Sunday Software's Teaching Guide & Outline to
EXODUS ADVENTURES CD
This doc printed from www.sundaysoftare.com/Exodus/guide.htm About 6 pages to print.

Other links of interest:  www.sundaysoftware.com/Exodus    www.sundaysoftware.com/support

View and print the Monastery Map printout w/game helps
www.sundaysoftware.com/Exodus/monasterymap-big.jpg

View and Print the Teacher's Cheat Sheet www.sundaysoftware.com/Exodus/cheats.htm (a condensation of this guide with extra helps)

View and Print Student Worksheet Handouts:  Mission 1 | Mission 2  (pdfs)

View and Print my Exodus Lesson Sketches and Schedules for teaching a full unit on the Exodus story and incorporating the use of this CD. Includes game and video suggestions, as well as, How to make your classroom look like an Egyptian Village!  www.sundaysoftware.com/lessons/exodus.htm

Guide for Exodus CD Version 1.2
This document posted: August 2011
Printed from www.sundaysoftware.com/Exodus

In this Document:
1. Stuff Teacher's Should Read First
2. Outline
3. Technical Notes

Stuff Teachers Should Read First ...

• This guide contains "spoiler" information, and most of the secrets to successfully navigating each of the games. We'd love your feedback on the game and this guide. Email Neil at neil@sundaysoftware.com

• Always test the program on the computers you plan to TEACH with to make sure it will run. Consult www.sundaysoftware.com/support for tech help.

• Finding the key to the helicopter seems to be the hardest thing (for the teachers), so make sure you look at the "cheats" in this guide and use them to become the expert!

• The opening load time can be long on a slower computer. It's loading both the game and an opening video.

• In addition to this guide, we have a training article on Teaching with 3D games which you can print from www.sundaysoftware.com/articles/3dtips.htm

Game Overview

Exodus Adventures CD installs 3 lesson-games about the Exodus story on your hard drive and gives you a desktop startup icon. Within each game, the game's content must be played and completed in order. For example, in Game 2 you cannot skip to the Rock of Horeb level without first completing the Red Sea and Manna levels. Levels build on each other. If you don't see "Game 3: Promised Land" in the main menu of the game, then you don't have version 1.1 or 1.2. Go to our website to download the free 1.1 update files.

The main player is "Robin MacTavish" --teenage archaeologist whom your students guide throughout each game. The main "teacher" in the program is Sir Dabney MacTavish, Robin's eccentric British grandfather. In each level there are things which Robin must accomplish in order to proceed to the next part of the story. Listen carefully to Sir Dabney as he will usually tell you what to do next.

Think of each game as a "Scavenger Hunt" through the Exodus story. Working behind the scenes, Sir Dabney has recreated parts of the story for Robin to explore at the dig sites for which he is famously responsible. At times, the re-creations get out of hand. We don't know why Pharaoh's Palace traps Robin, it just does! Just enough danger to keep it interesting.

The Monastery is the main base of operations. It is a faithful 3-D re-creation of the real St. Catherine's monastery located at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Perhaps you've seen the real monastery in our Ten Commandments CD. The Monks there have had a lot of time to create learning experiences for pilgrims. Their "Red Sea Holographic Experience" is pure monastic imagination.

Moses is discussed in the games, but does not appear in any of the games. This is a CD "about the story." Sir Dabney and the monk "Brother Deni" condense the story and explain it, offering observations and asking questions throughout. Questions for further discussion and reflection are located throughout each game, either as graphics, or sometimes narrated by the characters. Keep your ears peeled.

Introducing the Game to your Students

We designed this CD with the expectation that an adult/older student helper would be guiding younger students in the use of this program. This is a lesson-designed CD, and not merely a game in which the user is to be left on their own. For best use and learning, go on the journey with them!

The game does have a learning curve. If you're not familiar with 3D games, or not adept at controlling action through the keyboard, it may be challenging for you. Kids adapt to it pretty quickly and will help each other. But as with all our more "gamey" programs, we recommend that you introduce the game to your students before the lesson date during a test run in the weeks prior to teaching with it. Let them run around a bit and get familiar with the controls.  Save a level, such as Goshen, and let them jump ahead to fly the helicopter.

