                    ---+*+---
           -----------++*++-----------
--------------------+++***+++----------------------
           M A G I C  -+*+-  M A Z E
--------------------+++***+++----------------------
           -----------++*++-----------
                    ---+*+---
 
 Copyright by ... MenThal ... alias  Kent Dahl   
 
        (1995-1996) Version 1.2
	(1999)      Version 1.22

     This game is FREEWARE. (See disclaimer)
  

      The Main Plot:
Run around in complex, brain-taxing, magic, monster-filled mazes, to save 
the Earth, a sexy, young virgin, and last, but not least, your own butt.

    - Bare MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS -
- A PC with at least a 286 processor, and 640K conventional memory, of which
  at least approx. 350-450K must be available.
- A graphics card and monitor capable of 320*200*256 colors VGA

    - RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS -
- A FAST 386 processor, or better, to avoid a great lack of speed
- A VLB or PCI (or better?) graphics card (Speeds things up nicely!!!)
- A Soundcard for playing sound effects 

      (-: SUPPORTS :-)     
- * GRAVIS ULTRASOUND * - sound card. Some minor bugs have been 
  experienced (..sorry..), but they are not too annoying. (You probably won't
  even notice them. ;-)
- * SOUND BLASTER * - soundcard (and 100% compatibles).
  THE SUPPORT for S.B. is part of the FastVga product, by Tal Cohen, and 
  therefore I haven't tested it extensivly myself. 
  It worked with the SB AWE 32, the SB 32, but a "so-called" compatible card
  failed because of the PC's N.M.I., I think, (Not Much Interesting? O.I.C.!)
    Remember to TURN THE VOLUME DOWN before playing, as the in-game volume
  control for the SB support doesn't work for all cards.
  !!! SOUND BLASTER SUPPORT HAS BEEN DISABLED DUE TO THE WINDOWS 98 PROBLEMS !!!
  Please refer to the problemsection at the end; "Windows 98 sux"

NB:-> This game was designed to be run from DOS. Problems might occur when 
      running from Windows. I'm not too sure about Windows 95, but it worked
      in full-screen mode on my PC, but it slowed somewhat down. In a window,
      it crawled painfully slow. Exiting Win'95 & running it in MS-DOS mode
      gives the best performance.
      (Y'know, Windows is a pane in the butt!! HAHA! Get it?? HOHI..Err..hm!)
      Unix, Linux, OS/2?? Don't ask...

The ideal PC for this game is a 486 (DX) 33, with a GUS (Max), as 
it was originally coded on one. Less powerful machines may slow the game down
to below comfortable, and there isn't much to about that. (I'm too tired to 
optimizZZZze it further, so don't bugger me about it. |-) Besides, I've got a
Pentium now... and the the future is inevitable!!! (cue Dramatic Drum-Roll)
  The slowest machine that the game was tested on, and still gave a good
performance, was some kind of a 386 running at 16 or 33(?) MHz.

      --- Main Title Screen / GETTING STARTED ---
When Magic Maze has loaded, your presented with the main title screen.
Press any key, except Q & Esc(which exits), to enter the menu. Use ARROW keys,
Page Up & Down to highlight a selection, and press SPACE or CTRL to select it!
Your selections:
- START NEW GAME: U'know, wander on to level one and start playing...
- RESTORE GAME:   Loads in the previously saved game...
- TRAIN LEVEL:    Lets you have a go at any level, including add-on levels,
                    created with the Map Editor for Magic Maze.
                    NB: Save Game will be disabled in this mode.
- QUIT:           Self-Explanatory. Press Y when prompted and MM disappears.


      (-: < GAME ^ CONTROL > :-)
The arrow keys move the old dude around the complex maze.
F1 accesses a HELP SCREEN, where it is possible to change the game speed.
(On slower machines, you'll only be able to make it go slower! Logical, eh?) 
Accessing the help screen can also be used to PAUSE the game.

F10, or Alt+Q (Pressing Q while holding Alt), aborts the game.


      (-: SPELLS / GAME KEYS :-)
Spell.........Key.......Does this cool stuff
-------------------------------------
Choose Spell..[ALT].....Select attack spell
Cast Spell....[CTRL]....Casts the chosen attack spell    
HEAL..........[H].......Uses mana to increase your health 
SUMMON MANA...[N].......Transforms your health into magical energy.
MAGIC MAP.....[M].......Shows a magic map, press again to resume normal play.
LOOK AHEAD....[L].......Lets you see further away, through walls. Use arrow 
                         keys to move the Magic Eye about & press [L] again 
                         to resume normal play.

