Once you have made your persona selection, you then begin your adventure in a sequence of STAGES (like acts in a play).  There are eight total STAGES, one of which is an optional (but beneficial) flashback portion of the story.

For story details about each STAGE, see the DH lore details.

All CHALLENGES of a STAGE must be defeated with the bow and arrow before proceeding to the next STAGE. If a CHALLENGE attack is successful, you will lose one HEALTH and the screen will “flicker” for a moment to indicate that you have been struck. Whereas when attacking CHALLENGES, their remaining health (of the last one successfully hit) will be at the TOP RIGHT near the STAGE name.

CHALLENGES do not have range attack, but they will chase you if you get too close! They can attack any square around their icon (up to 2x spaces), so try not to get surrounded.

Here is a summary of the STAGES (like ACTS in a play!):

N	NAME	ITEM	CHALLENGE	HINT
1	BEACH	BOW	RATS (JACK, JONAS)	PICK UP BOW, ARROWS, AND SEARCH THE GRASS AREA
2	NEAR LAND		KOMODO (JERRY)	HE DOESN’T WANT ANYONE ELSE NEAR THE WATER
3	RIVER	GEM	CROCS	SPECIAL GEM ON ISLAND REVEALS SOMETHING…
4	(DIVINITY ISLAND)	*	STRZYGA	(YOU CAN’T DIE ON THIS STAGE, IT IS A PERSONA FLASHBACK; BUT IF YOU DO LOSE ALL HP, YOU EXIT THE STAGE – WHEN EXIT, YOU RECOVER YOUR ORIGINAL HP)
5	ENTRANCE		SCORPION (JAMES, JUSTIN)	SEARCH CAREFULLY BEFORE FINISHING
6	CAVE		SLAUGHS	SLUAGHS COMING BACK FROM THEIR WORK
7	FAR LAND		DRAKES (JOSEPH, JIMMY)	GUARDIANS OF THE HYDRA
8	MOUNTAIN		HYDRA (JASMINE)	BONES OF PAST HYDRAS ON THE RIGHT SIDE; THE BEACH IS SAFE

* OPTIONAL (curious players may unlock the puzzle that transports to this stage)

Overview of the Maps

Terrain
The map of each STAGE has several types of terrain: WATER, BEACH, GRASS, ROCKS, LAND (and several SPECIAL types). Your character will consume more energy moving across WATER. Whereas BEACH, GRASS, and LAND are each essentially the same, just different brightness (full, partial, none respectively). ROCK terrain is typically BLOCKED, meaning you (and CHALLENGES) cannot move into (or fire over) a ROCK terrain. You may witness some exceptions to these descriptions, since the land is enchanted!

Controls

W/A/S/D moves the character throughout the map, UP/LEFT/DOWN/RIGHT.

SPACEBAR fires an arrow, while B invokes a BLESSING (if available).

F is used to FINISH a map once all the CHALLENGES have been cleared.

P to PAUSE the game. Press any key to resume. Pause does not suspend the elapsed play time reported at the end game. When PAUSE using the GAMEPAD, you will have to press a key to resume.

PET version: AIM using the number pad 4 and 6 keys. PERSISTENCY is used by pressing the number pad 0 key. Use 8 to FLIP your bow once you have acquired that skill.

APPLE & C64 version: AIM using the J and L keys. PERSISTENCY is used by pressing K. Use I to FLIP your bow once you have acquired that skill.

Gamepad Control (PET and C64) [added as of BETA5]

DH supports the SNES GAMEPAD adapter that is available here. This was an adapter introduced in 2020 for the outstanding Attack of the PETSCII Robot game and works very well on both the PET and C64 versions of DH. The adapter is inserted into the USER-PORT on the back side of the computer (and does not interfere with any disk drive or SD-card adapter). A SNES gamepad (or equivalent) is also required, they are typically $5 – $10 at various sources (just make sure it has the standard SNES plug, not a USB plug; see here for example).

Be aware, the SNES GAMEPAD adapter may require an external 5v supply line (it did for my PET 4016). For C64 version, the standard 1-button joystick is also supported (see below). Here is an example of how the SNES GAMEPAD adapter is attached (with also SD2PET adapter at the same time!):

For SNES GAMEPAD the DH game controls are as follows:

NOTE: GAMEPAD is active during STAGE game play only, it is not active during CHIMES and PERSONA selection.

TOP LEFT/RIGHT: AIM BOW LEFT/RIGHT

D-PAD: MOVE UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT

A: FIRE ARROW

B: USE PERSISTENCY to HEAL HEALTH

X: FLIP SKILL (rotate 180) when acquired (after ~200 steps)

SELECT: Pauses the game (same as pressing P). Press ENTER (or any key) to resume. Pause is helpful for taking breaks or screenshots.

START: FINISH MAP (same as pressing F, once all CHALLENGES are defeated)

Y: USE THE ORB! (if acquired) [large increase in STAMINA, one time only]

Joystick Control (C64 Version Only – NOT the same as GAMEPAD!)

Must use JOYSTICK PORT #2. Note, in testing I actually used an NES-style gamepad (where any button press corresponded to pressing the single-button of the standard C64 joystick). This works well when playing DH in the C64 emulator. But the standard C64 stick is not very recommended for DH.