Our worksheets help guide them through the content. It will also help to have a copy of our Teacher's Cheat Sheet close at hand. It condenses this guide. (www.sundaysoftware.com/Exodus/cheats.htm)

Each game should take about 30-40 minutes to play through, assuming the teachers have previewed content and can guide students where necessary. Time will vary depending on age, and ability of students. Listen to Dabney!  Print this guide and the Monastery Map graphic to help teachers or students.

Beginning Tech Notes

This program fully installs on your hard drive and installs a startup icon on your desktop. Archive the CD after installation. Unless you have specifically purchased a site license (and have the certificate from us) you must purchase one CD for each computer on which you wish to install the game.

To start the game, click the installed desktop icon. A test box appears with info about your computer. If you get an error, slide the error msg box to the side and copy the text in the test box. Then go to www.sundaysoftware.com/support and look up our tech notes for Exodus. If you get an error while starting the game on an older computer, you may need to update the graphic card, graphic driver or other system resource. There is a brief tech note in the Exodus folder and on the CD. The latest notes and updates are at sundaysoftware.com/Exodus.

NAVIGATE Robin using the arrow keys.
HOLD the SHIFT KEY to make Robin run faster.
TO MAKE ROBIN JUMP or climb -press the 'home' key while pressing the forward arrow.

At the beginning of a lesson, show your students how to SAVE their game, and save often.

CAUTION: Pressing the spacebar will bypass some if not most of the videos, however, it is NOT recommended that you do so!  In some cases, the videos contain important "what to do next" information. And in most cases, you cannot replay the videos. Additional caution --running around while an audio narration plays can sometimes cause irregular game actions. When Dabney or one of the monks is talking, wait.

If you need technical help, or have suggestions for this program, go to www.sundaysoftware.com/support, or email neil@sundaysoftware.com

IMPORTANT Game Play "Activation" Tips:

In each game there are things which Robin or her helicopter must "trigger" to happen. For example, in Game 1's Goshen Village she must approach several laptop computers to activate a videoclip. Sometimes you must back Robin up and approach the 'trigger' point again directly in front of the laptop. The proximity and angle of approach to the laptop is somewhat critical in order to properly trigger a video event. (just a vagary of the authoring tool). This can also apply to crates which Robin can automatically climb up in the Monastery. It can also apply to JUMPING up onto things. Just realize that Robin's model sometimes needs to adjust herself a step or two one way or the other to get over/past/up on things.

With other "triggers" timing is everything. For example, the guard in Goshen Village will not bother Robin until it is time to play the "Collect Straw" game. Then he will make her drop the straw if she gets in his way. Same thing with Sir Dabney and the Monks in Game 2. When approached they sometimes have important things to say. At other times they are silent.

At certain points in the game Robin must find her Archaeo-Air Blaster to fend off spiders and scorpions. They are harmless, but don't tell the kids!  AIMING the archaeo-blaster can be done with the mouse or pageup/pagedown keys. To FIRE an electric airblast -use either the mouse button or the Ctrl key on your keyboard. Three blasts and they're out.

Important Save Game Tip:    Always remember to SAVE YOUR GAME as you play. Then you can LOAD a saved game at a later time, or use the Load game feature to return to a spot in the game ~just in case something happens and you are stuck. To Save/Load, press your Esc key and follow the Main Menu prompts. See tech notes below for how to move saved game files to other computers.

How to Teach with Exodus Adventures CD

Each of the three lessons will take between 30 to 40 minutes to finish, depending on the age of your students, their playing skill and the length of time they stop to discuss/review content.

We have designed this CD to teach the scope and sequence of the major events of the Exodus story.  We expect that a teacher or parent will be at the computer with the students, or nearby, and want to discuss material in the game which the students may otherwise want to anxiously get past. There is more to the Exodus story than we could ever put into one CD. We hope you'll use this CD in conjunction with other teaching media and Bible study.  We hope you'll find content in this CD as a starting point for further discussion and Bible study.

