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Welcome to Project 64!

The goal of Project 64 is to preserve Commodore 64 related documents
in electronic text format that might otherwise cease to exist with the
rapid advancement of computer technology and declining interest in 8-
bit computers on the part of the general population.

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for these limitations, alterations, and possible omissions.

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document. Finally, the document is given a .TXT extension.

The author(s) of the original document and members of Project 64 make
no representations about the accuracy or suitability of this material
for any purpose.  This etext is provided "as-is".  Please refer to the
warantee of the original document, if any, that may included in this
etext.  No other warantees, express or implied, are made to you as to
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members of Project 64 will assume liability for damages either from
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or modification to this etext. Therefore if you read this document or
use the information herein you do so at your own risk.

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The Project 64 etext of the ~TAI-PAN manual~, converted to etext by
Mikkel Hastrup <rkufm5@algonet.se>.

TAIPAN10.TXT, May 1997, etext #231#

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TAI-PAN [big letters] tm

It's programme code, graphic representation and artwork are the
copyright of Ocean Software Limited and may not be reproduced, stored,
hired or broadcast in any form whatsoever without the written
permission of Ocean Software Limited. All rights reserved worldwide.
Tai-Pan runs on the Commodore 64/128 micro computer.

TAI-PAN

The year is 1841 . . . The traders of Britain, Europe and America are
sailing the waters of east in search of their fortunes.

Twenty years earlier the Emperor of China had decreed that the
purchase of China's goods could only be paid with silver bullion. The
demand for Tea, Silk and Jade was causing a massive balance of trade
deficit almost bankrupting the Trading Nations. Then a lone ship "The
Vagrant Star" under the construction of The East India Company sailed
to Canton with a cargo of illicit contraband. The Chinese traders
bought the cargo and paid for it in silver bullion. A way had been
found to reduce the deficit. Over the twenty years the trade in
contraband grew so much that the revenue from its sale outstripped the
need for silver bullion to buy legitimate goods.

Trade was once more balanced. The independent traders began to amass
great fortunes and fleets of ships and the leader formed their own
trading companies and began to monopolise the trade. The chinese named
these men Tai-Pan (Supreme Leaders) and the greates of these was THE
TAI-PAN.

The waters of the China seas were hostile, with both weather and
pirates taking their toll of the traders ship and profits. The weather
held its own dangers; at certain times of the year TAI-FUNG (Supreme
Winds), known to the traders as Typhoons became terror incarnate.
There was a little or no escape form the raging winds, the driving
rain and waves in excess of hundred feet. Ships were thrown off
course, battered to pieces on the merciless, hazardous coastline or
just swept under, never to be seen again.

As trade between the many ports in the China seas was increasing all
the time, the merchants used the natives and their towns as safe
havens from the terrible storms and scondary trading posts between
Europe and the Far East . . .

Now the stage is set for you to make your fortune and become the
Merchant Prince . . . THE TAI-PAN.

LOADING
CASSETTE
Position the cassette in your Commodore recorder with the printe side
upwards and make sure that it is rewound to the beginning. Ensure that
all the leads are connected. Press the SHIFT key and the RUN/STOP key
simultanelously.

Follow the screen instruction - PRESS PLAY ON TAPE. This program will
then load automatically. For C128 loading type GO 64 (RETURN), then
follow C64 instruction. When loading is complete press FIRE BUTTON to
start.

DISK
Select 64 mode. Turn on the disk drive, insert the program into the
drive with the label facing upwards, type LOAD"*",8,1 (RETURN), the
introductory screen will appear and the program will then load
automatically.

CONTROLS
JOYSTICK (Port 2)

                    UP                   KEYBOARD
                   /|\                   Q         -UP
                    |                    Z         -DOWN
         LEFT  <----+----> RIGHT         I         -LEFT
                    |                    P         -RIGHT
                   \|/                   N         -FIRE
                  DOWN                   SPACE BAR -TOGGLE ICONS
FIRE - FIRE
SPACEBAR - TOGGLE ICONS

THE GAME
You enter the game penniless, no money, no ships, no assets. Your
ambition is to become THE TAI-PAN. You begin in the town of Canton and
must try to find someone to lend you enough money to buy and equip a
ship and still leave you enough to get a crew and buy goods to trade.
The money lent to you must be repaid within six months or your
benefactor will lose face and you will lose your head!

