			    ___  _   _  _     _____
			   / __|| | | || |   |_   _|
			  | (__ | |_| || |__   | |
			   \___| \___/ |____|  |_|
			     Created By  Lee Blum
			     Studio-Blum.com/Cult

 				     FREEWARE

		        Version 2.06 (Multilingual)
		    Now fully featured in 20 languages!

   Cult is FREE. Give it to all your friends and upload it onto websites
   and web archives, but please only distribute the complete, unmodified
   archive.   Contact the author for information on distributing Cult on
   CD-ROM and other media.

				CONTENTS

		     Story of the Cult project.......1
		     New features in version 2.06....2
		     Installation & UnInstallation...3
		     Getting Started.................4
		     System requirements.............5
		     Game Story......................6
		     Game Tips & Hints...............7
		     Troubleshooting.................8
		     Version History.................9
		     Credits........................10
		     Copyright information..........11


____________________________________________________________________________
1. STORY OF THE CULT PROJECT

 It all started in 1997. I just wanted to make one of those old school
adventure games, opposed to the flood of Quake-style shoot-them-ups.

 Low tech graphics and a good story were my weapon.
Living in the Middle East, I knew right away that the whole idea in Cult
should be a non-violent solution to a very delicate situation. As violence
was necessary in order to beat any other game at that time, in Cult you had
to use negotiations and trade in order to reach a peaceful solution.
 ...Oh, and one more thing - Cult was free.

 So it really succeeded and hundreds of thousands have already played Cult,
but it started to look a bit outdated with its 8-bit graphics and sound.

 On December 1999 I started working on Cult version 2, and in ten months it
was ready. This total revision include much better graphics (but it's still
ain't Descent Freespace, as one Beta tester said), excellent music by Jeremy
Robson, solutions to most of the bugs, and the best thing about it - the
multilingual feature makes Cult available in TEN languages!

 As Cult is FREEWARE, all the people who have worked on it worked for free,
contributing their time, effort and good will. They have all volunteered
by contacting me through Cult's website, starting from Kevin Anderson
with his excellent proofreading work and great ideas and advice, and later
on with Vincent Bertrand and his translation of Cult to French. It continued
with all the rest of the translators that did a splendid job. I wish to
thank all of them for their work and friendship (they are credited at the
bottom of this file). I'd also like to thank all the great Beta testers that
helped me fix all the known bugs in Cult.

 By making the second version on one year of international effort, I found a
host of warm and diligent people, willing to work hard for a common goal.

 But the job is never done, and version 2.03 now includes three more
languages: Swedish, Czech and Turkish (Thanks to Christer, Daniel, and
Metin!). If you speak a language that Cult is not featured in, contact me
and join our team!

 On versions 2.04, 2.05 and 2.06 we welcome the new Polish, Swiss German, 
Mandarin, Finnish, Greek, Romanian, Hungarian and the revised German and 
Spanish versions. This brings Cult to be available 20 languages!

Making Cult was a team effort. I hope you'll enjoy the result!

				Sincerely yours,
					Lee Blum
                              		Author of Cult.

____________________________________________________________________________
2. NEW FEATURES IN VERSION 2.06

Version 2.06 (December, 2004)
- Hungarian version was added. Now Cult is available in 20 languages.

Version 2.05 (August, 2003)
- Two more languages added: Greek and Romanian! Now Cult is available
  in 19 languages.

Version 2.04 (March, 2002)
- Four more languages added: Polish, Mandarin, Finnish and Swiss German!
- Spanish and German versions were fixed for proofing mistakes
- Better memory management
- Some control fix-up
- Tips section was fully updated in ReadMe.txt

Version 2.03 (January, 2001)
- Three more languages added: Swedish, Czech and Turkish!

Version 2.0 (October 1, 2000)
- New 24-bit Graphics!
- New Original Background Music!
- New Full Screen or Windowed option!
- Better movement controls!
- 'File-Access error 75' abolished!
- Cheat Codes are available for health restoration, tips, and more!
- Full map of the game is available at the website, for those who get
  stuck and desperately need a hint!
- Cult is multilingual! Included full versions in English, French, Chinese,
  German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew and Italian!

____________________________________________________________________________
3. INSTALLATION & UNINSTALLATION

INSTALLATION
-> Unzip Cult.zip to a temporary directory.
-> Run 'Setup.exe'.
-> Select a directory and click on the computer picture to install.
-> Open the Windows Start menu.
-> Run the program by selecting "Cult" from the "Programs" submenu.

UNINSTALLATION
-> Run Cult, delete all saved game files and exit.
-> Double-click on "My Computer" on the desktop.
-> Double-click on "Control Panel".
-> Double-click on "Add/Remove Programs".
-> Select "Cult" from the list of programs.
-> Click on the "Add/Remove" button.

