           - STAR HERITAGE -
    (C) "Step" creative group, 1995

      Storyline:   Yuriy Matveev
      Coding:      Sergey Shishlyannikov
      Graphics:    Dmitriy Usmanov
      Sound:       Yuriy Matveev

We're  proud to present our new project,
"Star Heritage"! You are a secret  agent
of  the  Central Union of Human Colonies
who has suffered a crash on  an  unknown
planet,   far   from   the  interstellar
routes.  The   user-friendly   interface
developed   especially   for  this  game
ensures comfortable gameplay.  The  com-
mands  are entered via a system of menus
instead of a text prompt.

The control  panel  is  located  in  the
lower  third  of the screen and consists
of several windows with different  func-
tions. Let's have a closer look at them.

The  leftmost  window displays your main
attributes. The five vertical bars  rep-
resent:

  H -- Health
  P -- Power
  S -- Stamina
  E -- Experience
  L -- Level

Health is  your  "life  energy".  If  it
   falls to zero you  will  die.  Health
   decreases   during   long  walks  and
   fights. Food, rest, and medicine will
   help regain Health.

Power is  a  measure  of  your  physical
   strength and is especially  important
   for close combat affecting the damage
   that your  strikes  inflict  on  your
   opponent.  Power  is  affected by the
   same factors as Health.

Stamina indicates  how  easily  you  can
   withstand  the  enemy's blows in com-
   bat. As with Health,  you  will  lose
   Stamina  during  walks  and regain it
   when resting.

Experience grows  throughout  the  game.
   The  more  you  have,  the easier you
   will be able to defeat your opponents
   and tolerate hardship.

Level affects  all your other attributes
   except Experience.  The  higher  your
   Level  the stronger and more enduring
   you are. A  higher  level  will  also
   make  you more powerful in close com-
   bat.  It  is  incremented  when  your
   experience reaches a maximum.

Experience  and  Level  can be increased
only through the exploration of the game
world.

The display to the right of the informa-
tion window shows the time of day repre-
sented by the sun's position in the sky.
It can show morning,  day,  evening,  or
night.  Resting  takes  a quarter of the
day, as does walking from  one  location
to another. The time of day is an impor-
tant factor as it affects the  behaviour
of  other  game characters. For example,
at night people  tend  to  sleep,  while
predators go hunting.

The  compass  in the centre of the panel
will help you travel across  the  planet
by  showing  the  directions  you can go
from  the  current  location  when   you
decide to move.

The  right  section  of the panel is the
command  menu.  It  will  allow  you  to
explore and interact with the game world
by  choosing  one   of   the   following
actions:

GO Allows  you  travel  to  an  adjacent
   location.  The  available  directions
   will  flash  on the compass. Remember
   that moving between locations takes a
   quarter  of  a  day.  That is, if you
   leave  in  the  morning  then  you'll
   arrive  at  the  next location during
   the day. If you don't want to go any-
   where, then choose Cancel.

REST will let you partially restore your
   Health, Stamina, and Power.  Remember
   that  constant  walking  without rest
   will lead to a quick loss of  energy.
   Be  wary  of  resting  for  too  long
   though as you may get cold  and  hun-
   gry;  and there are places where low-
   ering your guard and resting  can  be
   deadly.

INVENTORY shows the items you are carry-
   ing and lets you inspect them.

EXAMINE lets you inspect something which
   is not in your inventory.

USE is  the  most comprehensive command.
   In the course of the game you'll come
   across many objects usable in one way
   or another. For  example,  to  use  a
   door means to enter it. Sometimes you
   will need to specify a second,  indi-
   rect,  object, e.g.: use a key with a
   door to unlock it.

DROP lets you drop an unwanted  item  on
   the ground.

TAKE allows  you  to  pick  up  an item.
   There is a weight limit to  how  much
   you can carry, so be selective.

TALK is  used  to communicate with other
   characters. They may  have  items  or
   information  you need. If the charac-
   ter is willing to talk, you  will  be
   presented a list of phrases to choose
   from. Type the number of the required
   phrase to converse.

GIVE lets  you  give  an  item from your
   inventory to another  character.  Use
   it also to buy or sell things.

The menu list concludes with global game
commands:

MUSIC turns music on/off (128k only).

NEW GAME starts a new game.

CHANGE COLOR switches between color  and
   black  and  white  modes. Useful with
   black and white displays.

SAVE GAME saves your current progress to
   the  disk.  You can do it at any time
   using  one  of  the  four   available
   slots.

LOAD GAME loads a previously saved game.

Everything  above  concerned the mode of
exploration. The other mode in the  game
is that of combat. You will enter Combat
mode if  you  attack  somebody,  or  are
attacked yourself. When this happens the
combat music  will  play  and  the  word
'Combat!'  will appear on the screen. Be
ready,  for  as  soon   as   you   press
"Select", the fight will begin.

In Combat mode, an hourglass divides the
panel's right window, with your  statis-
tics  on the left and your opponent's on
the right. In each half, Health is shown
above  the heart icon and the power of a
strike above the picture of a fist.  The
latter  will  constantly  change and you
must strike blows when it is at a  maxi-
mum. The depleting sand in the hourglass
measures one combat turn  and  both  you
and  your  enemy  will  be  allowed  one
strike each per turn. You won't get much
time  for it, so be quick! The hourglass
will keep resetting  until  one  or  the
other is vanquished.

You  are  now ready to start playing. If
you have any questions or comments about
the game, please contact us at:

       125130, Moscow, PO box 51,
       "STEP" Creative Group.