
                          CID presents

                            NEWCOMER


              Prepare for the ultimate adventure!


         FIRST RELEASED BY THE ENHANCED NEWCOMER CREW
 Enhanced Newcomer is an Official Forever8bit 2001 Party Release


             ENHANCED NEWCOMER IS APPRECIATIONWARE
          (C)opyright by Cinematic Intuitive Dynamix
  Enhanced Newcomer is freely available for Non-commercial use
Re-publishing is prohibited without the Copyright owners consent

                              ***


                Website: http://www.newcomer.hu
             E-mail address: newcomer@c64.rulez.org

-The game runs on any real C64 or C128(in 64 mode) with 1541,
 1541/II, 1571, Ocean or Blue Chip, RF501c drives.
-Can be started from CBM-DOS, SpeedDOS and JiffyDOS!
-Newcomer is PAL only, NTSC video standard is NOT supported!!!
-DOES NOT WORK WITH SuperCPU!!!

 ENHANCED NEWCOMER is confirmed to run on the following:
-the VICE free emulator,
-the CCS64 v2.0+ shareware emulator software by Hakan Sundell
-the Frodo SC free emulator by Christian Bauer.


                       Manual version: 2.6

                              ***


                        NEWCOMER CREDITS
                   (Enhanced English version)

             Story, Scripting, Music/FX and Manual:
                          Zoltan Gonda

                        All programming:
                           Andras Lay

              All graphics and original cover art:
                          Csaba Foris

                    Additional Game Design:
                   Istvan "Hoild" Belanszky

                     On-disk manual reader:
             Zsolt Kajtar (aka Soci\SINGULAR CREW)

                On-disk manual old/newSID music:
             Rastislav Smutny (aka Top Secret\CULT)

                        Game manual DTP:
                     Zoltan "Bear" Berenyi

                         Game testers:
                     Mihaly "Leon" Szemeti
                       Kornel Andras Bogi
                    Zoltan "Legio" Bernaczky
                         Sandor Szeles
                   Malte "Thunderblade" Mundt
                        Jakob "JTR" Voos
                     Laszlo "Marvin" Feher

                  English language consultants:
                    David Wood (aka jbevren)
                             bogax
                     EricWS (aka Ryoko^_^)
                  Nathaniel "Nate" Dannenberg
                     Charles "Chas" Houck

                              ***


PROLOGUE


 Silence.

 Disturbing silence. The soft breeze cunningly finds its way
among the crumbling walls of this location and lightly whirls
the dust with its embracing arms. Neither insects nor singing
birds or other animal voices can be heard. The whole situation
would be real strange for an observer, but there just doesn't
seem to be anyone, who could think about it.

 An eagle-like big black bird flies away with measured flaps
above the deserted square, soaring proudly towards the distant
forest which rules the horizon. Stray bits of paper flutter by
the pool and rock covered scene that is endowed with a perishing
feeling. Everything is frozen as if this place were out of time.

 And yet, something is moving...

 Strange things, unnatural, they don't have any spirit or mind,
and neither had their inventors. At the opposite edges of the
square two sinister looking devices silently come to life. Until
now they blended into the neutral surface of the walls, but now,
with deliberate movement, both of them open wide to the world,
their parts stretching out like lazy limbs. They don't haste,
but they don't waste time either.

 Flashing their LEDs, the machines blink curiously and extreme
energy fills their chromed arms and supports, which are almost
trembling with the lightblue rays battering around and around.

 Suddenly, the excited energy particles start to pool and try
meeting each other at the center of the square. After some
clumsy-looking efforts, they shake hands and a great flash of
blinding light engulfs the whole square...

                              ***

 It didn't last long. Maybe no one saw it. But the man who lay
almost unconscious on the ground, with the last flickers of
energy waving on his body, didn't think of it that way. His
heavy, numb limbs could not follow his brain's orders. His mind
became paralyzed by alien thoughts that he could not restrain.
 He didn't feel anything, only saw a fading darkness as if
falling into a well, or down into hell.

 "No!!!" he wanted to shout, but could not utter any sound...

                              ***

 His shoes knocked on the planks, muffled, while the ship was
rocking slightly in the fish-smelling evening wind. Merry
Dixieland music filtered through the large windows, and a lot of
happy people seemed to be having fun in the restaurant. At the
nearest window a man and a woman were sitting and chatting,
unsuspecting.

 Jealousy...

..the source of every trouble. His features hardened at the
sight of this shameful scene. His fingers tightened on the stock
of the SPAS as he aimed at the two victims to-be. Detonation of
bursting cartridges shook the deck, and the man inside fell back
with a terrible hole in his chest.. His partner tried to get
away, but the lethal shower of lead brought her fate upon her
before she could move a single step...

                              ***

 Then He only remembered the people's terrible screaming and the
clanking of handcuffs. Policemen pushed him about, and shouted
at him wildly, but he didn't care. In the ring of the accusing
crowd he waited calmly for the hovercar, to be taken away. In
the news he became a "psychopatic killer", but his spirit could
not get used to it.
                              ***

 "Hey, Newcomer!" - a voice said in the distance. He could
hardly make it out, but slowly he started coming to his
senses...

                              ***


INTRODUCTION

 Welcome, newcomer, to our futuristic RPG/Adventure game titled
NEWCOMER!