SAVE..........[F5]......Saves the game at the beginning of the level
LOAD..........[F4]......Loads the saved game
RESTART.......[F9]......Restart the current level
SOUND ON/OFF..[S].......Toggles sound on/off
Inc. Vol......[PgUp]....Increase volume
Dec. Vol......[PgDn]....Decrease volume



      (-| The Game Screen |-)
Taking up most of the left part of the screen, is the playing area, where 
you, the player, and your surroundings are displayed in a top-down view. 
On the top right the chosen spell is displayed, besides is the inventory, 
showing your keys. Below this are two bars, a red one symbolizing
your health, and a blue one, symbolizing your magical energy.
Your score is displayed further down on the right side.

      O-; Game Objects ;-O
RED POTION FLASK - Restores some of your health if you're not too healthy..
BLUE POTION FLASK - Increases your magical energy..
CHEST filled with GOLD - ..For some odd reason, this increases your score...
BAG of MONEY - ..No prizes for guessing what this does..
BLUE and RED ORB - It'll increase your health and magical energy to bursting
   point unless you're real strong already.
YELLOW/BLUE/RED KEYS - These are collectable, and you'll need'em to open ....
YELLOW/BLUE/RED DOORS - Got a color matching key? Access granted!
MONSTER of ALL TYPES - These S.O.B.'s can smell you from far away,
   and they come straight towards you to beat the crap out of you. Place a
   few spells in their forehead and you'll live.....longer!
WALLS - These can be a bit tricky. Most walls are visible, but if you find 
   yourself stopping suddenly, then you've crashed into an invisible wall.  
   Certain walls are only illusions, and can therefore be walked through. 
   (Paths of illusionary walls often lead to treasure filled rooms!)


      {-: "The STORY" :-}
You play the role of an old, horny wizard, who have two big problems...
First of all, you've fallen in love with this sexy, sweet, lovely, delicious, 
..[Sorry, had to cut the text. -Red].. young VIRGIN!!
   Secondly, trouble is coming. Your old nemesis/enemy, self-proclaimed son of 
Satan, LuciPer, kidnaps the young, sexy, lovely ..[We're cutting once more. 
-Red].. virgin, and plans to sacrifice her to the Evil One (his dad?).
   This sacrifice will unleash Satan so that they, together, can take control 
over the whole world. And since they both hate you, and you haven't got a 
spaceship, this'll mean you'll become history.
   BUT!! THE GOOD FORCES MUST WIN, or WHAT ??? So get your butt moving, and
step into LuciPer's hide-out, his deep, Minotaurous-styled maze.
To find LuciPer, you have to get through several monster infested complex
mazes, ALIVE!
   THERE'S NO TIME TO WASTE. A young, sexy, lovely ..[We're sick of
cutting the the text. -Red].. virgin is waiting for you.
Her and the whole world's fate (also your own) lies in LUCIPER's hands, 
unless YOU do something QUICKLY!!! So, PLAY  M A G I C   M A Z E  NOOOOW!!!!!
     { Wasn't that a cool story? > MenThal < }

      
      )-: TO ALL RELIGIOUS FANATICS / FUNDAMENTALISTS / OTHERS :-(
The story around Magic Maze is pure fiction, and is not meant to persuade
people into worshipping the devil, or anything like that, no way!!! 
  The game is aimed at stopping LUCIPER (and his father, Satan) from 
conquering the world and making everyone's life a living Hell. Say what ever 
you want about this game, but banning it would only push the world another 
inch towards a freedom-stripped, dictated Hell. (Which, strangely enough, 
is what you're supposed to prevent in the game!)
  In short, chill out, peace & freedom to all, be cool & happy! You dig???

      (-: RUNNING A SPECIFIED LEVEL :-)
If you'd like to try a later level, (or an add-on patch level),
select TRAINING on the main menu.  This is only possible with files stored
as MM_MAP.???, as only the extension is used to separate Magic Maze Maps.
  NB! You don't start on the particular level when doing this. Instead,
the selected level is loaded as a kind of TRAINING LEVEL. So when you finish
it, you're back to the main title screen.  Please note that any SAVING of
the current game will NOT be possible in Training Mode.


