Another Lifeless Planet and Me With No Beer

THE PLOT

If you have played MAROONED AGAIN, you are acquainted with our hapless
hero. He wrecks space ships like you and I munch hamburgers. In
Marooned Again, he found an alien ship and sent clones aboard to try
and get the vessel to blast off and go for safety. Apparently he
succeeded, because he's back again, and he's done it again.

By the way... he is you.

You have crashed your ship on a hostile alien planet. This one is REALLY
hostile; you realize you've landed right in the middle of an alien security
hive. Surviving this time isn't going to be just a matter of figuring out
a relatively harmless alien ship; this one is out to get you. Your frail
human body cannot stand the strain of the severe artificial gravity within
the alien structure, so you have to send in somewhat retarded clones to do
the job for you. If you can get them to blast off and go for help, you
just might, maybe, be rescued. They are under your full control, through
telepathic link.

Unfortunately, the telepatic link section was slightly damaged in the
crash. The clones are all functioning, but your link with them is shaky at
best. Upon testing them you discover a few commands in one or two words
such as LOOK, GET CHAIR, GO DOOR, N,S,E,W,U,D (directions of travel) and
you figure you'll discover the rest by trial and error.

The clones need to go into the alien security nest and come out with the
materials required to allow a forgotten (but valuable to you) alien ship to
blast off and go for help. If you fail, you will never have another beer;
aliens hate beer.

HOW TO PLAY AN ADVENTURE GAME

This game is actually an intricate puzzle. Get a piece of paper and a
pencil. It is ESSENTIAL that you map your travels. I REPEAT: MAPPING IS
ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY OR YOU WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY GET LOST AND/OR OVERLOOK
SOMETHING VITAL. People always ignore this advice, and as a result, never
conquer the game and then gripe about how "lousy adventure gaming is".
Unless you have a photographic memory, commit the thing to paper.

This is an alien ship; corridors may twist and turn and you may find areas
that teleport you to differnt locations without even telling you they have
done so. Remember: alien architects do not think like we do.

The word INVENTORY (or I) will show you the components and items you have
collected thus far. There are many other commands available. The object
is to find out exactly what the others are!

This game is not easy to solve. In fact, you can expect to lose a number
of clones while traveling through the ship. It should take you between 10
to 30 hours to complete the game. When you do so, do not tell anyone how
to do it. Any such clues spoil the game for the next one playing. Don't
let anyone give you clues either; once the game is completed, it's
finished. The fun after that comes from watching your friends go nuts
playing it.

The main thing to remember is this: nearly EVERYTHING you see has a
purpose (with the exception of a couple of red herrings... but they are
few). I even tell you when something is a red herring. In fact, just to
make sure I cover everything, I might even tell you something is a red
herring when it's really not. See how generous I am?

Subtle clues are placed all over. Even so, it will take you days
to complete it. The first person who tried it took two weeks. When he was
finished, he emerged from his room with a grin on his face and said, "Gaaa
urk bleh...."

He's still recuperating.

I design my adventure games to be logical. Many adventure games have you
perform completely illogical or silly actions in order to complete the
game, forcing you to become illogical and silly to win.

ANOTHER LIFELESS PLANET AND ME WITH NO BEER is completely logical.
Everything you do and everything you see has a logical and understandable
purpose behind it. Of course, there are a couple of things thrown in to
confuse you... but at least it's LOGICAL confusion.

Enjoy, and remember: be PATIENT. If you cannot solve it today, you may
wake up with the answer tomorrow.

MAPPING METHODOLOGY

The easiest way to map is by the DIRECTION method. Example:

N
Nw or UP Ne or UP
ÚÄÄij ³ÄÄÄ¿
³ ³
³ ³
Ä Ä
W Ä Ä E
³ ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄij ³ÄÄÄÙ
Sw or DOWN Se OR DOWN
S

Try to cover each room as thoroughly as possible before going on to the
next. Running randomly through the game is nothing but a waste of time.
The only other hint I can offer at this time is READ THE GAME DESCRIPTIONS
AND HINTS VERY CAREFULLY. I tend to be the sneaky type.

Your $10 registration IS appreciated! It helps me write further
programs for your enjoyment. I'll also send you a catalog of my
other programs. If you are getting a kick out of this game, please
send your extremely generous donation to:

DENNIS DREW PO Box 101 Joplin, MO 64802
(417)781-4248