 It was a great deal of work to create this software, but the
result - we are certain - is worth those efforts. Maybe you
could hardly imagine that developing the original Hungarian
version took four and a half years on the Commodore-64 computer
(May 1990 - Nov.1994). Have a look at the graphics, the
fastloader, the storyline etc. We got some gray hair until we
managed to compress everything into such a limited memory. This
enhanced version took us from Sept.1997 to May 2001.
 More than eight years in total...

 We intend this game to be closer to real role-playing than
other computer `RPGs' you may have played - You decide! Either
way, entertainment is guaranteed. Even if you sink deep into
this game, you can only reach the endsequence after several
weeks (months?) of intensive playing - we wish you success and
perseverance for that.


INSPIRATION

 There were three games that caught the attention of all RPG
and adventure fans in the late 80's: Wasteland, Neuromancer and
Dragon Wars, all by Interplay. We, the creators of Newcomer, had
much the same interests having played all these games.

 WASTELAND was a post-holocaust drama; small communities of
scattered survivors battling unintelligent monsters and
radioactive mutants, exploring forgotten relics of the old
world... barely more than that. -Oh, yes, and those lovely
paragraphs! The world was quite static, the characters
unresponsive and uninteractive, YET WE LIKED THEM!

 NEUROMANCER featured a brilliant new setting, a very
communicative cast of characters and interesting conversations
with them, event following event along the gameplay, yet it
lacked the long, progressive gameplay and the plenty of areas
WASTELAND offers, not to mention Hack`n'Slash. This is at least
how we felt when we leased our body parts at Chin's Body Shop.

 DRAGON WARS was also great, having combat after combat, bright
animated graphics, automapping, the possibility of using skills,
attributes and items in any order to solve the problems - for
the same task even multiple solutions existed(!), but there was
no LIFE, an absolute lack of conversation and interaction with
characters.

 It is an old story now, but these things accumulated and led us
to start making our very own game, with every feature in mind we
so sadly missed in those great cult-games.

NOTE: Interplay published two more games of particular interest
to Newcomer players - Fallout I-II for the PC.

                              ***


BUGS

 We've done our best to work out the bugs, but if you run across
one, stop immediately, switch your C-64 off and try a previous
saved position. If the BUG is a recurring one, solve that part
of the game in a different way to avoid it, if possible. We are
not ashamed to admit if there is something botched in our work,
so check the DOWNLOAD page of our site for the latest version,
and for a possible listing of BUGs in previous releases by their
version numbers. Update your copy, if needed. A small BUG, if
neglected, will make a big damage to the whole story-structure
(ie. Your saved positions).

 REPORTING A BUG:
1. First, check our website for updates - the BUG you've run
across might have already been fixed.

2. If you find no info about it, e-mail the symptoms with the
SUBJECT: NEWCOMER BUGREPORT. Describe in detail exactly what
you were doing when the BUG occured.

3/a. Attach a snapshot of the BUG, made with VICE or CCS64, or
a frozen game if you play on a real C64 and have Action Replay
or a similar cartridge. Send the frozen BUG as an attachment.
If the BUG resulted in a complete crash of your computer, try
reloading and repeating the steps leading to it, and make that
snapshot or freeze while you still can.

3/b. If you don't have internet access, a snail-mail with an
included 1541 or 3.5" MS-DOS format floppy containing the BUG
(see 3/a.) is also VERY HIGHLY APPRECIATED. Please, send the
disk in a padded envelope.

 We are not just simply committed to fix the BUG and update the
DOWNLOAD CORNER, we will give you a personal reply and help you
with completing Enhanced Newcomer.

NOTE: Due to continual changes in our program's filesystem
and internal memory structure, you can't mix game disks from
different release versions. If you mix up the new and the old
disks, expect data corruption!
SO, FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DON'T MIX DIFFERENT VERSIONS!!! Thanks...


                              ***


DISTRIBUTION & REGISTRATION

 Albeit Newcomer is AppreciationWare and free to download from
our website, there are people who want support and services. For
these people, and also for those who want to APPRECIATE our game
and would prefer an `original' copy, we made agreements with two
distributors. For a nominal fee of 30 DEM or 15 GBP, that covers
postal expenses, disk materials, a neat printed manual and also
our Appreciation fee, you can order an `original' ENC copy. You
get services like replacement of defective disks and update of
disks with new revisions of the game free of charge. Since the
App.fee is also included in the pricing, you'll be entitled to
personal gaming support from us, authors, as ordering an ENC
copy from a distributor you are considered a `registered' user.

CONTACT OUR DISTRIBUTORS:

For Europe except the UK:
Protovison Verlag
Jakob Voos
Niersstr.1
40547 Dusseldorf
Germany
E-mail for orders: jtr@protovision-online.de
Web site: www.protovision-online.de

For the United Kingdom:
Commodore Scene Importing Service
14 Glamis Close
Garforth, Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS25 2NQ
United Kingdom
Telephone (before 9 PM) / Fax: (0113) 2861573
E-mail: Allan.Bairstow@btinternet.com


HOW TO REGISTER?