Most of the scripture needed to understand the story is included in the storytelling. Scripture may be presented through video, narration or onscreen graphics. In most cases, we have used a modified version of the New Revised Standard, with minor changes for the sake of clarity of storytelling.

Age Range

This CD was designed for optimal use by older elementary and younger youth. However, early readers and preschoolers will enjoy the program immensely, and will need help completing it.

Navigational Advice

Listen carefully to Sir Dabney and Brother Deni in the program. They tell Robin what to do. If you do things out of order, stuff won't work. We have also put various notes and maps around the levels to remind the players. However, we recommend that adventurers take notes!  We have purposely put "what to do next" details within the Bible information videos and narrations so that students get used to paying attention!  We have also put "what to do next" info on the various signs and graphics throughout the program. Look around.  In some cases, the "what next" info is a clue, such as where to find the staff of Moses. A parchment by the Rock of Horeb has a cryptic message reminding Dabney to return the staff to the Tower of Masah (the big white tower in the monastery).

Robin begins each game in St. Catherine's Monastery, and after listening to either Brother Deni or meeting Sir Dabney and completing some tasks, she will eventually need to go get in the helicopter to fly somewhere to complete that game. The helicopter is always down in the main yard. Depending on the game, she will travel on foot or by helicopter (or both) to various locations in the Exodus terrain. In Game 1, Robin travels extensively by helicopter. In each game, LISTEN CAREFULLY to Sir Dabney's instructions about "what to do next". In Game 1,  Robin is also guided "what to do next" by the helicopter's compass -which displays pictures of locations she can fly to, depending on the direct she is pointing. Match the clipboard image to the compass image and you'll be headed in the right direction. Remember to SAVE your game location every few minutes so you can get back to it if something dreadful happens.

Things must be done in order for the game to unfold. You cannot skip activities, clues or area. We are telling and explaining the story in order (not running around mindlessly "collecting points")

Game Boundaries:
Each "level" in the game that Robin walks or flys through has boundaries. She'll bounce back from them, or scrape up against them. The terrains are not as big as they look!

Print the Monastery Map from www.sundaysoftware.com/Exodus/monasterymap-big.jpg  It will help you in each game. Most of the doors in the Monastery will not open. They are there for looks.

CREATE JUMP-TO POINTS:  While previewing the game, save your game at various locations, such as "in the Village" and "At the Burning Bush" just in case you need to give students a jump up to a location.

About the Video Clips in the Game

Located throughout the game are video clips which Robin's grandfather has assembled to teach her the story. These clips are courtesy of the TaLaCa  productiona~~    The video clips feature actual footage of all the Exodus locations, re-enactments, and narration from the scriptures. (These clips can also be played 'outside' the program by locating them in the c:Exodus folder on your harddrive and playing them with Windows Media Player). Pressing the spacebar will bypass the videos, however this is NOT recommended as often the narrations contain vital clues about what to do next!

Detailed Outline to Exodus Adventures

Do not read this if you don't want to know all the playing secrets!

GAME 1:
Moses & Pharaoh
Enslaved in Egypt, Birth of Moses, Burning Bush, Confrontation with Pharaoh

1) The game begins in the Monastery. Robin finds Brother Deni (right where Robin first appears) who gives her a recorded message from her grandfather. 2) He tells her to go to the Library, view the laptop video on the Bible stand in the Library, then go find the key to the helicopter up on the "Pink Patio" and fly NW to the Goshen Dig Site. You must view the video before looking for the key.

To find the key to the helicopter... after you have viewed the video in the Library at the stand and received Dabney's instructions, exit the Library, go back down the stairs and go left to the location where you first appeared in the game. Climb up the boxes and plank (located on the wall opposite where Deni first met Robin near the top of the big main staircase). Once up the boxes, walk up the roof and turn right -walking along the roof peak (you'll see the Library door up ahead in the distance). Look to your right and downward for the pink stucco-area door where Dabney has left a key to the helicopter. The key is floating there. (Note: Robin will automatically climb the boxes when you move her forward squarely against the edge of the boxes. If she doesn't climb, step her back and try again. Approach slowly and squarely. If that doesn't trigger her automatic climbing, use your HOME key and forward arrow key to make her jump up (fyi...there's a wall sign in the Library with a clue to the key's whereabouts. There's another sign on a wall in the monastery grounds with a clue as well, but you really shouldn't need them).

