Little Computer People CONTENTS Getting Started............................................2 Moving In..................................................3 Care and Feeding...........................................4 Recreation and Relaxation..................................7 Keyboard Communication.....................................7 Playing Games..............................................7 Observations..............................................13 GETTING STARTED Loading Instructions for the Commodore Amiga Follow the manufacturer's instructions for connecting the Amiga's sound output to your stereo system or monitor. 1. Turn on the computer and monitor. 2. Insert the Amiga Kickstart 1.1 disk in the internal drive. 3. The screen will display a hand holding the "Amiga Workbench" disk. Remove the Kickstart disk and insert House-On-A-Disk. As the house is loading, the screen will turn blue and then blank. The house will load in a few seconds. 4. After a short wait, your House-On-A-Disk guestbook will appear on the screen. Loading Instructions for the Atari ST 1. Insert House-On-A-Disk in your disk drive. 2. Turn on the disk drive, computer, and monitor. Two file drawers, labeled "A" and "B" will appear on the left side of the screen, and a black arrow (the cursor) will appear in the middle of the screen. 3. Slide the cursor to File Drawer "A", using the mouse, and press the left mouse button twice quickly. A bee will appear on the screen for a few seconds. 4. A new screen will appear, with a folder and a note pad. Move the cursor to the note pad (labeled "LCP.PRG") and press the left mouse button twice quickly. After a short wait, your House-On-A-Disk guestbook will appear on the screen. CAUTION: Never turn off your computer or remove your House-On-A-Disk from the drive while visiting your Little Computer Person. 2 Entering Your Name You will be asked to enter your name in the guestbook each time you visit your Little Computer Person (hereafter referred to as your LCP). Using the keyboard, type your name (first name first) in the spaces provided on the screen. Once you have typed in your name, press RETURN. Entering the Date The format for entering the date is MM/DD/YY, where MM stands for the month, DD stands for the date, and YY stands for the year. Be sure to enter the numeric digit for each space. Use zeros in front of numbers less than 10. For example, if you visit your LCP on January 1st, 1987, type 01 01 87, and press RETURN. Entering the Time The format for entering the time is HH/MM, where HH stands for the hour and MM stands for the minute. As when entering the date, use zeros in front of numbers less than 10. Type A for AM or P for PM. For example, to enter three minutes past one o'clock in the afternoon, type 01 03, then P, then press RETURN. Twelve o'clock midnight should be entered 12 00 A, then press RETURN. Twelve o'clock noon should be entered 12 00 P, then press RETURN. Moving In The first time you visit your LCP, his house will be empty when it appears on the screen. This is because most LCP's are quite shy and will not readily rush into a new situation. In fact, it may take several minutes before yours actually musters the courage to step inside the new home you're providing for him. On the other hand, LCP's are also quite loyal. Once he's move in, you can expect him to be home on subsequent occasions. 3 When an LCP enters a house for the first time, he will usually inspect the new home for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Then he'll leave to retrieve his belongings. Yours will probably return shortly with his suitcase. Most LCP's also bring their dog. Although only one LCP will occupy any given "House-On-A-Disk," most computers have more than one LCP living inside of them. In order to contact another LCP in your computer, you would need another "House-On-A-Disk." NOTE: Keyboard commands do not function during the move-in sequence. CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR LITTLE COMPUTER PERSON or HOW TO MAKE SURE THE PERSON INSIDE YOUR COMPUTER IS HEALTHY, HAPPY, AND TOTALLY AT HOME Although LCP's are basically quite independent, once yours moves into his new home he will be, in a sense, living in your world. So he will need your help in certain areas. To ensure that your LCP is healthy, see that he always has food and water. (The dog also needs food.) Both hunger and dehydration can make LCP's sick. They generally turn green and just lie in bed when they are sick. Also, because they tend to be quite active, they should not be allowed to sleep too much. They would much rather have your attention. The following is a list of keyboard operations to help you take optimum care of your LCP. 4 Caring for Physical Needs Hold the CTRL or Control key down and press the designated letter to care for your LCP's physical needs. CNTRL-F - Food is delivered to his front door. CNTRL-W - Fills the water tank. Each time you press W, approximately one glass of water is added to the water tank. CNTRL-A - Rings the alarm clock. CNTRL-D - Leaves dog food to the front door. Your LCP will do the rest. Caring for Emotional Needs Addressing the physical needs of your LCP is relatively easy. To know if he needs food or water, you simply look to see if his supply is running low. Addressing emotional needs, however, takes much more sensitivity and careful study. First of all, you must be aware of his different moods. So far, four distinct moods have been observed in Little Computer People: Happy He's probably getting plenty of attention. Content He's fine but could be better. (See "Mood Boosters.") 