 You don't have to.. However, You may consider expressing your
appreciation for our work. If you've downloaded ENC from our
site for free, and think that the game is still worth some bucks
to pay, please send 10 USD or 15 DEM or 5 GBP to this address:

Mr. Zoltan Gonda
Dregelyvar utca 21 V/29
1158, Budapest
Hungary

..or use this bank account number to transfer your deposit:

Daewoo Bank Budapest, Hungary
13520405-54005071-45610000
Swift code: DAEWHUHB
Information for the beneficiary: ENCAPP
 (This should be indicated so that we recognize your deposit as
the appreciation fee.)

 The proposed amount for Hungarian people should be 1000 HUF and
this amount can also be transferred to the given bank account if
you don't want to use snailmail.

 Any bigger amount from anyone is kindly accepted. Feel free to
send any snailmail to our mail address. (letters in English or
Hungarian only, please.)

THE DISTRIBUTORS' NOTE
 Making copies of Enhanced Newcomer is not easy at all. The main
goal of us, distributors, is to solve this problem for you. As a
further help, we guarantee for a 100% working copy and replace
any damaged disks, providing also a free update service for you!


 Thank you in advance...

                              ***


C-64 EMULATOR SETTINGS

CCS64 2.0

VIDEO
-recommended SCREEN RESOLUTION: 800x600
-UPDATE MODE: AUTOMATIC (closest to a real C-64). If you use
"SKIP FRAMES" to speed up the game, you may not be able to solve
time dependant tasks, eg.: running from a military base with an
ongoing self-destruction sequence

SOUND
If you have a soundcard, just enable sound, that's all

INPUT
CONTROL PORT 1 & 2 to NONE

1541 SETTINGS
-EMULATION should be set ON
-SAVING CONTINUOUSLY

SPEED
If you speed up(Alt+F3) the game, you risk screwing it up. It is
not proven, but still we don't recommend it. If you want speed,
use the "SKIP FRAMES" option, but turn even that off when you
encounter a timed task [see above]


VICE 1.6

REFRESH RATE: AUTO
MAXIMUM SPEED: 100 (no harm to set 200, though)
-WARP MODE, as we experienced, may corrupt the game somehow(???)
If you set SPEED to 200, watch out for time dependant tasks

VIDEO
We prefer VIDEO CACHE ON, DOUBLE SIZE ON, and DOUBLE SCAN OFF.
Only VIDEO CACHE ON is really recommended
-VIDEO STANDARD should be PAL-G

SOUND
will slow down the emulation a bit, esp. if SID filters are ON.
As Newcomer is shipped with NewSID and OldSID Boot disks, switch
the SID emulation as fits. Sound is only important for the
Credits, Intro and the on-disk manual

TRUE DRIVE EMULATION should always be ON
DEVICE
DATASETTE
Keep defaults
DRIVE
1541 or 1541-II should be used with "extend on access" for 40
tracks and "trap idle"

VIC-II
We prefer the CCS64 palette. Keep the default sprite settings

JOYSTICK
Not needed

SOUND
If you keep defaults, it does work well for our purposes

DON'T FORGET TO SAVE YOUR SETTINGS WHEN DONE.

NOTE: There is no guarantee that saving snapshots for real
saving will not corrupt your game. So we recommend using the
good old proven SAVE option of Newcomer.

                              ***


ROLE-PLAYING TERMS AND THEIR MEANING IN NEWCOMER

 If you were to walk up to the first person you saw on the
street and ask "Can you tell me what a Role-Playing Game is?",
you'd sure get an answer referring to "Dungeons`n'Dragons" or
something similar to that. Well, Newcomer is not on the same
level as a good real `tabletop' or `paper and dice' RPG, but
it is not exactly your computer `Adventure' either. Instead,
it is a nice in-between. Acting skills are appreciated as well
as problem-solving ones. The hard thing in providing a good RPG
entertainment for people is the fact we players are so different
in attitude and ability, that only a human gamemaster could
flexibly respond to our ever-mysterious, sometimes unaccountable
decisions. This is the exact reason why it's even harder to
design a computer game simulating a real RPG environment - since
events, tasks and solutions are predefined to keep a coherent
storyline, one that is free of irrational nonsense; the players
can't do whatever they want.

 Enhanced Newcomer is an attempt at creating a robust RPG
environment, a world, where you can imagine that you are THERE.
One of our main goals was high non-linearity. This is essential
for simulating a real role-playing setting.

 Here are the main definitions you may not be familiar with, and
how they apply to this particular game:

GAMEMASTER
 This is the person who writes and applies the rules, controls
your encounters and evaluates your actions, all-together running
the whole game - the `computer game engine' of the real RPG. The
gamemaster's job is not only to master and to control, but to
adapt and to reward as well. In Newcomer we had to foresee all
events and predetermine all outcomes. This was usually done by
taking your current and previous actions into consideration, and
always providing alternatives - that's why one player finds an
outcome that others don't. This is what we call non-linearity.
Sometimes you'll meet chiding or approving remarks from the
gamemasters (ie: US).

CHARACTER
 All people, creatures and monsters in the game are characters.
One who is controlled by a player is called a `PC' alias Player
Character, those who are run by the game engine or the game-
master are called `NPCs' or Non-Player Characters. In Newcomer
you play only the main character, and get complete control over
him. Everyone else in the game is an individual NPC and even
over your companions you get only limited controls.