      Changes in the Latest Version:
------------------------------------------
V1.2
+ More enemies, now a total of 18 deadly dudes!!!
+ Extra level, where the AI can really annoy you.
+ A few more background tiles...
+ SoundBlaster in-game volume control...
+ Easier selection of Training/Add-On levels...
+ Easier menu system for NewGame/RestoreGame/.....
V1.22
* Removed SoundBlaster support => It now runs in Win98


-----+++++*************************+++++-----      
      (-: CREDITS :-)  (WHO DUNNIT?)
-----+++++*************************+++++-----      
Idea, design & coding:  MenThal (Kent Dahl)

Graphics:               MenThal

Level design:           Daniel Dahl
                        MenThal

Game testing:           Petrus the Viking (Per Ejnar Thomsen)
                        Daniel Dahl


            THANKS & GREETZ from MenThal, the CREATOR, to:
---------++++++++++********************************++++++++++---------      
+> PETRUS the Viking, for his interest(?) in my games coding. Without him, I 
   might not have taken my coding so serious and tried to finish this project.
   { *** INTEREST!!????? MenThal treathened me to go through this 
     living nightmare!!!!!   Petrus Ͱ }                                                                 

+> TAL COHEN, his FastVGA routines spared me from quite a bit of coding, and
   he's the one behind the support for Sound Blaster. 
   So all we SB owners can thank him for the noise in this game! Y'know, I've
   got me a Sound Blaster(32) myself now... I am a cured GUS freak!!!!

-> The dudes responsible for the PC-GPE and it's contents, it's GREAT!! 
   Especially: -> MARK DIXON, Thanks a mega-lot! for the info on the GUS.. 

-> Future Crew, Triton, Cascade, Capacala, The Coexistence, and some other 
   demo groups I can't remember the names of, AND
   Id, Bullfrog, LucasArts, and other guys behind cool game(s)!
    : Your work sure is inspiring!!

-> All cool dudes(and dudettes) of the PC world that create cool stuff at a
   cool price...for FREE that is!!!! (Are these greetz getting out of hand?)

-> My parents for giving up their attempts at getting me to bed late at 
   night, & not bugging my brains out, while I was working on this. ;-)

-> Everybody who have aided me in the creating process of Magic Maze, that
   I've forgotten to mention here. (So much for long-term memory...)
---------++++++++++********************************++++++++++---------      


      ]-: DISCLAIMER / ETC. :-]   {BORING LEGAL STUFF}
* This game is Freeware!
* The author of this game and other people assosiated with the game are not 
  responsible for any loss/corruption/etc. of data, hardware destruction, 
  PC melt-down, nuclear disaster, or anything else caused directly or 
  indirectly by the game. 
  (None of the above should happen, but still, don't blame me!)
   { He's lying as usual!! "Anything else" happened to my machine!!
      Petrus Ͱ }  { He means the game worked... > MenThal < }                               
* The game has no garantees, none what so ever. It is supplied AS IT IS!
* Copyright of the game remains with the author. 
  The author allows free copying and spreading of the game on a FREEWARE
  basis. You can distribute the game AS LONG AS the complete program and 
  documentation is distributed, and it has not been altered in any way.
* It is illegal to sell, lend, or in other ways commercially cash in on this 
  game, and no charge should be made for this game. PD/Shareware Libraries 
  can charge a reasonable distribution fee, NO MORE!! (But you're free to
  charge less, give it away and give people money for taking it :-)
 
      
      (= I IKE THI$ =)
I've been working on this project for a looong time now. My social life has
suffered greatly ( ..As has my mental health.. ;-> ) .....Sooo......
IF YOU LIKE THIS GAME, and would like me to continue producing      
games/programs/etc. for the PC, send your divine love for Magic Maze to me at:
	   MenThal@bigfoot.com
	or kent_dahl@hotmail.com

Visit my web-page thru:
	   http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Thinktank/1207/
	or http://www.bigfoot.com/~MenThal/


What I would like is (Starting with the most wanted): 
- YOUR opinions, ideas, etc. about this game. Any comment is a good comment.
  Help me keep myself optimisic. Send me a letter telling me what you like 
  about Magic Maze, what you dislike, and why I should even consider 
  continuing working as a coder, creating stuff that do not cause much 
  of an income.  :-(
- Bug reports (Hopefully, there won't be too many!)
  Please state which version of MAGIC MAZE you have. (See top of this
  document, or message when starting game.) NB: Have a look at the 
  "Troubles 'n' Problems" section before you send in a bug report.


      [-| THE FUTURE |-]
  -- "Today is tomorrow's yesterday and yesterday's tomorrow." --
{ Absolutely!!!  Petrus Ͱ } { Put a cork in it, will you?! > MenThal < }
  MAGIC MAZE is still improving, and maybe the improvements will lead to 
a new, superior release of Magic Maze (Or maybe a sequel..or a new game! |-))
  I have a few buns in the oven... NO,NO, not literally. And not biological 
reproductively neither (Hey, I'm male). I mean I am working on 
several projects, and IF I manage to survive my insane "creativeness", I will 
probably continue to code on the PC, and what do you know.. 
I might release something else!!! Right now, my head is full of weird and/or
stupid ideas ... so we'll have to wait and see...


