QUEST FOR THE BLACK PEARL is an all-text adventure in the
tradition of COLOSSAL CAVE, ZORK, and many others.  If you have
ever played an Infocom game, you should find the setup very
familiar.  If not, given below are some general techniques for
exploring and navigating through an all-text game:

MAPPING Making a map is essential in most adventure games.  You
will find it hard to remember the connections between rooms
after you've been in a few dozen of them.  Mapping Mazes is
especially important.  One good tip is to drop something when
you enter each room in a maze, which will allow you to tell the
rooms apart (and get on with your mapping).

OBJECTS Some objects can be taken and carried.  Some cannot be
taken.  The game will let you know which is which.  Sometimes,
however, an item cannot be taken because you need another item
to carry it or you need to ACT on that item.  An example:  If
you wanted to TAKE THE FLAMING SWORD, the computer might tell
you the sword was too hot to handle.  At this point, you might
want to start looking for some oven mitts or a fire
extinguisher.  Some objects are hollow and can contain other
objects, so examine everything! All objects that can be carried
have a size and weight, and you may find you cannot carry, for
example, a 50 pound ruby and heavy armor at the same time. 
Additionally, some objects have a point value which is added to
your score.  However, dropping those objects will cause their
value to be subtracted from your total when you leave the room
they're in.  You can check your score (and rank) at any time by
typing SCORE, or your score is available on the status line at
the top of the screen.

THE PARSER The Parser is the computer's way of understanding
what you're saying. Quest for the Black Pearl has a
sophisticated parser that understands complete sentences, like:

     TAKE THE OIL OUT OF THE TIN CAN 

    GO WEST THEN CLOSE THE OAK DOOR 

    KILL THE DWARF AND TAKE THE SWORD  

   PUT THE ROSE, DIAMOND, AND SMURF IN THE KNAPSACK

Basically, if you give the computer a command it doesn't
understand, it will tell you so.  Commands can be chained
together by works like AND and THEN, or by punctuation.  It is
not necessary to end your sentences with a period, unless
followed by another sentence.

To talk to characters in an adventure, the common format is to
type TELL CHARACTER <action>, like:

     TELL ROBOT TO GIVE ME THE ACCESS CARD

It is not recommended to chain sentences together while talking
to other characters.  They may misunderstand you.  Many
creatures may have nothing at all to say to you.

DIRECTIONS

Quest for the Black Pearl uses the Function Keys and Keypad on
your Keyboard to save you from typing unnecessary commands.  The
function of any key can be changed using the DEFINE command. 
The function keys are laid out as follows: F1 GET     F2 DROP   
   F3 EXAMINE     F4 READ     F5 OPEN F6 CLOSE   F7 INVENTORY  
F8 LOOK        F9 SCORE    F10 HELP

The keypad (NUMLOCK must be off) is laid out like this:

                                                UP -         
NORTHWEST 7   NORTH 8   NORTHEAST 9   DOWN +          WEST 4    
            EAST 6          SOUTHWEST 1   SOUTH 2   SOUTHEAST 3 
       ENTER ins     EXIT del

Sometimes it helps to think in three dimensions.  If you are in
a deep snowbank, you may be able to DIG or BURROW down into the
snow.  Likewise, if you were swimming across a river, you might
want to go DOWN or UNDERWATER to see if anything useful was on
the riverbed.

HELP Assistance is available in some of the rooms.  If you get
really stuck, type HELP.  If help is available, a clue will
appear on the screen.  If not, you will get a message like
"Sorry, you're on your own!"  Help is not available in every
room, and the help is in the form of a hint.  Help is not going
to tell you "Bring the bell, book, and candle to this room and
light the candle while reading the book aloud and then ring the
bell three times."  Help will be more like "Some of the objects
in the cave could be used in magic rituals."

For those who get helplessly stuck, two different "Help Kits"
are available.  For those who are hopelessly lost and want a
move-by-move solution, a complete printout of a successful 350
point game is available for $10.  For those who don't want to
wade through about 30 pages of printout, a two page game summary
and full map of the game are available for $5.00.  Send your
money to:

                       Ralph W. Varble 

                      2505 Columbus Circle 

                      Springfield, Illinois 62703

DYING It is likely you will die a few times while on your quest.
The computer will give you the opportunity to be reincarnated,
but after a few times, you may be too dead to revive.  Dying
also costs you point penalties, so to finish a game with all the
points, it is necessary to play through without dying.

SAVING AND RESTORING Saving the game is like taking a snapshot
of where you are and what you're doing.  SAVE is recommended
when you are about to take an action that might be dangerous. 
This way, if you take the wrong action or die, you can RESTORE
the game.  You can SAVE or RESTORE at any point in this game.

GOOD LUCK!