SKILL
 The ability to do a specific task, like climbing a wall, fixing
machinery or using a weapon with a certain degree of efficiency.
In the beginning, you might not be very good at some things. If
you can still make a progress, you are rewarded and allowed to
become more proficient, and to learn new skills. In this game
your progress is rewarded with EXPERIENCE and you can turn it
into skills if you find the right teacher. Some skills save
your life. Some skills provide alternatives to more complex
methods of solving a particular problem or at least help you
find a few clues.

ITEM
 This covers pretty much anything you can carry or operate. Many
items require a specific skill in order to use them effectively.
Keep in mind who is the best team member for a given task. In
Enhanced Newcomer, unlike the original version, every single
item you can find has its actual use, or often, several uses.
If nothing else, it can be a nice gift to the proper person.

EXPERIENCE
 Making good progress in a game, providing mutual entertainment
and solving difficulties is to be further rewarded some way. In
Newcomer, using the proper item or skill effectively to solve a
task, winning in combat, and often enough just talking to an
NPC in the right way will earn you EXP POINTS to advance your
existing skills and to learn new ones. However, gaining EXP
won't make you advance in skills by itself, as EXP points are
only the measure of your capacity to advance your knowledge.
You have to find actual teachers, and earn their services to
convert your EXP into skills.

GATHERING INFORMATION
 It is one of the central parts of any good RPG. At the start
of the story, you are often totally unfamiliar with the current
situation, you don't know people, history, background, so you
may want to visit people and make them speak. It isn't that
simple, though, they may be suspicious or even hostile, try
the proper words, a gift or something to make them open up.
Information is power. There are more than 170 NPCs in this
game, and most of them know important things that you must
try to learn. Getting a PASSWORD is just a simple example,
there is more to be gained. Consider friendship, companions,
EXP and powerful opponents.

SOLVING TASKS
 An RPG is a sequence of solving tasks of varying difficulty
and complexity. They might range from bashing a door open to
starting a full-length expedition to find an NPC with unique
information, or even getting rid of one with an annoying
behavior. Keep in mind that good contacts can be just as use-
ful in some situations as good weaponry, and that there are
alternatives to routes as well as to methods. The Gamemaster
decides the number and kinds of tasks in the game, and so we
did, setting up a wide range of them.

                              ***

GETTING STARTED

 There are two boot sides, NewSID (8580) and OldSID (6581).
Please use the one that fits your computer's music chip, for
maximum entertainment.

 The game disk sides are labelled "Boot" and "A" to "O", skip-
ping "I" and "N" as the font we are using would make it very
easy to mistake them for "J" and "M". All disks are 40 track
formatted - because of our custom formatting and filesystem
you can only see actual directory information on side "Boot".
*NEVER* edit any of the disks with a sector editor, or you
will get a serious problem.
 
 Please, consult the "MAKING BACKUP COPIES" section of this
manual. Insert the boot disk and take a look at the "INTRO"
and "MANUAL" files to get your feet wet. If you are ready for
the really BIG adventure, load the "NEWCOMER" file to get the
game started. These commands are all you need, depending on what
file you wanted:

LOAD"CREDITS",8,8
LOAD"INTRO",8,8
LOAD"MANUAL",8,8
LOAD"NEWCOMER",8,8

 The first thing the game will ask is if you want to reload a
saved game. Answer [N]o and you're immediately faced with your
first real in-game decision: -"Do you follow the hobo?"
 If you feel confused at the start of the game, you may find
hints and tips at the end of the manual...

NOTE: The actual disk should be inserted only when you are
prompted for it, and you should always press [SPACE]. Insert
the proper disk even if you're using an emulator! If you insert
an incorrect side, after pressing [SPACE] the drive will start
clicking, but if you insert the correct one, it will start
loading automatically.

                              ***


YOU AND YOUR TEAM

 You are Neil Quoit, the main character in the game, who further
increased the number of residents on the Island. Your mind is
confused, you don't have friends, items or weapons. This can't
last forever. But you are unfamiliar here.. ..may I say, a
Newcomer.

 After a time you will feel alone, and need other people's help.
Find people who will join you, it may easily happen that finish-
ing the game will get impossible without their help. Remember,
you can't learn everything yourself. You have the chance to
recruit up to five companions in your party, and you can
dismiss them whenever you want, and if they want it too.

SOLO MODE

 Solo mode is a brand-new feature. Use it only if you want to
win Newcomer with your single character ALONE. You can select it
right at the start of the game while in conversation with the
hobo - you should figure out what to say. If you do so, you will
be let on your very own and no NPC will join you during your
game. This mode is recommended only for those who already won
Newcomer once, twice or even more. If you go solo, you're on
your own, and some combats will be insanely difficult, but
there might be new role-playing options to avoid them.

                              ***

CHARACTER INFORMATION

 Press the number keys 1-6 anytime to examine the features of
your members. [SPACE] moves you one screen forward, and
[BACK-ARROW] backwards.

 On the first screen the basic information is listed: NAME, AGE,
SEX and NATIONALITY. Also shown is your current EXP, and MONEY.
You can move MONEY among the companions with [P]ool and [S]hare,
and several times you have to; when you pay money for something,
the program always checks the first member for the amount,
except when you pay for SKILL training.

 ATTRIBUTES
1. Strength (STR)
2. Agility (AGI)
3. Spirit (SPT)
4. Dexterity (DEX)
5. Appeal (APP)

 Each attribute has 7 levels, and as you progress in the game
and win fights, your attributes slowly build up. Gaining higher
levels progressively gets harder.
NOTE: In the old original version there were only six levels,
and now there is something special about this new 7th level...

