Demon Stalkers - The Raid on Doomfane
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Demon Stalkers is essentially a Gauntlet clone. You must travel through 99 mazes, before meeting the final demon. The game features different enemies as you progress through the mazes, with clues to progression built in. There's a 2-player co-operative mode. The in-built level editor uses pull-down menus, and offers a high level of flexibility. As well as creating actual levels, you can create a integrated storyline and game world, as the text on scrolls can be edited.

Trivia

Demon Stalkers was one of the last EA folders to contain the "EOA" logo hidden in the cover illustration. Hint: Tsehc erusaert eht no kcol eht sti.

Follow-up : Fire King

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Manual :

Death in Doomfane

Danger and death threaten your kingdom in the form of Calvrak, a vicious, hideously evil, and remarkably ugly entity.  Calvrak was awakened from its stasis during the construction of the one hundred level dungeon it now inhabits.  You drew the short straw--now it is your job to find Calvrak and destroy it.  Use the many clues and hints you'll find in the dungeon to accomplish your task.

Each level is fraught with traps, treasures and, as you would expect, dangerous monsters.  Explore the dungeon alone or with a partner.  Each player is equipped with the latest in crossbow technology.  Your weapons are always loaded and ready to fire a bolt.  Now if you're ready to hack and slay, greedily collect treasure, and generally wreak some serious havoc--read on!

Getting Started

Before starting _Demon Stalkers_, you should make a backup copy of your scenario disk.  You can play _Demon Stalkers_ from the original scenario disk, but this is not recommended.  Use the following steps to copy your disk:

1. Remove all cartridges and disconnect any printers or modems.

2. Turn on your computer, monitor and disk drive.  C128 users enter C64mode.

3. IMPORTANT: Place a write-protect tab over the notch on your original scenario disk before you copy the disk.

4. You will need a blank disk to copy your scenario disk.  Insert the program side of your disk and type LOAD "COPY",8,1 to use the copy/formatting program included on your disk.  Do not use FastLoad(TM) to copy your disk.

5. The PROGRAM MASTER disk is side 2 of your game disk, the ORIGINAL SCENARIO disk is side 1 of your game disk, and the SCENARIO COPY disk is your blank disk.  Follow the prompts until your copy is complete.

NOTE:Do not turn off your disk drive at any point during the game as this will erase certain vital information stored in the drive RAM.

When your backup is complete, you're ready to start the game.  Use the
following steps:

1. Turn off the computer and remove all cartridges.  Disconnect any printers or modems.

2. Insert the _Demon Stalkers_ program master disk in the drive.  When asked to insert your scenario disk, insert the *copy* of your scenario disk.  Always play from a *copy* of the scenario disk.

3. Plug joystick into port 2 to play a single-player game.  Use both ports for a two-player game.

4. Turn on your computer.  C128 users enter C64 mode.

5. Type LOAD "EA",8,1 and press RETURN.

6. Hit any key during the title screen to exit to the Main Menu.

MAIN MENU OPTIONS

Use the function keys to choose the following options from the Main Menu:

F1 - One player game.

F3 - Two player game, in which both players are in the dungeon at the same time.  The second player uses a joystick in port 1.

F5 - Enters the construction set (editor) where you can create and modify your own game levels.

F7 - Loads a previously saved game from a scenario disk.

GAME CONTROLS

Commodore Key - Magic spell key for player 1.  Activates a death scroll (see "Objects" in the Construction Set section) held by the player.

CRSR up/down - Magic spell key for player 2.  See above.

Joystick - Controls player movement.  Player one uses a joystick in port 2.  Use another joystick in port 1 fortwo-player games.

Joystick Button  Fires your crossbow.

S - Pauses game (press again to resume play) and provides the following options:

F1 - Surrender.  The first time you choose this option on any level, all the doors on that level disappear.  A second use of this option restarts the character at the beginning of that level.  Using this option causes a decrease in strength, armor and magic points.

F3 - Quit the current game and return to the Main Menu.

F5 - Saves the game to your scenario disk so you can continue later at the beginning of the same level.  Note:  You can only save one game per disk.

See the Construction Set secton for editor keyboard shortcuts.

ARTHUR'S MAGICAL CYPHER

You must use Arthur's Magical Cypher to find the password that will allow you access to lower levels.  Line up the first word on the outer wheel with the second word on the inner wheel.  Type in the password that appears in the third, innermost window on the wheel.


Playing Demon Stalkers

The following sections describe the various game aspects:

HEALTH

This is the most important value in the game.  Health indicates how much more damage you can sustain before dying.  Unless you have a Staff of Life (see Construction Set section), you die and the game ends when your health reaches zero. (In a two-player game, the player who is left can continue playing.) Replenish your health by picking up food.  Some foods increase your health more than others.  Some food is poisoned, so eat cautiously.  Being hit by any monster or by a mage's fireball decreases your health.  Also beware of the deadly Slow Death curse, explained later.

