Madness and the Minotaur TRS-80 Color Computer Instructions | Madness and the Minotaur Solution

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Madness and the Minotaur

Madness and the Minotaur Instructions For TRS-80 Color Computer

The following Madness and the Minotaur instruction manual was originally found on The Color Computer Documentation Page, located at http://coco_docs.tripod.com/.

Introduction

King Minos, one of the sons of Zeus and also the King of Crete, has erected a huge labyrinthine castle with the intention of using it as a prison. In the past, anyone confined to the Labyrinth could never escape and was either killed or went mad while trying to escape.

Rumor has it that there are treasures hidden in the vicinity of the Labyrinth. Are these treasures worth risking life or sanity? If your answer to this question is negative or you are plagued with skepticism, it is suggested that you re-evaluate your priorities and establish some healthy materialism.

King Minos has taken many precautions to prevent you from escaping from the maze with his treasures. Word has it that one of the obstacles encountered inside the maze will be the Minotaur, a man with the head of a bull, who has an insatiable taste for human flesh. King Minos feeds fourteen fresh Athenians to the Minotaur a year. The Minotaur would like nothing better than a fifteenth for dessert.

There are seven creatures with six treasures divided among them, so if you meet one of these, it may have a treasure. Then again it may not. In addition to the Minotaur, you'll also have to beware of the Hydra, a multi-headed serpent, the Troglodyte, a brutish Neanderthalean cave-dweller, the Scorpion, with its stinging tail, and the Satyr, an offensive goat-man. The Sprite and the Nymph must also be eliminated to see if they have treasures. At any time, you can lose your balance inside this horrific maze and fall to your death.

This task does sound difficult; however, there is help available. A lost Oracle (a prophet) wandering through the halls of the Labyrinth can help you find your way. When you find the Oracle, ask him a question and receive an answer which will be given in terms that may sound like a riddle. A crazy Oracle is not especially gifted at giving clear instructions. He'll try to tell you what you need to obtain a certain object or to kill a certain creature. The Oracle's information may not be useful until you have advanced further into the maze and have gathered spells.

There are several objects which are protected by certain magic spells. These objects may only be released if you have previously acquired the secret spells.

Two-hundred forty points is the maximum score.

Equipment Requirements

To embark on your treasure hunt, you will need a TRS-80 16K or 32K Color Computer, a color television, and a cassette recorder. If you want to save a game and continue playing later, you will need a blank cassette tape.

Loading Madness and the Minotaur

1. Connect the Color Computer to the television.
2. Make sure the cassette recorder is properly connected to the Color Computer.
3. Insert the Madness and the Minotaur cassette tape into the recorder. Rewind the tape.
4. Press the "Play" button on the recorder.
5. Turn on the Color Computer. Turn on the television, making sure it is tuned to channel 3 or 4.

The screen will show:

COLOR BASIC, v.r.
(C) 1980 Tandy
OK

To load the program, type [CLOADM] and press [ENTER]. When the OK appears on the screen, you will know that the game has loaded. Type [EXEC] and press [ENTER].

The screen will show:

WELCOME TO THE LABYRINTH!!
BEWARE OF THE MINOTAUR AND GOOD LUCK.

Which Way to Go?

At the beginning of the program, you have the option of pressing [ENTER]or selecting a direction. Elsewhere in the program, you will always be given your options, such as "There is a hole in the North wall." For your selection, just press [N] and [ENTER]for North, etc.

You can usually return to a previous position by selecting the opposite direction from your previous directional choice. It is very easy to end up going in circles if you don't keep a mental note of your position and your last directional choice. It is recommended that you try to make a map indicating where you start and to which rooms you end up when you select a direction.

You can review your last move or read a long room description by pressing the [UP] key. Return to your current position by pressing the [Down] key.

Using Verbs in Commands

Along your way, you might encounter a remark such as: "There is a bottle on the floor." To pick up the bottle, type [GET BOTTLE] and press [ENTER]. Later, it may be essential to have certain items to obtain one of the spells. Sometimes it may be necessary to have a certain spell to [GET] a certain object. It's all a vicious circle. To refresh your mind as to which objects you have accumulated, type [INV] and press [ENTER].

Using the verb, [JUMP], will also come in handy.

If you find that you have to interrupt your adventure but don't want to quit, leave the computer on and type [QUIET] press [ENTER], and the game will stop. You can resume your task by typing [W] If you want to quit altogether, type [UNCLE] and press [ENTER]. If you use the UNCLE command and leave the computer on, you won't have to reload the game to start over.