 STRength will determine how much weight of items, weapons you
can carry with you. The minimum is eight kilos. This attribute
will also be useful when moving some heavy things. Pure strength
is in vain, though, if you're not AGIle enough. And we have just
reached one of the most important attributes which is SPIrit.
Almost half of the skills depend on it. For instance, Tracking,
Persuasion and First Aid etc. DEXterity is required primarily
for fighting skills, but if you are not dexterous enough you
can't pick a lock or manipulate a delicate object without doing
harm. The condition of one's face is not only important in the
film industry - your processing can be hindered the worse it is,
so take care of your APPeal. Also, the higher it is, opposite
sexes can be susceptible to it.

SKILLS

 Pressing [SPACE] in the character information screen gets you
to the SKILLS screen where all the skill levels are displayed.
If you have more than 8 skills, use [N]ext and [P]rev.

 There are three main skill groups. First is what we call COMBAT
SKILLS as they are used exclusively during combat. INDIRECT
SKILLS are actually checked by the game engine as you use the
particular item or action that is associated with them. And last
there are skills that you can use directly. In square brackets
is the connected attribute that can limit advancement in a skill
if the attribute is too low, so you may need to improve your
attributes first for some demanding skill-training.
 The number next is the difficulty level of learning, for
reference at the Skill-level/EXP-requirement table.

COMBAT SKILLS:

FIST-FIGHTING [DEX,1]
 This skill is used when you have no weapons available, and need
to defend yourself. Or there may be extreme situations anytime
when you can't use your BIG firearms at all.

HANDARM [DEX,1]
 With these weapons, close combat is much more effective for
you!

PISTOL [DEX,1]
 Pistols are the simplest firearms. Despite their short range,
obtaining one makes you very effective in combat.

RIFLE [DEX,1]
 These hunting weapons are cheap and powerful, and allow for
longer range single shots at targets than pistols do. You will
need them for no hunting.

SMG - Submachine Gun [DEX,2]
 It has the edge over all the combat skills so far of attacking
a whole enemy group at a time, using the Burst and the Auto-fire
modes. It can make the difference.

ASSAULT RIFLE [DEX,3]
 Short burst and FULL autofire modes are available like with
SMGs, but these weapons have a much better range and signifi-
cantly higher damage potential. It makes the difference.

LAUNCHER [DEX,3]
 Some Islanders believe that the most powerful weapons you can
find are Rocket Launchers. But where are they? And for WHAT?..

INDIRECT SKILLS:

GAMBLING [DEX,2]
 With the cunning and intuition this skill provides you can
thoroughly fleece someone in a game of luck.

PICKLOCK [DEX,2]
 On countless occassions you might face a locked door. If you
have this skill and a little thing called lockpick, you may make
it open up.

DETECTION [SPI,1]
 Finding well-hidden things will not succeed unless you have a
high rank in the Detection skill.

DEMOLITION [DEX,2]
 Locked and blocked doors can be tougher than you can imagine.
Some TNT or C-4 plastic, along with the Demolition skill, will
open them up for you.

DIRECT SKILLS:

CLIMB [DEX,1]
 Climbing is for those times you wish you could fly, but have to
settle for a tree or a crumbling wall.

SNEAK [DEX,2]
 Sometimes, you REALLY don't want a fight. Sneak helps you pass
without being detected. Of course, you can also use this for
other sneaky uses ;)

TRACKING [SPI,1]
 This palaeolithic skill is handy when you need to follow an
animal or human trail.

MAKEUP [DEX,2]
 In case you should feel a need to look like a Hollywood
actress, you must consider learning this special skill. Well,
women could tell you more about it...

PERSUASION [SPI,2]
 There are stubborn people all over the Island. Subtle
Persuasion can perhaps turn them into helpful people(or not).

CRYPTOLOGY [SPI,2]
 Unintelligible scribbles and cryptic texts will remain a
mystery until you gain this astonishing skill.

FIRST AID [SPI,2]
 When a member of your party is SERiously injured, First Aid
will slow death's approach [see also GETTING WOUNDED].

DOCTOR [SPI,4]
 When First Aid isn't enough, the Doctor skill comes into play.
A good party can't exist without a real Doctor [see GETTING
WOUNDED].

MECHANICS [SPI,3]
 This is your main, individual skill. Make a fortune out of it.

ELECTRONICS [SPI,3]
 Electronic gizmos can seldom be found, especially not in good
condition. This skill will help you fixing them.

 Smart players may find other skills as well - persistance pays!


