Alcazar:
The Forgotten Fortress (TM)

Instructions

The country is covered with castles and curios, with bridges and carpets that fly. And there's no way around it. Your destination is on the other side.

What perils lurk in these mysterious castles? Which path is quick and sure?

With map in hand, you'll dare across, collecting the tools you'll need. Tools to master the grandest of castles, the lure, the dream, the goal... the legendary keep, Alcazar.

The Task At Hand

You are an explorer moving through a countryside of castles, enroute to Alcazar. Along the way, you must gather the implements needed for a sucessful journey. Your goal is to enter Alcazar, find your way to its crown room and sit on its fabled throne -- but not while a demon is chasing you.

Loading Instructions

- Insert disk, label side up.
- Turn computer and disk drive on.
- Type: LOAD "*",8,1 and press RETURN.

Getting Started

- To watch the demonstration mode, wait 30 seconds. You will see a brief display of the demons you are about to meet.

- To select difficulty level, press F3 until the desired level appears (decriptions of levels appear later in this manual).
  Level 1 - Beginner
  Level 2 - Intermediate
  Level 3 - Advanced
  Level 4 - Expert

- To begin the adventure, press F1 after selected difficulty level.

- To pause the adventure at any time, press RUN/STOP. To resume the action, press it again.

- To begin a new adventure at any time, press RUN/STOP and RESTORE at the same time.

- To play the same difficulty level after an adventure has ended, press F5. Press F7 to return to the title and selection screen.

- If none of the controls are activated for approximately ten minutes, your screen will black out. Press RUN/STOP to resume the adventure.

Pathways To Adventure

The first thing you'll see is a large strategy map. It displays a countryside dotted with castles connected by paths. Your explorer is represented on the map as a flashing dot. You'll enter the country on the left side and move toward Alcazar, the largest castle, on the right. Plan your route wisely. This map changes with each new game and can be referred to often. See "Controls."

Controls

- To move your explorer, move joystick left, right, forward or back.

- To pick up an item, simply walk over it. If you walk over an object while your hand and pockets are full, the new object will be switched with the object in your hand. If you don't want the new object, just repeat the process.

- To switch things from pocket to hand, press and release the joystick button.

- To refer to the large map, press and hold the joystick button. (This won't work when a demon is on screen.)

- To throw or fire an item in your hand, press the joystick button then move the jostick in the desired direction. To fire multiple shots, follow the same procedure but hold the button down.

Castles

- By moving the white dot on the map screen into one of the castles, you will see your explorer standing in the corridor of that castle. You will now be able to move your explorer through the castle finding tools and fighting demons. More on this later.

- All castles are two stories high, except for Alcazar, which has three stories.

- To enter a castle, simply follow a pathway which leads to it.

- Upon entering, the screen displays a top-down view of the room  you've just stepped into. It changes as you move from room to room.

- The three squares at the top right of the screen display the contents of your pockets; to their right, a fourth square displays what you are holding in your hand.

- The number at the upper right indicates the number of explorers in reserve; the number at the lower right displays the number of doorways you've passed through. A star appears in the lower left corner whenever a major demon is destroyed.

- After you've defeated the first required demon (see "Difficulty Levels"), a small map of the castle you are in appears at screen bottom. The sqaure on the left representes the first floor, the square on the right represents the second; the blinking dot shows where you are in the castle, and the rooms you've entered are shwon in white.

- Shortcuts to Alcazar can be used only if you have certain implements: A raft is required to cross the Lake; a ring is required to use either of the two flying carpets (represented by two blinking white squares above the lake); a rope is required to cross either of the two broken bridges (represented by two blinking black squares in the lower left corner).

Contents Of Castle

- The contents of a castle are indicated by its color. Its most sought-after object is always guarded by that castle's major demon.

Castle Color	Contents		Demons

blue		rope, guns		tigers, griffin, tarantulas, flies
		raw meat

purple		ring, oil, bleach	oilmoebas, guard, tarantulas, flies
		raw meat

red		raft, water		griffins, genie, tarangulas, flies

black		extra explorer		guards, tiger, oilmoeba, tarangtulas, flies
		in dungeon,
		bleach, raw meat

Alcazar		throne in crown		genies, tiger, oilmeoba, griffin, tarantulas, flies
		room, bleach,
		raw meat

- Visual and audible warnings are given when danger is nearby. Avoid a confrontation or gather the proper defense.