ATTRIBUTES

Each player starts the game with four units of strength, armor and magic.  The status of each attribute appears under its icon.

The helm symbolizes your armor attribute, the belt your strength attribute, and the wand your magic attribute.

These attributes decrease over time, and increase with the discovery of various relics.  Strength determines how much damage you cause with each of your attacks.  Your magic attribute determines how effective your death scrolls are.  The armor attribute indicates how much protection your armor provides.

ITEMS

Each level contains many different objects.  Each object has its own function.  (See the "Objects" section of the Construction Set for further details on each object.)  Move your character over an object to pick it up.

MONSTERS	

There are five different types of monsters in Doomfane.  Every monster behaves differently.

THE DUNGEON

There are 100 levels in the dungeon, each progressively more difficult. You must find and defeat Calvrak to complete the game.  Some levels have a goal which you must complete before you can descend to the next level.

Before you descend the chute to the 100th level, save level 99 to your scenario disk.  You cannot save on the lowest level.  You may ascend stairs.  The level to which you return will be as you left it, except that monsters (but not their generators) are regenerated, and broken walls are restored.

Hints for beginners:  On level one, if you wander around long enough you will find the stairs leading down, but to assist adventurers new to the dungeon, we have built the walls in the shape of arrows.  Follow these arrows to find the down stairs.  On level two, don't shoot the snappers.  To complete level two you must use every set of stairs on levels one and two.  This is a sample of the multi-level puzzles unique to Demon Stalkers.

The Construction Set (Editor)

Use the construction set to create and modify new dungeon levels or to preview levels you haven't yet played.  (You cannot modify the Demon Stalkers scenario disk.)  Use the joystick to select options.  The Main Menu is displayed at the top of the screen.  See next page for Main Menu options.  Move the hand to highlight the menu option you want to select.  Press the button to select the highlighted option.  Design dungeon levels on a graph like the one shown below.

[GRAPH WITH COLUMNS NUMBERED 0-20, ROWS NUMBERED 0-11]

OPTIONS

Colours - Changes screen colors.  Hold down the button and move the joystick right or left to scroll through the color choices.  Release the button to make selection.

Tiles - Alters the pattern of the floor.  Hold down the button and move the joystick left or right to scroll through the pattern choices.  Release the button to make selection.

Level Title - Names the levels you create.

Monster 1 or 2 - Selects and sets the characteristics of the two types of monsters chosen for that level.  To select, hold the button down and move the joystick left or right.

Speed - Slow, medium or fast.

Damage  - 1-14 points of damage inflicted per hit.  Monster color changes to reflect the monster's ferocity, from white monsters (easy) to dark blue monsters (look out!).

Health - The amount of damage this monster can endure before it is killed.  This can range from 4-48 points.

Type - Rats, mad mages, ghosts, dervishes or snappers.  (See "Vortex" in the "Objects" section for more information on mad mages.)

Set Goal - (Optional.)  Select a goal for each level.  If a goal is set, you must complete it before you can descend to the next level.  Define the goal to find all of one or more of the following:  artifacts, amulets, chests, relics or scrolls.

Random Items - Randomly replaces objects with blank spaces or monsters, and replaces monsters with blank spaces, during play.

Wrap Around - Allows you to leave from one side of the level, and re-enter through the opposite side.

Editor Sound - Turns on/off the audible signals you hear whenever you change or place items.

Play Level - Play test the level.  Your character starts the level in whichever square was last in the editing window.  Return to the editor by pressing S to open the Pause Menu, then press F3 to abort the game, and then select F5 to re-enter the editor.

Play Game - Starts the game.

CLEAR

Restore - Removes the changes you've made since you loaded or last used the Preserve option.  Any changes made since preserving will be lost.

Preserve - Preserves the current state of the level.  Restore does not affect changes that have been preserved.  Levels being edited are automatically preserved when you load a new level from disk or use the Clear function.

Clear - Clears all objects from the level.

VIEW

Allows you to view the entire level.  Move the joystick to view different sections of the level.

DISK

Set Level - Type in the level number you want to edit.

Save Level - Saves the current level to the formatted disk (up to 99 different levels may be saved on a single diskette).

Load Level - Loads the level number entered in the Set Level option.

Format Disk - Formats a disk on which you can save the levels you create.  You *must* use the format disk command to save any levels you create and modify--you cannot save these levels on your scenario disk.

OBJECTS DISPLAY

The left side of the Construction Set screen shows icons of the various objects you can place in the level.

