Source:Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter, December 2000
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The Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter, December 2000 issue. |
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December 2000 |
| Author |
Eamon Adventurer's Guild; Tom Zuchowski (editor) |
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The Eamon Adventurer's Guild
December 2000
News and opinions
I felt bad about the six-page newsletter last time. I'll try to make it up to you in this issue.
In late October I sent out an announcement about the EAG Eamon CD to 60 of the most-recently expired EAG members. To date the response has been just about enough to cover the cost of the mailing. With luck, enough further orders will come in to help defray the costs of the entire project.
Speaking of the CD, you are going to like what you see when you get your new copy! There have been lots of additions and enhancements to the original version, and a lot of it is stuff you've heard of and always wanted to see and play with.
So far, I've limited myself to Eamon-related files and utility programs for the Apple and for emulator management. I'm toying with the idea of also adding a series of old Epyx games, such as Temple of Apshai and Rescue at Rigel. But none of these titles have been officially released into the public domain, even though they are 15-20 years old. If I do add them, the CD will have moved subtly to a "pirate" flavor.
I would really welcome your comments on the subject of what is appropriate material for the EAG CD.
New adventures
| 243 | The Dragon of Aldaar | by Glenn Gribble |
I've heard rumor of this Eamon for years, but was never able to run down a copy for the list. Thanks to the efforts of fellow Eamonaut Tony Baechler, I finally got a hold of a copy.
This is a remarkable Eamon. It appears to use a version 1 MAIN PGM that has been very heavily modified. The specials and the sophistication of the extra programming put this old Eamon on a par with a version 6 Eamon containing lots of programmed specials.
Reviewed in this issue.
Correspondent's Corner
Eamon Adventurer's Guild
Membership/subscription fee for 4 issues:
US-Canada: $7.00; foreign: $12.00; in U.S. funds
This newsletter is published 4 times per year, in March, June, September, and December.
This document is released to the Public Domain. Any part of this newsletter may be reproduced without permission. Please honor the privacy of the members listed herein, and ask their permission before distributing their names or addresses.
This newsletter was composed in its entirety using Word 2000 on a Pentium computer. It was printed on a Hewlett-Packard 830c inkjet printer.
We are always looking for new material! If you would like to publish your own letter or article in this newsletter, feel free to send one in.
If you would like to add your own Eamon adventure to the EAG list, send it on a disk to the above address. It will be assigned an adventure number, and tested for bugs and other problems. An informal critique and disk with bug corrections will be returned for your final comment, action and approval before release.
Back issues
NEUC Adventurer's Log:
Mar'84, May'84, Aug'84, Oct'84, Jan'85, Mar'85
May'85, Aug'85, Oct'85, Jun'86, Jan'87, Oct'87
EAG back issues:
| 1988: | — Jun, Sep, Dec |
| 1989,'90,'91,'92,'93: | Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec |
| 1994,'95,'96,'97,'98: | Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec |
| 1999: | Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec |
| 2000: | Mar, Jun, Sep |
Price:
EAG members: $1.00 each
Non-members: $2.00 each
Our mail-order Eamon vendor:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/kulasoft
Eamons are available online. I recommend these sites:
- ftp://ftp.gmd/de/if-archive/games/appleII/eamon/guild/
- http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/eamon/
- ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/eamon/
Here are some more:
- http://www.ecnet.net/users/mumbv/pages/eamon/index.shtml (also has emulators)
- ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/doc/misc/if-archive/games/appleII/eamon/guild/
- ftp://babylon.caltech.edu/Zocalo/pub/apple2/8bit/games/eamon/
- http://www.lysator.liu.se/eamon/
Last but far from least, http://www.wbwip.com/a2web/ has links to just about every Apple II site that there is.
Product Announcement
Silvern Castle v5.1 is a freeware, Wizardry-like RPG programmed in Applesoft BASIC, that can be played on any A2 under ProDOS with a 3.5" or hard drive (5.25" supported on pre-v4.0 releases).
