WHEN ALEX DIDN'T DO IT
Version 1.3.1
(c)2014 Stephen Nichol

Notice: It is the author's intention
that the ZX Spectrum version of the
game When Alex Didn't Do It be freely
distributable with the stipulation that
the author's copyright remains
in effect. Recording and playback of
play events is permitted.

Content: Sci-fi adventure with
clean language, mild comedy,
and some combat elements.

Any similarity to persons living or dead
is purely coincidental.

SPECIAL THANKS: To Dizzykei - although we
 are strangers, he gave me lots of early 
feedback in the WoS forum about various bugs
 I had missed across, all three parts of 
WADDI, which I have now fixed.


CONTENTS

01. INTRODUCTION

02. LIST OF COMMANDS

03. CONTROLS - PHYSICAL ZX SPECTRUM  

04. CONTROLS - IN AN EMULATOR

05. AN UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF GAC

06. A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR

07. REALLY STUCK? SOME ADDITIONAL CLUES.

08. TRIVIA

09. PRE-RELEASE TEST RESULTS

10. KNOWN ISSUES (for trainspotter types)

11. CHANGES IN VERSION 1.1



01. INTRODUCTION

    Following the previous night's party, you 
    find yourself in familiar surroundings with
    some very unusual events taking place.

    When Alex Didn't Do It is a traditional
    style text adventure with graphics.

    For those who don't know already, 
    the concept is not dissimilar to the
    adventure style paper books with multiple
    paths, in which making the correct
    decisions will lead to the conclusion
    of the story.

    In order to progress through the game,
    words must be typed in, followed by return.

    Near the beginning of the game the difficulty
    of the controls is easier and less commands
    must be used, for example items are added
    to your inventory automatically during
    puzzle solving, whereas later you must look
    for the items and pick them up with the GET/
    TAKE command.

02. LIST OF COMMANDS

    This list of commands, accompanied by examples,
    can also be accessed at any time during the game 
    by typing HELP followed by RETURN.

    Please note: Unlike a compass, the direction
    indicator points to the direction you are 
    facing and NOT consistently North.

    COMMAND    PERFORMS ACTION:                                  QUICK COMMAND

    CLUE       In a few situations, there are clues available        N/A
               to aid in the completion of puzzles.                 

    NORTH      Move North by one map location.                        N                       

    EAST       Move East by one map location.                         E

    SOUTH      Move South by one map location.                        S  

    WEST       Move West by one map location.                         W

    UP         Move up one location                                   U

    DOWN       Move down one location.                                D

    LOOK       Redescribe the current room.                           L
               (useful following long lists of instructions,
               or the arrival of new objects, not yet described).

    OPEN       Open doors and containers.
               Example: OPEN BOX   

    EXAMINE    Describes objects of interest.                   X, EX, or EXAM
               Example: EXAMINE COMPUTER.

    GET        Adds a specified object to player inventory.          N/A   
               Example: GET KEY.

    DROP       Removes a specified object from the player inventory. N/A
	       Example: DROP KEY.
                                                        
    GIVE       Give an object in inventory to another character.     N/A
               Example: GIVE CLIVE MEDAL.

    USE        Use an available object (in inventory or room).       N/A
               Example: USE COMPUTER.

    INVENTORY  Lists the items in your inventory.                    INV

    STATS      Displays your score, turns, money acquired etc.       N/A

    PUNCH      Combat only - punch an opponent.                      N/A                      
    KICK       Combat only - kick an opponent.                       N/A       

    DODGE      Combat only - dodge an opponent's attack.             N/A

    WORDS      If you don't like my attempts at graphics, or you
               just prefer text only adventures, you can use this    N/A
               command to turn off the images.

    PICTURES   (Re)activates the in-game images.                     N/A 
 
    QUIT       Ends the current game.

    SAVE       Save your position to tape (or tape image).

    LOAD       Load a saved game from tape (or tape image).


    Games created with the GAC can accept multiple commands in a chain, 
    as long as they are seperated by the word then, for example:

    Go North THEN Go East THEN Examine shoes THEN get shoes.


03. CONTROLS - PHYSICAL ZX SPECTRUM

    In addition to the usual QWERTY etc. letter keys,
    the following keys are used in WHEN ALEX DOESN'T DO IT.