____________________________________________________________________________
4. GETTING STARTED

This section is for people unfamiliar with adventure games.  It contains
some spoilers, so if you want to fully enjoy the adventure, try to solve it
all by yourself!

Technically, to get started, run Cult from the Start menu.
Select your language, and the screen mode you prefer - full screen or
windowed mode.
Welcome to Cult! *In order to play, use only your keyboard!*
Use the arrow keys to navigate through the game's main menu, and hit
<Enter> when 'Story' or 'Help' is selected to learn more about the game.
Select 'Start a new game', and you'll find yourself at the beginning of your
adventure, right on the grounds of the villa that the Cult has barricaded
itself in. Many people don't realize that at this point they can explore the
garden outside the villa by walking east or west (north is 'up') from this
first screen. As you walk around, get the blue key from the Gardener's cabin
on the north bank of the canal and flip all the switches (those red
circles). Now enter the building. Talk to the Cult members a couple of times
until they open the room to D'shaque. Go to the eastern part of the garden
and enter his room from outside the building.

Now you're on your own!

If you get stuck, you can browse through the tips and hints section of this
readme, visit the Cult website at http://Studio-Blum.com/Cult/, or email me
at Cult@Studio-Blum.com.

____________________________________________________________________________
5. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

- Windows 95 or later
- 486+ processor
- 4MB free disk space
- 24-bit / 32-bit color depth

____________________________________________________________________________
6. GAME STORY

" Hi there.

My name is Zack Bon, and I'm a cop.

I've been a member of the special operations unit for three years, and now
I feel that I'm ready for my first solo operation.
Two weeks ago, about one hundred people who identify themselves as the
'Cult of the Stars' barricaded themselves in a villa two kilometers away
from town.

We know they have guns and ammunition, but we don't know what for.
Because the cult members have refused to talk, there haven't been any
negotiations.

Until now.

Two days ago I decided to go into the villa. I convinced my superior
officer to go along with my plan. After contacting the cult leader, he
allowed me to enter on two conditions - I must carry no weapons, and the
leader's chamber is off-limits. I agreed.

My goal is to work out this situation in peaceful ways. I can contact my
captain at any time with a state of the art MicroCommunicator that the
cult members don't know I have on me.

This is the last chance to save whoever is in that villa,
and the worst part is - we know there are children inside. "

____________________________________________________________________________
7. GAME TIPS & HINTS

For new and updated tips visit Cult's website @ http://Studio-Blum.com/Cult/

--
Q: I can't do anything! Am I missing anything?
A: You didn't notice that you have the option to explore the garden outside
    the villa. Assuming North is 'up', walk one screen south from the screen
    that you start the game at, then walk between the bushes one screen east
    or west. Now you're in the garden! (The garden is big, make sure you
    explore everything and don't forget to go back inside the building)
--
Q: I have a low health status!
A: Try to walk around the chemicals or at least not right on top
   of them, but on their edges. This way you won't get hurt so much.
   If you really need health and have no medical kit in sight, type
   'ZackIsBack' while playing and watch the miracle!
--
Q: What do I do with the Bible?!
A: Give it to one of the guys in the Social Club.
--
Q: Where is Nejara (whom the letter is addressed to)?
A: Nejara is one screen south of the screen you got the green key
   from. (It extends from a vertical corridor in the most eastern part of
   the building).
--
Q: How do I open Nejara's room?
A: The two switches to Nejara's room are one screen south to Nejara.
--
Q:I can't reach the sign in the southwestern room of the villa becuase of
   the chemicals.
A:The sign is a distraction. It reads 'No Smoking'.
--
Q:How do I open the door for the Women's Bathroom?
A: The bone is in the women's bathroom. The switch that opens that room is
   in a room one screen north of the bathroom.
--
Q: What do I do with the bone?
A: When you'll need it, you'll know.
--
Q: Where is the Brown Key?!
A: It is hiding on the edge of a body of water. Look closely...
--
Q: Been there, done that! Now really, where is the Brown Key?
A: All right, look inside the indoor garden.
--
Q:Where is the switch that opens the little room with the wristwatch?
A: The switch is located one screen east to the wristwatch, in the room with
   all the pillows and acid.
--
Q: Where is the swich to the room with all of the pillows and acid, north to
   the living quarters?
A: It is in the social club.
--
Q:Where is the switch that opens the Library?
A: The switch is one screen north of the library, in the most south-eastern
   room on the screen.
--
Q: Steve isn't talking to me, even though I have the gun!
A: Steve is on the pier EAST of the bridge, and not WEST of it.
--
Q: What are the FIVE DOORS?
A: There is only one place in the game with five doors. You'll know when 
   you get there.
--
Q: How do I open one of the FIVE DOORS?
A: 	Door One:
   Door One is opened by a switch in a small room (with many plants in it),
   one screen north to the Library screen.
	Door Two:
   (It is recommended to read just up to the point you're stuck at, and not
   continue until the end of the hint): To open Door Two you need to give
   the Bible to one of the guys in the Social Club (A specific one, so try
   them all). Then, use the Gun on Steve (On the east dock over the canal).
   Then, go to the Storage Room where the door was opened by Steve, and flip
   the switch.
	Door Three:
   To open Door Three, give the puppet to the little Girl in the Living
   Quarters.
	Door Four:
   To open Door Four, give the book 'The Catcher in the Rye' (from the
   Library) to the man in the room which can be accessed from one screen
   south to the Lobby. Then, give the video cassette (Get it from a room one
   screen west to the TV room screen) to the man in the TV room, the most
   south-eastern room of the building.
	Door Five:
   To open Door Five, give the empty envelope from Nejara to the man that is
   writing a letter (In the living quarters). Then, give the letter to
   Nejara (he is in a room that extends from a vertical corridor in the most
   eastern part of the building).
--

