Table Of ContentDown UnderDan
Youareabushpilot,Dan.Afly-boy.
Youflycommoncargotoandfromsparselypopulatedsettlementsintheruggedly
beautifulAustralianOutback.Troubleis,themortgageonyourplaneisoverdue-
again.Hardtimeshavereducedyourpayloadandyourpaycheck.LikeyourBank
Managerkeepsremindingyou-aboutallyouactuallyownistheairinthetyres...
whoneedsasmart-assbanker?
Onthelasttriptoaremoteairstripbeforeheadingbacktothecityandan
appointmentwithfinancialdoom,youroldfriendStroptellsyouofrumoursof
hugeopalsbeingfoundatanOutbacklocationwithinreachofyourdwindlingfuel
reserves.Thismightbetheluckybreakyoudesperatelyneed!
Thisisadangerouscountryfortheunprepared-venomousinsectsandanimals,
brutalclimaticconditions,andalanscapeteemingwithpitfallsandtrapsforthe
unwary.Downthereonthegroundisnotascomfortableasupthereintheplane,
butyouneedaseriouscashboost,soyou'dbetterthinkhardaboutbecominga
miner!
Nosweat,mate.Let'sjustflyoutthereandhavealook-seeatthis15-MileRidge
place.Stropsaysthey'rejustpickingopalsofftheground!BlueBeautiesforthe
taking!Howhardcouldthatbe?
WelcometoTheAdventuresofDownUnderDan-aninteractivepoint-and-click
graphicadventuregamewithfull'talkie'sound,includingmusic,sfxandspeech-
thousandsoflinesofrecordedspeech,infact.Spreadoverfourgruellingvirtual
days,youmustbattleextremeconditionsandsolvecomplexpuzzlesinthequestto
strikeitrichandensureyourfutureasabushpilot.Thegameusesvideodigitized
animationoverphotographicbackgroundsforconvincinglyrealisticsettings.You'll
beamazedatthepredicamentsthatyoumanagetogetyourselfinto-and,
hopefully,outof!
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Down UnderDan
TableofContents:
Systemrequirements 2
Installation 2
MainMenu 3
PlayingtheGame 4
MouseControls 5
Help! 6
TechnicalStuff 7
TechnicalAssistance 8
PLEASEDON'TMAKEILLEGALCOPIESOFTHISSOFTWARE!
DownUnderDanwasproducedthroughtheeffortsofmanypeople.Everyone
alongthelinereliesonsalesoftheprogramfortheirliving.
Helppreservejobsbyhonoringthecopyrightoftheprogram.Don'tmakeillegal
copiesforotherswhohavenotpaidfortherighttousetheprogram.
SystemRequirements:
DownUnderDanrequiresanIBM™or100%compatible386orbettercomputer
with520kofconventionalmemoryand2Mbofoverallmemory,aVGAgraphics
card,aCD-ROMdrive,andaharddiskwithatleast5Mbfreespace.Althoughthe
gamemaybepartlyplayedwithkeyboardcontrols,aMicrosoft™compatible
mouseishighlyrecommended.Tomakeuseoftheextensivesoundavailable,an
optionalSoundBlaster™or100%compatiblesoundcardisalsorecommended.
Installation:
ToplayDownUnderDan,somepartsoftheCD-basedgameneedtobeinstalled
toyourharddrive,andtheprogram'sinstallationutilitywillplacethenecessary
filesthere.Toinstallthegame,followthesesimpleinstructions:
1. PlacetheCDinyourCDdriveandmakethatthecurrentdriveby
typingyourdriveidentifier-i.e.type D:[Enter]
2. Type:INSTALL[Enter]
3. Followtheinstructionsintheinstallationprogram.
4. AllDone?You'renowreadytoplayDownUnderDan.
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Down UnderDan
GettingStarted:
Afterinstallationiscomplete,changetotheharddrivedirectoryandtypeGODAN
[Enter]toplaythegame.Systemhardwareauto-detectiontakesplacethefirsttime
youplay,butifanythingseemstobefunctioningincorrectly,youcanrunthe
separateSETUPprogramtocorrectthis-justtypeSETUP[Enter].
TitlePage:
FollowingthestartingscreensyouwillseetheTitlePagewithapictureofAyers
Rock.Fourmajorgamechoicesarepresentedhere-Start,Intro,Credits,&Help.
ClickingonStartwillcommenceagame(surprising,isn'tit?).
ClickingonIntrowillplaytheintroductionsequence,whichinturnleadsintoa
newgame.
Creditsleadstoinformationabouttheauthoringteam.
Helpactivatestheonlinemanual.Westronglyrecommendbrowsingthroughthisas
manydetailedcontrolsoptionsandgamefeaturesarecovered.
IfyouclickyourrightmousebuttonontheTitlePagethemousepointerwill
change,cyclingthroughthefourpointershapesplusoneblank(nopointer)-these
differentpointersallperformdifferentfunctionswithinthegame,butasyoumove
yourmousepointertothetopleftofyourscreentheMainMenuisactivated.Here
thepointerwillchangetoanarrowshapetoallowselectionofMainMenuitems.
