Keyboard Operation
Though this really is a 32-bit Windows program, I wanted to retain the feel of the original DOS program, which of course was controlled completely via the keyboard. Thus, the entire interface to this program is also entirely keyboard-controlled. Letters in bold indicate which character to type, to execute a command.
Movement
North/East/West/South - Move your character in the specified direction.
Note: the Cursor keys also move the character.
Look (AKA Lamp) - Asks user for a direction, then looks in that direction (only if character has the Eternal Lamp). Note: the Shift-Cursor keys will look with a single keystroke instead of two, again only if you have the Eternal Lamp.
In the original Wizard's Castle, the Lamp command was used to show what was in adjacent rooms when you entered a new square. However, anyone who has played the game knows that the first thing one does when entering a new room is Look in all directions, which ends up dominating all the game keystrokes. So I modified the game such that, if one has the Eternal Lamp and enters a new square, they automatically look in all directions. As a result, the Look command doesn't have a fundamental role in the game anymore, though it *will* give you identity and level of adjacent monsters.
Up/Down - Climb a set of stairs (only if you're standing on them, of course!!)
Flare - Identifies contents of all adjacent squares, including diagonals. This is mainly of significant value only if one chooses to play without the Eternal Lamp. Not that, in the current implementation, the shops don't sell Lamps, so if you don't buy one during character creation, there's almost no way to get one later. (Actually, there is a way to get one later, if one looks hard enough).
Special Commands
Open - Open a book or chest. As might be expected, these can have good or bad effects!!
Gaze - Gaze into the crystal orbs that are scattered around the place. Stories about being able to see into the future in this way are likely to be apocryphal.
Trade - Trade with a vendor (if there's one around)
telePort - Jump around like a maniac
dRink - Drink from a pool. Rumor has it that this can sometimes have a more useful effect than just helping you recover from last night's hangover.
Jewels - Toggle between the statistics window and a special-information window which shows current gems held, any active curses, and another bit or two of info that might be useful.
ESCape - terminate the program. Note that this a rather laid-back game, if you say quit, it just quits, it doesn't ask you if you know what you're talking about.
Copyright © 2005-2006 Cathartes Aura