It can be downloaded at trenco & ground: ftp://www.gno.org/pub/apple2/prodos/games/role.playing or ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2
For reviews and user comments, see Juiced.GS and the Delphi A2 entertainment forum: http://www.delphi.com/apple2/messages
Bugs'n'Fixes
Special note: the Eamon system has pretty much been cast in stone, what with the release of the CD and all. This, plus the fact that very few people ever bothered to make the bug fixes, leads to a new approach to this section.
Instead of giving a programming fix, I will tell you how to avoid the bug while playing. This will keep you running without having to keep track of versions and dates and stuff that almost nobody did anyway.
Having said that, if I find bugs that are true problems, I will list fixes in the old way. See #206 below for an example.
#148 Journey to Jotunheim
Problem: program crashes if you try to get the boots while wearing them.
Fix: Don't do that.
#206 Curse of the Hellsblade
DOS 3.3 ONLY
Date Fixed: 11/13/00
Problem: Guardian does not respond to password, making it impossible to complete the Quest and get rid of the Hellsblade.
Fix: in Line 16020, change R0 to RO
Softdisk Eamons
Problem: program crashes if you use any command with a monster named "S" (e.g.: TALK S.)
Fix: there was a published fix for the version 7 Eamon MAIN PGM in 1990, but Sam didn't make the fix.
Just try to remember to use more than one letter for monsters that begin with "S" (e.g.: TALK ST to talk to a steward.) If you forget, you can always restart with a good old-fashioned GOTO 100.
Adventure Reviews
#243 The Dragon of Aldaar
Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski
| MAIN PGM Version: | 1 (I think) |
| Extra Commands: | THROW, GIVE, DRINK, READ, ENTER, UNLOCK, OPEN, ASK, EAT, REST, SAVE
|
| Deleted Commands: | None |
| Special Features: | stick-figure animations at beginning; "town visit" in introduction; food, drink, and rest required during play; has many version-6-like features |
| Playing Time: | 1 hour |
| Reviewer Rating: | 7.0 |
Description: The intro is a little vague in letting you know what your quest is while it runs you through quite a number of hoops. It appears that you have a dual quest: to rescue a royal relative named Caliban, and to destroy a dragon. Once you get started, escape will be of some interest, also.
As the introduction opens, you get the chance to buy a special potion that will help you with the dragon. Then you move on to a town where you can gather provisions, rest, enhance your magic abilities, and pick up some local folklore.
Shortly after you leave the town, a bridge collapses beneath you and leaves you stranded on a ledge high above a raging river.
And thus the adventure opens.
Comment: As noted in the front of this issue, this Eamon was recently discovered on the Internet in DSK form. As discovered, it had a badly damaged database. Tony used some disk tools to recover the database, but a dozen or so records were mangled in various ways. Some of the lost data could be inferred from related information, but some is just gone. In the end, the monsters and artifacts look pretty good. There are a couple of lost Effects; these were part of the folklore and there is no way to know what was contained in them.
Besides these items, you may find that there are as many as ten rooms or so that you can't access during play. This is because there is an initialization section in the program that randomly opens or closes the passages to these sections. I guess that the author was trying to make his adventure different every time you play it, but the odds are set such that you are unlikely to ever see these rooms. I've never understood why an author would go to the trouble of designing in some rooms and specials and then hiding them so they will never be seen, but it's happened before. I guess they lose sight of the fact that very few Eamonauts ever play an Eamon through more than once.
But the Eamon plays well enough, and there doesn't appear to be anything in the "lost" rooms that is needed for anything. You will still see 80-odd rooms of adventuring, and might see a bit more.
Given that this is a version 1 Eamon, this is a very remarkable adventure. Not only are there a bunch of new commands, but also there is light, fog, canoeing, roping, wandering monsters, readable artifacts, magic spells, special events and more. The player needs to eat, drink, and rest as time passes during play. All in all, I was very impressed.
The original version had a few "features" that vastly increased the difficulty level as well as player aggravation, and that version rated no better than maybe a (4). I made three very minor program changes to up the rating to the (7) that I gave it.
This is a moderately difficult Eamon. There are a couple of no-warning "Gotchas" and several places to get yourself killed if you misread the warnings. I think that the difficulty might set in at about (8) because of the no-warning problems. Still, if you use the save command regularly, you shouldn't get too annoyed when you find yourself in a terminal way.
