Killed Until Dead

KILLED UNTIL DEAD

US Gold, 1987



CASSETTE INLAY

As Hercule Holmes, the world's greatest detective, you are faced with the

toughest challenge of your career.

The world's finest murder mystery writers are gathered at the Gargoyle Hotel

for a festival of murder and mayhem. They're known as the Midnight Murder Club

aka the Red Herring Club and you must stop them before they pull off their

dirty deeds. This is the ultimate challenge to your sleuthing skills. You must

uphold the family honour and discover, BEFORE the scheduled murder, the

identities of the Killer and his/her intended victim. And that's not all. You

must also correctly identify the murder weapon and where the crime will take

place.

And finally, you must figure out the murder motive.

But beware! If you don't have your facts straight when you make your

accusation, you become the intended victim.

The clock starts at Noon. You've got exactly 12 hours to PREVENT the murder.

Here's how ...



GETTING STARTED

SPECTRUM CASS:

Type LOAD"" and press ENTER. Press PLAY on the cassette recorder.



Step 1

Check "Profiles". Get to know the suspects. Watch for possible connections,

antagonisms and murder motives. Don't bother to take notes because you can

return to profiles anytime.



Step 2

BREAK-INS

Highlight "Break-In". Answer mystery trivia questions. If you are wrong, come

back to the room 1O minutes later after the security guard has left. Clues in

each room will be filed in your "Notes".



Collect as many clues and meeting notes as possible. Set your tape recorder to

record meetings or attend them: valuable clues will be found in these meetings.

Refer to them frequently as you piece the puzzle together.



Best time for Break-Ins is generally between noon and four p.m. - after that,

suspects returo to their rooms from their various outings and intrigues.



Step 3

TAPE/MONITOR

Eavesdrop with "Tape". Record meetivgs because every clue

is essential in stopping the murder. See data for Tape Recording

details. All taped information can be accessed through Play.

Information in Monitor meetings cannot be kept - you must

see the meeting as it happens.



Step 4

INTERROGATION

First check your Break-In notes so you can pose your first

question.



Now BREAK DOWN the suspects.



They will get more and more nervous as you ask pointed questions based on the

clues you've gathered. If you can rattle them, the suspects will blurt out

vital information. Watch their expressions change as you close in on the

solution. Try and get a second suspect to substantiate information you've

gathered.



For instance, if you're convinced that Sydney is planning to kill Agatha, call

Mike and ask him what he knows about Sydney as killer. When Mike gets vervous,

then ask about Agatha as victim. He'll get more rattled. Now close in for the

kill by asking Mike about the weapon and the location. If you've done your

homework, Mike's answer to your fourth question will be extremely valuable,

i.e. 'If Sydney's the killer, the murder will happen in the Hall.'



If you can get a second character to collaborate this information, you're

almost ready to call Mike to make an accusation. All you need is the motive.

Check your Break-In Notes and work out the possible motive.



Try to get suspects to corroborate your suspicions. Ask tough questions, make

suspects breakdown. As they get more nervous, suspects reveal more info. Study

their expressions and the text responses.



All interrogation information will be plugged into your 'Notes'.



DETAILED DOCUMENTATION



Your desk has four tools, essential in stopping the Midnight Murders:

- FILES - TELEPHONE

- NOTES - SURVEILLANCE



To use these features, move finger (joystick left/right) over the desired tool,

then press fire button.



Play sequence is as follows: Move your finger to the extreme right, press fire

button and open...



1. FILES

Profile notes contain key information about possible murder motives. Read

carefully and look for connections between characters, i.e. Agatha Maypole is a

teetotaller but Sydney Meanstreet drinks anything wet.



2. SURVEILLANCE SCREEN

"MONITOR"

Your hidden surveillance camera allows you to check the whereabouts of each

suspect. Highlight and press fire button to explore the Gargoyle Arms - after

you've gathered clues (see Break-In below).



"BREAK-IN"

If any one of the suspect's rooms is empty, try a Break-In. Each of their rooms

contain crucial clues. These cluesand 'meeting' notes are pieces of the puzzle.

You must successfully Break-In and get the essential information before you can

piece together the mystery. Further, you must have 'Break-In' clues before you

are able to interrogate that particular suspect. A successful Break-In depends

on your ability to answer a mystery trivia question. Select your choice by

moving joystick up and down. Highlight and press fire button.



If you are correct, Break-In clues will be revealed (and automatically included

in your Notes).



If mistaken, the security guard challenges you and stands guard for 10 minutes

of game time. Remember the question and come back later.



Also return later if the room is occupied.



Among the clues are notes containing times for planned meetings between

suspects. These are essential to the puzzle because suspects reveal themselves

at some of these encounters. To complicate matters, the meetings often take

place simultanenusly. That's where your trusty hidden camera and bugging device

come in handy. They'll help you figure out the time and whereabouts of various

meetings.



"TAPE"

You'll want to use your tape recorder to record meetings that you think you

will not be able to monitor. Your hectic schedule may interfere with your

snooping time, or perhaps those sneaky scribes have scheduled two meetings at

the same time. The tape recorder has four buttons and three 'presets'. The

buttons are: Rewind, Play, Fast Forward, Stop. To use the tape recorder you

MUST set some record preset times. These are instructions to your tape recorder

telling it which room to record and the time frame you've selected.