 EXPERIENCE NEED FOR TRAINING ONE LEVEL OF A SKILL BY DIFFICULTY

        # 1.       # 2.       # 3.       # 4.       # 5.
  .           .           .           .           .
   :...........:...........:...........:...........:...........
L  :           :           :           :           :           :
E 1:    1500   :    3000   :    5000   :    8000   :   16000   :
V  :           :           :           :           :           :
E..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
L  :           :           :           :           :           :
  2:    3000   :    5000   :    8000   :   16000   :   26000   :
O  :           :           :           :           :           :
F..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
   :           :           :           :           :           :
S 3:    5000   :    8000   :   16000   :   26000   :   40'000  :
K  :           :           :           :           :           :
I..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
L  :           :           :           :           :           :
L 4:    8000   :   16000   :   26000   :   40'000  :   70'000  :
   :           :           :           :           :           :
T..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
O  :           :           :           :           :           :
  5:   16000   :   26000   :   40'000  :   70'000  :  120'000  :
B  :           :           :           :           :           :
E..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
   :           :           :           :           :           :
A 6:   26000   :   40'000  :   70'000  :  120'000  :  160'000  :
T  :           :           :           :           :           :
T..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
A  :           :           :           :           :           :
I 7:   40'000  :   70'000  :  120'000  :  160'000  :  250'000  :
N  :           :           :           :           :           :
E..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
D  :           :           :           :           :           :
  8:   70'000  :  120'000  :  160'000  :  250'000  :  400'000  :
   :           :           :           :           :           :
 ..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
   :           :           :           :           :           :
  9:  120'000  :  160'000  :  250'000  :  400'000  :  600'000  :
   :           :           :           :           :           :
 ..:...........:...........:...........:...........:...........:
   :           :           :           :           :           :
 10:  160'000  :  250'000  :  400'000  :  600'000  :  900'000  :
   :           :           :           :           :           :
   `...........:...........:...........:...........:...........'

                              ***

ITEMS, WEAPONS

 The screen following ATTRIBUTES and SKILLS in the character
info is ITEMS. Press the capital in front of an item, and you
get to yet another menu:

[E]quip; Don or ready an item for use (name becomes inverse).
Only 1 weapon and 1 armor may be used at a time.
[U]nequip; puts the item away.

[T]rade; swap items with companions; max. 19 pieces per member
and carrying capacity is also limited by individual strength
[see also NOTE#1].

[D]rop; The item will vanish forever, and can never again be
found (it works this way in all but a few places...)

[V]iew; the program requests side "A" and the picture loads onto
the screen.
[see NOTE#2].

[R]eload; only appears when selecting a firearm; you can only
recharge it if you have the proper ammunition.

NOTE#1: On contrary with other computer "RPGs", you can't keep
your dead team-members in as untiring zombie-beasts-of-burden,
lugging around tons of equipment for you. If they're dead -
let 'em R.I.P!

NOTE#2: When you view one of your items, take your time to look
at your inventory - no further disk-swapping is needed, the
program will only request the disk with the area you are
currently on if you do something, or if some external
story event occurs.

                              ***


KEYSTROKE COMMANDS

[RETURN] One step forward.
[CRSR Up/Down] Turn left.
[CRSR Left/Right] Turning right.

[1]-[6] Team member character information.

[T]alk to someone near you. Only Neil can talk to NPCs. Use the
[CRSR] keys to select what you want to say, and press [RETURN]
to say it. If you see -"What do you know about...?" or a similar
sentence press [RETURN] and enter a KEYWORD, usually a name or a
proper noun. Please, watch your spelling of keywords or you will
not be understood.

[U]se an item or skill on whatever you are facing. Not all skill
use solves the problem at once; sometimes you use a skill to
gain information or hints at the actual solution. If an item or
skill isn't usable in the current situation, the program tells
you. It will also tell you "Good Idea" if the skill is too low
for that particular task. Skills like First Aid and the use of
maps is allowed everywhere.

[O]pen something, i.e. a cabinet or an unlocked door.
[S]hut (or close) an opened door.

[L]ook in the direction you're facing; try all four directions.

[F]ind; the higher your DETECTION SKILL is, the faster/better it
works. If you have found something in a direction at any given
location, there is no more thing that FIND can reveal.

[A]ttack someone; don't be trigger-happy, you might accidentally
kill someone who you'll need later!
[See also COMBAT]

[G]ive money or an item to someone nearby; you can also use this
to show an item to an NPC.

[C]onverse with team members.
[D]ismiss a team member; how he or she reacts is a matter of
attitude, it might not be always pleasant.

[SPACE] General team information; there are four columns -
ACTivity (your health, see GETTING WOUNDED), AC (damage
Absorbing Capacity, see COMBAT), number of AMmunition
in your actual WEAPONS.

[F1] Re-order the team as it suits different situations.
NOTE: You, Neil Quoit, are supposed to be the leader.

[P]ause game; pressing any other key will resume it.

[F7] Load/Save game; inserting side "A", there are 8 slots to
choose from, but making an extra copy of this disk side you can
gain another eight save slots.

                              ***

COMBAT

 Once in a while you can't avoid being attacked, better prepare
for it in advance! In combat you can choose between:

[R]etreat; if you do so and return to fight again the enemy team
gets restored even if there was only one enemy left alive.

[A]pproach; If they're out of your range, try it, but you may be
shot before you get them in range.

[F]ight pops up a new menu:
 - [D]odge lets you dramatically minimize the damage you get.
 - [E]quip an item.
 - [R]eload your firearm.
 - [A]ttack; Firing an automatic weapon a new menu appears, you
   can select:
   - [S]ingle,
   - [B]urst or
   - [A]uto modes.

 For each round, the program will let you assign orders to every
member of your team. At the end of the assignments you're asked
to confirm your orders. Answering [N]o takes you back to the
main menu, [Y]es begins the round, your orders are evaluated.
When your opponents are dead, the fight is over, but IF NEIL
DIES,THE GAME IS OVER!!