Here are the inevitable hints, and this Eamon needs them:
Do not ever use the command GET ALL while on water. You will "get" your canoe and drown.
Anything lying on the ground in the room will disappear when you invoke the dragon-weapon spell. That includes your canoe!
Buy lots of food and water. I mean like 300 GP worth or more of each. And eat and drink what you find on the road, too. Try to occasionally catch a bit of rest when you think you are in a safe place.
The spell requires EYE OF CYCLOPS. That's what it is called. You'll need to say that exactly when you try to get it. (That is what the hag called it the intro, so it really counts as a pretty good clue for a word-hunt puzzle, but we all hate word-hunt puzzles.)
Hang out on that first ledge until you hook up with the eagle. Likewise, hang out in bat country until you are able to pick up a dead one. Don't be too quick to kill rats and orcs; they have a random friendliness, and if you get a friendly one, that stops the procession of unfriendly ones.
Be sure to learn the local language when you get the chance. It's a bit of work but worth it. (If you decide that it's too much work, you can cheat around it by setting LAN=1 once the main adventure starts.)
Eamon Walk-Through
| 7 | The Devil's Tomb | Dec00 |
| 19 | Death Trap | Mar98 |
| 62 | The Caverns of Doom | Mar97 |
| 74 | DharmaQuest | Mar00 |
| 77 | Temple of the Trolls | Mar99 |
| 107 | The Last Dragon | Dec99 |
| 114 | Thror's Ring | Dec96 |
| 116 | The Iron Prison | Dec99 |
| 120 | Orb of My Life | Sep98 |
| 126 | Pyramid of Anharos | Jun98 |
| 127 | The Hunt for the Ring | Dec98 |
| 129 | Return to Moria | Jun99 |
| 132 | Rhadshur Warrior | Jun96 |
| 145 | Buccaneer! | Dec97 |
| 147 | The Dark Brotherhood | Sep96 |
| 150 | Walled City of Darkness | Mar96 |
| 161 | Operation Endgame | Jun97 |
| 194 | Attack of the Kretons | Jun00 |
| 206 | Curse of the Hellsblade | Dec00 |
| 220 | Catacombs of Terror | Sep00 |
| 239 | Idol of the Incas | Sep 99 |
| SD137 | Redemption | Jun00 |
I want to make a note about Sam Ruby's best Eamons. You are not seeing Walk-Throughs in this section for Sam's best works, because these Eamons typically include very complete hints and solutions programs on the disk. For example, Storm Breaker has a SOLUTIONS program, and Animal Farm has BASIC TRAINING. Both of these programs offer fairly complete walk-throughs of their own.
Always check your Eamons for bonus programs on the disk! Several of the better authors have been known to do this on occasion.
Here is a list of Eamons that have been considered but not done in this column because they have solutions either in standalone programs, or "online" as you play. This is not a complete list!
| 165 | Animal Farm |
| 166 | Storm Breaker |
| 183 | The Boy and the Bard |
| 204 | Sanctuary |
| 240 | Heart of Gold |
The Devil's Tomb
A Walk-through of Eamon #7
This isn't really all that difficult of an outing, except that there are one or two puzzles that will surely try your puzzling skills as well as your patience!
First, the hints, for those of you who want to try this on your own. These are largely repeats of the hints listed in the review:
- You must often type in full commands with no abbreviations. However, when working with doors, use the object name DOOR instead of the door's listed name.
- The first door can't be opened, but there are two standard commands that will get you out.
- The second door can only be opened, but it takes all of your strength to do so, even that strength you are using to carry your stuff.
Well, let's get started! This time out, we'll take the scenic route and hit almost all of the rooms. I will say to kill most of the denizens you see, but there is a chance that some might be friendly, so you might want to test them before attacking.
As the adventure opens, you find yourself trapped in a cell in the Devil's Tomb. Obviously, your objective is to find your way out, and maybe pick up a little treasure along the way.
