After the opening sequence has finished, the player is taken to the main menu of the game.
The menu is pretty straightforward. Click PLAY to start a new game. A window will appear where the player can select which of the five episodes he would like to play (currently only the first episode is available). Click RESTORE to continue playing a previously saved game. In the OPTIONS menu, the player can change video options (resolution, bit depth, reflections, shadows and other advanced settings), audio options (various volume settings, enabling/disabling narrator speech, enabling/disabling subtitles) and controls options (edit key settings). Click ABOUT to access the adventure gaming tips section or obtain some information about Phoenix Online Studios. QUIT is a button you don't need to use.
In-game toolbar and inventory screen
While in the game (and not during a cut-scene), move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen to access the game toolbar.
By clicking on the Daventry shield in the center of the toolbar, you access the menu where you can save the game, change settings, return to the main menu and so on.
The left side of the toolbar shows the action buttons. The action buttons can be selected by clicking on them in the toolbar, by right-clicking with the mouse to toggle through them or by pressing the action button's hot key on the keyboard.
The walk-icon is obviously to walk around. When the character walks into another area of the game, the screen will fade to black and load the new area. Use the look-icon often. Looking at items often reveals clues and sometimes gives entertaining information about previous King's Quest games. The use-icon is used both activating objects (opening a door, opening a chest, changing clothes and so on) as well as picking up objects. Objects which have been picked up, are automatically stored in the game inventory. When encountering other characters, always use the talk-icon on them as they may have important information to fulfill your quest.
The right side of the toolbar contains the inventory section. Unlike the classic adventure games, the Silver Lining supports not one, but three immediately accessible inventory items. Those are the three slots on the right side of the toolbar. To use an inventory item in the game, select it so the mouse pointer changes into the selected item, and click it on the person or item in the game screen. The game will confirm whether the inventory item is used properly or not. Though the first episode contained only three inventory items, later episodes will contain far more of them. Click on the bag to display the inventory screen with all inventory items.
In the inventory screen, the player can select, examine, activate and even combine inventory items.