Once Robin grabs the key, she can jump down the roofs and find the Helicopter which is down in the main courtyard.

3)  Once in the helicopter... Robin needs to fly up over the wall (use the HOME key to power up and arrow keys to steer) and GO WEST toward the Nile River Trail Sign. A level change takes place when you fly into the sign. Robin enters Nile River level. 4) Now crossing the Nile, Robin looks at her clipboard, she matches the Goshen Village image to that on her compass in order to know which direction to fly. She lands on the Goshen Helipad by powering down (End key). Slow down as you approach and steer downward to land right on the pad. Now you can walk around.

Press the DOWN arrow and END key to slow the helicopter in for a landing.

Note About the Compass: The clipboard IMAGE in the helicopter always shows you a picture of where you need to fly next.  As you steer the helicopter, you'll notice various images appear in the compass. When the image in the compass matches the image on your clipboard, you know you're headed in the right direction.

Pay no attention to the direction of the compass arrow...it will not point to the correct location. Keep the image in view in the compass that matches your clipboard graphic.

4) The Goshen Dig Site is a recreation of an actual archaeological site in Goshen. It features a re-created Hebrew home. Robin must FIRST meet her grandfather down in the dig.

Glitch Warning:  Do not go to the Dig Tent before you meet with Dabney down in the digsite. If you go to the Tent first, and try to play the video, the game will freeze. This will be corrected in an update.

Use your HOME key to JUMP over the canals as you also press your forward arrow key. If you fall into a canal, jump out using your Home key and forward arrow at the same time. Be square to the canal wall.

Down in the digsite Dabney tells Robin about the dig and gives her instructions to FIRST grab her Archaeo-Blaster (located in the dig behind Dabney) and THEN go view the Dig Tent video. In the video, Dabney tells the story of how the Hebrews came to live and become slaves in the land of Egypt and about the birth of Moses. After viewing the video, Robin can blast spiders. Dabney told Robin to meet her again after the video. Look for him.

How to use the Air-Blaster: Aim with the mouse or arrow keys and press the mouse button -or Ctrl key, to fire an air blast. Three blasts makes the spiders disappear. You do not have to blast them if you don't want to, but it can help you stay out of trouble, especially in the dig tent. Use your mouse to LOOK DOWN at her feet in the Tent ...sometimes the spider block here there. You can also jump past them using your Home key.

After viewing the videos, Robin then goes down into the dig to hear from Dabney again. He tells her to go view his DVD which he has misplaced. The DVD is found on the LAPTOP inside the Hebrew house. (You can't skip around. It won't activate if you go there without talking to Dabney.) When walking up to a laptop, if the video doesn't trigger, back up and walk up to it again squarely.

After exiting the Hebrew house, an Egyptian soldier appears and forces Robin to collect straw and take it to the mud pits. Press the "Enter" key at the straw pile to pick up one bundle. Robin must then get to the drop off point as fast as she can, pressing Enter again to drop the bundle. Four bundles and she's done. Allow the soldier to get too close and he barks out an insult to her and she drops the bundle.

Pictured right: the questions found in the mud-hut for further study.

After playing the straw game, Robin needs to approach Dabney --who tells her to watch one more video. The video is located on a laptop behind him. Then Dabney tells her to fly to Pharaoh's Palace to learn the story of Moses' confrontation with Pharaoh.  Before entering the helicopter, perhaps you will want to look at the study questions found on the table in the brick-making hut (pictured here). Or you can save your spot and come BACK to this level to discuss the questions after finishing the game.

If Robin falls in the mudpits, she will move very slowly until she comes to an edge where she can climb out. Press Home key to help her jump out. You might have to find the right 'edge' of the pit to get out. If she falls in the CANAL, face her sqaure to the edge and press the Home key while holding the forward arrow.