EDITING WINDOW

To the right of thwe Objects Display is the Editing Window.  Use this window to place objects and walls, and to move from one section to another.  The section you are editing is outlined by the blinking box. Place walls to correspond with the edges of the blinking box.

LOCATOR BOX

Under the Editing Window is the Locater Box.  The black dot inside the Locater Box represents your position within the level.  The X and Y values are your coordinates.  X ranges from 0-20 (horizontal) and Y ranges from 0-11 (vertical).

Using the Construction Set (Editor)

Use the Options Menu to choose the general parameters of the level.
Then use the following instructions to place objects and walls:

CHOOSING A SECTION TO EDIT

1. Use the joystick to move the hand near the Editing Window.  Place the hand just outside the blinking box to avoid altering the placement of an object inside the box.

2. Hold down the button.

3. Move the joystick toward the section you want to edit.

4. Release the button when you arrive at the section you want to edit.

PLACING WALLS

1. Choose a section to edit.

2. Move the hand to touch the edge of the blinking box where you want to place a wall.  The edge changes color.

3. Hold down the button until the hand changes color.

4. Keep the button depressed and move the joystick left or right to scroll through the various wall choices: blank, solid wall, breakable wall, door, or one-way doors.

5. Release the button to select a wall style.

PLACING OBJECTS

Joystick:

1. Choose a section to edit.
2. Move the hand to the center of the blinking box.
3. Hold down the button until the hand changes color.
4. Keep the button depressed.  Move the joystick left or rightto scroll through the various objects to be placed.  Release the button to make your selection.

Keyboard:
1. Choose a section to edit.
2. Press the key that corresponds to the object you want to place.  (See following page.)

CHARACTER PLACEMENT

The program uses a predetermined set of rules to set the character's starting position in a dungeon.  You should take these rules into consideration when designing your own levels.

1. If characters exit a level by going *down* stairs, they will start on the next level at a position based on one of the following criteria:

   A) *Up* stairs directly below the exit point of the last level.

   B) The first set of *Up* stairs found on the new level, searching from the upper-left corner of the level to the lower-right corner.

   C) A blank square directly below the exit point of the last level.

   D) The first blank square found on the new level, searching from the upper-left corner of the level to the lower-right corner.

   E) If the program can't find a suitable starting point, it will load the next level and attempt to find a starting point there.

2. If characters exit a level by going *up* stairs, the above criteria also apply, but A and B will search for *down* stairs instead of *up*.

3. If characters go *down* pits, then the program uses criteria C, D, and E.

4. The starting point for level 1 is location X-19, Y-1.

5. When playtesting a level, the program will attempt to start your characters at the location shown in the editor window at the time you left the editor.

EDITOR ICONS AND KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

CHEST - 1
RELICS - 2
SCROLL - 3

STAIRS

DOWN - Z
UP - X

FOOD - Q
AMULETS - W
KEY - E

CHUTE - A
BELL - S

VORTEX

MONSTER 1 - D
MONSTER 2 - F

DIAGONALS

LEFT SOLID - C
RIGHT SOLID - V
LEFT VULNERABLE - B
RIGHT VULNERABLE - N

Note:  Vulnerable diagonals can be destroyed by crossbow fire.

ADDITIONAL KEY COMMANDS

MONSTER 1 -  G
MONSTER 2  - H

Use these keys to place single monsters on the level.

OBJECTS

Keys - Opens doors and locked chests.  All two-way doors require keys to open them, so carry as many keys as you can. (One-way doors do not require keys.)  Once you use a key it disappears, so you must constantly replenish your supply of keys.

Food - Increases (or decreases, in the case of poisoned food) health points.  Available food types are banquet, elf cakes, bread and water, and poison.

Monster 1 - The first monster you selected from the OPTIONS menu.  Select monster 1 or Monster 2 to place individual monsters in thelevel.

Monster 2 - The second monster you selected from the OPTIONS menu.

Sewer - The source of all rats except those placed individually under the Monster 1/Monster 2 options.  You cannot destroy sewers.

Vortex - The source of all the non-rat monsters except those placed individually under the Monster 1, Monster 2 options.  You can destroy vortexes with crossbow fire or a death spell.  When you choose a mage vortex you must also set the frequency with which Fanatical Mad Mages emerge from the vortex.  Choose from 0 to 7 (never to nearly always).  Fanatical Mad Mages are the deadliest monster type.

Relics

Helm of Defense - Increases your Armor attribute.
Warrior's Belt - Increases your Strength attribute.
Magician's Wand - Increases your Magic attribute.

Scrolls

Scrolls A, B and C - Displays the text you entered while in the construction set mode.  They have no magical properties.  You may have 3 different text scrolls per level.  Each scroll may contain up to two lines of text.

