
REIGN OF THE JUST Phase II - 4/7/2004
==========================

Hello and welcome to Reign Of The Just - The False Messiah,
a computer role-playing game in the style of Ultima VI.

The aim is to try and recreate the atmosphere of the classic
Ultima series, with a completely new plot and various other
enhancements to help bring it more up-to-date.

Reign of the Just is based on the 'IRE' engine found at
http://ire.sf.net and has been under serious development since
early 2000.

The game itself is roughly 66% complete but will take a fair bit more
effort and time to finish.  However, this demo should give you quite
a few hours of enjoyment as more of the game falls into place.  Each
of the four maps is the same physical size as Ultima 6 (though they are
not all completed yet!)


http://rotj.it-he.org - Reign of the Just homepage
http://www.it-he.org  - IT-HE Software


The Story  (Proper intro sequence will come later.  Want to help?)
---------

As a research scientist tending the syncrotron at CERN, you're part of
a team attempting to recreate the conditions at the dawn of the universe.

More energy is put into the accelerator than any previous attempt and
disaster strikes.  Instead of smashing atoms, the machine tears a hole
in the fabric of spacetime and you get sucked through it.

But instead of dying, you find yourself in a medieval church.  Plenty of
things are wrong.. you can somehow understand Middle English, and the
Church has been expecting your miraculous arrival ever since God told
them of your coming..



Playing the Game
----------------

The interface is based on the one from Ultima VI, but with
improved mouse support (more point-and-click than U6 was).

You can either use the arrow keys to move, or right-click with
the mouse on the game window.

To do things, you have a list of commands at the bottom-right
corner of the screen.  You can click on these with the mouse,
or press the first letter on the keyboard.

Most of the time you can get away with simply clicking on the object,
and the game will try to work out what you're trying to do.
This doesn't always work, since some objects can be used in several
different ways.  If the game does the wrong thing, click on the
appropriate command instead.

To open doors, you'll want to USE them.  Once you click on USE,
a direction cursor will appear.  You must then select the direction
of the object to use, either with the arrow keys or by clicking with
the mouse.

If you press F1, you'll see a list of keys which should be useful.

For more details, look at the IRE documentation in the 'docs' directory.


Gameplay issues
---------------

Here are some problems and features that haven't been sorted out yet:

1. You can't gain levels.  The player is fixed at level 8, which is why
   he would be capable of carrying a small motorcycle in his backpack.

2. Party support isn't great.  If a party member dies, they lie dead
   where they were felled.  Ideally they should be resurrected when
   the player dies, as is done in Ultima 6 and 7.

3. You can't bake bread.  It will work eventually.

4. Several villages are unfinished/nearly deserted.

5. The lay-priest acts very strangely when he's dead.

6. Don't be in too much of a hurry to trash the poor-box, since you may
   need it to pay the Tithes.

7. GIVE ME PORTRAITS!


Reporting Bugs
--------------

There's some rough edges.  There is a known issue that the
game sometimes crashes upon a reload.

If you want to report something, read the trouble.txt file first, since
a report that says 'It doesn't work!' is no good to anyone..
See also the contact info at the end.


Copyright and License
---------------------

Reign of the Just is copyright (C)2002-2004 J. P. Morris, IT-HE Software.

It is freeware.  You can copy and use it as much as you want, but please,
please try to keep the thing intact.  If you want to re-distribute it in a
modified form, e.g. for a Linux distribution, I'd appreciate being asked
first (it may even make the job easier :-)

Reign of the Just uses the IRE engine from IT-HE Software.  If you want
to try recompiling the game, get the source code from http://ire.sf.net
You'll need version 0.81 or above.  IRE is BSD licensed.

I'm not too keen on people ripping the artwork or music.  Ask me first.
Some of the artwork is based on tiles done by Lost Dragon, who has
generously agreed to allow this work to distributed under the BSD license.


'This Game Is Blasphemous!'
---------------------------

Not really.  YOU can commit blasphemy if you wish, and the game allows it,
but you'll soon get mashed if you go around mouthing off Jesus and God.

And of course, there is a REASON why the subtitle is 'The False Messiah'..

If I seem to be portraying the Church in a bad light, pick up a decent
history book and look up the middle ages.  Or examine the lives of the
first few Popes.


Mailing list and Contact Info
-----------------------------

There is now a general-purpose mailing list at the following address:
ire-users@lists.sourceforge.net

The archives can be browsed from the IRE project page on Sourceforge,
if you don't feel like subscribing.

To browse (or subscribe), visit the following pages:
http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=17640


Contact
-------

Email address...  jpm@it-he.org
		  jpm@it-he.com
		  doug-15@bigfoot.com

ROTJ web site.... http://rotj.it-he.org

IRE web site....  http://ire.it-he.org
		  http://ire.sourceforge.net

IT-HE web site..  http://www.it-he.org
		  http://www.it-he.com