Your assets an status are displayed in the message window beneath the
icons.

This area is also reserved for displaying the current item in your
possession.

SHIP
You have one follower, your son, he will fetch and carry things for
you but you must do everything else. You must wander the town to try
to find a friendly benefactor, havin raised a lon of $ 300,000 you
must go to the bank and buy a ship. You will be given a choice of
three :

LORCHA - $ 150,000 - a smugglers ship, (fast), cargo space = 10 units,
2 cannons, 6 crew

CLIPPER - $ 250,000 - Standard traders ship, (moderate), cargo space =
30 units, 4 cannons, 12 crew

FRIGGATE - $ 400,000 - Gunship, used by the Navy and the Pirates,
(slow), cargo space = 30 units, 8 cannons, 24 crewmembers

The way you wish to fulfil your ambitions should determine your choice
of ship. If you wish to smuggle contraband, then you should choose the
Lorcha.

If you wish to trade peacefully with the Law (appart from the
indiscreption), you should choose the Clipper. If you wish to become a
Privateer, then you should choose the Friggate. You can still pirate
in any of the ships but because of the lack of fire power in the two
smaller ships, it is advisable that you use the Friggate. Conversely
you can use the Friggate for trading or the Clipper for smuggling but
their lack of speed makes them unsuitable for these tasks.

CREW
Once you have purchased your ship, you must find a crew. These can
either be emploued (found in the Inns) or if you wish to conserve your
money, they may be press-ganged. Remember, a paid crew is liable to be
more loyal to you than a forced crew.

To be successful at press-ganging it is suggested you only attempt it
on drunks and exhausted men, with a truncheon. If you attempt it on a
fit man he is liable to fight back or call the Bannermen.

If you are arrested by the Bannermen you wil have to spend 30 days in
jail and if you are caught three times you will be beheaded.

When you are successful in the press-ganging, your follower(s), your
son at the beginning, will take them to the ship. If you do not have a
follower with you then you will be unable to press-gang as carrying
the body will prove impossible alone. Once you have enough crew to
sail your ship, you must buy stores, arms and goods to trade with.
These can be bought at the differing locations in the town.

GAMBLING *
You may find a gambling den (in certain buildings) and be invited to
take part. The game is based on a reace between the chinese mythical
beings represented by their years. These are: Deer, Horse, Fish, Cow,
Sheep and Dragon. The tiles represent the different creatures and odds
are given on each of the creatures gaining enough of the tiles to win
the race.

When you enter the Den you will be asked if you wish to play; if you
agree, then you will be asked to choose which creatures you wish to
back (the odds are displayed beneath each tile), moving the joystick
left or right will highlight the options and pressing will make you
choice. You will then be asked the amount of stake you wish to place.
A counter will start at $ 10 up to $ 1000. Pressing fire will stake
the bet and also start the race.

The tiles at the top of the screen will rotate and stop randomly, each
time they stop the tile shown will be added to the pile of that
creatures tile.

When one of the pilse reaches 10 tiles they are the winner. If you
have won you will be credited with your winnings and asked if you want
to continue playing. If you say yes you will be able to choose again,
if you say no you will be place outside the building.

SMUGGLERS
You might be approached by smugglers within the towns, or you could
discover a smugglers den. They might try to sell you contraband, this
is very dangerous to trade in but very profitable. If the police catch
you with contraband you will be imprisoned and your goods forefitted.
The smugglers price is fixed for buying and selling when in town but
marked changes will vary the price at each port visited.

CARGO
Certain items you have to buy will also take up cargo space. 1 unit of
cargo space = 1 unit of food (20 man weeks supply, you cannot split
the units) 1 unit of cargo space = 1 unit of cannon shots (12 shots)

Once you have your supplies and goods you must find your ship and set
sail.

When on board you will be able to choose your course, assuming you
have bought the equipment and maps, to travel to the myriad of ports
available to you to trade.

SHIPPING ROUTES
When choosing your shipping routes you should take note of the time of
year (the weather) and the safety of certain routes. If you follow the
safest routes there is little chance of meeting pirates but the les
safe the route the more chance of being attacked.