5)  Robin then flies her helicopter to Midian where she encounters God in the Burning Bush, just like Moses did. Look for the "ruins" sitting in the landscape and fly close to them to achieve the level change. Once in the Midian Level, there's a stone inscription on the hill explaining what to do.

In these Midian ruins, Robin must FIRST find the Burning Bush. It looks like a tree in the middle of the level. After the bush is done... Robin must NEXT find IN ORDER the three other additional locations where God will talk to Robin. He asks questions too, so be prepared to discuss. These discussion question appear on the screen as well.

God Location Clues: the "shiny God pylons" appear at the base of the three tallest stone structures. The pylons will appear when you walk up, but God will only speak when Robin walks up to the "correct" pylon  ...ie, they must be activated in the correct order. The pylons of light will appear, but if you don't hear God's narration at the pylon, go find the correct pylon. You might want to save your game as you enter this level, so you can come back to it and listen to God once more at a later time. Midian/Burning Bush is a good place to stop and consider what God is saying to Robin. "What excuses do we use to avoid doing what God tells us to do?"

After the three "God pylons" are finished, Dabney appears near the helicopter and tells Robin to fly to Pharaoh's Palace. Enter the helicopter and fly towards Pharaoh's Palace (pictured on the clipboard).

6)  Land at Pharaoh's Palace and enter the Palace. Inside Robin discovers that her grandfather's company has prepared a presentation for pilgrims about the Plagues on Egypt. Robin must first view a video on the laptop. Robin will then need to find the Archaeo-Blaster to stop the Egyptian soldier who has begun to insult the Israelites. (It's in the bushes). Next, a Hebrew Slave appears to narrate a 6 question quiz about the Plagues. The doors to the Palace do not open until the questions are answered.

7) Outside the Palace is a note from Dabney telling her to return to the Monastery. Fly toward the monastery (way out there in the east) and fly the helicopter INTO the obelisk/pylon sitting in front of it to change the level. Now you're in the monastery level and need to land. It's tight! ...so hit your End key to slow down, and Down arrow to aim for the pad. When you slow down and land on the pad, the level changes.

8)  END OF THE GAME: When Robin lands at the Monastery she needs to CLIMB THE TOWER and visit Sir Dabney who's standing up there. He has one final thing to say, and then a menu appears with the option to view the following discussion graphic (pictured right) with comments and follow-up questions. The stairs and boxes which lead up to the Tower are located in the same vicinity as the Red Sea room.

Note: Game 1 has the most video clips in it.

GAME 2:
Red Sea to Marah, and the Rock of Horeb
Red Sea, Library/Miriam's Song, Bitters waters at Marah, Manna, and Rock of Horeb

Reminder: Things must be done in order for the game to unfold. You cannot skip activities, clues or area. The story elements are designed to be told in order.

1)  Robin first meets Brother Deni who has a message from Sir Dabney.

2) Robin goes to meet Dabney in the Monastery Library. Walk up to him and he'll tell Robin to go to the Red Sea room across the monastery compound (see monastery map). Robin will need to head down the big staircase, then up the skinny side- staircase, --it's marked with a sign "Up to Tower and Red Sea Room" which is located at the bottom-right of the main staircase. Then she must climb the boxes and red-carpeted zigzag staircase that leads to the Red Sea Room. 

3) The Red Sea door opens and leads into a terrain with a viewing platform and pyramid. The scorpions are harmless, but can be blasted away with the air-blaster. Just for fun, the pyramid can be climbed (use the home key while pressing the forward arrow to make Robin jump).  In the Red Sea area Robin needs to find Brother Magdi, who tells her to go back to the pillars at the entrance of the Red Sea level and watch a video about CROSSING THE RED SEA. After the video is over, Robin will return to the Library for the Miriam's Song game. Note: A list of "what to do" in Game 2 was first given to Robin by Brother Deni. It also reappears on the chalkboard outside the Red Sea room, AND whenever you press the F1 key!