 If you are UNSKILLED with a weapon, you will never hit anyone.
The higher your SKILL the more damage you can inflict! Order
allows for tactics, the one in front will take the most hits
and the rearmost the least.

 AC(ABSORBING CAPACITY) won't make you harder to hit, but it
will decrease the actual damage done. Each weapon has a specific
max. AC value and can't do any damage above that AC. See GETTING
WOUNDED for categories and explanation of ACTivity. All enemy
has a stamina of 6000, but AC (eg. damage Absorbing Capacity)
varies.

 During combat you can speed up/slow down text scrolling by [+]
and [-]. Everyone gets the same EXP when winning.

You can find the following weapons in the game: (overall power
increases within the same class as listed; pay attention to
details, though).


WEAPON TABLE

 TYPE            SKILL          AMMO       RANGE

 Fist            FIST-FIGHTING                 1
 Knuckles                                      1
 Knife           HANDARMS                      1
 Axe                                           1
 Machete                                       1
 Grenade                                       3
 Prod                                          1
 Walther PPK     PISTOL         Walther cl     5
 Makarov                        Makarov cl     5
 Magnum                         .45 bu         6
 Shotgun         RIFLE          Shotgun ca     4
 Black Magic                    Magic ca       7
 SPAS                           SPAS  ca       8
 Skorpion        SMG            Skorpion mg   10
 Ingram                         Ingram mg     12
 G111                           G111 mg       14
 Galil           ASSAULT RIFLE  Galil mg      12
 M200                           M200 mg       14
 SL7             LAUNCHER       SL7 mi        18
 RPG                            RPG mi        18

                     In-game abbreviations:
bu: bullets, ca: cartridge, cl: clip, mg: magazine, mi: missile


 Good players may find other weapons as well - persistance pays!

                              ***


GETTING WOUNDED

 On the Island there are no Life Insurance companies, as people
wandering around GET INJURED ALL THE TIME. There are five major
health conditions:

ACT 40-100
 You feel well.
UNConscious
 This is when your ACTivity goes below 40 and you faint away.
 Your ACTivity will slowly recuperate as time passes.
SERious
 Is the injury when your ACTivity number starts to decrease and
 will reach
COMatose
 very soon, and even more soon
RIP
 will follow...

 Having UNC or worse condition members, you can only move if
there is still a healthy person in the party. To restore con-
sciousness or at least slow down a decreasing condition, one
of the healthy members must have First Aid or Doctor SKILL,
and Medkits. If you have won a combat, but you have SER or
worse condition members, and you don't have these skills, or
enough Medkits with you, your only hope is to find a real
Doctor! While First Aid can only heal SER injuries, Doctor
can heal even a COMatose member.

NOTE: A character can't heal him or herself.

                              ***


TIPS

REAL C64 USERS ONLY:
 Run a head cleaner disk through your drive if you have one, or
use a cotton swab dipped in denatured alcohol to insure trouble-
free operation of the game. Do so at your own risk, of course.
 If you get `I/O error' all the time, try to create a new set of
game disks, or contact us. Take care of them, don't expose them
to magnets, the elements etc. Always keep them in their sleeves!

ALL USERS:
 We can't say this enough: NEVER edit your disks with a sector
editor, for you will only corrupt the game!

 Another important piece of advice: SAVE YOUR GAME OFTEN! You
players tend to forget about saving when in the thick of the
game, but you'd better not. Always keep a previous slot that is
open for many alternatives. Make copies of Side `A' if you need
more than eight save slots.

 In this game, you don't see your exact environment in the GFX
window, so you'll have to make frequent use of [L]ook. Take time
to look around at doors and places of activity, and don't forget
the [F]ind command.

 Use your imagination...

 As you play the game, you'll encounter a LOT of information, so
you'll definitely want to keep a notebook handy. You shouldn't
need to draw any maps. Keep your inventory in mind, sometimes
you can get ideas just by considering what items you have. Maybe
you can still make amends even if you insulted someone.

 Almost every mistake can be corrected...

 When talking to people who can answer keywords you type in, try
asking them about themselves for example. If they mention some-
thing new at any keyword, ask them about that new thing too!
 If you earn EXP, chances are good that you've found one of the
right answers to a problem(or at least, not the worst one).

 More all-too-obvious game advice: if one of your members needs
EXP badly for some skill-training, make them use items, skills,
and make them give items to NPCs, because EXP bonuses given for
such are exclusive only to that member, and not divided for all
members present. This way you may accumulate missing EXP.

 Spare your EXP, don't waste them for mere combat skills.
Especially at the endgame...

 If you reach an open area you should scan it most accurately.

 We can't repeat this enough: the storyline is non-linear. If
you can't do something this way, do it that way.

 If you read an article about winning NEWCOMER (please don't!)
you will notice, you did several things differently. Don't let
your enjoyment be spoiled!


LEON'S TIPS

1. If you've ever played the original Newcomer, forget it as if
it had never existed.
2. Always try finding new ways, always try solving tasks
differently.
3. Never drop any of your items (not even your rags).
4. If the game loads a text somewhere, even a mere descriptive
piece, it is not without a reason. There is something of impor-
tance or an indication of feeling. It may refer to a completely
different part of the Island, though.
5. The game is very complex, and if you are roaming to and fro,
you can always find new things.
6. Always try pushing forward with as few members as possible,
so you can earn more EXP per member...