The safer routes are longer and these routes only allow you to trade
along the coasts. To trade further afield you must accept the possible
consequences of sailing across the seas. When using the map, as long
as your ship follows a shipping route, time will be represented as
passing quicker (as shown on the calendar). This is to avoid long
stretches of time when little is happening. If the wind direction
changes or the weather alters or ship enters a play area, you will be
returned to real time.

To speed up or slow your ship down you must select the sails icon by
pressing fire, then moving your joystick up or down will raise or
lower sails as necessary. This will affect you travel time when using
the map.

To steer your ship you must be in steering mode (Ships weel icon, this
is the default). When in this mode moving left or right will make the
ship turn.

Remember these are sailing ships and therfore to gain their maximum
speed they must have the wind at their stern.

ISLANDS*
You will be able to land on an Island when at sea. (These will not be
shown on the maps bot will show up on the screen when in plan mode).
Sail into the islands and deposit goods which may not be wise to carry
(i.e.  contraband to one of the ports that will not tolerate it), or
arrange to meet smuggler there to arrange larger deals.

FOOD SUPPLIES
You must feed your crew throughout the journey, this is done by
selecting the "feed" icon. When you will be presented with a menu,
telling you your current food stocks and your crew numbers. You will
be asked to choose the level of rations you wish to issue. (Remember
to maintain full stamina levels your crew should be fully fed; If you
do not feed your crew, there is a possibility that they may mutiny).
If you have underestimated your travelling time, it may be necessary
to give reduced rations towaeds the end of a journey, but this should
be done sparingly. Food is not transferable from one journey.

COMBAT
If you choose to become a Privateer you will be able to sail the seas
and pick and choose the ships you wish to attack, which is achieved by
selecting the combat icon. This will give you control of your cannons
as you sail your ship into an attack position. Then by pressing fire,
the screen will clear and you will be shown a display depicting your
cannons and the enemy ship on the horizon, by moving left or right you
will be able to choose the cannon you wish to fire, by moving the
joystick up and down you will be able to alter the evelation of the
cannon, pressing fire to shoot from the nominated cannon. As this shot
travels you will be able to prepare another cannon (if you have more
than 1 on that side) and will be able to fire a broadside of shot
using this method.

If the ship moves out of range, pressing space will drop you into plan
mode to allow you to manoeuvre to continue the attack. When you have
disabled the vessel or it has stopped of its own accord you will be
able to board, (remember if you wish to capture the ship intact to
increase your assets you should be careful with your shooting).

BOARDING
Boarding is accomplished by sailing alone-side, when you are close
enough you will be place on the boarding screen and the object is to
secure the ship, by killin the Captain. You will represent each member
of your crew, as you lose a life you will lose one of your crew
members, lose too many and you will be unable to sail your own ship.
Each crew of the opposing ship is a representative of that ships
total, therefore the less crew you kill the more chance you have of
leaving a crew to man the ship for you (once you have captured the
ship, if you spare their lives they will be loyal to you).

If you capture the ship intact you will be able to command it to go to
port on your behalf and its assets and worth become your property. If
you have severely damaged it or killed to many crew members for it to
be sailed, then you will be able to offload the cargo, and anything
else you can carry onto your ship. If you are being defeated on the
enemy ship you will be able to retreat to your own ship and by
selecting the QUIT icon (represented by a ship) you will abandon the
attack.

When you are fighting you will have a choice of 2 weapons (assuming
you have purchased muskets and shot). The sword (which cannot be lost)
is used in hand to hand fighting and the musket for long range shots
(the amount of musket shot you can use is dependant of the amount you
bought when in port). As you fight you will lose stamina (represented
by the bar on the screen), when you run out of stamina your man dies.
If you have not fed your men poperly this will show on their stamina
rating.

NOTE
When you capture a ship and send it to port, there is a possibility
that the ship may be lost in bad weather or it might be attacked by
another ship, this is a gamble you will have to accept if you wish to
increase your assets.