4) After the Red Sea Video, Robin goes back in the Monastery Library... Robin meets Dabney who tells her to play the Miriam's Song game. Be sure to VIEW the song game instructions which are sitting on the CHEST by the bookshelves. They contain the correct order of tiles.  Before you exit the Library, don't forget to look at the picture of Miriam.

About Miriam's Song Game: We've taken the scriptures from the Song of Miriam/Moses, and split them up into 7 chanted verses. They must be heard in the correct order to advance to the next level (Marah). You hear them by stepping on the colored floor tiles in the Library. You learn the correct order by studying the document left on the chest at the entrance. If you step on a tile out of order, you must step on the RESET til and start over.  The point here is to get the kids to HEAR the scripture verses. They summarize the events of the Exodus and praise God.   If you want to bypass the Library, step on a couple of colored tiles, then run out of the central bookshelves and find Dabney. In version 0.9/1.0 he'll tell you there's a switch you can throw. In version 1.1 he says it's a book, and it is. The switch is a book on one of the outer wall bookshelves. Walk along them and look carefully and you'll see a book titled: "DENI" at eye level that looks different than all the other books. Step Robin up to the book and press Enter to open the secret passageway to Marah in the wall of the library. Version 0.9/1.0 Technical Note: Don't step her TOO close to the bookshelf. In 0.9 there's a glitch where she can get stuck on that book. Try standing back from the book and pressing Enter. We recommend you SAVE your game before you press Enter! (not after).

5) Once the Miriam song game is completed, a secret door to the Marah Trail opens on the main wall of the Library. (Load time can be long for this level).  The trail leads out into the Sinai Desert to discover the rest of the Sinai crossing story of the Exodus.

6) Robin first comes to Marah: Bitter Waters made Sweet. She encounters a Hebrew dying of thirst (you can walk by him, but don't). There's a scroll on the sign by the bitter waters with a clue about how to solve the level. Robin must read the scroll then find a tree branch. (The tree is located behind rock outcropping/behind the well, --it will glow green when you approach it). When she walks up to the tree, the game will show her breaking off  a branch from the tree. Now she must carry it to the well, and throw the branch into the well (by pressing 'enter'). Robin will utter a prayer to God, throw the branch in, and the waters will change. The Hebrew now praises God and goes swimming. [Warning: If Robin decides to go in the well with him, it can be hard to jump out. Try it at the far left corner (as seen from within the well). Press Home and forward arrow keys at the same time repeatedly so she can catch her footing.]  NOTE: There is a secret way out that allows you to scale the rocks in the pool. Go to the vertical crevasse and  press your forward and jump key at the same time. She'll skedaddle right up and over.

7)  Night falls and Robin says she must get to Rephedim -in the Wilderness of Sin. Find the big sign shaped like a finger pointing and walk up to it (it's a distance from the well). This changes the level, taking Robin to the Cave level at Rephedim where she must find the hidden entrance to the cave and meet with Brother Deni, a monk from the monastery. This nighttime cave level is essentially a large square bounded by rocks. The CAVE is in the center of the level and its entrance is covered up by bushes. Walk through the bushes blocking the entrance. If you walk up to the bushes around the central rocks, you should be able to see the campfire glowing through the entrance to the cave. No one is home at the house near the cave.

8)  Once in the cave, navigate Robin to meet Brother Deni. He will invite her to the stump by the campfire, listen. After they talk, Robin says she is tired. Move her over to the bed.

9)  In the morning, Robin wakes up. Go out of the cave and look around. Find Brother Deni. Just as in the Bible story, Robin will now collect manna in a game. Once she has enough, Deni bids her farewell.

Listen carefully to Brother Deni. He says things which your students can discuss.

After collecting Manna, go back to Brother Deni. He will have a message from Dabney. Dabney tells Robin to climb up the rocky outcrop to find the helicopter UP TOP. Robin finds a rope hanging over the side and climbs up. Then she's off to the Monastery once again.