THUNDERBLADE'S TIPS

1. Newcomer is not an illogical game. There is nothing in it
like a highscore in an arcade machine, which is incidentally
the code number for a secret laboratory (it was like this in
a particular well-known adventure game ;-) ..at least I think
there is nothing like this in Newcomer. Try to think rational;
actions that seem senseless are not worth trying (like giving
items at random to people and hoping they will react somehow).
2. Pay attention to details, all descriptions, all things some
NPCs say are impotant (and quite often they say it only once!)
3. Save your game whenever you are about to try something.
Sometimes, unexpected reactions can happen. Another time, you
will suddenly find yourself trapped. Use the 8 game slots!
4. Almost all items are necessary, and needed not only once.
If you got three ropes, get rid of two of them to have more
inventory room. Also, if you need room in your inventory,
only drop items which can be bought again somewhere! Don't
drop anything else unless you are 100% sure that you
don't need it anymore! (and when can you be 100% sure? :-)
5. Focus your attention on what an item is, rather than what
it's called - use your imagination, view their pictures, they'll
help to figure out what some items are for.
6. Train combat skills only if you really feel yourself too weak
against some of the enemies you meet! Sparing your EXP points,
as the game progresses further, might be very important.


STILL LOST IN SPACE?

 When someone gives you the possibility to ask about anything,
try asking: What do you know about YOU? Ask people if they can
teach you something to make survival easier. You live and die
by your SKILLs, and several people can give you TRAINING if
you have what they want in return. More common sense is in
asking for a JOB here and there until someone gives you one;
money makes the world go round! And for god's sake, man, don't
be reluctant to load back a position and check if an encounter
or conversation could lead to completely different results -
choose which way you want to progress!

 For those who have played the Hungarian version:
Ne rutinbol jatszd a jatekot, mert erhetnek kellemetlensegek!

                              ***


MAKING BACKUP COPIES

USING C-64 ALONE
 If your favourite copier is unable to create working ENC disks,
it probably can't copy the proper disk IDs (or 40 tracks). To
put proper IDs on the disk sides intended for the copy, you just
have to format all with Disk Demon before copying ENC onto them,
setting the IDs in disk headers to:

Boot: 46,45
A: 00,FF
B: 10,FF
C: 20,FF
D: 30,FF
E: 40,FF
F: 50,FF
G: 60,FF
H: 70,FF
J: 80,FF
K: 90,FF
L: A0,FF
M: B0,FF
O: C0,FF

 The hexadecimal ID values are given in the order for use with
Disk Demon. All sides must be 40 tracks formatted. Just in case
you are unfamiliar with it: insert the disk to be formatted and
press [H] to enter header section, move cursor to the ID bytes
and insert the value, then [back-arrow] to return to the main
menu. Now [F] and set range 00 to 40. If you have finished with
formatting all 14 sides with their proper ID's, it's time to
copy the game data to them using a 40 tracks data copier (not
a Nibbler).

USING STAR-COMMANDER ON PC
 If you have access to a PC for writing the images back to real
1541 disks, here are the instructions to achieve it: First, let
us ALL pay homage to STA, developer of Star Commander, for
making our lives easier!!! (Please, consider paying that small
registration fee to STA!). Up to this time, transferring ENC
back to 1541 disks was extremely cumbersome, requiring several
steps (preformat with DiskDemon on a real sixty-four, x-ferring
images by SC, double checking all side IDs). From now on, you
just have to multi-select all 14 disk images, start writing back
images with Alt+F5, check "Format..." and "Check..." boxes, then
let your little bro' change disks as requested. [SC can auto-
detect the insertion of disks, no extra "Press ENTER.." needed].
ALL YOU NEED is the latest SC beta, found at: http://sta.c64.org

 FINALLY, HAVE FUN (and pay the appreciation fee, please)!

                              ***


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 Commodore - we all know why.

 Krisztian Kovacs - for the starting support.

 X-Vision Ltd. - for their contribution.

 Hakan Sundell - for making his CCS64 emulator run our game.

 T.F.A. - (present developer of Asm-one for the Amiga)

 Balazs "STA" Kovacs - for his superb StarCommander.

 Zsolt "Titusz C." Acs - who put us up in his flat for so long.

 Gusztav Balazs - for his good ideas.

 Krisztian "Prunoki" Hegyvari - for the same, and a small, but
very important part of the game engine.

 The game testers - for their persistence.

 Zoltan Zsilinszki - for a very useful MMU-like testing cart.

 Imre Budai & Andras "SAS" Sandor - for the loaned machines.

 Pal Pucsok - for his Sherlock Holmesian megaarticle about
winning the original Newcomer.

 Lion [C] - for hOSting the First Official Newcomer Home Page.

 Jazzcat & Vengeance of Onslaught - for Aussie slang and for
proof-reading the manual.

 Your parent(s), brother(s), sister(s), girlfriend(s),
wife(wives), husband(s), friend(s), teacher(s), boss(es), etc.
- for not picking a quarrel with You about playing NEWCOMER
too much...

 The two old sixty-fours, the great Amiga 2000/040, and the even
greater Amiga 4000/060 - for their endurance...

                   AND THE THREE +1 OF US...


