AZTEC - HUNT FOR THE SUN GOD
(Hill MacGibbon)


You are Quick-lizard, a young Aztec coppersmith. You have woken from a
strange dream to find that the sun has failed to rise. The only light
is the dull glow from the volcano; Condor Mountain. Scared, you rush
into the village to find that no one is there. Alone you must
interpret your dream and begin your adventure. Where is the sun? Where
are the people of the village? As your journey begins strange
creatures will appear, sometimes evil and sometimes friendly, but
never quite as they seem.


Before you begin your quest make sure that you have with you every-
thing you will need:
	Software cassette for 48K Spectrum;
	Colour wallposter with the "Story so far" and the Aztec spell-
	breaker; [Missing from my copy. JimG]
	The running instructions included in this book;
	Keyboard overlay [see AZTEC.GIF].
Good luck! You are the last chance for the villagers ...


Getting started

Set up your cassette recorder, computer, and TV set as instructed in
your manual.
1. Place the keyboard overlay above the top row of keys on your
   computer keyboard.
2. Press J. Hold down SYMBOL SHIFT and at the same time press P twice.
   LOAD "" should now appear on the screen. Press ENTER and then press
   PLAY on your cassette recorder. After a few seconds the Hill MacGibbon
   logo will appear.
3. About one minute later the title screen will appear.
4. The main program will continue to load while the title screen is
   displayed. Loading will take about four minutes after the title
   screen has appeared.
5. Stop the cassette when the screen border becomes white. It is
   important that you do not stop the cassette before the program has
   fully loaded.
6. Press SPACE to begin your adventure; or
   press J to load a previously saved adventure (this is explained
   later); or press M to save the program to Microdrive (see page 10).

Continuing an adventure
a  To continue an adventure which you have previously saved (this is
   explained later) press J.
b  Replace the program cassette with the cassette that contains your
   saved adventure (see page 8) and rewind.
c  Press PLAY on your recorder.
d  After about one minute the adventure will re-start at the point you
   had reached when you saved the adventure.


Exploring the landscape

Quick-lizard's Aztec world contains eight areas: the Deserted Village,
the River Valley, the Aztec City, the Temple, the Rain Forest, the
Burnt Forest, the Condor City, the Mountain Top. Each area is based on
a grid of 10 squares by 10 squares like the one shown below:

[blank 10x10 grid]

If you wish to succeed in your quest you will need to make your own
map of the Aztec land using 10x10 squares like the one above. Remember
to mark everything you find onto your map, even if it does not seem
important (at first sight, that is).

When the program has loaded you will see the screen divided into four
areas: The scene; Your objects; The sun; Messages.

[sample screenshot]

1 The central portion of the screen is your view of the Aztec world.
  Initially you are inside the Deserted Village with Hwee-Tsee the
  hummingbird. As you move you will see this view change. The view is
  divided into squares. You can see a maximum of two squares ahead.
    As the adventurer, you are always standing in the central square
  at the bottom of the screen. This is marked with a cross in the
  screen photograph above. The diagram opposite illustrates which grid
  squares you can see from any square. In your square is the old man.
  To your left and in front of you are two bushes. To your right is a
  wall. You will find it useful to mark the objects you find on the
  grid as shown in the diagram. The squares in view, looking forward
  from the square with the cross, are shaded grey. You can see the
  squares to your immediate left and right, and two squares forwards.
  If you were now to turn left you would see all the squares marked
  with cross-hatching.
    Each time you move, you move into the square directly ahead. You
  can always see cacti, trees, houses, walls, etc. (when you are close
  enough), but characters such as the old man or the llama only appear
  when you are in their square. When you turn left or right, you do
  not move.

[diagram]

2 To the right you can see which objects you have brought along with
  you. Initially this space contains a compass. As you find things or
  characters you can bring them with you; these will appear in this
  area to remind you what you have with you. As there are eight spaces
  you can only bring along eight things at a time.
3 At the far right is a picture of the sun, and below it is a god. As
  the game progresses you will see the sun sink nearer and nearer
  towards the god. When the sun has fallen into the grasp of the god,
  your adventure will end. So act quickly!
4 At the bottom is what you are told. Initially this shows a message
  from Hwee-Tsee, who will accompany you throughout your adventure.
  Listen carefully to what characters tell you - there may be more in
  what they say than you might think.


Running the program

Moving about
a Press 2 to go forward one square.
b If you want to change direction, or just look around, press 1 to 
  turn to your left, or 3 to turn to your right. (You do not move
  until you press 2.)
c Sometimes you may need to turn around and retrace your steps. In
  this case simply press 1 (or 3) twice and then press 2.