Didn't find what you were looking for? For an updated tips section,
visit the website at http://Studio-Blum.com/Cult/ .

____________________________________________________________________________
8. TROUBLESHOOTING

Thanks to your e-mails regarding previous versions, I managed to answer
most, if not all, of the technical questions that may arise when trying
to run the game.

--
Q: The game screen looks all messed up!
	OR
   A window pops up when I start Cult and says that I should change my
   Settings to small fonts.
A: The solution is simple, although a bit long. You have to change the
   Windows system font set to "Small Fonts" in the display options in order
   to run Cult. Right-Click your Desktop. Then click
   'Properties' > 'Settings' > 'Advanced' > 'General' > 'Font Size:'
   and select 'Small Fonts' from the drop-down menu.
--
Q: My computer freezes when I run Cult or close Cult in Full-Screen mode.
A: If this happens, wait a minute or so and sometimes the program will
   unfreeze by itself. If nothing happens, press Ctrl+Alt+Del and wait
   a few seconds. This will normally unlock the program. If that doesn't
   help, sorry - you have to reset your computer. If the problem persists,
   you ought to play Cult in Windowed mode.
--
Q: Zack moves really slow (or fast) when I use the arrow keys.
A: Use F5 and F6 to make Zack's movements slower or faster, thus easier
   to handle. If Zack moves really slow, restart your computer and run Cult 
   with no other programs in the background.
--
Q: When I run Cult I get "Can't load (or register) custom control
   picclp32.ocx".
A: From the "Start" menu, select "Run..." and type
   "c:\windows\system\regsvr32 picclp32.ocx".
--
Q: During installation I am asked to "Abort, Retry or Ignore" when one of
   the files is copied.
A: Press "Ignore" - It won't cause any problems. It just means that you
   already have the file in question.
--
Q: I don't have the file msvcirt.dll.
A: Email me at Cult@Studio-Blum.com and I'll send the file to you directly.
--
Q: I get "Run-time error 16: expression too complex"
A: This is the most annoying bug in Cult. I tried to fight it in every
   possible way (including a long correspondence with Microsoft) but it is
   way too stubborn! It appears on some machines, and just doesn't let go.
   The best advice I could give you is to try to run the game in windowed
   mode, when no other program is running simultaneously, and save the
   game often...
--
Didn't find what you've been looking for? For updated troubleshooting,
visit the website at http://Studio-Blum.com/Cult/
--

____________________________________________________________________________
9. VERSION HISTORY

Version 2.06 (December, 2004)
- Hungarian version was added. Now Cult is available in 20 languages.

Version 2.05 (August, 2003)
- Two more languages added: Greek and Romanian! Now Cult is available
  in 19 languages.

Version 2.04 (March, 2002)
- Four more languages added: Polish, Mandarin, Finnish and Swiss-German!
- Spanish and German versions were fixed for proofing mistakes
- Better memory management
- Some control fix-up
- Tips section was fully updated in ReadMe.txt

Version 2.03 (January, 2001)
- Three more languages added: Swedish, Czech and Turkish!

Version 2.0 (October 1, 2000)
- New 24-bit Graphics!
- New Original Background Music!
- New Full Screen or Windowed option!
- Better movement controls!
- 'File-Access error 75' abolished!
- Cheat Codes are available for health restoration, tips, and more!
- Full map of the game is available at the website, for those who get
  stuck and desperately need a hint!
- Cult is multilingual! Included full versions in English, French, Chinese,
  German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew and Italian!

