line may be edited using the standard Apple ][ "escape"
  cursor sequences.  The game's graphic console supports all Apple escape
  codes.

* You may retype your last input line by pressing control-A at either the
  Movement or Command prompt.  The Infocom AGAIN command is not implemented
  in this release.

* The "actor," or the player character who is assumed to be doing all the
  work, is by default the first party member (topmost in the list).  
  You can employ a different actor by simply addressing the desired character
  when you give your command sentence.  For example, "MONDALE, EXAMINE THE 
  DRAWER" will assign that and all subsequent tasks to the character Mondale 
  until another actor is addressed.  NPCs cannot be addressed in this 
  manner yet.

* You can rearrange the party's marching order by saying 
  "(somebody), FOLLOW (somebody else)".  

                 IMPLEMENTATION NOTES / CONSTRAINTS & CAVEATS

* There are approximately 800 words in the test scenario's vocabulary.  This
  figure will rise to between 2,500 and 3,000 in the final game.

* No attempt has been made to handle a large subset of all possible actions
  in the test scenario.  Only the more reasonable actions are likely to 
  yield an "intelligent" response.  Many nouns referred to in the prose 
  descriptions are NOT yet treated as valid objects in the test scenario.

* The game engine is quite stable, making fatal bugs and crashes rare.
  Nevertheless, frequent SAVEing is recommended.  In the test scenario, 
  you can have only one savegame file.

* The test scenario does not allow interaction with NPCs in a standardized
  manner.  Only a few NPCs are able to hold up their end of a conversation, 
  so don't be offended if just about everybody in Belsaena ignores you.  
  The combat system is likewise unimplemented; any violent clashes between 
  party members and other people or monsters are likely to be peremptorily 
  decided in the latter's favor!

* The game's operating system requires a //c, IIGS, or 128K Apple //e.  On 
  a GS, the test scenario defaults to operation at 1 MHz to maintain 
  normal graphics animation, cursor blink rates, etc.

* The title screen and opening graphics are "programmer art" dating back
  to 1984-1985.  In other words, don't expect Renoir.

* Estimated completion time (without hints): 2 hours.  Average 'puzzle'
  difficulty: easy.