MainMenu:
YourcommodiousBackpackisthefirstitemintheMainMenu-asyoucollect
itemsduringthegame,theywillappearhereandmaybeselectedforuse.
Thenextareashowsthefivepointershapes-Lips,Eye,Hand,Legs,andthe4-way
arrow.Mostplayerswouldsimplyusetherightmousebuttontoselectthese,orthe
statusbaratthetopofgamescreens,buttheyarealsoavailablehere,(seePage5)
NextistheSave/RestoreGamearea-prettyself-explanatory,really.Butwitha
gameasbiganddangerousasDownUnderDanyou'dbetterlearntousethis!
TheSpannerrepresentsConfiguration,andgivesaccesstoadjustmentofsuch
elementsasmusicvolume,picturedetailortextspeed.
Restartisjustwhatitsays-startanewgame.Youwillbeaskedtoconfirm-justin
caseyourmouse-buttonfingerwasalittletooquickoffthemark.
Quit?Thereasonfortheinclusionofthisbuttonisunclear...
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Down UnderDan
PlayingtheGame:
Asexplainedintheprevioussection,DownUnderDanisoptimisedformouseuse.
Usingonlythekeyboardispossible,buttherearesomepartsofthegamewhich
wouldbeextremelydifficulttocomplete,requiringquickmovementandaccurate
pointerplacement.Thearrowkeyscanbeusedinplaceofthemousemovement,
withthespacebarfortherightmousebuttonandtheEnterkeyfortheleftmouse
button.However,amouseisfarpreferable,andtheremainderofthismanualwill
assumemouseuse.
HotKeys:
WheneveracontrolIconisbeingdisplayedinthegame,keyboardhot-keyscan
alsobeusedtoaccessimportantgamefunctions.Theseare:
T = TemporarySaveGame
L = LoadTemporarySavedGame
H = Hintsonline
Mor[Esc] = MainMenu
[Esc]-Duringspeech = Bypassdialogue
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Down UnderDan
TheMousePointerIcons:
TalkIcon-Selectthisicontoconversewithpeopleandanimals
(...animals?).
LookIcon-Selectthisicontoexamineobjectsandgetadescription.
HandIcon-Selectthisicontotouch,use,orpickupanobject.
WalkIcon-Selectthisicontowalktoascreenlocation,orthenext
closestlocationaccessible.
NoIcon-SelectthistomoveDanaroundunderdirectcontroltoexplore
whichpartsofnewlocationscanbereached.
Note!
Fromtimetotimeduringgameplaythemousepointerwilldisappearbriefly.This
occursonlyafteryouhaveselectedanactionthatinvolvessomelengthy
calculationswhichmustbecompletedbeforecontrolisreturnedtoyou-asafe-
guardagainstinadvertentlyattemptingtosaveagamewhiletheprogramhasstill
notdeterminedyourexactpositionorstatus.
WhatdoIdowithalltheseIconThingies?:
Really..Well,clickingyourrightmousebuttoncyclesthroughthedifferentPointer
Iconsavailable-e.g.threeclicksmovesthroughthreeIconshapes.Clickingwith
theleftmousebuttonactivatesthecurrentlydisplayedIconshapeonwhatever
objectitpointsto.Wherehaveyoubeen?
Imagineyou'reactuallyinDan'sshoes-theIconsallowyoutocontrolhissenses
andmovementstogetthroughthegamepuzzles.
What'sthisobject?:
SelectanobjectfromyourbackpackandtryusingitonDanoranotherobject-
you'llgetadescriptionofsomesorttohelpguideyou.
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Down UnderDan
Help!
I'mstuckonDay#2-I'vetriedtalkingtoeverybody,takingeverything,using
everything,andstillIcan'tfigurewhattodonext!
TakeanAspirin...calmdown,OK?
Actually,therearegamehintsavailable-you'vebeencarryingthemaroundever
sinceyoulefttheplane.Ifyou'restillintheplane-seebelow.
Inyourbackpackyou'llfindaHintsicon.Thelongeryouplay,thegreaternumber
ofhintsyouareentitledtoread.Don'tusethemunlessyou'rereallystuck-itruins
thechallenge.You'llneedtoguessalittleatwhichhintyouwanttoread.
Helpmetogetstarted,atleast!:
Oh,allright.Butdon'treadthisunlessyoureally,truly,honestlyarestuck,OK?.
Startthegameaspreviouslydescribed.
•Inthecockpitscreen,usetheWalkIcon.(Clueintheresponse)-toobusyflying
theplane?Howcanyoufixthat?MostplaneshaveAutopilotsdon'tthey?(Don't
worryifyoumissedthisclue-thereareothers)
•Lookatthegauges(LookIcon).
