tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23168588980122325772024-03-18T19:49:18.036-07:00CRPG AdventuresNathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-49634226639997223892022-08-14T06:21:00.000-07:002022-08-14T06:21:02.997-07:00Priority Adventure 8: Ghost Town (1980)<div style="text-align: justify;">Among the many things that can kill a blog is a repetition of the same material over and over again. It's possible I'm in danger of committing that sin right now, as I'm back with yet another Scott Adams text adventure. Not only that, it's another Scott Adams treasure hunt. I'll say this for the man, he knew what was working and he stuck with it. Thankfully he has a habit of switching up the themes and settings. So far he's done a D&D-style fantasy, a pirate game, a spy game in a nuclear facility, two horror-themed adventures, a sci-fi, a spy game set in a theme park, and an Egyptian adventure. Now he's back with a game set in an Old West ghost town. There aren't a lot of Western-themed adventure games that I'm aware of, so this one promised to be a bit of a novelty. Well, for the sake of the blog I sure hope so...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0F1OqwSB3wi-mErlgquSPmT-8GzPrLJwIQnugK6UVOlh57XZwSC_65sZDA27D6bcW0mhhuTdXsdNcE6XIiqWbHY0oIGusHDZGgLG4JnEYBpCrOWN2t25Pu4HdiFTyzml5Gl3WEQpLzZqCqUBAc6BJSjYJhg7Kb7qitRyFiHMXeT1aa5F8HapxSefbw/s592/scottadams9orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="383" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0F1OqwSB3wi-mErlgquSPmT-8GzPrLJwIQnugK6UVOlh57XZwSC_65sZDA27D6bcW0mhhuTdXsdNcE6XIiqWbHY0oIGusHDZGgLG4JnEYBpCrOWN2t25Pu4HdiFTyzml5Gl3WEQpLzZqCqUBAc6BJSjYJhg7Kb7qitRyFiHMXeT1aa5F8HapxSefbw/w259-h400/scottadams9orig.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Another accurate cover from<br />Adventure International</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's not a lot out there about the creation of <i>Ghost Town</i>. It's coming towards the end of Adams' white hot creative output, where he released a dozen games over the course of three years. We'll see eventually if the workload starts to affect the quality of Adams' games, but thus far he's been remarkably consistent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I played <i>Ghost Town</i> back in May. Apparently I played the TRS-80 version, as my victory screenshots at the end of this post will attest. For reasons of convenience I used the Apple II version to get my screenshots while replaying the game to write this post. I'm now only two games away from catching up on the games I played when I thought the blog was dead. Once I've caught up I have some plans which <i>might</i> allow me to increase my output. We'll see, I make no promises; regular readers will be aware of how erratic and inconsistent I can be with my schedule.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned above, <i>Ghost Town</i> is a treasure hunt, set in an Old West ghost town. There are thirteen treasures to collect (which I assume was done deliberately for <i>maximum spookiness</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7iR8rv4hpzSZnANyU2rPH2QCURG8C9t684tXoXnZOU58SNhNu1TsqUjsK3raRmYH36F-sxjfmBZK-LGG5L5vnRqQl9DDgUv0g2xeVqqXa8MZ-2vHzr3N_-myMH06uhJYP-VgZ0O3lDvHv-Fcc5v6I8PIkHyKbHK3LaKMiwgQTmWHBwbE0X7sO1W78mg/s560/GhostTownStart.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7iR8rv4hpzSZnANyU2rPH2QCURG8C9t684tXoXnZOU58SNhNu1TsqUjsK3raRmYH36F-sxjfmBZK-LGG5L5vnRqQl9DDgUv0g2xeVqqXa8MZ-2vHzr3N_-myMH06uhJYP-VgZ0O3lDvHv-Fcc5v6I8PIkHyKbHK3LaKMiwgQTmWHBwbE0X7sO1W78mg/w400-h274/GhostTownStart.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Does anyone know who the Cherens were?<br />I got nothing.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The game begins with the player standing out in the street of the titular ghost town. Checking my inventory revealed that I was carrying nothing. Typing SCORE told me that I had stored 0 treasures, giving me a score of 0 out of 100. It also showed that I had 0 out of a possible 50 bonus points. This was a new wrinkle to the Adams formula, and although I scored a few along the way I didn't figure the bonus points out until I started reading a walkthrough. More on that later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On one side of the street was a jail, with barred windows and a door latched from the inside. On the other side was a barbershop, where I found a stetson hat. Wearing the hat gave me the message that "something feels strange", which immediately set my alarm bells ringing. Adams doesn't put these messages in the game for nothing, so I was convinced that there was something hidden in the hat. Looking at it told me that the hat was my size, but nothing else I tried gave me more information. I wouldn't figure out the hat's secret until much later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heading east down the road eventually led to Boot Hill (the name of TSR's western tabletop RPG, and also a common term for a burial site for gunfighters). A rattlesnake was here, and although it wasn't particularly hostile its presence was enough to stop me from getting anything done in this area. Trying to take the rattlesnake caused it to bite and kill me (predictably). This was something to come back to later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">West of the barbershop and jail was more road, flanked by a saloon and a dry-goods store. In the saloon I found a large bell and a mirror. Looking in the mirror told me that I was "very pretty", while ringing the bell caused a ghostly voice to whisper the word "vain...". Could these be connected? (Probably not, because the ghost kept pestering me all over the map regardless of the bell's presence. The ghostly voice was sometimes accompanied by a bell sound.) I was able to take the bell, but not the mirror.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the dry goods store I hit the inventory jackpot: a shovel, a compass (pointing north), and a dozen matches. A sign here read "DROP *TREASURES* THEN SCORE", which could be rudimentary dating advice but in this context meant that this is where I needed to bring the town's various treasures to beat the game. Finding the place where you need to store your treasures is always a massive relief in a Scott Adams game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heading west down the street again, I came to a telegraph office and a hotel. The office contained a safe (locked) and a telegraph key, Nothing happened when I pressed the key, so I left and entered the hotel lobby. Behind the counter was a *cashbox* - my first treasure! There was also a sign that read "RING FOR ROOM SERVICE". Ringing the bell I'd found in the saloon seemed like the thing to do, but had no effect here. East of the lobby was an empty hotel room. Empty rooms are always suspicious in these games, so I tried ringing the bell again (it was for room service, after all). This caused a bed to appear. I was able to get inside the bed, but no amount of examining or trying to look under the bed revealed anything. This was another mystery for later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even further west down the road I came to a stable. Inside I found a stall and a manure pile. There was a horse in the stall (called 'Ole Paint, which is apparently an American breed of horse), and a horseshoe. Getting on the horse was the obvious course here, and once I was up there I found some *silver spurs* (where were they before?). I tried putting them on and spurring the horse, but he bucked me off into the manure pile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(On the subject of 'Ole Paint, I assume that I'm supposed to read its name as "Old Paint", but the placement of the apostrophe makes that difficult. It should be spelled Ol' Paint, but as it is in the game the horse has a name like Hole Paint, Pole Paint, or maybe even Swole Paint.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leaving the horse for now, I used my shovel to dig in the manure pile. All I found was a pile of white crystals. Back in the stall I saw that there was now a hole in the wall and a bare hoof print. I tried shoeing the horse, only to be told that I was missing something (nails, I suspect). Sure enough, through the hole was a storeroom where I found a keg of nails. I couldn't take the nails directly; I had to empty the keg and take the nails once they were on the ground. After all this, I was still unable to shoe the horse. Maybe I need a hammer or something similar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Continuing west down the road I was finally out of town, at a crossroads leading north and south. The path north led to a large (and empty) field. As I've said before, nothing in these games is ever empty, and this was no exception. Digging revealed some yellow powder, which immediately made me think of gunpowder. (I'm not sure why, I have no idea how gunpowder is made. But what other powder would be appropriate in a western?) I tried typing MAKE GUNPOWDER, only to be told "something is missing". So I was right, I just needed to find more ingredients.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South of the fork was a ridge with a narrow ravine. (Remember that word "narrow", it'll be relevant in a later head-slapping moment.) I tried to go down the ravine, but the way was blocked by impassable sage brush and tumbleweed. This was the last avenue of exploration that was obviously open to me, so it was time to take stock of what I'd already discovered and start figuring things out. I'd only found two out of 13 treasures, which meant that I still had most of the game ahead of me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before I could do much investigating, though, the sun started going down, alerting me that the passage of time is important in this game. After a while the sun went down completely, and it was too dark to see. Moving around in the dark made me trip and break my neck, and no matter how long I waited it never got light again. I tried sleeping in the hotel bed, and woke up the next day with the sun shining again, but obviously I'd missed something here. I figured I needed a light source of some kind so I could explore the town at night. I had some matches, but those only lit up for a short time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I didn't have a light source, but remembering the matches made me think that I might be able to use them to burn the undergrowth blocking my entry to the ravine. This worked - all I had to do was LIGHT MATCH - and with the sagebrush burnt away I could descend to the bottom. There I found the charcoal remains of the sagebrush, and the entrance to a mine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Inside the mine it was predictably dark, but my recent play-through of <i>Pyramid of Doom</i> reminded me that items are often hidden in dark areas. I lit a match, which briefly flared and revealed a passage down, as well as a *silver bullet*. (Werewolves? In a western-themed game it seemed unlikely...) Heading down into another dark area, I lit a match again and... eureka! A candle! I now had a light source, and could explore the mine without the risk of breaking my neck in the dark.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alas, there was nothing to explore. A passage south led to a dead end with no apparent purpose. I tried digging there, but found nothing. There was nothing to do but return to town, drop the *silver bullet* off at the store, and try to solve some other puzzles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing I tried was looking around town at night now that I had the candle. The only thing out of the ordinary was in the saloon, where <i>something</i> was scared off when I entered. A bunch of stuff flashed on the screen when this happened, but it was all too fast for me to read. I could have tried taking a screenshot to read the flashing messages, but I figured that players in 1980 wouldn't have had that luxury. Whatever this mystery is, I wanted to solve it as legitimately as possible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next puzzle I solved happened almost entirely by accident. Frustrated after an hour of ineffectually trying things, I decided to take a look at the compass. Normally it points north, but this time it pointed to the horseshoe (which I luckily had in my possession). A magnet! During the last hour I'd tried the door to the jail, which was barred from the inside, so it was fresh in my mind. Using the horseshoe I was able to unlatch the door and get inside.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I went inside, a ghostly voice whispered a strange message: "Don't collect $200 then don't pass go! Contrapositive." I took the meaning of "contrapositive" to be that I should pass go and collect $200. Typing PASS GO informed me that "I can't do that... yet!" Something to keep in mind for later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Inside the jail I found a *golden derringer* and a locked door. I couldn't unlock the door (the magnet didn't work), and I had no idea if the derringer had bullets or not. But I did have an idea of where I could try it out...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heading east out of town, I tried shooting the snake with the derringer. Much to my surprise, the gun shot a stream of water; not what I expected, but enough to make the snake go away. With the snake gone I was able to dig with the shovel, creating an open grave. Inside the grave was a *gold coin* and a purple worm. Thankfully this purple worm was less deadly than the type from Dungeons & Dragons, or the one from <i>Pyramid of Doom</i>. I was able to kill it, leaving behind some purple slime and giving me a sense of satisfaction (as well as 1 bonus point).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRUIDX_wUvl44WGdThf9CozM-bZozgihvZ-06J2Ru7DLpVip1YCu-SNqylmem-dTe3uSNvQICYjNbXegxndkG_88khCbb4wrCUahg8BjC8gh3dAAC9FVxdhmt9aZJzHM16eO3qUEihNJ5OV-0A1-5Ub9w3U_wtHpfGTYgy-hSe5TFOWouvdhCROv8jQ/s560/GhostTownSnake.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRUIDX_wUvl44WGdThf9CozM-bZozgihvZ-06J2Ru7DLpVip1YCu-SNqylmem-dTe3uSNvQICYjNbXegxndkG_88khCbb4wrCUahg8BjC8gh3dAAC9FVxdhmt9aZJzHM16eO3qUEihNJ5OV-0A1-5Ub9w3U_wtHpfGTYgy-hSe5TFOWouvdhCROv8jQ/w400-h274/GhostTownSnake.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I can't imagine this ending well in real life.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was stymied again for a while, and spent a lot of time cycling back through the same areas and trying things that didn't pan out. My next breakthrough came at the ravine. I'd thought that making my way down the ravine was all I needed to do in this area, but I'd missed one important piece of description: it was a <i>narrow</i> ravine. I tried jumping over it, and much to my surprise it worked. I leaped over the ravine, into a whole new area of the game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There wasn't much here though, just an old shack with creaky floorboards and another telegraph key. Pressing the key did nothing, so I left. It wasn't until some time later that I registered the creaky floorboards as unusual. Taking one of the floorboards, I uncovered an entrance into the cellar, where I found some *pelts*. Another treasure down, seven left to go.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The problem was, this time I was <i>really</i> stuck. I had plenty of loose ends: the locked door in the jail, the safe, the two telegraph keys, getting what I needed to shoe Swole Paint, the incomplete gunpowder ingredients. The last of these is the one I solved first - I had the crystals and the yellow powder, but the final ingredient I needed was the charcoal left over from burning the ravine underbrush. So now I had a pile of gunpowder, but no way to pick it up. The solution here was the keg I'd found earlier, which had originally been filled with nails. I had a keg of gunpowder, now all I needed was something to blow up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The obvious candidate was the safe, so I took the keg to the telegraph office and dropped it there. I had matches, but lighting one didn't seem like the wisest course of action here. (I tried it anyway, with predictable results.) For that to work I needed a fuse, or maybe to make a trail of gunpowder. The game didn't seem to recognise the word FUSE, and I wasn't able to figure out a way to take a handful of gunpowder from the main pile. Either I was missing something obvious, or I didn't have what I needed to blow up the safe without killing myself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I eventually caved here, and looked up the answer. I was on the right track with using the gunpowder, but the method of blowing it up was not what I'd have expected. I needed to move the safe, thereby exposing some loose telegraph wires. By connecting the wires and pressing the telegraph key, I could run a spark through the wires that would blow up the gunpowder. Of course pressing the key in the telegraph office would kill me as well, but that's where the other key in the shack across the ravine came in. By dropping the keg here, going to the old shack, and pressing the key there, I could blow up the safe. This left the entire telegraph office as a smoking crater, with the wrecked safe lying open in the middle of the street. Inside it was a bag of *gold dust*, leaving me with six treasures still to find.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While messing with the key in the telegraph office (after connecting the wires) I'd received a clue in the form of a morse code message: "... .... .- -.- . - --- .--. .--. . .-.". Luckily for me I was playing this with the aid of the internet, where I was able to find a handy morse code translator; I pity the poor kids who had to figure this stuff out in the 80s from actual books with their actual brains. The code translated to SHAKE TOPPER, which baffled me for a bit before I realised that the topper it was referring to was a hat. Shaking the stetson I'd found earlier made a key fall out (and also made the hat fit my head properly).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The key unlocked the door in the jail, which led to a cell. The only thing in the cell was a hammer, but I'd been looking for one of those for ages. It was the last item I needed to shoe Profiterole Paint. I figured that now I'd be able to ride him somewhere, but when I tried I was told that I "may need a magic word". The first thing I tried was PLEASE, which obviously didn't work, but I had no other ideas, and there hadn't been any obvious clues. After a bit of experimentation I tried GIDDYUP as the obvious thing you say when you're on a horse. Asshole Paint raced off with me on his back, until he eventually bucked me off and left me in a hidden canyon next to a teepee.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Inside the teepee I found a *sacred tom tom* and a *turquoise necklace*; only four treasures to go! The problem was, I had no obvious way out of the canyon. With nothing else to do I ran through my inventory and started using the items I was carrying. The sacred tom tom provided the solution, as playing it summoned an Indian ghost. I must have really been in the stereotypical Western mindset at the time, because it didn't take me long to try saying HOW. "Geronimo" teleported me back to the manure pile in the stable, and I was able to deposit my treasures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBQERxat14a2XDiFuAFvOvnWF10RXw82-Plpun0B7_uB09-uQdaXBMpNdAtK7V4WgowQRysYHd-6wZmLgjtuu24br5zRiDw7ED8FgwqZK9J5Y0cWGKQOnz0UTNwqKc4lkv3GZkB89g5OIMgMhy5-IvMBss9PeI9N3VvcSyycxOhzr4jOi9XRm8y_tFg/s560/GhostTownHow.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBQERxat14a2XDiFuAFvOvnWF10RXw82-Plpun0B7_uB09-uQdaXBMpNdAtK7V4WgowQRysYHd-6wZmLgjtuu24br5zRiDw7ED8FgwqZK9J5Y0cWGKQOnz0UTNwqKc4lkv3GZkB89g5OIMgMhy5-IvMBss9PeI9N3VvcSyycxOhzr4jOi9XRm8y_tFg/w400-h274/GhostTownHow.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>At least the game didn't ask me to smokum peace pipe.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last few things I'd discovered had completely wiped out my list of loose ends, so I went through my notes to find anything that I hadn't found a use for, or other odd things I hadn't worked out. There were two things on that list, both involving the saloon: the mirror, and whatever it is that runs away when I go there at night time. The saloon ended up being the place that led me to all four remaining treasures, but I didn't work any of this out myself. From this point on, I was completely relying on a walkthrough. Eight years of this blog, and I'm wondering if I'm ever going to get good at these games...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing I'd missed was a ghostly piano player that shows up during the day (apparently after the mysterious bell noises I've been hearing periodically). The ghost and his piano are insubstantial, but if you clap the ghost takes a bow and vanishes, leaving his piano behind. (I guess this is the solution to the "vain" hint, with the piano player being the vain one in question.) Playing the piano clues you in that something is inside, and opening it reveals a map. The following message is written on the map: "IT'S MINE, DIG ROOF!" Aha, the dead end in the mine! I'd forgotten all about it as a potential mystery. I went back to the mine and used my shovel to dig away at the roof, and found a *gold nugget*.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the next treasure, I had to wait until nightfall and go back to the saloon. After entering (and scaring the patrons away), I extinguished my candle and then lit a match to briefly illuminate the place, which was now full of ghostly line dancers. I danced along with them and won a prize: a *silver cup*.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXHKDmE7r7P9jo6Wk7mQgtoKGpIFEP7YLWMJOibLUc11ataZkJNYUn5L5gY61FWIAPUXuMtvS9cdQ488d9tVvqVL_2Tj9az1VrSLjrOVAaJHQTK_qE8sUlfuaxzV_1SIFjG0rlkp1rH25jl6GT8vTTAkZZ6SiMJjrB312QoXfxDAS_jSC-Ji1vy_5CQ/s560/GhostTownDance.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXHKDmE7r7P9jo6Wk7mQgtoKGpIFEP7YLWMJOibLUc11ataZkJNYUn5L5gY61FWIAPUXuMtvS9cdQ488d9tVvqVL_2Tj9az1VrSLjrOVAaJHQTK_qE8sUlfuaxzV_1SIFjG0rlkp1rH25jl6GT8vTTAkZZ6SiMJjrB312QoXfxDAS_jSC-Ji1vy_5CQ/w400-h274/GhostTownDance.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Getting a brief glimpse of the ghostly square dance. If this<br />is what happens in the afterlife, I choose oblivion.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next treasure was hidden behind the mirror, but breaking it without the right preparation resulted in me being slashed to ribbons by flying glass. I needed to tape the mirror using a roll of tape found under the bed in the hotel. I hadn't found that tape, despite searching the bed multiple times. What I'd needed to do was MOVE BED, which is the second time in the game I'd been stumped by the need to move things around. By taping the mirror I was able to break it safely, and gain entrance to a hidden office. There I found an *Oriental Go board*, and only had one treasure remaining to find.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was able to get the last treasure on my own. I'd been clued in previously about the need to PASS GO, so I tried it here and was rewarded with $200. This is the second adventure game I've played that's used a Go board in conjunction with the idea of "passing go" from Monopoly. I think the other one was <i>Aldebaran-III.</i> I'm not sure that <i>Aldebaran-III</i> was widely played, so it's possible that Adams came up with it independently. It is the sort of odd pun that he seems to like.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With all of the treasures in hand, all that was left to do was collect them all at the store and type SCORE. This was my winning screen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-PYQ5ZkPrlgu8G732qAM0G7QS6fHMx3-Euou0xCA4d5rIqxYUqWiu1aH0Lj3sZGi0n6vW5nuHsD_dNNOsXXE_p5kqHnn-suWQpXGu5T5uhmWlOhZSb3JzUWMs3DoROZdV2zVaaHzRfr3_LqIMsqEV6wMyPDrx7amHQnmI1gMrrWx-I6q48qKk8KoF1w/s785/GhostTownVictory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="785" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-PYQ5ZkPrlgu8G732qAM0G7QS6fHMx3-Euou0xCA4d5rIqxYUqWiu1aH0Lj3sZGi0n6vW5nuHsD_dNNOsXXE_p5kqHnn-suWQpXGu5T5uhmWlOhZSb3JzUWMs3DoROZdV2zVaaHzRfr3_LqIMsqEV6wMyPDrx7amHQnmI1gMrrWx-I6q48qKk8KoF1w/w400-h295/GhostTownVictory.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It looks like my candle had run out just as I beat the game.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Winning was satisfying, of course, but having -34 bonus points wasn't something I could stand for. Apparently the amount of bonus points is determined by how many moves you make before finishing the game (as well as a single point for killing the purple worm in the grave). I wasn't able to find a detailed breakdown anywhere as to how the points and moves correlate. I ended up using a walkthrough with a solution, because I really couldn't be bothered sitting down to figure out an optimal path on my own. Here's my completely unearned total victory:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYD6reO6_u-bDyDvbeTIqkstdwDQTEuojHYZYbqQ6RQy6at4tmJt6SRBQ6e1dXB5zwu6_fivka4tLF_J9ylRP0NGbMFl2S1adlzEoVKHkXykNsGWXtycQ2I6wa18IRcY2bbVB8YYNTkjCr1iMZNIscGVbjFt1Rs5lGENlDCRb43EM3ImCKaLZLiek1g/s779/GhostTownCompleteVictory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="779" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYD6reO6_u-bDyDvbeTIqkstdwDQTEuojHYZYbqQ6RQy6at4tmJt6SRBQ6e1dXB5zwu6_fivka4tLF_J9ylRP0NGbMFl2S1adlzEoVKHkXykNsGWXtycQ2I6wa18IRcY2bbVB8YYNTkjCr1iMZNIscGVbjFt1Rs5lGENlDCRb43EM3ImCKaLZLiek1g/w400-h300/GhostTownCompleteVictory.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I've solved it ALL, except the bits I didn't!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Having more or less finished <i>Ghost Town</i>, it feels like a more satisfying experience than most of Adams' other games. The puzzles are difficult without being unfair (I was too quick to get help with the answers at the end), and it sticks to its theme throughout. Another solid effort from Adams, who has been nothing if not consistent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>THE RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Story & Setting:</b> The treasure hunt plot isn't going to score highly, but I like the Western ghost town setting. It sticks to its theme well, with only a moment or two that break the verisimilitude (I'm thinking mainly of the water pistol derringer here). <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> There are various ghosts about, as well as a snake, and 'Ole Paint. As usual with Adams, they're all obstacles with little in the way of personality or possibilities for interaction. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Aesthetics:</b> Come on now, you know how this works by now. It's a text adventure. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mechanics:</b> Another mechanically sound effort from Adams. His parser does the job, but it's still very simplistic. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Puzzles:</b> There were some genuine headscratchers in this one, but they all made sense in their own way. I especially liked the whole sequence required to blow up the safe: it's involved, but every step makes sense. My only complaint is that certain puzzles (especially saying HOW to the indian ghost) are easier if you have a familiarity with the kinds of Western stories that were common circa 1980. I grew up watching those movies, so for me it wasn't much of a problem, and I doubt it would have been for anyone when the game came out. Those Western cliches have very much gone out of style, but it's hard to criticise a game for expecting knowledge that was ubiquitous at its time of release. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Challenge:</b> I feel like this one was balanced pretty well, with a variety of puzzles and no frustrating random elements. The bonus points are also a nice optional challenge for those who want to try beating the game faster. I'm a little disappointed in myself for giving up on beating this game legitimately near the end; I feel like these were all puzzles I might have figured out eventually. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fun:</b> Aside from <i>The Count</i> (Adams' best game) and <i>Adventureland</i> (a genre that's right in my wheelhouse), I think I enjoyed playing this more than any of Adams' other games. Something about the setting and the nature of the puzzles came together for me, and it also didn't have any annoying early bottlenecks. It's a primitive text adventure, so there's only so high this rating can go, but the process of working this one out was enjoyable. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bonus Points: 0.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The above scores total 19, which doubled give <i>Ghost Town</i> a <b>RADNESS Index of 38.</b> That puts it just above <i>Adventureland</i>, Adams' very first game. I probably enjoyed <i>Adventureland</i> more, but if I'm being honest that game has a bunch of annoying random elements that drag it down. I'm happy enough for <i>Ghost Town</i> to sit second out of all Adams' games, with only <i>The Count</i> ranking higher.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>NEXT:</b> It's time to go back to the dunjon, with the latest <i>Dunjonquest </i>installment, <i>Morloc's Tower.</i></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-46360098989419780372022-07-17T08:25:00.000-07:002022-07-17T08:25:08.250-07:00Priority Adventure 7: Zork: The Great Underground Empire (1980)<div style="text-align: justify;">For long-time readers of the blog (or those who've gone back through the archives), this post might give a sense of deja vu. After all, I <a href="https://crpgadventures.blogspot.com/2016/03/zork-aka-dungeon-1978.html" target="_blank">have covered <i>Zork</i> before</a>, way back in the dim dark days of 2016 (the so-called "worst year ever" until every year after proved to be successively more horrible). The version I covered at that time was the original developed for the PDP-10 mainframe at MIT, or the closest I could get to emulating that version. Today I'm covering the game in it's most iconic, recognisable form: its commercial release as <i>Zork I: The Great Underground Empire</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But first, a little history refresher. After <i>Colossal Cave Adventure</i> became popular at MIT, four students (Dave Lebling, Tim Anderson, Marc Blank and Bruce Daniels) decided to create their own game in the same style. They developed it from 1977 to 1979, and it proved extremely popular. After graduation, three of the game's creators (Lebling, Blank and Anderson) went on to help found Infocom as a software development company. The three of them convinced the other founders that <i>Zork</i> could be sold commercially, and the game's eventual success changed the entire direction of the company.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the original game, the goal was to explore the Great Underground Empire in search of 31 treasures. Finding all of the treasures allowed entry to the Tomb of the Unknown Implementer, and an end-game gauntlet of puzzles that led to a fantastic treasury. The game ended with the player being forced to assume the role of the Dungeon Master, who must oversee the dungeon and its trials. The complete <i>Zork</i> was far too large for release on home computers, so the development team gradually cut it down into a smaller game. This game was released late in 1980 for the TRS-80, then on the Apple II in 1981 (followed by every computing platform known to man in later years).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupI7T_oC1UO_2n0Oz39OBJbSgMH2sRv6ICRPQYnLFaW9HpXptHgRnKLT0hiqM-EYoBtYNnwkuLLNZzmv1ExWMNQWDRM5uRtDtk--H8-VRC05Juzo88z07lrUBeDWLb97QwSF-PYqzFwSxhTXU0PZoSLsm62nnh3KgrPHSNb-MryGoTGd06bR-jAFIeg/s963/53590-zork-the-great-underground-empire-trs-80-front-cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="743" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupI7T_oC1UO_2n0Oz39OBJbSgMH2sRv6ICRPQYnLFaW9HpXptHgRnKLT0hiqM-EYoBtYNnwkuLLNZzmv1ExWMNQWDRM5uRtDtk--H8-VRC05Juzo88z07lrUBeDWLb97QwSF-PYqzFwSxhTXU0PZoSLsm62nnh3KgrPHSNb-MryGoTGd06bR-jAFIeg/s320/53590-zork-the-great-underground-empire-trs-80-front-cover.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The initial release of <i>Zork</i> was distributed by Personal Software, and features some artwork of dubious accuracy. The white house and the mailbox are on point, but the hulking barbarian is a far cry from the adventurer of <i>Zork,</i> at least as I imagine him. The manual that came with this version was quite extensive at around 30 pages, but mostly focuses on introducing the player to basic text adventure concepts, with little in the way of lore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OwR0Y3ekRSi_l6cd3bVsE5s54RL76IQ0ltr_Z38xaRAu6eaNny7UPJ29BvOWdyQPJFrkHtj1e-kSsDL1tjv-0qiBg8Tk1GkgXn2Xmacz1_oLELZWTjwUsbrr4W_50iOArTmRldFP-avLlVx7X9vn4_FCe1yZprdv2zKuv9KuvHtzyl88tanMfsKVAw/s344/Zork_I_box_art.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="289" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OwR0Y3ekRSi_l6cd3bVsE5s54RL76IQ0ltr_Z38xaRAu6eaNny7UPJ29BvOWdyQPJFrkHtj1e-kSsDL1tjv-0qiBg8Tk1GkgXn2Xmacz1_oLELZWTjwUsbrr4W_50iOArTmRldFP-avLlVx7X9vn4_FCe1yZprdv2zKuv9KuvHtzyl88tanMfsKVAw/s320/Zork_I_box_art.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">By 1981 Infocom had taken control of its own packaging, and this saw the debut of the classic cover that most of you should recognise. Early releases of this cover featured the same manual as before, but eventually the game would come with a booklet entitled <i>The Great Underground Empire: A History </i>(the version I found has a copyright of 1984). It's written in Infocom's customarily humorous style, and presents a history of the kings of Quendor, the empire which formerly ruled the lands where <i>Zork</i> is set. In brief, the war-like king Duncanthrax, after conquering everything he could on the surface, decided to expand his empire below ground, hiring the Frobozz Magic Construction Company to undertake the project. The work would be continued by his great-grandson, Lord Dimwit Flathead the Excessive, who commissioned a number of large and pointless projects (including the Flood Control Dam which appears in the game). That this was all written years after <i>Zork</i>'s development should tell you how relevant it is to the game itself, but it's amusing enough to be worth a read anyway.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I replayed <i>Zork</i> earlier this year (April, which means I've nearly caught up to the present day), choosing the Apple II version. It didn't take me long to breeze through, because I pretty much know all of this game's puzzles by heart. Playing this game is almost like being on autopilot for me, so I have no memory of the order I did things, or what my mental process was like at the time. There probably wasn't any mental process at all. So instead of going through the game beat by beat, I'm just going to run through all of the treasures and where they're found, with a focus on what's changed from the original game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwcCRsvSkLRBKjHBBC23yn3OwquXp_rwhqm0ts_K-ljPHP6ngVlVnzhbwtpKFev9EtIh3I2x-t5X9YLgdE_wIfJ1shP1tIsjxAR-tECEatazJlpL6C9JP9o1Y3rtOrmw665YVYApqwShWxP-d-WYMrLRQv9j3g7qnZz9oRhbzw8O1Iv518oKGbUUn9RQ/s560/ZorkStart.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwcCRsvSkLRBKjHBBC23yn3OwquXp_rwhqm0ts_K-ljPHP6ngVlVnzhbwtpKFev9EtIh3I2x-t5X9YLgdE_wIfJ1shP1tIsjxAR-tECEatazJlpL6C9JP9o1Y3rtOrmw665YVYApqwShWxP-d-WYMrLRQv9j3g7qnZz9oRhbzw8O1Iv518oKGbUUn9RQ/w400-h274/ZorkStart.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The iconic beginning.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The game begins in front of a white house, with the player standing next to a mailbox. The mailbox contains a leaflet welcoming the player to <i>Zork</i>. The surrounding forest hasn't changed from the original, still featuring a grate hidden under a pile of leaves, a tree with a nest containing a jewel-encrusted egg, and a canyon leading to the end of a rainbow. The house inside is also much the same: a kitchen with a water bottle and a sack (containing garlic and some lunch); a dark attic with a rope and a knife; and a living room where the player finds an elvish sword, a lantern, and an empty trophy case to store any treasures they find. The original version had a couple of extra items: a newspaper reporting on recent updates to the game, and a clay brick in the attic. The newspaper's obviously no longer needed, as the game's no longer in active development, and the puzzle involving the clay brick has been cut (more on that, and other cut content, below).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the living room is a trapdoor hidden beneath a rug, which leads to the Great Underground Empire. This is where the vast majority of the game's treasures are found, and as I said above I'm going to run through them all to give a sense of the game. If I don't mention any differences from the original game, assume the treasure is obtained in roughly the same way in both versions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1. Jewel-Encrusted Egg:</b> This is found in a tree not far from the white house, and is likely to be the first treasure the player will find. In a devious touch, it also happens to contain one of the last treasures the player is likely to find. See the <b>Clockwork Canary</b> below.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2. Beautiful Painting:</b> The path south of the entrance to the underground leads to an art gallery, where this painting is found. There's also a shaft here leading back up to the house, but the player can't squeeze through while carrying more than two inventory items. It's a quickly discovered way back to the surface, but an inconvenient one for someone who's found a lot of treasures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3. Bag of Coins:</b> North of the entrance to the underground is a hostile axe-wielding troll, who will have to be dealt with violently. (<i>Zork</i> has a couple of combat encounters, the outcomes of which are randomly determined. The player is more likely to succeed the more treasures they've found, but the troll is met much too early in the game for the player to have gotten any stronger. Luckily the elvish sword is usually enough to kill it.) West of the troll is a "maze of twisty little passages, all alike", which can be mapped by dropping items. (I must admit, this time around I just used a map I'd made years earlier.) Found in the maze is the skeleton of a former adventurer, and on its body is a rusty knife, a useless lantern, a skeleton key, and a bag of coins. The coins are a treasure, and the key unlocks a grate in the maze that leads back to the surface. (This adventurer was supposed to be the protagonist of <i>Colossal Cave Adventure, </i>something that I guess wouldn't have been as obvious to home computer players as it was to the mainframe users at MIT.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3-7FEArcNeRb27fxpVvCt1TF_BNYyiveV_vZobZxoghGg-vzs4ErVH9YRk4aMV4dRZPsnSN3qmuYtaH7rZgRpHsUxoR4DdrWnZpUBMZtN4tNpysXDi4-VIQv40A-WFDLYtEZDB_y9wIyA-d2YXz-7oh_Bbs2wA_X22yUyMkTy0_E-4yeFyjWsw5xRg/s560/ZorkTroll.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3-7FEArcNeRb27fxpVvCt1TF_BNYyiveV_vZobZxoghGg-vzs4ErVH9YRk4aMV4dRZPsnSN3qmuYtaH7rZgRpHsUxoR4DdrWnZpUBMZtN4tNpysXDi4-VIQv40A-WFDLYtEZDB_y9wIyA-d2YXz-7oh_Bbs2wA_X22yUyMkTy0_E-4yeFyjWsw5xRg/w400-h274/ZorkTroll.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In combat with the troll. They've cleaned out the seemingly meaningless<br />string of numbers that appears every round in the mainframe version</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>4. Platinum Bar:</b> Not far east of the Troll is a room that's so loud you can't concentrate to take any actions; everything you try just results in your command being echoed back at you. There's a platinum bar here, but the noise means you can't pick it up. I've always beaten this puzzle by using the ECHO command, which then allows you to act as normal. It's somewhat nonsensical, but shouting "echo" when there's an echo is something people do in real life, so I appreciate the designers acknowledging it. Apparently the noise is coming from the Flood Control Dam above, and you can also stop the noise by messing around with the dam, but I've never tried it that way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>5. Torch:</b> Not far from the Loud Room is a room with a deep shaft and a railing. You can tie a rope to the railing and climb to the bottom, where you'll find an ivory torch that is always lit. This item fixes the problem of your lantern having a limited battery, but it's also liable to be stolen by the thief if he wanders past. (Speaking of the thief, his tendency to move items around made this one of the biggest problem areas of the original version of the game. If you left the rope tied to the railing, he'd almost certainly wander by, untie it, and leave it at the bottom of the shaft where you could no longer get to it. It's needed for a later puzzle, so if this happens you can't win the game. In <i>Zork 1</i> you only need the rope to climb down this shaft, so if this happens it's not such a big deal.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>6. Gold Coffin:</b> South of the Torch Room is a Temple, an Altar, and an Egyptian Room where you find a gold coffin. In the original game this coffin's in an entirely different area, and due to its size and weight it takes a bit of rigmarole to carry it back to the trophy case. In <i>Zork I </i>you just need to pick it up then go pray at the nearby altar to be transported to the surface.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>7. Sceptre:</b> The sceptre is inside the coffin. I don't think this treasure is in the original game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>8. Pot of Gold:</b> If you take the sceptre to the end of the rainbow, you can WAVE SCEPTRE and the rainbow becomes solid. A pot of gold also appears at the end of the rainbow. This puzzle is in the original game, but instead of the sceptre you have to wave a magic wand which looks like a normal stick. Once the rainbow is solid you can use it to get to the top of the nearby waterfall.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>9. Crystal Skull:</b> Back at the Temple and Altar you'll find a brass bell, a book, and some candles. Not far from there is a gate to Hades that's blocked by the spirits of the dead. To get by the spirits you need to ring the bell, light the candles (using matches from the Dam), and read from the book. This lets you pass through the gate into Hades where you'll find a crystal skull just lying around. In the original game this gate leads to the Tomb of the Unknown Implementor, which eventually opens to reveal the end-game trial that's been cut from <i>Zork 1.</i> There's no crystal skull in the original game either.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>10. Trunk of Jewels:</b> Getting this treasure requires operating Flood Control Dam #3. To do this you need to figure out the right buttons to press in the dam's control room, and activate the control panel with a wrench. This activates the dam which lowers the water level of the river so you can cross. You can also then take the trunk of jewels, which is embedded in the river floor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>11. Trident:</b> The crystal trident of Poseidon is just lying around to the north of the river, and you can easily take it once you've activated the dam and crossed over. Alternatively you can use a mirror situated not far from the entrance to Hades: touching it teleports you to another mirror near the Trident Room.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>12. Jade Figurine:</b> Not far from there is a room with a Giant Bat guarding a jade figurine. The bat will grab you and dump you somewhere in the nearby Coal Mine, but if you're carrying some garlic it will leave you alone and you can take the figurine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOdRM0h-OMD8kjK-cUTBHOJGTbhB61-YEBEOeyVmylZ4SUwtVgG4wkcJaXhwplz05iikszJ9LQ7PLTunDMoKCb7mQu0mQELatr2Z1TWc9Tic84fZwUrQuMEowg7ExbPJm_Ir_3_eGTTA00R3E6deWwO9bUTL8HrIpvYNd5xmgx1qAmgCVmbkbTFVfcg/s560/ZorkBat.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOdRM0h-OMD8kjK-cUTBHOJGTbhB61-YEBEOeyVmylZ4SUwtVgG4wkcJaXhwplz05iikszJ9LQ7PLTunDMoKCb7mQu0mQELatr2Z1TWc9Tic84fZwUrQuMEowg7ExbPJm_Ir_3_eGTTA00R3E6deWwO9bUTL8HrIpvYNd5xmgx1qAmgCVmbkbTFVfcg/w400-h274/ZorkBat.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Being carried away by the bat, with a reference to Hunt the Wumpus.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>13. Sapphire Bracelet:</b> This bracelet is between the Bat Room and the Coal Mine, in a room filled with gas. Taking the ivory torch or a lit candle into this room results in a fatal explosion, but the lantern is safe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>14. Diamond:</b> At the end of the Coal Mine maze is a strange machine that can only be turned on if you're carrying a screwdriver. Getting into this room requires squeezing through a narrow crack, which you can only do while carrying one item. Unfortunately it's also dark in this area, so you need to bring a light source through as well as the items required for the machine. This is done via a basket that can be sent down from an area above. With all of this done, you then need to place a piece of coal in the machine and activate it to turn the coal into a diamond.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>15.</b> <b>Jeweled Scarab:</b> To get this item you first need to find the boat at the base of the dam, then inflate it using an air pump found across the river. Any sharp items in your inventory will cut the boat open, so you need to be careful before getting in and riding it downstream on the river. After a while you can disembark on a beach on the east bank and dig to find the scarab. In the original game, this item is a statue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>16</b><b>. Large Emerald: </b>Further down the river is a buoy that's there to warn you that you're about to go over Aragain Falls. If you take the buoy with you and open it up you'll find an emerald inside.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>17. Silver Chalice:</b> Deep in the maze is the lair of a Cyclops, which can be put to sleep with some food and water (or scared away with the name ODYSSEUS, but that solution's a little more obscure). Up above the Cyclops' lair is the hideout of the Thief. He'll show up to defend his home, and you'll have to beat him in a straight-up fight. If you try this early in the game there's little chance you'll win, but once you've obtained a decent number of treasures and racked up a good score you'll be able to kill him. In his lair you'll find the silver chalice, as well as any other treasures he's nicked off you during the game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>18. Clockwork Canary:</b> But wait, don't kill that Thief too quickly... First you'll need to make sure he steals the jewel-encrusted egg from you, because he's the only one who's skilled enough to get it open. Inside the egg is a clockwork canary. (Make sure to take the canary out of the egg before putting it in the trophy case, otherwise it won't register as a treasure. I forgot about this, and it took me ages to figure out why the game wasn't acknowledging that I had all of the treasures.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>19. Brass Bauble:</b> To find the bauble you need to take the clockwork canary into the forest and wind it up. The canary's song will summon a bird that drops the bauble at your feet. There are some birds singing occasionally when you go through the forest, which is definitely a clue, but this is one of the more obscure puzzles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>20. Ancient Map:</b> Once you've placed the previous 19 treasures in the trophy case, an ancient map will appear. This map leads outside to an old stone barrow, which you enter to beat the game and progress to <i>Zork II.</i> This map isn't in the original game, as it has an entirely different end-game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Q4lVEDEmrmqdKWNAxGBf98iBmML0TU_kXdwxBSMF84gvnm_6m1fuE8pGTHkvpHb6FppSo64zj06wkoXhM80d-iSSdWtysG46z_xySc2EK3Z9lSWaFPocYrAd9Xqx6dCKwgfV_WxTmHCMrT58FVo9I-L6L_m05lwjYtI-bdX9OaS2fWeNFmypS348Bw/s400/ZorkVictory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="400" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Q4lVEDEmrmqdKWNAxGBf98iBmML0TU_kXdwxBSMF84gvnm_6m1fuE8pGTHkvpHb6FppSo64zj06wkoXhM80d-iSSdWtysG46z_xySc2EK3Z9lSWaFPocYrAd9Xqx6dCKwgfV_WxTmHCMrT58FVo9I-L6L_m05lwjYtI-bdX9OaS2fWeNFmypS348Bw/w400-h250/ZorkVictory.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Following the map to the stone barrow. I forgot to screenshot<br />this when I played through, so I nicked this image from<br />gameingafter40.blogspot.com</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Going back over <i>Zork I</i> and comparing it to the mainframe version, I'm impressed at how much of the game they managed to fit into a home computer release. The entire overworld is present, as is the bulk of the underworld, albeit rearranged and streamlined somewhat. The areas that haven't been included are the ones that are harder to get to, and the ones containing the most difficult puzzles. I'll do a quick run-down of what was cut below:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The Bank of Zork is gone, which is just as well because I never quite figured out how it works. I guess I'll get to refamiliarise myself with it when I get to <i>Zork II.</i></li><li>The whole volcano shaft and the hot air balloon is gone. In terms of timing it's one of the more complex sequences in the original game. his is where the clay brick explosive I mentioned earlier came into play.</li><li>The area with the four cakes where you have to eat one to shrink down has been cut.</li><li>The nearby area where you have to control a robot to free yourself from a trap is also gone.</li><li>The puzzle with the three interconnected crystal balls is gone. This means that you no longer need to use the rope and timber to suspend yourself halfway down the coal mine shaft in order to access a secret room. This was one of the cleverer puzzles of the original, but also one of the fiddliest, so I can't say I miss it.</li><li>The entire end-game trial is gone, and as I recall has been moved to <i>Zork III</i>.</li><li>There's no "last lousy point", which was earned by sending away for a brochure and receiving a stamp that featured a dig at <i>Colossal Cave Adventure's</i> creator Don Woods. It's a shame, because I love the gag, but the in-joke wouldn't play as well on home computers as I assume it did to the mainframe users who were familiar with <i>Zork's</i> predecessor.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>That's pretty much all the major material that's been cut from the game, which isn't a whole lot. Of course this is just what I recalled from skimming my maps from years ago, so I could be missing something. Most of this material was moved to <i>Zork II</i>, with just the end-game trial being moved to the third game. I'm much less familiar with the latter two parts of the trilogy, and I'm looking forward to revisiting them to rediscover what's been added around the existing puzzles.</div><div><br /></div><div>I heartily enjoyed going back to <i>Zork I</i>, but I know the game so well that it hardly counts as playing it. Instead of being a challenge it's like a nostalgic walk through an old neighbourhood, albeit one where I might be murdered by a nasty Troll or a sly Thief. But the atmosphere and idiosyncratic humour of the game are so good that I always enjoy going back, and I'm sure I'll do so again a few years down the track. I expect this game to do exceptionally well on the RADNESS Index.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Story & Setting:</b> The mailbox, the white house, Aragain Falls, Flood Control Dam #3, the maze of twisty passages, all alike... The setting here is iconic, and the couple of asides about the fall of the Empire give it just a touch of history and wonder. The treasure hunt story is nothing special, but as an excuse to explore the Great Underground Empire it does the job. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> The Troll, the Thief, the Cyclops and the Bat are pretty much it. Most of them are simple puzzle or combat obstacles, but the Thief is something else entirely. He has personality, he has an agenda, and he has the ability to make you hurl expletives at your monitor. As I said when I played the mainframe version, the Thief is the single greatest villain in gaming up to that point. As of <i>Zork I</i>'s release in 1980, I still believe that's true. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Aesthetics:</b> It's an old-school text adventure, but due to the enjoyable writing this one's going to score about as high as a text adventure of the era can score. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Mechanics:</b> I don't know if I mentioned it the first time around, but the <i>Zork</i> parser runs really smoothly. Perhaps it's just my familiarity with the game, but I hardly ever run into issues with finding the right command, and that can be one of the biggest stumbling blocks for this genre. It also accepts some quite complex commands, especially in comparison to its contemporaries that are usually restricted to two words. I might be rating this one a little high, but it's the parser that all others are measured by. <b>Rating: 5 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Puzzles:</b> It doesn't have the difficulty of the mainframe version, but the puzzles in this game have been tightened up, and the most irritating ones have been completely cut. The difficulty ranges from dead simple to devious, but there's nothing here I'd classify as unfair. <b>Rating: 5 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Challenge:</b> <i>Zork I</i> is a tough game to crack, but with persistence it can be done without the need for a towering intellect (i.e. I was able to do it without help about a decade ago). I especially like that it begins with loads of simple puzzles, and saves the really hard ones for later. There's always something else to try in <i>Zork</i>, even when you feel like you're stuck. There are random elements that can kill you off, but the most likely of these is the Troll, and he's encountered right near the start. A hard game, but a fair one, and about as well-judged as any adventure game I've played. <b>Rating: 6 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Fun:</b> I always enjoy going back to <i>Zork</i>, so there's going to be an amount of bias in this score. But let me be real with you, this category is kind of bullshit, and represents nothing more than my own personal enjoyment of a game. <i>Zork</i>'s one of my faves, but it's not one of my <i>all-time</i> faves, and there's only so much you can get out of most adventure games once you've explored what they have to offer. It's hard to go past this one though, as it's one of the most enjoyable of the era. <b>Rating: 6 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Bonus Points: 2.