There is a possibility that you may be attacked by other ships, they
could shoot at you and also if they have a faster ship they could pull
along side and attempt to board you. When they attempt to board you,
you must endeavour to kill as many of the enemy as possible, if you
manage to eliminate a major part of the crew then you will have
repelled the boarders and they will leave. If they manage to over-run
your ship you will have lost. If this is your only ship the game will
end, if you have more than one ship a random element "JOSS" (luck)
will decide whether you survive.

PORT
To enter port after a voyage you will see Harbours on the sea screen,
by sailing into these harbours you will be taken into port. Once in
Port you must find the warehouse and bank to trade the goods and ships
you have acquired on your voyage. Then you must re-stock and set sail.
If you have more than one ship in port when you return to Macau, you
will be able to choose the ship you wish to sail next and then send
the ohter ships to sea.

They will trade in legitimate cargo and their purchases and sales will
be debited and credited to your account as they trade.

Remember even if you do not send the ships to sea they will continue
to cost your wages and food bills.

When the loan is due, you will return to Canton where you must repay
it all or lose your head. Now with your own assets, set sail again and
endeavour to your increase your wealth and status until you reach the
pinnacle of your ambition. . . to become THE TAI-PAN.

PLAYING HINTS
Tai-Pan can be played in a variety of ways, depending on your wishes.
It can be played as a straight game, by concentrating on the trading
element and avoiding all other contact. It can be played as an arcade
adventure with all the relevant puzzle solving or it can also be
operated virtually as a shoot-em-up, by buying a Clipper,
press-ganging a crew and pirating the seas.

Tai-Pan is best enjoyed as a mixture of all these elements. When in
port at the start of the game we suggest that you purchase the
sextant, compass, maps and telescope, otherwise various options will
not be open to you and sailing will take a long period of time.

When partaking of the ports delights it may be worth while remembering
that if you become drunk or exhausted you may also be liable to be
press-ganged and end the game.

When you buy your first ship we suggest you buy the Lorcha. If you
attempt to trade with the Clipper you will be unable to buy stocks and
the only way to amass stores will be to pirate other ships.

STATUS
When you end the game, either by choice or by getting killed, you will
be informed of your final status, which is determined by the amount of
cash and assets in your possession at that time.

In ascending order these are:
Slave - Drunk - Bankrupt- Peasant - Cabin Boy - Oarsman
Rigger ($ 100,000) - Deckhand ($ 150,000) - Lookout ($ 200,000) -
Steersman ($ 300,000) - Cadet ($ 350,000) - 2nd Mate ($ 400,000) -
1 st Mate ($ 500,000) - Captain($ 600,000) - Shipowner ($ 750,000) -
Trader ($ 1,000.000) - Merchant($ 2,000.000) - Master Merchant
($ 4,000.000) - Merchant Prince ($ 5,000.000) - TAI-PAN ($6,000.000+)

* - Commodore Disk only.

TOWN SCENE ICONS

SELL              - Money bag up with down arrow
BUY               - Money bag down with down arrow
PICK UP/DROP      - Hand with arrow
SAVE              - Tape with down arrow
LOAD              - Tape with up arrow
SAVE/LOAD         - 3D box (looks like an disk drive)

SAILING SCENE ICONS

MAP               - A map
RAISE/LOWER SAILS - A ship with sail
STEER             - A steering wheel
COMBAT            - A cannon
FEED CREW         - Big Chicken
TELESCOPE         - Sort of pipeline in 3D
WIND DIRECTION    - Text "WIND" and an arrow

COMBAT SCENE ICONS

SWORD             - A sword
MUSKET            - A musket
ABANDON BATTLE    - Big ship with cannon at ocean next to another.

TAI-PAN
This software product has been carefully developed and manufactured to
the highest quality standards. Please read carefully the instructions
for loading, IF FOR ANY REASON YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY IN RUNNING THE
PROGRAM, AND BELIEVE THAT THE PRODUCT IS DEFECTIVE, PLEASE RETURN IT
DIRECT TO:  MR. YATES, OCEAN SOFTWARE LIMITED, 6 CENTRAL STREET,
MANCHESTER M2 5NS.

Our quality control department will test the product and supply an
immediate replacement if we find a fault. If we cannot find a fault
the product will be returned to you at no charge. Please note that
this does not affect your statutory rights.

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End of the Project 64 etext of the TAI-PAN manual.

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