First off, let's check the command list. Our new commands are BET, OPEN, and READ. Given the age and level of this Eamon, odds are good that the new commands are special purpose and not general-use.
We need to do something about that door. Hmm, it won't open, and you can't attack it. Let's try magic and use our Power spell. It vanishes! (POWER is the intended command, but if your Power spell is weak, you'll find that a minor programming bug lets GET work just as well.)
Go S into the torture chamber, then W into a cell, and get the diamond ring. Return E.
Continue E into another cell. There's nothing here, so return W.
Head S to a T-intersection. Turn E, and kill the zombie. Continue E and kill the lizard.
Let's look up those stairs: go N three times to a platform and look around. There's nothing here, so return S three times.
Go E into a cell with shiny blue walls. Read the word NEAMO on the floor. If you SAY NEAMO, you will be randomly transported elsewhere in the dungeon. We don't really need to do that, so return W three times to the first T-intersection.
Go W four times. Get the painting and vase along the way if you wish. There's nothing here, so return E.
Turn S to a corridor with a hole in the west wall. Get the bow.
Go W through the hole and kill the torturer. Go U the ladder into a huge cavern. A book! Get the book and read it, and learn the spell TREZORE. (TREZORE is a very powerful spell that is very similar to POWER. It carries the chance of great reward as well as great danger. It looked to me like the odds may favor a harmful result. TREZORE is not needed, but it has a lot of interesting results. Use it at your pleasure and your peril.)
Go S to a 4-way intersection. Continue S into a cell. There's nothing here either, so return N.
Head W and get the ruby. Go N and kill the wildman. There's nothing else here, so return S and E.
Go E down the tunnel. Kill the Blob, then continue E to a T-intersection. Go N — we've been here before, so return S.
Go E to the bend. Read the inscription — hmm, apparently we can't read inscriptions.
Go N into a cell and kill the infant. Get the old book. Sheesh, this can't be read either. There's nothing else here, so return S.
Continue S, then E, then S again. Go S into another cell. Open the box of TNT and find it's empty. Return N.
Go W into another cell and pick up the sling, then return E.
Go E down the corridor and find a golden apple. The apple is a trap that explodes when you pick it up, but the damage is minimal, and you do get to keep the apple.
Continue E to the end of a long hallway. Notice that south wall? Don't do a LOOK yet; we'll be back shortly to check that out. For now, head N up the corridor. Kill the tiger.
Go W into a fancy room, find nothing, and return E.
Go E into the casino, and find a scroll. Get the scroll. It will crumble to dust if you try to read it.
You can BET on the Wheel of Fortune if you wish. This is a very high-stakes game! You bet points of your hardiness, agility, or charisma, and you might die if you get a bad spin.
Return W and go N, then N again to find a dead end. Get the necklace, then return S three times to that wall we noticed.
LOOK, and find a secret passage south! In fact, you've moved into the passage, and there's no going back. You can get the trident, but it belongs to the Devil and it will burn you (a trap). Also, if you try to ready it, it will burn you again and then disappear (another trap).
Go E, and get the bottle. Read the bottle. What's this? It turns out that the bottle is filled with a harmful gas that will slightly injure you if you open the bottle (yet another trap).
Go N into a small chamber, and kill the witch doctor. Get the shield and the gold spear, then return S.
Continue S into another small chamber. Open the chest, and get all. Return N then W.
Continue W, then S to an arch. It says ABANDON HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE. Well, that sounds both promising and dangerous. Let's check it out! Go S through the arch.
The Devil's Temple! Yow, there sure are a bunch of bad guys. Fortunately, they are rather cowardly. Clean them out.
There are exits in all directions, but I'll save you a little aggravation right now and tell you that all of the exits are death traps, except for the way you came in, and the iron door.
That big bolted iron door looks interesting. OPEN doesn't work. POWER doesn't work. TREZORE doesn't work. There's only one way to get it open. DROP ALL, then OPEN DOOR. Pretty obscure, I have to say.
OK, it's open. GET ALL of your stuff, and go W through the door.
You're out! Sell your loot, and head home!