</b> Iconic, influential, and it still holds up. A masterpiece.</div><div><br /></div><div>The categories above total 33, which doubled comes to 66. Add the bonus points, and <i>Zork I</i> scores a whopping <b>RADNESS Index of 68.</b> That's the highest rated game on the blog so far. The mainframe version is second on 64 points, which makes sense to me. The mainframe version might have more packed in, but <i>Zork I</i> is more focused, with a tighter environment and an emphasis on the exploration and puzzles that worked best from the original. Funnily enough, taking out the more frustrating parts of the original made for a better game. I doubt I'll ever go back to the mainframe <i>Zork</i>, but there's no question of whether I'll return to <i>Zork I</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>NEXT: </b>It's back to Scott Adams territory, as I put on my old west prospector's hat for <i>Ghost Town.</i></div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-69279807792659832882022-06-29T05:59:00.000-07:002022-06-29T05:59:37.692-07:00Priority Adventure 6: Pyramid of Doom (1979)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oFifkX9EtaYOoGQNeK1MOtTi_5VKtOEGGWT1N-i5ag9oWW9oWTaLIp5nx7R96MWEnbCYfqlTpyh3Pj-yPNUvATvCIuFeF33xM21A-pRXIwS1SmUQUKBT3LUE7rCPrJV7DFpXeL7C1mbht48j2HoOyG8abnwQjGwpntWsRl-e2GVzCnFFvzYlYcyzBw/s381/Pyramid_of_Doom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="262" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oFifkX9EtaYOoGQNeK1MOtTi_5VKtOEGGWT1N-i5ag9oWW9oWTaLIp5nx7R96MWEnbCYfqlTpyh3Pj-yPNUvATvCIuFeF33xM21A-pRXIwS1SmUQUKBT3LUE7rCPrJV7DFpXeL7C1mbht48j2HoOyG8abnwQjGwpntWsRl-e2GVzCnFFvzYlYcyzBw/w275-h400/Pyramid_of_Doom.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Pyramid of Doom </i>is the third game in a row on the blog from Scott Adams' Adventure series, which I realise could be getting a little tedious. I'm trying to catch up on the games I played last year when I thought the blog was dead for good. There'll be a little more variety going forward, I promise.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite this being part of his eponymous series, Adams only co-wrote this one. It's mostly the work of Alvin Files, who I can't find much about. According to Wikipedia he reverse-engineered Adams' games to write <i>Pyramid of Doom</i> and submitted it to Adams himself. Adams made some tweaks (so he gets a co-creator credit) and released it as part of his series.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We're back in familiar territory here, with the goal being to loot a pyramid of 13 treasures. I was convinced that Adams had made a game like this already, but I was getting mixed up with <i>King Tut's Tomb</i> by wonder-child Greg Hassett<i>. </i>Given the frequency of the treasure-hunting theme in these early adventure games, it's surprising that there have only been a couple of Egyptian-based games. It seems like a natural fit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I originally played this game in September and October of last year, but I remember almost nothing about it. I've probably said this before, but blogging through a game really helps to cement it in my memory, especially for short games that can be played through in a couple of hours. Those games go through my head so quickly that I might as well not have played them at all, but having to actually think and write about them makes the stick. It's one of the things I find most valuable about the blogging experience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The earliest versions of <i>Pyramid of Doom</i> were released on the TRS-80 and Apple II. The first time I played it was the TRS-80 version, but I'm switching to the Apple II for this revisit. Alas, my non-existent memory means that I won't be able to write about any differences between the two versions: the <b>Ports of Call</b> section is one of the things that's probably going to disappear from the blog due to lack of time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1cKDMTwunAWdQqOmfmr92a1DPnQ4mXH3oEQb4HCd-X0QJsJj8tQYM9x2iszR1KRZxBBvdh86A_5l4hzj1DUVSmCPfkMDY8t-0c-2-tkncIoxzedsIjOGh-kiHXDy2o_BHYvogz9FHpwaMo-QHM2Zkugqg9UAGTv7Mv2aFYXwe4ARbJIL7VlYOZOKIw/s560/PODStart.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1cKDMTwunAWdQqOmfmr92a1DPnQ4mXH3oEQb4HCd-X0QJsJj8tQYM9x2iszR1KRZxBBvdh86A_5l4hzj1DUVSmCPfkMDY8t-0c-2-tkncIoxzedsIjOGh-kiHXDy2o_BHYvogz9FHpwaMo-QHM2Zkugqg9UAGTv7Mv2aFYXwe4ARbJIL7VlYOZOKIw/w400-h274/PODStart.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Beginning my quest.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I start the game standing in the desert next to a pool of water, with a wooden pole embedded in the ground nearby. As usual, I began by typing the same three commands: SCORE, HELP<i> </i>and INVENTORY. SCORE told me that I'd found no treasures, giving me 0 points of a possible 100. HELP responded with the advice to "search and ye shall find". Thanks a bunch Scott and/or Alvin, I'd never have figured it out. INVENTORY revealed that I was carrying an empty canteen and a flashlight. This worried me a bit, as I thought I might have to deal with a finite light source as well as thirst. Thankfully neither became a problem.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The initial desert region was small, only four areas: the opening one with the pole and liquid, two apparently empty areas, and an area next to the titular pyramid. In the initial area I was able to fill my canteen with water, and also take the pole (which was actually a shovel embedded in the sand). I was also able to enter the pool of liquid, where I found a large key at the bottom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The area directly north of the starting area was just empty desert, and the same was true of the area to the north-east. Digging in both of them revealed a tiny key in the north-east area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">East of the pool was the area next to the pyramid. There was no obvious way inside, but there was a sign and a stone nearby. The sign warned me that "he who defiles the tombs of Egypt shall surely perish", which is definitely accurate as I died many times during this quest. The stone was covered in strange markings, but I couldn't read the message because it was incomplete. I was able to take the stone with me, revealing a large locked door. (It's not clear how, as the stone is hardly big enough to conceal a door if I can take it with me. Let's assume it was holding down a pressure plate or something.) The large key fit the door, but when I tried to go through I was crushed by a large stone. I needed to find a way to disarm this trap before I could start exploring the pyramid.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqNXraskBdzWX1I8NTPJiVW2Usn8BS7gF5JFzCVpRMjMvsWbqBk9xZX_zVU_loqmaHCvY6oRoigsZSlU1PdrLHc4AGLdBE17kb28SGIv47F030v9QOyU6FUTsS7LrKbbjPHbtAw0b3Be_mKma_ur8zYVVcq-z3Bs4ez6NJdpyt3lJynz13VhtwQtQug/s560/AppleWin_ScreenShot_000000003.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqNXraskBdzWX1I8NTPJiVW2Usn8BS7gF5JFzCVpRMjMvsWbqBk9xZX_zVU_loqmaHCvY6oRoigsZSlU1PdrLHc4AGLdBE17kb28SGIv47F030v9QOyU6FUTsS7LrKbbjPHbtAw0b3Be_mKma_ur8zYVVcq-z3Bs4ez6NJdpyt3lJynz13VhtwQtQug/w400-h274/AppleWin_ScreenShot_000000003.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Crushed by a falling stone.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hadn't tried digging next to the pyramid yet, and when I did it created a hole. At the bottom of the hole was a tiny locked door, which I was able to open with the tiny key. I was too big to get inside, but when I opened the door there was a sound like machinery. Sure enough I was now able to safely enter the pyramid, so I guess opening the tiny door disarmed the trap.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was dark inside the pyramid, but my flashlight was a simple solution to that problem. (A lot of adventure games of this era take inspiration from <i>Colossal Cave</i> and <i>Zork</i> by giving the player's light source a finite lifespan, but <i>Pyramid of Doom</i> mercifully refrained.) I was in a rocky entrance-way, where I found a pistol and some mouldy bandages. (I never did find a use for the bandages. Perhaps they're just there as a clue to the presence of a mummy, although this game being set in a pyramid was already a bit of a giveaway.) There was also a closed sarcophagus, and exits to the north and south. The sarcophagus opened onto a staircase leading down, but I decided to ignore that for now and explore to the north.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>It was at this point that a small nomad appeared and started following me around wherever I went. He wasn't an obstacle or impediment as such, but he was annoying enough for me to try killing him with my bare hands. Alas, I was informed that it wouldn't work, so it looked like I was stuck with this guy for a while. I figured he might come in handy later, but to be honest I was hoping to be able to get rid of the nuisance as quickly as possible. That was when I remembered my pistol, and gleefully shot him. He disappeared in a puff of smoke (like the dwarves from <i>Colossal Cave Adventure</i>), which was very satisfying. If I needed this guy, I was going to have to find out the hard way. (A look at my inventory revealed that my gun had 3 bullets remaining. The nomads keep popping up as you play, and it's possible to run out of bullets and get stuck with one following you. I never did find a purpose to these guys though.)</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heading north from the entrance, I passed through a dining room with a table, then east into a room that was dominated by a giant oyster. The oyster was blocking an archway beyond, and none of my attempts to move, kill or open the oyster were successful. There was a flute on the ground, but playing it had no effect. I took it with me and explored south of the entrance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I entered a sitting room, with a fireplace, ashes and a basket. Looking in the fireplace I found a lump of coal. My immediate instinct was to wash the coal, as I'd encountered similar puzzles in games before; doing so revealed that the coal was a *ruby*, denoted as a treasure by the surrounding asterisks. Looking in the ashes revealed a *gold necklace*, yet another treasure. I was on a roll! Looking in the basket wasn't quite so fruitful, as I was confronted by a hissing cobra. Playing the flute I'd found earlier caused the snake to open a secret passage behind the fireplace and slither away.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAbVpxOC3AM72FpG6SP2JfoU1JE_V6IvCsqIOXiR-m_2epfT5ZaEbp66UASvYBg1-LyOz75YIV2ZOLqU5VgpajhPYJH_u7AQOLakwzdcyAxrwwQniqIUV8E16hzyGJiqzSLAs3qg1vo3yA0Krx53Sfk-fuJwsmjVmAW0f_HAEjj1Izn6FeEOuCxEUIg/s560/AppleWin_ScreenShot_000000004.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAbVpxOC3AM72FpG6SP2JfoU1JE_V6IvCsqIOXiR-m_2epfT5ZaEbp66UASvYBg1-LyOz75YIV2ZOLqU5VgpajhPYJH_u7AQOLakwzdcyAxrwwQniqIUV8E16hzyGJiqzSLAs3qg1vo3yA0Krx53Sfk-fuJwsmjVmAW0f_HAEjj1Izn6FeEOuCxEUIg/w400-h274/AppleWin_ScreenShot_000000004.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The cobra opens a secret passage.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Through the passage was a sloping crawlway, where I was confronted by starving rats. With no food to give them, I tried shooting, and the noise scared them away. Unfortunately they weren't gone completely, they'd just fled north, into a room with a blood-stained altar. This time the rats attacked and killed me, and I was forced to restore a saved game. Heading back through the crawlway I ignored the rats, heading north without disturbing them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There was nothing obvious I could do with the altar (the game didn't recognise PRAY or SACRIFICE as verbs), so I took a passage east into a hieroglyphics room. On the floor was some dried camel jerky, which I took, thinking it might possibly be food for the rats. The hieroglyphics said "LEAVE *TREASURES* HERE!", so I'd found the all-important location to store my ill-gotten gains. (I later discovered that the hieroglyphics are incomplete, and you need the stone from outside the pyramid to read them. I'd been lucky enough to have it with me the first time I went in there.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dropping the gold necklace increased my score to 7, but curiously dropping the ruby didn't increase my score at all. I kept a note of this oddity, because small details like that can prove to be very important in these kinds of games. I was pretty sure the ruby was needed for another puzzle deeper in the game, but for now I left it in the treasure room for later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heading south from the altar, I fed the rats with the jerky. This satisfied them, and I was able to take the rats with me. Heading back north from the altar led to the room with the oyster, presumably through the arch. The urge to feed the rats to the oyster came over me, but that didn't work. Later, when I was trying different things to open the oyster, I tried feeding the jerky to it instead of the rats. The oyster ate the jerky and opened up, revealing a *black pearl*. It also allowed me to pass through the arch freely, back to the altar room. This path safely bypassed the rats, so I was happy enough to ignore them for now. By the time I tried this I was close to the end of the game, so I wasn't all that concerned as to whether feeding the rats was necessary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'd fully explored the ground floor, so it was time to enter the sarcophagus and go downstairs. The stairs led to a burial room, where I found an *antique tapestry* and some burning tanna leaves. More importantly, there was a fearsome mummy who was stopping me from taking the tapestry. I tried to shoot the mummy, but it didn't work, and the mummy strangled me to death. One restored game later, I returned and tried burning the mummy with the leaves, but they were too hot to take. There were exits leading north and south, so I decided to high-tail it and deal with the mummy later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The north passage led to a bricked-up doorway, with a rope on the floor. I couldn't get through the door, so I took the rope and ran back south past the mummy. This led to a tall room with a metal bar protruding from the ceiling. On the floor were a saw and a decapitated skeleton. I couldn't reach the bar, and nothing I tried worked on the skeleton. There was little I could do except go back north, and try to deal with the mummy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With no other bright ideas, I resorted to the standard adventure game technique of looking at my inventory and seeing what might work. It took me entirely too long to try pouring water on the leaves, but this worked, and put the mummy to sleep. Now I could take the tapestry, which revealed a hidden alcove.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BEVIMMDntqjVwPkUVmjlExuYOF7yX8qdG4qgbxbFDs-rDu9vf7SBLEODEWvu2plGXzNA2cZY3j-v4Zj0vjKB8y7jpIn8UMwfVpQDE4dU7LPr8tcfX3rau5YIdDKogtSsUjCgKZ15uc4O0nq4Q_q8aLxWuFEDjGdjQ6Z9ZBPLaiamyd80AnRTLSDYWw/s560/AppleWin_ScreenShot_000000005.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BEVIMMDntqjVwPkUVmjlExuYOF7yX8qdG4qgbxbFDs-rDu9vf7SBLEODEWvu2plGXzNA2cZY3j-v4Zj0vjKB8y7jpIn8UMwfVpQDE4dU7LPr8tcfX3rau5YIdDKogtSsUjCgKZ15uc4O0nq4Q_q8aLxWuFEDjGdjQ6Z9ZBPLaiamyd80AnRTLSDYWw/w400-h274/AppleWin_ScreenShot_000000005.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Putting the mummy to sleep.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Inside the alcove I found a chopping block, a skull, and a box. Looking at the skull revealed some *gold teeth*, and inside the box I found some bones and an iron glove. The obvious thing to do was reattach the skull to the decapitated skeleton, and when I did so the skeleton leapt up, pulled on the metal bar I couldn't reach, and lowered a ladder. The skeleton, now glowing, stayed behind, but I couldn't get it to respond to anything.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ladder led to a "revolving cavern", with exits to the north and south. North was a prison cell, with a dead explorer chained to the wall and a pile of rubbish. Looking around I found a *gold pin* on the explorer, and a *jade carving* in the pile of rubbish. There was also a closed portal; opening it caused a purple worm to enter the room. On the next move the purple worm devoured me; I suspect some <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> influence here, as the purple worm is a D&D monster with the ability to swallow creatures whole. Reloading my game, I decided to leave that portal closed for now and explore elsewhere.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHMGbjAOvyNo1voRNyA-5WsSgz0wEC2q3XPqwUwltep7enxvjC9LFXBi32MkOPVMjFIUqJNgEbF-OcwYBiZgAjN-RP-CfUYKaBXiWijqShLNvWBdzMV_NimYKVy3x7DyIHk5Owm1pFGvx6y4k20DUy6kUQqYlfOwFCY5F1rNvIDOFY4pSetTpzUyAPQ/s560/AppleWin_ScreenShot_000000006.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHMGbjAOvyNo1voRNyA-5WsSgz0wEC2q3XPqwUwltep7enxvjC9LFXBi32MkOPVMjFIUqJNgEbF-OcwYBiZgAjN-RP-CfUYKaBXiWijqShLNvWBdzMV_NimYKVy3x7DyIHk5Owm1pFGvx6y4k20DUy6kUQqYlfOwFCY5F1rNvIDOFY4pSetTpzUyAPQ/w400-h274/AppleWin_ScreenShot_000000006.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Feeding myself to the purple worm.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">South of the revolving cavern was a narrow ledge, where I found a *sapphire*. Far below was a pool of liquid (acid, as I fatally discovered when I tried jumping in), and above was a hole in the ceiling. I couldn't reach it, but throwing the rope worked.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Climbing the rope, I emerged into a throne room with a lot going on. Seated on the throne was the iron statue of a pharaoh. There was also a chain hanging from the ceiling, a wall mural, and a chest. The mural revealed a clue when I looked at it: "SEEK YE WELL THE HEART OF IRON". Next I tried pulling the chain, which resulted in the statue standing up with a hollow laugh. Pulling the chain again revealed a spiral staircase, but it was too late, as the advancing statue tore me apart. I returned and tried to open the chest, but the statue wouldn't let me do that, either. I figured I'd need to locate this "heart of iron" before I could do anything in this area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before that, I had other things to mess around with. Among my various fruitless endeavours I tried cutting the table with the saw, only for a *diamond necklace* to fall out. I hadn't expected this to work, I just thought I'd try the saw on the only wooden object in the game. The only other obvious place to go was the bricked-up doorway. I figured this one out through process of elimination: what items hadn't I used yet? The answer was the iron glove, which I used to punch through the bricks (badass).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Beyond the door was a hall of mirrors, which reflected my flashlight to the point where it was so blinding that I had to shut it off. I was still able to move around, and heading north, west or south took me back to the bricked-up hallway. Heading east led to a dressing room, where I found a *gold scarab*. I suspected there might be more to this puzzle than I'd discovered, but my initial impulse to break the mirrors resulted in 1,000 years bad luck in the form of a cave-in. I decided to leave this, and focus on the heart of iron.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was stumped at this point, and had gotten to the point where being done with the game was more enticing to me than figuring it out on my own. I looked up a walkthrough, and learned that the heart of iron was the ruby I'd uncovered earlier. I should have been able to figure this out; after all, I'd already spotted that it wasn't a proper treasure. But like I said, I'd reached the point of the game where I just wanted it done. To get rid of the iron statue I needed to throw the ruby into the pool of acid below the ledge. Once this was done, the statue melted into a pool of slag, and I could get to the treasures it was guarding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkK4F0-URiJ4e4tkMRN-hSKfId86FoPtkOCxTWfN06a4YWuBL7vd06XdyYOfrcjnMUUeXzd4LhCJoCYknAHGc_l-lYXCbw9ATtuMJdbejfzvGiCUqh7C9i8McYqgu4EBeIs1AdmX1WF5zQiaKm2tpAv93z-lIQ_eXg-Lxxe8UIBnefqdGIAEqzjrK0g/s560/PODRuby.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkK4F0-URiJ4e4tkMRN-hSKfId86FoPtkOCxTWfN06a4YWuBL7vd06XdyYOfrcjnMUUeXzd4LhCJoCYknAHGc_l-lYXCbw9ATtuMJdbejfzvGiCUqh7C9i8McYqgu4EBeIs1AdmX1WF5zQiaKm2tpAv93z-lIQ_eXg-Lxxe8UIBnefqdGIAEqzjrK0g/w400-h274/PODRuby.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Getting vengeance on the iron statue.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The chest opened without any trouble, and contained a *platinum crown*. The spiral staircase from the throne room led to a treasure room, with a barred window and a locked coffer. The coffer could be unlocked by the small key found way back at the beginning, but when I did a poison needle killed me. Wearing the iron glove allowed me to survive this trap, and take an *emerald bracelet*. The window bars could be cut open with the saw, and a *platinum bar* was found outside, on top of the pyramid.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At this point I'd found 12 treasures, which was one short of the full amount. As I was nearing the end of the game, and I'd already cheated once, I succumbed to the urge to use a walkthrough and be done with it. The last treasure was a gold coin, which was found in the hall of mirrors. With no light source usable in that area, the only way to find the coin was to FEEL. It's a puzzle I've encountered a couple of times in adventure games already, so I should have thought of it. Alas, I'm much more likely to try to think my way through things at the start of a game than near the end.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjPFlRQFRP6-eGK5GP5Q_d_cJn8eQK7-CtDS7explHX_XUARjVibAi1LQ2EiFIb25hi9QOx3o8RLLmQZ5aR6Od4m6fsSUzocAw8XkakdPj0cYfi47bBe8BHD2lz7uZBlXdcuAQNkcStbrcmT-rLjwnQezFr_gTIcwjX5CPdNYlf5dOAnGgUqMI6L16Q/s560/PODVictory%20(2).bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjPFlRQFRP6-eGK5GP5Q_d_cJn8eQK7-CtDS7explHX_XUARjVibAi1LQ2EiFIb25hi9QOx3o8RLLmQZ5aR6Od4m6fsSUzocAw8XkakdPj0cYfi47bBe8BHD2lz7uZBlXdcuAQNkcStbrcmT-rLjwnQezFr_gTIcwjX5CPdNYlf5dOAnGgUqMI6L16Q/w400-h274/PODVictory%20(2).bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Winning Pyramid of Doom</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Pyramid of Doom</i> doesn't do anything outside of the box, but it does provide a solid experience and I expect it to do reasonably well on the RADNESS Index. It should score comparably with Scott Adams' games, which would make it a cut above the standard fare of the day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>RADNESS Index:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Story & Setting:</b> The Egyptian-themed setting is strong at the beginning, but weakens a little towards the end as things get somewhat unfocused. The latter stages feel more like standard D&D than Egypt, what with the purple worm and the iron statue with its ruby heart. To the game's credit, the levels of the pyramid get smaller the further up you go, just as they would in real life. As for the story, it's yet another treasure hunt. I get why they're so prevalent, but boy they are <i>prevalent</i>. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> This one has a number of enemies that must be defeated: the mummy, the purple worm and the iron statue being the most prominent and memorable. There's also the string of desert nomads which follow you around, serving no apparent purpose except to provide a persistent nuisance for you to waste bullets on. There's a decent variety here, but none of these creatures can be interacted with to any great extent. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Aesthetics:</b> Text adventure, terse writing, no graphics or sound. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mechanics:</b> The game runs adequately, and I had no glitches or major problems wrangling with the parser. I object somewhat to the game not recognizing EXAMINE as a command, but LOOK still works so it's a minor quibble. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Puzzles:</b> This game plays fair for the most part, with the majority of its puzzles making sense, or being doable with a little trial and error. I wouldn't have minded some more clues for the ruby heart puzzle, but I don't think it's absurdly difficult (especially if you've noticed that it's not really a treasure). <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Challenge:</b> With fair puzzles and not a lot of random elements that can kill the player, <i>Pyramid of Doom</i> presents a reasonable challenge for the kind of game that it is. Of course, it's an old text adventure, and even the best of those have their frustrating and annoying elements. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fun:</b> It's a decently enjoyable text adventure, but there's a limit to the amount of enjoyment I can eke out of one of these things. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bonus Points: 0.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The above scores total 16, which doubled gives it a <b>RADNESS Index of 32.</b> Nothing special, but it does stand alongside Adams' games, which is a good debut effort for Alvin Files. I don't think Files made any games other than this, which is a bit of a shame. Reverse-engineering the Scott Adams engine is somewhat impressive, and I'd like to see what else Files could have done with it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>NEXT:</b> My next game is <i>Zork: The Great Underground Empire</i>, which I might be able to polish off reasonably quickly. I've already covered the mainframe version, and this cut down adaptation for home computers is a game that I have practically memorised. Always good to go back to though.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I should also mention that I've updated the sidebar with a page titled "Priority List and Chronological List". This replaces my schedule for 1979, since I've abandoned the Chronological List for the moment. If you want to know what games are coming up, that page has the answers. (Spoilers, it's a lot of Scott Adams adventures and Dunjonquest RPGs...)</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-77959556175065765282022-05-24T04:25:00.000-07:002022-05-24T04:25:05.851-07:00Priority Adventure 5: Mystery Fun House (1979)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQf6zVJBV2JkROCd1WWtG2GXCDagCKbuOtaN80N7iupIuLPZPc0GEMZZhYF7qvIpgBgAhPbGAZxNKuMe4szlXWm7-47Mt-yySYHJrAzkRGXGaPr0_OL54dstPZ5zzb4F6so5tA5xKEaUzAqnamg_1__-xfs7X_x4OQkR7FINsNDIjI_aRKtLYmVsL5Ww/s640/MFHCover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="439" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQf6zVJBV2JkROCd1WWtG2GXCDagCKbuOtaN80N7iupIuLPZPc0GEMZZhYF7qvIpgBgAhPbGAZxNKuMe4szlXWm7-47Mt-yySYHJrAzkRGXGaPr0_OL54dstPZ5zzb4F6so5tA5xKEaUzAqnamg_1__-xfs7X_x4OQkR7FINsNDIjI_aRKtLYmVsL5Ww/w275-h400/MFHCover.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Blatant IP theft was much easier to <br />get away with in 1979</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My catch-up run of Scott Adams adventures continues with his seventh game, <i>Mystery Fun House. </i> The cover above indicates that this is another spy adventure, a genre that Adams has already tackled with <i>Secret Mission</i>. And not only is it a spy adventure, it's one where you apparently play James Bond, agent 007 himself. Did Scott Adams actually pay for the rights to use the potentially lucrative Bond franchise in his game? Hahaha it's the computer game industry in 1979, what do you think?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, none of the above is readily apparent if you're just playing the game. Boot up <i>Mystery Fun House</i> and you're seemingly a regular shmoe standing in front of the titular funhouse with no way to get in. There's nothing to indicate that you're Bond, that you're a spy, or even what your mission is. As you'll see, discovering what your mission is won't happen until you figure out a certain puzzle; this could happen early on, or it could happen right near the end. For some players it might never happen. Ah well, at least it's not another treasure hunt I guess.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Mystery Fun House</i> was initially released in 1979 for the TRS-80 and the Apple II. I played it almost a year ago on the TRS-80, but for this replay I've switched to the Apple II version. I think I'll be playing the Apple II versions of these games going forward, if only for my own peace of mind. I have grown sort of fond of the TRS-80 aesthetic, but getting games to run on that emulator can be a real pain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsw3CtEX2s4-MWmPPQOb_TRdtSJ6LMDG00W9qRibKCIx9HoVIoBHNO2YEOHZkn71BF6fsri0Xx52gVHWevKvvaoLOVKkq_mtgKSZ4nUntfxg6MB2_jti29hDFJR73mRpLDy-JhcSb51TrRrepJpjHX057ckg9H34qdR4gNfCQaHptIOhH33BuGf2LuZQ/s560/MFHStart.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsw3CtEX2s4-MWmPPQOb_TRdtSJ6LMDG00W9qRibKCIx9HoVIoBHNO2YEOHZkn71BF6fsri0Xx52gVHWevKvvaoLOVKkq_mtgKSZ4nUntfxg6MB2_jti29hDFJR73mRpLDy-JhcSb51TrRrepJpjHX057ckg9H34qdR4gNfCQaHptIOhH33BuGf2LuZQ/w400-h274/MFHStart.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Man That Be Holdin' Gum</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The game begins in front of the funhouse, with a ticket counter and a sign that read as follows: "PARK CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT. SHOES REQUIRED AT ALL TIMES. MANAGEMENT NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENTS!! CAUTION THIS PARK IS DANGEROUS!" I was carrying some shoes, a watch, and some hard, dry chewing gum. SCORE didn't bring up anything, and HELP simply told me to "try examining things". Examining my watch told me that I had 595 turns until midnight, so the game had a hard limit. Time to get cracking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Trying to enter the funhouse got me kicked out by a bouncer, so I went to the counter instead. The ticket lady told me that tickets were a dollar, so obviously I needed to find some cash. (Don't think I've ever seen a movie where James Bond gets stopped because he's not carrying any loose change.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only obvious exit was to the east, which led to a parking lot where I saw a dead tree, a rusty grate (closed), and a 5 dollar bill. I quickly grabbed the bill and took it back to the counter, only for the ticket lady to tear it up, as "a $5 grocery bill ain't money bub!". I knew that was too easy, but it's hard to be mad about being harmlessly tricked by a terrible pun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back in the parking lot, I started looking around. The tree had a bare branch that I was able to take, and the grate led to a drain with a shiny coin at the bottom. The gate was held shut by two big bolts, and my arm was too short to reach the coin, but the solution to this one was fairly evident. I chewed my gum until it was soft, stuck it to the end of the branch, and used it to pick up the coin. (I complained in <i>Strange Odyssey</i> about the tendency for adventure games to feature a difficult puzzle that blocks progress right out of the gate. This is the opposite; progress is blocked quite early, but the puzzle to get through is simple and logical. I much prefer this design: give the player an easy victory early to make them feel smart, then hit them with the hard stuff later.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmyKEfxupRIJPHTRYKQlIXmMKEMLInd6tEcSHCnYfRgqPK9j3o8sV7nSOQYfC3dgeBjaEgZWyP0ukqXxs7zxe3C5upkzwy5u1TrS5It2hyERa6zAdiykd3IRv1SqcRG9aPZzmdTqyiWEHdFoxo61W8UXJHDoO_rSNyrxo2jIgjL84TAboup8hzdC4XiA/s560/MFHStickCoin.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmyKEfxupRIJPHTRYKQlIXmMKEMLInd6tEcSHCnYfRgqPK9j3o8sV7nSOQYfC3dgeBjaEgZWyP0ukqXxs7zxe3C5upkzwy5u1TrS5It2hyERa6zAdiykd3IRv1SqcRG9aPZzmdTqyiWEHdFoxo61W8UXJHDoO_rSNyrxo2jIgjL84TAboup8hzdC4XiA/w400-h274/MFHStickCoin.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cointaker</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">With the coin I was able to buy a ticket, but when I tried to go inside the bouncer still tossed me out. I eventually figured out that I needed to wear the shoes I was carrying. (Again, Bond going around barefoot? Terribly out of character.) This allowed me to get inside, but I noticed as I walked around that my heel was loose. I've learned that nothing in these games is pointless, so I spent a while messing about with my shoes, trying to open the heel. Eventually I tried REMOVE HEEL, and a short fuse fell out. Obviously I was going to need to blow something up later. I also found a letter, that read as follows: "James: we must get the plans back by tonight! We believe they're hidden within his fun house! Signed, M. P.S. Q says enjoy the gum!" Okay, so I'm definitely playing Bond, and I'm looking for some secret plans that have been hidden in the funhouse. I'm always happier playing a game when I know what the hell it is I'm supposed to be doing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first room of the funhouse featured a strange mirror, in which I could see distorted images of myself. There was nothing I could do here, and breaking the mirror got me thrown out for vandalism (requiring that I restart), so I moved on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next area was the obligatory Windy Maze, with exits heading off in all directions. This one only had four areas, and I was able to map it by dropping items with little difficulty. At this point a maze like this feels like half-hearted padding, the sort of things that's included in an adventure game because it's expected. At least here it's not out of keeping with the theme, I suppose.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The maze led to a small room, then another chamber with a low ceiling, where the door closed behind me In this chamber was a skeleton, and three knobs on the wall (yellow, green and blue). The skeleton collapsed into a pile of bones when I touched it, and I was able to take the bones with me. There was an exit to the west, but pressing the knobs opened up other areas to explore:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Pulling the yellow knob allowed me to go back the way I came, through the maze.</li><li>Pulling the blue knob opened an area where I found a fortune telling machine and a sign saying that it was out of order. Sure enough, the machine fizzled when I tried to activate it. In another room I found a loud steam calliope and a merry-go-round. Pressing the nearby blue button stopped the merry-go-round, but the calliope was so loud that I couldn't concentrate to do anything else.</li><li>Pulling the green knob opened into an area where I found a small trampoline I could take with me. The next room was a shooting gallery, where I found a mounted gun pointing into a window with some clay pigeons on the other side. I was able to shoot some clay pigeons to no discernible effect. With little else to do here, I took some spectacles I found on the floor and left.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>The west exit from the knob room led to a room with a water tank. Peering through a window I saw a mermaid inside, waving at me. I waved back, and continued up a sloping hallway. Halfway up on a landing I came to a slippery slide, with a sign saying that it was for authorised personnel only. A gentle blast of air was blowing up my leg for unknown reasons. Figuring that getting back up might be difficult, I decided to ignore the slide for now and continue exploring elsewhere.</div><div><br /></div><div>An eastern passage from the landing led to a "windy hall", which led back to the "windy maze", so I guess that explains the air blowing up my leg in a punny sort of way. Heading further up a rickety staircase, I came to a ledge over a deep pit. A ladder led down, with a sign that also indicated it was only for authorised personnel.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ignoring the pit for now, I took a passage east and found myself in a rolling barrel room. Here I found a comb and a match, but due to the rolling I was unable to get out as I kept falling flat on my face. A ROLL command did the trick, and allowed me to get back out to the ledge. (I was having trouble with my inventory limit at this point: having to carry the shoes and the ticket around at all times is a bit of a hindrance.)</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudC7O-gtd-kh7J6krpuaVq9oPcxgKEvCZurX8ruI1K1wOunKIOMBeYrvVY0dl4h7L57NLykaJl4OHPSUQaQOLu5j4zqcA4-S_Y0Usq-J9QtWseacPBH9mNHFEI93dC0us51FB0CgOdjbCC6zOMrvIGiAgCsG5rXtdL_syuL89wrCbSKdl1PIbvmwDFg/s560/MFHBarrelRoom.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudC7O-gtd-kh7J6krpuaVq9oPcxgKEvCZurX8ruI1K1wOunKIOMBeYrvVY0dl4h7L57NLykaJl4OHPSUQaQOLu5j4zqcA4-S_Y0Usq-J9QtWseacPBH9mNHFEI93dC0us51FB0CgOdjbCC6zOMrvIGiAgCsG5rXtdL_syuL89wrCbSKdl1PIbvmwDFg/w400-h274/MFHBarrelRoom.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Facefall</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I decided to climb down the ladder into the pit, only to find that the ladder retracted and left me trapped. In the pit were a locked door and a warm pipe with a valve on it. I had no key for the door, and there was no handle to turn the valve, so there was nothing I could do down here at the moment. Luckily I had the trampoline with me, so I was able to jump back up and out of the pit.</div><div><br /></div><div>The only place I had left to explore was the slippery slide, which led inside the water tank with the mermaid. Also here was a closed drain, some water, and a rusty key. As I predicted, the slide was too slippery to climb back up. The mermaid was described as "pretty, but with snarled hair", so I gave her the comb. She thanked me and turned a hidden knob that opened a secret door that led back up to the landing. (You can also open the drain, which lets out the water and the mermaid with it. Doing this before giving her the comb puts you in an inescapable position though.)</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FbW7ioQYY_pCzJwu3MOhEj5jVNhXmkJ3qV0fMeWwakvsLW4lJZiGpOwy9Nm6DmmOdbNjhxbelZLOySVitXDTRqIxoi8Y1v1SY93LGBBAAevN5HbkXNYoUEEoHEMOHcWmggleh4dGLkjsklaA37uNTrHuL54M4KAKKMyQIA9-lw5ul0i7fewtuQX49g/s560/MFHMermaid.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FbW7ioQYY_pCzJwu3MOhEj5jVNhXmkJ3qV0fMeWwakvsLW4lJZiGpOwy9Nm6DmmOdbNjhxbelZLOySVitXDTRqIxoi8Y1v1SY93LGBBAAevN5HbkXNYoUEEoHEMOHcWmggleh4dGLkjsklaA37uNTrHuL54M4KAKKMyQIA9-lw5ul0i7fewtuQX49g/w400-h274/MFHMermaid.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A View to a Gill</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>With the rusty key I went back to the pit, only to discover that it didn't unlock the door down there. So I was stuck, with no obvious path forward. The grate, the shooting gallery, the mirror, and the room with the calliope and merry-go-round seemed like the best places to investigate right now, so I spent some time mucking about with those. Eventually I hit on the idea of wearing the spectacles while looking at the mirror, and when I did the mirror showed me a hidden door. The door in the mirror led to an observation chamber, where I found a valve handle and yet another locked door. Frustratingly enough, my key didn't work here either.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the valve handle I went back to the pit, and this time I was able to turn the valve. It had no immediately obvious effect, but upon some more exploration I discovered that the steam calliope was now quiet. Aha, that explains the warm pipe! I was now able to get onto the ride, with a laborious sequence that involved typing GO RIDE, GO HORSE, and GO POLE. On top of the ride I spotted a rope (to which I was clued in by a piece of hemp falling on my head), but it was a little out of my reach. Alas, when I tried to jump the moving ride threw me to my death. I guess I needed to stop it with that blue button after all...</div><div><br /></div><div>After a reload I climbed the rope onto a landing where there was yet another locked door that my key wouldn't fit. An exit east led to a storeroom, where I found a wrench and <i>yet another locked door.</i> Thankfully I could unlock this one, and behind it I found some shelves and a flashlight. There was also a red knob, but I have no idea what this one activated.</div><div><br /></div><div>Armed with the wrench, I went all the way back to the carpark outside and was able to use it to remove one of the bolts. After doing this I could move the grate to reveal an open manhole cover. (This took a while to find the right command; MOVE and SLIDE GRATE both worked.) This predictably led down into a sewer and through an open flood door, where I found a dark hole with a grate welded over it.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point, after much banging my head against various dead ends, I consulted a walkthrough. It turns out that I needed to make a bomb to blow up the grate. This was done by sticking the fuse in the gum, sticking the gum to the grate, and lighting the fuse with the match. I'd thought of the fuse, but assumed I needed an explosive of some sort to attach it to. That the fuse and the gum would be enough to blow up the grate never occurred to me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, my problems weren't over when I did this, because a guard heard the explosion and shot me dead. Time for another reload... After some messing about I figured out that the flood door can be closed, and this was enough to blow up the grate without alerting the guard. The hole led to a long tunnel, and a path upwards. This path led into the room with the clay pigeons, next to the shooting gallery, but as soon as I entered I was shot dead by a mystery gunman.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZF758-ui0aGq3MJZ0JeS8O5KSm9-y5cxHZcs_wjiLUGTllvKI12IJdb4wtRn5mbay83eKaVOz0-LGrji8kd1ypD3w5B9z-oaX1SDMUPmNfXTgFehZRW6xymUObwfEtmOwydZscFFL-KpIMmeLhuHhsKmDi61WnhSAAC3bmdp4hA7g2681VimRNaHPGA/s560/MFHGuard.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZF758-ui0aGq3MJZ0JeS8O5KSm9-y5cxHZcs_wjiLUGTllvKI12IJdb4wtRn5mbay83eKaVOz0-LGrji8kd1ypD3w5B9z-oaX1SDMUPmNfXTgFehZRW6xymUObwfEtmOwydZscFFL-KpIMmeLhuHhsKmDi61WnhSAAC3bmdp4hA7g2681VimRNaHPGA/w400-h274/MFHGuard.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Guard Who Shot Me</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>I suppose I needed to disable the gun somehow. I went back to the shooting range to try a few ideas. First I tried shooting until the gun ran out of bullets, but that didn't work; I just kept shooting clay pigeons with a seemingly never-ending supply of ammunition. Next I tried to break the gun, after which I was thrown out for vandalism by the bouncer. At this point I figured that maybe I didn't need to go back inside, so getting thrown out wouldn't be a hindrance. Even so, the mystery shooter was still able to kill me. (I'm not actually sure if the bouncer throws you out after you break something, or if he does so before you can do the breaking, so I guess it makes sense.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I was utterly stuck at this point, and when I looked up the answer I was both amused and surprised. The trick is to take the OUT OF ORDER sign from the fortune-telling machine and drop it next to the gun at the firing range. So the assassin thinks the gun's not working and he can't shoot you. I'm not sure if this is the dumbest or the cleverest puzzle in a Scott Adams game, but it might just be my favourite.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now that I was able to get into the clay pigeon room, I could make my way to a hidden lab where I found the missing secret plans. Taking the plans earned me a short congratulatory message, and the game was over. I'd won, albeit with a little help from the internet (as usual).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzHN4eTwQ4BRla3lBPfB1vqYeSWM7thmnxEJT1DodV_3JGzCGDFArKY-DnBxP-jTM054Dn6tUkcZd3v0_v5o5PEdCdjAQF6fIORyF3cNmLol8DKYfZ_1lnwqlF9Edd1hFA61lUWUXRYFZEO1-O7pcXFxFW__RGrfl9OxNHdmUoS7lux_IkiI54Tg7GA/s560/MFHVictory.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzHN4eTwQ4BRla3lBPfB1vqYeSWM7thmnxEJT1DodV_3JGzCGDFArKY-DnBxP-jTM054Dn6tUkcZd3v0_v5o5PEdCdjAQF6fIORyF3cNmLol8DKYfZ_1lnwqlF9Edd1hFA61lUWUXRYFZEO1-O7pcXFxFW__RGrfl9OxNHdmUoS7lux_IkiI54Tg7GA/w400-h274/MFHVictory.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You Only Cheated By Looking at a Walkthrough Twice</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>So, another Scott Adams game down, and another solid effort. It's impressive that he could churn out so many games and keep the quality up: this is his sixth of seven games in 1979 alone. He slowed down considerably from 1980 onward, and I suspect that he burned himself out with this prodigious output. Even so, his work in 1978 and 79 was enough to cement him a spot among the most important pioneers of gaming's early days.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Story & Setting:</b> The spy setting is still a novel one, and I have to give Adams some props for just brazenly making a game that stars James Bond. There have been a number of games that committed IP theft before this, but I'd say this would have to be the most prominent to date. The fun house setting makes sense from an adventure/puzzle game perspective, but it's an odd fit for the spy genre, and an especially odd fit for Bond. None of this hangs together, really. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> There's a bouncer, a ticket lady, a mermaid, a guard, and a mystery assassin. As with most Scott Adams games they don't display any personality, although the ticket lady gets a couple of gruff lines in. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Puzzles:</b> There's a logic to pretty much all of the puzzles in this game, and none are too frustrating. I wouldn't have minded a bit more of a clue regarding the fuse/gum (is it meant to be explosive gum?), but otherwise I thought this game did things well. And it earns an extra point for the OUT OF ORDER sign puzzle, just because I'm tickled by it. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Aesthetics:</b> Not even the switch from TRS-80 to Apple II can drag a terse text adventure off the bottom rung. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Mechanics:</b> Another adequately functional Scott Adams text adventure. I didn't have much trouble wrangling with the parser, but I've become a bit of an old hand at these games by now. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Challenge:</b> I think this one was pretty well judged: lots of mildly challenging puzzles early on with a couple of real head-scratchers at the end. The OUT OF ORDER puzzle might be a touch too clever for its own good, but it's hard to ding it. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Fun:</b> The setting doesn't really work, but it is fun to explore and puzzle out. There's only so much enjoyment that can be had from an ancient text adventure, but this one got about all it could out of the standard formula, and had a distinct lack of frustrating random elements. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Bonus Points: 0</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The above scores total 18, which doubled give a <b>RADNESS Index of 36.</b> That is respectably high, just one point below Adams' first game <i>Adventureland,</i> and<i> </i>five points below <i>The Count</i> (his highest effort). I'm not sure that it deserves to be six points higher than <i>Pirate Adventure, Voodoo Castle </i>and <i>Strange Odyssey</i>, but I do feel like it's maybe Adams' least-frustrating game to come to grips with. Perhaps it just caught me in a good mood.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>NEXT:</b> The Scott Adams marathon keeps on rolling, with <i>Pyramid of Doom.</i></div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-3295005146739148852022-05-01T00:49:00.000-07:002022-05-01T00:49:29.030-07:00Priority Adventure 4: Strange Odyssey (1979)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNPPbW8JfbU8aSiSSRDfjdhaLMaB6p5wR1SBH3AzWGZuglyfPXh4uaHlemAMVuUtGu5BIqIOJItMlh90O4ZlIQJujhVrjLPuhldezOBDL3UFbziSZONoF10Tu3D6kD9cckjbt28F5_U6Pc_O-WrIvTj-dNwDFMpdqMeSfnhdiLqOcqfmnD6IzR-5J9A/s373/Strange_Odyssey_Coverart.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="256" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNPPbW8JfbU8aSiSSRDfjdhaLMaB6p5wR1SBH3AzWGZuglyfPXh4uaHlemAMVuUtGu5BIqIOJItMlh90O4ZlIQJujhVrjLPuhldezOBDL3UFbziSZONoF10Tu3D6kD9cckjbt28F5_U6Pc_O-WrIvTj-dNwDFMpdqMeSfnhdiLqOcqfmnD6IzR-5J9A/w275-h400/Strange_Odyssey_Coverart.png" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yes, this game does contain a spaceman <br />and a Laser Wolf (sort of)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I left off last time saying that I'd be following the Priority List, meaning that for the moment the blog will be mostly covering games of a more historically significant nature than it's done in the past. This required a little bit of rejigging though, because the Priority Adventure List had a glaring omission: the games of Scott Adams. This wasn't an oversight, but more of a practical consideration, as most of Adams' work was going to come up fairly soon on the chronological list anyway. But now, with my temporary abandonment of the chronological list, it would be remiss of me not to cover his games.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(And yes, I did say "temporary abandonment". For now the blog will chug along as I cover whatever relevant games I've been playing lately. When I have time I plan on returning to the original chronology, but with limited hours and the finite nature of the human lifespan on my mind, I'm concentrating on my gaming bucket list. The obscurities will have to wait.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Strange Odyssey</i> is the sixth text adventure game published by Adventure International. As with the previous games in the series, this one has a simple two word parser and the same split-screen interface showing room contents in one window and commands/responses in the other. This time around the player controls a space explorer whose spaceship has broken down on a remote planetoid. The goal is to collect five alien treasures and repair your ship. This is incredibly familiar territory for adventure games in 1979, but Adams has a pretty steady track-record so far, and this is his first brush with sci-fi themes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before I get into the game proper, I should mention that I played it in August of 2021, not all that long after my marriage ended. My memories of it are understandably hazy, but I'll do my best here. Replaying it for the blog should refresh things. As with previous Scott Adams games I played the TRS-80 version. I really should just play the Apple versions for my own sanity, as the emulator I have is much more reliable, but I do get a little hung up on playing the earliest versions I can find.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGPD2-D27IgYj3JVtH5BdTeZbMmwuBJ2Z92rHiy11iqBITi6bwueaVLA7Eu7MW2Ly5FRaWdN_6vOtTwC40JUtpMW1Er6lC-5xSK58t5KDOry9uEUOepgRWV7bzk6WRHt_NRxY6_oxIHlm8_C_Pzq1gUWvtapak_n2nP3fIkxRhh0So6MGOAIj8rRD9A/s819/StrangeOdysseyStart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="819" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGPD2-D27IgYj3JVtH5BdTeZbMmwuBJ2Z92rHiy11iqBITi6bwueaVLA7Eu7MW2Ly5FRaWdN_6vOtTwC40JUtpMW1Er6lC-5xSK58t5KDOry9uEUOepgRWV7bzk6WRHt_NRxY6_oxIHlm8_C_Pzq1gUWvtapak_n2nP3fIkxRhh0So6MGOAIj8rRD9A/w400-h281/StrangeOdysseyStart.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Starting the adventure</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the game begins the player is inside a scoutship, described in Adams' customarily terse fashion. Typing SCORE told me that I had stored 0 treasures, giving me a score of 0 out of 100. INVENTORY told me that I was carrying nothing. HINT and HELP didn't provide me with any clues, so it looked like I'd have to rely on my own wits. (Or those of the many internet walkthrough-writers, as the case may be.