    Left 
    bracket (  Symbol shift + 8

    Right
    bracket )  Symbol shift + 9     
     
    Move
    Cursor     Caps Shift + 5 (On a 48K Rubber Keys)
    Left       Left Arrow  (On a 48k+ or 128k/+2/+3)

    Move
    Cursor     Caps Shift + 8 (On a 48k Rubber Keys)   
    Right      Right Arrow (On a 48k+ or 128k/+2/+3)

    Delete     Caps Shift + 0 (On a 48k Rubber Keys)
    text       Delete (On a 48k+ or 128k/+2/+3)

    Enter      Used at the end of each text command.


04. CONTROLS - IN EMULATOR

    There are some minor differences to keyboard 
    control when running this game in an emulator. 

    These differences are:
    
    IBM Compatible running Windows

    Left       
    bracket (  Shift + 8 not Shift + 9 as on IBM key.

    Right      
    bracket )  Shift + 9 not Shift + 0 as on IBM key.

    Delete    
    text       Ctrl  + 0
 

    Android (e.g. Spectaculator, Marvin)
    
    For emulators that offer keyboard control, the
    controls are the same as on an original,
    rubber keyed ZX Spectrum (see 5. The Physical
    ZX Spectrum Keyboard, above).

    Sticky-keys options available in the preferences
    of various emulators can make 2-key operation
    (for example, Symbol Shift + 8 to type a left
    bracket) easier, if required.         
    

05. AN UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF GAC
    
    The Graphic Adventure Creator was originally released
    for the Amstrad CPC 464 in 1985. It was later ported
    to the ZX Spectrum (by Brendan Kelly) and various other 
    computer systems available in the 1980s, including the 
    C64 and BBC Micro.

    At the time of the Graphic Adventure Creator's release
    on the ZX Spectrum in 1986, a competition was held to
    find the most well designed graphic adventure made using
    the software. The entrants games were to be judged by 
    "Tony Bridge, adventure game specialist and journalist" (from
    the competition flyer, World of Spectrum) and the closing 
    date was 30th November 1986. The winning prize was a publishing
    contract with Incentive Software, and the winner was Peter
    Torrance with 'The Legend of Apache Gold', which retailed for
    7.95. The game also appeared on the covertape of UK magazine
    Crash, Issue 73 (Crash Presents #9) in 1990.


06. A WAFFLE FROM THE AUTHOR

    Hello reader,
      As a recipient of a ZX Spectrum 48k + in March 1992, I was
    not perhaps introduced to the Sinclair computer at the best time
    This occurred because my first system was an Atari console -
    the VCS, later known as the Atari 2600.

    Being a ZX Spectrum owner out of time was an experience not
    without it's mockery in the schoolyard but, luckily some
    of my friends had up to date computers - one even had his
    old +2, relegated to a box on a shelf, and used to get out 
    the old speccy so he could share his gaming expertise.

    I often thought about writing my own software with my 48k +,
    especially after someone kind let me borrow a stack of
    programming magazines, but the general opinion of the
    Nintendo and SEGA owning kids in the playground was
    "Who would play it?"

    It's now 2014, and I've discovered that there actually are
    people who still make Spectrum and other retro software and 
    lots of them. Having some spare time due to a lifelong health
    condition that went undiscovered until I was in my thirties,
    I decided to finally have a go at making my own game. 

    Due to this being a multiload, it is the first game I started
    but, the second I am releasing - as it took longer to write.
    
    I hope you enjoy playing it.

    Stephen Nichol
    12th December 2014 
      
     
    DISCLAIMER: The author of this game's associaton
    with the creator and sellers of GAC extends only 
    to the ownership of a commercially available
    copy of the GAC game creation software. The
    author's comments are those of the author and
    in no way intended to represent those of
    Sean Ellis or any Incentive Software personnel.

   
07. REALLY STUCK? SOME ADDITIONAL CLUES.

    If the clues in the game are not helping,
    perhaps these riddles will.

    PART ONE

  * If he caught the whiff of a friend, a way o-- he might lend.

  * You'll have to cut through if you want to venture s---- too.

  * To get him off the phone, try a different t---.

  * If the beach is closed, talk to someone who k----.

  * What he asks you to gather, the s-------s do matter.

  * In this shop to save, try selling the a---------.

  * After you buy, follow the instructions on the d--.

  * To distract the detective, the c--- of duty would be effective.   


