Source:Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter, September 1989

This page is a verbatim reproduction of original source material and should not be edited except for maintenance.
Description	The Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter, September 1989 issue.
Source	Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter Archive
Date	September 1989
Author	Eamon Adventurer's Guild; Tom Zuchowski (editor)
License	Permission has kindly been granted by the copyright holder for this copyrighted item to appear in the not-for-profit Eamon Wiki website. Permission granted by Matthew Clark in email with Huw Williams on 22 November 2012.
Previous item	Source:Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter, June 1989
Next item	Source:Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter, December 1989

The Eamon Adventurer's Guild
September 1989

Editorial

by Tom Zuchowski

As you can see, this is a special large issue of the EAG newsletter. We completed a validation program last month for the entire Eamon library, and found several errors. The result is a 4-page "Bugs 'n Fixes" section this time around; it didn't seem right to cut any regular features, so we decided to bite the bullet and spend an extra 55 cents per issue. There are a number of "real" bug fixes in among the disk corrections, too. We are making a special update offer for members on certain Eamon adventures. See the "Bugs 'n Fixes" section for details.

Contest: So far, we have received 3 contest entries. Several people have also written to say that they are working on an entry. One person has already called to say that he would need a 2-week extension. How he can know this far in advance that he will need an extra two weeks is anybody's guess.

On another subject, it seems like everyone in Eamondom has done a custom version of the Master Disk at one time or another. Pat Hurst has nearly completed a Macintosh HyperCard version; he can use some play-testers, if you are interested. We must have 6 or 8 different Main Halls around here that various people have submitted. It's not clear to me why this is such a popular program to modify, since many if not most Eamonauts never use it except to launch an adventure. The FRESH SAM program on the Utility disk has proven very popular, as it allows the player to bypass the Master Disk altogether!

If time permits, we are going to do a special feature on modified Main Halls, and are considering listing them in a special list. If you have any comments on this, we would be very glad to see them.

Expiration date: The usual reminder: be sure to check the expiration date next to your name on the address. If it is "JUN 89" and highlighted in yellow, this is your last issue.

Back Issues

Note: The Mar'84 issue is now available. Apple-based back issues of the formerly Apple-based NEUC's Adventurer's Log are available from us:
   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: Jun'88, Sep'88, Dec'88, Mar'89, Jun'89

All issues are $2.00 each.

Adventure updates

You may obtain updated versions of your Eamon adventures from the EAG. Send in a copy of the adventure to be updated and $1.00 per copy to cover our cost, and an updated copy will be returned to you. You must include a copy of each adventure for which you wish an update.

We want to improve Eamon all we can; this includes getting authors to use the latest and best version. Therefore, the version 7.0 Dungeon Designer Diskette and the 7.0 Multi-Disk Supplement may be obtained from us for $1.00 each (US & Canada; foreign $2.00 each).

Eamon Adventurer's Guild

Thomas Zuchowski, Editor

Membership/subscription fee for 4 issues:
US-Canada: $7.00; foreign: $12.00; in U.S. funds

The Eamon Adventurer's Guild is published 4 times per year in Mar., Jun., Sep., and Dec.

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 list, send it on a disk to the above address. It will be assigned an adventure number, and tested for bugs and other problems before release. An informal critique and disk with bug corrections will be returned.

New Adventures

179	The Wizard's Tower	by Robert Parker
180	Gamma 1	by Robert Parker
181	The Eamon Sewer System	by Robert Parker
182	Farmer Brown's Woods	by Robert Parker
183	The Boy and the Bard	by Sam Ruby

In The Wizard's Tower, your quest is to seek out the evil wizard and destroy him. There are several nice effects in a basic loot-and-kill scenario. This is a good Beginner-level Eamon for young Eamonauts. Arguably Robert's best Eamon to date.

In Gamma 1 you are sent into a parallel universe (21st-century Earth) to explore a radioactive wasteland. There is no quest in this Beginner-level Eamon, but it has an interesting "radiation" feature.

In The Eamon Sewer System, you have "volunteered" to clean out the sewers under the Main Hall. A bare-bones "hack&slash" scenario against mundane monsters.