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the scoutship there was a closed door, an exit down, and a console with two buttons: a blue one marked "blast off" and a red one with no label. Pressing the blue button revealed that the ship had "insufficient power" due to a damaged power crystal. I guess replacing that crystal could be added to my list of essential tasks along with finding the required treasures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pressing the red button opened the door which led to an airlock. The outer door was closed, and there was another red button on the wall. Pressing the red button predictably opened the outer door and caused me to asphyxiate in the airless planetoid, but what adventure gamer could resist trying it? Finding ways to die is part of the fun, after all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Below the console room was a hold where I found a space suit, a phaser and a shovel. Wearing the space suit was the obvious solution to the airlock puzzle, and I was pretty stoked about getting a weapon so early. Examining the suit revealed a pressure gauge that indicated exactly how many moves I had before my air would run out. Enforced time limits in adventure games aren't new, but it's a rarity that they give you a way of seeing how close you are to the end. It's a welcome touch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Examining the phaser revealed that it had 28 charges left, and was set on stun. Typing SET PHASER told me that I could set it to STUN or DESTROY, both of which sounded like all sorts of fun. I left it on STUN, but I was anxious to get down to some DESTROYing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The hatch was stuck. Blasting it with the phaser on stun had no effect, and examining it revealed nothing. I saved my game and tried blasting it with my phaser set to destroy. As I expected, this ruined the ship and ended the game. Still, the attempt had to be made; in adventure games, the knowledge gained by failure can be vitally important. I tried a few other things with the hatch (kicking, punching, hitting, turning, pushing, pulling) but nothing worked. That bad boy was stuck, so I resolved to come back and try again later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With my spacesuit on, it was time to explore the planetoid. Surprisingly, there wasn't that much to find. The airlock opened onto a ledge, where I could jump down in the low gravity to a more open area. There were exits in all four directions, but the game uses loops to make the planetoid seem much bigger than it actually is. By dropping items I figured out that it only had three areas, and in those areas the only thing of interest was a cave.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cave only had one exit and a large boulder, which was too heavy to move. Destroying it with the phaser worked, leaving behind nothing but rock dust. Behind the boulder was a "strange flickering curtain of light". With nowhere else to go I walked through the curtain and found myself in a strange hexagonal room.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The hexagonal room contained three items of interest: some goggles on the floor, a small piece of plastic flush in the wall, and a rod jutting straight out of the wall. Examining the rod revealed nothing special; I figured it was probably a lever of some sort. The piece of plastic had a picture of an alien tentacle on it, which was odd. I couldn't take either of them, but I could take the goggles, which had a yellow button on them. Wearing the goggles rendered me blind, but by pressing the button I could see things in a bluish tint. I was a little worried that they might have a finite lifespan, so I turned them off and saved them for later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4rvOlU7DZxSmHiHWOkWDX0AtHfnyiuRxw5cmsJ86-D7fcYjfOQdZxPi4gV6Y7BtwGWqp-9FZUmFVqVjrenXWGZFX3MwwZYhGaWAqRlgVBrRiMWebwcHiifzcAhtmN0ldsXDYbNb_1x9LVgxB_Mi8WysXql7wVM5wdO6ihxzvrjC1AcHkUFZZkoe59w/s783/StrangeOdysseyHexRoom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="783" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4rvOlU7DZxSmHiHWOkWDX0AtHfnyiuRxw5cmsJ86-D7fcYjfOQdZxPi4gV6Y7BtwGWqp-9FZUmFVqVjrenXWGZFX3MwwZYhGaWAqRlgVBrRiMWebwcHiifzcAhtmN0ldsXDYbNb_1x9LVgxB_Mi8WysXql7wVM5wdO6ihxzvrjC1AcHkUFZZkoe59w/w400-h300/StrangeOdysseyHexRoom.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The hexagonal room</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I pulled the rod, and it came out of the wall a little. It couldn't be pulled any further, but pushing it back into the wall caused the plastic to glow three times. Doing the same thing again made the plastic glow four times, doing it again made it glow five times, and so on. Nothing else happened, and at this point I was stuck. I kept on messing around with the rod and the plastic, tried digging everywhere with my shovel, tried looking at everything with my new goggles, but it all got me nowhere. In frustration I even tried shooting the rod and the plastic, which destroyed them both but didn't help any.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The solution, which I figured out after a couple of hours of frustration, was to TOUCH PLASTIC. On doing this I felt disoriented, and on leaving the room I found myself on a grassy plain at the edge of a jungle. The hexagonal room was a sort of teleport chamber, with the destination indicated by the number of times the plastic glowed when I operated the rod.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>2 times: a grassy plain</li><li>3 times: a methane snowstorm</li><li>4 times: a derelict spacecraft</li><li>+5 times: a black emptiness</li><li>6 times: an alien art museum</li><li>7 times: a Jovian mining colony</li><li>8 times or more: the same black emptiness</li></ul><div><br /></div><div><b>The Grassy Plain</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The plain only consisted of a single area (although I later discovered that it was a little bigger than I'd originally thought). I used my shovel to dig, and found an ancient ice pick.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Methane Snowstorm</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>I could explore the snowstorm in all directions, not that it did me much good. Exploring only got me hopelessly lost in areas where there was seemingly no way out. Obviously this was an area to explore later, but I had no idea how to make the hexagonal room destinations cycle backwards at this point.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Derelict Spacecraft</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>This was an empty ship drifting in space. The only thing here was an alien machine with a hose and two buttons, one black and one white. Pressing the white button did nothing, but pressing the black button caused some gas to come out of the hose. Getting the hose automatically attached it to my suit, and pressing the black button afterwards refilled my suit with oxygen. So while I had an oxygen-based time limit, I also had a place I could visit to get a refill: very handy! (Filling the suit with too much oxygen caused my suit to pop open, which was expected but also quite amusing. The white button apparently toggles the hose between oxygen and some other deadly gas, because I also died by filling my suit with non-breathable air.)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Black Emptiness</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>There was nothing here except for a black hole, and at this point there was nothing I could do with it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Alien Art Museum</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>This area was the jackpot as far as finding the game's treasures was concerned: there was a rare alien painting and an alien sculpture, both of which were marked with asterisks to denote their treasure status. There was also a sign, but all that did was advertise Adams' next game <i>Mystery Fun House</i>, as well as an "adventure t-shirt" which I assume was for sale at the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>The painting was in shades of black that made my eyes swim. I remembered the goggles, and tried looking with them turned on. This time I saw an image of an alien twisting a buckle on a belt.</div><div><br /></div><div>The sculpture was of an alien being, and it was wearing a strange belt, no doubt similar to the one in the painting. Putting the belt on and twisting the buckle caused it to float; presumably I was floating along with it. The belt was also a treasure.</div><div><br /></div><div>I tried taking the painting and the sculpture, but this is where I hit my inventory limit. I'd have to come back for them later.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Jovian Mining Colony</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The mining colony's heavy gravity proved to be instantly deadly, but I was able to survive (after restoring my game) by wearing the floating belt. In the colony I found a flask of ancient saurian brandy (the fourth of five treasures) and a short twisted piece of metal, neither of which appeared special upon examination. The gravity here meant that my inventory limit was greatly decreased, so I had to drop everything but my suit and belt, and I could only get the flask and metal one at a time.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWLIf8Da4vRorw66sRyIKV6ETkts4lVZU9geL5TTKzbm1wdw2VxoPl5qqRyLLFY6N_Q96eHUAv_pSyuWx_d0e7jS1XlMNYeix1DSkvzO-qg20c0d-SCZQw1M-W8UcJkWsBXyw1V-sR8OpWisH8lIrELlK-xpXxxKsgTpUodlv_VhLRHvyYGdKX9i200Q/s775/StrangeOdysseyGasDeath.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="775" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWLIf8Da4vRorw66sRyIKV6ETkts4lVZU9geL5TTKzbm1wdw2VxoPl5qqRyLLFY6N_Q96eHUAv_pSyuWx_d0e7jS1XlMNYeix1DSkvzO-qg20c0d-SCZQw1M-W8UcJkWsBXyw1V-sR8OpWisH8lIrELlK-xpXxxKsgTpUodlv_VhLRHvyYGdKX9i200Q/w400-h299/StrangeOdysseyGasDeath.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gassing myself to death on the derelict spacecraft</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Having explored all of the game's areas, I now had a dilemma: how do I reset the teleporter so that I can revisit earlier destinations? As it stood, the teleporter just kept counting upwards, and after the mining colony it only led to the black hole. Not only did I need to go backwards for exploration and puzzle-solving purposes, but I also needed a way to get back to my ship. I'm a little ashamed at how long it took me to figure this one out, but resetting the teleporter required touching the plastic while the rod was pulled out. That caused the plastic to glow once when the rod was pushed back in, and returned me to the planetoid with my ship. The upside is that in all this experimentation I tried twisting the rod, and this caused it to break off with a "crystalline snap". That message was too specific to be just window-dressing, so I filed it away in my memory for later.</div><div><br /></div><div>I now had four out of five treasures, and no idea where the fifth might be. I didn't even know where to store my treasures; I had assumed it would be the storage hold of my ship, but putting them there didn't affect my score at all. I was able to solve one outstanding puzzle though: the stuck hatch. With the twisted metal in my possession I was able to open it, which gave me access to a crawlway where I found a metal holder and some broken pieces of power crystal. Recalling the "crystalline snap" of the rod from the hexagonal room when I'd broken it, I tried placing the rod. It was a perfect fit, and I was now able to blast off. This worked, and after a short journey I arrived at my destination, which was apparently the storage hold of my mothership. There was a sign indicating that this is where I needed to leave my treasures, so I'd solved that problem at least. All that was left was for me to find the last treasure, wherever it might be.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcLUh6oDcPlRwNO0GGBvz13eoaxE1CtGuNQ5XST0cmiDsorod6nCYAlrIEmGYWk4bG9_jwyrbSUqS0De0IHyZ6JR7G2GvPQqDSPDVKDByG_wltUyhZdrDs2_iEJ_NHbNpNfOoBcPN8igOxpAZXyvvwGvSkupeL4coUivCORGhjNpRwPlkWUOtnaSYGQ/s779/StrangeOdysseyRod.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="779" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcLUh6oDcPlRwNO0GGBvz13eoaxE1CtGuNQ5XST0cmiDsorod6nCYAlrIEmGYWk4bG9_jwyrbSUqS0De0IHyZ6JR7G2GvPQqDSPDVKDByG_wltUyhZdrDs2_iEJ_NHbNpNfOoBcPN8igOxpAZXyvvwGvSkupeL4coUivCORGhjNpRwPlkWUOtnaSYGQ/w400-h304/StrangeOdysseyRod.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Breaking the rod</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The first piece of the puzzle came back in the grassy plain near the jungle. Sometimes this game indicates all of its exits in an obvious fashion, but sometimes you need to type things like GO DOOR. This was the case here, as I needed to GO JUNGLE to find a new area. This led to a jungle of "centurion slime trees", and exits in all directions. Heading east led to the ruins of an intergalactic zoo, and a "rigilian dia-ice hound". Examining the hound gave me a warning: "Watch it! It's known to spit molten DIAMONDS!" This sounded like the treasure I needed, but before I could try anything the hound attacked and killed me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Upon returning I tried shooting the hound with my phaser, and obliterated it as I had it set to destroy. A satisfying revenge, but obviously not the solution I was looking for. Next time I tried it with my phaser set to stun, and that worked. I was able to get the hound and carry it around with me, but once again I had no obvious path ahead of me.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were two areas in which I hadn't accomplished anything: the black hole and the methane snowstorm. Dropping the hound near the black hole didn't do anything (and while I was trying things it woke up and killed me). Besides, it was an <i>ice</i> hound, so a snowstorm seemed like its natural habitat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dropping the hound in the snow and then waking it up caused it to burrow off, although no direction was indicated. With some trial and error I discovered a large ice mound to the west that hadn't been there before. Using my pick I was able to dig it up, but as soon as I did the hound came along and killed me. This happened again on my second attempt, but on my third it didn't attack and I found a Rigilian Ice Diamond.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSuQTkN7ixXtBh5kciuKMKTHVHTGnPRhyaaqnlLHXbhHzWkdIcVe3fSBD9lTZ2JLOZIueZ576jkvGkzC7J1Cw9Rg_IXB4xe1BTiN1Hq9e81KQlJZ22DWk7em7TGdG77nEYijXGXVrs7rw15l-3FS8QBIk7jTPlX5D99xT5xT99N_ybzt_NIsUtvLW0A/s785/StrangeOdysseyIceDiamonds.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="785" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSuQTkN7ixXtBh5kciuKMKTHVHTGnPRhyaaqnlLHXbhHzWkdIcVe3fSBD9lTZ2JLOZIueZ576jkvGkzC7J1Cw9Rg_IXB4xe1BTiN1Hq9e81KQlJZ22DWk7em7TGdG77nEYijXGXVrs7rw15l-3FS8QBIk7jTPlX5D99xT5xT99N_ybzt_NIsUtvLW0A/w400-h308/StrangeOdysseyIceDiamonds.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Finding the ice diamond</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>At this point I was stuck, trapped at the bottom of a hole with an angry ice hound. I wasn't able to climb out or dig my way free, and my frustrations got the better of me as they tend to do when I'm nearing the end of a game. I looked up a walkthrough, and the answer was to SHOOT MOUND with my phaser set to destroy. This allowed me to get free with the diamond, and return to the hexagonal room and then to my ship.</div><div><br /></div><div>With all five treasures in hand and the ability to repair my ship, all I had to do was fly to the mothership and place my treasures in the hold. This required a fair bit of back and forth due to the inventory limit (as well as a trip to replenish my oxygen), but I got there in the end for the following victory screen.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9lAPUNi_U1Qo3BKtExm8UrKIOKTA5pH_CKS3AOGE-xTwsIyYMGgT5rSdas_AP4eJGs_vYeQBI1j4ewyFp9pV00tm5rs3qyD8QovrDk0nwJchtzhOnjj1WIrLy_WucHCnMUnsUMvsTUIgyS5djGglmuqu9R2JV6SUcHsAjYw-Ew2ttK_MS1o6WuemIg/s777/StrangeOdysseyVictory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="777" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9lAPUNi_U1Qo3BKtExm8UrKIOKTA5pH_CKS3AOGE-xTwsIyYMGgT5rSdas_AP4eJGs_vYeQBI1j4ewyFp9pV00tm5rs3qyD8QovrDk0nwJchtzhOnjj1WIrLy_WucHCnMUnsUMvsTUIgyS5djGglmuqu9R2JV6SUcHsAjYw-Ew2ttK_MS1o6WuemIg/w400-h299/StrangeOdysseyVictory.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Surrounded by my newfound riches.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><i>Strange Odyssey</i> is another solid outing for Scott Adams. I do question the decision to block progress with a potentially difficult puzzle at the very beginning of the game though. I only got through by stubborn perseverance, and it certainly would have stumped me when I was younger. I suspect a decent number of players back in the day never got further than the initial planetoid. Other than that, and the frustrations inherent in typing PULL ROD, PUSH ROD, TOUCH PLASTIC over and over again to get anywhere, it's an adventure game with solid puzzles that make sense and can be figured out with some persistence. That may sound like faint praise, but in this era that puts it a cut above.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Story & Setting:</b> The story is yet another in a long line of treasure hunts; I understand why they're so common, as they work very well as the basis for an adventure game, but it's hard to get excited about one at this point. And while the sci-fi setting is still a novel one, <i>Strange Odyssey</i>'s various locations don't hang together in any cohesive way. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> There's exactly one character/creature in the game other than the player, and that's the Rigilian Dia-Ice Hound. One of the game's more interesting puzzles does centre around the creature, but other than that it's just a hostile killing machine and not terribly interesting otherwise. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Puzzles:</b> As I said above, the puzzles in this game are all solid, with solutions that make sense once they're figured out. I do take some issue with the hexagonal room puzzle blocking all progress so early in the game, and I'm also not too keen on the SHOOT MOUND puzzle at the end given that the player has already dug up the mound and is now in a hole. And now that I think of it, the crystalline rod is also a little obscure; I only figured it out by accident. Still, by the standards of the day this game does quite well. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Aesthetics:</b> This is a text adventure, and Scott Adams doesn't go for flowery descriptions, so the score has to be low. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Mechanics:</b> As with all of Adams' games this one has a simple two word parser, but it uses that parser well, and does a decent job of prompting the player when their are moments that could stump the player (such as setting the phaser to stun or destroy). <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Challenge:</b> It's a fair adventure game that will provide a decent challenge to someone willing to persevere through the navigation puzzle at the beginning. The ice hound is also a bit of a stumbling block with its unpredictable nature, but not so much that it's going to drag the score down. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Fun:</b> Zipping around to different sci-fi settings via teleporter is fun in theory, but those areas are too small to be of much interest. And while giving the player the ability to zap everything in sight provides some amusement, in practice there's very little that can be blasted without effectively ending the game. Outside of that, it's a primitive text adventure, and that always limits how much fun can be had. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Bonus Points: 0.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The above scores total 15, which doubled gives a <b>RADNESS Index of 30.</b> That puts it on par with other Scott Adams adventures such as <i>Pirate Adventure</i> and <i>Voodoo Castle. </i>Only <i>The Count</i> and <i>Adventureland</i> rate higher of Adams' games, with <i>Secret Mission</i> ranking slightly lower. It's quite a consistent track record for such a prolific output. They're not exceptional games outside of their historical context, but it's enough to give Adams the crown for the era as far as home computer adventure games go.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>NEXT:</b> It will probably be the next Scott Adams adventure, <i>Mystery Fun House</i>, which I also played about a year ago.</div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-48101281995912046552022-02-26T23:42:00.001-08:002022-02-26T23:42:57.761-08:00Wizardry: Pyrrhic Victory<div style="text-align: justify;">Well hello there, long time no see. As has become customary for this blog, I'm back from a lengthy hiatus. I've had lots of things going on over the past year, not least of which being the complete breakdown of my marriage. That's behind me now, but I have other things going on that limit my time for blogging and playing games. The blog may continue, but I'll tackle that below. For now, it's time to wrap things up with the long-awaited (by some) conclusion to <i>Wizardry</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My last update saw me in something of a sorry state: my primary party had been ambushed and killed by Werdna, leaving their bodies effectively irretrievable. I was now forced to revert to my all-evil back-up party, consisting of:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Faker, a 13th-level fighter</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Fraudo, a 13th-level fighter</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Satanic Stan, a 13th-level priest</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Pagan Pete, a 13th-level priest</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Spelric, a 13th-level mage</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Magical Gary, a 13th-level mage</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing I noticed on reviewing my characters was that Satanic Stan had <i>really</i> good stats: he had an 18 in everything except IQ and Agility, and those were both sitting on 16. By this point I'd looked at the requirements for the various specialty classes, and I knew that becoming a Ninja required scores of 17 across the board. I was pretty stoked at the prospect of getting a Ninja in my party, so I dropped everyone except Stan and Fraudo and went down to grind against Murphy's Ghosts. Levelling up was pretty quick with only two party members, and fortune was with me: the first level I gained got me the stats I needed, and I was able to convert Satanic Stan into a Ninja. Now I had a front-line fighter with the ability to occasionally score an instant kill, as well as the ability to cast the highest-level priest spells.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was determined not to be done in by Werdna a second time, so I set about trying to create the most powerful party I could muster. I turned Faker and Fraudo into mages, so that my back-line spellcasters would have plenty of hit points. I turned Spelric into a priest, and I turned Pagan Pete and Magical Gary into fighters. After 13 more levels of grinding, I was all set to have four top level mages and three top-level priests, and a more robust party overall in terms of hit points.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, this being <i>Wizardry</i>, the game did its best to throw a wrench into my plans. At around the point where my characters hit 8th level, something terrible happened to Fraudo: he died of old age! I checked his age, and he was only 28. Adventuring can be a stressful occupation, I guess. A character who dies of old age can't be brought back to life, so I had to replace him with another mage who I called Vonotar. I was getting tired of grinding, so I didn't bother giving Vonotar a second class; he was a straight mage, and the obvious weak link in my party in terms of hit points.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKo0PUcpShaGAEU5eA266CocW1mMSq0mJns1oZHt4_ME4AORNAlFY8q4Wdi7NbpCdgNEQwHvTptmBEoWmwGiZ9p7qQMDV9JdaH2CEJXkNdh_I4EECHBFmhH0-9MBitRTnHoWgfZEa-_kCU5vNnv54_IN2bochjqeyFeOsKYTa591p1wddwtC1-nvqJkA=s560" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKo0PUcpShaGAEU5eA266CocW1mMSq0mJns1oZHt4_ME4AORNAlFY8q4Wdi7NbpCdgNEQwHvTptmBEoWmwGiZ9p7qQMDV9JdaH2CEJXkNdh_I4EECHBFmhH0-9MBitRTnHoWgfZEa-_kCU5vNnv54_IN2bochjqeyFeOsKYTa591p1wddwtC1-nvqJkA=w400-h274" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heading down to level 10, I absolutely steamrolled my way to Werdna's lair. With the amount of magic power I had I wasn't at all worried about conserving my spells, and everything I encountered fell easily beneath a barrage of MADALTOs and other high-level offensive magic. I reached Werdna with a full array of 6th and 7th level spells, a party at full health, and the grim determination to get the bastard for good this time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, you know what happened next. That dirty, lowdown motherfucker and his vampire cronies surprised me yet again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaHaWjv2vvk3zGF8Ji4JRgwCnXOLKFmZ1d8CzU335bkc1Fq-akur6VOPDaz7snw8LAdCYeaSlMkJ7DFg-INYL6XxoE7CKeRLwBh9uuU6Jl5cc3zGmEZvLhtMwrvspetSY7_uwVL1D-UMPXYxrv3_u4upVnE0qYWyauhNTm1DRYiT9zPdda-3ivsM9Giw=s560" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaHaWjv2vvk3zGF8Ji4JRgwCnXOLKFmZ1d8CzU335bkc1Fq-akur6VOPDaz7snw8LAdCYeaSlMkJ7DFg-INYL6XxoE7CKeRLwBh9uuU6Jl5cc3zGmEZvLhtMwrvspetSY7_uwVL1D-UMPXYxrv3_u4upVnE0qYWyauhNTm1DRYiT9zPdda-3ivsM9Giw=w400-h274" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vonotar and Spelric died almost instantly, and a bunch of my other characters were level-drained repeatedly. On the second round I unloaded with TILTOWAITs, which were all shrugged off, and a couple more of my characters were killed (I can't remember who, this happened a couple of weeks ago at time of writing; I think Satanic Stan and Faker were my last characters alive). I was left with just two characters, neither of whom were going to last another round.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I had last time, I seriously considered having Stan cast LOKTOFEIT, which had a chance of whisking my party back to the safety of the castle. It also had the chance of not working at all, but getting out of there was really tempting; if this party died, I was going to have to start all over again. In the end, I decided that having my party die after their escape spell fizzled out was a really weak way to go, so I opted to fight it out. If they were going to go, I was going to risk it all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I already knew from my last party that MALIKTO wouldn't work, so I had my priest cast BADI (a death spell) on Werdna. Whatever happened, I was planning to take him with me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For my mage, I'd already ruled out TILTOWAIT, and I figured that any other damage-dealing spell would be insufficient. I decided to take a gamble on the unknown, and cast MAHAMAN. It's a 7th-level mage spell whose effects are random, and not given in the manual. Just casting it drains a level from the caster, so I figured it must be good. The manual says that it should only be used when there's no other hope for survival, and that summed up my situation pretty well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I never found out if BADI was able to kill Werdna, because my mage cast MAHAMAN first, and it worked even better than I expected: it killed Werdna and his vampires immediately. With one spell, cast in desperation, I'd beaten Werdna and got my revenge. On his body I found an Amulet. Apparently you can use it to get back to the surface, but I got back by casting MALOR instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I later looked up the effects of MAHAMAN, and saw that it can do the following: make your spells deal more damage; cure the party of all status ailments; fully heal the party; improve everyone's AC by 20; raise all dead characters; silence all enemies; or teleport all enemies away. None of those are instant kills, so I guess I got the "teleport away" effect. I'm just going to assume that I teleported Werdna into solid rock, and that he's not still lurking out there somewhere waiting to get his revenge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Upon returning to the castle I returned the Amulet to Trebor, and was rewarded with 250,000 experience points. (This kind of thing always seems weird to me. If Trebor can just hand out XP, why didn't he use that power to make a party of super-characters to go and kick Werdna's butt?) I was also initiated into the Overlord's Honor Guard, at the cost of all my equipment and most of my gold. Of course you get no choice about this; given the option my evil characters would have told Trebor where to stick his Honor Guard, and made off with their gold. But alas, I must be somewhat depowered for <i>Wizardry II</i>, I assume.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibbc1OrHKuj3st8ZiBBCVZnFFGBZKxpAr7JXjXuT172LBf5UCBAgS70Nqv6GM7hLzWRtfunX1HvY7Q4V9iGRNLB3au_4Kqt-NiXTMVoy3PuSq35KvKAchvqVddi2hDDUvve9F4LTJoMHos8tW_96U2JERVC3i-3hXaMQZgLwMiduxL4ExG74lROPfnww=s560" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibbc1OrHKuj3st8ZiBBCVZnFFGBZKxpAr7JXjXuT172LBf5UCBAgS70Nqv6GM7hLzWRtfunX1HvY7Q4V9iGRNLB3au_4Kqt-NiXTMVoy3PuSq35KvKAchvqVddi2hDDUvve9F4LTJoMHos8tW_96U2JERVC3i-3hXaMQZgLwMiduxL4ExG74lROPfnww=w400-h274" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was able to resurrect all of my dead characters at the temple, so I'm ready for the sequel (about 18 games away on my list). That said, I don't really feel like I properly finished <i>Wizardry 1</i>. I know I didn't cheat, but getting lucky with a randomised spell still feels like a cheap victory. I'll take it, because I really don't want to play this game again right now, but I don't feel all that good about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That sentiment kind of encapsulates my feelings on <i>Wizardry</i>, to be honest. I'm glad to have played it and checked it off my bucket list, but ultimately I found it more frustrating that enjoyable. There's no denying that it's very well made for the time; indeed, it's so far ahead of its time that games using the same basic design were being made for decades afterwards. It's specific brand of cruelty, with perma-death and various other nasty surprises (I'm looking at you death from old age), mean that it's not a game that I'm ever going to love. I've played plenty of other games with perma-death for the blog, but for some reason it irked me in <i>Wizardry</i> more than it has in the past. Perhaps I just feel like I should be past that sort of thing by now?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, regardless of my own personal tastes I still expect it do well on the RADNESS Index.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Story & Setting: </b>We're not breaking any new ground here with the plot: an evil wizard has stolen a thing, and you have to kill him and get it back. As for the setting, it really makes little sense. I can just about buy that King Trebor has a monster-filled dungeon under his castle that he uses to test adventurers. But why is the evil wizard Werdna living down there as well? As an excuse for a dungeon adventure it works well enough, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. The dungeons themselves are also unfortunately lacking in detail, with levels 5 through 9 being almost entirely pointless. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> NPCs are virtually nonexistent, but <i>Wizardry</i> presents a number and variety of monsters that are far and away beyond anything else the blog has seen thus far. Many of them are drawn from, or at least vaguely based on, monsters from <i>AD&D, </i>and their respective strengths, weaknesses and special abilities are well represented. Most of the games I've played so far have either had a small number of foes with varied abilities, or a large number that function as little more than bags of hit points. <i>Wizardry</i> may be the first game which has a similar variety in monster types and their abilities. <b>Rating: 5 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Combat:</b> As I mentioned above, <i>Wizardry</i> is mechanically ahead of its time, and much of that comes down to the combat system. Many RPGs to come will lift it wholesale, and its influence will even cross over to Japan in the <i>Dragon Quest</i> and <i>Final Fantasy</i> games. Of course it feels primitive by today's standards, but it's not a bad stab at recreating early D&D combat played without miniatures (or "theatre of the mind" as it's sometimes called). What really elevates it is the magic system, and its interaction with the strengths and weaknesses of the monsters. This might be the first CRPG with combat that's actually fun to play, so it's no surprise that it gets copied so much. <b>Rating: 5 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(From here I'm writing in February of 2022, so my memory gets hazier. Forgive me for any inconsistencies and errors.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Aesthetics:</b> The look of <i>Wizardry </i>can best be described as utilitarian. It's so utilitarian that Sir-Tech left it mostly intact for most of the decade, and countless other games lifted its basic layout. There's some added flash with the various monster illustrations, but those get repetitive after a time, and are quite primitive to begin with. I wavered with this one, but in the end I'm going to be stingy here. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mechanics:</b> For the most part everything in this game works very well, except that routine tasks tend to require two more steps than seem necessary. The combat is the crowning achievement here, but I've already covered that above. Aside from that exploration, character creation, the magic system and making transactions in town work well aside from minor niggles. Everything takes longer than it should, but everything works like it should, and in a game of this vintage that counts for a lot. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Challenge:</b> This is a tough one to judge. It's not a long game, and for the most part it's not that difficult as long as you're careful. But the things thrown into the game to make it more difficult are incredibly frustrating: perma-death, death from old age, characters disintegrating during resurrection, teleporting into solid rock... All of these things are included to more accurately model the D&D experience, but they all add up to make for an incredibly frustrating experience. On the other hand, figuring out combat and when to deploy your spells and when to retreat from the dungeon is an enjoyable challenge. So how do I judge a game that's hard in a way that is equal parts fun and frustration? As I often do in these situations, I'll take the coward's way out. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fun:</b> The fun factor for <i>Wizardry</i> definitely operates on a curve: difficult and frustrating at the beginning, fun for a while in the middle, then lots of grinding and intense frustration again towards the end. Thinking back on it, the frustrating parts outweighed the enjoyable ones, so I'm marking this one lower than its historical significance and longevity would suggest. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bonus Points: 2.</b> As one of the most influential games in the CRPG genre and gaming in general, I have to give this one full points here.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The above scores total 25, which doubled gives a score of 50. Add the two bonus points, and <i>Wizardry</i> scores a healthy <b>RADNESS Index of 52. </b>That places it equal 3rd overall. Only <i>Zork</i> and <i>Ultima</i> are higher, and <i>Rogue </i>is sitting on equal points. It's interesting to see that it scored the same as <i>Rogue</i>, as they're similarly influential games with frustratingly difficult elements. Nevertheless, despite its problems <i>Wizardry</i> is undoubtedly and unsurprisingly one of the very best games I've played for the blog so far.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>STATE OF THE BLOG</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so where do I go from here? The sad truth is that I don't have time to maintain the blog on a regular basis. I also don't get a lot of time to play games, and I don't want to devote all of that time to vintage games of often questionable qualitative value. That said, I'm reluctant to abandon the blog completely; I'm not gonna lie, I like having readers and getting feedback, as small as my audience is. So my current plan is to keep playing and posting occasionally. I suspect that I'll be following my Priority List, so rather than a comprehensive journey through CRPGs and adventure games the blog will become a chronological journey through the best of the two genres. I won't guarantee any sort of schedule, but I'll be back here intermittently. What I'm saying is, if you're in the habit of checking here every day or every week, maybe scale back to once a month or so. It'll save some time</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-27950561725259673572021-09-05T00:45:00.002-07:002021-09-05T00:45:55.298-07:00Wizardry: Level 10<div style="text-align: justify;">When I left off at the end of my last post, I was ready to tackle dungeon level 10, and take on the evil wizard Werdna. My last attempt at that had ended somewhat disastrously, when a surprise attack left my entire party dead. But I sucked it up, developed a whole new party, retrieved the bodies of my original guys and brought them all back to life. I was in a pretty good spot, with a dozen characters sitting on level 13. I couldn't mix and match them because of alignment constraints, but it felt reassuring to know that I had some ready-made back-ups.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My trip down to level 10 via the elevators was uneventful, and on level 9 I only had to fight a trio of 10th-level Fighters (easily dealt with) before dropping down the chute to level 10. Exploring the initial area of level 10 I was attacked by a group of Murphy's Ghosts, which I found somewhat amusing considering that I'd spent the bulk of my time with this game killing these guys by the hundreds. I stumbled into a teleporter that took me all the way back to the castle, which brought a wry smile to my face. Not so long ago I'd been trapped in this area, desperately trying to resurrect my mages so that I could teleport to the surface. I'd even reduced one of my mages to ashes during that whole saga, when all I'd needed to do was take two steps to the right and I'd have been safe. You can't beat hindsight, I guess.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rBKB9gmeCTs/YTRpdPXQYWI/AAAAAAAAHzI/TnzCIL6ybGEIeQ1lDtV-2D6IP3r-x9HPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s271/WizardryLevel10Area1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="140" height="271" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rBKB9gmeCTs/YTRpdPXQYWI/AAAAAAAAHzI/TnzCIL6ybGEIeQ1lDtV-2D6IP3r-x9HPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/WizardryLevel10Area1.png" width="140" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I started at 1. The Ts are teleporters, <br />with red being the origin point and <br />blue the destination. TC goes back<br />to the castle.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Again I made my way back to chute on level 9, fighting a 10th-level Mage along the way. I fought a pair of mages on level 10, trusting my melee fighters to take care of them before they could get off anything too damaging. After that I discovered the teleporter to the next area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Right next to the elevator was a message from Werdna: "One group of guardians ye have beaten but many more await ye! Turn back while you still can, mortals!" Aside from being irritated by his inconsistent use of ye/you, I was also quite discouraged to see that I had "many more" fights ahead of me. I was hoping this level would be small, and that I'd get to Werdna in short order. That was not to be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A winding corridor led to another room, where I was attacked by three groups of spellcasters: 1 High Wizard, 1 Arch-Mage, and 5 Bishops. That was a lot of potential spell power, so I dropped them with a MALIKTO (a 7th-level Priest spell that causes 12-72 damage to all foes). This wiped them all out, and I was able to step into the teleporter to the third area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_FEYFaw8FTI/YTRqX5LvucI/AAAAAAAAHzQ/OP_D0sap9_oFNRqQu3JR58abLTPg5BnWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s182/WizardryLevel10Area2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="153" data-original-width="182" height="153" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_FEYFaw8FTI/YTRqX5LvucI/AAAAAAAAHzQ/OP_D0sap9_oFNRqQu3JR58abLTPg5BnWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/WizardryLevel10Area2.png" width="182" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Level 10, Area 2. T3 leads<br />back to the beginning of<br />the level.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Area three started with another winding corridor, ending in a room. (That's the pattern for all of the separate areas on level 10: a corridor ending in a room, with an unavoidable fight when you enter.) I was attacked by five Bishops, a High Wizard, and two "strange animals", who surprised me and got a free round of attacks. I suspect the "strange animals" where Chimeras; they both hit me with their breath weapons, causing a decent amount of damage. Luckily the Bishops didn't cast anything too devastating, and the High Wizard opted for a melee attack. I wiped them out with another MALIKTO when my turn came around.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Exploring the room, I stumbled into the wrong teleporter and was taken back to the beginning of the first area. It's not an enormous inconvenience because it doesn't take long to traverse through the level, but I did have a couple of fights along the way. One was with a pair of Will-o-Wisps, which I found surprisingly hard to kill in melee. They didn't pose much of a threat in return, but my fighters really struggled to hit them. I ended up hitting them with two MABADI spells, which reduce a foe to only having 1-8 hit points left; that way, my next melee hit was guaranteed to kill them. I also got attacked by a pair of Fire Giants, three Monks, and a Lesser Demon; three MADALTO spells took care of them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nresve6cxG0/YTRq6EaiQBI/AAAAAAAAHzY/SZnUbMdsFMgXZujcei3GuCJ_0QqU5EW9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s225/WizardryLevel10Area3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="101" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nresve6cxG0/YTRq6EaiQBI/AAAAAAAAHzY/SZnUbMdsFMgXZujcei3GuCJ_0QqU5EW9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/WizardryLevel10Area3.png" width="101" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Level 10, Area 3</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In the fourth area I had to fight five Arch-Mages, one "strange animal" and one Chimera. I hit the Arch-Mages with a MADALTO, focused my melee fighters on the Chimera, and killed the "strange animal" with BADI (a death spell that affects a single target).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J6XB2UAABTk/YTRrR31TQvI/AAAAAAAAHzg/Sa4eC1mfQWYTgp_WvSgqzYFAEVUW24vEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s216/WizardryLevel10Area4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="201" height="216" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J6XB2UAABTk/YTRrR31TQvI/AAAAAAAAHzg/Sa4eC1mfQWYTgp_WvSgqzYFAEVUW24vEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/WizardryLevel10Area4.png" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Level 10, Area 4</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In the fifth area, I had to battle two groups of high-level Fighters. Fighters are never much of a problem in <i>Wizardry, </i>so I killed them with some mid-level damage spells (MADALTOs and LAHALITOs).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qzjuv33HCcw/YTRrr6dY7pI/AAAAAAAAHzo/1yBms5q3cPg5HfqVrSKZpa6M_qL9Q1buwCLcBGAsYHQ/s314/WizardryLevel10Area5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="314" height="235" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qzjuv33HCcw/YTRrr6dY7pI/AAAAAAAAHzo/1yBms5q3cPg5HfqVrSKZpa6M_qL9Q1buwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/WizardryLevel10Area5.png" width="314" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Level 10, Area 5</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In area six I had another laughable encounter with Murphy's Ghosts. It's almost like a reunion with old friends, because at this point they pose no threat whatsoever. I also had to fight a Gorgon and 2 Chimeras. I had to use lower-level DALTO spells, and a priest's LITOKAN (flame tower), because by this point my MADALTOs had been exhausted and I was saving my big guns for the final battle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTgWdVzr0ic/YTRsBzhNmfI/AAAAAAAAHzw/_p7vgnuH7xEC1Q-pcrtbjx_X540sKaSUACLcBGAsYHQ/s151/WizardryLevel10Area6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="151" data-original-width="120" height="151" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTgWdVzr0ic/YTRsBzhNmfI/AAAAAAAAHzw/_p7vgnuH7xEC1Q-pcrtbjx_X540sKaSUACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/WizardryLevel10Area6.png" width="120" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Level 10, Area 6</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">By the seventh area my characters were hurting, so I stopped to heal everyone back up to full. My instincts were good here, because no sooner did I leave camp than I saw the following sign: "Lair of the evil wizard Werdna. The wizard is **IN**" This was it, the final battle with Werdna. I'd depleted a lot of my mid-level spells, but I was fully healed, and still in possession of most of my 7th-level arsenal, including the ability to drop multiple TILTOWAIT spells. I was ready to mess Werdna up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTTCYWXQ2pg/YTRsTJVh3AI/AAAAAAAAHz4/E_6yzrcjpKEl5AuszXrGAw5bSyMsxBgWACLcBGAsYHQ/s234/WizardryLevel10Area7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="123" data-original-width="234" height="123" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTTCYWXQ2pg/YTRsTJVh3AI/AAAAAAAAHz4/E_6yzrcjpKEl5AuszXrGAw5bSyMsxBgWACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/WizardryLevel10Area7.png" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Level 10, Area 7. The sign is at 3, <br />and Werdna is at 4.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As soon as I kicked through the door I encountered Werdna, accompanied by four Vampires and a Vampire Lord. Despite me being well prepared, they got the drop on me with a surprise attack. They hit me with a barrage of spells and attacks, and by the end of the first round Penitent Pat, Merlin and Flanker were all dead. That was half of my party and three-quarters of my spell-casters, and the survivors were in bad shape.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My remaining spellcaster was Pious Pete, a priest. I spent a long time deliberating over what to do. I considered casting LOKTOFEIT, a spell that whisks the party back to the castle at the cost of all their equipment and most of their gold. What stopped me was the note in the manual that this spell doesn't always work; I didn't want to try something that had a chance of just fizzling out. Instead, I decided to hit the enemy with MALIKTO, hoping the damage would be enough.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2AFBJ_Gc9nk/YTRtSk4-JvI/AAAAAAAAH0A/4oMxZSeYJsQ8XMgTa5C7sjIGVP-_iKLswCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryWerdna.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2AFBJ_Gc9nk/YTRtSk4-JvI/AAAAAAAAH0A/4oMxZSeYJsQ8XMgTa5C7sjIGVP-_iKLswCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryWerdna.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Halfway through getting wrecked by Werdna.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It wasn't. Werdna took some hits, but the Vampires all shrugged it off (even though the manual says that "none can escape or minimize its effects"). They wiped me out in the second round, and that was it for my first proper crack at killing Werdna.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, I still had my party of evil characters as back-up, but there'd be no retrieving the bodies of my dead party this time. They were now lying in Werdna's chamber, and I'd have to beat that fight in order to retrieve them all. Not just that, but I'd have to beat Werdna with a party of less then six characters if I wanted to add dead bodies to my party. That seemed unlikely, so unless Werdna disappears from the game permanently once killed, I was pretty sure that I'd seen the last of Mean Joe and company.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have to say, at this point I was getting mighty sick of <i>Wizardry</i> and its specific brand of cruelty. I think it's actually very well balanced, except for one thing: the surprise mechanic. It's annoying to get wiped out by enemies without a chance to retaliate, and it's especially galling when it happens against the final foe in the game. The last fight in a game should definitely be challenging, but it would be nice to have some semblance of chance at victory. As it was I got surprised, my spellcasters got killed, and the best spell I had at my disposal was one the enemy was immune to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ah well, at least I had a better idea of what to expect next time, and was able to prepare for the rematch. My posting is several weeks behind my playing, so I've already taken on Werdna with my evil crew. I'll try to post about how that went in the next few days, but let's just say that I fell afoul of some more of <i>Wizardry's</i> dirty tricks. More on that next time.</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-55043230110488956012021-08-09T01:32:00.000-07:002021-08-09T01:32:10.881-07:00Wizardry: Level 9 (a tale of two disasters)<div style="text-align: justify;">My initial foray into level 9 was a disaster. I began by exploring west of the elevator, and after only four moves I fell down a chute into a different area. I tried casting DUMAPIC to get my bearings, but it didn't work. I wasn't in an anti-magic zone, but that specific spell was being blocked. Normally in this situation I would have cast MALOR and teleported to safety, but I didn't want to risk it without knowing my exact coordinates. So I gritted my teeth, and set about exploring an area for which I had no map, and no obvious path back to safety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing I encountered was the following message: <i>"Be it known that ye are trespassing on the property of the arch-mage Werdna. There is no possible way that ye can possibly get through my defenses, let alone defeat me in battle! So sure am I of this that I give you this clue, "contra-dextra avenue". </i>I was pretty sure this meant I was on level 10, and as I was close to full strength I decided to take a crack at defeating Werdna and finishing the game. As for the clue, I tried running it through Google translate and got "against right avenue". Searching the phrase in Google instantly brought up a translation from a <i>Wizardry </i>fan page, saying that it meant "don't go right". Normally I wouldn't look up clues on fan-sites unless I was desperate, but this one just popped up in Google without me having to click through to the site itself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KOEOqaZL4nM/YRDhT1AQ0zI/AAAAAAAAHsI/FD0m7GgU7tAkUd_74nlJuM7lpNP235lRgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryWerdnaMessage.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KOEOqaZL4nM/YRDhT1AQ0zI/AAAAAAAAHsI/FD0m7GgU7tAkUd_74nlJuM7lpNP235lRgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryWerdnaMessage.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A charming postscript from Werdna.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I explored down a winding corridor, and in the first room I was attacked by a group of monsters that included some Zombie Dragons. I let fly with some MADALTOs, trying to keep my big spells in reserve. None of the Dragons were affected, and their return volley wiped out both of my mages. I managed to win through with melee, and some spells from my priests, but my party was in a sorry state. Even worse, I was without a teleport spell to get back to the surface. This was as grim as it had ever gotten for my party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-77nIun5doSk/YRDhgTgFUNI/AAAAAAAAHsM/zwcm1_sqHqsNGugDdkGUbOxD844kF5klACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryDragonZombies.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-77nIun5doSk/YRDhgTgFUNI/AAAAAAAAHsM/zwcm1_sqHqsNGugDdkGUbOxD844kF5klACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryDragonZombies.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fighting back against Zombie Dragons.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My priests still had some high-level spell slots left, so I decided to risk resurrecting my mages. There are two resurrection spells: DI and KADORTO. Both of these spells run the risk of failure, which reduces the dead character to ashes. Only KADORTO can resurrect a character that has been reduced to ashes, but if that fails the character is lost forever. (This same risk exists when resurrecting at the temple, but it's much lower.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My first KADORTO reduced Misto to ashes. My second KADORTO obliterated him completely. That was it for Misto, there was no way of getting him back. I was getting nervous now, because I had no KADORTO spells left. If I cast DI on Merlin and incinerated him, I had no way to teleport to the surface, and my remaining fighters weren't going to survive the journey even if I found a way back. Luckily, DI brought Merlin back, and I was able to MALOR back to level 2 and make my way to the castle. (I teleported up 8 levels instead of 9, because I wasn't 100% sure if I was on level 9 or 10. I didn't want to risk overshooting the mark and killing everyone.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UnWnylsrHNg/YRDh-zNcIWI/AAAAAAAAHsU/F4e-Q8caKMw7bCwbkF5dfLFlJkRPmbn4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryMistoLost.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UnWnylsrHNg/YRDh-zNcIWI/AAAAAAAAHsU/F4e-Q8caKMw7bCwbkF5dfLFlJkRPmbn4gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryMistoLost.