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How To Play "the Star Portal" 
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Adventure Game Toolkit General instructions: (Courtesy of David Malmberg)
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This game allows you to use complex commands -- if you wish.  Your commands
can be expressed in the format:


  <verb phrase> <(multiple) noun phrase(s)> <preposition> <noun phrase/object>

Verb phrases can consist of a simple verb like EAT, SHOOT, READ or a verb
followed by a preposition such as CLIMB UP, JUMP THROUGH, or SWIM IN.  Noun
(or object) phrases can consist of a single word noun like TREE, ROCK, LAKE or
a noun and its adjective such as RED ROCK, SMALL BOWL or UGLY MUTANT.  Several
nouns may be connected with AND's or commas.  Articles like A, AN or THE are
optional.  The personal pronoun MY is also optional.  The pronouns IT, THEM,
HIM and HER may be used to refer to a previously mentioned noun.

Here are some (hypothetical) examples of valid commands:

         PLACE A RED ROCK IN THE SMALL BOWL
         PUT THE GREEN ROCK AND THE SMALL PEBBLE BEHIND THE OAK TREE
         READ MY POETRY BOOK
         SWIM IN THE SWIMMING POOL
         EXAMINE THE GOLD RING, THE DWARF AND THE SILVER NECKLACE
         EAT THE CELERY, THE TUNA, THE APPLE AND THE ONION
         THROW THE BATTLE AXE AND THE LARGE ROCK AT THE WEREWOLF
         SHOOT THE BURGLAR WITH THE REVOLVER
         ATTACK HIM
           ("HIM" will refer to last noun mentioned, e.g., the burglar)
         FIRE THE LASER PISTOL AT THE ALIEN MUTANT
         GET THE BOOK (also: TAKE THE BOOK)
         READ IT
           ("IT" will refer to last noun mentioned, e.g., the book)
         GET ALL (will get everything movable at the current location)
         GET THE KEYS, BOTTLE, FOOD AND THE CLOAK
         EXAMINE THE KEYS, BOTTLE, FOOD AND CLOAK
         PUSH THE RED BUTTON AND THE GREEN BUTTON
         UNLOCK THE FILE CABINET WITH THE STEEL KEY
         JUMP THROUGH THE OPENING
         JUMP OVER THE LOG
         NORTH
         SOUTHWEST
         PLACE AN AXE AND THE SHIELD NEXT TO THE BIG TREE
         PUT THE FOOD ON THE KITCHEN TABLE
         TURN ON THE FLASHLIGHT
         LIGHT THE TORCH WITH THE WOODEN MATCHES
         SCREAM AT THE UGLY TROLL
         CLIMB UP THE LADDER
         EXTINGUISH THE FIRE (or PUT OUT THE FIRE)
         DRINK THE WHITE WINE
         THROW THE FIRE WOOD IN THE STOVE
         PULL THE BELL CORD
         WEAR THE STUPID HAT (also: PUT ON THE STUPID HAT)
         TAKE OFF THE HAT (also: REMOVE THE HAT)
         NE (for NORTHEAST)
         DROP THE KEY AND THE BOTTLE
         ENTER THE CAVE
         XYZZY (i.e., a "magic" word)
         TURN THE DOORKNOB
         PLAY WITH THE DOG
         TALK TO (or TALK WITH) THE OLD MAN (ABOUT THE WEATHER)
         TELL JEFF ABOUT THE SWORD
         ASK JODIE ABOUT THE CRIME
	 MAX, PUSH THE BUTTON
	 HENRY, SHOOT THE MONSTER

Compound commands can be created by connecting single commands (like those
above) with "AND", "THEN" or the punctuation symbols "," or ";" to connect two
or more separate commands.  However, "end-of-sentence" punctuation symbols
like ".", "!" and "?" should not be used.  Below are a few examples of valid
compound commands:

         TURN THE DOORKNOB THEN ENTER THE CAVE
         CLIMB DOWN THE LADDER THEN SOUTH, WEST AND NORTHWEST
         GET THE CLOAK AND THEN EXAMINE IT; READ THE LABEL
         DROP THE FOOD AND THE BOTTLE THEN UNLOCK THE DOOR AND THEN LEAVE
         GET THE TORCH, LIGHT IT WITH THE WOODEN MATCHES THEN EXAMINE IT

One point of advice about command structure is in order.  Your commands should
be structured to follow the most "natural" sequence of words when two or more
sequences are possible.  For example, THROW THE GOLDEN EGGS TO THE TROLL will
be understood by the game's parser, whereas THROW TROLL THE EGGS will not be
understood -- even though it is understandable to most humans as equivalent.
Similarly, you should avoid the verb "USE", such as USE THE KEY TO UNLOCK THE
DOOR.  This command should be entered simply as UNLOCK THE DOOR WITH THE KEY.

If the game understands all of the words in your command, but still seems
confused by the command -- then try to say the same thing using fewer words
and/or a simpler sentence.  When in doubt, simplify your commands as much as
possible.  This also saves typing effort.  Remember, that one and two word
commands are frequently all that is necessary to solve the adventure.

SPECIAL COMMANDS:

The game uses a number of special commands for various "housekeeping" chores.
These are all pretty standard for most adventure games, specifically:

         HELP          May (or may not) give you a hint.

         SCORE         Will summarize your progress, so far.

         INVENTORY     Will display a list of the items you are carrying, and
                       those items you are wearing.

         BRIEF         Will cause location descriptions to be brief.

         VERBOSE       Will cause location descriptions to be verbose.

         LOOK          Will give you a full (verbose) description of
                       your current location.

         LIST EXITS    Will list the obvious (visible) exits from your current
                       location.  There may be other ways to exit the location
                       -- but they may not be obvious.

         SAVE GAME     Will save the current game status on disk.

         RESTORE GAME  Will restore a previously saved game from disk.

         SCRIPT        Causes output to go to both the screen and a printer
                       (using the LP1 port).

         UNSCRIPT      Causes output to go to the screen (only).

         QUIT          Quits the current game session.  Always exit using QUIT
                       -- so the game can erase some temporary data files and
                       save disk space!

	 AGAIN (or G)  Repeats the last command (this will be extremely
		       helpful in playing The Star Portal!  Remember it!




FUNCTION AND CURSOR KEYS:

      The function keys have been predefined to stand for several of the most
      frequently used commands.  Similarly, the cursor keys have been
      predefined to correspond to the appropriate compass directions, i.e.,
      the up arrow is NORTH, the PgDn key is SOUTHEAST, the "-" key is UP, the
      "+" key is DOWN, the Ins key is ENTER, the Del key is EXIT, and so
      forth.

      Hitting the F1 key will display a diagram of the definitions for all of
      the function and cursor keys if you need a reminder.


SCREEN COLORS

	Screen colors may be changed while playing the game.  Syntax is:

	COLORS [normal text] [highlighted text] [background] [reverse text] 
		[reverse background]

	i.e., the command:

	COLORS white yellow blue black cyan

	will give you white letters on a blue background, and the status 
	line at the top of the screen will be a cyan background with black
	letters.  Your input will be in yellow.

	COLORS mono 

	will give a monochrome color combination even on a color
	monitor.
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SOLUTION AVAILABLE:

Star Portal is a medium difficulty adventure -- so you should be able to solve 
it yourself (after a lot of trial and error).  However, if you get totally
frustrated and/or really stuck and want some help, I can be reached on:

CompuServe  70156,1636
BIX         mdetlefsen
GENIE       mdetlefsen


Enjoy it!

Michael Detlefsen


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