5 Sad Needs mood boosting immediately. Sick This happens when he has gone without food and water for quite a long while. Mood Boosters There are several ways to elevate the mood of your LCP. You'll find that some ways are more effective than others. CNTRL-C - A phone call. Many LCP's enjoy receiving phone calls - unless they are constantly interrupted to the point of irritation. CNTRL-P - Physical contact ("petting"). In order to pet your LCP, he must be sitting in his easy chair in the living room. CNTRL-R - Leaves a record for your LCP's stereo at the front door. Playing Games - This is one of all LCP's favorite passtimes, so naturally it makes them feel great. (For more on playing games, see page 7.) 6 Recreation and Relaxation Most LCP's are very good at entertaining themselves. They're good pianists and can play compositions from classical to jazz. They also like their record collections. In fact, albums make great gifts for them (see page 6.) Some LCP's exercise frequently. Many seem to enjoy playing with their computers or sitting down in their easy chairs with the newspaper. You may even be able to talk them into building a fire in the fireplace. (See "Keyboard Communication," next section.) Keyboard Communication You can communicate quite extensively with an LCP by typing sentences using the computer keyboard. These sentences can be in the form of questions, suggestions, or requests. They'll evoke a wide range of responses and reactions from your LCP. Here are a couple of requests that other friends of LCP's have tried: Please type a letter to me. Please light a fire. LCP's are especially responsive to good manners. So remember to incorporate words like "please" and "thank you" into your requests. Playing Games Almost all LCP's like to play games, although each LCP has his own individual favorites. Here are a few of the games along with simple instructions for playing them. An LCP will usually allow you to make the game selection. He will knock on the glass of your TV or monitor to get your attention and ask you to select a game from the list at the top of the screen. Type in the number of the game you want to play. 7 1. Anagrams When you play anagrams with your LCP, he'll insist on being the one to think of the word. You'll be the one who unscrambles it. A scrambled version of the word he's thinking of appears in big type on the screen. You type what you think is the correct word, and he will tell you whether your guess is right or wrong. He'll let you guess 8 or 9 times before he tells you the word. If you need a hint, press F1. Each time you press F1, one letter will assume its correct place in the scrambled word. For example, suppose the word the LCP is thinking of is CAT. If the scrambled letters are ATC, then pressing F1 will leave CTA. The C switches with the A, thus putting the C in the proper location for the answer. NOTE: An LCP will not give you two hints in a row. You must guess at least once between hints. Press F10 to quit this game. 2. Card War This is a simple game in which you are each dealt 26 cards from a 52-card deck. (LCP's always prefer to deal). You both draw the top card from your pile. Your LCP will show you his card first. To show your card, press F1 as indicated by the command menu in the upper right corner of the screen. Whoever has the higher card wins the hand, and both cards are added to the winner's stack. When both cards shown are of equal value, this is called WAR. At this point, your LCP deals out four more cards to himself and four more cards to you, face down. He will then turn over his last card; press F1 to show your last card. Whoever has the higher card wins the hand, and all of the cards on the table are added to the winner's stack. If the last cards shown during a WAR are of equal value, then your LCP continues to deal 4 more cards each until someone wins the hand using the same rules. 8 The game is over when one of you has all 52 cards. You can press F10 at any time if you decide that you want to quit. 3. 5-Card Draw Poker Standard poker rules apply. As usual, your LCP will probably insist on being the dealer. You're just going to have to go along with it. You both start out with 400 poker chips, as displayed at the top left of the screen. Your number of chips is below his. Bets and raises are limited to 20 chips each. Press F1 to ANTE UP one poker chip and begin the game. The LCP will deal each of you 5 cards (yours are face up) and ask if you feel lucky (he is actually wanting to know if you want to bet any chips). The menu in the upper right corner will give you 3 options: BET F1 - BETS 1 poker chip every time you press A. ENTER F3 - ENTERS your bet. PASS/CLR F5 - Lets you pass when you feel you may have a weak hand and do not want to bet, or CLEARS your bet if you decide to bet a different amount. After you make a bit or pass, the LCP will either match your bet or pass. When the LCP asks if you want cards, press any combination of numbers from 1 to 5 on the keyboard to discard the cards that you don't want. (As examples, to discard the card on the far left, press 1. To discard the card the card second from the far right, press 4.) Press the number again to make your original card reappear. You can discard all five of your cards if you like. Once you've discarded the cards that you don't want, press F1 to DRAW replacement cards. Your LCP deals them to you. If you want to keep all 5 of your original cards, press F3 to STAY. You will not be dealt any replacement cards. Your LCP then tells you on the screen how many cards he discards and deals himself replacement cards. 