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>RIP Misto<br />Raise dead roll he missed-o</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Misto was gone, but I still had Flanker, who I'd advanced to level 10 as a thief and then level 12 as a Mage. I dropped him when I found out that his thief skills disappeared upon changing class, but now I was glad to have a high-level mage ready to go. I did some quick grinding to get him up to level 13, but unfortunately he didn't learn TILTOWAIT, the best offensive spell in the game. He did learn MALOR though, which meant Merlin had more TILTOWAITs to spare, so I still felt pretty good about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I quickly explored the rest of level 9, nervous about falling down another chute the whole time. It ended up being a fairly small level, with a lot of unused space. I am curious about all of those inaccessible squares; can I teleport in and explore them, or will doing so kill my party instantly? It's not a risk I'm ready to take, but I might try once I beat the game. (Or not, I need to keep my high-level characters for <i>Wizardry II</i>.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E7wgE0aOuSk/YRDn3pjr2pI/AAAAAAAAHss/cgXBVZRKwZYdxRsbyv69pPTIxeF4pvrGACLcBGAsYHQ/s435/WizardryLevel9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="399" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E7wgE0aOuSk/YRDn3pjr2pI/AAAAAAAAHss/cgXBVZRKwZYdxRsbyv69pPTIxeF4pvrGACLcBGAsYHQ/w368-h400/WizardryLevel9.png" width="368" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dungeon level 9</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The fights were tougher on level 9, but at no point during exploration did I encounter anything I couldn't handle. There were Trolls, Ogre Mages, various Mages and Priests, Demons... As with previous levels I can't write knowledgeably about them because I was killing them too quickly to experience their special attacks. At one point I killed four Giants that earned by party around 16,000 experience points each, easily the biggest reward in the game so far, but even they fell before they could get in a single attack.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 9 didn't have any stairs down (or stairs up for that matter; the only way to access the level was by the elevator). The only way down to level 10 was the chute I had fallen down earlier. I decided it was time to take on Werdna, but I didn't even make it to the chute.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The path from the elevator to the chute on level 9 is a short one, but this time around I was surprised by a group of level 10 mages (and some other monsters I can't remember) that proceeded to hit me with a barrage of high-damage spells. The back half of my party went down immediately, and the front half followed soon after. Everyone was dead, and I had no recourse but to start the game over from scratch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_DRdIR46kbE/YRDiNSoVpNI/AAAAAAAAHsY/kMy7WhiCqYAzHNE2WCYDQ7RteCzhKd6_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryGraveyard.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_DRdIR46kbE/YRDiNSoVpNI/AAAAAAAAHsY/kMy7WhiCqYAzHNE2WCYDQ7RteCzhKd6_ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryGraveyard.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wizardry's death screen.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Thankfully, losing all of your party members in <i>Wizardry </i>isn't necessarily the end. If you have a strong enough back-up party, you can find your original party's corpses in the dungeon, and bring them back to the surface. Having lost my guys on level 9, I was going to need some very strong characters, but grinding in <i>Wizardry</i> doesn't take terribly long thanks to the Murphy's Ghost encounter on level 1.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My new party consisted of the following characters:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Faker, an evil dwarf fighter</li><li>Fraudo, another evil dwarf fighter</li><li>Pagan Pete, an evil gnome priest</li><li>Satanic Stan, another evil gnome priest</li><li>Spelric, an evil elf mage</li><li>Magical Gary, another evil elf mage</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Most of my time playing this week was spent grinding these guys up while I watched episodes of <i>WWF Heat</i> from 1998. It did seem a little odd to be using an all-evil party as my rescue posse, but I figured they were in it for the gold, and would loot the bodies of my original characters before raising them. Once they advanced to level 12, I decided they were strong enough to survive a quick trip to dungeon level 9.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ac-wmssaCf4/YRDixKK8c4I/AAAAAAAAHsg/bj7tnaqtYjIinRaHHkx6Jc_ZDbOMXbRgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryEvilParty.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ac-wmssaCf4/YRDixKK8c4I/AAAAAAAAHsg/bj7tnaqtYjIinRaHHkx6Jc_ZDbOMXbRgQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryEvilParty.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My rescue party ready to go.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Finding the bodies of dead character in the dungeon is done with the (I)nspect command, which searches an entire room or corridor. The KANDI spell makes this easier, by telling you what level the dead characters are on, and the general area (south-west, etc.). Apparently monsters can drag your characters to different areas, and sometimes their bodies will be devoured. A few castings of KANDI revealed that my characters were all intact, and in roughly the same area in which they'd been killed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Getting down to that room was easy: I just had to take the elevator from level 1 to level 4, then the other elevator from level 4 to level 9. The room where my party had died was just two steps from the elevator, but there was one guaranteed fight along the way. To make things harder, I couldn't go down there with a full party, as you need an empty space to carry a dead body. That meant I was going down at somewhat less than full strength, and I'd have to do it six times. I decided to leave Satanic Stan behind, as I wanted a full complement of front-line fighters, as well as both of my mages for maximum firepower.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gceQYYY5_1U/YRDi6q7y4oI/AAAAAAAAHsk/rnrymxVUFikFC4Ib3S2NlDcrB-T_xZGiQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryCorpses.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gceQYYY5_1U/YRDi6q7y4oI/AAAAAAAAHsk/rnrymxVUFikFC4Ib3S2NlDcrB-T_xZGiQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryCorpses.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The bodies of my party. Penitent Pat is here, but I think it only<br />displays up to five names.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Luckily none of the encounters I had were super-tough; I was able to handle all of them with MADALTOs, and my six trips down to level 9 and back went off without mishap. All of my characters were successfully raised at the temple, which meant I was finally back in action, and ready for another crack at Werdna.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, almost ready. It turned out that some of my gear had been stolen, so I had to buy replacements from the store. Most of my gear had still been there, but Roland was now forced to use a regular sword, and a few of my characters were a little worse off in terms of armour class. I still feel like I'm ready to go and kill Werdna, and if I fail I know that I have a rescue party ready to go. I'll miss my all-evil party, though. Especially Magical Gary.</div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-28774291565323536932021-08-01T12:19:00.004-07:002021-08-01T12:19:44.221-07:00Wizardry: Levels Six to Eight<div style="text-align: justify;">My progress in <i>Wizardry</i> has been fairly slow-going, through a mixture of over-caution and lack of time. But with my characters as high-level as they're reasonably going to get, and my rejection of the game's class-changing system, I was able to make some decent progress this week. I said last time around that I might get through two dungeon levels for this post, but I actually made it through three.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That said, I could have easily skipped all of these levels and gone straight from level 4 to level 9 by using the elevator. There's nothing on levels 5 through 8 that makes them worth exploring, and their sole purpose seems to be the accumulation of experience and treasure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1FvifEl4L8E/YQbvKGY_bzI/AAAAAAAAHqs/JzhqsvdpapERYfiKIAg8I7Kv1pVXB-qmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s457/WizardyLevel6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="418" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1FvifEl4L8E/YQbvKGY_bzI/AAAAAAAAHqs/JzhqsvdpapERYfiKIAg8I7Kv1pVXB-qmgCLcBGAsYHQ/w366-h400/WizardyLevel6.png" width="366" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dungeon level 6</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 6 is interesting in that it you could mistake it as being 17 x 17 instead of the usual 20 x 20. The areas to the east and north are only accessible by a single secret door. There's very little to find out there, unless you're looking for stairs to go down instead of using the elevator.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only other thing of interest is an encounter with three humanoid figures: a barbarian with a glowing sword, a "sexy female mage", and another that looks like a huge ogre. The barbarian calls out to "Ariel and Ookla" before the trio disappears around a corner. This a reference to the cartoon <i>Thundarr the Barbarian</i>, and must have been a pretty late addition to the game: <i>Thundarr</i> debuted in October of 1980, and <i>Wizardry</i> was almost ready to go by then even though it wasn't released until September of 1981. I never saw <i>Thundarr </i>growing up, but I really should check it out, as it's written by a bunch of my favourite comic writers and has production design by legendary comics artist Jack Kirby. It's kind of an irritating inclusion here, though. Not only does this scene serve no purpose, but it happens every time you enter the relevant square, which means Thundarr, Ariel and Ookla are constantly running up that same corridor. I guess they really need to improve their mapping skills.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-22lXqQJx85g/YQbvk6KNYtI/AAAAAAAAHq0/Wps9-LtpS7AA3XweLAMUTEnPMf2AL8SZACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryThundarr.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-22lXqQJx85g/YQbvk6KNYtI/AAAAAAAAHq0/Wps9-LtpS7AA3XweLAMUTEnPMf2AL8SZACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryThundarr.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I suppose that in the world of Wizardry, "sexy" is an objective term.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 7 is laid out as a grid, with nine distinct areas and enough symmetry for it to be potentially confusing. Adding to that confusion are a few well-placed teleportation squares, which give no delay or warning when they're activated. I did get myself turned around on a few occasions here before I realised what was going on, but at this point I was still surprised at how easy to map this game has been. <i>Wizardry</i> has an unforgiving reputation, but at least in mapping terms I've been finding it quite breezy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hdx40k1JatM/YQbv9i2TagI/AAAAAAAAHq8/FTvNRNYbAs0T5eLDzHN0Om1jzIFmBP_8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s450/WizardyLevel7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="411" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hdx40k1JatM/YQbv9i2TagI/AAAAAAAAHq8/FTvNRNYbAs0T5eLDzHN0Om1jzIFmBP_8ACLcBGAsYHQ/w365-h400/WizardyLevel7.png" width="365" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dungeon Level 7</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 8 is where things started to get a little hairier in that regard. The middle area, with its layout designed to look like the initials of creator Robert J. Woodhead, is not so bad. (Decide for yourselves if that design choice is cute or obnoxious.) The top two corners are where things get more difficult. At the top right is a room in complete darkness, that teleports you into the room's center as soon as you enter. That one's not so bad once you figure out where and when the teleportation is happening.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">More irritating is the room to the top right, which is full of spinners. You can enter this room via teleportation, or by taking the stairs down from level 7. Note that there are no stairs back up; if you came down here without the Blue Ribbon needed to use the elevator, you'd need a MALOR spell to get back out again. Even with all the spinners, though, this room isn't so difficult to escape. Spinners only turn you around when you enter their square; after that you can reorient yourself as normal. As long as you hug the walls it's no problem at all to edge around and find the secret door that exits to the north. (I think I'm more annoyed by this level's needless wrapping. Couldn't they have shifted everything down a couple of squares, so that the rooms aren't split across the top and bottom of the map? I kind of hate levels that wrap around to begin with, and stuff like this just makes that annoyance even worse.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fjQt4oA-tzo/YQbwJBClqWI/AAAAAAAAHrA/g7hRdaW53UEHK3selRkvueVuWw2ebhHtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s440/WizardyLevel8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="358" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fjQt4oA-tzo/YQbwJBClqWI/AAAAAAAAHrA/g7hRdaW53UEHK3selRkvueVuWw2ebhHtQCLcBGAsYHQ/w325-h400/WizardyLevel8.png" width="325" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dungeon Level 8. Note that the area I've mapped<br />is only 20 x 17; there's a 3 x 20 area on the east side<br />of the map that's inaccessible.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm still getting through the combats with little trouble, mostly by blasting my enemies with MADALTO and LORTO, or with TILTOWAIT and MALIKTO (a priest spell that instantly kills most foes) when things look really tough. I've occasionally been caught with my pants down by underestimating how much spell power to use, and Misto and Merlin have both required a couple of resurrections. But by being generous with attack spells and returning to the castle regularly I've been able to survive everything so far.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PUFBuyf1ZT8/YQbw3ffwfmI/AAAAAAAAHrM/WtraXQ00_Q4Su3ziAL1HYNaDx6V6HbZsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryTILTOWAIT.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PUFBuyf1ZT8/YQbw3ffwfmI/AAAAAAAAHrM/WtraXQ00_Q4Su3ziAL1HYNaDx6V6HbZsQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryTILTOWAIT.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Unloading with a TILTOWAIT</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I am starting to have some trouble with traps though. Without a thief I'm just using my other characters to disarm traps, and its becoming less successful as I descend further into the dungeon. At the moment I'm pretty much resigned to setting off any traps I discover; I just identify them with CALFO, and make a decision as to whether I want to suck up the consequences or not. ALARM? Sure. SPLINTERS, or ANTI-MAGE? Probably not. For the most part, I try to avoid traps that I think will affect the entire party. Misto and Merlin are drastically low on hit points compared to everyone else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is worth opening chests, though, because it's the best way to find magic weapons and armour. All of my characters have +1 weapons now, and it's a made a big difference to their effectiveness. I'm not sure how magic weapons work in <i>Wizardry. </i>In <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>, they simply give you a bonus to attack and damage rolls. In <i>Wizardry</i>, I noticed that my cleric started making multiple attacks when I equipped a <i>+1 mace</i>. I also levelled up at the same time, so I'm not sure if it's the weapon or the levels that did it. Equipping a <i>Dragon Slayer</i> sword also solved my problems with Mean Joe's drop in effectiveness. He's not quite back up to where he used to be, but he's not far off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SG9neanBy08/YQbxHP4DH6I/AAAAAAAAHrQ/JAzJ7kzbGJUG5ltTQ3AHOlPD_RB8eoD6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryManInLeather.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SG9neanBy08/YQbxHP4DH6I/AAAAAAAAHrQ/JAzJ7kzbGJUG5ltTQ3AHOlPD_RB8eoD6gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryManInLeather.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Yeah man, Wizardry is awesome! You go into a dungeon <br />and thrust at men in leather!"</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I only have two more duneon levels to go, and I expect things to ramp up from here. I'm not all that worried about being wiped out in a fair fight, or killed by traps. If I do get wiped out, it's almost certainly going to be the surprise mechanic that does it. If I don't get ambushed by some powerful spellcasters and blown away, expect a victory post in the near future. If I do, well... it's back to level one I guess.</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-54653715780080404242021-07-26T02:33:00.000-07:002021-07-26T02:33:38.002-07:00Wizardry: Level Five<div style="text-align: justify;">I finally reached my grinding goal of getting all my characters to Level 13. While it took me a few weeks in real-world terms, it was only a few hours of game time (although keep in mind that I did it with the emulator speed cranked up). <i>Wizardry</i>'s not a long game, and reaching high levels can be done pretty quickly, but as I've said before my time has been limited, and I haven't been all that excited to spend it on playing ancient CRPGs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A little bit before getting my characters to Level 13, I decided to have a couple of my characters change class. The first change I made was to have my thief Flanker change into a mage. I would have preferred a change to cleric, but I was restricted by alignment. I got Flanker to around level 8 as a mage before having second thoughts about the whole thing. What I'm unsure about is whether he even keeps his thief skills after changing class. He certainly didn't keep his Agility or Luck scores, and I gather those are important when disarming chests. So I dropped him for now, and swapped Penitent Pat back in. I've been disarming traps with my non-thief characters, which has been reasonably effective, and I much prefer the balance of having two priests in the party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other change I made was to convert Mean Joe from fighter to samurai. This one was a disaster. Joe went from a killing machine to one of the most useless members of the party. I'm still keeping him in the front line, because he has loads of hit points, but his melee damage output isn't even close to what he was dishing out before. At first I thought this was because he lost his multiple attacks, but I've levelled him up to the point where he's gotten those back. The real problem here is that characters get their ability scores reset when they change class, and those new totals are really low. Mean Joe's Strength of 18 was a big asset, and it's not one that he's ever going to get back. Changing to Samurai got him some mage spells, but the trade-off hasn't been worth it so far.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So for the moment I'm steering clear of the class-changing system. I've probably just used it badly, but it feels to me as though characters lose almost everything by going back to level 1 and having their stats reset. I'll stick with Mean Joe, and hope I find a weapon or something that can bring him back up to par. As for the rest, I'm going to keep my fighter, two priests and two mages. Hopefully that'll be good enough. I was considering turning my priest Pious Pete into a lord (for better melee capabilities), both of my mages into priests, and Penitent Pat into a mage, but now I'm not so sure. I'm hesitant to screw things up after what happened to Mean Joe. ("Look how they massacred my boy" I say, having just watched <i>The Godfather</i> for the first time ever.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I explored dungeon level 5 using the elevator that I'd previously unlocked on level 4. My first foray was somewhat disastrous: I encountered a group of Level 7 Mages, and underestimated the amount of spell power I needed to unload on them. (I think I typed MAHALITO instead of LAHALITO, and ended up casting the weakest of the game's mass damage spells. It's an easy mistake to make.) The Mages cast their own mass damage spells on me in return, and both of my mages were killed. I had my priests finish them off with LORTO (a mass damage spell that slices the enemy with spinning blades), and quickly high-tailed it back to the castle to resurrect Merlin and Misto at the temple. (I could have had my priests do it with a DI or KADORTO spell, but I was wary of the manual's warning that DI isn't as effective or safe as using the temple. Besides, I have plenty of gold.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s13SAHn7uWc/YP59XTDgDNI/AAAAAAAAHoQ/o7z4KwqqY7Au4I3fzWDO0U__vpQMZNeKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryKilledByMages.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s13SAHn7uWc/YP59XTDgDNI/AAAAAAAAHoQ/o7z4KwqqY7Au4I3fzWDO0U__vpQMZNeKgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryKilledByMages.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Taking stock of my casualties between rounds.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dungeon level 5 used the entire 20 x 20 grid, unlike level 4, but it didn't have any special encounters at all. The only noteworthy area was a large central room where spellcasting didn't work. I was lucky enough to get through that area with only a couple of easy random encounters; I suspect that meeting the wrong enemies in that place could go very badly. I have no idea if anti-magic zones affect the monsters as well as the party, but I'm not anxious to find out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are a bunch of one-way doors throughout the level, one spinner, and a corridor with a darkness zone. Overall, I'm surprised at how little <i>Wizardry</i> has put these tricks to use. I'm accustomed to the <i>Bard's Tale</i> series, which will drop spinners and darkness zones all over the place. <i>Wizardry</i> has been sparing with them, and so far its levels have been pretty simple to map.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CVZoaW67RTE/YP5-oPir7eI/AAAAAAAAHoo/wioUCfzVpWYpo7S7iZdD_eAX0WMrefbMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s437/WIzardryLevel5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="413" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CVZoaW67RTE/YP5-oPir7eI/AAAAAAAAHoo/wioUCfzVpWYpo7S7iZdD_eAX0WMrefbMQCLcBGAsYHQ/w378-h400/WIzardryLevel5.png" width="378" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wizardry Level 5. The light blue area is an anti-magic zone.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In terms of encounters, I've been blowing through most of them with LAHALITO, LORTO and MADALTO (a highly damaging frost spell). One of my mages got TILTOWAIT upon reaching 13th level; this spell does 10-100 damage to every monster in the combat, which at this point sounds to me like pressing the "automatic win" button. I haven't used it yet, and I'm not even sure why not. I think I've been saving it for a really hairy encounter, but there's no reason not to drop it on some unsuspecting kobolds on my way out of the dungeon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did have one scary moment, when I was surprised by a group of 7th Level Mages (those guys again). There was nothing I could do except watch as my characters got blasted over and over. Penitent Pat and Misto got killed, and Merlin was left with only 2 hit points. I annihilated them with LORTO and MADALTO in the next round, but I'm pretty sure the only reason I survived is that a couple of the Mages had attacked rather than cast spells.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After that hair-raising encounter I decided to use MALOR (teleport) to escape the dungeon as quickly as possible. I'd been reluctant to use MALOR thus far, instead opting to take the elevator back to the surface: I'm well aware that giving MALOR the wrong coordinates can kill your entire party if you land in solid stone. I'd been mapping carefully though, and knew exactly where I was, so I was able to land directly on the level 1 stairs to the castle. Once again, all of my character were resurrected safely.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8f5rLmj1fI/YP5-Bsd-k-I/AAAAAAAAHog/FOQIOU-Q2QUtFP28VlO8CeItwKmOJzNKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryMALOR.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8f5rLmj1fI/YP5-Bsd-k-I/AAAAAAAAHog/FOQIOU-Q2QUtFP28VlO8CeItwKmOJzNKgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryMALOR.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Setting my coordinates for a MALOR teleport.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from that, my only other setback came at the hands of an ANTI-MAGE trap. I'd set one of these off much earlier in the game, and it had paralyzed both of my mages. I took the risk, and this time one of my mages was turned to stone. The other was paralyzed, as was Mean Joe; it turns out that this trap affects anyone who can cast mage spells, not just those of the mage class (I guess that's a downside of class-changing to give everyone spellcasting, you could get wiped out by a single trap). I was able to use the MADI spell (which cures all conditions and restores the target to full hit points) to fix everyone, but that trap was a lot nastier than I was expecting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tT01_Fspyso/YP59tSisAvI/AAAAAAAAHoY/T6PTO4tFM-ETq_QtzrVNIyPKwVYYynTaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryANTI_MAGE.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tT01_Fspyso/YP59tSisAvI/AAAAAAAAHoY/T6PTO4tFM-ETq_QtzrVNIyPKwVYYynTaQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryANTI_MAGE.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>STONED.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's possible my next post might cover multiple dungeon levels, as I'm done with grinding for the moment (and will be done for good unless I change my mind about class changing). Of course this all assumes that I don't suffer some kind of major setback, but so far so good.</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-91274561916204145632021-07-21T10:30:00.005-07:002021-07-21T10:30:57.075-07:00Wizardry: Level Four<div style="text-align: justify;">Once again I got bored with grinding, and decided to take my chances by descending to the 4th dungeon level. I'd already been down there briefly, having taken the elevator and found two signs warning me to keep out. This time I took the stairs, with a healthy amount of trepidation. (This is the major appeal of playing games where you can't just reload a save: the consequences of every action are irreversible, so there are genuine nerves every time a new action is taken.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This time I took the stairs down from level 3 to level 4. I was prepared for a lengthy mapping session, but this level didn't take long to explore at all: whereas the previous levels had used most of their 20 x 20 grid, level 4 had lots of unused space. The stairs down led to a long east-west tunnel. Exploring west led to a dead end, and an area with a loop of doorways. Exploring east led to another loop of doorways, where I found the stairs down to level 5. One of the doors leading to the stairs had some suspicious disk access after I passed through it; I checked a walkthrough map afterwards, and discovered that I wouldn't have been able to get through without the Bear Statue that I'd found on level 2.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eDxuo5MUs7A/YPhXpbhUhFI/AAAAAAAAHj0/Uy5iU09R6TsEzg2PAvUynFtflIWM8Ry-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s409/WIzardryLevel4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="359" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eDxuo5MUs7A/YPhXpbhUhFI/AAAAAAAAHj0/Uy5iU09R6TsEzg2PAvUynFtflIWM8Ry-gCLcBGAsYHQ/w351-h400/WIzardryLevel4.png" width="351" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The very sparse map of level 4</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Having explored the areas accessible via the stairs, I figured that the most interesting parts of the level must be accessed via the elevator. (On levels 2 and 3, the areas accessible by elevator were blocked from the rest of the dungeon, and had nothing interesting to find.) I tried the north passage first, past a sign reading "Testing Grounds Control Centre", mostly because that area of the map was more open than the south passsage. (As it turned out, I wouldn't have been able to explore south yet anyway.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As soon as I stepped past the sign, an alarm sounded, and on my next move I was attacked by 7 3rd Level Ninjas. I made short work of them with spells, and continued exploring. There were two ways forward: one past a sign reading "Treasure Repository", and the other past a sign reading "Monster Allocation Center". The "Treasure Repository" door led into a room where I was attacked by a group of Werebears. I suspect that these enemies had more hit points than anything else I'd faced so far, but with the amount of offensive magic I had by this point I was able to blow them away with ease.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TCphsuO7rvA/YPhWtC7k7HI/AAAAAAAAHjs/CPEKA1ngX40RBbAA2R5dQFewywgysS2hQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryDragon.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TCphsuO7rvA/YPhWtC7k7HI/AAAAAAAAHjs/CPEKA1ngX40RBbAA2R5dQFewywgysS2hQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryDragon.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I also fought a Dragon after going through the alarm square.<br />It died quick.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Exploring through the "Monster Allocation Center" door, I was immediately attacked by what I suspect is a unique encounter: two Lvl 7 Fighters, two High Priests, two Lvl 7 Mages, and a High Ninja. Again, I blasted the hell out of these guys. Now that my priests can cast LORTO (a wall of blades that deals 6-36 damage) and add their offensive power to that of my mages, I'm able to wipe out everything I encounter almost immediately.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dblG6cXWSUU/YPhWWRbawnI/AAAAAAAAHjk/4XAs5b8Ve8s9To2PAoEesuE9vPENG6Z9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryHardFight.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dblG6cXWSUU/YPhWWRbawnI/AAAAAAAAHjk/4XAs5b8Ve8s9To2PAoEesuE9vPENG6Z9ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryHardFight.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The toughest fight yet, I guess.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Past this room I entered a smaller room that was described as containing a desk covered in wizardly paraphernalia: scrying glasses, amulets of summoning, and other items all conveniently destroyed. Just as I entered a panel in the east wall was closing, and I was told that nothing I could do was able to open it. Curious as to who I'd just disturbed, I continued forward.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next room had some answers, as I got the following lengthy message:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>As the party enters the room, the door slams shut, glows bright orange, and disappears. A door appears to the right. A voice from no apparent direction can be heard. It says: "Congratulations, my loyal and worthy subjects. Today you have served me well and truly proven yourself worthy of the quest you are now to undertake. Several years ago, an amulet was stolen from the treasury by an evil wizard who is purported to be in the dungeon immediately below where you now stand. This amulet has powers which we are now in dire need of. It is your quest to find this amulet and retrieve it from this wizard. In recognition of your great deed today, I will give you a blue ribbon, which may be used to access the level transporter on this floor. Without it, the party would be unable to enter the room in which it lies. </i></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Go now, and god speed in your quest!"</i></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So that's my quest: an evil wizard has stolen the amulet of King Trebor, and I have to get it back. Am I to understand that the first four dungeon levels are under Trebor's control? And that I've just won the right to enter the levels below, controlled by this evil wizard? I guess it makes sense of the Proving Grounds name, although that would make Trebor the titular Mad Overlord, and potentially not someone for whom I should be retrieving magic amulets. (The evil wizard Werdna isn't named here, and I don't think he was referenced in the manual either. He was named on a "briefing" that apparently was included as a slip of paper with the game, but I'm curious to see when he first gets a name in the game itself.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the Blue Ribbon in my possession I was able to get through the door south of the elevator. This revealed another elevator, with buttons marked A through F. In any other game I'd mash that F button and try to take on Werdna right away, secure in the ability to reboot a save, but that's not an option here. As I've been doing so far, I'm taking this slowly and cautiously.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I noted above, my current spell power is such that I've been blowing through the various monsters I've encountered. I've probably been over-cautious with the amount of grinding I've done, but as I noted above, choices in this game have consequences, and I don't relish starting over. I won't make a list of the monsters I've fought, because I've been killing them too quickly, so I have no idea what their special abilities are. I did get a little nervous when confronted by some Gas Dragons, but a MADALTO spell (a cold blast dealing 8-64 damage) put them away very quickly. My biggest setback came when I encountered a group of Shades, one of which drained my fighter Roland from level 12 down to level 11. That's a lot of experience to make up, but aside from the loss of a few hit points it didn't affect his combat ability in the slightest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Level drain comes directly from Dungeons & Dragons, where certain undead monsters will drain your character of an experience level with a melee hit. It's somewhat controversial these days: a lot of players hate it, and a lot of DMs refrain from using it. I like it as a tool for instilling genuine fear and hesitation in players, but it only works in certain styles of game; modern D&D kind of relies on the PCs all being of roughly the same level, so I can see why level drain gets left out. Plus it's super-deflating to have months of work go down the drain due to a single bad combat. But it fits well in multi-level dungeon crawls where the PCs control the danger level by choosing which dungeon level to explore, and that's the type of play that <i>Wizardry</i> is emulating.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sCz-jneqqMU/YPhWE3CHaEI/AAAAAAAAHjc/lx5NRrW8WqAaYCBHQnJrygRh0I-w8aTBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryShades.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sCz-jneqqMU/YPhWE3CHaEI/AAAAAAAAHjc/lx5NRrW8WqAaYCBHQnJrygRh0I-w8aTBwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryShades.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Roland after having been level drained.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Reading back over my posts, I noticed that I've avoided writing about whether I'm enjoying the game or not. That hasn't been deliberate, but there are reasons for it: multiple lockdowns, my entire family life being turned upside down, moving house, and so on. I haven't been in a great headspace for this kind of game, and as such playing <i>Wizardry</i> has felt like a chore. I can recognise the quality behind it; it's absolutely one of the most well-crafted games of its era, and it's likely that under different circumstances I'd be loving it. At the moment, the prospect of another session doesn't really excite me, but I'll keep plugging away. I just hope that the first time my party gets wiped out won't discourage me from playing completely.</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-5071582541903719722021-07-12T06:24:00.000-07:002021-07-12T06:24:02.733-07:00Wizardry: Grinding Interlude<div style="text-align: justify;">I mentioned in my last post that I haven't had much time for gaming, and that has held true for this week as well. I only managed a couple of grinding sessions, and a very small amount of exploration, but in the interests of keeping a regular posting schedule I'll make a quick update.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of my characters are sitting on level 12, just one level shy of my grinding goal. I did this by cranking up the emulator speed and repeatedly fighting Murphy's Ghosts on the first dungeon level, with <i>AEW Dynamite</i> playing in the background. Once my spellcasters hit level 13 my they'll have learned the most powerful spells in the game, and that seems to me like a good time to change class. After all, there's very little point to levelling up as a mage or priest once there are no new spells to learn. My characters all need roughly 160,000 experience points to reach the next level, so I'm at the point where it's diminishing returns for pretty much all of them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I was grinding I added my thief Flanker back into the party. He was already 5th level, and for whatever reason I prefer the idea of changing his class to a spellcaster more than changing one of my spellcasters to a thief. My current plan is to change Flanker and my priest Pious Pete into mages, and change my mages Misto and Merlin into priests.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for my fighters, Mean Joe and Roland, I'll probably change their classes too; the experience required to level up is getting prohibitively high. I'd like to change one into a Samurai and the other into a Lord, but I stuffed up during character creation and made them both Neutral in alignment. That precludes them from becoming Lords, so I guess I'm going to have two Samurai.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from grinding, the only thing I did was make a quick foray into the 4th dungeon level by way of the elevator (with four buttons marked A-D). It led to an area with long passages north and south, both blocked by doors with signs. The south door's sign said that it was a private elevator, for authorized users only. The north door was the "Testing Grounds Control Center", and a warning said that it was strictly off-limits. I decided not to open either, as I expect they both hold either a trap or a difficult battle. Once I get my characters to 13th level and earn some experience in their new classes it will be time to tackle dungeon level 4.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oKS7xc0MM0c/YOxBBQRXqsI/AAAAAAAAHgM/gbqQ7iUYHRYV1XTL3_upcTnhSSKDyrl9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Wizardry%2B-%2BBoot_000000000.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oKS7xc0MM0c/YOxBBQRXqsI/AAAAAAAAHgM/gbqQ7iUYHRYV1XTL3_upcTnhSSKDyrl9gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Wizardry%2B-%2BBoot_000000000.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nobody finishes RPGs by obeying "Keep Out" signs.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-50831003161365941942021-07-04T01:54:00.002-07:002021-07-04T01:54:33.226-07:00Wizardry: Level Three<div style="text-align: justify;">I haven't had a lot of time to devote to playing <i>Wizardry</i> this week, unfortunately. I now have a work commute that's two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening, and my laptop only works now when it's plugged in. This doesn't leave me with a lot of free time, so most of what I'm covering in this post happened on Saturday night and Sunday morning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did manage to do an hour or two of grinding during the week, repeatedly fighting Murphy's Ghosts while I watched episodes of <i>Seinfeld </i>in the background. This grinding got most of my characters to level 10, quite a bit short of my level 13 target. My plan was to get my spellcasters to level 13 before switching classes (mages to priests and priests to mages) but that's going to take quite some time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I'm on the subject of levelling up, I want to vent about one of the most annoying aspects of the game: healing. More specifically, it really bugs me that characters get an increase to their maximum hit points when levelling up, but they don't get the same increase to their current hit points. To give an example, if Mean Joe's maximum hit points go from 75 to 88 hit points when gaining a level, his current hit points will stay at 75. So every time I level it's necessary to spend time healing everyone, and it's very irritating.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It mightn't be so bad if the healing process weren't so laborious. Characters can stay at the Adventurer's Inn, where their hit points gradually increase as gold decreases, but I don't like spending money when I don't need to. Besides, you can only do this with one character at a time. Instead I enter the dungeon and cast my full complement of healing spells, which can sometimes take multiple trips. It's hard to criticise a game this old for its interface issues, especially when it's pretty much inventing that interface, but it does get tiresome after a while.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I considered continuing to grind on Murphy's Ghosts, but I was determined to post on the blog over the weekend, and I wanted that post to have some actual content. So last night I determined to head down to dungeon level 3, hoping that I hadn't just sent my entire party to die.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Level 3 was a series of straight corridors and rectangular rooms, with very little to discover aside from monsters. Some of the corridor intersections had pits, which did enough damage to almost kill my mages. I don't think there's a way to avoid them, but it's possible there's a spell I'm missing. Other intersections featured spinners, which are an ubiquitous trap for this genre. Basically, when you step on a square with a spinner, it turns you around in a random direction. This dungeon is designed so that it's impossible to tell which way you're facing just from the layout. Each time I hit a spinner I had to move one square away, make camp, and cast DUMAPIC to get my bearings. Something else that annoys me about the interface is that you can only cast non-combat spells while in camp. Spinners are generally a minor annoyance, but the interface for this game magnifies that annoyance significantly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also found at the intersections are messages saying "turn around", "turn left" or "turn right". I'm not sure if these messages mean anything, or if they're just there to confuse the player. I tried following them, but the directions never led anywhere of interest (and more often than not they pointed me towards a pit).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r3REjyvhwkc/YOFxDedA1XI/AAAAAAAAHeA/GYkLmMhLh6wJOeuuZzWOdveEg-Y7yhEGACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WIzardryTurnAround.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r3REjyvhwkc/YOFxDedA1XI/AAAAAAAAHeA/GYkLmMhLh6wJOeuuZzWOdveEg-Y7yhEGACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WIzardryTurnAround.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Messages like this are found throughout the third dungeon level.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In the centre of the level, through a one-way door, I found a room with buttons marked A through D. I'd encountered similar rooms on levels 1 and 2, which had ended up being a sort of elevator or teleporter (I'm not sure which). These buttons worked the same, and connected to the matching rooms on levels 1 and 2. The only button I haven't tried now is D, which I assume goes down to level 4. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Combat on this level wasn't anywhere near as deadly as I'd feared. The monsters I've fought are as follows:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Level 5 Mages: This is a pretty big leap, considering that I'd only just been fighting Level 1 Mages on the previous dungeon level. These guys cast MAHALITO, which is a danger to my weaker party members, but I can usually kill them before they fire off more than one.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Capybaras: A rodent-like creature with a poisonous bite. I can cast cure poison (LATUMOFIS) now, so poison doesn't send me scurrying back to the castle like it once did.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Rotting Corpses: Undead that I've been able to kill without much trouble. If they have a special attack, I don't know about it.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Vorpal Bunnies: I'd fought some of these on level 2, and they're found in greater numbers on level 3. I haven't been hit by one yet, and more often than not they run away from my party.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Coyotes: Like Vorpal Bunnies, this monster will run away most of the time.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Ninjas: I've fought several groups of ninjas, but they haven't done much to me beyond casting sleep spells.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Dragon Flies: Flies with a breath weapon that damages everyone in the party.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CK7hYkQkB7s/YOFuAPq_N-I/AAAAAAAAHdw/1BrLphXeGlgojByBe8C6eCC8SCs8xE-vQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryDragonflies.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CK7hYkQkB7s/YOFuAPq_N-I/AAAAAAAAHdw/1BrLphXeGlgojByBe8C6eCC8SCs8xE-vQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryDragonflies.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Taking breath weapon damage from a Dragon Fly.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I feel like my grinding paid off here, because I've been able to beat the monsters on level 3 with little trouble. I've been pretty generous with spells, firing off LAHALITOs with abandon, and those are generally enough to wipe out a group of monsters. I've purchased the best armor I can (+1 shields, +1 plate mail), and combined with the MAPORFIC spell my AC is good enough that I rarely get hit. I keep expecting to bump into monsters and get completely wiped out, but so far it hasn't happened. I've been cautious, and that caution has paid off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My only misgiving is that I find myself leaving a lot of treasure chests behind. I don't have a thief, so I'm not confident to have my characters disarm traps. I use CALFO to identify the traps whenever I find a chest, and open those that are safe. That was fine on levels 1 and 2, but on level 3 pretty much every chest has been trapped. Once I risked opening a chest with an ANTI-MAGE trap, figuring that if I had a fighter open it I'd be fine. It paralyzed both of my mages, and I had to rush back to the castle and pay for them to be restored at the temple.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bai2C2B8pNM/YOFuZFiCD8I/AAAAAAAAHd4/BU5R97oVABgApq0onR9eCk07nuYbpa-CQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryParalysisTrap.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bai2C2B8pNM/YOFuZFiCD8I/AAAAAAAAHd4/BU5R97oVABgApq0onR9eCk07nuYbpa-CQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryParalysisTrap.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You'd think there'd be a spell to cure paralysis, but I<br />couldn't find it in the manual.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I need a thief in the party, but I really don't want to change my current party makeup. While finishing up this post, an obvious solution occurred to me: have one of my characters change class to thief. Perhaps when one of my mages hits level 13 I'll give him some levels of thief before switching to priest. I'm still a little wary of the class-changing in <i>Wizardry</i>, because I have no idea how it works. I'm pretty sure I keep the spellcasting from earlier classes, but I'm not sure about other abilities, or how it affects hit points, or any number of other factors. I don't want to ruin one of my guys with an ill-considered change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-scc-lvRWLLc/YOF0hOzcoOI/AAAAAAAAHeI/NzpAnM3LXuAI9Wptnmjb71tu8fKWvjQjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s429/WizardryLevel3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="417" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-scc-lvRWLLc/YOF0hOzcoOI/AAAAAAAAHeI/NzpAnM3LXuAI9Wptnmjb71tu8fKWvjQjQCLcBGAsYHQ/w389-h400/WizardryLevel3.png" width="389" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dungeon level 3</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I've found the stairs down to level 4, so I need to decide what my next move is. I think I'll probably tackle it much like I did with level 3: grinding when I find time during the week, and exploring the new level on the weekend. It worked well for me with level 3, and I'm not about to change a winning formula.</div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-85010917234357427652021-06-27T00:01:00.000-07:002021-06-27T00:01:15.139-07:00Wizardry: Level Two<div style="text-align: justify;">At the end of my last post I had just finished exploring the first dungeon level, and I was already seeing some inadequacies in the makeup of my party. The biggest problem I found was a lack of healing power: with only one priest, there just aren't enough DIOS spells to go around. So I determined to drop one of my party members and create another priest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The obvious character to drop was my thief, Flanker. All he's done so far is sit in the back ranks and disarm the occasional chest. It barely seems worth it, as the rewards for opening a chest are about the same as those for encounters without a chest. I'm content to use the CALFO spell to scan chests, and only open the ones that don't have traps. I'll be leaving treasure behind, but I feel like the benefits of having a second priest far outweigh the drawbacks of losing my thief.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I was creating a priest (who I called Penitent Pat, to go along with my current priest Pious Pete), I discovered that raising IQ along with Piety qualifies a character to become a bishop. So I created another new character, a bishop named Harold (that's one for the Australian soap fans). Bishops can cast priest and mage spells, and also have the ability to identify magic items. The latter ability sounded pretty handy to me, so I was happy to have him replace one of my mages for a while. With Flanker replaced by Penitent Pat, and Misto replaced by Harold, I went back into the dungeon to do some grinding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To give my grinding some purpose, I went on what I call a headbutting mission. The first dungeon level has a lot of unused space, so I went around bumping into every wall that might have a secret door. I found a new one, but it just led to a 1x2 square room with nothing special inside. Of much more value was the experience I earned, enough to raise Penitent Pat and Harold by a couple of levels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I considered grinding some more, but I get impatient with that sort of thing when there is legitimate exploration to be done. I had two options ahead of me: the stairs down to level 2, or the alcove with four buttons marked A through D. I decided to check out the buttons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My instinct here was that the buttons would possibly open up sections of the first dungeon level, or maybe transport me to a different dungeon level. My second thought was the correct one. When I pressed button A, nothing happened, but pressing button B took me to a whole new area. I immediately camped and cast DUMAPIC to get my bearings: I was on the second dungeon level, 10 squares east and 8 squares north of the stairs to the castle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The area I had been teleported to consisted of four small rooms, with no way to get to the rest of the level. While I was poking around in here, I had an encounter with two 1st Level Priests. They died pretty easily, but not before hitting one of my characters with a damaging spell (BADIOS, I assume). One of the squares in this area had four buttons, also marked A through D. I was pretty keen to escape before encountering any other monsters, and I had no other way out, so I pressed the A button. This teleported me back to the centre of dungeon level 1, where I was able to make my escape.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At this point I decided that I would leave the buttons alone. My assumption is that buttons C and D will teleport me to dungeon levels 3 and 4, and I doubt that I'm ready for even a short stay on those levels. My current plan is to fully explore these levels before I test out the buttons; it seems safest to explore them in a situation where I know the way back to the castle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have to say I was feeling pretty good about my progress at this point; none of my characters had died in ages, and every trip I made into the dungeon was filling out my map and earning levels for my characters. As much as I was nervous about going down to level 2, I decided to risk it; I'm always wary about being wiped out in this game, but the lure of mapping and exploring will usually win out over grinding for experience. I'll go grind when I get definite proof that I'm in over my head. I took Harold out of the party, and brought Misto back in; I wanted my full firepower for the next dungeon level.