Bringing things with you
The Aztec world is full of traps and obstacles. To get by you will
need to find some important things or people and bring them along with
you.

a When you find something you wish to bring along with you (eg. a
  stone knife) press 5.
b "BRING ALONG stone knife" appears at the bottom of the screen.
  Press SPACE to see what else is in the square that you could bring
  along (eg. if there is also a bone key in the square when you
  pressed space, "BRING ALONG key" would appear at the bottom of the
  screen).
c Press ENTER when the object you wish to bring along is displayed.
d A picture of the stone knife appears at the right of the screen to
  show that you now have it with you.

Leaving things behind
Some characters will help you if you give something to them. For
instance the Sloth will come along if you bring him a special herb. To
do this, you simply leave the herb behind in the character's square.
  You can only bring eight things along with you at a time. There- 
fore if you are already carrying eight things and you want to bring
along something else, you must leave behind one of the things you are
carrying.

a Press 4 to leave something (eg. the herb) behind.
b "LEAVE BEHIND compass" (if the compass is one thing you bring with
  you) appears at the bottom of the screen. Press SPACE and the
  message "LEAVE BEHIND stone knife" appears (if the stone knife is
  the second thing you bring with you). Keep pressing SPACE until
  the message shows what you want to leave behind; eg. "LEAVE BEHIND
  herb".
c Now press ENTER. The herb disappears from the screen to show that
  you no longer have it with you.
d If you return to this square the thing you left behind will still 
  be there.

Eating and drinking
You can eat or drink some of the things you may find. Remember that
you can only eat or drink what you bring with you; if you find some-
thing you wish to eat or drink immediately (eg. maize) you will have
to bring it along before you can eat it.

a Press 6 to eat or drink something you have with you. 
b The message "EAT/DRINK cob of maize" appears. Press SPACE to see what
  else you can eat or drink.
c Press ENTER when the message shows what you wish to eat or drink.
  Now see what happens!

How to use things
Sometimes you will need to use something, eg. you may need to use a
key to open a door. You can only use what you bring with you.

a Press 7 to use something you are carrying (eg. a key).
b "USE key" appears. Press SPACE to see what else you can use.
c Press ENTER when the message shows what you wish to use. Now see
  what happens!

Saying a spell
The Aztec world is a magical world of gods. There are special spells
which help you to do many things. To find out what spells you can use,
you need to find hidden clues, eg. An[UpArrow], Cd[DownArrow], and
then use the spell-breaker on the poster to find out what the spell-
word is.

a Press 8 to say a spell.
b Now type in the letters of the spell using the letters A to Z. If
  you make a mistake, press 0 to cancel the last letter you typed.
c When you have typed in the spell, press ENTER. Now see what happens!

What is in your square?
Hwee-Tsee, your constant companion, always tells you what (if any-
thing) is in your square. Press 9 to repeat what Hwee-Tsee has said.

Note you cannot repeat what other characters say to you. If you wish
to have more time to read other characters' speeches, press and hold
down SPACE to hold their message on the screen. Release SPACE to
continue.

Cancelling a command
a If you change your mind about doing something (eg. you do not wish
  to use your sword), or if you press the wrong key by mistake, then
  press 0 to cancel the command.
b If you are saying a spell, each time you press 0 one of the letters
  of the spell you have typed in is deleted. When all the letters have
  been deleted the command "SAY SPELL" is cancelled.
c Otherwise, when 0 is pressed, the whole command, eg. "BRING ALONG
  snake vine", "EAT/DRINK herb" is cancelled.


Moving from one part to another

Because of the large number of different scenes that this adventure
contains, the program is actually stored in two parts. Part one
contains all the scenes from the Deserted Village to the Aztec City;
part two contains all the scenes following the Rain Forest to the top
of Condor Mountain.
  When you move from one part to the other (eg. if you go back into
the Aztec City from the Rain Forest) you will need to load information
from the cassette.

Going from part one to part two
a Make sure that side B of the cassette is facing upwards.
b Rewind the cassette.
c Press PLAY on the recorder and then ENTER on the computer.
d After about one minute, part two will have loaded.
e Press STOP on your recorder.
f You may now continue your adventure.

Going from part two to part one
a Make sure that side B of the cassette is facing upwards.
b Rewind the cassette. Fast forward for about fifteen seconds.
c Press PLAY on the recorder and then ENTER on the computer.
d After a few minutes, part one will have loaded.
e You may now continue your adventure.


How to use the spell-breaker

The Aztec gods use a special code for their spells. The priests have
broken this code and left you a special spell-breaker with which you
can decode the gods' most devious spells.

a To decode a spell, first find the two letters of the code in the
  table on the left-hand page of the book at the foot of the poster.
  For example Cz is in row 13, column 6.
b Now find the same square (ie. row 13, column 6) in the table on the
  right-hand page.
c Starting with the letter in the square, read off the other letters
  of the spell in the direction in which the arrow points.