In Farmer Brown's Woods, you must escape from the walled farm. No-puzzle "hack&slash" against mundane, repetitious enemies.

The Boy and the Bard is another top-notch Sam Ruby offering. It is reviewed in this issue.

Terminological Inexactitudes

Who is this Robert Parker fellow; the man who claims to have 30 ideas cooking in his head for new Eamons? Is he a young genius? Rich playboy? Two-headed monster?

One theory suggests that he is a death-row inmate, racing against time to make his mark in Eamon.

Another hints that he is actually a reclusive alien, whiling the hours away writing Eamons while serving time on this primitive backwater planet.

But the most plausible theory proposes that he is not one person, but is in reality an insidious KGB plot to undermine Eamon gaming by burying the poor Eamon librarian under more new Eamons than anyone could possibly keep up with. A subtle plan, to be sure, but ingenious; once Eamon goes, can the rest of the free world be far behind?

Dungeon Designs

Using Effects for Eamon Games with Version 7.0

by Robert Parker

Being somewhat new to the use of Effects in an Eamon game, I have sat down and written out a mini-manual for beginning Eamon designers. The use of Effects is not explained in great detail in the designer manual, and I sorely needed to understand them. After a letter of help from Tom Zuchowski, and the study of the Eamon games Eamon v7.0 Demo Adventure and Assault on Dolni Keep, I understand them a bit better now. I wrote down the uses as I came across them, and a wide variety of uses did I find.

Effects can be used for several things. They can print on the screen the message on a note found in a bottle. They can print something when a sword is picked up. They can be used to "scare" the player. Etc...

Below follow just a few examples of the uses of Effects. Different people use Effects for different uses. Don't let this be a guideline of how to use them, but rather use it to give you ideas of what to do with them.

For those who don't know (i.e. beginners), Effects are stored in EAMON.DESC, record numbers 401 through 600.

Basically, to print out an Effect, one would have a line like this in the MAIN PGM:

R = 401: GOSUB 45

Where R is the record number of the Effect to be printed. In this example, we are printing Effect #1. Since Effects are stored at 401-600, we must add 400 to the Effect number to get the record number. GOSUB 45 calls the subroutine that reads in and prints EAMON.DESC records.

But the question here is, where would one have an Effect in the program? One such place would be in lines 3070-3390 (MOVE). An example of a use in this area would be like this:

3070 IF R2 = - 300 THEN R = 425: GOSUB 45: GOTO 100

R2 is the room to be moved to. When the player tries to move to a room connection with a negative number, he is not actually moved. This allows extra programming to be added for special stuff. In this example, we are using a room connection of (- 300) to trigger the printing of Effect #25, or record #425. Such an Effect might be something like: THE CAR RACES PAST YOU, ALMOST HITTING YOU. THE DRIVER LEANS OUT THE WINDOW AND SHOUTS SOMETHING ABOUT BEACHES. Another example is: WALKING INTO THE CRUSHER, YOU BARELY JUMP OUT BEFORE IT FLATTENS EVERYTHING INSIDE OF IT!

Another interesting use of Effects would be this: you are climbing a mountain. Every now and then, this happens: SUDDENLY, A LARGE BOULDER COMES CRASHING DOWN, NOT 5 FEET FROM WHERE YOU STOOD A MOMENT AGO! This could be generated this way:

510 IF RO < 24 OR RO > 36 THEN 100
520 IF RND(1) > .7 THEN R = 401: GOSUB 45

RO is the current room number. In this example, the mountains are rooms 24 through 36, and the Effect is #1. 100 is the beginning line number of the YOU SEE code that prints what you see in the room.

Line 520 sets up a random number, which will be greater than 0 but less than 1. In this example, if it is .7 or less, the effect will not be printed. What this does is to set the odds to be 70% that it will not happen and 30% that it will. You can set this number to anything between .01 and .99.