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My first foray into the second dungeon level took me to a spiralling tunnel in the north-east section of the map. At the centre of the spiral I found the stairs down to dungeon level 3, which I'm definitely not taking yet. Along the way I encountered some Zombies (initially identified as Weird Humanoids). Most of them were easily dispelled by Pious Pete, with the rest being mopped up by my fighters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of much greater interest was the encounter I had with three groups of 6 Creeping Coins. The graphic for these monsters was a pile of treasure, and though they weren't that strong in melee they had all sorts of special abilities: sleep spells, a breath weapon, and a spell that reduces my Armor Class. None of these presented much of a risk (although my mages did take some minor damage). I was able to take them out with a barrage of MAHALITO spells (fireballs), and the experience rewards were enormous. Everyone gained a level when I got back to the castle, with Penitent Pat advancing multiple times.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dpslviX7dos/YNgf1lnfVrI/AAAAAAAAHV8/aYHeMQ3_OssUvImNB5CjhKRniPWRIEYgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryCreepingCoins.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dpslviX7dos/YNgf1lnfVrI/AAAAAAAAHV8/aYHeMQ3_OssUvImNB5CjhKRniPWRIEYgQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryCreepingCoins.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Creeping Coins, aka Bags of Experience</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I went back to level 2, and explored another door to the north. There was some suspicious loading when I went through the door, but nothing happened. (I suspected that maybe this something to do with the keys I'd found on level 1, and I was right. When I went back without the Silver Key in my possession, the party were driven back by a silver fog and visions of terrible demons.) In this area I found a statue of a bear, with a sign saying "I've got a million of 'em." Searching the statue I found a smaller Bear Statue I could take with me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(I'm not sure what's going on with that sign. It could be a reference to the fact that you can search the area multiple times and you'll keep finding Bear Statues.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BXOaRUmrcb8/YNggKC4jP1I/AAAAAAAAHWE/By9oqrAy_PojDZRlNg1Mo011nWjsgWeHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryFozzieBear.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BXOaRUmrcb8/YNggKC4jP1I/AAAAAAAAHWE/By9oqrAy_PojDZRlNg1Mo011nWjsgWeHgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryFozzieBear.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Finding a mysterious bear statue.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On my third foray I explored to the south, which had another door with some suspicious loading. (Again, I returned later and discovered that without the Bronze Key from level 1, a bronze-coloured smoke will compel the party to leave the way they came in.) In this area I found a statue of a frog, whose behaviour was suspiciously like that of a certain Muppet. Searching the area revealed a Frog Statuette. (With this statue being Kermit, it seems probable that the bear is intended to be Fozzie, and the "I've got a million of 'em" could refer to his joke-telling. Either way, as much as I love the Muppets I could do without them intruding into fantasy RPGs.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r9ZSz46QH60/YNggZRX_sSI/AAAAAAAAHWI/WKkjfDt2BAozTf2taXsYsBv4rBG2sywigCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryKermitFrog.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r9ZSz46QH60/YNggZRX_sSI/AAAAAAAAHWI/WKkjfDt2BAozTf2taXsYsBv4rBG2sywigCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryKermitFrog.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It's not easy being annoyed at the presence of Muppets.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My fourth foray into the dungeon took me exploring west, where I found a pair of doors with yet more suspicious loading. (I needed the bear and frog statues to get past these.) These doors led into the north-western area of the dungeon, which was shrouded in darkness. After much bumping around in the dark, I found a small room with a statue of a weird creature with the body of a chicken and the head of a cat. I searched this area, expecting to have a fight on my hands, but instead I found a Gold Key. My inventory was rapidly filling with keys and statues for various doors, but at this point it wasn't a huge problem. Eventually I'll probably transfer them to a character back at the castle, but for now my mages have plenty of room to carry them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_lWiA00G46Q/YNghcf5Z8kI/AAAAAAAAHWk/cpYffgZNWTQAtQECDyynyRqb3zw1A3pHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryChickenCat.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_lWiA00G46Q/YNghcf5Z8kI/AAAAAAAAHWk/cpYffgZNWTQAtQECDyynyRqb3zw1A3pHgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryChickenCat.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I don't think there are any chicken-bodied,<br />cat-headed Muppets...</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Exploring further west, I discovered that the map wraps around to the other side. There was nothing to find in this area, aside from a series of squares with the following written on placards:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A dungeon's dark...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>When it's not lit...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Watch out, or you'll...</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ed4uwcC81C4/YNggo2LD3GI/AAAAAAAAHWU/nuxuaqOGOwwHGcs47MSQWcIDKAvbsUxDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryWatchOut.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ed4uwcC81C4/YNggo2LD3GI/AAAAAAAAHWU/nuxuaqOGOwwHGcs47MSQWcIDKAvbsUxDgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryWatchOut.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Be in deep shit."</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fourth line of this rhyme isn't revealed, but I can assume it should be <i>Fall in a pit</i>, because that's exactly what happened to me on the next square. Penitent Pat was killed, but nobody else took any damage. I had to lug Pat's corpse back to the castle and get him raised at the temple, costing 2500 gold. That's where I left off, with my party ready to take on the third dungeon level.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ef9yB4v1MjY/YNgeh0r3qYI/AAAAAAAAHV0/aWfLw2YUAf4SvPQef05V3N0cF_JIr6kdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s439/WizardryLevel2Map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="397" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ef9yB4v1MjY/YNgeh0r3qYI/AAAAAAAAHV0/aWfLw2YUAf4SvPQef05V3N0cF_JIr6kdwCLcBGAsYHQ/w361-h400/WizardryLevel2Map.png" width="361" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My map of dungeon level two</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second dungeon level had proved to not be all that difficult. I hadn't done any grinding in particular; all the experience I'd earned was from exploring dungeon level 1, and I was well capable of annihilating the monsters that level 2 threw at me. These are the monsters I can remember fighting:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Creeping Coins: I mentioned these guys above. They have lots of ineffectual special abilities, and they always attack in huge groups. My eyes light up when I get attacked by them, because I know the experience reward is going to be huge.</li><li>Zombies: Again, I've mentioned these. I'm not sure that I've been hit by one, so I don't know if they have any kind of special attack or not. With two priests, I can dispel most of them before they attack.</li><li>Gas Clouds: I was a little concerned about fighting them at first, because I thought they might explode when hit, like a D&D Gas Spore. They have some magical attacks, but nothing I've been affected by, so these guys are an easy kill.</li><li>1st Level Priests: Aside from casting BADIOS, they pose very little threat.</li><li>Creeping Cruds: Another slime enemy like the Bubbly Slime. I assume they have more hit points and deal more damage, but I've been able to kill them all before they could cause me any trouble.</li><li>Vorpal Bunnies: I had one encounter with a group of Vorpal Bunnies, and was able to wipe them out with MAHALITO before they could hit anyone. I'm still a little worried about them, because the name implies that they could kill a character in one hit.</li></ul><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R78UYfwyyRQ/YNgg6XbcHZI/AAAAAAAAHWc/ymo9dQ-bt0UFQZycZxEo1RXSJ0jRgQ3jgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryVorpalBunnies.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R78UYfwyyRQ/YNgg6XbcHZI/AAAAAAAAHWc/ymo9dQ-bt0UFQZycZxEo1RXSJ0jRgQ3jgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryVorpalBunnies.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My only encounter with Vorpal Bunnies.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>As far as spells go, I've been mostly relying on MAHALITO, with KATINO for weaker foes. I just got LAHALITO, which is like MAHALITO but does more damage. While exploring I've been using LOMILWA, which is a light spell with an unlimited duration that reveals secret doors. It sure beats the wall-bashing that I was doing on level 1, and ensures that I wont miss any hidden areas. I've also had MAPORFIC running, which lasts for an entire dungeon expedition and reduces the Armor Class of everyone in the party by 2.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not sure if I've had a run of good luck, or if I just haven't gotten to the really hard stuff yet, but I feel like I'm doing really well. Once I got past that initial hump and gained a few levels this game became pretty breezy. I think I might grind for a bit to see if I can get my mages and priests to level 13 before I continue on. That's the level where they hit their maximum spell levels; if I'm happy with the spells I've learned at that point, I'm thinking of swapping the classes of my priests and mages; having four characters with access to all of the game's spells does seem like something to aim for. Whether I stick with the grinding depends on how much experience I'll need to get to level 13. At the moment it's been fairly reasonable, but I suspect that the amounts needed will ramp up pretty significantly from this point on.</div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-69371884531026796572021-06-21T22:59:00.002-07:002021-06-22T21:04:05.361-07:00Plugging My Newest Blog<p style="text-align: justify;">I should have a post about <i>Wizardry</i> ready to go on the weekend, but in the meantime I have another blog I've been working on with some regularity: <b><a href="http://chronology-x.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Chronology X</a>. </b>If you're into X-Men comics you might want to check it out, but be warned that this is extremely focused on deep-dive continuity issues and minutiae related to the passage of time. I'm trying to construct a working X-Men timeline based on clues from within the comics, so we're talking extremely pedantic nerd bullshit here. If that sounds like something you might enjoy, please head on over there and take a look.</p>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-38887358220712042172021-06-14T06:07:00.001-07:002021-06-14T06:07:56.964-07:00Wizardry: Level One<div style="text-align: justify;">When I left off with <i>Wizardry</i>, I had just finished my first ill-fated foray into the dungeons below King Trebor's castle. Both of my fighters (Mean Joe and Bubba) were dead, as as my thief (Chico). It was time to make some hard decisions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, I went to the Temple of Cant to find out how much it would cost to raise my characters from the dead. I had some trouble with the interface here, as the temple refused to acknowledge the presence of my dead characters. In a somewhat baffling bit of design, you can't raise characters that are in your party, you have to remove them first. Once I figured this out, I discovered that it would cost me 250 gold to raise one character. This was quite a bit beyond my means, unless I started selling equipment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Instead, I decided to abandon Chico and Bubba, stripping them of their gear first. In their place I created another hobbit thief called Flanker, and a human fighter named Roland. I gave them the equipment of my former party members, and used their starting funds to bring back Mean Joe. It's probably not worth raising 1st level characters, but Mean Joe got a lot of points during character creation, and has some pretty exceptional stats.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iR7wDqG2nBA/YMdLBprI4BI/AAAAAAAAHLU/zJLuJ2WdmtYGb8dGaZpQGBvF35UJ5RENgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryMeanJoeIsWell.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iR7wDqG2nBA/YMdLBprI4BI/AAAAAAAAHLU/zJLuJ2WdmtYGb8dGaZpQGBvF35UJ5RENgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryMeanJoeIsWell.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Getting Mean Joe raised at the temple.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My second foray into the dungeon started somewhat more successfully. I ran into a group of Bubbly Slimes, which I was able to kill with ease as they only cause 1 or 2 point of damage per hit. My luck turned on the next encounter, though, as I encountered some friendly Kobolds. Feeling confident I decided to take them on, only for them to almost immediately kill my cleric, Father Fred. It's karma for attacking a friendly group, I suppose, but at this point I'd made two forays and ended up with dead characters each time. This game was looking more daunting by the second.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Without the funds for resurrection I consigned Father Fred to the graveyard, and replaced him with another cleric called Osric. Back in the dungeon, Osric was almost immediately slain when I was surprised by a group of Bushwackers. We ran away, and I started to wonder if the cleric position in my party was cursed. I was going through them like Spinal Tap goes through drummers. Osric went into the graveyard, and I recruited yet another cleric, this one named Pious Pete. At least this constant character churn was adding to my coffers...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On my fourth dungeon foray, I finally started to have some success. I killed some orcs, some kobolds, and some kobold skeletons, and when I returned to the castle and rested at the Adventurer's Inn a bunch of my characters levelled up. Levelling up in <i>Wizardry</i> is something of a double-edged sword. The extra hit points and general survivability is great, as are the stat bonuses. But some of my characters' stats were lowered as well, which kind of takes the excitement out of it. They do tend to gain more than they lose, but I can't say I love it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rmY863NZOEU/YMdLWsMU4qI/AAAAAAAAHLc/vIfTufPeIKQ7agsKJ5EbSlKjEpWkb14QACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryGainingLevels.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rmY863NZOEU/YMdLWsMU4qI/AAAAAAAAHLc/vIfTufPeIKQ7agsKJ5EbSlKjEpWkb14QACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryGainingLevels.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A rare all-positive level-up.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Both of my mages hit 2nd level, but only one of them learned a new spell; I assume that whether they gain spells on levelling up is based on IQ. Misto learned MOGREF, which increases the caster's Armor Class by 2. This might be useful later on when I have some characters that can fight as well as casting spells, but for my mages at the moment it's a wasted spell, as they're in the back rank where they can't be attacked.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I should probably explain the combat system at this point. Each round, the player chooses what each character in the party is going to do: Fight, Parry, Cast a Spell, Use an Item, Dispell Undead, or Run Away. Only the first three characters in the party can fight, but those in the back rank are able to target monsters with spells. (There are no missile weapons such as bows.) Once all of your commands have been entered, a bunch of text scrolls by telling you what happened during the round. It's all quite fast-paced, and the plethora of spells available to the PCs and special qualities of the monsters make for a wide variety of tactics. It already feels like the most robust, well-executed combat system on the blog so far, and I've barely scratched the surface of it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Monsters attack in groups. I believe that there is a maximum of four groups of monsters in one combat, although I'm not sure if there's a limit to the number of monsters within a group. (I'm somewhat dreading the possibility that I might encounter something along the lines of <i>Bard's Tales's</i> legendary fight with 99 Berserkers, 99 Berserkers, 99 Berserkers and 99 Berserkers.) Sometimes you will know exactly what the monsters are, but at other times you only know their general type. For example, Small Humanoids could be either Orcs or Kobolds. Scruffy Men could be either Rogues or Bushwackers. At the moment it's not a massive deal, because there aren't any monsters on the 1st dungeon level that are overwhelmingly powerful in comparison to the others (although Bushwackers have given me the hairiest moments, for sure). There's a spell that identifies all of the monsters in an encounter, and I'm sure that will be handy on lower levels once I've learned it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nUf0rARDqaU/YMdLmI29QpI/AAAAAAAAHLg/5BoWewTN_Q0gQpadLUDmMpL9wr-EJGT7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardrySkeletonsCOmbat.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nUf0rARDqaU/YMdLmI29QpI/AAAAAAAAHLg/5BoWewTN_Q0gQpadLUDmMpL9wr-EJGT7gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardrySkeletonsCOmbat.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mean Joe contemplates his options in combat.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So far I've encountered the following monsters:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Orcs and Kobolds: Handily dealt with by casting KATINO to put them to sleep. They do sometimes attack in large numbers, though, which is good for experience points but potentially dangerous. Once I gained a few levels, they mostly started running away rather than fighting.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Bubbly Slimes: These are immune to KATINO, but it hardly matters, because they're weak and do very little damage.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Kobold Skeletons: Because these creatures are undead, a priest can Dispell them. This will instantly destroy a number of them, but the tradeoff is that you don't earn any experience for Dispelled undead.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Rogues and Bushwackers: These guys can also be put to sleep, although it doesn't seem as effective against them as it is on Orcs and Kobolds. Rogues aren't too bad, but Bushwackers are by far the nastiest monsters on the 1st dungeon level. I've lost more characters to them than any other monster.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes one side or another gains surprise, which grants a full round of attacks. As far as I can tell there's nothing you can do to influence whether this happens. This is a shame, because being surprised by monsters can be pretty bad for the party; I've already lost a few characters in this way, and there was nothing I could do about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a combat is over (when the monsters are dead, or have run away), you will get experience and treasure. Sometimes the treasure is inside a chest, and often that chest will be trapped. Early on the only way I had to identify and disarm traps was by having my thief examine the chest. If it's identified as a TRAPLESS CHEST, I can just open it and claim the treasure. If there's a trap, such as a POISON NEEDLE, I have to disarm it by typing the trap's name. Sometimes the thief will misidentify the trap, or fail to disarm it, and either of these can be deadly. Flanker has been pretty successful so far, and has only been poisoned once. I don't have a spell to cure poison yet, but if you can make it back to the castle before the poisoned character dies, they'll be automatically cured. It's one of this game's few nods toward compassion for the player.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RHConLIsezQ/YMdL7fW0sgI/AAAAAAAAHLs/fqSMHrBeoLQJgIZq6zMWx9c1kV4ZLI3XwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryCrossbowTrap.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RHConLIsezQ/YMdL7fW0sgI/AAAAAAAAHLs/fqSMHrBeoLQJgIZq6zMWx9c1kV4ZLI3XwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryCrossbowTrap.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Flanker disarms a crossbow bolt trap.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">With some levels under my belt, exploration went a lot more smoothly. (Well, okay, Mean Joe did get killed again by Bushwackers, but I had the funds to raise him.) The bottom left quarter of level 1 is where I'd been doing all of my grinding, and there was nothing of interest there. The top left quarter was also similarly devoid of interest, but at the end of a long corridor between the two I found some stairs leading down. I wasn't even slightly tempted to take them; this game's reputation for deadliness is enough to make me wary of even the slightest risks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the top right section, I finally found something: a silver statue of a boar with horns and long fangs. A barely legible message, apparently left by passing elves, warned of ghosts and demons. Searching the statue yielded a Silver Key, which turned up in Mean Joe's inventory. I immediately switched it to Merlin, because fighters always need more inventory space than spell-casters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tBrCNqUU7lw/YMdMRcKF4BI/AAAAAAAAHL4/wEkx5jp_FZA8j7mWeDDKy4u73UTXeJPswCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryBoarStatue1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tBrCNqUU7lw/YMdMRcKF4BI/AAAAAAAAHL4/wEkx5jp_FZA8j7mWeDDKy4u73UTXeJPswCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryBoarStatue1.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Finding a silver statue.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Between the top left and top right quarters was an area with a sign, warning me that it was "OUT OF LIMITS", and that I should turn back. I waited to explore this area until I'd run out of other options, but no adventurer worth their salt has ever heeded this kind of warning. The area beyond was a wide corridor shrouded in darkness; I didn't try a light spell, but if my experience with <i>Bard's Tale</i> is anything to go by it wouldn't work. Instead I just fumbled around bumping into walls in order to map the place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the north end of the passage was an alcove, with four buttons marked A through D on the wall. I decided to leave these alone for now. Like I said, I am playing this game with the utmost caution. Further back along the corridor was a room where I encountered a small man in a long robe. He told us to "begone", and with a wave of his hand and some magic words teleported us back to the castle. At first I worried that maybe I had missed something here, but when I went back he was still there, and teleported us again. I'm sure this guy will come in handy when I need to make a quick exit. (I wonder if using his magic words to cast a spell would work? I suspect not, but it would be pretty cool.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pibYZLqqel8/YMdMg5vZE3I/AAAAAAAAHME/oP5DTdGw200vhJbHhYlAxuWs0YkEsZeJACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryOldMan1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pibYZLqqel8/YMdMg5vZE3I/AAAAAAAAHME/oP5DTdGw200vhJbHhYlAxuWs0YkEsZeJACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryOldMan1.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Getting teleported to safety by an angry wizard.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">During all of this exploration I was building gold and experience, and gaining levels. I upgraded my fighters to breastplates, and then to plate mail. I bought a breastplate +1 for Pious Pete, because priests can't wear plate mail. There are other magic items and weapons at the shop, but they're still a bit out of my price range.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My priest and mages learned a number of new spells, which I'll list below.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pious Pete:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">KALKI: Reduces the Armor Class of all party members by 1, which is a lot more useful than the mage's MOGREF.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">PORFIC: Reduces the AC of the caster considerably. There's no number given, and I haven't tested it out yet, so I don't know how much better it is than KALKI.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">MILWA: A light spell. You can see in the dungeon without a spell, but MILWA lets you see further and reveals secret doors. I'm not sure it's really that necessary, because you can see secret doors sometimes without the spell, and ramming into walls is just as effective.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">MATU: This 2nd level spell is exactly like KALKI, but reduces the party's AC by 2. It's a little odd to see KALKI made obselete so quickly.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">CALFO: A 2nd level spell that identifies the trap on a chest 95% of the time. I was hoping that this would be the equivalent of TRAP ZAP from <i>Bard's Tale</i>, but unfortunately it only identifies the trap and doesn't disarm it. The first time I used it, it told me that a chest was safe when it actually had a poison needle trap, so I'm pretty dubious about this spell already.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">MANIFO: This 2nd level spell freezes one group of enemies, but only for a few combat rounds. I haven't tested it out yet.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">LATUMAPIC: A 3rd level spell that reveals the exact nature of the monsters you're facing. I haven't needed it on the 1st dungeon level, but I'm sure this will come in handy later on.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">LOMILWA: A 3rd level light spell like MILWA, but with a longer duration.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Misto and Merlin:</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">DUMAPIC: Gives you your exact coordinates in relation to the stairs up to the castle. This spell is integral for mapping, especially when you have to deal with being teleported.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">DILTO: A 2nd level darkness spell, which lowers the defense of a group of monsters.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">SOPIC: This 2nd level spell makes the caster transparent, and lowers their AC by 4. As with MOGREF, this spell is currently useless as my mages aren't in the front line.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">MAHALITO: A 3rd level fireball spell that deals 4-24 damage to one group of monsters. I foresee this one becoming a major staple of my arsenal.</li></ul></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V47yQrj4kG0/YMdM9ETMjZI/AAAAAAAAHMM/wl6Wg_1wEZ45ivbeBvKvO38ManT6GI3wACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryKoboldKatino.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V47yQrj4kG0/YMdM9ETMjZI/AAAAAAAAHMM/wl6Wg_1wEZ45ivbeBvKvO38ManT6GI3wACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryKoboldKatino.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Putting some kobolds to sleep with KATINO.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My final foray for this session was an exploration of the bottom right area of the level. I hadn't found a way in there, so I set about looking for secret doors (by ramming myself into the walls, not using a light spell like a sane person). Eventually I found one at the end of a long corridor; it led off the right edge of the map and entered on the left side. (I was kind of irritated to learn that <i>Wizardry's</i> maps wrapped around, but I was definitely expecting it. It's a genre staple.) As I explored the corridor beyond, I soon found myself teleported to a room with many doors. I made camp and used DUMAPIC to get my bearings; I was in the bottom right area of the 1st level, as I'd hoped.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Through one of the doors I found another teleporter, which just sent me back to the spot I'd been teleported to a minute earlier. This kind of thing can play havoc with mapping, but I wised up to it right away. Another door led to a small room with a bronze statue depicting a beast with the body of a chicken and the head of a cat. Searching the statue, I found a Bronze Key. (I transferred this to Merlin as I'd done with the Silver Key.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Through the third door I tried was a statue of a hooded humanoid, covered in jewels, with a light coming from inside the hood. Fresh incense was burning on an altar in front of the statue. I was a little nervous to examine it, because I'd already searched two statues with positive results; one of them was bound to backfire on me eventually. Sure enough, when I searched this statue I was attacked by a pair of monsters called Murphy's Ghosts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANQgOqo71lA/YMdNL5_ZnBI/AAAAAAAAHMQ/MZ5Us63ih9on1Et_PUvqeGUP-dQgZvasQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/WizardryMurphysGhosts.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANQgOqo71lA/YMdNL5_ZnBI/AAAAAAAAHMQ/MZ5Us63ih9on1Et_PUvqeGUP-dQgZvasQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/WizardryMurphysGhosts.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In combat with "unseen entities", before I identified <br />them as Murphy's Ghosts</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">These creatures didn't hit very hard, only doing 2 or 3 points of damage at a time, but they had a lot of hit points and were immune to most of my spells. Even though they appeared to be undead, Pious Pete's attempt to Dispell them was ineffective. KATINO (sleep) didn't work, and they were immune to MAHALITO (fireball) and all of my other attack spells. I simply kept wailing away on them, hoping that they'd run out of hp before I did and firing off all of my spells to find something that would work. In the end, lowering my AC with KALKI and MATU seemed like the way to go; I was surprised to discover that multiple castings of the spell were effective, and I could lower my AC more than once. I finally killed the ghosts, and got my biggest experience reward to date, but it was a close-run thing, as all of my front rank characters had less than 10 hp left.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was a little nervous at this point, because I had no idea how to get back to the castle. The other doors I hadn't tried all led to a maze of one-way doors, but eventually I found my way into a winding corridor that led to the dark area I'd explored earlier. I made it out without being attacked, and visited the old wizard for a teleport back to the castle. Most of my characters gained a level, and I was pretty happy to have fully mapped the 1st dungeon level.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rJUCq5WiNho/YMdNz1uXrsI/AAAAAAAAHMc/PFVz4j28oH4DXWsnn4PIgUrx59N3Heu4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s438/WizardryLevel1Map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="418" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rJUCq5WiNho/YMdNz1uXrsI/AAAAAAAAHMc/PFVz4j28oH4DXWsnn4PIgUrx59N3Heu4gCLcBGAsYHQ/w381-h400/WizardryLevel1Map.png" width="381" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My map of level 1. I hope I can get into those <br />blocked off areas later on.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plan for my next foray is to investigate the buttons I ignored earlier, or to take the stairs down to level 2. Alternatively, I might stick around on level 1 for a while and grind for experience. It seems like the prudent thing to do, and the Murphy's Ghosts encounter does give a pretty large reward; I'm not sure it's worth it for how annoying the battle is, but maybe that will become less of a problem as I get stronger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I probably will grind for a while, because I'm starting to feel like I should change up my party. For starters, one priest isn't enough. I'm already concerned about only having one healer, and I'm sure it will become a bigger problem the deeper I delve. Replacing my thief seems like the best option, but then I worry about missing out on treasure inside chests. I know I can use CALFO to identify traps, but how effective are the non-thief classes at disarming them safely? What I might end up doing is having some extra party members and mixing them around. This will give me a bit more flexibility, and give me some back-ups if I ever need to launch a rescue mission. I'm feeling pretty confident right now, but I'm well aware that one bad minute could have me back at square one.</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-35115206111284820452021-05-26T09:07:00.000-07:002021-05-26T09:07:54.105-07:00Priority CRPG 4: Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (1981)<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJAwvvC0A2o/YKaBHGo0JlI/AAAAAAAAG90/Nd63nOOzMEMhZOe-tL26JDJiw7Wgf6G2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s389/Wizardry_pgotmo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="256" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJAwvvC0A2o/YKaBHGo0JlI/AAAAAAAAG90/Nd63nOOzMEMhZOe-tL26JDJiw7Wgf6G2QCLcBGAsYHQ/w264-h400/Wizardry_pgotmo.jpg" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Apple II cover of Wizardry</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aaahhh, that's much better. I'm happy to be playing pretty much anything other than <i>Balrog Sampler</i>, but it's even nicer that the next game is a stone-cold classic from my CRPG priority list. This is one I've been looking forward to for years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been playing CRPGs almost since I first got my Commodore 64, way back in the mid-80s. I've at least dabbled in most of the major games and franchises, but I've never played a <i>Wizardry</i> game before. I've certainly read plenty about them, and I spent most of my teen years obsessively playing the <i>Bard's Tale</i> trilogy, which I gather is very similar. So I'm not unfamiliar with the series and how it works, but I have no firsthand experience. This is a big one for me. If it's as much like <i>Bard's Tale</i> as it seems I think I'm going to enjoy it a lot.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As usual, I'll be trying to play this game in its original version. <i>Wizardry</i> was initially released for the Apple II, which is a huge relief. <i>Balrog Sampler</i> had me struggling manfully with TRS-80 emulators for weeks on end, and the simplicity of Apple II emulators is wonderful in comparison. I'm also going to be attempting to play this game at its legitimate difficulty. <i>Wizardry</i> is yet another early CRPG that will permanently delete your characters without allowing you the luxury of returning to a prior save. I figure that if I was able to beat <i>Rogue</i> properly, I should be able to do the same with <i>Wizardry. </i>Hopefully I'll be happy with that decision a month from now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Wizardry</i> was initially developed by Andrew Greenberg (then a student at Cornell University) and Robert Woodhead, starting in 1978. A version written in BASIC was apparently playable as early as 1979, but wasn't released because it was really, really slow. I can attest to that as far as BASIC games go, as the ones I've played for the blog have been really sluggish. (It gets especially bad for games with graphics.) There are claims in the <i>Wizardry</i> documentation that the game is the "largest single micro-computer game ever created", so I shudder to think just how slow it might have been. The game was rewritten in Pascal in 1979, but because Greenberg and Woodhead didn't have access to a run-time system the game couldn't be released until 1981. This meant that <i>Wizardry</i> got two years of solid playtesting. So now I know that when my party gets wiped out by monsters without a chance to retaliate, that was a deliberate decision, and a not an oversight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I played the PLATO game <i>Oubliette</i> some years ago, and <i>Wizardry</i> draws heavily from that game. There have been accusations of plagiarism over the years, although from what I've played of both I'd say that it's no more egregious than what had already been going on in gaming up to that point. If <i>Wizardry</i> has ripped off <i>Oubliette</i>, then just about every adventure game I've played - including <i>Zork - </i>has ripped off <i>Colossal Cave Adventure</i>. There's no denying the influence, though: in many ways, <i>Wizardry</i> is an attempt to bring <i>Oubliette</i> to home computers as a single player experience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, <i>Wizardry</i> is massively successful, important, and influential in its own right. It sold over 200,000 copies in its first two years, outselling <i>Ultima</i> at the time. It inspired the aforementioned <i>Bard's Tale </i>series, not to mention just about every first-person dungeon-crawler that's ever been made. And then there's its influence on Japanese RPGs, where its combat system was lifted for hugely successful games like <i>Dragon Quest</i> and <i>Final Fantasy. </i>The <i>Wizardry</i> series actually continued in Japan long after it was dead in the west, with the last game having been published in 2014. <i>Wizardry</i> is a milestone, possibly the most important CRPG that I've never played. I really want to dig into this one, even though there's probably very little new that I can say about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tXzE92TVs3A/YK5pSTjcZII/AAAAAAAAHAQ/NYWCZ16Zc3028lYDDe4z-iaxm9ZRasfvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s589/WizManual.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="389" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tXzE92TVs3A/YK5pSTjcZII/AAAAAAAAHAQ/NYWCZ16Zc3028lYDDe4z-iaxm9ZRasfvgCLcBGAsYHQ/w264-h400/WizManual.png" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wizardry's Apple II manual</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing I like to do with a game is check out the box and the manual. This is especially important with games of this vintage, because often the story is almost entirely contained in the supplemental material. There's no story in <i>Wizardry</i>'s manual, but the box apparently did contain a slip of paper called a "briefing", which says that the evil wizard Werdna stole something valuable from King Trebor, and has hidden it in the dungeons below Trebor's castle with monsters to guard it. Apparently there's a "control room" somewhere that will allow me to access the deeper dungeon levels more easily, but that's something for me to worry about later. ("Werdna" and "Trebor", as I'm sure everyone reading this already knows, are the names of the developers written backwards. I've seen this dismissed as lame on many occasions, but it is fully in keeping with the game's roots in Dungeons & Dragons, in which Gary Gygax happily named his wizard alter-ego Zagyg. This is just the sort of thing that RPG players were doing at the time, and I kind of admire that ability to not take the fantasy too seriously. Besides, it's not nearly as pretentious as inserting yourself into your game as "Lord British".)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tm4293iZg1k/YK5pyi_mrmI/AAAAAAAAHAY/jHt8SR9L0Co4i5NfP8VT6kkgxxCCF0NEACLcBGAsYHQ/s359/WizManualIllustration.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="359" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tm4293iZg1k/YK5pyi_mrmI/AAAAAAAAHAY/jHt8SR9L0Co4i5NfP8VT6kkgxxCCF0NEACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h286/WizManualIllustration.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The manual sets the tone pretty early.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While the manual doesn't have any story details, it's chockers with information on how to play the game. Character creation, combat, exploration, shopping, and pretty much every other aspect of the game are described pretty thoroughly (or at least it seems so from my inexperienced perspective). The illustrations are of a humorous nature, which is in keeping with the tone of a lot of RPG material of the era: more proof that the creators of D&D and CRPGs didn't take this stuff very seriously back then. The back half of the manual is taken up by spell descriptions: there are fifty spells in all, and I gather that mastering their use will be vital to beating the game. I'm not a huge fan of the way the spells are named in <i>Wizardry</i>, though. Yes, it's cool that the names are built using a system of syllables with meanings, and that the meanings are consistent across the spell names. But when I'm trying to figure out what the fuck LATUMOFIS and LAKANITO do, it's not that helpful. There's something to be said for D&D's use of prosaic names such as fireball and magic missile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After booting up the game, it begins with an impressive title screen depicting a wizard summoning a demon from a bubbling cauldron. Yes, it's primitive by modern standards, but this level of colour and animation are a real eye-opener when seen in the context of the day. (That said, I'm playing <i>Wizardry</i> somewhat out of sequence, so maybe it's on par with some other stuff out there. I'll find out for sure eventually, I suppose.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u99jdDxq4iA/YK5qCSr7SpI/AAAAAAAAHAg/579QU4nduvIcS5WUsOqkq5lUJ9Xs0buhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Wizardry%2B-%2BScen_000000000.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u99jdDxq4iA/YK5qCSr7SpI/AAAAAAAAHAg/579QU4nduvIcS5WUsOqkq5lUJ9Xs0buhwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Wizardry%2B-%2BScen_000000000.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Impressive in its day.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The title page says that I'm playing version 2.1 from 1982, which I gather makes some minor improvements from the original. It's probably not a major enough shift to warrant me tracking down an earlier version, and besides that I'm using the disks made available by Ahab at Data Driven Gamer, which are apparently the only ones out there that are in the same state that the game would be in when newly purchased. So I doubt I'm going to get a more authentic experience than the one I'm going with.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The game starts in King Trebor's Castle, but your options are limited because you don't have any party members yet. The only thing to do is go to the (E)dge of town, where you can head to the (T)raining grounds to create some characters. I could see this all being a little baffling to a first-timer, but the manual lays it out clearly enough.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-abvHJIX2xT0/YK5qufCkxjI/AAAAAAAAHAo/3GQfkFBHbngqof3ItpLal035H9_HlNQowCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Wizardry%2B-%2BCastle.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-abvHJIX2xT0/YK5qufCkxjI/AAAAAAAAHAo/3GQfkFBHbngqof3ItpLal035H9_HlNQowCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Wizardry%2B-%2BCastle.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>At Trebor's Castle, with no party members</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You begin character creation by assigning your character a name, which feels a little backwards to me: I like to know my character's stats, race and class before I name them. The game then asks you to assign the character a password. It will ask you for that password whenever you try to use the character. It's an odd touch, but it is borrowed from <i>Oubliette</i>, where it was used to prevent other people using your character in a multiplayer environment. It's included here to stop your little brother from mucking up your best guys, I guess.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second step is to assign a race, using the standard D&D choices of Human, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome and Hobbit. Each race has its own affect on your stats, as well as resistances to certain attacks, but the manual is uncharacteristically vague about this. At this point I'll resist the urge to look them up, and assume that they conform to the stereotypes (i.e. Hobbits have high Agility and low Strength, Dwarves have high Vitality, etc.).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pYO3OPx44xA/YK5xOp8dBCI/AAAAAAAAHBI/PE50JLpIgrMKcsj4WgJT3EVx45qz0xsQACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Wizardry%2B-%2BRaces.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pYO3OPx44xA/YK5xOp8dBCI/AAAAAAAAHBI/PE50JLpIgrMKcsj4WgJT3EVx45qz0xsQACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Wizardry%2B-%2BRaces.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Choosing a race.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After choosing a race, you need to pick an alignment: Good, Neutral or Evil. This affects which classes you can qualify for in the next step. It should also be noted that Good and Evil characters can never be in the same party together, which means that there are certain classes I won't be able to use.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next step is to determine your stats. Each character has six of these attributes (which range from 3-18 in standard D&D fashion): Strength, I.Q., Piety, Vitality, Agility, and Luck. Strength affects your ability in melee combat, I.Q. and Piety affect your ability to cast and learn mage and priest spells (respectively), Vitality affects your health and hit points, Agility affects your speed in combat, and Luck affects your ability to avoid traps, spells and other attacks. Again, I'm being vaguer than I'd like to be here, but I can't find where this is explained in the manual. I'm sure I read it in there yesterday, but it's escaping me right now and I'm wondering if I imagined it. Anyway, if you've ever played an RPG, these stats do the things they always do. You know how it works.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j6RiUm7AxWk/YK5xjqixJBI/AAAAAAAAHBQ/Tm2QG_W9eEo0P7cytRGwpGAuKTE7HO2AgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Wizardry%2B-%2BBoot_000000002.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j6RiUm7AxWk/YK5xjqixJBI/AAAAAAAAHBQ/Tm2QG_W9eEo0P7cytRGwpGAuKTE7HO2AgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Wizardry%2B-%2BBoot_000000002.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Assigning stats and choosing a class.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from their usual effects, certain stats are required to qualify for a character class. There are eight classes in <i>Wizardry</i>, four basic classes and four elite classes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Fighters, your standard warrior type with high hit points and the best access to weapons and armour. They require a Strength of 11.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Mages, your spellcasters. They get the most effective combat spells, but they can't wear armour and can only wield a dagger or a staff. They require an IQ of 11.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Priests, your holy men who can fight a bit and use healing and defensive magic. They can also "dispell" undead monsters, allowing you to avoid fighting them. They require a Piety of 11, and can't be Neutral in alignment.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Thieves, who are primarily there to disarm traps. They can only use daggers and short swords, and wear leather armour. They require an Agility of 11.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Bishops, which are a kind of cross between Priests and Mages. They also get the ability to identify magical items, which seems handy. Like priests, they can't be Neutral in alignment.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Samurai, which are fighters that eventually get access to Mage spells. They can't be Evil.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Lords, which are combination Fighter-Priests. They must be Good.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Ninja, which are described as "inhuman fighting machines". Their Armor Class gets better as they reach higher levels, and they also have a chance to kill enemies with a single blow. They have to be Evil though, which puts them at odds with Lords.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last four classes listed above are harder to qualify for, requiring high scores in multiple attributes. At higher levels you can also switch classes, retaining your hit points and spells while gaining the abilities of the new class. To be honest, I feel like the ability to switch class kind of negates the benefits of the "elite" classes. Only the Ninja and the Bishop seem to have unique abilities. Perhaps there's something I'm missing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The manual recommends starting with two Fighters, a Priest, a Thief and two Mages. I suspect that I might eventually swap out that Thief for another healer, but it's hard to argue with the balance here. The scan of the manual that I'm using also has some hand-written notes, with the names of the player's party scrawled on the inside front cover. In recognition of that player so considerately making his manual available, I'm going to use the names of his characters. So my first party will consist of fighters Bubba and Mean Joe, thief Chico, priest Father Fred, and mages Misto and Merlin. I decided to make Bubba and Father Fred human, Mean Joe a dwarf, Chico a hobbit, Misto a gnome and Merlin an elf. I've covered all of my racial bases there, striking a blow for diversity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8IkMHWHEYoU/YK5x-Jy1O2I/AAAAAAAAHBY/mrWoqcLWw7kOBgIjRHzOjb6NRwKUrsAEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s373/WizManualScribble.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="373" height="323" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8IkMHWHEYoU/YK5x-Jy1O2I/AAAAAAAAHBY/mrWoqcLWw7kOBgIjRHzOjb6NRwKUrsAEgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h323/WizManualScribble.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The inspiration for my first party</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I hemmed and hawed about whether to go with a good or an evil party, but in the end my basic CRPG instincts won over. I made Bubba, Father Fred and Merlin good, and the rest of the party neutral. I guess I'm not going to have a ninja in the party (unless all of these guys gets slaughtered and I have to start over).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My stats were disappointingly low: most of them begin in the 5-11 range, and you only get around seven points to distribute amongst them. This number is variable, though, and occasionally you hit the jackpot. This happened to me with Mean Joe, who got a whopping 19 points to spend. He ended up with a Strength of 18, and a high Vitality as well, and expect he'll be the MVP of the party in the early going.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once your characters are created, you need to go to Gilgamesh's Tavern to add them to the party. This is kind of irritating, to be honest, as you can only see the roster of characters at the training ground, and you can only add them to your party at the tavern. It's not so bad now, but I can see it being a potential problem down the line if I have a bigger roster and I'm more likely to forget their names.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I was at the tavern I took the time to inspect my characters and look at what spells my priest and mages got. Father Fred got Dios (heal) and Badios (harm). Misto and Merlin both ended up with Halito (little fire) and Katino (bad air, basically a sleep spell). I'm not sure if beginning casters all start with the same spells or not, but the ones I got are pretty good. I wouldn't want to tackle the dungeon without some healing and a sleep spell.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next it was time to head to Boltac's Trading Post to buy some gear. Most of what's sold here is standard weapons and armour, but I was surprised to see some magical items (+1 weapons and armor, another D&Dism), as well as some potions and scrolls. All of the magical gear was out of my price range, but it's something for me to work towards.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bubba, who started with 170 gold, bought a longsword, a large shield, and some chain mail. Merlin, with 110 gold, bought a staff and some robes. Misto, with 135 gold, bought a dagger and some robes. Chico, with 163 gold, bought a short sword, small shield, and leather armour. Father Fred and Mean Joe were a little lacking in funds (100 gold and 91 gold respectively), so I went back to the tavern and had some of my other characters trade their leftover gold to them. (This was pretty tedious, as I had to do it one character at a time; there's no "pool" function where the party can just spend money from one collective pile. It's hard to criticise games for not using functions that had never been thought of at the time, though, so I'll try to shut up about it.) Upon returning to Boltac's, I was able to buy Father Fred an anointed mace, a large shield, and some chainmail. Mean Joe was able to buy a longsword, a large shield, some chainmail, and a helm. So not only does Mean Joe have the best stats, but he has the best gear as well. Life just works out like that for some people, I guess.