Curse of the Hellsblade
A Walk-through of Eamon #206
Note: in doing this walkthrough, I discovered a serious bug in the DOS 3.3 version that prevents a successful completion of play. See the Bug Fixes in this issue for the fix.
I have two hints for those who wish to play it on their own. First, there are several secret passages that can only be found by going in that direction. In each case the room description will say something about the wall being dark or shadowed in that direction. There is no need to try every direction in every room, but be on the lookout for cues in the descriptions.
Second, there is a means of gaining some control over the Hellsblade. Be on the watch for it. But also remember that an unfettered Hellsblade is a very vicious killing machine, probably better than you in a crunch.
Let's get started!
From the start, we have a clear Quest here: get rid of that darned Hellsblade. There are no new commands, which suggests that this is a straightforward version 7 play.
You begin play outside the cave. First, let's take stock of ourselves and do an Inventory. We have the Hellsblade, but our usual personal weapon is the ready weapon. Let's ready the Hellsblade, instead.
Go W and enter the cave. There's a torch here on the wall. Get it. Continue W, then go N into the chamber. Get the lamp oil and diary. Read the diary and learn about the Guardian and how to control it. Return S.
Go W, then S. Oops. Light the torch. Go W, and stand by helplessly as the Hellsblade kills the bats. Return E, then go E into the room on the other side. After the Hellsblade kills the slime monster, get the gold watch. Return W.
Continue S twice to a T-intersection. The south wall is covered in shadow. Could there be something there? Go S.
A secret tunnel! Continue S to a large temple. Where's that music coming from? Examine the altar. Aha, thought so. Go S and find the Holy Gauntlets. Wear them. The Hellsblade whines! Can you control it now?
Return N three times to the intersection.
Head E, then N, and meet a wolf. The Hellsblade does not attack! You can control it now, even though you can't get rid of it yet. Kill the wolf and get the sword. Return S to the tunnel.
Continue E twice to a 4-way intersection. I guess any old direction is as good as another. Let's try N.
Check out that room E, then return W.
Continue N up the tunnel to a dead end. Kill the rattlesnake. Open the sachel, and get all. Return S twice to the 4-way intersection.
Continue S, and turn W into a closet. There's nothing here, so return E and check out the S room. Kill the grizzly bear. Again, there is nothing, so return N twice to the 4-way intersection.
Head E, and kill the Zombie. Continue E into a large chamber.
Open the silver box. Get all, and read the letter. Aha! The name of John's love is Elizabeth. Return W.
Go S. Kill the dragon. Yes, you do have better control of the Hellsblade! It is only killing your target instead of everyone in sight. Get the treasure chest, then return to the first T-intersection (N,W,W,W,W.)
Continue W twice, then go S into a bedroom. Kill Sodloth, and get all. Return N to the tunnel.
Continue N twice, then turn E. Kill the lime monster. (For your information, this is a tough kill with an ordinary weapon. Ain't this blade something special? Too bad you can't keep it!) There's nothing else here, so return W.
Go W twice, then N, and find a skull. Open the skull and get the lump of gold (weird).
Explore E and find a dead end, so return W.
Continue W into a tunnel. Go N into a study. All that paneling... examine panels. Aha. Go W into a secret chamber. Open the crate and get the skeleton key. Return E and S.
Go S into a laboratory. Examine the table — another secret passage! Go S twice. Get the parchment and learn that you can't read it.
What's this locked door? Open the door and go W. Kill the black demon. (Love this sword!) Return to the tunnel (E,N,N,N.)
Go W three times, and take the N turn at the intersection. Kill the wizard if you must, but he will probably not be an enemy. Get the magic potion, which is a healing potion. There is nothing in the cabinet that you want bad enough to kill the wizard for. If he attacks you, then go ahead and open the cabinet with his key, otherwise it's no big deal. Return S to the tunnel.
Go W to another T-intersection, and again turn N. Go into the W chamber. Open the chest of drawers, and get the gold and comb. Return E.
Continue N into a dining chamber and meet Reshkiv. Return S twice to the last intersection.
Continue S, and check out the E chamber. Kill Puglen and Gimkog, then return W to the tunnel.