•Touchthegauges(HandIcon).Itbasicallytellsyouwhattodo-pushthebuttons
inthemiddle.
•IfyoufoundtheEjectbutton,enjoyyourtrip.You'llneedtorestartthegame,
however,asyou'renotquiteequippedtodealwithskydivingjustyet.
•FindtheAutopilotbuttonandpressit.Onceit'son,usetheWalkIcontoexitthe
screen.You'llnowseeDaninthebackoftheplane,ingloriousthirdperson
perspective-howyou'llviewmostofthegame.
•Havealookaround.Trytogettheparachute-youdon'tneedityetsoyoucan't.
•Walkbacktothecockpitoftheplane(viathebottomofthescreen).
•Holdyourbreath-Wham!
•Checkthegaugesetc.It'sprettyobviousyouneedtogetout.
•UsetheWalkIcontoreturntotherearoftheplane,andtheHandIcontograbthe
parachuteandthepolyethysomething.
•TryusingtheHandonthecratewiththebigredcross-it'sjammedshut.
•Wellthen,findyourknife-Walkbehindtherearmostcargo.
•Moveyouricontothetoprightscreencorner-thiswillbringupthebackpack
menu-selecttheknife(left-clickinit'sbox).
•Usetheknifeonthecrate-amIgoingtoofastforyou?Youshouldnowhave4
itemsinyourbackpack.
•BAILOUT!Useeitherthebuttoninthecockpitorthereardooroftheplane.
•Nowwouldbeagoodtimeto[S]aveyourgame-justincaseyoudie(...andyou
probablywill).Ifyoudo,youcan[R]estoreyourgameandstartfromhere.
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Down UnderDan
What'sthedifferencebetweenTemporaryandPermanentSaveGames?
Youcanusethe[T]keytosaveaTemporarygameatnearlyanystage-it'svery
quick,asitdoesnotneedanameentry.Youcanrecoverthatone-and-onlygameby
usingthe[L]key.Remember,though,thatDownUnderDanneedstosavestatus
informationeachtimeyouusetheHints,andthesewillover-writeyourTemporary
Saves.
So,everytimeyoumakeanimportantgameadvance,youshouldresorttothe
permanentstorageoftheharddrivebyaccessingthePermanentSave-the[S]key
toSave,orthe[R]keytoRestore,usingamenuwithsavedgamenames.
TECHNICALSTUFF:
Don'tyouhaveaSoundCard?
Thenyou'llmissalotofthefunofDownUnderDan!Thegameenginewill
attempttoplaysomesoundFXthroughthetinyPCSpeakerbuiltintoyoursystem,
butanimationswillfreezeforthedurationoftheSFX,becauseofPCSpeaker
limitations.Ifyouhavenosound,selecttheSpannericonfromtheMainMenuand
setthetextspeedtozero-atleastthenallthedialoguewillappearintextform.
AreyoutryingtorunDownUnderDanunderWindows™?
ThegameisnotdesignedtorununderWindows,butperformsreasonablywell
undermostcircumstances.MostWindowssetupsusetheharddrivecacheutility
SMARTDRV-thisinfactimprovestheperformanceofthegame,butremember
thatWindowsalwayshasfirstcallonsystemtimersandthiswillresultin
unexpectedpausesanddelays.
IfWindowsdisplaysanerrormessagewhenattemptingtoplaysoundyoucan
modifyyourWindowsSYSTEM.INIfiletoincreasethesoundbuffersize.Inthe
sectionheaded[386Enh],modifyoraddtheentryDmaBufferSize=xxtoread
DmaBufferSize=64
CanIimprovetheperformanceofthegameunderDOS?
Yes,youcan.IfyouuseamultipleDOSstartup,chooseonewhichuses
SMARTDRV,orstartitattheDOSpromptbytyping:SMARTDRV[Enter]before
startingDan.
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Down UnderDan
CustomerTechnicalSupport
ThankyouforpurchasingthisGuildsoftproduct,wehopeyouwillenjoyit.All
productssoldundertheGuildsoftBrandcarryfullUK.technicalsupport. Listed
belowarethewaysyoucancontactourtechnicalsupportlines,whichareopen
Monday-Friday,9AMto5.30PM.
ByPhone: 01752895100
ByFax: 01752895111
CompuServe: 100044,1676
Whenyoucontactcustomersupport,pleasesupplythefollowinginformation.
• Registrationandpurchasedetails
• Operatingsystemandversion.
• ThecontentsofyourAUTOEXEC.BAT&CONFIG.SYSfiles.
• Adescriptionoftheproblem.
Wehopeyouenjoythisprogram.
Watchoutforournewreleases.
Copyrightandtrademarks:
Alltrademarksreferredtointhismanual-IBM,Microsoft,Windows,
SoundBlaster-arethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.PowerVisiondeveloped
thisgame,andincaseyou'rewonderingwhatarealliveprogrammerlookslike-
lookatDan-that'stheauthorGeoffWilkie.Pityaboutthevoice,Geoff...
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