Obtaining Spells

There are particular rooms in the Labyrinth where spells can be learned. When you [ENTER] a room and the description on the screen says, "The air is crackling with enchantment," you will know that one of the spells can be learned in this room. The spell will automatically be given to you if you are carrying the correct objects or have previously picked up the correct objects and learned the correct spells. You will need two objects to learn the first spell. To learn subsequent spells, you may need other spells and certain objects.

The spells are named: VETAR, CROM, MITRA, AKHIROM, OKKAN, ISHTAR, BELROG, and NERGAL. The spells will provide you with the following strengths and magical abilities:

* Open blocked passages.
* Restore a lamp to you.
* Cure a scorpion bite.
* Find treasures.
* Kill the monsters.
* Dispel fog.
* Guarantee that a jump is successful.
* Protect you from evil spirits.

(et al.)

You must determine which spell or combination of spells does what. Paying attention to the Oracle's riddle should help.

Scoring

You receive ten points for each of 16 treasures which can be found. (Twenty objects appear to be treasures but four are "dummies" for which you will receive no points.) Just for holding a treasure, you get five points, but, you get five more points for each treasure when you escape from the Labyrinth into the forest. For learning a magic spell, you get ten points.

Carrying treasures and objects, killing creatures, and searching the Labyrinth is bound to drain your energy. To see your score and determine your physical condition, type [SCORE] and press [ENTER]. If your physical condition is deteriorating, you may need to rest or have a snack. You'll feel better after some rejuvenation. You can also build your physical strength by walking through an enchanted aura.

Keep in mind that you may need to [JUMP] often and that the more items you accumulate, the heavier you become.

Pay attention to bodies of water and strange curtains. And it is very important to turn your [LAMP ON] in dark places.

Depending on what room you have [ENTER]ed, you may by able to go diagonally up or down.

To converse with the Oracle, you can [ASK ORACLE].

When you [ENTER] certain rooms, or obtain certain objects, it may be helpful to [LOOK] at whatever is in your presence at that time.

To evade creatures, you may have to [RUN] occasionally.

Turn off the lamp when not in use. The lamp burns oil and is refillable.

The Sprite can move objects not in your possession to random rooms; however, it cannot do this in the first floor room with music or if it is dead.

If "the ground begins to shake" and the doors of the room you are in block, you are stuck unless you know CROM. If you [ENTER] a room with a blocked passage, you can go [BACK] for 15 seconds and that will put you in the previous room you occupied.

The Labyrinth is a four level structure with 64 rooms on each floor.

Always keep in mind that the adventure will change each time you reload the program. The objects may be found in different rooms, learning the spells may require different objects, and the monsters may be encountered in different rooms and killed with different combinations of spells and objects.

Saving a Game

If you have to interrupt your journey and use your Color Computer for other purposes, you may save your progress up to this point. When you start over, you will begin at the exact place you stopped, holding everything you had earlier. To save the game, you'll need a blank tape.

With the intention of saving a game, type [QUIET] and press [ENTER].

Remove the Madness and the Minotaur program tape.

Insert a blank, rewound tape in the cassette recorder.

Press the "Play" and "Record" buttons on your tape recorder.

Type [!] and press [ENTER].

(If the data is not saved correctly, an inverse H (I/O error) will appear in the upper right hand corner of the screen.)

Loading the Saved Game

If you want to continue the Labyrinthine adventure (from where you left off), follow these instructions.

Load the Madness and the Minotaur Program tape (as described in the Loading Instructions).

After you have the program loaded, type [QUIET] and press [ENTER]. Remove the Program tape from the recorder.

Put the "Saved" Data tape in the recorder and make sure it is rewound.

Press the "Play" button on the recorder.

Type [)]and press [ENTER].

The game should start at the point where you saved it.

 

Madness and the Minotaur Solution

Need help winning the game? Check out the Madness and the Minotaur Help Page at http://www.figmentfly.com/madnessandtheminotaur/btritico/index.html. This site was created by Brian Tritico (btritico@yahoo.com)

Check out the Madness and the Minotaur Maps at http://www.figmentfly.com/madnessandtheminotaur/hungrysponge/index.html. This site was created by Stephen St. John.

Check out the Computer Archeology site for the COMPLETE Madness and the Minotaur walkthough that Christopher Cantrell created : http://computerarcheology.com/CoCo/MadnessMinotaur/walkthrough/.

If you have a walkthrough for Madness and the Minotaur, I'd love to add it to the site. If you have one, or would just like to reminice about the game, drop Sean a line at figment@figmentfly.com.

This document was last updated on 6/8/19.

Maintained by Sean Murphy (figment@figmentfly.com)