The Elder Scrolls: Arena
THE ELDER SCROLLS: ARENA
Welcome to the world of Tamriel, known by its inhabitants as
the Arena. This is a glimpse at what awaits you in the Elder
Scrolls: over four hundred towns, twelve million square kilometers of
cities and wilderness, and more fortresses, dungeons, and crypts than we
can count.
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How to Play The Elder Scrolls: Arena
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On-Screen Buttons
There are many options that you can invoke while exploring the
world of Tamriel. To the right of your character's face are two rows of
buttons. The button and the action it represents are explained in the
following list:
Mouse GENERAL CONTROLS
Left clicking while cursor is an arrow
will move you in the direction of the arrow.
The further the arrow is from the center of the
screen, the faster you will move.
Left clicking an object while the cursor is an
'X' interacts with it, the interaction depends
upon whether you are in 'talk', 'cast', or
'attack' mode. (see below)
Right clicking while left mouse button is depressed
will cause you to jump.
Right clicking an object while cursor is an 'X'
identifies it, if it is not generic.
Crossed Swords icon - ATTACK
Clicking this will draw your weapon and put you
in attack mode. From here holding down the left
mouse button moves you in the same direction as
the arrow. Holding down the right mouse button
and moving the mouse swings your weapon. You
may still jump using the 'J' key. Shift+J will
do a standing long jump. Clicking this icon
again will sheath your weapon.
Sunburst icon - CAST
Cast a spell. Left clicking the icon will cause
your spellbook to appear. You may pick the
spell you wish to cast, and the target of that
spell.
To save time in recasting the same spell, you
can right click the icon again. If you have the
spell points, you will cast the last chosen
spell again.
Fingers picking gold icon - STEAL
Steal something. When this icon is clicked a
prompt will come up asking, "Target?". Pick the
target on the screen. If it is a person, there
will be an attempt to pickpocket him or her. If it is
a barrier, such as a chest or door, an attempt
will be made to unlock it.
Hand grabbing icon - USE
Use something. When this icon is clicked an
inventory of usable magic items will come up.
Pick the item you wish to use and then follow
any onscreen prompts that may arise, such as
"Target?" for a ring spell. Note: Only from the
3D walk-around menu can you use an item. If you
want to use a healing potion, you must use it
from here, as you will be unable to use it from
the character sheet.
Snake-staff icon - PLAYER STATUS
Player Status. Clicking this icon will pause the
game and show your current status, and other
items such as the date and time of day, or any
reputational issues that may affect your status
at your current location. Other information on
this pop up will be your current condition,
health, spells that are currently affecting
you, and spells that are currently active.
Parchment with lines icon - LOGBOOK
This icon represents the 'Logbook', a journal of
your travels. This feature is deactivated for the
demo.
Campfire icon - CAMP
Camp icon. Left clicking this icon will cause
you to rest. During rest you will slowly regain
lost hit points, spell points, and fatigue. You
may camp anywhere outside a city's walls. You
may not camp inside a city unless you have
purchased or snuck into a room in a tavern and
are currently inside the tavern where you have
that room. The amount you heal per hour of rest
is greatly affected by where you sleep. The
nicer the accommodation (ie...expensive), the
more you will heal per hour.
Automap icon - AUTOMAP / CONTINENTAL MAP
Left clicking Map icon:
Left clicking this icon will bring up your
automap parchment, upon which will be inscribed
all the places you have currently visited. Pay
close attention to this map, it may be the only
thing to provide you clues when searching for
something.
You can make notes on the map by left
clicking the map where you wish to place the
note and then typing. Hit 'Enter' to get
back the pen or right click the mouse
button. You can erase notes by clicking the
line you wish to erase and then hitting the
'ESC' key.
Left clicking the compass points on the automap
will scroll the map so you can see a larger
area. Left clicking the center of the compass
will center the map on your location. As a
note, any locations that are marked
automatically by the automap, (ie not by you)
will be left of the first character in the
sentence. Therefore an inn that is marked on
your automap will be to the left of the first
character in its name.