      )-: TROUBLES 'n' PROBLEMS ..and a few solutions! :-(
PROBLEM: The game dumps me back to DOS!
SOLUTION: 
*- The sound samples, sprites, game data and so on take up quite a bit
of memory, so free up some conventional memory, or select no sound when
starting the game. A clean boot (Skip config.sys and autoexec.bat) will
probably cure the problem. But I ought to tell you, if there ain't enough
memory for MM to run, your config.sys and autoexec.bat are probably REALLY 
poorly configured. (Skipping your system files may cause problems with the
SOUND support, see later problems concerning SB and GUS)

PROBLEM: The game locks up as I am playing.
SOLUTION:
*- This seems to be a problem with the sound. If you're using emulation, make 
sure it is turned on and correctly set. If you have a real GUS or SB, I'm not 
sure what the problem is, but check your set-up, drivers, or something...
Sound Blaster owners, see problem below: My SOUND BLASTER won't work...

PROBLEM: The game runs unevenly, switching from slow to fast all the time.
SOLUTION:
*- Either your Turbo switch(on your computer) is off, or your machine is
too slow. Try reducing the speed while in the help menu. The game will be
slow, but smooth, I think....   If you are running any demanding software
in the background while playing MM, like Windows(3.x/95), this could be
the reason for the slowdown. Try running in as "real" DOS mode as possible.

PROBLEM: There is no sound coming from my GUS, although the program says 
  it found my GUS when starting up...
SOLUTION:
*- This is a small bug, I'm afraid. The program is having difficulties 
initiating the GUS properly, so try running ULTRINIT (should be among your 
GUS software) before running MM. Or you could also run some other DOS 
program that initiates the GUS properly, before running MM...

PROBLEM: My SOUND BLASTER won't work properly/at all.
SOLUTION:
*- This might be a problem with your card or it's settings. Check that your
BLASTER enviroment variable is properly set, as this is used to detect
Base Address, IRQ & DMA. (See manual, SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 ...etc)

PROBLEM: There is no solution to my problem in this text file.
*- Well, that's life, I'm afraid. I can't predict all possibly problems, so
you'll have to try to solve it yourself. If all fails, it's probably a bug,
so report it if you will.

PROBLEM: *** WINDOWS 98 SUX ***
*- MM crashed terribly when I first tried it in Windows 98 on my PC. 
MMAZE.EXE has been altered to correct the worst bugs, and now runs on my PC in Win98. However, some functionality was sacrificed, mainly the SoundBlaster support. (How GUS manages under '98, I have no idea.)
   If you are NOT running Win98, you may want to try running the MMAZE_OLD.EXE
instead, but this MAY crash/hang, or just abort.
   MAPEDIT will still not run in Win98, due to the fact that it uses the "buggy" parts more extensively. Wheter or not I will fix this, remains to be seen.

-------------------------
    YO, THAT'S IT!!!
        (PHEW!!)
 NOW, GO PLAY THE GAME!       
-------------------------
NOOOOOOOO, not yet!!!!!!  { Please don't listen to this guy. > MenThal < }
 {The following part contains only meaningless-mindless Mumbo-Jumbo}
A comment from Petrus to all of you guys!!!!
During the terrible, horrible, awful, disgusting, mental disturbing period 
when MenThal has been coding this crap {Hey!}, he has been led to complete 
insanity, which he has passed on to me. (Well, not passed on actually, 
because he's still insane himself!)
     { Who? Me? No! GAGAGUGOGY (etc.) > MenThal < Bouncing Wildly All Over}
With this message I am warning you not to get too near this creature, if you
are unlucky enough ever to meet him. 'Not to near' is equal to, well, let's 
say about 5 kilometres (5000 metres, right). If you get any closer, 
the chances of getting any of his diseases are utterly great!!
Well, that's enough for this time. { Phew!!! > MenThal <} 
We'll meet again. { Cross your fingers and hope not! }
************ Greetings from Petrus the Viking ***************
       --- Now with better taste! { Which is still terrible! > MenThal < }

{ Petrus, SHUT UP! Your're giving me a BAD reputation. BTW, I don't have any
  contageous, nor serious, psychotic illnesses. (Unlike yourself!!!) 
  
  To all you sane people, DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO Mr.PETRUS' REMARKS. He is      
  COMPLETELY BONKERS! (I should know!)
          > MenThal < {Not Just Mad, Angry As Well} }

NOW GO PLAY ..(shut up, Petrus).. THE GAME! ..(I said shut up! KER-BLAM!!!)..

(-< End Of File >-) ( Thank Heavens! ;-)