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I decided to take a quick foray into the maze, just so that there's some actual gameplay in this post. I was pleasantly surprised that the game doesn't dump you straight into the dungeon: instead you are in camp, and have the opportunity to review your characters and equip their gear. It's a nice little reminder to be prepared. Equipping weapons and armour is also very user-friendly, as it runs through each character and asks what you want to use in each category.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The party begins at the stairs (which I assume are at the bottom left of the map), with a tunnel leading ahead and another to the right. I chose to take the right tunnel, which led to a room through a door. Movement uses the W-A-D cluster, with W being forward, A turning left, and D turning right. Going through a door has its own separate command - K - which is another minor irritant. Trying to walk forward into a door using W brings up a message that says OUCH. I'm not sure if this can hurt the party, but in this case my characters emerged unscathed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I didn't find anything there, so I went back to the stairs and headed north. As soon as I turned a corner I was attacked by 5 Scruffy Men. Sometimes in <i>Wizardry</i> you don't know exactly which monsters you're facing, only their general type. As the battle progresses the monsters will be identified. In this case, I was soon to learn that I was fighting 5 Bushwackers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iPjsNoM8hew/YK5q-LR_fLI/AAAAAAAAHAw/cnkjzBLCLkgciA4VdTi-_9k_u9MDp0pAACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Wizardry%2B-%2BScruffyMen.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iPjsNoM8hew/YK5q-LR_fLI/AAAAAAAAHAw/cnkjzBLCLkgciA4VdTi-_9k_u9MDp0pAACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Wizardry%2B-%2BScruffyMen.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The battle begins with mysterious enemies.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I decided to kick off with my full arsenal, as I was planning on heading right back to the castle after my first fight. I had my first three characters attack, while Chico parried and my mages both cast Katino (sleep). It did not go well. Bubba went down in a single blow, and was dead. Mean Joe retaliated, wounding one of the Bushwackers, but my Katinos were not all that effective: only two of the enemy were put to sleep.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MbjiN-xUiWw/YK5rMrbv9XI/AAAAAAAAHA0/1qCrageA8wQze8c2B5sqEqlz7S-J28m5ACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Wizardry%2B-%2BBubbaDead.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MbjiN-xUiWw/YK5rMrbv9XI/AAAAAAAAHA0/1qCrageA8wQze8c2B5sqEqlz7S-J28m5ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Wizardry%2B-%2BBubbaDead.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bubba nooooooo!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I probably should have fled, but I decided to stick it out for another round, attacking with everything and casting two more Katinos. Mean Joe, Chico and Father Fred all killed a Bushwacker, and of the two remaining one was asleep. The cost was dire though: both Mean Joe and Chico were killed. With only a single foe I decided to chance another round, but nobody on either side landed a blow. The second Bushwacker woke up, and I knew that I was overmatched. It was time to run, which I was able to do successfully. Back at the stairs, my party dragged the corpses of their friends back to the castle, with nothing to show for their foray.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This game's going to be a tough one, isn't it?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u1saWyGdYM0/YK5rd75nMHI/AAAAAAAAHBA/Ut5JGU33VTQKR-xlNOs_rXC3EXQeMxmIACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Wizardry%2B-%2BHalfPartyDead.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u1saWyGdYM0/YK5rd75nMHI/AAAAAAAAHBA/Ut5JGU33VTQKR-xlNOs_rXC3EXQeMxmIACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Wizardry%2B-%2BHalfPartyDead.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I get the feeling I'm going to be seeing this kind of thing a lot.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-28929689849616954712021-05-11T09:06:00.000-07:002021-05-11T09:06:38.302-07:00Balrog Sampler: Near Victory<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, I know, it's taken me ages to get around to writing this post. There hasn't been anything going on in my life to prevent me from writing it up, and I haven't been dealing with any particular personal problems that might affect my desire to write. This delay has come down to one thing, and one thing only: I really didn't want to spend time replaying this game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a problem of my own making, really. If I'd just taken some screenshots when I played through it the first time I might have been able to knock up a post from memory. I say might, but that's debatable: my memory of this game is hazier than pretty much anything else I've played for the blog, and I only went through it about six months ago. That's one of the benefits I've found with keeping the blog: the games I've written about stand out sharply in my memory.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I've now replayed <i>Balrog Sampler</i>, and the pain is all in the past. I'm very keen to knock this post out so that I can move on to something (literally anything) else. Last time around I went through the basics of the game, and played through the wilderness area. This post will deal with the dungeon, which is the meat of the game, and where things get much more difficult (as you'd expect).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Early on, the thing that always stymied my progress was the combat, specifically the random encounters. They're not overwhelmingly common, but they happen often enough to be annoying, and my starting characters invariably got killed by them. There's supposedly a way to balance things by choosing the correct combination of weapons and armor based on your character's Strength and Dexterity scores, but I never figured it out. I didn't try every combination of course; there are far too many weapons for that. I tried quite a few though, and nothing seemed to work.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I found was that the trick to surviving is in raising your character's Strength. One way to do that is with the Personality Change Machine in a room to the north of the dungeon entrance. When you use it, it rolls up completely new stats for your character. It's a little random though, and doesn't really raise your Strength beyond the normal limits. The better method is to head south and west from the entrance, and find the library. There are a number of books to read, one of which is about physical fitness. Reading it summons a drill instructor, who forces you to do push-ups that raise your Strength by two points. Unlike many of the other stat boosts in the game this one can be done repeatedly, and the only limit to how high you can get your Strength score is your gold, as each reading costs 10gp. Eventually you'll get it to a point where none of the monsters can threaten you, but the trick is to get there before a random encounter wipes you out. I'd also recommend not boosting your Strength <i>too </i>high; this game is fragile, and any numbers outside of the usual range can cause it to cack itself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's a third method of getting through combat that I haven't mentioned yet, because it's definitely a bug. After I played for a while, the monsters suddenly all had Strength ratings of 0, and were incapable of doing any damage. Having suffered through the early stages of the game, being killed repeatedly by every random encounter that came along, I seized on this immediately when it happened. Most of my exploration of the game was done with this glitch in effect. Once I'd solved most of the puzzles playing this way I went back and fought my way through legitimately (or as legitimately as I could in my probably-cracked version of the game that starts me with 30,000+ gold pieces).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sK6UVIiN2AY/YJqknGY8vzI/AAAAAAAAG2A/Q8s82AGZT3MaFovYYRbFjy9sPdx9r-A9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s809/BalrogCombat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="809" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sK6UVIiN2AY/YJqknGY8vzI/AAAAAAAAG2A/Q8s82AGZT3MaFovYYRbFjy9sPdx9r-A9ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/BalrogCombat.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fighting nothing in a bugged combat.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Adventure games like this are a little unfocused, so I sometimes struggle to figure out which areas to write about first. This is why my adventure game posts often resort to point form, as it helps me to organise my thoughts. The goal of <i>Balrog Sampler</i> is to find various treasures and take them back to the bank vault on the surface. I'll break this one down by the treasures to be found, and hopefully that will cover everything important.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Necklace:</li><ul><li>South of the dungeon entrance is a room with a dwarf, who tries to charge you for passage through doors to the south and east. He'll let you go back to the north for free, though, and when you come back into the room he's gone. Quite a number of encounters in the game are like this: you get one crack at them, and then they disappear forever.</li><li>South of the dwarf is a room containing four boxes: one marked "poof", one marked "fizz", one marked "skull" and one marked "flower". The "skull" box contains the necklace. The "poof" box contains a genie, which can be asked for a number of wishes (none of which end up benefitting the player). I think the "fizz" box has a strength potion, and I can't remember what the "flower" box has inside. I also can't remember what happens if you try to open more than one box, I just know it's not good.</li></ul></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WLgyb7tiUuw/YIbPwin-WfI/AAAAAAAAGwM/A85VJ_kYqOYLfSWwPWVpoqDYbBsDwKrNACLcBGAsYHQ/s807/BalrogBoxes.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="807" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WLgyb7tiUuw/YIbPwin-WfI/AAAAAAAAGwM/A85VJ_kYqOYLfSWwPWVpoqDYbBsDwKrNACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/BalrogBoxes.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><ul><li>Witch Protect Cross</li><ul><li>This can be found a few areas south of the box room. It's sitting in an alcove, and there's nothing special that needs to be done to obtain it.</li><li>The cross, as the name says, will protect you from witches. There's a witch in the secret room east of the dwarf, but there's not much of a reason to go and see her (although you can apparently get her to transform into Helen of Troy and have sex with her if you choose the right options; I never figured out how).</li></ul><li>Silver Tiger</li><ul><li>North from the entrance is a room guarded by a snake. To get past this snake, you need a stone mongoose.</li><li>The mongoose can be found in a room with six statues just north of where you find the cross. The statues are of various historical, mythical and fictional warriors, ranging from Attila the Hun to Conan of Cimmeria. Pressing the button on Alexander the Great's statue reveals a secret compartment containing the stone mongoose.</li></ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXtPtTHXOvA/YJqnH4LIGVI/AAAAAAAAG2M/Nwz7yFsav5QXIeqBLfX1IAy7Zg-kNLgQACLcBGAsYHQ/s807/BalrogStatues.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="807" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXtPtTHXOvA/YJqnH4LIGVI/AAAAAAAAG2M/Nwz7yFsav5QXIeqBLfX1IAy7Zg-kNLgQACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h297/BalrogStatues.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><ul><ul><li>The Silver Tiger is just lying on the ground in a passage about a half-dozen-or-so rooms beyond the snake. There are some encounters along the way, including a crazed doctor and a mummy, but those can be easily avoided.</li></ul><li>Ruby</li><ul><li>Past the hallway with the Silver Tiger is an Oracle, who will give you some clues if you stick around to listen. The oracle doesn't always oblige; I assume that your stats determine whether you get the clue or not, but I'm not sure how. It doesn't really matter, because you can just keep trying until it works.</li><li>Further along there's a fight with a thief, and after that the path splits in two. There's only one exit to the west, but it leads to two different locations. As far as I can tell, the place you end up is totally random.</li><li>One of those locations has a lion with a thorn in it's paw. Unlike the well-known story, if you take the thorn out the lion will kill you.</li><li>The other location has two doors, one marked "Lady" and the other marked "Tiger". (I've heard the phrase "the lady or the tiger" before, it's apparently from a short story published in 1882.) The door marked "lady" leads to a tiger named Lady, and the door marked "tiger" leads to a lady named Tiger. It's amusing enough, but neither this encounter or the one with the lion are important beyond your own survival.</li><li>The path then leads to a wizard's laboratory, where you can fight a wizard and take his wand. I have vague memories that you can bribe this guy, or trick him somehow.</li><li>The room beyond the laboratory is dark, but you can light it with a torch. At the end of the room is an alcove with a keyhole. The key from the shack will unlock it, but there are a number of lethal traps to avoid through trial-and-error. Inside is a ruby.</li></ul><li>Emerald Orb</li><ul><li>East of the entrance room is a "spaghetti maze". There's no trick to this one, you just have to keep picking an exit until it randomly spits you out on the other side. Once there you'll find the emerald orb.</li></ul><li>Bag of Jewels</li><ul><li>South of this and down a ravine is a river that leads to a lake, where there's a woman sleeping on the shore. There's also an island in the middle of the lake. You can get her to show you where a boat is buried, and if you use it to get to the island you'll find a bag of jewels. If you try to swim, you'll be attacked by the island's "guardian".</li></ul><li>Diamonds</li><ul><li>South of the river is the "Monster Maze", which I had to map using the time-honoured method of dropping inventory items. It's a pretty big maze, but being able to drop different amounts of gold coins really helped to speed the process. The diamonds are found at a shrine deep in the maze.</li></ul><li>Chalice</li><ul><li>On the far size of the Monster Maze is a rusted door. To open this door you need to fill a jug with oil. The jug is found really close to the dungeon entrance, but it's through a tight tunnel that can cause a lot of problems. If you try to get through with too much inventory, you'll get stuck and eventually die. I've gotten stuck even with no inventory, so I think it might be based on a die roll of some sort. You have to get through twice, and I've had more characters die to this tunnel than pretty much anything else in the game.</li></ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DvZWvAEDJ5s/YJqkTj5LoKI/AAAAAAAAG10/qrVh1x7pXSYxYqLBTQ17qQ6WGTxPf57cACLcBGAsYHQ/s805/BalrogStuck.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="805" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DvZWvAEDJ5s/YJqkTj5LoKI/AAAAAAAAG10/qrVh1x7pXSYxYqLBTQ17qQ6WGTxPf57cACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h296/BalrogStuck.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><ul><ul><li>The oil is found in an area north of the spaghetti maze. It's past a bridge with a troll who demands treasure; I killed the troll rather than bother to find the right treasure to give to it. Beyond that is an oasis, with some stereotypical arabian trappings, and you can fill your jug with oil there.</li><li>With the oil you can open the rusted door, and the chalice is in an alcove on the other side.</li></ul><li>God of Waterfalls</li><ul><li>If you follow the river from the lake, you'll come to a waterfall. Climbing the waterfall can be difficult, but each time you fall you get a boost to IQ so it's actually pretty helpful. If you keep trying you'll eventually make it to the top, where you'll find an idol called the God of Waterfalls.</li></ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-37aLrgD7wOk/YJqkbU6yQJI/AAAAAAAAG14/sDFPtY40skEXCf1X7MWyBAXfbGpOjg-zACLcBGAsYHQ/s803/BalrogWaterfall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="803" height="295" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-37aLrgD7wOk/YJqkbU6yQJI/AAAAAAAAG14/sDFPtY40skEXCf1X7MWyBAXfbGpOjg-zACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h295/BalrogWaterfall.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><ul><li>Golden Eggs</li><ul><li>There's a secret area behind the waterfall that can be accessed by pulling a lever. Whether it opens or not is random, and probably based on your stats (again, the game isn't great at letting you know when this is happening, and I don't have the motivation to go trawling through the code to find out). Usually it takes me a few minutes of repeatedly pulling the lever until it opens, which can get really annoying.</li><li>Beyond is a room with two pits, reminiscent of the Twopit Room from <i>Colossal Cave Adventure</i>. The east pit contains a rusty sword, and the west pit has a tiny beanstalk calling out for water. You can collect water in a flask to make the plant grow, which allows you to climb up to another area.</li></ul><li>Singing Harp</li><li>Clock</li><ul><li>Both of the items above are found at the top of the beanstalk, but I can't remember the details. The game I have currently saved shows that I have a flask filled with water in my inventory, but when I go to water the plant it doesn't acknowledge that I have the item. My patience with <i>Balrog Sampler</i> is wearing really thin, so I'm not going to bother going to the effort of starting a new game so I can get back to this area.</li></ul><li>Collar</li><ul><li>I have a collar written down in my list of treasures, but it's not anywhere on my map, so I have no idea where it came from. Again, I'm leaving this one as a mystery (assuming it's actually there at all).</li></ul><li>Pearls</li><ul><li>North-east from the dungeon entrance is a large door. This door can only be opened with the correct password. There are a number of clues to this password scattered around the dungeon (one is in the library, one is deep in the Monster Maze, and I think the other is given by the oracle).</li></ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nIl7bx9K9JM/YJqkCVl1u4I/AAAAAAAAG1s/rIdlGJLWLSsSr9kFWwWg9IEbVidW1408gCLcBGAsYHQ/s801/BalrogMazeClue.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="801" height="299" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nIl7bx9K9JM/YJqkCVl1u4I/AAAAAAAAG1s/rIdlGJLWLSsSr9kFWwWg9IEbVidW1408gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h299/BalrogMazeClue.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><ul><ul><li>For some reason, I always have to say the password twice. I'm not sure if this is deliberate, or a glitch.</li><li>North of the door is a room with an oyster in a pool of water. If you burn some coal the water will boil and the oyster will open, revealing the pearls.</li></ul><li>Ruby Skull</li><li>Silver Pirate Ship</li><li>Chest of Jewels</li><ul><li>The three treasures above are found past the door, but there are a lot of deadly obstacles in the way before you can reach them.</li><li>The first of these is a Fire Lizard, that will immediately attack if you enter its lair. A new Fire Lizard attacks every time you stumble into this room, but you can skirt around the lair once you know where it is.</li><li>Further along is the lair of a Phase Spider, which is similarly hostile. Again, you can avoid this lair if you know where you're going.</li><li>Next up is the final gauntlet of encounters, which begins with an unavoidable battle with a Baby Chromatic Dragon. (For those who don't know, a Chromatic Dragon has five heads, one of each type from <i>Dungeons & Dragons; </i>it's one of the deadliest monsters in early D&D. For those who watched the D&D cartoon, think Tiamat.)</li></ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TD4O_Sq_Vpo/YJqjhk7Pw6I/AAAAAAAAG1k/7qJ8Bpa4noMxc-R_iHIiv9dtg0sasEWNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s805/BalrogBabyDragon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="805" height="289" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TD4O_Sq_Vpo/YJqjhk7Pw6I/AAAAAAAAG1k/7qJ8Bpa4noMxc-R_iHIiv9dtg0sasEWNgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h289/BalrogBabyDragon.png" width="400" /></a></div><ul><ul><li>Deeper into the lair is the "Daddy Dragon", which is a Chromatic Dragon so large that you can't possible fight it. The only way to defeat the dragon is to release a mouse in its presence.</li></ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AWTTS_eRr0M/YJqjG4GgOyI/AAAAAAAAG1U/x-vBlREmSXo1Cxrtp9wszNHDRQTk5UkgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s801/BalrogDaddyDragon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="801" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AWTTS_eRr0M/YJqjG4GgOyI/AAAAAAAAG1U/x-vBlREmSXo1Cxrtp9wszNHDRQTk5UkgQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h296/BalrogDaddyDragon.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iC772oCw278/YJqjMJYlTrI/AAAAAAAAG1Y/k8P4Bn67iTYpHnJR9Vb9P4Jy5FJfgiLAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s803/BalrogDragonMice.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="803" height="279" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iC772oCw278/YJqjMJYlTrI/AAAAAAAAG1Y/k8P4Bn67iTYpHnJR9Vb9P4Jy5FJfgiLAQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h279/BalrogDragonMice.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><ul><ul><li>After the battle you find a secret door, which leads to the lair of the Pirate. I don't think I've mentioned him before: he shows up occasionally to knock you out with sleep powder and steal your treasure. He's pretty much an exact copy of the pirate from <i>Colossal Cave Adventure, </i>except that you have to fight and kill this guy in order to claim his treasures. These treasures consist of the three listed above, plus anything else that he's stolen from you.</li></ul></ul><div><br /></div><div>Finding the treasures above got me to 1871 points out of a possible 1951. Those missing points will haunt me, but not enough to ever want to go back and try this game again (unless I find a complete walkthrough, or someone just tells me what I'm missing). I think I know where the missing points might be: there's a high alcove in the library that can be reached with a ladder, but lurking in the alcove is a creature that bites my arm off or eats my weapon when I try to reach inside. I've tried all sorts of things: throwing pretty much my entire inventory, waving a magic wand at it, trying to wedge its jaws open with an iron bar. I'd have tried more, but the game frustratingly tells you that you're wasting time after a few ineffective usages of your inventory. You then have to leave the area and go back, which isn't that bad, but it's pretty grating when you add it to the many other inconveniences that the game piles on you.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6ysAxk29LI/YJqixi8jQlI/AAAAAAAAG1M/QiVurhqtq8kAITnzW6Yx_cmf4Lp6cmzkwCLcBGAsYHQ/s805/BalrogSamplerPoints.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="805" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6ysAxk29LI/YJqixi8jQlI/AAAAAAAAG1M/QiVurhqtq8kAITnzW6Yx_cmf4Lp6cmzkwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h297/BalrogSamplerPoints.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The 80 points that will haunt me until I die.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>I think that's about where I'm going to wrap things up with <i>Balrog Sampler</i>. There's some interesting stuff in it, even if the adventure game elements are a bit simplistic. None of the good elements are able to get past how horrible this game is to play, though. Just getting the thing running is nightmare enough, but once that's done there's no shortage of errors and bugs. Sometimes the game won't let me buy weapons when I start a new character. Sometimes it doesn't acknowledge items in my inventory. There's the bug with the monsters in combat that I mentioned above (a blessing in disguise, really). And to top it all off, the save game system doesn't always work, so I was constantly having to restart. I really wasn't kidding when I said that I didn't want to play this game ever again. I dread the sequels.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Story & Setting:</b> The story is yet another treasure hunt, with little to distinguish it's plot from the multitude of other games inspired by <i>Colossal Cave Adventure</i>. The dungeon setting has no rhyme or reason, with nothing to connect its various areas. And now that I think of it, it doesn't contain a balrog of any sort, which makes the name quite nonsensical. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> Although there's not much in the way of interaction, there are a number of characters scattered through the dungeon, and a good variety of monsters. The monsters aren't differentiated by anything more than their strength, but at least some effort has been made. <b>Rating 2 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Puzzles:</b> I wavered on whether to use the Puzzles or Combat category here, and ultimately I went with puzzles because I spent most of my time playing the game with the combat horribly bugged. The puzzles are rudimentary, and almost entirely inventory-based. Those that aren't rely heavily on random chance, or multiple choice options with little in the way of clues to guide you. What puzzles are there are either simple or frustrating, with nothing in-between. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Aesthetics:</b> The writing for this text adventure is good for the time, and it often displays a warped sense of humour that is by far the game's best feature. It's not enough to elevate it very far, though. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Mechanics:</b> As an RPG/adventure hybrid there are some interesting things going on in this game: the multiple-choice interface might be simplistic, but the inventory system is quite involved, and the combat seems to be trying to emulate the tabletop RPG <i>Tunnels & Trolls. </i>Unfortunately, this is probably the most broken game I've played for the blog, not counting those that are incomplete, such as <i>Library</i>. Between the effort it took me to get running, the many crashes and bugs, the unreliable saves, and the general clunkiness of the interface, I can't give it anything but the minimum score. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Challenge:</b> Although the puzzle aspect is not too hard, I never was able to reach a balance where I could survive the combat without ramping up my Strength score to absurd levels. I found this game difficult, and not at all in an enjoyable way. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Fun:</b> This is easily the most painful game to play in the history of the blog. It would be nice to find a stable version that works the way it's supposed to, but the version I played was very far from that ideal scenario. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Bonus Points: 0.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The above scores total 9, which doubled gives a <b>RADNESS Index of 18.</b> If the game worked the way it was supposed to it would have scored a lot higher, perhaps somewhere around a 30, but the sheer volume of technical problems has placed it as my lowest-rated game so far. That's the curse of playing games chronologically: you have to take the terrible games alongside the gems.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>NEXT:</b> It's back to the priority list for a CRPG classic: <i>Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord.</i> I've never played any <i>Wizardry</i> games for any great length of time, so I'm looking forward to ticking this one off my bucket list.</div></div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-67439073144339687952021-04-03T03:38:00.000-07:002021-04-03T03:38:06.248-07:00Game 53: Maces & Magic - Balrog Sampler (1979)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tks9CuHGKjw/YGMdc0SNXSI/AAAAAAAAGgc/xt4osRCYsIACyMYTMJP_lgLZiW49XmNFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s956/BalrogSamplerCover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="592" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tks9CuHGKjw/YGMdc0SNXSI/AAAAAAAAGgc/xt4osRCYsIACyMYTMJP_lgLZiW49XmNFQCLcBGAsYHQ/w248-h400/BalrogSamplerCover.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nothing this rad appears in the game.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of all the games I've played for the blog, this has been one of the most difficult. Not difficult in terms of completion: that nod probably goes to <i>The Game of Dungeons v8, Moria, </i>or <i>Rogue. </i>But in terms of getting the game running, and researching the history? <i>Balrog Sampler</i> has caused me all sorts of problems in those regards, and refreshing myself on the game - which I played through back in November - has been somewhat less than pleasant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Balrog Sampler</i> was originally called <i>Dungeon</i> (undoubtedly the most over-used word in titles in the CRPG genre so far), and published by Adventure International for the TRS-80. For an early game by such a famous developer there's surprisingly little written about it: I got pretty much all of this history from <a href="http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2018/07/game-297-dungeon-1979.html" target="_blank">the CRPG Addict</a>, who interviewed one of the creators a while back. That creator was one Richard Bumgarner, an x-ray technician who was one of three medical professionals that formed Chameleon Software to create CRPGs in their spare time. We still don't know who the other two were, as far as I know. Poor sales and some legal threats from TSR, the highly litigious publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, forced them out of the gaming industry after a few years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the short tenure and the obscurity of their creation, there is some historical significance to what they did. <i>Balrog Sampler </i>is the first installment in the <i>Maces & Magic </i>series, one of the earliest attempts at a CRPG franchise. It's also possible that it might be the first true text adventure/CRPG hybrid: to the best of my knowledge it seems that <i>Eamon</i> was released around the same time, but it's not known which of them came first. There are sources that place both games in 1980 rather than 1979, so really it's all very uncertain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before I get started, I'm going to give some instructions on how to get this thing running. I don't normally bother with this sort of thing, but if any of you want to play this game I'd like to save you the arse-ache that I had to go through. Here it is, step-by-step:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><li>First, download the trs80gp emulator. You can find it <a href="http://48k.ca/trs80gp.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Normally I use trs32, but that one wasn't cutting it for this game.</li><li>You also need to download trsdos13 to run the emulator. You can find it <a href="http://cpmarchives.classiccmp.org/trs80/mirrors/pilot.ucdavis.edu/davidk/software/" target="_blank">at this link</a>, as trsdos13.zip. When you run the emulator, set the trsdos13 file to drive 0 (under the Diskette menu at the top). That should get it going, but I am a little rusty on this early TRS-80 set-up, so I can't guarantee that there won't be some extra steps required.</li><li>Set the emulator to run as a Model III in the File menu. (It might be set as that by default, I'm not sure.)</li><li>Download these <i>Balrog Sampler</i> disks that I made. I had to split the files across two disks, because I noticed that the versions of the game that I was finding didn't include all of the required files. In fact, the size of all those files was too large to fit on one side of a TRS-80 disk, so I downloaded them all separately and split them in two. They can be found <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ovdgwvxon2mqaat/AAAJPcQLmBCTWtWbsikrnnfra?dl=0" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li>Load up the emulator. Put Balrog Sampler A in disk drive 1.</li><li>Type BASIC at the prompt.</li><li>You should see a prompt asking "How Many Files?" Type 8.</li><li>When prompted for Memory Size, don't type anything. Just hit enter.</li><li>At the Ready prompt, type RUN"START"</li><li>You'll get a prompt that says "INTRODUCTION (Y/N)?" Hit whichever you like, though I do recommend watching the intro at least once.</li><li>After the intro, you'll be told to put Disk B in Drive 0. Do exactly that, by putting the Balrog Sampler B file in disk drive 0 (replacing trsdos13.dsk.</li><li>Hit enter after replacing the disk, and you should be good to go.</li></ol></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w4irUSai_gY/YGg4IM4CmHI/AAAAAAAAGjw/oF3QJHum_9EC3V9RjzS8I13cuU627tr6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s809/BalrogIntro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="809" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w4irUSai_gY/YGg4IM4CmHI/AAAAAAAAGjw/oF3QJHum_9EC3V9RjzS8I13cuU627tr6gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h296/BalrogIntro.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This title screen is relatively impressive in motion.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first notable thing about this game is the Adventure International intro, which is a real production. It includes a rotating globe of the Earth, the AI logo turning into a train, and a little guy running after the train trying to catch up. It's fairly impressive for a system that technically doesn't have any graphics capabilities, but it does seem a bit wasteful. How much memory is this thing eating up? All of the relevant files probably would have fit on one disk without it, which would have made things a lot easier for me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fVImdGBVIG8/YGg4gtj8hfI/AAAAAAAAGj8/qKepy1c0UtEvwQqNoUayyCBHGJ0m2DC9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s807/BalrogTitle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="807" height="293" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fVImdGBVIG8/YGg4gtj8hfI/AAAAAAAAGj8/qKepy1c0UtEvwQqNoUayyCBHGJ0m2DC9gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h293/BalrogTitle.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Woody Allen quote at the start points towards the <br />humourous tone that parts of the game display.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the title screen, some stats are given for how many adventurers have died in this adventure. You're then asked if you want to load a saved game or use an experienced adventurer; I technically have a character that's finished the game already, and it's pretty tempting to use him to make going back through the game easier, but I can't remember things well enough to skip over them. If I'm going to write about this stuff, I'm going to have to slog my way through it all over again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you're making a new character, you get the option of buying some weapons. The game actually asks if you want to see the list or not, which seems like an odd question until you get a look at how many weapons there are in the game. The complete list of weapons comes to 80, with a lot of the usual selections as well as really odd stuff like war fans, crowbars and arbalests, and things I've never heard of like the oxtongue, jambiya, bich'hwa and bagh nakh. Every weapon has numbers indicating damage dealt, as well as a minimum Strength and Dexterity score required to effectively wield it. Unfortunately, you have to choose your weapons before you know what your stats will be, which seems like something of an oversight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ebBZiITHVfM/YGg5RhBcIhI/AAAAAAAAGkI/03ckDkuoW6cYO49D91q29S5_x3vqRX-7ACLcBGAsYHQ/s803/BalrogWeapons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="803" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ebBZiITHVfM/YGg5RhBcIhI/AAAAAAAAGkI/03ckDkuoW6cYO49D91q29S5_x3vqRX-7ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/BalrogWeapons.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This might be the first CRPG that's gone beyond the <br />AD&D Player's Handbook for its weapon list.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After that you are asked to buy some armor, which doesn't have stat limitations, but each piece comes with a limit as to how many you can wear at a time. Every item has a weight score as well, so the amount of stuff you can carry is limited by your Strength score.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm not sure how much gold a character is meant to start with in this game, but on the version I have you are given well over 30,000 gold pieces to play with. I suspect that it's been cracked somewhere along the way, but given how much trouble I had getting it running I'm not going out and looking for a more authentic version. It's not actually that much of a help, to be honest, as you're only allowed a few weapons, and the armor you can use is limited as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8Mosz6jJkY/YGg57ERP0jI/AAAAAAAAGkQ/qD1fDoibm30EgMOxSuAlOPBGAdaQLVcJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s803/BalrogStats.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="803" height="295" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8Mosz6jJkY/YGg57ERP0jI/AAAAAAAAGkQ/qD1fDoibm30EgMOxSuAlOPBGAdaQLVcJQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h295/BalrogStats.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A suspiciously large amount of gold for a starting character.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After you've bought your gear, you get a look at your character's attributes. The character is always called Ceron, and as far as I can tell there's no way to change it or select a different name. The six attributes are Strength, Intelligence, Luck, Constitution, Dexterity, and Charisma.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Strength determines how much stuff you can carry, and which weapons you can use without getting tired. If your Strength ever drops below 5 due to fatigue, you'll pass out and be easy pickings for whichever monsters are nearby.</li><li>Intelligence apparently determines whether you find secret doors, correctly identify potions, or notice other warning signs.</li><li>Luck is simply used to determine if certain situations go in your favour, which mostly happens in the background without you noticing.</li><li>Constitution functions like hit points.</li><li>Dexterity is used for things like climbing and balancing, and also determines which weapons you can use effectively. If you use a weapon for which you lack the required Dexterity, there's a chance you'll hurt yourself.</li><li>Charisma affects how some NPCs will react to you.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>In addition there are experience points, which I'm pretty sure are awarded for solving puzzles and finding treasures, just like the points in loads of other adventure games. Language Level is also something I'm not sure about, though it may factor into NPC interaction and whether you can read certain messages.</div><div><br /></div><div>The game proper begins with the exaggerated creaking of a door as you exit the general store (represented by large text), followed by a bit of set-up. Apparently the protagonist is an adventurer who has come to this place following a map, without any particular goal in mind (except, presumably, the accumulation of treasure). With nothing better to do, the adventurer decides to head off in the direction of a castle in the distance, and the game begins.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MP-3pBmZRjw/YGg4ZgEw1CI/AAAAAAAAGkA/fpAMtizD1_M7ncD2hypwT-6F6mi4JaqnwCPcBGAYYCw/s809/BalrogStart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="809" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MP-3pBmZRjw/YGg4ZgEw1CI/AAAAAAAAGkA/fpAMtizD1_M7ncD2hypwT-6F6mi4JaqnwCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h300/BalrogStart.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Very little of this is relevant to the adventure to come.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>I described the game above as a CRPG/text adventure hybrid, but the text adventure part is rather simplified. Rather than using a full parser, it works more like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, presenting a number of options for you to pick from. There are a number of commands you can execute at any time: you can (g)et or (l)eave objects, use an item from your (p)ack, look at your (s)tatus, (w)ait, or look at your (i)nventory. Looking at your status at this point reveals that there are 1951 points required to fully complete the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>The initial area is a forest that's bisected by a turbulent river. Trying to swim across the river at any point results in an instant death, There's not a lot to find on the west side where you start, just a cave where you can find some junk (a shackle chain, some mice, an iron rod), and a hill where you can meet a hermit. Sometimes you can't get anything out of him (presumably based on your Charisma), but if you're able to talk to him he'll tell you there's an entrance to "the underground world" on the other side of the river.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are two ways across the river: a toll bridge and a fallen tree. Crossing the bridge is safe, but will cost you 5 gold pieces. You can try to cross by force, but the young man who collects the toll is apparently the "dungeon master's" nephew, and will blast you with lightning. The fallen tree is free to cross, but requires a roll against your Dexterity. Failure means you fall in the river to your death. It's risky, but in the dozens of times I tried it, it only happened once, so it's worth a shot if you happen to be poor.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a shack on the east side of the river that contains a ladder, some keys, a torch, a wooden wheel, and a shovel. Further east is a building marked as the "Woodland Hills Bank". Inside, you can deposit gold pieces, or make a withdrawal. You can also do the same for inventory items, which - in the grand tradition of <i>Colossal Cave Adventure</i> and almost all of its offspring - is what you need to do with the treasures you'll find. As in those games, you get points for finding treasures, and points for depositing them. The bank also has the game exit, which you can use when you're done playing.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dzGiXxOT5xQ/YGhAiomZyoI/AAAAAAAAGkY/rytSKyo3QnwbTjdR2zvXiY62v7Jj08nbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s805/BalrogBank.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="805" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dzGiXxOT5xQ/YGhAiomZyoI/AAAAAAAAGkY/rytSKyo3QnwbTjdR2zvXiY62v7Jj08nbQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h297/BalrogBank.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm pretty sure trying to rob the bank is an instant death,<br />but I didn't try it this time.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Just north of the bank is an area of redwood forest. A gap in one of the trees leads down into the main dungeon, which is where the bulk of the game takes place. So much for that castle on the horizon...</div><div><br /></div><div>I could probably knock this out in one very long post, but I think I'll take a break here. The next post will cover the dungeon, and if I'm lucky I might be able to figure out the stuff I missed last time and finish the game with full points.</div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-75954188920944265692021-03-22T05:34:00.002-07:002021-03-30T05:38:31.241-07:00Game 52: Eamon Scenario 2 - The Lair of the Minotaur (1979)<div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I'm into the weeds with this one. <i>Lair of the Minotaur </i>is another first for the blog, as it's not a game in itself but rather the second scenario for a game I've already played. That game - more accurately a game creation system - is <i>Eamon, </i>and I <a href="http://crpgadventures.blogspot.com/2020/03/eamon-beginners-cave-1979.html" target="_blank">covered it in March last year</a>. I went over the history in that first post, but all I need to mention here is that <i>Eamon's </i>creator Donald Brown released it for free, and a sizable community (for the time) created quite a number of games for it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The default scenario for <i>Eamon</i>, <i>The Beginner's Cave</i>, was written by Donald Brown. The second scenario was also written by Brown, as the game had not quite taken off yet. There were 10 scenarios created in 1980, and in 1984 there were 41 created, so it ramps up fairly quickly. My current plan is to tackle them all, but I'll get back to that after I've played some more. So far they've been short and easy, but my tune might change if I get to some that are a hassle to get through. It's also setting a precedent for me to play through loads of non-commercial products, which I'm not super-keen on. I don't mind when those products are historically significant in some way, but I can't see myself playing through hundreds of RPG Maker games. As usual, I'll play these things by ear.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Games created using <i>Eamon</i> visually resemble text adventures, but although they use a command parser I'd say that they are more CRPGs at heart. The number of commands available to the player is minimal, and I've found that combat, gear and improving stats are much more important to play than solving puzzles. One of the biggest draws with <i>Eamon</i> in this regard is the ability to take the same character through different scenarios. I still had my character Artis, who had gone through <i>The Beginner's Cave</i>. He had a Hardiness score of 16, an Agility of 17, and a Charisma of 14. He was also wielding the magic sword Trollsfire, which could be found in that first scenario, and was wearing Plate Armor and carrying a Shield. (Actually, I'm pretty sure Artis has been through <i>Lair of the Minotaur</i> before this, because I played it months ago. I was badly in need of a refresher before writing this post, so it's likely that this is the second time he's has been through this adventure.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The background of <i>Lair of the Minotaur</i> is that I had arranged to meet my girlfriend Larcenous Lil in the town of Dunderhaven. Unfortunately, Lil went off to burglarise a local castle, and hasn't been seen since. I snuck into the castle to look for her, only to be ambushed by the local lord and dumped in a pit, presumably the same fate that she suffered. I suppose my goal is to make it out alive from the dungeons beneath the castle, and rescue Larcenous Lil along the way, if possible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XMrk1Qj-pQo/YFiEhp5n0MI/AAAAAAAAGcg/6CumxD3oTLsOHn-iS1446KeAb01V9y40ACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/LOMStory.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XMrk1Qj-pQo/YFiEhp5n0MI/AAAAAAAAGcg/6CumxD3oTLsOHn-iS1446KeAb01V9y40ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/LOMStory.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Not gonna lie, I already have a crush on Larcenous Lil.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ibBywq9YMCI/YFiEydjtNTI/AAAAAAAAGco/g1nip39tUYkhcvYA31xX-MnNEpkyAk4awCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/LOMStory2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ibBywq9YMCI/YFiEydjtNTI/AAAAAAAAGco/g1nip39tUYkhcvYA31xX-MnNEpkyAk4awCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/LOMStory2.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm getting a bit of a Return of the Jedi vibe, but that <br />movie won't come out for a couple of years.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the game started I was at the bottom of a long shaft, with an exit leading off to the south. There was a lantern on the floor, already lit, which was handy if a little unlikely. Thankfully, unlike so many other adventure games of the era, the lantern has no time limit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9XgbccXNbSY/YFiFVuVWCqI/AAAAAAAAGcw/gzsWBczfUSMO7M4PeeXh4MzCNVBEbr6pACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/LOMStart.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9XgbccXNbSY/YFiFVuVWCqI/AAAAAAAAGcw/gzsWBczfUSMO7M4PeeXh4MzCNVBEbr6pACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/LOMStart.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nice of my captors to provide me with an unlimited light source.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Exploring south and west, I came to a room containing a coffin. I opened the coffin, only to be predictably attacked by a skeleton from inside. It missed with its first swipe, and I destroyed it in a single blow with Trollsfire. The skeleton dropped a skeleton key.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South of that was a room containing a large stone, and a mirror with the word "CIGAM" reflected in it. Saying the word backwards - MAGIC - caused an emerald to pop out of the stone. I always appreciate it when a game eases you in with some elementary puzzles. Some easy successes early on can be very encouraging.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TlfiU9f0ozM/YFiFo1qlZnI/AAAAAAAAGc4/sJr_IuS-wMoJ5fTHv1BhAIRX60HiQIAFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/LOMMagicStone.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TlfiU9f0ozM/YFiFo1qlZnI/AAAAAAAAGc4/sJr_IuS-wMoJ5fTHv1BhAIRX60HiQIAFQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/LOMMagicStone.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fear my intellect.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">To the east was a river with a boat on the bank, so I got inside and rowed downstream to the south. There were three grottos where I could land, but before I could choose I was attacked by a Killer Rabbit that emerged from the water. As with the skeleton earlier, I killed it with my first swing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The river continued south, but I ignored that path and landed in the southernmost grotto. (The hints were pretty strong that I'd die if I continued along the river, and experimenting to find out isn't really a viable option when you can lose an experienced character.) There were signs that the grotto had been recently dug up, but without a shovel I wasn't able to investigate, so I kept exploring to the west.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the tunnel I encountered a floating eyeball creature that was humming to itself, a creature that the game identified as a "Wandering Minstrel Eye". It wasn't hostile, and couldn't otherwise be interacted with, so I gather that it's only in there so that it can be a pun. I love a good pun, but I hate a bad one, so I stabbed this creature in its stupid eyeball so I wouldn't ever have to see it again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4wAazUKUuSw/YFiKdr5gMWI/AAAAAAAAGdg/CT_tQjNTxT80uZuZvXk-dfYXmBi9TDmTgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/LOMMinstrelEye.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4wAazUKUuSw/YFiKdr5gMWI/AAAAAAAAGdg/CT_tQjNTxT80uZuZvXk-dfYXmBi9TDmTgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/LOMMinstrelEye.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'll show you some fuckin shreds and patches...</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At a crossroads I encountered a Black Knight, who I tried to greet in a friendly manner. He attacked, but after I hit him a couple of times he thought better of it and ran away. I had to track him down before I could put him to the sword. (I'm not sure if this guy is always hostile, or if my Charisma score is to blame. I suspect the former, but in <i>Eamon</i> your Charisma can sometimes decide whether an NPC will be helpful or hostile.) With the crossroads now clear I was able to explore the other grottos, but I found nothing of interest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPpWzv_2Pn4/YFiF3oSXGkI/AAAAAAAAGc8/xdi0Z1VJs3o2CRcLSMj9PNxt05xgIjf_wCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/LOMKnight.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPpWzv_2Pn4/YFiF3oSXGkI/AAAAAAAAGc8/xdi0Z1VJs3o2CRcLSMj9PNxt05xgIjf_wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/LOMKnight.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Insert obligatory Monty Python reference.