Right clicking Map icon:
Right clicking the Automap icon in the game will
bring up the Continental Map, from which you can
travel to other cities, towns, or villages. This
feature is deactivated in the demo.
ESC key - SETUP MENU
Setup menu. This will pause the game and bring
up an option menu from which you will be able
to do the following:
1) Play saved game - Loads a game from a save
list. Deactivated in the demo.
2) Save game - Save the current game.
Deactivated in the demo.
3) Detail - Helpful for speeding up
gameplay on slower machines.
Adjust the detail level to
minimum to maximize the speed.
4) Sound - Allows you to increase or
decrease sound effects.
5) Music - Allows you to increase or
decrease the volume of the
music.
6) Drop to DOS - Drops out of the game and
into the world of DOS.
7) Continue - Exits back to Arena.
Character portrait - CHARACTER SHEET
Clicking your name/face along the bottom row
in the game will bring up your Character sheet,
from which many options are available. This is
deactivated in the demo.
MOUSE CONTROLS
The mouse is your direct interface to the world of Arena. You
will use it to define actions or choices while exploring the
land. As you look at the screen, you will notice that the mouse
cursor can change into one of 10 cursors, either an arrow, a
sword, or an 'X'. When the mouse is an arrow and the left mouse
button is depressed, you will walk in
the direction designated by that arrow cursor. The further
towards the edge of your screen the arrow gets, the faster you
will walk. When the arrow is a sword, it is used to pick or click
icons on the walkaround menu. When the arrow is an 'X', whatever
is under the 'X' will be interacted with, depending upon what
mode you are in. For further explanations, see The 'X' below.
Jumping is accomplished by clicking the right mouse button while
the left mouse button is being depressed. If you are standing
still at the time you will jump straight up. If you are running
you will do a running broad jump. The distance you can jump is
determined by your Strength, and the Speed at which you were
running. Since characters with a higher Speed rating can run
faster, they will also be able to jump farther.
The 'X'
Placing your 'X' cursor on a monster or door and right clicking
will identify the monster or store. Therefore, placing the cursor
on an equipment store's door and right clicking will display the
equipment store's name, and will inscribe that name onto your
automap for future reference.
While the cursor is an 'X' you can manipulate your environment:
Placing the 'X' on another person and clicking your left mouse
button will allow you to talk to them, pickpocket them, or cast a
spell at them, depending upon what mode your cursor is in.
(Normal, Steal, Cast)
Placing the 'X' on a door or chest will display your assessment
of the lock, or allow you to try and unlock it, depending upon
what mode your are in. (Normal, Steal)
Placing the 'X' on treasure and left clicking will give you a
picklist of the treasure available for you to pick up.
Consult the previous section on Onscreen buttons to get a
detailed description of how each is accomplished.
KEYBOARD
Note: Mouse is required for game and demo to operate correctly.
ESC Setup menu
Up arrow Walk forward
F1 Character Sheet
Dn arrow Walk backward
F8 Compass on/off toggle
Left arrow Turn left
A Attack - weapon draw/sheath toggle
Right arrow Turn right
C Cast
CTRL + arrow Run forward, run backward,
J Jump
SHIFT + J Jump forward from standstill
M Automap
P Pick/Steal
R Rest, Camp option
S Status of character
U Use
F3 Change damage mode
Notes: + Requirements to run the game are:
386/25 MHz, DOS 5.0+, 4 MB RAM (2MB EMS), VGA graphics card,
Mouse (100% Microsoft(TM) compatible)
+ Game requires 25 MB free Hard Drive space
+ There are three different modes to show that you have been hit.
To cycle through these modes, press F3. They are:
- Normal Roll - This is the default mode, screen shakes slightly
- Severe Roll - Screen shakes violently, may be disorienting on
faster machines
- Cross Hatch - Screen flashes red
