I feel that the controls are all fairly intuitive and that the operation of the game is fairly self-explanatory, so people who hate to read instructions will probably be okay in skipping these.  However, I made this readme so that the reader can benefit from the detailed account of the workings of the game given here and can possibly use this document for reference later on.

Combat2 Readme Contents:
I.     Copyright
II.    Navigating Menus
III.   Installation
IV.    Starting a New Game
V.     Loading a Saved Game
VI.    Deleting a Saved Game
VII.   Restoring Health
VIII.  Getting Missions
IX.    Talking
X.     Looking Around
XI.    Fighting Enemies
XII.   Storage
XIII.  Checking Your Statistics
XIV.   Training
XV.    Saving
XVI.   Two Player Mode
XVII.  The History of the Combat Engine
XVIII. The Word-wrapping Utility

I.  Copyright:

Copyright 2001 Jason Juett.  You may distribute only unedited versions of this game.  You must include these files in your distributions:
combat2 (program)
install (program)
status (PIC)
two (program)
wrap (program)
this readme (if you are distributing over the computer).
The wrap program is a utility for word-wrapping and can be distributed alone (you must include the documentation on it below if you are distributing via computer).

II.  Navigating Menus:
Navigating this game's menus is just like navigating the standard ones on your TI-89.  Consult your TI-89 manual if you don't know how to navigate these standard menus.  There is only one acception to the standard TI-89 rules -- in this game, NEVER try to utilize the "ESC=Cancel" feature on the pop-up dialog boxes; this will NOT cancel your action (it is in fact equivalent to hitting enter).  Instead of hitting ESC to cancel, simply select "Cancel" or an equivalent word from the drop down menu and hit enter.  You can exit the game at most any time by simply hitting ESC.  The game automatically saves whenever you exit.

III.  Installation:
Before starting a new game for the first time, you must install the program.  To do this, simply hit the install button.  Also, if you wish to reinstall the program, hit the install button.

IV:  Starting a New Game:
To start a new game, simply hit "New".  You will be prompted to enter a name.  Your name determines both your character's name (in multiplayer) and your save file.  There are an infinite amount of save spaces available (well, practically infinite -- your calculator's avaiable memory limits the amount of stuff you can save some), so you can create as many characters as you like.  After you enter your name, you will see some stats displayed and the game will ask you if you want to keep your character.  Agility determines how good your character is at dodging and blocking and how likely you are to hit your opponent with the "whack" attack (see Fighting Enemies below).  Strength determines how much damage your character does when using the "whack" or "throw" attacks.  Dexterity determines how well you use the "throw" and "shoot" attacks.  Intelligence determines how fast you gain experience, which you will later need in order to train (see Training below).  If you like your stats, then select "Yes", else select "No" and the game will re-roll your stats.  The first two always add up to 10 and the last two always add up to 10. 

V.  Loading a Saved Game:

To load a saved game, simply select "Continue" from the main menu and select the character that you want to load.

VI.  Deleting a Saved Game:

Simply select the file that you want to delete.

VII.  Restoring Health:

Select "hospital" and your health will be restored.

VIII.  Getting Missions:

Select "Weapons" and you will be given a mission.  You will either have to defeat a certain enemy of use a certain weapon to defeat any enemy.  You will be rewarded with a special weapon upon completion of your mission.  You must name your weapon something that is a valid variable name or the game will crash because the name for your weapon is what it is stored as.

IX.  Talking:

You may talk by pressing the "Talk" button.  You can pick up some useful hints through listening to what the town's resident has to say.  He says several different things.

X.  Looking Around:

Select "Look" to see the description of the town again.

XI.  Fighting Enemies:

To encounter an enemy, you must venture out into the wilderness.  To do this, select "Wilderness".  You will see a description of your enemy and his equipment and will then be given the option of fighting or running.  If you choose to fight, you can choose from 3 attacks -- whack, throw, and shoot.  You can target your attacks at three different parts of your opponent's body -- his head, torso, or right arm.  If his head or torso's health goes down to zero, he dies.  If his right arm's health goes down to zero, then it's broken and he's disabled.  Below the menus there is a picture which shows the health of those parts -- you're the guy on the left and your enemy's the guy on the right.  The numbers in the boxes represent you and your enemy's torsos' health.  The sticks shown in front of you and your opponent represent the positions of your weapons, which helps determine if a "whack" attack fails or succeeds -- it's easier to hit or block something closer to your weapon.  For example, a guy with his weapon by his head will be more vulnerable to whacks in the torso or arm.  Your opponent can also choose between these three attacks.  You can also look at you and your opponent's stats or try to run away.  If you fail to run away, then your opponent gets a free shot.  If you are attacked by the "whack" attack, then you can either try to block or dodge.  Dodging is usually harder, but blocking can either result in damage to your arm (if you're unarmed) or possibly the breaking of your weapon (if your opponent hits it hard enough).  After you win a battle, you gain experience based on how good your opponent was compared to you.  You also have the option of taking the enemy's equipment, but keep in mind that you can only carry one weapon, one armor, and one helmet at a time.  There is much, much more to the combat engine than I've mentioned.  Experiment a little to get a feel for the great variety of tactics involved.

XII.  Storage:
Simply select "storage", the type of item you want to work with, and then "deposit", "withdraw", or "drop".  You cannot retrieve dropped items.  One other note -- all of the players that you create can access what other players leave in the storage boxes.

XIII.  Checking Your Statistics:
Select "Statistics" from the town menu.  This feature is pretty self-explanatory.

XIV:  Training:
Once you get 10 experience, then you can train.  Training allows you to increase either your strength, agility, or dexterity by one.

XV.  Saving:
The game is automatically saved every time that you exit it.  If you die, then you start over at the point that you last saved.  For this reason, you might find that you want to save in the middle of a gaming session.  To do this, simply select "Save" from the town menu.

XVI.  Two Player Mode:

From the main menu, select "Two Player" to start a two-player deathmatch.  You will be prompted to select the characters that player one and player two will use.  Both characters will fight using whatever equipment they had on them at their last save.  Both players can be the same character.

XVII.  The History of the Combat Engine:

As you may have noticed, this game is actually the sequel to another game on the TI-86 (Combat).  The original Combat was a lot like this one, except not nearly as advanced and a lot more buggy.  The storyline was similar, and players had the same basic attacks "whack", "throw", "shoot", but you couldn't target different areas of the body, for example.  The original game was never published.  Both games were really made with the goal of developing the most advanced BASIC RPG combat engine for the TI calculators, and in-depth maps and storylines were saved for other projects (for a look at some of the author's work with story-oriented RPGs, see Dramas of the Future Part I in the TI-86 BASIC section and watch for the upcoming Dramas of the Future II for the TI-89 [it's also BASIC], which is truly going to be revolutionary).  Perhaps that goal of making the most advanced RPG combat engine has finally been realized.

XVIII.  The Word-Wrapping Utility:

Any programmers are welcome to use the word-wrapping utility (wrap) that comes with this game.  To use this program, store the string that you want wrapped to textt then run the wrap program.  It will automatically clear the screen before and after displaying the message and it will pause in the middle of displaying when necessary (like when the message takes up more than one screen) and at the end of the message.