10) After landing at the Monastery helipad, Robin must go find Sir Dabney walking nearby. He tells her to "go find the Staff which Moses" used to bring forth water from the Rock of Horeb (the big rock in the courtyard). When Robin finds the staff on top of the Tower of Masah on the monastery grounds, she must then go STRIKE the Rock just as in the story. Water fills the lower courtyard, and a swim party ensues!  (Note: the staff does not appear in the tower until Robin meets Sir Dabney down by the rock.)

11)  END OF THE GAME:  Swim up to listen to Deni and Dabney in the pool. They have a few interesting (and humorous) things to say, including questions for discussion. Swim up to them several times. Press your Home and End keys to go up and down in the water. Press your shift key underwater to swim faster.

After you're done listening to and discussing what Dabney and Deni have to say, Robin can dive into the water from the buildings if she wants to. Climb up Masah tower and jump into the water. It's fun.

Helpful Graphics from Game 2:

Entrance to Red Sea Room is at end of red carpet. Tower of Masah can only be climbed one way as shown.

If you'd like to print any graphic on this page, right click it, select 'copy' and then paste into a wordprocessing document.

Game 3:  
The Promised Land 
Released in version 1.1 October 2008. If you don't see it listed in your game menu you need to download the free update at sundaysoftware.com.

Game 3 is essentially a "flying quiz" across the desert that gives students an "Overview" (sorry about the pun) of "the rest of the story" --the journey to the Promised Land. The actual story is spread over four books of the Bible !  ...so an 'overview' seemed appropriate. It introduces your students to some key ideas and stories, and locations in the where they can learn/read more.

The Game Plot:  MacTavish Enterprises has constructed a 7 Stage Pilgrimage across the desert. 7 signs must be found in the correct order and their seven questions must be answered correctly in order to make it to Mt. Nebo. Atop Mt Nebo, Sir Dabney and Robin have a brief conversation. You'll hear the questions narrated. They are NOT printed on the screen, only the answers are, so listen carefully!  The correct answer can be found by looking up the chapter/verse seen on the Station's sign. If you get it wrong, you are thrown back and must try that station again.

"Comments" for potential further discussion and reflection are spoken by Robin and Sir Dabney during the game, and at the end. These would make good points for a worksheet.

Press F2 on the keyboard at anytime during Game 3 to bring up an active map showing your location in the terrain. You can even fly with it open to see which direction to go.

Like Games 1 and 2, in Game 3 you can find the general DIRECTION to the 7 stations by matching the CLIPBOARD image to the COMPASS IMAGE. It's a bit tricky at times, but then, it is a GAME.

Game 3 is the only game to require FUEL to fly the helicopter. Look for the green cans in the landscape. If you run out, it's game over (or save your game often and reload a saved spot to continue).

After correctly answering all 7 questions, fly to Mt. Nebo. There Robin can exit and talk with Sir Dabney. The game is then over, but you can still move around or get back in the helicopter. You cannot fly back to the monastery.

3. TECHNICAL NOTES

These notes will be continually updated at www.sundaysoftware.com/support

Things to note:

1. When the game starts up, a white box appears to load your files and test your system. If you get an error message, please report it to us in its exact wording.

2. This game requires Windows Media Player 9 or higher to be installed. If you have Windows MP 8, the videos may not display correctly (or show at all). If you do not see the opening video with Dabney introducing the game (right after the white text box), then you need to go to www.microsoft.com and download the free Windows Media Player. A copy of it 'may' be on the original Exodus CD. We'll see! 

3. This game requires 16mb 3-D capable modern good quality videocard or chip. If the 3-D game play is whacked, it's probably your computer's quality that suffers. If you have Windows Me, your computer's video controller may be too old or low-quality to enjoy this game fully. XP era computers should be fine!

4. Set your screen resolution to as close to 800x600 as you can get. If you have a 'wide screen' aspect, as some laptops do, adjust your screen dimension to 800x600 proportions to avoid stretching of the game images.

5. If you have an older computer and are experiencing video display problems with this program, try updating your videochip/card's video driver. Go to your computer manufacturer's website to get their updated videodriver (something they update regularly!)

6. If you get "stuck" in the game, ie, Robin can't move... try nudging her in different directions, then try pressing the HOME key and forward arrow at the same time in different directions. Sometimes she just needs to jump away from a crack or object.