9 You now have the option to make another bet. (See BET, ENTER, PASS/CLR above.) At this point, your LCP may raise his bet and give you two choices: SEE* F1 - Lets you match his bet. FOLD F3 - Lets you abandon your hand, losing whatever you've bet so far. * If you opt to SEE, you'll be given three more choices: RAISE F1 - Lets you RAISE the bet even higher. ENTER F3 - ENTERS your raise. CALL F5 - Stops betting for that hand and lays the cards on the table. After each hand you have the option to QUIT the game (F10). 4. Blackjack Blackjack is a special favorite of most LCPs. Your LCP will always be the dealer, and you both start out with 400 chips each. Standard blackjack rules apply. Before any cards are dealt, your LCP will ask, "What's your bet?" To place a bet, press F1 as indicated by the command menu in the upper right corner of the screen. Each time you press F1 your bet increases by 1, up to a maximum of 20. If you decide to change your bet, press F5 to CLEAR your bet. You can then start betting all over again. Press F3 to ENTER your bet. Entering your bet lets your LCP know that you are ready to play. (NOTE: You cannot clear your bet after you enter it.) After entering your bet, your LCP will deal the cards. Yours will both be face up, whereas one of his will be face down and the other face up. When your first two cards add up to 21, you have BLACKJACK, and your LCP will pay you two times the number of chips bet. When your LCP's cards add up to 21, he'll let you know, and he'll take two times the number of chips you bet from you. 10 When your first two cards do not add up to 21 and are not two cards of the same value, your LCP will ask, "Do you wish to double-down?" If you double-down, your bet will automatically double and your LCP will deal you one more card. You will not be given an opportunity to take any more cards. Press F1 to DOUBLE- DOWN, or F3 if you do not want to DOUBLE-DOWN. If you do not double-down, your LCP will ask if you want any more cards ("take a HIT"). Press F1 to take a HIT. You can take up to three hits, allowing a maximum of five cards. Press F3 to STAND. When you double-down or stand, your LCP will then show you his down card. If he has 17 or more points, he will stand. If he has less than 17 points, he will take cards until he has at least 17 points. The winner of the hand is the one with the most points not to exceed 21. If either of you has more than 21 points at any time, the hand is immediately ended and the other player wins. Ties are replayed, with all bets returning to your stack. If you are initially dealt two cards of equal value, your LCP will ask you if you want to split. Press F1 to SPLIT, or F3 if you choose not to. When you SPLIT, each card is treated as an individual hand and your initial bet becomes your bet for the first card. An equal number of chips are taken from your pot and become the bet for your second card. The hands are then played individually, like all previous hands. Press F10 to quit playing Blackjack. 5. Word Puzzles Word Puzzles is a challenging game that most LCP's thoroughly enjoy. The rules are simple; all you have to do is fill in the missing words in the sentence that your LCP provides. He'll give you the first letter of the missing words. Here is a sample Word Puzzle: There are 50 S in the US. 11 Your LCP will ask you to type in the first word that needs solving, which in this case begins with the letter S. You would type in the word STATES and press RETURN. He will then ask for the second word - you would type in UNITED and press the RETURN key. He will then ask for the third word, which in this case would be STATES. Your LCP always knows how many words must be solved in each Word Puzzle. After you have entered your word puzzle solutions, your LCP will place your answers in the Word Puzzle and tell you if you are right or wrong. At the start, your LCP will show you Word Puzzle #1. You can easily cycle through all the puzzles by pressing F1 to go forward or F2 to go backward. When a puzzle you want to solve appears on the screen, press F5. Pressing F5 tells your LCP that you are ready to begin solving the puzzle. He will then start asking you for your word solutions. Make sure to press RETURN after each word. Press F10 to quit playing Word Puzzles. 12 Observations Use this section to record your observations. You will quickly start to notice distinct character traits in your particular LCP. Moving in Date Time Unusual Activities: Appearance Hair Clothing Name of Little Computer Person Appetite Sleeping Habits Overall Health Predominant Moods Housekeeping Hints Hygiene Moods Musical Ability Game-Playing Aptitude Letter-Writing Ability Forms of Relaxation Remember to sign your Deed of Ownership. Then mail it along with any data, statistics, and other unusual findings to: The Activision Little Computer People Research Group Box 7287 Mountain View, CA 94039 13 ============================================================================ DOCS PROVIDED BY -+*+-THE SOUTHERN STAR-+*+- for M.A.A.D. ============================================================================