INTRODUCTION:
Speo is a JRPG-styled dungeon crawler, and a homage to Lufia 2's Ancient Cave. The game's main
objective is fairly simple in theory: reach the 100th level without dying. Every 25 floors there's
an optional boss; defeating it will substantially boost your score, but the fights can be risky.
See if you can reach the end, and if you want to keep on playing after that, see how high you can
get your best score.

Dying in the Chasm will return you to the lobby, where you'll see the results of your expedition and
be offered the chance to save your progress. Even if you die in the Chasm, your progress won't just
vanish into the ether; the longer you stick at it, the more characters and perks you'll unlock.

Once you get in-game, remember to read the handbook that will be in your inventory if you need
a slightly deeper overview.

If you're so inclined, head over to https://speo.bardcore.org/ for updates and other such things.



CONTROLS:
Movement/cursor navigation
    Keyboard: Arrow keys, KJHL, numpad 2468
    Gamepad: D-pad or left stick 
Confirm choice/give enemies a free move in the Chasm ("twiddle")
    Keyboard: Enter/return, space, Z, Y, numpad enter
    Gamepad: Button 1/3 (DirectInput), button X/A (XInput) 
Cancel choice/open field menu
    Keyboard: Escape, X, C, V, B, N, numpad 0
    Gamepad: Button 2 (DirectInput), button B (XInput) 
Charge the Silver Flash (hold it down for a while)
    Keyboard: Shift
    Gamepad: Button 4 (DirectInput), button Y (XInput), shoulder buttons (both)
Toggle windowed/fullscreen
    Keyboard: F4
    Gamepad: No support
Open the video config window
    Keyboard: F5
    Gamepad: No support
Immediately terminate the game and go to the title menu (Engine forces this. I'm so, so sorry.)
    Keyboard: F12
    Gamepad: No support



DEBUG MODE CONTROLS:
Skip text 
    Keyboard: Shift (hold)
Walk through walls 
    Keyboard: Control (hold)
Open switch/variable debug menu
    Keyboard: F9
Break out of currently-executing event script
    Keyboard: F10 (may require holding in some cases)



REPORTING BUGS AND ISSUES:
Make an account on https://bugs.bardcore.org/ and browse Speo's bugs to see if your issue has
already been reported. If it hasn't, feel free to do the deed. Make sure you select Speo as
the project you're reporting your bug to, since the Bardcore tracker handles a number of
distinct pieces of software.

Please -don't- post requests for support on that site, it's purely for bug reports! 
If you get stuck, try reading your in-game handbook, experimenting, or even opening the game
in RPG Maker 2003's editor, if you own it. With persistence comes comprehension.

If you've tried your hardest to figure something out and just can't, drop me a line 
at digi@bardcore.org. It might take me a while to respond, but I'll try my best to point you
in the right direction. 

By the same token as not requesting support on the bug tracker, though, please DON'T report bugs by 
email. Keeping them in one place helps me and my co-dev stop them from falling through the cracks. 
Thanks!



DISCLAIMER:
Speo 1.x is based on the RPG Maker 2003 engine, and due to its limitations, a number of things are
unimplemented, or implemented differently than I would have chosen to do otherwise. These
limitations may be resolved with the release of 2.0, which will use a custom engine, but this
release will likely take some time (and if things go poorly, may not happen at all).

The internal code is... extremely messy, and to be frank, I'm a little ashamed to be showcasing it
the way I am. But the game is fully editable if you own RPG Maker 2003, and you have my full
permission to edit it if you should wish to (see LICENSE).

Between the hacky code and the free/homebrewed assets, Speo's pretty rough overall, but I hope
you have some fun with it!



CREDITS:
A list of contributors to the project is available in-game. Read the tabled book near the stairs
in the lobby.