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">East of the knight's crossroads was a four-way intersection. Further west was a gate that opened to my skeleton key, but I decided not to explore that way yet. To the north I found two things of interest: an "insanity room" that borrowed the Witt's End pun from <i>Colossal Cave Adventure</i>, and a bag with an Acme label. It's not explicitly called out, but this bag allows the player to carry more treasure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South of the intersection I came to the door of a temple to "Kalimar". In the initial area there was a storeroom where I found a shovel, and another room with a jewel. I backtracked with the shovel to the first grotto, and dug up some gold coins before returning to the temple to investigate the jewel. There was a warning not to take the jewel, but my greed got the better of me and I decided to risk it. Sure enough, I was damaged by an electric shock, but it wasn't enough to kill me. I took the opportunity to cast a Heal spell to restore my Hardiness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(There are four spells in the game that you can purchase from a shop between adventures. I had purchased three of the four, but I forgot to really experiment with them. The only one I cast was Heal, which worked on my first try. I gather that like your weapon skills, your skill with spells increases the more you use them. Once again, I promise to delve into this in greater detail the next time I come around to <i>Eamon</i>.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Further into the temple I found a treasury, containing a pile of silver coins. There were a number of bags for carrying the treasure, but they all disintegrated as I touched them. Luckily I had my Acme bag, so I was able to scoop up the coins and take them with me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the end of another tunnel I encountered a high priest in his bedroom, armed with a morning star and dressed in chainmail. He managed to hit me in the ensuing battle, but my armor completely absorbed all of the damage. The priest wasn't so lucky, and Trollsfire claimed another victim. The room contained a number of books in an unfamiliar language, which I swiped on the off chance I'd be able to sell them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, I came to the main chamber of the temple, where a priest was standing over a sacrificial altar. There, chained to the altar, was my beloved Larcenous Lil. I made short work of the priest, and freed Lil from her chains. (I'm not sure if the skeleton key is required here, but I suspect so.) I swiped a gold-and-silver candlestick from the temple, as well as the jewelled sacrificial dagger. I gave the black knight's longsword to Lil, but I have no idea if she used it in combat or not. She did follow me around for the rest of the game and help me in my battles, but I don't know if giving her a weapon made her more effective or not.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-onb-sEcNU4Y/YFiGQNQ0ugI/AAAAAAAAGdI/V4_cjq0Sc7QFWxj88cTqjpXk2HI53CDUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/LOMTempleAltar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-onb-sEcNU4Y/YFiGQNQ0ugI/AAAAAAAAGdI/V4_cjq0Sc7QFWxj88cTqjpXk2HI53CDUwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/LOMTempleAltar.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I wonder how much games like this shaped my <br />innate distrust of organised religion.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Heading out of the temple and back to the gate, we continued west into a smithy. There we found a blacksmith, and a solid gold anvil. The blacksmith wasn't hostile, but I couldn't get anything out of him, so I decided to kill him anyway. This ended up being a terrible idea. He didn't hurt me in retaliation, but one of my attacks was a fumble, which caused Trollsfire to break. I was forced to finish the fight with a regular longsword, but before I could kill the blacksmith he ran away. Feeling a little dejected, I decided not to track him down. The anvil was too heavy to move, so I left it behind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Past the smithy was a series of passages and intersections that form a maze. The maze wasn't too difficult to navigate, although it did loop around on itself in a number of places. After spending some time mapping it, with Larcenous Lil in tow, I eventually found my way to a corridor with a breeze coming in from the surface. I made a rush for freedom, only to be stopped in my tracks by a terrible monster.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hey, remember the title of this game? <i>The Lair of the Minotaur?</i> Well, the game gets around to it eventually, as the titular minotaur is the one guarding the exit with a battleaxe. Lil and I fought the minotaur together, and once again I was saved from injury by my armor. I did the bulk of the damage, but it was Lil who struck the killing blow. With the minotaur dead there was nothing stopping us from escaping. We encountered a gypsy on the way out, but he wasn't hostile, so we left him behind and made our way to freedom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_KqpyK1Q7g/YFiGw4zQX8I/AAAAAAAAGdQ/P3--bLakWBMpioNmezelan0t_17O2vzXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/LOMMinotaurDead.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_KqpyK1Q7g/YFiGw4zQX8I/AAAAAAAAGdQ/P3--bLakWBMpioNmezelan0t_17O2vzXgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/LOMMinotaurDead.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What a woman!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the adventure done, I was able to sell my loot to Sam Slicker, the local fence. I was paid 2,184 gold pieces, but the game doesn't itemize the treasures, so I have no idea what each was worth. I was also able to check out my stats, to see if any of them had improved. The only one that went up as far as I can tell is my skill in Swords; it was at 28% when I started the adventure, and 40% by the time I finished. That's a pretty significant improvement for one adventure, I feel, but probably offset by the loss of my magic sword.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gM1hY1Fp5Ck/YFiHF_1F1cI/AAAAAAAAGdY/ZSeUgT6bhKIMd-fPEBg1beH8EzBG7pwTACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Eamon%2B002%2B-%2BLai_000000022.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gM1hY1Fp5Ck/YFiHF_1F1cI/AAAAAAAAGdY/ZSeUgT6bhKIMd-fPEBg1beH8EzBG7pwTACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Eamon%2B002%2B-%2BLai_000000022.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Artis' stats at the end of the adventure.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It took under an hour to play through <i>Lair of the Minotaur</i>, and it didn't present any difficulties: there were no puzzles to speak of, and the combats were all trivial. I might have been in trouble without my armor, but as far as I could tell wearing plate mail made me pretty much impervious. If the other <i>Eamon</i> scenarios are like this, I'll keep playing them. <i>Lair of the Minotaur</i> wasn't particularly engaging, and there really wasn't a lot to it, but a quick game with no hassles is always welcome.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>THE RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Story & Setting:</b> Rescuing princesses and such is one of the more common video game tropes, but it's not often that you get tasked with rescuing someone named "Larcenous Lil". The setting doesn't really fit together, though. A dungeon under a castle, with an evil temple, plus a maze with a minotaur? It's all a little much, and no effort is made to stitch it together. Plus the temple is much more prominent than the minotaur, who doesn't really merit his titular role despite being a final boss of sorts. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> As with the previous <i>Eamon</i> scenario, there's not a lot to be done in terms of interaction. Either a character is hostile and you fight them, or they're friendly and they'll follow you around and help you fight. There are plenty of foes here: a skeleton, a knight, some priests, the minotaur, and even an aquatic killer rabbit. There are a few non-hostile NPCs, in the blacksmith, the gypsy and the minstrel eye, but none of those responded to anything I tried. Larcenous Lil certainly sounds like she has character, but she doesn't do anything except follow you around and fight. So while there's plenty of variety in terms of numbers, there's not much variety in terms of interaction. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Aesthetics:</b> As a text game with minimal sound it's bound not to do too well here, although I do like the descending speaker beep when you're thrown in the pit at the beginning. The writing is decent, so it avoids a minimum score. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Combat:</b> The system is a solid one (you can see the math it's using in the game manual), but a little simplistic: like many text adventure games with a combat system, it amounts to typing ATTACK MONSTER repeatedly. The spells might add something extra, but I haven't tried them out much, and hardly needed them anyway. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mechanics:</b> Everything in <i>Eamon</i> pretty much does what it's supposed to do, but with such a limited parser I always found it just a bit too restricting. It's solid, but unspectacular. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Challenge: </b>I was never really challenged in this game, although it's probable that I was somewhat over-powered for the adventure in terms of gear and skills. That (or the opposite) is going to be a factor with these <i>Eamon</i> scenarios, as it's impossible to design such games for characters of every power level. I'll never complain too hard about a game being easy though. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fun:</b> The exploration is enjoyable, but the controls are just too limited to allow for much enjoyment. It's possible that future designers are able to wring something more out of <i>Eamon</i>, but there's honestly not a great deal to Donald Brown's efforts. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bonus Points: 0.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The above scores total 15, which doubled gives a <b>RADNESS Index of 30. </b>That feels a little high compared to some other games, but it's hard to see where I'd knock it down. It's a solid if unspectacular game of the era, and taken on its own a score of 30/100 seems about right.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>NEXT: </b>For my next post I'll be trying to refresh my memory on <i>Maces & Magic: Balrog Sampler</i>. This game was a nightmare to get running in any sort of playable form, so hopefully I can repeat the emulator wizardry that I managed last time. If not, I'm going to be piecing things together from my notes and maps, which might not make for the greatest of posts.</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-31088752859538432072021-03-11T03:28:00.000-08:002021-03-11T03:28:11.484-08:00Priority Adventure 3: Mission: Asteroid (1980)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2N1LTre7_2A/YD93TNltX2I/AAAAAAAAGbc/hvwkKOuplrQCGN-ECk1ozZMJflk2Pf5AACLcBGAsYHQ/s232/cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2N1LTre7_2A/YD93TNltX2I/AAAAAAAAGbc/hvwkKOuplrQCGN-ECk1ozZMJflk2Pf5AACLcBGAsYHQ/w345-h400/cover.jpg" width="345" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The best quality image I could find of this game's <br />Apple II packaging</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I've been gone for quite some time, and let me tell you returning to the blog is going to test my memory. After I wrapped up <i>Local Call for Death </i>and decided to take a break from blogging - a potentially permanent one - I kept on making headway through my list. In late November and early December I played through <i>Mission: Asteroid, Eamon: The Lair of the Minotaur, </i>and <i>Maces & Magic: Balrog Sampler</i>. I also got a start on <i>Wizardry</i>, but tossed that aside after several of my parties got wiped out. I definitely wasn't in the right frame of mind to be playing a game that would murder me ruthlessly and repeatedly, especially after my long slog through <i>Rogue</i>, so I took some time off to replay <i>The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.</i> That's just as well for the blog, because otherwise I'd have a lot more games to catch up on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I'm saying is, you'll have to bear with me for the next few entries. I might not be as detailed as usual, and there probably won't be as many screen shots. Things should be back to normal when I reach <i>Wizardry</i> again, and hopefully by that time I'll be emotionally prepared for that meatgrinder of a game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thankfully, my first game back is pretty simplistic, and shouldn't be difficult to recap. <i>Mission: Asteroid</i> - designed by Ken and Roberta Williams - is designated as <i>Hi-Res Adventure #0</i>, but in actuality it was released after <i>The Wizard and the Princess.</i> Apparently <i>Mission: Asteroid</i> was deliberately designed as a game for novices, and so it was placed before their other games in the series. It is much easier than its predecessors, but that doesn't mean it isn't without its own peculiarities, as I'll explain below.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--HMeYFsEtpk/YEn6LqKHqcI/AAAAAAAAGbo/a6vONNaE7SU1VwfWKIyG0rOQ5QWBhdgzQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BStart.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--HMeYFsEtpk/YEn6LqKHqcI/AAAAAAAAGbo/a6vONNaE7SU1VwfWKIyG0rOQ5QWBhdgzQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BStart.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An evocative beginning.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Mission: Asteroid</i> begins with the player standing in front of a building. I started my usual SCORE, INVENTORY, HELP routine, which was interrupted partway through by a beeping sound. An examination of my inventory revealed a watch with a switch. I pressed the switch, and a voice from mission control gave me some instructions: I was to report to the briefing room at once, and the password I should use is "starstruck". I wasn't able to wander off in any other directions, so I had little choice but to open the door of the building and go inside.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first room was a reception, with a secretary who wouldn't let me continue without giving the password. Beyond that was the briefing room, where a general gave me my mission: an asteroid was headed for the earth, and I had to fly up there and blow it up. The asteroid collision was going to happen at 7:15, which means that NASA was cutting things very fine here. It's a very stealthy asteroid, I must assume. (The game prompts you to salute the general when you meet him, and if you don't you're kicked out of the air force and the game ends. I guess they'd have back-up personnel for these missions, but it seems a little drastic to sack your number one pick for a small breach of etiquette when the world's at stake.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bPpLtuJJids/YEn6aURWV5I/AAAAAAAAGbs/OePqbgiSCH0mJkDpglGbq5Tod5DuBuZegCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BGeneral.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bPpLtuJJids/YEn6aURWV5I/AAAAAAAAGbs/OePqbgiSCH0mJkDpglGbq5Tod5DuBuZegCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BGeneral.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Roberta Williams always finds the dumbest ways for you<br />to fail in her games.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The general also makes a point of saying that the mission is top secret, and that plays into the room directly to the west, where there are a pair of reporters. What they're doing their if the mission is top secret is anyone's guess, but if you talk to them it's another game over. Never mind that the verb "talk" doesn't necessarily mean "spill your guts about the top secret mission you've just been given", but apparently the hero of this game just can't help himself. I shouldn't criticise, because when I played the game I talked to the reporters with the almost-certain knowledge that I'd be blowing the mission wide open. What can I say, sometimes finding ways to lose is the most fun part of an adventure game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back past the briefing room is a computer room, with a "diskette" (yes, we called them that sometimes, but I have no idea if there's a difference between a diskette and a floppy disk). I loaded the diskette, and the computer displayed my flight plan from Earth to the asteroid: right for 10 minutes, up for 5 minutes, left for 15 minutes, down for 5 minutes, left for 5 minutes, and up for 10 minutes. It seems needlessly erratic, to be honest. I was also wondering how these directions would apply to a text adventure, where time doesn't always pass unless you input commands. I tested things with my watch, and discovered that 5 minutes passed every time I made a move.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next was a supply room, which contained the explosives required to blow up the asteroid. North of that was the pre-flight checkout, where a doctor gave me the once-over. Apparently my personal hygiene wasn't up to standard, as the doctor wouldn't let me pass until I'd exercised in the gym and taken a shower. Given the urgency of my mission, I question this doctor's sanity. He's really going to put the world in danger of destruction because I smell bad?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--fjMSCQ7t34/YEn6zX7U1WI/AAAAAAAAGb4/h6_N-qDAHhkA1m-m1QSA7JxhgDWuVlPkACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BDoctor.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--fjMSCQ7t34/YEn6zX7U1WI/AAAAAAAAGb4/h6_N-qDAHhkA1m-m1QSA7JxhgDWuVlPkACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BDoctor.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This might be the first game I've played where having bad<br />BO is a major obstacle.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Once past the doctor, I was able to head out to the airfield and over to the rocket. Inside was a throttle, and four buttons: white, black, orange and blue. These corresponded to left, right, up and down, respectively. Using the throttle launched me into space, where I had to navigate to the asteroid. As I suspected, each move corresponded to a five-minute interval, so it was a simple case of pressing the buttons the right number of times (once for 5 minutes, twice for 10, or thrice for 15), then landing on the asteroid. The need to press the buttons multiple times goes against space physics, of course, but it's hard to see how else this could have been implemented in such a limited parser.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c953Aw9TlcQ/YEn7NrkhjjI/AAAAAAAAGcA/sBjq7k8YivwijmpsDNuExPN5V6zJgJVlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BRocket.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c953Aw9TlcQ/YEn7NrkhjjI/AAAAAAAAGcA/sBjq7k8YivwijmpsDNuExPN5V6zJgJVlwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BRocket.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In the space rocket.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The surface of the asteroid was a small maze, made up of just three areas (unless I mapped it incorrectly). The only danger here was suffocation: I needed a spacesuit to survive outside of the ship, and it had a limited oxygen supply. With such a small area to explore I soon found my destination, a cave which contained a deep pit. I set the timer on my explosives, dropped them in the pit, hightailed it back to the rocket and took off. The asteroid was blown up before it could strike, and the Earth was saved.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, that's how it should have gone. The first time, I dropped the explosives in the right area, but without specifying that I was dropping them in the pit. The explosion didn't fully destroy the asteroid, and it struck the Earth. (I hope it landed right on top of that doctor who insisted I take a shower.) The second time, I didn't give myself enough time to escape. You have to set the timer on the bomb before dropping it in the pit; I set it too low, and was caught in the explosion. The third time, I got it right, giving myself enough time to get back to the rocket, retrace my flight plan in reverse to get back to Earth, and watch as my world-saving handiwork took effect.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b2fBnNfR2is/YEn7gCtS5LI/AAAAAAAAGcI/7Z6hq1brOusdIGHs3NLtYtoF4_UHNXLPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BFailure.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b2fBnNfR2is/YEn7gCtS5LI/AAAAAAAAGcI/7Z6hq1brOusdIGHs3NLtYtoF4_UHNXLPwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BFailure.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh no, I've been struck by Hugh chunks!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Oddly, the game allows you to continue playing once you've saved the Earth. I wandered around for a bit hoping that some characters might congratulate me, but nothing about the game changes, and when the timer runs out the asteroid destroys Earth anyway. I thought that maybe something was wrong with my copy of the game, but looking around at other blogs I see that this is a universal experience. It makes sense to me when modern games ship with bugs, but in something as small and simplistic as this it's quite baffling. Still, it doesn't affect gameplay at all, so it's hard to complain too much.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not only does it allow you to keep playing after a victory, but you can keep playing after you've died as well. After the screen shot above I waited around, and at 7:15 the asteroid hit the Earth as scheduled. Then I flew back to Earth and tried to land, only to be told that I'd landed in the ocean and died (presumably because the asteroid had destroyed most of America). So this game is pretty buggy, but at least one outcome has been accounted for.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BWW_Wci34_k/YEn9Bg7nLKI/AAAAAAAAGcQ/qqmVLE-7FQggy3fsRoOPJjsFelwDu5chwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BVictory.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BWW_Wci34_k/YEn9Bg7nLKI/AAAAAAAAGcQ/qqmVLE-7FQggy3fsRoOPJjsFelwDu5chwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Mission%2BAsteroid%2BVictory.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The victory screen, soon to be invalidated.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Having completed <i>Mission: Asteroid</i>, it's a real case of a game that's on my priority list because of the games surrounding it rather than because of any qualities possessed by the game itself. It's not particularly good or interesting, and it has very little in the way of historical significance, but the <i>Hi-Res Adventure </i>series is important so it's in the queue. This is going to happen from time to time; heck, it's going to happen a couple of priority games down the line when I hit the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games for the Intellivision. It's an inherent drawback with being systematic, I suppose.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Story & Setting:</b> The "asteroid colliding with Earth" set-up is a new one, and it's still unusual to find an adventure game with a hard time limit. The setting is split between mission control headquarters, outer space, and the asteroid itself. The asteroid and outer space are both disappointingly empty, although I suppose that's realistic. Mission control has the most content in the game, but most of it's pretty nonsensical. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Characters & Monsters: </b>There really aren't any. The receptionist only responds to the password, the general is a one-time infodump who gets mad if you don't salute, the reporters are only there as a way to lose the game, and the doctor is an absurd obstacle to you getting to the rocket. Characters you can only interact with in one specific way barely qualify as such, so this game is getting a low score. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Aesthetics: </b>The colour graphics here are on a par with those of <i>The Wizard and the Princess</i>, though it must be said that they're not depicting anything nearly as interesting as what's in that game. They're quite ugly, but colour graphics of any kind on a home computer is still refreshing at this point. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Puzzles:</b> The puzzles in this game are dreadfully simplistic, and most of them are signposted heavily within the game. That's a legacy of designing the game for beginners, but I feel like Ken and Roberta took it a little too far. The most difficult part is probably navigating outer space, or finding the asteroid cave before your air runs out. As a small game with simple puzzles it's not going to get a minimum score, but I can't rate it too highly. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mechanics:</b> It's a very simple game with very simple commands, but it does what it does reasonably well I suppose. It's tempting to knock it down a point for the false ending, but it doesn't affect gameplay at all. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Challenge:</b> This is definitely one of the easiest games I've played for the blog, but it's short and comes without a great deal of frustration. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fun:</b> The game may be short, and may be lacking in frustrating elements, but it's also overly linear and gives the player almost no scope to do anything outside of the obvious solutions. Games should at least enable some kind of "play", but <i>Mission: Asteroid</i> just walks the player from one simplistic puzzle to the next. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bonus Points: 0.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The above scores total 12, which doubles gives a <b>RADNESS Index of 24.</b> That's well below <i>Mystery House </i>and <i>The Wizard and the Princess</i>, and only a little bit above the earliest of Greg Hassett's adventures. It really is one of the least engaging games I've played so far though. It might have been designed for beginners, but I'd be hard-pressed to see it convincing many of them to stick around and play some more adventures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>NEXT:</b> I go back to <i>Eamon</i> to try out its second adventure, <i>The Lair of the Minotaur</i>. I can't remember a damn thing about playing it, so writing this one up is going to be a test.</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-28924637253004956982020-11-15T11:01:00.002-08:002020-11-15T11:01:59.148-08:00Game 51: Local Call for Death (1979)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GT1bKc09qFE/X7FvvyUXl0I/AAAAAAAAGXo/8r9WGTbsG6s65NmMLm3mclD8WpptryWhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s366/if2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="231" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GT1bKc09qFE/X7FvvyUXl0I/AAAAAAAAGXo/8r9WGTbsG6s65NmMLm3mclD8WpptryWhQCLcBGAsYHQ/w253-h400/if2.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The covers for Adventure International <br />games are usually very accurate, but this <br />one has loads of differences from the <br />actual game.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Today's game is <i>Local Call for Death</i>, a very short bit of interactive fiction for the TRS-80. And when I say very short, I really mean it: I knocked this game out in about 40 minutes. I wouldn't mind a long run of games of about this length. I mean, I might have felt ripped off at the time if I'd paid for it, but when I have a list that's many hundreds of games long ahead of me I ain't complaining.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You may have noticed that I described this game as "interactive fiction". It's not a term I generally go for, preferring to describe these early games with the somewhat less pretentious label of "text adventure". But with <i>Local Call for Death</i>, interactive fiction really is the most fitting descriptor for it. Set a couple of years after the Great War, you play as an amateur detective helping to solve a murder mystery, with most of the input being in the form of your own dialogue. It plays out much like a Sherlock Holmes adventure, with the player in a role similar to that of Doctor Watson, being prodded by a smarter detective to solve the mystery. (Unlike with Lovecraft in my last post, I've read most of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Local Call for Death</i> was written by Robert Lafore for the TRS-80, and released by Adventure International. We'll see Lafore again later in 1979, and he has some games in 1980 and 1981 as well. Wikipedia credits him with coining the term "interactive fiction", so he has that claim to fame, and he also seems to have had a lengthy career in the computer field, as well as writing books on programming. He would have been in his early 40s when his first games were released, which explains why <i>Local Call for Death</i> feels a lot more mature in tone than many of its contemporaries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mobygames says that <i>Local Call for Death</i> was a 1980 game, but the title screen and source code have it as being written in 1979. Generally I'd prefer to go with the release date, but I've already played the game and started writing this post, so I might as well get on with it. It came out for the TRS-80, and the documentation indicates that it was also released for the Apple II. I couldn't find the Apple version, so for this post I'm only looking at the one for TRS-80. I suspect the versions aren't greatly different.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KdT2iI6kJqU/X7F12X90iKI/AAAAAAAAGX0/HsUbvUC66nUBVuFkU7QxhIMtwdKmZ5S2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s771/LCFDTitle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="771" height="299" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KdT2iI6kJqU/X7F12X90iKI/AAAAAAAAGX0/HsUbvUC66nUBVuFkU7QxhIMtwdKmZ5S2ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h299/LCFDTitle.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The title screen.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After a request from the author to "please spell correctly" ("the computer is, alas, not bright enough to correct your mistakes"), the game asks you for some details about your character. It asks for a title - Mr., Miss or Mrs. - rather than a gender, as well as your first and last name. (Ms. is dismissed as being inappropriate for the time period.) Finally it asks what town in America you come from. After the last couple of weeks I know a lot more American towns than I used to, but I still went with the boring answer of New York.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VAG-PIMsaV8/X7F2RM2LBfI/AAAAAAAAGX8/u2m0iMM1DWgtJbJ_Ys3sAxBGGOcuVvf6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s783/LCFDStart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="783" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VAG-PIMsaV8/X7F2RM2LBfI/AAAAAAAAGX8/u2m0iMM1DWgtJbJ_Ys3sAxBGGOcuVvf6gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/LCFDStart.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A level of spelling and grammar heretofore unseen in gaming.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The game begins with the player, an American visiting England, dining at a club with three people: famous English detective Sir Colin Drollery, a retired soldier named Major Wormsley, and a financier named Mr. Blackwell. This section plays out much like the opening scene of a short story, with minimal input from the player. The major characters converse among themselves, with the player being asked minor questions such as what they do for a living, or whether they want to drink some more wine. At this point, the player's responses have very little effect on the game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The conversation is extensive and well written, with quite a number of detours and red herrings, but the relevant details are as follows: someone has won the lottery today, and Blackwell's finance company is currently in some trouble. The dinner ends after Blackwell's nephew Rodney - a gambling addict and womaniser - calls him to threaten suicide if he is not loaned 500 pounds. Blackwell refuses, and the call ends with the sound of a gunshot. It's all played off by Blackwell as another of Rodney's cries for attention, and everyone goes off to play bridge before going home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next morning the player is woken by Sir Colin, who has received a call from Blackwell; it seems that his nephew is dead after all, and he wants the two of you to investigate the crime scene. So off you go, and this is where the game properly begins. You are given a description of the room, in which Rodney is slumped over his last meal with a gun in his hand and a bullet hole in his head. Sir Colin then prompts you to explore various items within the room for clues.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XlsYnxFp3ho/X7F22w7vVzI/AAAAAAAAGYE/_gCmjmP2960NRW4Tnomm2iWN8iiz8ZzagCLcBGAsYHQ/s785/LCFDRoom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="785" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XlsYnxFp3ho/X7F22w7vVzI/AAAAAAAAGYE/_gCmjmP2960NRW4Tnomm2iWN8iiz8ZzagCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/LCFDRoom.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The scene of the crime.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first time I got to this point of the game I hadn't been taking notes, so I got completely stumped. After scouring the room for clues, you're asked if you want to accuse someone of murder. The preamble was so interminably long that I zoned out and forgot the names of the other characters. The culprit was obviously Blackwell, but I had no idea how to accuse him without remembering his name, so I had to start again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second time through I took lots of notes, and was prepared to accuse Blackwell when the time came. (You can accuse yourself, Sir Colin, or Wormsley, but all of those suggestions are dismissed as absurd. I tried to accuse the prime minister and King George V, but the game wasn't having it.) Figuring out who committed the murder is trivial; the meat of the game is finding enough evidence of Blackwell's guilt. I didn't pick up on all the clues, and had to be prompted by Sir Colin once or twice, but I got there eventually. Some of those clues are:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The phone is hung up on the receiver, which is pretty unlikely if Rodney shot himself while calling Blackwell.</li><li>Rodney has this morning's newspaper on the floor, impossible if he died last night.</li><li>There's a piece of material caught on the table leg that matches Blackwell's trousers.</li><li>Rodney is clutching the torn corner of a lottery ticket, and Blackwell has the rest of the ticket in his pocket,</li><li>Rodney's suicide note matches Blackwell's handwriting, which can be found on a business card he gave me over dinner last night</li><li>The window is open, and the coffee spilled on the table would be frozen if it had been left there overnight</li></ul><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--cMFIby2kxg/X7F4GlpluMI/AAAAAAAAGYM/whamy7gkJk0yQUWHMBEnRMK9lOJAAk9DACLcBGAsYHQ/s779/LCFDClue.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="779" height="301" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--cMFIby2kxg/X7F4GlpluMI/AAAAAAAAGYM/whamy7gkJk0yQUWHMBEnRMK9lOJAAk9DACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h301/LCFDClue.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lord Colin Drollery lives up to his surname.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>That's far from all of it, but it's enough to accuse Blackwell. Perhaps the biggest difficulty in this section is getting the wording right. Sir Colin insists that you give your answers in the form of complete sentences; you can't just type NEWSPAPER and move on, even though the game is probably responding to keywords. The one I had major trouble with was matching the torn material to Blackwell's trousers. I never did get that one right, but I was able to find enough other clues to make my accusation.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once that's done, Sir Colin runs through his own reconstruction of the case, as is customary in these kinds of stories. Blackwell makes some empty threats, and the game ends as you and Sir Colin shake hands over a job well done.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LXBMuluUi9w/X7F4hok4xUI/AAAAAAAAGYY/VgPKv7jjr9I88oZEzlsXplhHv1gfGQBLgCLcBGAsYHQ/s781/LCFDVictory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="781" height="304" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LXBMuluUi9w/X7F4hok4xUI/AAAAAAAAGYY/VgPKv7jjr9I88oZEzlsXplhHv1gfGQBLgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h304/LCFDVictory.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Let's be real, Lord Colin didn't need me there..</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><i>Local Call for Death</i> is certainly interesting as a "path not taken", and it's often impressive in terms of how well it responds to the many sentences you can input. Still, it feels a little bit like too much of a story and not enough of a game. It's a bit like a micro version of those late 90s JRPGs that felt like they were 90% cutscenes. What it does, it does well once the game gets going, but it does take a little too long to get to the point.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Story & Setting:</b> Both of these were very well realised, if somewhat limited in scope. Of course, in comparison to murder mystery literature it's pretty cliched stuff, but it's at the top end of quality in terms of the video games I've played for the blog thus far. The main complaint I have is a lack of interactivity for the majority of the game. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> There are only three characters of note in the game aside from murder victim Rodney, but they have more depth than pretty much anything else we've seen so far (i.e. they have actual personalities). Unfortunately, it's only Sir Colin that you really get to interact with; Blackwell and Wormsley don't do much outside of the heavily scripted opening scenes. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Aesthetics:</b> This game is among the more well-written text adventures of its era, and it almost perfectly evokes the tone and style that it's going for. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Puzzles:</b> Rather than having many smaller puzzles and obstacles, <i>Local Call for Death</i> has one large, interconnected one: gathering enough evidence to accuse Blackwell of murder. This requires observance and logic on a level that's pretty much unheard of at the time; this might be the earliest adventure game I've played where everything makes sense. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Mechanics:</b> This is a difficult one. What this game is doing looks impressive at first, but I had all sorts of problems wrangling with the parser and getting my ideas across to Sir Colin. At one point I even had him interpret my input as the exact opposite of what I was saying, so it's far from foolproof. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Challenge:</b> The mystery here isn't all that difficult, especially for anyone who has read a bunch of stories in this genre. Even if you get stuck Sir Colin is there to smugly guide you, so I'd say most players would get through this on their first try as long as they're paying attention. For a commercial release it's certainly far too easy. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Fun:</b> I only had to go through this game twice, and it would be very difficult for such a short game to get a minimum score. I definitely got sick of the opening scenes though, as I do in any game where it takes too long to get started. Once I was able to play I enjoyed it, but the ratio of story to game was way off. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Bonus Points: 1.</b> I haven't played anything quite like this game before, so it gets a point for innovation even though it's something of a game development dead end.</div><div><br /></div><div>The above scores total 17. Double that and add the bonus point, and <i>Local Call for Death</i> gets a very respectable <b>RADNESS Index of 35.</b> That puts it equal 11th overall, and equal 6th in terms of adventure games. The last two entries have seen good showings from two short games that do what they do pretty well. There's not a hell of a lot of game here, but fans of old-school text adventures and mystery stories will probably enjoy it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>NEXT:</b> It's back to the priority list for the third game from Ken and Roberta Williams, called <i>Mission: Asteroid</i>. I've already finished it, so expect a post in the not too distant future.</div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-41167851319397481292020-11-08T07:23:00.000-08:002020-11-08T07:23:08.011-08:00Game 50: Kadath (1979)<div style="text-align: justify;">Being a fan of super-hero comics I know the value of a nice round number, so it feels somewhat momentous to have finally reached Game 50. I didn't realise that it was coming up, so I didn't arrange for it to be anything special. Instead, I've just gone ahead with my standard chronological order, and played the next game on my list, <i>Kadath</i>.<br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k9pUBdpqz-A/X6gFiUt3ddI/AAAAAAAAGWg/rb6nOEqYHy4oCl3YIRyfEidpZkED_nK8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s666/KadathTitle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="666" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k9pUBdpqz-A/X6gFiUt3ddI/AAAAAAAAGWg/rb6nOEqYHy4oCl3YIRyfEidpZkED_nK8gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h260/KadathTitle.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Not gonna lie, any game with this C64 font is <br />gonna hit my nostalgia buttons hard.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Kadath</i> was a text adventure designed by Gary Musgrave for the Altair, one of the earliest available home computers. From what I can gather, the Altair was primitive in 1979 when compared to something like the Apple II. It doesn't appear to have had a monitor display, so I suspect that <i>Kadath</i> accomplished that with paper printouts, in a similar manner to Richard Garriott's <i>DND1</i>. Like I said, primitive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The game was ported to the Commodore PET in 1981, but as I mentioned in my last post I haven't been able to find that version. In 1983 it was ported to the Commodore 64, where it was renamed as <i>Eye of Kadath. </i>That's the version I played for the body of this post. Somewhere along the way it also got ported to the Exidy Sorcerer, a short-lived PC that I had never heard of before today. I'm told by Jason Dyer of Renga in Blue that this version is probably closest to the original, and thanks to his instructions I'm able to briefly cover it below in Ports of Call.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this game you play as a archaeologist who uncovered a tomb around ten years ago. In that tomb, the archaeologist found an ancient tablet, and has spent years translating it by consulting such dark volumes as the <i>Unaussprechlichen Kulten</i> and <i>The Necronomicon</i>. The tablet spoke of the rise of a dark evil that would occur when the dark star Kynath was in conjunction with Arcturus. Now, with only fifteen days left until that event will come to pass, the archaeologist has travelled to the ancient city of Yaddith intending to put a stop to it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3tpUBwT9c0g/X6gGAJjmZEI/AAAAAAAAGWo/fuLzvM-cz5oE6_KUyDWnw1IWCdrF9Qd5gCLcBGAsYHQ/s660/KadathBackstory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="660" height="263" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3tpUBwT9c0g/X6gGAJjmZEI/AAAAAAAAGWo/fuLzvM-cz5oE6_KUyDWnw1IWCdrF9Qd5gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h263/KadathBackstory.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Laying out the backstory.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If any of the above sounds familiar to you, then you've probably read or heard about the noted horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft is one of those writers that - due to his massive influence on genre fiction and <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> in particular - I should have read years ago. I keep putting it off. I tried a few years ago to get through a bunch of his short stories in audiobook form, but they slid right off my brain with no impact. I suspect that's more due to the format than the stories themselves, but regardless, I'm only familiar with Lovecraft via what I've absorbed through pop-culture osmosis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Kadath</i> marks a pretty big first, in that it's the earliest known video game adaptation of Lovecraft's work. Given the name, you'd think it was an adaptation of his novella <i>The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath</i>, but a quick look at the Wikipedia entry indicates that there's little connection. I suspect that <i>Kadath</i> may be an original story cobbled together from elements of Lovecraft's stories, but I'd appreciate it if any Lovecraft experts out there can set me straight. (From further research, I'm seeing that there are elements in the game taken from stories by Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan; he was one of a bunch of writers that built on and added to Lovecraft's work over the years, with varying results. It looks like Musgrave has drawn on elements not just from Lovecraft, but his many collaborators and imitators.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What's also notable is that <i>Kadath</i> isn't played using the parser system that so defined text adventures in the wake of <i>Colossal Cave Adventure</i>. Rather than typing in commands, the player is presented with a number of possible actions, and must choose one. In some ways it's similar to playing a <i>Choose Your Own Adventure</i> or a <i>Fighting Fantasy</i> gamebook. I can't say for sure if this is the first game that ever used this format, but it must be among the earliest. It's hard to give this much historical significance, because it's not a style that really ever caught on in the digital realm, but it deserves at least a little bit of credit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing that struck me when I started playing <i>Kadath</i> is that the quality of the writing is very high by the standards of the genre at the time. This is especially impressive on a home computer; there have been games with well-written descriptions before this, but they've been exclusive to mainframe systems. Most of those on home computers have been very terse, no doubt due to memory constraints, and I was surprised to see something this good coming from a computer like the Altair. I would later find out that the game isn't very long, which explains how Musgrave was able to cram it all in. It was a good choice though; the game is short, but it manages to evoke a Lovecraftian atmosphere, something that would have been very difficult without longer room descriptions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The game begins with the player entering the catacombs beneath the city of Yaddith, with the ultimate goal being to stop an ancient evil from arising. The instructions lay out the five things you need to do to complete this goal:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><li>Enter the labyrinthine caverns</li><li>Find the hidden and guarded "Eye of Kadath"</li><li>Return the "Eye" to its rightful place</li><li>Invoke the Elder Powers</li><li>Destroy the gate through which this unspeakable evil will gain dominion over all the Earth.</li></ol><div><br /></div><div>All of this must be accomplished within fifteen days. I tried waiting it out, to see what would happen; I've played other games that threaten you with deadlines but don't deliver when the time comes. I got to around twenty days with nothing untoward happening, and I was about to add <i>Kadath</i> to that list, but then disaster struck while I was poling a raft into a cave. Luckily, beating this game before the deadline hits is not at all difficult.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SCazkPubQ28/X6gGhJERuHI/AAAAAAAAGWw/6799QZ1B0J076ZExvXit9HAN0NoobVadgCLcBGAsYHQ/s666/KadathTooLate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="666" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SCazkPubQ28/X6gGhJERuHI/AAAAAAAAGWw/6799QZ1B0J076ZExvXit9HAN0NoobVadgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h256/KadathTooLate.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This sounds a bit like me during one of my regular <br />bouts of bronchitis.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The first chamber of the catacombs has four exits (not including the one you entered from), and after a small amount of exploration I was pretty hopelessly lost. This game is difficult to map, and can be quite disorienting. There are a bunch of near-identical rooms, all with five exits, and where those exits lead is relative to the one through which you enter the room. So exit 1 might lead to a dead end, but when you return to that room exit 1 will lead somewhere else entirely. There are also room where the exits are labelled as Left or Right, and I have no idea if those are relative or not. Even after finishing <i>Kadath</i> I'm not sure that my map is correct. I'm not sure if this was purposeful design, but it's another thing that adds to the game's Lovecraftian vibe.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5s_qSREJytA/X6gG7nBUK1I/AAAAAAAAGW8/T_EyprdaxYQ2lSlvETFt8-3jM5rADOO-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s664/KadathStart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="664" height="264" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5s_qSREJytA/X6gG7nBUK1I/AAAAAAAAGW8/T_EyprdaxYQ2lSlvETFt8-3jM5rADOO-QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h264/KadathStart.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Starting the game.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>As you'd expect, you can die in <i>Kadath</i>, but for the most part it requires doing something stupid. Do you want to dive into a lake from a high cliff? Or creep across a vast cavern littered with bones? Or wade through black, waist-deep water? Go ahead, but you ain't gonna survive any of those. I found myself doing dumb things on purpose just to read the descriptions, which had some macabre entertainment value. Another benefit to dying is that the game tells you how well you're doing. It will clue you in on whether you've found the items you need to beat the game, or if you've destroyed one of them, which I appreciated.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DQwaswVAXP8/X6gHZJwrjII/AAAAAAAAGXE/v-feczFwai8IVS5-aBgl_gB6k2EsGVX5gCLcBGAsYHQ/s663/KadathDeath.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="663" height="261" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DQwaswVAXP8/X6gHZJwrjII/AAAAAAAAGXE/v-feczFwai8IVS5-aBgl_gB6k2EsGVX5gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h261/KadathDeath.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It's nice to be a part of something, though, innit?</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Aside from the chambers with five exits, and the obvious death-traps I mentioned above, the catacombs have the following points of interest:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>A balcony overlooking Yaddith, where an ancient scroll can be found.</li><li>A room with a stone block, on which rests a dagger and a sphere. Only one of these items can be taken at a time.</li><li>A room with a huge statue of a nightmarish beast. Runes at the base of the statue translate as "From death spawned black star great Kadath rises - lord of all". In the middle of the statue's face is a large pentagonal hole.</li><li>An underground lake with a raft. The raft can be poled to an island, on which can be found a conch shell. Taking the conch causes the cavern to shake, and dislodges a stalactite that falls close to you.</li><li>The raft can also be poled into two fissures. One of those leads to a certain death unless you turn back, but the other leads to a room where you will find a glowing green gem. That gem is guarded by something called a Shoggoth, a shapeless, protoplasmic creature made of black slime.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>The path to victory is quick. You need to find and keep the scroll on the balcony. If you try take it out, the scroll crumbles and can't be used. You also need to collect the conch shell from the island. Then you need to find the Eye of Kadath, which is the aforementioned glowing green gem. If you try to take it without the necessary item, the Shoggoth will chase you away, and you'll be told that you need a weapon to defeat it. That weapon is the dagger from the stone block, which is powerful enough to kill the creature with one blow. With the scroll and the Eye now in your possession, you just need to take them both to the statue, where the endgame begins.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BgGmelL8RJk/X6gHjn_MGCI/AAAAAAAAGXI/GueMaPdTKY01O_o_I6LZcckqjm1MDYDVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s653/KadathShoggothDeath.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="653" height="255" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BgGmelL8RJk/X6gHjn_MGCI/AAAAAAAAGXI/GueMaPdTKY01O_o_I6LZcckqjm1MDYDVwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h255/KadathShoggothDeath.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm more horrified by the hideous mass of typos.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>What follows is a series of questions. Do you put the Eye of Kadath in the statue, on the altar, or on the floor? What do you use to invoke the Elder Powers? What is the invocation on the scroll? Will you destroy the Eye with the conch, the dagger or the sphere? If you get too many of these wrong, you will eventually lose the game, with a message similar to what happens when you run out of time. The only one I had trouble with was typing in the chant - KADATH CTHULHU R'LYEH - and that's only because the key mapping for the Commodore 64 emulator I was using was different to a standard QWERTY keyboard. Luckily for me I spent over a decade using a C64 almost daily, so I had little trouble tracking down that errant apostrophe, and thereby beating the game.