Demons &
Dangers		Warning				Defense

tiger		pawprints on floor		three bullets
griffin		raspy breathing sound		oil or six bullets
oilmoeba	black slime on the floor	bleach or five bullets
guard		tinkling sound of keys		four bullets
genie		genie jar on floor		water or six bullets or ring
tarantula	no warning, but they're slow	one bullet or the raft
flies		loud buzzing sound (obscures	one bullet or the rope
		all other audible warnings!)
bottomless	torches haning on walls		do not enter
shaft		flame black

Another warning: Your hair turns red when you're on the verge of 'extinction'. Another few bites from a demon and you've had it. Renew your strength by leaving the castle!

Another defense: The raw meat scattered about is laced with tranquilizers. All demons (except flies) will be stunned for ten seconds when you toss them this handy between-meal snack.

- More about demons. All demons (except flies and tarantulas) will lie in wait until they see or hear you. Shooting a gun, bumping into a genie jar or using your keys will attract all nearby demons. If a demon is chasing you, try to leave a room before he enters it. Doing so will end the chase. Demons will return to a castle when you enter any other castle, but the useful objects are never restocked, during a game.

- Dungeons, shafts and Persian rugs. Dungeons are found in the black castle and in Alcazar. They can be entered through a hallway or a locked gate (the latter requiring a set of keys). Once inside a dungeon, rescue the explorer by touching him, and recieve an extra life.

Bottomless shafts are scattered throughout the castles. Falls therein are fatal.

- Persian rugs are also scattered about. Some are harmless, while others are deranged flying carpets that will whisk you (or a demon) to a random room in the same castle. Additionally, a floor-sized flying carpet lies in every castle without a duneon or crown room. Since it covers the entire floor all visual warnings are also covered. You can tip-toe around this carpet. Flying carpets will never drop you into a shaft but they may deposit you inside a dungeon or into a room with a demon.

Difficulty Levels

Level 1 Beginner. Start with five explorers and three guns. No raw meat, small pits, rafts or flying carpets in castles. Dungeon keys are obtained from guards or genies. Castle floor plans appear upon destroying the first demon.

Level 2 Intermediate. Star with four explorers and two guns. No raw meat or small pits. Dungeon keys are obtained from guards or genies. Floor plans appear upon destroying the first demon.

Level 3 Advanced. Start with two explorers and one gun. All items present. Dungeon keys are obtained from guards only. Floor plans appear after destroying a guard or genie.

Level 4 Expert. Start with two explorers and one gun. All items present. Dungeon keys are obtained from guards only. Floor plans appear after destroying a genie. Fewer guns and one additional major demon are in each castle.

Demons move faster at the higher difficultly levels.

A Final, Important Fact

You can effectively shoot or throw things into adjoining rooms. If you think a demon is in the next room, you needn't risk your life by entering it! Just fire the required defense through the door, and you will hit the demon. This works just dandy if  you're using a one-piece defense. However, if you are firing a series of bullets into an adjoining room, be prepared: While you're shooting, the demon will run out, into your room. So, stand against the farthest wall and shoot quickly.

Words To The Wise

To succeed, you must be able to predict which rooms contain demons. The best method is to draw two floor plan maps. One for small castles (all basically the same) and one for Alcazar. Become adept at correlating these floor plans with the warning signs you see and hear along the way.

Learn how to give demons the shaft! You can stand on the fathest edge of a bottomless shaft and shoot into the adjoining room. When the demon runs out towards you, he'll fall to the depths. It's a great move when you're down to one bullet. Demons can also be tricked onto flying carpets, though you won't know where they'll turn up later. Neither of these tricks works with genies, flies or tarantulas (they'll fly up or spin a web).

Plan ahead! Know where you're going and carry only what you'll need. Enter Alcazar with a bucket of water to survive the first genie, and in level 3 and 4, bring keys, too, since there are no guards in Alcazar.

Use the strategy map to note where a castle's entrances/exists are. Remember that some are on the first floor and some are on the second.

Alcazar was concieved and designed by Tom Loughry.

Let's Get To Know Each Other:

We're working hard to design the king of home computer software you want. And we'd love to hear your comments. So drop us a note. We'll put you on our special mailing list. Also, if you'd like to find out about our newest computer software, call 800-633-4263 ANYTIME ON WEEKENDS. In California, call (415) 940-6044/5 (WEEKDAYS ONLY).

Activision, Inc.
P.O. Box 7287
Mountain View, CA 94039

Don't Forget The Flip Side!!

On the reverse side of your disk is an exciting sample of several new Activision products. Inser the disk into your disk drive, label side down, and type: LOAD "*",8,1 then press RETURN ro review the latest and greatest Activision Home Computer Software!

This manual was written by Susan Monteleone.

[ Activision Limited 90-Day Warranty omitted ]

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Commodore 64 (TM) is a trademark of Commodore Electronics Limited.
(C) 1985 Activision, Inc. DD-114-09