    PART TWO

  * If with reaching down you can't cope, try using a r---.

  * In the house of the Master, make some noise with the p----.

  * Tool up a technical friend and some help he might lend.

    PART THREE
   
  * At this stage I'm not going to provide clues for Part Three,
    as I don't want to take all the challenge out of the game.
   

08. TRIVIA
    
  * Work on When Alex Didn't Do It was started on the 18th July 2014.
    The first save was made on the 19th July 2014 at 1:03am.

  * Testing of the first load took place over 10 days, with the final
    version being completed on the 26th September at 8:59am (until
    some changes were made in December 2014).

  * An early version of the game had 75 rooms in the first load, this
    was reduced to increase the number of rooms with graphics.

  * All of the rooms with graphics are made up of merge elements - 
    carefully plotted lines, rectangles, and ellipses, which have been             
    joined together to make areas that look slightly different. This
    minimises RAM usage.

  * The ZX Spectrum version of GAC leaves 23194 bytes of RAM available
    to create your adventure in. The first load of When Alex Didn't
    Do It was completed with 65 bytes of available RAM remaining. Attempts
    at going lower than 65 bytes resulted in instabilities including
    objects, symbols, and words appearing that were not a part of
    this game.  

  * Initially load 2 of When Alex Didn't Do It contained the beginnings
    of a complex economy and healing system, including a somewhat
    dubiously managed private healthcare system that saw the player
    kicked out of their hospital bed with only partial health if
    they were not carrying much money. The hospital was removed
    and player healing simplified in order to remove bugs in the
    game and increase the number of puzzles the player had to solve.    
    

09. PRE-RELEASE TEST RESULTS

    Load Tests WADI Part One
    26/9/2014

    Loading To Start + Few Minutes Play
    (In Emulator)

    SINCLAIR MODELS 
    16k Rubber Keys - Not Applicable.
    48k Rubber Keys - Okay.
    48k + QL Style  - Okay.
    128k Toastrack  - Tape Loader = Okay, 48k Mode = Okay.
    
    AMSTRAD MODELS 
    128k +2 Grey    - Tape Loader = Okay, 48k Mode = Okay.
    128k +2A Black  - Tape Loader = Okay, 48k Mode = Okay.
    128K +2B Black  - No Emulator Support (Considered +3 w/tape drive).
    128K +3 W/Disk  - Loader (Tape/Disk?) = Okay, 48k = Okay.
    
    MILES GORDON TECHNOLOGY COMPUTERS
    SAM Coupe       - TO BE TESTED.
    SAM Elite       - TO BE TESTED

    CLONES
    (In Emulator)
    +3e             - Loader = Okay, 48k Mode = Okay.
    Pentagon 128    - Loader = Okay, 48k Mode = Okay.

    Load and complete playthrough (In emulator)
    01/01/2015
    All parts One, Two, and Three
    loaded as .tap into emulator in + 48k mode with
    successful playthroughs.

    06/01/2015
    Part One and Two of version 1.1 complete playthrough
    on 48k mode emulation = okay.

10. KNOWN ISSUES

    As of 2nd January 2015
    The following issues are known to be present in
    the game When Alex Didn't Do It.

    Part One - There is one known issue.

    a. In some rooms the decorative border has a vertical line of
       1 pixel width in black ink, most probably due to the well
       known ZX Spectrum attribute clash problem.

    Part Two - There are no known issues.

    Part Three - One known issue.

    a. After using the signal gun to complete a puzzle,
       an unwanted message 'you need a -----' is displayed
       once and not again thereafter.

11. CHANGES IN VERSION 1.3

    There are five minor changes in this version when compared to Version 1.0.

    i.  Since Version 1.1, Upper case 'X' or lower case 'x' can now be used to examine         items (ex, exam, and examine also remain usable).

    ii. Since Version 1.1, a bug in Part Three, affecting the BLUE CONSOLE has been            fixed.

    iii.Since Version 1.2, a bug in Part One, which displayed the end of game message
        in the South East of the game has been removed.

    iv. From Version 1.3, the amount of money the player can obtain at different
        stages in the WADDI Part Two has been altered, in order that the player cannot
        become stuck with the wrong items.

    v.  From Version 1.3, there have been slight graphical changes in the Southwest of         the map, where the player meets the c-----, including a direction arrow being
        changed from East to West. 

    

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