Version 1.24 (July 1, 1999)
- Fixed a few typos.
- Fixed a pixel glitch that occured in some computers.
- Updated Troubleshooting and Tips in the ReadMe file.

Version 1.23 (July 20, 1998)
- All the game scripts were proofread by Kevin Anderson.
- Simultaneous release of Cult 1.23 Hebrew version.
- Opening screen renewed.
- Change of plot in two major issues along the story line.
- Music and Sound Effects can be toggled on/off.
- Faster animation due to character graphical change.
- Fixed problem - First sentence in microcommunicator didn't show up if
  space was pressed.
- Fixed problem - Zack was going through walls on some occasions
  requiring the game to be loaded or restarted.
- Fixed problem - Zack could get stuck in the storage room requiring the
  game to be restarted.
- Troubleshooting updated with two new technical problems.

Version 1.22 (May 3, 1998)
- Added troubleshooting for common technical errors.
- Wall blocking problem fixed.
- Zack's STEPS dimmed.
- Ending music is always played.
- Map fixed (Storage room).

Version 1.21 (April 1, 1998)
- A minor bug caused a fatal error... fixed.
- Even faster animation.
- Web site is up!

Version 1.2
- Cult is now freeware!
- Better graphic procedures now produce faster animation and page loading.

Version 1.1
- Fixed errors in map file that resulted in "Input past end of file"
  message.
- Fixed bug at the ending sequence. (Game ends even though the player didn't
  complete all tasks.)
- Fixed grammar and spelling mistakes.

Version 1.0
- After five months of hard work, "Cult" is finally compiled and ready to
  go!
- Temporary web site is up!

____________________________________________________________________________
10. CREDITS

A GAME by
	Lee Blum <Lee@Studio-Blum.Com>
ENGLISH PROOFREADING
	Kevin Anderson
ORIGINAL MUSIC
	Jeremy Robson <jrobson17@cogeco.Ca>
      <http://www.angelfire.Com/il/JersMidis/>

INTERNATIONAL VERSIONS
FRENCH
	Vincent Bertrand <vbertrand@hotmail.Com>
CHINESE
	Zhai Yuefeng <peterzhai@email.Com>
DUTCH
	Hetty Minkjan <minkjan.bommel@planet.nl>
GERMAN
	Ronny Otto <Gamezworld.de>
ITALIAN
	Caroline Havemann <carolinehavemann@t-online.De>
	Davide "Gendo Ikari" Mascolo <mana_kirishima@hotmail.com>
HEBREW
	Lee Blum <Lee@Studio-Blum.com>
PORTUGUESE
	Sergio Leser <sleser@ig.com.br>
SPANISH
	Sergio Ramirez <sg2359@yahoo.com>
	Gabriela Contreras <gaby@mandalaxy.com>
RUSSIAN
	Evgeny Bychkov <teenbull@mail.Ru>
SWEDISH
	Christer Alfredsson <christer.johan.alfredsson@telia.com>
CZECH
	Daniel Reznicek <DanQ@email.cz>
TURKISH
	Metin Selcuk <mselcuk@iname.com>
POLISH
        Michal "Joel" Zacharzewski <joel@hub.wp-sa.Pl @ http://gry.wp.pl>
SWISS GERMAN
	Gianni "M." Burgener <gianni@tbwil.Ch>
MANDARIN
	Joseph Gao <joseph-gao@thefreeinternet.co.uk>
FINNISH
	Santtu Hietamaki <hietamaki@surfeu.fi>
GREEK
	Jacaranda Bill <prg@jacarandabill.com>
ROMANIAN
	Alexandra Zota <AlexandraZ@xnet.ro>
HUNGARIAN
	Vrkonyi Tibor

BETA TESTERS
Rob Mackenzie, Roger Martin, Andy Howard, Jing Zhao,
Marvin G. Wise Jr., Audrey Beck, Casey King, Peter Holvenstot,
Patrick Muesken, Andrew Lenahan, Thomas Zeller, Jon Hansson,
Peter Douthwright, Ryunosuke Berglund, Jack Johansen, Viorel Gruia.
____________________________________________________________________________
11. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

1998 - 2004 (C) All Rights Reserved to Lee Blum

"Cult" in its distributed version can be copied freely.
However, the game files must not be changed, hacked, or decompiled in any
manner. This software is copyrighted. Therefore, the graphics, music, plot,
or any other part of the game must not be copied or duplicated by any
method. The author must be noted of mass distribution of the game by
CD-ROMs, diskettes, or any other distribution not through the Internet.
The game must be distributed in its original full version with all the game
files, unmodified. Not following these rules is a clear violation of the
law. This software is provided "as is" and the author will not be held
responsible in any way for any damage that it may cause.
The correctness of the multilingual versions is under the responsibility
of the translators.