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_LiB2OFg-c/X6gHtEx-0gI/AAAAAAAAGXM/Bqs4g4gmx6wEClawBMtZA6NeX_vSthNlQCLcBGAsYHQ/s678/KadathVictory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="678" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_LiB2OFg-c/X6gHtEx-0gI/AAAAAAAAGXM/Bqs4g4gmx6wEClawBMtZA6NeX_vSthNlQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h260/KadathVictory.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Saving humanity with a conch shell.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Overall, it took me about an hour to beat <i>Kadath</i>, and the experience was short-lived and user-friendly enough that I had a good time doing it. In a lot of ways, it feels ahead of its time; there's certainly no shortage of brief horror games based on Lovecraft floating around the independent scene these days. I'm interested to see how it does on the RADNESS Index; it's short and very easy, but it does what it does rather well.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>PORTS OF CALL:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Before I rate <i>Kadath</i>, I'll take a quick look at the Exidy Sorcerer version. The most notable difference is that the Sorcerer has more room for its text: it can fit a bunch more characters per line than the Commodore 64, so the text is a little more detailed. For instance, the star Kynath is only named in the Sorcerer version. I also noticed that the Sorcerer does a lot more in the way of creating pacing with its text formatting. For example, the death screams of the Shoggoth are much more drawn out. The trade-off is that it has a distracting number of typos. There are plenty on the C64 as well, but on the Sorcerer they are present to a maddening level. I suppose it's a toss-up as to which is better, but if you're as sensitive to typos as I am then the C64 version might be more to your tastes.</div><div><br /></div><div>In terms of gameplay, the only difference I noted came in the endgame. Some of the questions that are presented as multiple choice on C64 must have the answer typed in on the Sorcerer. It makes the game a little harder I guess, but not so much that it makes a great difference.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pioXcgZ3tY8/X6gH4pLBxwI/AAAAAAAAGXU/7jdyeQIiTpoFLwR0hOsGiOgDjzQ32C3PACLcBGAsYHQ/s515/ExidyKadath.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="515" height="375" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pioXcgZ3tY8/X6gH4pLBxwI/AAAAAAAAGXU/7jdyeQIiTpoFLwR0hOsGiOgDjzQ32C3PACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h375/ExidyKadath.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The same ending, with a little more fancy text formatting.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Story & Setting:</b> <i>Kadath</i> has great source material to draw from, and does a decent job of evoking that material successfully. It might be the earliest horror game I've played that manages to be even mildly effective in that regard. A lot of the details are vague and unexplained: the nature of the menace you have to stop is barely hinted at, and the various lurking creatures that can do you in are never shown or described. For some that might be unsatisfactory, but again it's something done to evoke that Lovecraftian feel (which, for the record, is much more about fear of the alien unknown than fear of tentacles). There's not a lot to the story and setting in terms of size and scope, but it makes up for that with atmosphere and implication. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> As with the previous category, there isn't a lot here in terms of detail: just about every creature in the game is lurking out of sight, never seen but dangerous nonetheless. They provide atmosphere, but in terms of gameplay they're only there to kill you if you take a wrong step. The Shoggoth is the only creature that can be seen, and it's pretty great in descriptive terms, but it operates solely as an obstacle to victory. Again, there's no interaction, so I can't rate it highly. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Aesthetics:</b> This is a text adventure with no sound, but the writing is up there in the absolute top tier of the adventure games I've played so far. This genre is never going to score super high here, but I have to put this one on a level with games like <i>Zork</i>. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Puzzles:</b> The puzzles in this game are very light on, and are solved almost exclusively by entering an area with the right inventory item. That's the inherent limitation of a text adventure that relies on multiple choice rather than a parser, I guess. <b>Rating: 1 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Mechanics:</b> Everything in this game works the way it's supposed to, although it would be pretty hard to mess up a game in this format. I suppose it might have been an impressive game on the Altair - I have no idea what other kinds of games were made for it - but by 1979 it already feels very simplistic. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Challenge:</b> I finished this game in just under an hour, so I'd say it has little in the way of legitimate challenge. Navigating the catacombs is probably the most difficult part of the game, but if you move around at random you'll eventually hit everything regardless. That said, I'm not even sure the game was designed to be much of a challenge; it gives you copious hints about your progress after you die, so even when you do fail it's pretty easy to see where you went wrong or what you're missing. I feel like it was made to provide an experience rather than a challenge, and on that level it does well. In this particular category, not so much. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Fun: </b>As with most short games, I enjoyed it while it lasted but the experience wasn't meaty enough for me to really get into it. I might have rated this a little higher as a parser-based game, as that would have provided more interaction and difficulty. It worked well enough as a game with its multiple choices/branching paths, but the lack of choices brought it down a bit. <b>Rating: 2 out of 7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Bonus: 1.</b> <i>Kadath</i> gets a single bonus point, for a combination of being the first Lovecraftian game and one of the first <i>Choose Your Own Adventure</i> style games. Neither of those would probably merit it on their own, but together they're worth a point I reckon.</div><div><br /></div><div>The above scores total 15, which doubled gives a score of 30; add the bonus point and <i>Kadath</i> gets a respectable <b>RADNESS Index of 31.</b> That places it equal 13th overall, and equal 8th in terms of adventure games. It's level with games like <i>The Wizard and the Princess, Colossal Cave Adventure II</i> and <i>Mystery Mansion</i>, all of which I'd describe as games with a mixture of good and frustrating elements. <i>Kadath</i> does what it does well, and if it was longer or less simplistic it might have scored quite a bit higher.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>NEXT:</b> My next game is <i>Local Call for Death</i>, a murder mystery for the TRS-80. This one is similar to <i>Kadath</i> in that it's short and well-written; I don't expect it to take more than a single post. After that, it's back to the priority list for <i>Mission: Asteroid</i>, the third game from Ken and Roberta Williams. If these short games keep coming, I'll be on to <i>Wizardry </i>in no time...</div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-75475328922168394292020-11-03T02:29:00.004-08:002020-11-03T02:41:10.023-08:00Ultima: Victory!<div style="text-align: justify;">Having completely the quests given out by the eight kings of "Ultima" (as the world seems to be named in the manual), the next stage of my mission to defeat Mondain was to become a "space ace". The chain of quest-lines went like this: to confront Mondain I needed a time machine; to get a time machine, I had to rescue a princess after becoming a space ace; to become a space ace, I apparently needed to go into space and shoot down 20 enemy ships.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The obvious way to get to space was to buy a shuttle from the Transport shop in one of the cities. I had saved my last game just outside Castle Shamino, which is right next to the city of Gorlab. I can't remember how much the shuttle cost; I just tried to go back and check, but for some reason my air-car has vanished in my saved game, leaving me stranded on an island. It didn't really matter though, because by that point I had amassed around 40,000 gold, and money worries were a thing of the past. The shuttle appeared on the wilderness map, one square north of Gorlab.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JAw9G7VAS4M/X55ypmGemGI/AAAAAAAAGU8/B7dd918y-j47JhzNeOb0-Vhgq5RsBebuwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaShuttle.bmp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JAw9G7VAS4M/X55ypmGemGI/AAAAAAAAGU8/B7dd918y-j47JhzNeOb0-Vhgq5RsBebuwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaShuttle.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm a rocket man...</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">After I boarded the shuttle, it gave me a short countdown before blasting off into outer space. I remember from previous times I've played the game that you need to be wearing a Vacuum Suit here, or you instantly die. It makes perfect logical sense, but as far as I can tell there's nothing in the game that clues you in to the deadliness of outer space (aside from, you know, common sense). I guess it's no big deal, as long as you've saved your game recently. It's just a "gotcha" death that results in a quick reload, and any player that's reached this point of the game should already have a Vacuum Suit in their inventory, or enough money to afford one.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Once you reach outer space, the game switches to a completely different style of play. <i>Ultima</i> isn't exactly what you'd call a cohesive game. It's cobbled together from bits and pieces of various styles and genres, and is composed of at least three separate games, each with their own mode of play. Wilderness exploration is different to dungeon exploration, which is different to space combat. If someone were to break it down even further, it wouldn't even surprise me to find out that the cities, castles and the final confrontation with Mondain all operate under different rules as well. Garriott could probably have split the three major sections into separate games and sold them on their own, and he might have even made more money that way, but none of those games would have had <i>Ultima's </i>special brand of kitchen-sink charm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">From a modern perspective it does feel odd to be going into sci-fi territory in a fantasy game, and it felt odd when I first played the game 20 years ago, but I wonder how unusual it was at the time. I've read a lot of <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> and other tabletop gaming stuff from the late 70s, and fantasy/sci-fi mash-ups were all over the place. The D&D module <i>Expedition to the Barrier Peaks</i>, which takes place in a crashed spaceship, was published in 1980. Even in literature, I get the sense that sci-fi and fantasy weren't quite as separated as they later became. It's hard to know, having only been about three years old at the time, whether Garriott was following trends or smashing genre boundaries. In terms of CRPGs, at least, it seems to be more the latter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">After taking off into space, you're given a "top-down" view of the sector of space you're currently in. Aside from your shuttle, there's also a planet, a sun, and a space station with two other docked ships. Flying into the planet will return you to the wilderness. Of the three ships you can fly, only the shuttle has heat shields. It's supposedly the only one that can survive re-entry, but I wasn't about to test it out and jeopardise my "no deaths" record. Flying into a sun will kill you regardless of the ship you're flying. Again, I didn't test it to make sure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SEjvMhfCOHA/X6ErhZYAZFI/AAAAAAAAGWA/fXSrXama3DUBAhlzsTlfts16noSHrgtngCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaLiftOff.bmp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SEjvMhfCOHA/X6ErhZYAZFI/AAAAAAAAGWA/fXSrXama3DUBAhlzsTlfts16noSHrgtngCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaLiftOff.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Commencing count-down, engines on.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Every ship has a different amount of Shields and Fuel. The shuttle has 1,000 of each, but from what I could tell it doesn't have any weapons, so you want to dock at the space station and switch to another. This can be tricky. The "Enter" key activates the thrust, which moves you forward; the "/" key activates the retros, which slow your forward movement or move you backwards; the left and right arrows turn your ship around. As you'd expect there's no gravity, so once you start moving you won't stop until you reverse that movement. Docking at the station requires pixel-perfect precision; even if you're just one pixel off, you'll crash and sustain damage to your Shields. It can be frustrating at first, but eventually I was able to eyeball it pretty accurately.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Of the two ships at the space station, one (the slightly fatter one to the left in the image above) has 5,000 fuel but only 100 Shields. A single shot from the enemy will destroy it, so I'm not sure why you'd ever want to use it unless you're trying to challenge yourself. The other ship (slightly skinnier, on the bottom in the image above) has 1,000 Fuel and 5,000 Shields, so it's a much safer bet. Having high fuel is good, as running out leaves you drifting in space forever, but the other ship's Shields are just too low to even consider.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The goal of the section of the game is to find enemy ships and shoot them down. Finding the enemy is done by using your long range scanner, activated with the (I)nspect command. This gives you a small text-based read-out at the bottom of the screen, indicating what's in the surrounding sectors. To travel to a sector, you need to face it, switch to the first-person view with the (V)iew command, then warp by using the (H)yperjump command. This took me absolutely forever to get right. I spent ages hyper-jumping, only to find that I hadn't moved at all. Eventually I figured out that you need to give your ship a little thrust in the overhead view to get it to work; after that I was off, exploring sectors and looking for enemies to destroy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I found some enemies pretty quickly; they're very obviously modelled after Imperial TIE Fighters from <i>Star Wars </i>(the movie's real name, don't give me none of that <i>A New Hope</i> bullshit). You'll have to trust me, as the one screenshot I took doesn't capture it very well. I ran into trouble immediately, though, because I was completely unable to hit them. Combat happens in first-person view, and is a simple matter of getting a ship into your crosshairs before pressing (F)ire, but no matter how well I aimed I couldn't score a hit. I ended up running out of Fuel and having to restart, which I guess counts as a death, albeit through no fault of my own. I did a little internet research, and soon figured out the problem: I needed to run my emulator in Apple IIe mode, not the default Enhanced Apple IIe mode. With this done, I was happily blasting TIE Fighters to smithereens, and well on my way to becoming a space ace.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtnuXi23IOI/X57L01bsb_I/AAAAAAAAGVI/m0dD4ot34IIO73qJUMEc-l9jrhpVu-LtACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaSpaceCombat.bmp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtnuXi23IOI/X57L01bsb_I/AAAAAAAAGVI/m0dD4ot34IIO73qJUMEc-l9jrhpVu-LtACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaSpaceCombat.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Trust me, it's a TIE Fighter.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">With 5,000 Shields the enemy ships presented little danger; they only deal 100 damage per hit. The main danger of space combat is running out of Fuel, so it's imperative that between every one or two space battles you dock at a space station to refuel. Every time you dock it costs 500 gold, but I suspect this is only a danger for those who go haring off into space as soon as the shuttle becomes available. I tend to leave it late, at a point when I've got loads of money, so I don't recall it ever being a problem.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I have to say, I'm impressed with how smoothly the game runs its space combat. The contrast between this segment and the dungeon exploration is night and day. One takes literal seconds to render the walls between every move, and the other has a smoothly scrolling starfield. Perhaps there's some trickery involved under the hood (and I'm sure the reduced screen size that you can see above has something to do with it), but whatever Garriott did with this part of the game, it runs really nicely.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Each occupied sector of space has two or three enemy ships, so I had to travel to about eight different occupied sectors to shoot down the required number of enemies. This involved a decent amount of cautious backtracking, so that I could dock at space stations to refuel in between battles. Each hyperjump drains 100 Fuel, and flying around within a sector drains it as well, so I was having to refuel every couple of combats. I considered trying to see if it was possible to kill all of the enemies in space, but I honestly have no idea how big space is in <i>Ultima, </i>or if the enemies eventually respawn, so I thought better of it. After becoming a space ace I immediately hyperjumped back to the sector with my home planet - I'd been keeping careful track of my movements so that I wouldn't get lost - docked at the space station, switched back to my shuttle, and landed near Castle Shamino.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It was time now to rescue a princess. I wasn't too concerned, as I'd been able to do it much earlier in the game without too much difficulty. Rescuing the princess involves killing a jester, unlocking her cell, and either killing or escaping from the guards as they give chase. Last time I'd been able to outmaneuver the guards, but this time around I wasn't so lucky. The guards cornered me, and I had to fight my way out, getting pummeled from multiple sides as I desperately hoped that the guard's hit points would run out before mine did. They did (I had thousands of hp), and when I escaped I was told by the princess that I could find a time machine to the north-west.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It took me a while, but eventually I found the time machine on the island north-west of the fourth continent. At this point I got a little nervous about whether I was strong enough to battle Mondain, so I went back to Shamino's castle to buy some hit points from him (he was unconcerned by my recent murder of his guards; the status of the castles and cities resets as soon as you leave them). I got my hit points up to around 20,000. I still had close to 25,000 gold left over, but I got bored of going through the process of buying more. Besides, I figured that I was owed some sort of monetary reward for defeating Mondain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ogvrkiGG2Yk/X6EIL2TUXxI/AAAAAAAAGVU/9h1XdP41xYgKtArrzRUFvJwHVmwtpDekwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaTimeMachine.bmp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ogvrkiGG2Yk/X6EIL2TUXxI/AAAAAAAAGVU/9h1XdP41xYgKtArrzRUFvJwHVmwtpDekwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaTimeMachine.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Activating the time machine.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Having loaded up on hit points, I made may way back to the time machine, got inside, and inserted the four gems. The machine whisked me into the past, where I came face-to-face with Mondain, who was in the process of creating his Gem of Immortality. (I really cut it fine with this time travel business. Couldn't I have landed a week or two earlier?)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BpqfRYTxioo/X6EJI3wZ2DI/AAAAAAAAGVc/9FUTHtxCOfwACC4vPxX0PQzJPyVQkoW0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaMondain.bmp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BpqfRYTxioo/X6EJI3wZ2DI/AAAAAAAAGVc/9FUTHtxCOfwACC4vPxX0PQzJPyVQkoW0QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaMondain.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Witness Mondain, about to get rekt.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The battle with Mondain happens in a top-down arena, using the same controls as in the wilderness. Flames ignite all around you during the battle; I'm not sure if you can be damaged by them, but if it is possible I managed to avoid it. Mondain hits hard; he was dealing over 700 points of damage to me with each attack, and managed to get me down to about 13,000 hp before he turned into a bat and tried to flee.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">While he was fleeing, I took the opportunity to (G)et the gem. This destroyed the gem, and dealt around 10,000 points of damage to me. (I'll never forget that you need to use the (G)et command here, because the first time I played this game I kept walking into the gem and taking damage over and over. I had to call a friend to get some advice from him, but he couldn't remember what to do. In the end I just started pressing buttons on the keyboard, until G did it for me.) There was nothing left to do but kill Mondain in bat form. I managed to corner him against a wall, and after repeated attacks he was dead and I had won.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R0WPEeX7xTc/X6ELEOWUe0I/AAAAAAAAGVo/JGblW6Kj9UIjKdAxvfVr1qwKkxaqOonMwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaVictory.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R0WPEeX7xTc/X6ELEOWUe0I/AAAAAAAAGVo/JGblW6Kj9UIjKdAxvfVr1qwKkxaqOonMwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaVictory.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mondain goes down in defete.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">As with every game in the <i>Ultima</i> series (including <i>Akalabeth</i>) I was instructed to report my feat. In later games that instruction tells you to report to Lord British, but here it tells you to report to California Pacific. Obviously that's not viable any more, but Lord British himself is very accessible these days, so I reported my feat to him on Twitter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KWk7j9dSrhU/X6EMX3CXC0I/AAAAAAAAGV0/DnE89F9t40AgBcqrLS7Ol-CCYpdVsK5pgCLcBGAsYHQ/s595/LordBritishTwitter.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="595" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KWk7j9dSrhU/X6EMX3CXC0I/AAAAAAAAGV0/DnE89F9t40AgBcqrLS7Ol-CCYpdVsK5pgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h360/LordBritishTwitter.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I deactivated my Twitter account yesterday, so that<br />I can mostly avoid the US election. Interactions like<br />this are what will bring me back.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I love that Garriott takes the time to do this for people on Twitter. He's very friendly, seems like an incredibly cool and down-to-earth guy, and is pretty high on the list of people I'd love to have a conversation with over some beverages.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Well, after many years I finally got this blog to the point where I could play <i>Ultima</i> again. I had to cheat a little by going out of sequence, but I got there. I have to say, it was well worth it; it might be the most fun I've had with a game on the blog. It's certainly the most enjoyable of the CRPGs I've played. As far as the RADNESS Index goes, I expect it to do very well indeed. I don't think it will unseat <i>Zork</i> at the top, but I won't be surprised if it comes close.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>PORTS OF CALL:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This game is a bit too big for me to play through it a second time so soon, and aside from that I'm not doing Ports of Call for the Priority List Games. I'll play another version of the game when my chronological list gets to 1981, by which time I'll definitely be ready to play it again. Taking a look at Mobygames, it seems that the only straight port of this version of the game was for Atari 8-bit, released by Sierra in 1983. That's the version I'll play when I get to 1981. All of the other ports were for the redesigned version of the game, called <i>Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness</i>, and released in 1986. If this blog ever makes it to 1986, that's when I'll play the re-release.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>RADNESS INDEX:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Story & Setting:</b> It's tempting to rate this game high for story and setting, because it is <i>Ultima</i> after all. The thing is, what I'd be rating is barely present in this game at all. This isn't Britannia, with its rich history and developed NPCs. It isn't even Sosaria, as it would be named later. If the manual is to be believed, the world is called Ultima, which at least makes some sense of the series' name for me, finally. There's no rich history, the world is pretty sparse in its details, and the ultimate plot is to kill an evil wizard. It doesn't sound that great when you boil it down, does it?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So yeah, the goal is cliched, but without a doubt this is the absolute best "kill the wizard" story that's been presented in a video game thus far. How many others have you dog-fighting in space and travelling in a time machine? Sure, little of it makes sense. Why are the princesses held captive? Where does the sci-fi technology come from? Why do the princesses hold the key to a time machine? Who's piloting those ships you have to shoot down in space? You can rationalise this stuff away (and some have), but when you get down to it the details don't really matter, because the world feels so much vaster than anything presented in a game before. <i>Zork</i> may be more interesting and detailed on a smaller scale, but no game before <i>Ultima</i> has spanned an entire world with multiple cities, castles and dungeons, as well as featuring a trip into outer space. The details are still sparse, and much of the content is repetitive, but for the time its scope is unparalleled. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Characters & Monsters:</b> The cities and castles feature plenty of characters: guards, shopkeepers, wenches, bards, jesters, princesses and kings. The problem is that every city has the same shopkeepers and guards, and every castle has the same jesters and kings. Interaction with them is also minimal: each type of character exists to serve one purpose and one purpose alone. (Okay, so the kings serve two purposes.) The game does better with its monsters, which are plentiful and with a lot of variety. Unfortunately, only a few of the ones encountered in the dungeons have special abilities; the others are all just sacks of hit points, and the wilderness creatures don't even get unique icons. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Aesthetics:</b> By modern standards <i>Ultima</i> isn't going to earn any plaudits for its graphics, but it looks very good for its day. Okay, so the wireframe dungeons and the monsters therein are a bit crude, but the wilderness graphics are colourful and attractive. I'd be hard-pressed to find another CRPG of the time that looks as good as this. Unfortunately there's no sound, aside from the odd beep when a blow is struck in combat. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Combat:</b> In general terms the combat simply involves trading attacks with your enemy until someone is dead, but there's no separate combat interface, so every command is available to you. As such you can cast spells, flee, or perform any other action that's normally available. Not that you often need to; combat is rarely difficult beyond the first hour or so of play. Once you have a few thousand hit points there's not much that can kill you. Only the lower dungeon levels present a real threat, and that's more due to food-gobbling Gremlins than actual combat. <b>Rating: 3 out of 7.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Mechanics:</b> <i>Ultima</i> does a lot, and does most of it pretty well: wilderness exploration, dungeon exploration, and especially space combat. It does perhaps use too many keyboard commands; is it necessary to have a command for (U)nlock and (O)pen? Do (B)oard and (E)nter really need to be separate? That said, it's pretty intuitive, and after one session I didn't need the reference card open any more. The only major complaint I have in this category is with the sluggishness of the dungeon routines; it takes ages to redraw whenever you take a step or pass a turn. <b>Rating: 4 out of 7.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Challenge:</b> Given that I didn't die once during my play-through of <i>Ultima</i> (I don't count having to reboot because I was in the wrong emulator mode), it's tempting to mark this low. After all, wouldn't that make it too easy? It should be remembered, though, that I've played the game before. I knew at the beginning that I needed to buy food. I knew how to build hit points, and roughly where to go to advance in my quest. I also know from previous experience that this game is quite challenging when you're unfamiliar with it. To its credit, it doesn't have a lot of frustrating areas; only the Gremlins are truly annoying, and they can be avoided. <i>Ultima</i> gets the difficulty balance about right. <b>Rating: 5 out of 7.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Fun: </b>I've already said that this is the most fun I've had playing a game for the blog, and I stand by it. That's probably because it's the first game that provides the type of gameplay that I really enjoy: I like CRPGs with long quests and a world to explore. Most of the CRPGs before this have been heavily dungeon-based, and quite repetitive. <i>Ultima</i> provides a lot of variety: if you're sick of exploring the wilderness, hit the dungeons. If you're sick of the dungeons, go shoot some spaceships. If you're sick of all those, you could try robbing a town, or rescuing a princess. There's no shortage of things to do in <i>Ultima</i>. <b>Rating: 5 out of 7.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Bonus Points: 2.</b> How can I not give <i>Ultima</i> the top marks here? It's one of the first genuinely good CRPGs, it's the beginning of a major series, and it's extremely influential on a global scale. It could even be said to be the first "open world" game, in its own primitive way. It's tempting to bust the scale and give it more than 2 points, but I must restrain myself and stick to the rules.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The above categories total 27, which doubled gives a score of 54. Add the two bonus points, and <i>Ultima</i> gets a <b>RADNESS Index of 56.</b> That places it second overall, and on top of the CRPG list. It's 4 points higher than <i>Rogue,</i> which was the only CRPG that I thought it might not beat. <i>Rogue</i> is very good, but <i>Ultima</i> plays to my tastes a lot more, so I'm not surprised that it scored higher.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>NEXT: </b>My next game by Garriott is <i>Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress</i>, which is a disheartening 18 games away. I must admit to being a little sad when I finished <i>Ultima</i>, and the temptation to go right on to its sequel was a strong one. It's very possible that I might switch it with <i>Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain</i>, just so I can get my fix six games earlier.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">As for my next chronological game, that's <i>Kadath</i>, a Lovecraftian text adventure for the Altair, of all things. My chances of emulating an Altair seem slim, so I'll be playing a port. There's a later port for the Commodore PET that I couldn't find, and a still later one for the Commodore 64. I suspect that's the one I'll have to play, so hopefully the differences between the versions are entirely cosmetic.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>ADDENDUM:</b> For anyone who wants to learn more about the inner workings of <i>Ultima</i>, I highly recommend <a href="https://datadrivengamer.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-basic-mechanics-of-ultima.html" target="_blank">the posts by Ahab over at Data Driven Gamer</a>. He really goes in depth into the code, and extracts pretty much all the data you could want, from all of the game's many modes. It's excellent stuff.</div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316858898012232577.post-14244139271501508922020-10-27T01:18:00.002-07:002020-10-27T01:18:14.951-07:00Ultima: Through Farthest Lands and Deepest Dungeons<div style="text-align: justify;">Having fully explored two continents, and completed the quests ordained by the kings of Castle Barataria, Castle Rondorlin, the Castle of Lord British and the Castle of the Lost King, there was little for me to do but head off across the ocean once more to find new land. The third continent I discovered was - like the two before it - based on the same basic shape, with the cities and dungeons located in the same places. I spent a good amount of time on mapping, even though by this point I had realised that it was pointless. The only things I absolutely had to find were the castles and landmarks, and with the continents being nearly identical that wasn't hard. What can I say, I like mapping games based on a grid, and I'll keep at it as long as the process isn't too frustrating. In the case of <i>Ultima</i> I was far more powerful than the monsters I was encountering, so the mapping was fun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EsWDUvbP58I/X5fNgEkqrQI/AAAAAAAAGSM/IqkXuLcfaF0nDFvrmLf-dcaqIr0r0s2OACLcBGAsYHQ/s446/UltimaContinent3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="446" height="383" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EsWDUvbP58I/X5fNgEkqrQI/AAAAAAAAGSM/IqkXuLcfaF0nDFvrmLf-dcaqIr0r0s2OACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h383/UltimaContinent3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A map of Ultima's third continent.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I've listed out the towns and dungeons for the previous continents, so I guess I should do it here as well for the sake of consistency. Here are the towns on the third continent:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Ponder, on the eastern side of the inlet on the south coast. (There's a town called Ponder in Texas, which might be the inspiration for this name.)</li><li>Nassau, on the north side of the central bay, not far from the castle. (Garriott grew up in Nassau Bay in Texas, so this is undoubtedly named after that city.)</li><li>Stout, on the shore of the south-eastern lake.</li><li>Clear Lagoon, on the north coast. (Garriott's hometown was in the Clear Lake Area, and there's apparently a Clear Lagoon in Texas City; either could be possible influences.)</li><li>The City of Imagination, at the tip of the inlet near the east coast.</li><li>The City of Wealth, to the north-east.</li><li>The City of Poor, to the north-west. (Check out that searing social commentary.)</li><li>Gauntlet, in the central forest grove.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>The dungeons are named as follows:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>The End.... (complete with ellipses), on the west coast.</li><li>The Metal Twister, in the mountain range to the south-west.</li><li>The Trolls Hole, on the south coast.</li><li>The Guild of Death, on the small island in the centre of the bay.</li><li>The Slow Death, at the tip of the peninsula on the east coast</li><li>The Vipers Pit, which has two entrances: on west of the Slow Death, and the other on the continent's north-west, in a forest valley.</li><li>The Tramp of Doom, on the north coast.</li><li>The Long Death, in the mountain range north-west of Gauntlet.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>The first of the castles I located was the Black Dragon's Castle, on the western side of the central bay. The quest he gave me was to "go forth and kill a Liche", so there was definitely more dungeon delving in my immediate future.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the north side of the bay was the Castle of Olympus, where the king told me to "go and find the sign post". This was a little less mythically epic than the other quests I'd been given, but I'll take my stat boosts where I can get them. This continent has two landmarks: the Southern Sign Post, and the Sign Post. The first of those is found on the east coast, and is connected to the mainland unlike its island-based counterparts on the previous two continents. The Southern Sign Post features the Latin phrase "omnia mutantur" ("everything changes"), and gave me a boost to my Charisma. The Sign Post, found on a mountain-ringed island to the north-west, was the object of my quest. It's Latin phrase is "ultima thule", and it gave me a boost to Stamina. As with the other "landmark quests" I'd completed, the king of the Castle of Olympus rewarded me with a bonus to Strength when I returned to him.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Mh462V86D4/X5fUgDVNA6I/AAAAAAAAGTk/Vax-i99lZg490Y2HwayYc_ikaydeQ0BlACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaThule.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Mh462V86D4/X5fUgDVNA6I/AAAAAAAAGTk/Vax-i99lZg490Y2HwayYc_ikaydeQ0BlACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaThule.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Finding the Sign Post.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>(A quick note about the phrase "ultima thule". In ancient times it referred to the northernmost location mentioned in Greek and Roman literature, and later on it became a phrase representing any land beyond the borders of the known world. It's difficult to guess where Garriott got the phrase from, but the Edgar Allen Poe poem "Dream-Land" does feature the phrase, as well as the line "Out of Space - out of Time". It seems a likely connection.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I did my Liche-hunting in the dungeon known as the Guild of Death. The dungeon is located on a small island, but by this point I wasn't worried about the consequences of dying. I'd accumulated enough hit points that I could survive pretty much anything the dungeons could throw at me. I mapped my way down to level 7, found and killed a Liche almost instantly, and made my way back to the Black Dragon's Castle. The king rewarded me with a blue gem, and the following hint: "the princess will help a space ace through time!".</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tUtEFfusHoM/X5fVE4VLSrI/AAAAAAAAGTs/N9iy_y0pay4tr8rGBYfQmXKoaIsVv_CwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaLiche.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tUtEFfusHoM/X5fVE4VLSrI/AAAAAAAAGTs/N9iy_y0pay4tr8rGBYfQmXKoaIsVv_CwgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaLiche.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fighting a Liche.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>That last hint was the one that I needed to piece everything together. From hints obtained while drinking at the bar I knew that I needed to travel back in time and stop Mondain from creating his gem of immortality. One of the kings had told me that I'd need a time machine to complete my quest, and another had told me that I needed four gems. I'd found three of the gems, but no sign of the time machine. Now, with this new hint from the king, I knew that I had to rescue the princess in order to find it. I'd rescued her before, but had received no special reward beyond gold and experience points. To get that special reward I needed to become a "space ace", which the barman had previously told me required going to space and killing at least 20 enemy spaceships. I now had three specific tasks: obtain the fourth gem, go to space and become a Space Ace, and rescue one of the princesses.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k2-xqLvaOxM/X5fVml7uhmI/AAAAAAAAGT0/EEIOMNInIhMBoVaMCi8BzGGBWacsUbzUwCPcBGAYYCw/s560/UltimaBlueGem.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k2-xqLvaOxM/X5fVml7uhmI/AAAAAAAAGT0/EEIOMNInIhMBoVaMCi8BzGGBWacsUbzUwCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h274/UltimaBlueGem.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The third gem, and a vital clue.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I didn't feel ready to go to space yet, so I skimmed across the ocean in my air-car to the fourth continent. This continent still uses the same template, but it's a little more broken up by rivers and the ocean.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YH1E82qiCvQ/X5fPae_IgNI/AAAAAAAAGSY/tT7Kdxc5LAMMazsTufFffZFl8q27HVUjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s438/UltimaContinent4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="423" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YH1E82qiCvQ/X5fPae_IgNI/AAAAAAAAGSY/tT7Kdxc5LAMMazsTufFffZFl8q27HVUjQCLcBGAsYHQ/w386-h400/UltimaContinent4.png" width="386" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The last continent!</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Again, for the completist in me, I must list out all of the towns and dungeons.</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>Dextron, on the western inlet.</li><li>Gorlab, near the castle at the centre. (This is obviously Balrog spelled backwards, although in <i>Ultima</i> it should probably be spelled Norlab.)</li><li>The City of Lost Friends, on the west coast of the northern section.</li><li>The City of the Turtle, to the south-west.</li><li>Bulldozer, on the east side of the southern bay.</li><li>The City of Magic, near the south-eastern lake.</li><li>The City of the Brother, on the island to the east.</li><li>Wheeler, in the central forest grove. (This is another one that could be named after a town in Texas.)</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>And the dungeons:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>The Morbid Adventure, on the small island near the centre.</li><li>Spine Breaker, to the far north-east.</li><li>The Skull Smasher, on the north coast.</li><li>Dungeon of Doom, in the mountains north-west of Wheeler.</li><li>The Dead Cat's Life has two entrances, one in the mountains west of Wheeler and the other on the island in the southern bay.</li><li>Dead Man's Walk, on the west coast.</li><li>Hole to Hades, at the top of the southern peninsula.</li><li>Free Death Hole, in the labyrinthine mountains to the east.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>This continent's landmarks were the Grave of the Lost Soul, and the Eastern Sign Post. The latter of these - found on the small island to the north - was very unhelpful, simply saying "go east to go east" and providing nothing in the way of a stat boost. The Grave of the Lost Soul was the object of the quest I was given by the king of the White Dragon's Castle. Entering it gave me a boost to my Stamina, and the Latin phrase "vae victis" ("woe to the vanquished"). As expected, I got a boost to my Strength from the king upon my return.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YKX7ovqecPk/X5fWEU0uwkI/AAAAAAAAGT8/Q4JdmwKPTScOIsPrmnsxKILtgYAOrIOFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaGrave.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YKX7ovqecPk/X5fWEU0uwkI/AAAAAAAAGT8/Q4JdmwKPTScOIsPrmnsxKILtgYAOrIOFQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaGrave.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh yeah, visiting graves is a real helth-booster.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The last castle I located was the Castle of Shamino, a welcome surprise. Shamino goes on to become one of the more well-known NPCs of the series, but at this point he's another alter ego of Garriott himself (Shamino Salle Dacil being his name in the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group of medieval reenactors and inveterate drunkards who bash each other with sticks). Shamino gave me my final and most difficult quest: to slay a Balron. (They were called Balrogs in <i>Akalabeth</i>, but here they get a rebranding. A similar things happened to Balrogs in <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> after some words from the Tolkien Estate, so I figure the same happened to Garriott or he was exercising caution to avoid any legal action.)</div><div><br /></div><div>For this quest I had to delve all the way down to dungeon level 9, where the strongest monsters dwell. I chose the Dungeon of Doom for its close overland proximity to the city of Wheeler, and as usual I set about mapping all of the levels along the way. Everything was going very smoothly, until I had to spend some extended time on level 7 and 8. On my last visit I'd only stayed around long enough to kill a Liche, but this time my desire to map everything led me into conflict with my most hated enemy of all: the dreaded Gremlin.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRwS_pyYpNc/X5fRi6xNzII/AAAAAAAAGSk/okhvevRD5HksIIEPsPURIsOwn6lKaSG4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaGremlin.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRwS_pyYpNc/X5fRi6xNzII/AAAAAAAAGSk/okhvevRD5HksIIEPsPURIsOwn6lKaSG4QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaGremlin.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Seriously, fuck these guys.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Anyone who's played an early <i>Ultima</i> already knows what I'm talking about, and some of you might remember them from my coverage of <i>Akalabeth</i>, but goddamn do I hate Gremlins. They don't target hit points, but instead on a successful hit they eat half of your food. It doesn't matter how much you have, they'll eat half of it, and it only takes a few hits before things start to look grim. <i>Ultima</i> gives you no leeway whatsoever in regards to food; once your food counter reaches zero, you're dead. I had a number of very close calls while mapping levels 7 and 8, the closest the game has come to killing me so far.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X70kFekb6Ws/X5fR8lQniCI/AAAAAAAAGSs/fFB6_LV6XaE7SCyEi5b5e3Dcri5FwNiqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaStarving.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X70kFekb6Ws/X5fR8lQniCI/AAAAAAAAGSs/fFB6_LV6XaE7SCyEi5b5e3Dcri5FwNiqgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaStarving.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What made this even worse is that I went to the <br />Magic Shop first by mistake.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>While exploring level 8 I started to get annoyed with how many hits it was taking to kill the enemies, so I took some time to buff my stats by visiting various landmarks: I still needed to boost my Stamina, Charisma and Strength. The first two were easily done by repeatedly visiting the Grave of the Lost Soul and the Southern Sign Post. Strength was a little trickier, as it required completing a quest and returning to the king. I spent a good while going back and forth between the Grave of the Lost Soul and the White Dragon's Castle. Eventually, I managed to get all of my stats up to 90. The manual claims that these scores can be raised to 99, but if there's a way to do it it's not by visiting landmarks or completing quests.</div><div><br /></div><div>I got myself into another dilemma at about this point: I could no longer buy weapons or armour. My Reflect Suit had been eaten by a Gelatinous Cube, but when I returned to town to buy another one I was told that I couldn't carry any more stuff. I tried dropping and selling some things, but it still didn't fix the problem. All I had left armour-wise was a Vacuum Suit, which I equipped before realising that I might have made a mistake. You see, the Vacuum Suit is vital for space travel in <i>Ultima</i>. Vital as in you die if you haven't got one. If I lost this one, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to buy another one, and if that was the case I'd have to start over.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I returned to the Dungeon of Doom, I used Ladder Down spells to quickly move through levels 3 and 4, and avoid all Gelatinous Cubes. Once on the lower levels, I noticed that I was dealing more damage, and that the monsters were doing less to me in return; my stat boosting had paid off, albeit in a small way. The monsters on level 9 were still doing around 250 points of damage per blow, so I didn't want to stick around for too long. The second monster I fought on level 9 was a Balron, and even with my stats boosted it took absolutely ages to kill. I'm lucky nothing else snuck up behind me while I was fighting the thing.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjK1gykOtXw/X5fS2P_IOUI/AAAAAAAAGS4/65zgM0mxFZc0dPRgSigNhPCi7B63nO7XACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaBalron.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjK1gykOtXw/X5fS2P_IOUI/AAAAAAAAGS4/65zgM0mxFZc0dPRgSigNhPCi7B63nO7XACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaBalron.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The blank stare of evil.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>With the Balron dead, I zipped out of the dungeon and returned to Shamino. He rewarded me with a white gem, but unlike the other kings he didn't have a hint for me. Instead, he allowed me to take 9 items from his stores. I made straight for the Armour room, and came out with a few Reflect and Vacuum Suits, so I needn't have been so worried about my inventory problems; for whatever reason, I had no problem adding items to my inventory here.</div><div><br /></div><div>With all four gems in my possession it was tempting to press on and complete the game, but instead I ventured back into the Dungeon of Doom to check out what other monsters roamed the lowest dungeon levels (and also to confirm that dungeon level 10 is the lowest depth). The monsters found on dungeon levels 7 and 8 are as follows:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>Liche. A disembodied head, as I described in my last post.</li><li>Wandering Eye. A beholder stand-in that thankfully has no special abilities.</li><li>Tangler. A kind of weird amorphous creature, I'm not even sure what it's meant to be.</li><li>Wraith. Does a lot of damage, but seems to have no special abilities.</li><li>Gremlin. I've described their food-stealing abilities above. Possibly my all-time most hated RPG enemy.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>These monsters are on level 9 and 10:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>Invisible Seeker. They don't have any special abilities, but as the name says they're invisible. You have to guess where they are to attack them.</li><li>Mind Whipper. Aside from looking pretty rad, I suspect that these stand-ins for D&D's Mind Flayer drain Intelligence. I'm not completely sure, but I did notice that my Intelligence score had been lowered after this dungeon foray, and they seem like the most likely culprit.</li><li>Zorn. A stand-in for the D&D Xorn. Xorns eat gems in D&D, but in <i>Ultima</i> they have no special abilities.</li><li>Daemon. Tough, but with no special abilities.</li><li>Balron. Even tougher, but also with no special abilities.</li></ul><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_U8lzVzdvX8/X5fTTCxaPXI/AAAAAAAAGTA/ZBkgWgKYk4wQhtaEk19QWb4kelm1HgVNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaMindWhipper.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_U8lzVzdvX8/X5fTTCxaPXI/AAAAAAAAGTA/ZBkgWgKYk4wQhtaEk19QWb4kelm1HgVNwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaMindWhipper.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Not gonna lie, this guy looks pretty dope.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0dSOhWHLXPk/X5fTcM1J80I/AAAAAAAAGTE/LLELhCm11KEvofw9WCnKuCXOUOP8DOXnACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaDaemon.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0dSOhWHLXPk/X5fTcM1J80I/AAAAAAAAGTE/LLELhCm11KEvofw9WCnKuCXOUOP8DOXnACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaDaemon.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A baggy-shirted Daemon.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--4sSrFtAsH8/X5fTrsqqpMI/AAAAAAAAGTM/em6z-W9qsCIIZukk9_hCSB89KGUKA-VsACLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaZorn.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--4sSrFtAsH8/X5fTrsqqpMI/AAAAAAAAGTM/em6z-W9qsCIIZukk9_hCSB89KGUKA-VsACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaZorn.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>That's its mouth on top of its head, if you're wondering.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CjnkrJVdc1c/X5fT1LENleI/AAAAAAAAGTU/Mv6D0fqb-wo20frJHp8diEdliokM7kfhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s560/UltimaInvisibleSeeker.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="560" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CjnkrJVdc1c/X5fT1LENleI/AAAAAAAAGTU/Mv6D0fqb-wo20frJHp8diEdliokM7kfhQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/UltimaInvisibleSeeker.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The most accurately depicted monster in the game.</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I did press on playing after this, but I'll end the post here. My next goal is to head into space to become a Space Ace, which involves <i>Ultima</i> inexplicably becoming a 3-D space combat game. I mentioned before that this game is wild, didn't I?</div></div>Nathan P. Mahneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.com2