Go S, W, then N, and kill Gorgan Toad. Return S.
Continue W and meet a caveman. It's a dead end, so return E twice. Continue E. Enter the chamber to the S, and kill Gromish.
Hmm, the south wall is concealed in shadow. Go S into a secret tunnel. Go S again and kill Habstash. Open the trunk. Examine the clothing. Get the axe and gold bars. (You may be running out of strength to carry stuff here, and may have to begin picking and choosing what to carry.)
(There is a bug in the DROP ALL command that does not set WT back to zero. If it seems to you that you should be able to carry more, do this: DROP ALL. Halt the program with a control-C. Then type WT=0:POKE51,0:GOTO100.)
Go E and get the gold nuggets. Return to the tunnel (W,N,N,N).
Go E into a room. Kill the packrat, and get all. Read the paper. It seems to confirm that the Hellsblade has little power against blessed objects. There are your Holy Gauntlets. What else might there be, to bind it?
Return to the skull (W twice, N twice, E five times), and backtrack to a room you skipped earlier (S,E,E,S,W). Kill the alligator.
Well, we've been everywhere but in that pool. But before we dive in, don't forget that the water will soak and ruin the torch. Drop the torch.
Go D into the water. Go D twice more, to the bottom of the pool. Continue D into the crack. Open the clam, and get the pearl.
The water pressure is getting bad. It could be fatal to dive deeper. But let's check out that overhang to the west — go W twice, then go U three times onto a ledge.
Open the chest. Could this be Elizabeth's necklace that was mentioned in John's letter? Get the necklace and the lantern. Put the oil in the lantern.
Let's look at the room again. That vertical crack looks interesting — examine crack. Thought so. Go W through the crack.
The tunnel is blocked by rubble. Is there anything we can do? Examine rubble. If we could move that slab, we could get through that hole. Open slab. Nope. Attack slab. No good either.
Wait a minute; we've got mining tools! Ready the miner's pick, and attack the slab again. It shatters! Ready the Hellsblade again.
Go W through the hole. Oops. Light the lantern.
Go W. The Guardian! Open the box. The Guardian pushes you away! Say ELIZABETH. (This is what that bug fix is for.) He stands aside! But the box won't open!
Hmm. Let's review by re-reading the diary, letter and paper. The key is nearby, buried in the demon's resting place. There seemed to be a dark doorway in the last room. Return E. The Guardian is not happy, but lets you go.
Go N into the tomb. But before you open the coffin, let's give this a little thought. The coffin will contain a Prince of Hell, and he will be no pushover. Will your skills be sufficient to destroy him?
You can fight him yourself and hope for the best, or you can turn to desperate measures. The Hellsblade is a far more vicious fighter than you are. You can remove the Holy Gauntlets and give it free rein, but if you do, it will kill everyone in the room.
If you choose this path (and you probably should,) be sure to be in perfect health first, because all of your friends will fight for their lives, and will do their best to kill you. Even then, the risk is great, because you have no control over whom the Hellsblade chooses to slay, and it may leave Barbus alive for too long.
One way to greatly improve your chances is to disarm all of your companions by requesting their weapons before you open the coffin. It's a dastardly thing to do, but it's more important to protect the world from the Hellsblade.
Open the coffin and meet Barbus, a Prince of Hell. Kill him, or let the Hellsblade do the job.
Done at last, at terrible cost. Get the gold key, and return S, and W to the golden box.
Open the golden box. A Sacred Scabbard! This is surely a safe container for the Hellsblade. Put the Hellsblade in the Sacred Scabbard.
Oops, it won't go! Wear the Holy Gauntlets, and try again. This time it goes in, against its will.
Put the Sacred Scabbard in the golden box. Safe now!
But is that enough? You still have the key! Put the gold key in the golden box as well. Now no one will be able to open it.
You Quest is fulfilled. Time to leave. Return to the other side of the pool. (E three times, D three times, E twice, U four times.)
Get the torch, and light it. Then return to the entrance (E,S, E twice, N three times, E four times).
And now the world is safe from the Curse of the Hellsblade!
Eamon Adventure Listing
Click here for Adventure Lists
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