Restoration

The future is medieval.

Pre-Alpha version 2, content up to end of second episode only (about 45 minutes or so of gameplay).

Crawl through dungeons and build your character.  

Deep in the mists of time, it is said that mankind dwelt in heaven on Earth.  Food, shelter, supplies were abundant and hard labor was an ancient legend.  The capital city of Avalon had buildings of transparent crystal that reached the sky.  People traveled in fast wagons that didn’t need horses and which drank liquid feed.

In the center of Avalon, legend says there was the Serf Arm, which made this way of life possible.  The Serf Arm was an oracle, made up of thousands of smaller oracles.  Each small oracle was powerful in its own right, but only when united could they serve the entire world.  The Serf Arm controlled servants that were built by men in the days when men knew how to build living creatures.  These helpers served man gladly and with great loyalty.  Thus, even the lowliest serf lived better than kings do today.

Then one day, a man was overcome with greed and ambition and set out to rule this world.  To do so, legend says he “hacked” the Serf Arm, possibly with an axe.  Other legends say it was done with a board that had keys.  By turning the Serf Arm to his will, he became Emperor of the World!

At first things seemed good.  However, the Emperor lacked wisdom and honor and soon his corruption spread to the city, and eventually to the world.  More people died than lived, and those who lived were miserable.  And then disaster struck.

The Serf Arm lost its power when those who tended the place where the power flowed from walked away from their posts.  The servant creatures were no longer hearing the voice of the Serf Arm and became hostile to mankind.  A band of these creatures took the Serf Arm apart and scattered many of the smaller oracles that made it up.  The Emperor became the disgraced king of ruins and died in misery.

Time passed.  Centuries later, people learned again how to make their own houses and grow their own food.   They built villages, towns, cities, and roads.  They made weapons to defend themselves from the creatures that were once helpers but were now savages. 

While many are certain that this story is either true, or close to the truth, many think it is but a fairy tale for understanding why life is so hard, why we must fight the creatures, and to provide hope that Avalon may someday be restored.  Scattered ruins and artifacts suggest that there must be at least some truth to the legend.

Point and click with mouse to go to location, attack enemy, speak to NPC, buy from shopkeeper, etc.

•  Esc : pause game and see menu for saving, resuming, or quitting.
•  A : (hold) zoom in
•  Z : (hold) zoom out
•  J : see journal
•  Q : see quests
•  I : configure inventory
•  M : see map
•  T : configure traits
• 1,2,3,4,5,6 : use corresponding action in action bar at bottom of screen

When you acquire an equipable item (weapon, shield, hat, etc.), press I and drag it from inventory to the appropriate slot on the human-shaped equip location to use it.  When you acquire an ability (healing potion, etc.), press I and drag it from inventory to a slot in the action bar at the bottom of the screen.  Then typing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 (according to which slot it is in) will activate the ability.

You can buy items from shopkeepers (cursor looks like dollar sign when hovering over shopkeeper).  You can also sell them (switch the toggle from Buy to Sell) but not for the price you paid for them.  Pick up items (in glowing leather bags) by clicking on them.  Type I and drag from inventory to the ground to drop an item.

Game is auto-saved every time you pass through a portal (arch-shaped with glowing runes).

Use the map (M) or zoom out (Z) to get your bearings. 

Use the journal (J) to recall information (e.g. if an NPC tells you where a certain path leads).  Remember, taking the wrong path too soon can be instant death!  Build your character first!

Use (T) to allocate traits (more trait points available whenever you level up!) Some equipment cannot be used without certain trait levels.  Traits also increase damage, shielding, etc.

Note the future medieval English is a little different from modern or past medieval English!  And orc-ish and green-monkey-ish are incomprehensible!  Also, the video of gameplay is a slightly older version than what gets downloaded, so there are small changes.

Hints for Player

• Try to defeat every enemy in each location.  Hitting escape to bring up the pause menu will show how many enemies are defeated, versus how many are in the level.  Leaving enemies standing could mean you don’t have enough experience points to visit other locations (some portals are only activated if you have sufficient xp).
• Complete every quest (Q for quest list) you can to ensure you can advance.
• Try for a “balanced allocation” of your traits.  As  you gain XP, you are given more trait points to allocate.  Going heavy on one trait (T for trait menu) while neglecting another might impede your progress later.
• Talk to the NPCs and note the information they give you.  Some of this information is needed to make progress.  For convenience, the journal (J key) summarizes this information.
• After advancing on your quests, talk to the same NPCs again to get more information.
• Sell your stuff if you need more money.  But only stuff you don’t need.  You can buy it back, but for more than you sold it for.
• Try to pick up everything a defeated enemy drops.  There might be something useful.  If not, you can always sell it.
• Buy potions, shields, etc. to assist with your quest if you haven’t been able to pick up enough already.  For example, the first shield can only be obtained by buying it, and you probably need it to get through the first castle.
• Sometimes puzzles have to be solved to advance.  The quest objectives generally lead you in that way.
• In general, try to be at least fifty percent health before entering a new level.  Carrying extra health potions can help if you get into trouble.
• When you find a new weapon (or are given it at the end of a quest) that’s better than what you have, equip it!
• You can drop things if your inventory (I) is too full.  You can pick them back up as well.  In general, though, it’s better to sell them.
• Equipping clothing items adds to your armor protection in addition to making your character look better.
• Use the map (M) to get your bearings when lost.  Also some levels have road signs.
• Take the initiative! If you attack first, you can defeat the enemy while taking less damage.  Also tackling an enemy one at a time results in less damage than going against the entire gang at once.  Sometimes, the gangs cannot be avoided, though.
• Shop around!  Some merchants sell the same thing but at a different price.  Same with what they pay if you sell to them.
• When fighting gangs, click on the hardest-hitting enemy to defeat him first.