7. Sometimes "triggers" in the program need approached in a certain way. If you walk up to a laptop and don't see the "play" button, back up and try again. Depending on whatever, it might take a try or two.

8. STUCK?  SAVE SAVE SAVE your game locations as you play so you can restart at recent location if you get stuck.

9. Stuck in the Well of Marah?  If you decide to swim in the Marah Well, then just about the only location you can JUMP out from is the far left corner (as seen while standing IN the well). Home/Forward arrow a couple of times. And try for a bit of a running start. Same idea in the mupits and other water hazards. Sometimes Robin just needs to find the right "step" to get out.

10. In the Marah Nighttime terrain, there is a hole in the outer rock wall you can step through by accident. We recommend you step right back into the game terrain or you'll fall off into oblivion.

11. Game Save Info:  At this time, there are only six game save slots, and you can't really tell the difference between game 1 or game 2 saved slots (we hope to remedy this in the future). So pay attention to the slot picture you create and which game it came from. You can erase saved game info by deleting the >>>.sav file in the directory.

12. OPTIONS MENU:   You can adjust the relative sound volumes of the Music and Voices in the game by accessing the OPTIONS menu at the main menu. If you are experiencing BAD volumes, look there. Different computers handle sound a bit different, so play with the balances.  Set the "View Distance" all the way to the right IF you have a really nice computer. It will make distant graphics appear sooner.

13. Pressing F1 brings up Dabney's list of what to do in games 1 and 2. Press F2 in Game 3 for a map.

14. Here's a weird anomaly: In the Marah Nighttime Cave level, Robin can climb the outer bushes/rock walls if you run her against them while pressing the HOME key. She can get up on the boundary rocks, and even jump behind them. But be careful, if you run off the terrain too far you will fall into oblivion. Re-enter the same way you escaped.

15. W I D E screen issues. Many new monitors are wide aspect and not the standard 4:3 ratio. Exodus will stretch to fill the screen causing the width of the game images to be disproportionate to the height. Here's how you solve that... Press ALT-ENTER and the game will turn into a window. Now you can grab the sides of the windows with your mouse point and resize it to your preferred width and height.

16. Turn off "Sticky Keys" feature if you have it enabled on your system. It's in the Control Panel and can cause certain keys to repeat themselves and interfere with play.

17. The "save game" files are all the ".SAV" files in the Exodus folder on your harddrive. You can copy these to other computers where Exodus is installed ...if you want each computer to have the same 'saved' positions available to students. Some labs do this to jump start kids past certain sections they don't have time for or don't need to study.

Exodus Adventures on Windows VISTA...
You may have to install Exodus to a folder OTHER THAN the default install Program Files folder to avoid some Vista security glitches. Vista might thrown an error such as "acknex is closing down" or something similar. If it does, RIGHT click the Exodus startup icon on your desktop and select "Run as Administrator" to see if that solves it. If it doesn't, Right click the icon and select Properties then Compatibility and select "Run as XP" or "Win 98" to get Vista to lighten up. If that doesn't work, install Exodus to a new folder on your desktop and try running it from that folder. As a last resort, you should turn off your User Account Controls (UACs)... those dread pop up messages which Vista is infamous for. Turn them off in your Control Panel's user account options. Note: Vista Service Pack 1 seems to run 3d games better. Make sure you have the latest version of Vista AND the latest version of your computer's videodriver (which are often updated to fix incompatibilities). Consult our support page for more help. www.sundaysoftware.com/support

A reminder: Purchasing one copy of the Exodus CD entitles you to install that program on only one computer. Installing it on more computers is illegal unless you have purchased a site license direct from Sunday Software, and have the site certificate from us. Please remember to obey the 8th Commandment, and do not inappropriately install this program. Thanks! ~ Neil MacQueen, Sundaysoftware.com Inc.

Go to the Exodus Adventures Website at www.sundaysoftware.com/Exodus

View Ideas for Creating an Egyptian Village in your classroom at www.sundaysoftware.com/articles/village.htm