PYRAMID 2000 (Text) v1.00.15 NABU CP/M port ======================================= WHAT THIS IS This is a from-scratch NABU CP/M port of "Pyramid", the 1979 TRS-80 16K Level I & II text adventure originally published by Radio Shack (a division of Tandy Corporation). You explore the Great Lost Pyramid via "Astral Projection", collecting treasures and returning them to the entrance for credit, while avoiding pits, mazes, and the Curse of the Tomb. The original TRS-80 manual is included alongside this file as MANUAL.TXT and MANUAL.PDF - they have the full original background and instructions (the cassette-tape loading/save sections don't apply here; the instructions for this port are below). This is an unofficial, non-commercial fan port based on public disassembly analysis, not an authorised re-release - see the in-game credits for the exact wording. Since the previous release, the word matching has been corrected. Ordinary words the game does not know, such as EXAMINE or SEARCH, were being mistaken for a direction and quietly moved you to another room. They are now refused, so a word the game does not understand tells you so instead of acting. The HELP summary has been corrected as well. It covers moving, handling objects and the lamp, which is what most players reach for first. If you hit anything that looks wrong - a typo, a room that does not wrap correctly on your screen width, a puzzle that will not budge, a crash, anything - please pass it along. HOW TO START Copy PYRAMID.COM and PYRAMID.P2K to the same CP/M drive/directory, then simply type: PYRAMID and press ENTER. No other arguments are needed - PYRAMID.COM automatically loads PYRAMID.P2K. NARROW-COLUMN DISPLAYS If your screen or terminal shows fewer than 80 columns, use one of these instead of PYRAMID.COM - same game, just word-wrapped narrower: PYRAMI40.COM - for 40-column screens (e.g. a stock NABU in its native display mode, rather than a wider CP/M terminal): type PYRAMI40 PYRAMI36.COM - for 36-column screens (e.g. a Coleco Adam): type PYRAMI36 Everything else (commands, saving/loading, scoring) works identically across all three; only the line width differs. HOW TO PLAY Type simple instructions such as: LOOK N (also S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW, UP, DOWN) GET LAMP ON LAMP DROP SILVER A direction on its own is how you move. There is no GO command. Other useful commands: LOOK - redescribe where you are GET / DROP - pick something up / put it down OPEN - open something EAT / DRINK - eat or drink something FILL / POUR - fill or pour something (e.g. a bottle at a stream) ON / OFF - turn the lamp on or off IN / OUT / BACK - enter, leave, or go back CLIMB / CROSS / JUMP / SWIM - where the room suggests it INVENTORY - list what you're carrying SCORE - show your current score HELP - show a short command reminder SAVE - save your game LOAD - restore a previously saved game QUIT - end the session and show your final score The game knows more words than these. Part of the fun is finding the right one, so the list above deliberately stops at the everyday commands and leaves the puzzles to you. SAVING AND LOADING Type SAVE followed by a name of your choosing (up to 8 letters), e.g.: SAVE MYGAME This writes your progress to MYGAME.SAV. To pick up where you left off, type: LOAD MYGAME If you just type SAVE or LOAD with no name, the game uses a default save slot for you automatically - so both bare SAVE/LOAD and named SAVE/LOAD work. SCORING Typing SCORE at any time shows your current progress. Treasures are worth more banked at the entrance than just carried, exactly as the original manual describes - picking one up earns you some credit, but depositing it at the entrance earns you more. A LIGHT SOURCE, AND A WORD OF WARNING You start with a lamp - turn it ON before heading underground, most of the Pyramid is pitch dark without it. Keep an eye on it; it won't last forever. IF YOU GET A "TRUNCATED" OR DATA-FILE-LIMIT ERROR ON STARTUP This almost always means the copy of PYRAMID.P2K on your machine is incomplete - a transfer that stopped early or was cut short. Re-copy the file fresh and try again. The game checks for this itself and will tell you plainly if the file is short, rather than a more confusing table-limit-style message. CREDITS Original Pyramid (c) Tandy Corporation / Radio Shack, TRS-80 16K Level I & II. This NABU/CPM port by Intangybles, from public disassembly analysis. Enjoy - and thanks for testing!