Death Scroll - Destroys monsters and vortexes.
Slow Death Curse - Continues to drain health points until you leave the level.
Score Bonus - Doubles all scores you receive during thenext thirty seconds of play.
Open all Doors - Opens all two way doors on the level.

Amulets

Note: an amulet's effect lasts less than thirty seconds.

Wall Walking - Lets players pass through walls.
Invisibility - Become invisible to all monsters.
Extra Speed -  Run faster.
Paralysis - Paralyzes the player.

Bells

Note:  A bell's magical effect lasts less than thirty seconds.

Time Stop - Stops all monsters and vortexes.
Confusion - Makes all monsters wander around aimlessly.
Summoning - Draws all monsters towards the bell.
Fear - Causes all monsters to run away from you.
Enrage - Bauses all monsters to move faster.

Chests

Locked - Requires a key to open.  Use this option in addition to any other options.
Treasure - Contains gold and jewels.
Scroll - Contains the scroll you select.
Relics - Contains the relic you select.
Key - Contains a key.
Amulet - Contains the amulet you select.
Food - Contains the type of food you select.

Artifacts

Sword of Slaying - Adds two to your strength attribute and raises your minimum strength to six.

Magic Shield - Adds two to your armor attribute and raises your minimum armour attribute to six.

Ring of Willpower - Adds two points to your magical attribute and raises your minimum magic attribute to six.  Protects you from being taken overby Calvrak's will on the 100th level.  (If you are taken over, your joystick will not respond properly to your commands)

Staff of Life - Resurrects any player once.  The staff automatically resurrects the dead player and disappears.  Only one Staff of Life can be carried by a player at a time.

Tips for Advanced Demon Stalkers

PLAYING THE GAME

- Parts of Arthur's journal are found on some levels of the dungeon. This journal contains important clues about Doomfane.  You can gain extra health points by correctly answering questions about Arthur's quest.

- Quickly pass by or over sewers.  They cannot be destroyed by crossbow fire or death spells.

- In two player games, stand and shoot side by side whenever the corridors are wide enough.

- Don't wake snappers!  Most levels can be completed without disturbing them.

- Kill monsters first.  *Then* go for the treasure.  If the treasure is trapped with an amulet of paralysis, you will be glad you did.

- Use your death scroll immediately when you see dervishes approaching. These monsters will steal it anyway... use it or lose it.

- In two-player games, each player should specialize.  Let one player pick up all the belts and helms and do most of the fighting.  Player two can grab all the wands and scrolls to become a powerful magic user.

- Slow death scrolls drain your health until you exit the level.  If you pick one up, get out of there *fast*.

- Some items keep ghosts imprisoned.  Watch what you grab when ghosts are around.

- The darker the monster, the more damage it can do.  Don't go wading into hordes of dark blue mages!

DUNGEON CONSTRUCTION

- Place some fast dervishes near the entrance to a level if you want your player to start the level without keys or scrolls.

- Create some panic.  Give a player a Slow Death curse on a level with a hidden goal.

- Create more panic.  With the right combination of colors and tiles, you can place an invisible vortex.

- Put mages behind vulnerable walls and give your players a sporting chance to get past-- *if* they move fast enough!

- Don't always go for the hack and slay approach.  Too many monsters just make a level tedious.  Invent a good satisfying puzzle, with fewer (maybe nastier) monsters.

- Use the Preserve and Restore functions as you edit to keep a copy of your level in memory, so you can *undo* changes that you don't like.

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Description from the packaging:

Welcome Warrior.

Fight through 99 mazes of non-stop action to get to the Demon on level 100.

Two players cooperate.

Protect your buddy's rear from the sharp teeth of the snappers. Or play alone if you've got the guts.

99 Different dungeon mazes.

The deeper you go the harder it gets. So don't wait 'til you're stuck by a slow death curse to Save Game.

Exciting graphics and action.

Plunge into 3D top down scrolling mazes that pull you into the action. Blast through walls. Charge down narrow hallways after treasure, keys, scrolls, and magic. Graphics so clear you can see the ghosts' shadows.

Fantastic story and clues.

Scrolls hold hints, magic, and the odd surprise. Some you want to read. Others you'll wish you hadn't.

Different monsters every level.

A death scroll is handy now, if you want to survive the Endless Corridor.

Includes a dungeon construction set.

Building levels is easy.

Pull down menus. Point and click editing. Amaze your friends with complex, complete mazes.

Over 200 design options.

Select color, floor patterns, monsters, magic, borders, goals, treasure, and more.

Tell your own story.

Leave behind your own scrolls, with messages both horrifying and bizarre.