To set a time:

1. Move the white highlight bar (joystick up/down/left/right) to the room name

on the first preset line.

2. Press the Fire Button. The name will turn yellow (C64), highlight

(Spectrum/Amstrad). Now move the joystick up/down to cycle through all the

room names, stopping at the one you would like to record.

3. Press the Fire Button again - the name will return to white (C64), normal

(Spectrum/Amstrad).

4. Now move the highlight bar to the 'from time' and repeat the procedure.

Press the fire button, move the joystIck up and down to pick the time (note

you cannot record past events) and press the fire button to finish.

5. Using the same procedure, set the 'to time'.

6. Now move the bar to the set instruction and press the fire button. This

final step will instruct the tape recorder to enter this preset and to

record the room between the two times you have entered.



You have only three presets so use them carefully.

After a preset has been recorded, it will be free again.



To play back:

1. Hit Rewind.

2. Hit the Play button. The monitor will now show you the time of the

recording and the events. If you want to stop the tape, just press the stop

button.



NB: To exit the tape function, press the Stop button.



Occasionally your phone will ring. Return to your desk immediately and answer

the call. It might be a valuable clue (and it will also be automatically

entered into your 'Notes'.) Meanwhile, try some more Break-Ins and study your

'Notes' to see how the plot is unravelling. Once you've successfully broken

into the suspect's rooms, eavesdropped on their meetings and answered phone

calls, your 'Notes' should be giving you a good feel for the plot.



Now it's time for interrogation...



3. TELEPHONE



The object here is to get a suspect to break down to confess any information

he/she has about the Midnight Murder. Remember, you must have successfully

broken into that suspect's room in order to proceed with the interrogation,

otherwise they refuse to co-operate - 'You're guessing Holmes' - and if you try

and callback, their phone will be busy for 10 game minutes.



Move your finger to the telephone and press the fire button.

Highlight a suspect's name and press fire button.



NB: Go after the character you consider most likely to commit the murder. If

you've done your sleuthing, you can ask specific questions about the intended

victim, weapon and location. If you're right, the suspect will break down and

offer valuable information that will go into your 'Notes'.



Once they answer your call, you'll see four questions. One of the questions

correctly refers to something you've seen - if you've successfully broken into

that person's room. If correct, suspect responds: "You've been spying on me."

If wrong, suspect responds: "You're guessing Holmes." Then they hung up.



By getting the correct question, you force the suspect to answer specific

questions about the Murderer, Victim, Location and Weapon. Highlight the

question that will likely confirm your suspicions.



Now you're presented with a specific name. Highlight the name and the suspect

will respond with a weak response, i.e 'If Claudia is the killer, then Agatha

won't be the victim.'



Important: Watch for a change in expression. If the suspect appears upset or

rattled, follow up with another question based on the clues you've compiled.



As the suspects become increasingly nervous, they reveal more information. If

they appear calm, you're headed up the wrong trail.



Each response will be automatically plugged into your 'Phone Notes'.



Once you've gained enough information to make an accusation, phone the suspect,

highlight 'I wish to confront you' line and make your accusation.



If you're correct the suspect will reply 'Congratulations. But you'll never

prove it without a motive.'



At this point four motives will appear on the screen. Select one. If correct,

the suspect willl keel over and you've won the game. If wrong, the suspect will

hang up, your office window will open, a gun will appear and you're dead meat.



4. NOTES

There are four 'Notes' sections:

- PHONE NOTES

- BREAK IN NOTES

- MONITOR NOTES

- CALL NOTES



Phone Notes are a record of what you have learned during your interrogations.

You'll notice that the suspects tend to give two kinds of responses:



Weak, i.e.:

'If Agatha is the killer, don't worry about the gun.'

Strong, i.e:

'If Agatha is the killer, the gun will be the weapon.



NB: As you 'break down' a suspect with touchy questions, they will go from weak

responses to strong responses - keep on the pressure with questions "based on

information you've gathered."



The phone responses are automatically stored in your notes under five headings:



Source Murderer Victim Weapon Room



The Source is the person who gave you the clue. Each clue has

two parts. If they're shown in...



RED (C64), non-highlighted (Spectrum/Amstrad) - it means that the clue was weak.

YELLOW (C64), highlighted (Spectrum/Amstrad) - means that the clue was strong.

You can SORT or DELETE clues you have collected.



To sort clues:

1. Press the fire button while the highlight bar is over SORT.



2. Select which of the five categories you would like to have clues sorted

under, using the joystick left/right to move the highlight bar and press

the fire button.



Clues that do not have an element in the sort category will not be displayed.

To return all the clues to the screen, simply sort by Source.



To delete clues, select DELETE by:

1. Moving the highlight bar over the word DELETE.

2. Pressing the fire button (C64). A bar will appear (Spectrum/Amstrad).

3. Scroll up or down until the clue you want to delete is highlighted and

press the firebutton (C64). Move the bar up and down to select the clue to

delete. Then press fire button (Spectrum/Amstrad).