When the button is not pressed, you are in MOVEMENT-MODE. Use D-PAD to move UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT.

To prepare to FIRE, press and HOLD the BUTTON. While pressed, you are in DRAW-MODE and will see an arrow appear at the TOP-LEFT of the screen.. While in DRAW-MODE you can no longer move using the D-PAD. Instead, the D-PAD does the follow:

• UP uses a PERSISTENCY (like pressing K)
• LEFT/RIGHT aim your bow (like J and L) to change your direction of firing during this AIM.
• DOWN (1x) issues a FLIP skill, if you have acquired that skill.
• DOWN (2x) cancels the AIM and will not fire the arrow when you release the BUTTON (the arrow icon goes away at the top left).

When you release the button, if you have not cancelled the AIM (by pressing DOWN twice quickly), then you will fire an arrow in the direction being AIMED at the moment that the button is released.

Apple ][ Paddle/Joystick Support

APPLE ][ PADDLE/JOYSTICK

WARNING: I do not have an original Apple ][+, so I can’t vouch for the physical support of the joystick. The notes below are from the experience on the emulators using a USB gamepad.

When no buttons are pressed, you are in MOVEMENT MODE, and the D-PAD will move like W/A/S/D. Button-2 FIRES an arrow.

When Button-1 is pressed, you are in AIM MODE. In this
mode D-PAD has a different effect:

• D-PAD LEFT/RIGHT will rotate the arrow
• D-PAD UP will FLIP (if acquired)
• D-PAD DOWN uses a PERSISTENCY (if any remaining)

When BOTH buttons are pressed, you are in UTILITY-MODE. In this mode the D-PAD has these effects:

• D-PAD UP = FINISH MAP (can proceed without touching keyboard!)
• D-PAD DOWN = PAUSE (must press any key to resume)
• D-PAD-RIGHT = USE ORB if acquired
• (BLESSING support TBD – not yet in the code)

Arrows
To finish a stage and proceed to the next one, you must defeat all the CHALLENGES within that stage. This is done by firing arrows with a bow collected on the beach within the first stage. Arrows are fired by pressing SPACEBAR, but aim with care as arrows are limited in quantity (and only one arrow at a time may be fired).

Should you run out of arrows, the spirits will gift a new set of arrows. However, this gift will be placed randomly per each STAGE, thus likely losing your initiative and position by having to go collect those arrows. This gift is depicted as an UP-ARROW icon. When you defeat CHALLENGES, they will become LEFT-ARROW icons, indicating that you may go to those position to also collect additional arrows.

HINT: The spirits gift of arrows will appear ONLY when you have “00” arrows (none). The gift generally provides more arrows than the CHALLENGES, therefore it is wise to collect the UP-ARROW gift arrows first before the CHALLENGE dropped LEFT-ARROWs (depending on your battle situation).

Stamina and REST
As you move around within a stage, you will exert energy and lose STAMINA. Firing the bow also consumes energy. You will recharge your energy over time automatically, but if exhausting too much stamina too quickly, you will be forced to REST. You must recover a minimum amount of STAMINA before the REST is complete, therefore do not continue to exert yourself while in REST mode.

Overview of Stage Layout
The stage map has an overlay at the top and bottom with information to aid you during your adventure. This overlay is described as follows:

INVENTORY at the top left (including learned SKILLS)

PERSONA selection is at the top, for reference and so that passing observers can know which selection was made (and tease you for playing Sidon).

STAGE name at the top right. Upon striking any CHALLENGE, a number appears next to the stage name indicating the amount of health that CHALLENGE has remaining.

Your CHARACTER is either a filled circle (LANGI) or black circle (YONI). When aiming the bow, an indicator is pointed in the direction that the arrow will be fired in when pressing SPACE.

BLESSING remaining count at the bottom left, never more than 9.

STAMINA bar, ARROW count, and HEALTH at the bottom.

PERSISTENCY remaining count at the bottom right, never more than 99.

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AUDIO FEEDBACK (SOUND SUPPORT)

Sound is used to indicate various states during your adventure:

• CHIMES have a tone, proportional to where the chime ends up
• When you fire an arrow, the sound will be in proportion to your remaining HEALTH.
• When you use a PERSISTENCY to recover HEALTH, likewise the sound is proportional to your renewed HEALTH.
• When CHALLENGES are defeated, there is a distinct tone
• Collecting items has its own tone
• The GAME OVER state has its own tone
• The END GAME has its own tone

The Commodore PET 40XX came included with a small speaker towards the inside right corner of its case. The original PET required a “CB2” modification from the USER-PORT at the back side of the PET (only available if not using the SNES GAMEPAD). This same “mod” was also available to the VIC-20 and C64, but used different ports (DH uses those ports in the C64 build). Per this article, the CB2 connection is as follows:

“CB2 (the 2nd to last pin on USER port) —–> 20 ohm resistor ——> (+) PIEZO BUZZER (-) ———> GROUND (last pin on the USER port)”

[ we are learning the C64 SID hardware and hope to have a native C64 sound support available soon! ]

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NEXT: Final Words and Credits