Saving a game

The adventure continues until either you get killed, or you free the
Sun. If you wish, you can stop playing the game and continue later.
Follow these simple instructions to record your position in the
adventure.

a Replace the program cassette with a blank cassette and rewind.
b Make sure that the EAR lead is disconnected. Press RECORD on the
  cassette player.
c Press S and then ENTER to save your adventure.
d If you make a mistake, press BREAK before you press ENTER. Remember
  to stop the tape recorder.
e After a few minutes your adventure will be saved on the cassette.
  You will need this cassette when you want to continue an adventure
  from this point.
f After your adventure has been saved, you may continue with your quest.


Starting again

a At any time (eg. after you have been killed), you can press J to
  start again.
b If you are starting the adventure from the beginning, insert the
  program cassette with side A facing upwards. Rewind and fast forward
  for about twenty seconds. (If you stopped the cassette after the
  program had loaded, the cassette should already be wound to the
  correct position.)
c If you wish to restart a previously saved adventure, insert the 
  appropriate cassette and rewind.
d Press ENTER and then press PLAY on your recorder.
e If you make a mistake, press BREAK before you press ENTER (for the
  Spectrum).


To finish

Simply disconnect your computer from the mains power supply (Micro-
drive users should remove cartridge first).


Using a Microdrive

You are allowed to make only one copy onto a Microdrive cartridge. You
must not make more than one copy onto a Microdrive cartridge (or any other
copy of the program) either for your own use or for hiring, lending or
selling to other people. This would be an infringement of copyright for
which you could be prosecuted.

Please note: Although you can save the program onto a Microdrive cartridge
you cannot save your own adventures onto a Microdrive cartridge - you
must use cassette, as described on page 8.

How to make a copy onto a Microdrive cartridge:
a Format a blank Microdrive cartridge by typing FORMAT "m";1;"AZT" and
  then ENTER.
b Make sure the formatted cartridge has been inserted into your
  Microdrive.
c Load the program from the cassette in the usual way.
d When the program has loaded, press M to save it onto the Microdrive
  cartridge. After about 30 seconds the program will have been saved.
  A new adventure begins automatically.
e If you press any key other than M, a new adventure will begin and
  the program will not be saved. To save it, you must start again from c.

Loading your Microdrive copy of the program
a Make sure the Microdrive is connected and insert the cartridge which
  contains the program.
b Press R and then ENTER.
c The screen blanks and after 10-15 seconds the program will have
  loaded. A new adventure begins automatically.
d To continue a previously saved adventure now press J and follow the
  instructions on page 9.


Summary of keys

How to move
1  Turns left
2  Goes forward
3  Turns right

How to do things
4  Leaves something behind  then:  For keys 4 to 7:
5  Brings something along          SPACE Highlights the object you want
6  Eats/drinks something           ENTER Chooses that object
7  Uses something
8  Says a spell

Other keys
9  Tells you what is in your square
0  Cancels a command
S  Saves your adventure
J  Restarts your adventure


AZTEC SPELL-BREAKER

Aa An Ba Bn Ca Cn Da Dn Ea En Fa    M A Y A U E L O Z M X
Ab Ao Bb Bo Cb Co Db Do Eb Eo Fb    E M N Z I X C U I N A
Ac Ap Bc Bp Cc Cp Dc Dp Ec Ep Fc    H U I T E I Z E P O M
Ad Aq Bd Bq Cd Cq Dd Dq Ed Eq Fd    I S T I T L A N E N A
Ae Ar Be Br Ce Cr De Dr Ee Er Fe    C U R N O O N M R T C
Af As Bf Bs Cf Cs Df Ds Ef Es Ff    D A A Z T E I I M E R
Ag At Bg Bt Cg Ct Dg Dt Eg Et Fg    T H R O U X R N U C E
Ah Au Bh Bu Ch Cu Dh Du Eh Eu Fh    C R O C C O R T E Z L
Ai Av Bi Bv Ci Cv Di Dv Ei Ev Fi    H O R O S P U L Q U E
Aj Aw Bj Bw Cj Cw Dj Dw Ej Ew Fj    L Z A I K E A L A M Z
Ak Ax Bk Bx Ck Cx Dk Dx Ek Ex Fk    A T E T A O N Y R A W
Al Ay Bl By Cl Cy Dl Dy El Ey Fl    L U N C L T Z U N U E
Am Az Bm Bz Cm Cz Dm Dz Em Ez Fm    O N N U A T E Z C A T
Fx Fw Fv Fu Ft Fs Fr Fq Fp Fo Fn    N I Z T N A N O T X L


Created by Five Ways Software Ltd
Published by Hill MacGibbon Ltd
Cover and poster illustration by Mike Embden

