
Thanks for downloading Last Resort! I hope you enjoy it. Last Resort is a large, serious story (I'm reluctant to call it a game, but the word is proably unavoidable) written in the Inform 6 language. Inform was created by Graham Nelson.
 
In this readme file:

1. Legal notice.
2. How to get started.
3. Suggestions for players.
4. How to report a bug.

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1. Legal notice.

Last Resort is (c) 2006 Jim Aikin. All rights reserved, including the right of electronic distribution. Last Resort is freeware, which means you're free to use it and make copies for a few personal friends (upper limit -- four or five), provided that this readme file and all other accompanying materials are included with the copy. However, you're not allowed to post Last Resort on a website without permission from me, and you're not allowed to create adaptations or derivative works (electronic or otherwise).

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2. How to get started.

If you're entirely new to Interactive Fiction, you need to understand that the game file (LastResort.ulx) is not a program. That is, it won't run by itself. In order to play the game, you need an interpreter program.

If you're using a Macintosh, you can choose Spatterlight or Zoom. Spatterlight is available from http://ccxvii.net/spatterlight/. (It requires OS 10.3.9 or higher.) Zoom is available from http://www.logicalshift.co.uk/unix/zoom/.

If you're using a Windows PC, you can choose Windows Glulxe or Gargoyle.

Windows Glulxe is available from the Interactive Fiction Archive (www.if_archive.org) in the programming/glulx/interpreters/glulxe directory (http://www.ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXprogrammingXglulxXinterpretersXglulxe.html). Down near the bottom of the page is a link from which you can download WinGlulxeInstaller.exe.

Gargoyle can be downloaded from http://ccxvii.net/gargoyle/. It can be used to play games in many different formats, not just .ulx and the older .z5/.z8 format from which .ulx is derived. Note, however, that as of November 2006, Gargoyle uses a program called Git version 1.1.0 to run .ulx games. Git 1.1.0 doesn't seem to be able to run Last Resort without errors. Subsequent releases should be better. If you launch Gargoyle and see "Git 1.1.0" in the title bar, you need to make a change. If you want to use Gargoyle (which does look nicer than Windows Glulxe), go to the Program Files > Gargoyle directory, delete or rename git.exe, and change the name of the file glulxe.exe to git.exe.

After installing the interpreter on your computer, you can use any of the standard methods (the File > Open box, etc.) to load the game.

After playing for a while, you need to SAVE your game. This is like putting a bookmark in a book. You do this by typing 'save' and then giving your computer a filename. When you want to continue at another time, you need to launch the interpreter, load LastResort.ulx, type the word 'restore' when you see the prompt, and direct the software to the game file you want to restore. (In most interpreters, it's not possible to load a saved game from the interpreter's own menu.)

I've seen interpreters that neglected to put the suffix .sav on the end of a saved game file. If you can't seem to restore a saved game, check to make sure that the game file ends with the .sav file extension.

A full set of instructions on how to play interactive fiction can be viewed at any time within Last Resort by using the command 'help with software'. Simply typing 'help' will give some additional instructions.

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3. Suggestions for players.

Last Resort is a difficult game. Unless you're fiendishly clever, it's not likely that you'll finish it in one or two sessions. A couple of the puzzles are timed, but not in obvious ways, so I'd suggest that you save the game after accomplishing various tasks using different filenames. There are a number of things you can do to lose the game (that is, your character will die horribly), and only one way to reach a happy ending.

In most circumstances, you'll be told what you did to lose, but there is one circumstance in which you can die without being told in so many words what you did to cause that to happen. This is not a bug. Experienced IF players may want to think about whether they've been "on auto-pilot," doing what comes naturally without thinking about the dramatic situation.

The game contains a complete built-in hint system. The hints are password-protected -- but this is not intended to frustrate anybody. The idea is to allow experienced players to avoid temptation. To learn the password, simply send an email to me at midiguru23@sbcglobal.net and ask for it. If I'm not available, you can post a message on the newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction, and someone else will help you. Better still, post a message on rgif asking for help with one specific puzzle rather than for the password. That way you won't be tempted to use the hints over and over. (Another way to avoid temptation is with the handy 'hints off' command, which disables the hints for the remainder of your current run-through.)

I can't promise to provide email hints on specific topics.

If you're having a problem in the course of the story, another option would be to ask the characters you meet about the object you're struggling with. There are a number of characters in Last Resort, and one or another of them may offer useful information (either because they like you, or because they're being careless and don't take you seriously).

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4. How to report a bug.

Last Resort has been extensively tested prior to release. But as with any other computer software, the initial release is not likely to be entirely free of bugs. If you spot anything that looks weird or nonsensical, please let me know about it so that I can fix it!

Copy as much of the text as you can leading up to where the problem occurs, as this will help me pinpoint the cause. Many interpreters have a 'scrollback' feature that puts the text into a mode where you can drag across it with the mouse and then use the standard copy command. Paste the output into an email to me (midiguru23@sbcglobal.net), or copy it into a text editor or word processor and send me an attached file.

I promise not to use your email address to send you spam, but if and when there's an updated release of the game, I'll let you know about it.

Problems that I'd like to know about include missing text, text with typos, objects that disappear or reappear for no reason, objects that are described in ways that don't make sense given your actions, or dramatic situations that seem bizarre.

The time shown on the grandfather clock in the front hall does not agree with the time shown on the status line. This is not a bug.