Putting this code in the 500-900 programming area will cause it to print out after any monster attacks take place and before the YOU SEE printout. Another good place to put it is in the 201-209 area, where it will print just before the YOUR COMMAND? prompt. If there isn't enough room in the 201-209 area, you can GOSUB to some free line numbers somewhere else.

Another Effect could be added to our "mountain effects" like this. Imagine that we have 6 effects that are Effects #1-6:

530 R = INT(RND(1) * 6) + 1: IF R < 6 THEN R = R + 400: GOSUB 45

In this way it produces a random effect. Effect #1 might be the "huge boulder" line printed previously. Effect #2 might be: YOUR HAND SLIPS! YOU BEGIN TO FALL, BUT CATCH YOURSELF AT THE LAST MOMENT! Effect #3 might be: TINY ROCKS BEGIN TO PELT YOU FROM ABOVE. IT APPEARS THAT SOMEONE OR SOMETHING IS THROWING THEM DOWN ON YOU.

Another kind of Effect would involve picking up a weapon or artifact:

4145 IF A = 8 THEN IF NOT QQ THEN R = 405: GOSUB 45: QQ = 1
4235 IF A = 8 THEN IF NOT QQ THEN R = 405: GOSUB 45: QQ = 1

In this example, the Effect is #5 and it is printed when Artifact #8 is picked up, but only if QQ = 0. If QQ = 1, then the artifact has been picked up before and the Effect is not printed. You could use another variable name besides QQ that is not already being used. Line 4145 covers a regular GET command, and Line 4235 covers the command GET ALL. If you have a lot of something like this to handle, you could do it like this:

31440 DIM QQ%(NA)
4145 IF A = 8 THEN IF NOT QQ%(8) THEN R = 405: GOSUB 45: QQ%(8) = 1
4235 IF A = 8 THEN IF NOT QQ%(8) THEN R = 405: GOSUB 45: QQ%(8) = 1

This code does the same as above, but instead of a single variable QQ, you use an array QQ%() that has a location for every artifact. This makes keeping track of them easier for you while programming the adventure. You can use any array name, as long as it is not already being used. Consult the Designer's Manual to see which array names are already in use.

Here's another example, using the array technique:

4146 IF A = 9 THEN IF NOT QQ%(9) THEN R = 478: GOSUB 45: DF = 0: D2 = 3: GOSUB 7636: QQ%(9) = 1
4236 IF A = 9 THEN IF NOT QQ%(9) THEN R = 478: GOSUB 45: DF = 0: D2 = 3: GOSUB 7636: QQ%(9) = 1

In this example, when artifact #9 is picked up for the first time, then Effect #78 is printed, then the player takes 3 points of damage.

For use of Effects when reading a note or label, etc., refer to lines 23000-23210 in the MAIN PGM. The use of Effects here is already added to the MAIN PGM. You use DUNGEON EDIT 7.0 to make the note a "Readable" artifact type, and put the number of the Effect in the field that is titled 1ST EFFECT. If it is a long message, you can use sequential effect numbers and then put the total number of Effects to be printed in the # OF EFFECTS field. If there is just one effect to be printed, # OF EFFECTS must be 1.

I am now through describing some basic uses of Effects. Any further ideas should be used by you. If you have any interesting uses for them, please drop me a line with your idea. I'd love to hear some others. Thanks to Tom Zuchowski for writing to me explaining how to use Effects. Robert Parker, 4025 Sunset Pl., South Bend, IN 46619.

Eamon Forum

Dear EAG:

It has been my pleasure to design Eamon adventures these past four years, and I have been overjoyed to see several of my adventures reviewed by Bob Davis, Pat Hurst, and Tom Zuchowski in the newsletter. The praise has been very kind and the criticism, fair and constructive.

However, on the occasion of the appearance of a review, by Nathan Segerlind, of Elemental Apocalypse in the June 1989 issue, I feel compelled to respond to reviewer's comments and correct some misinformation presented within the article.

The writer suggests that you would do best to pick a swordsman of some sort from the 10 characters there are to choose from. First of all, all 10 characters are capable of completing the adventure (the burden is on the player, not on his choice of character), and while important characteristics (hardiness, agility, heal spell, weapon skills, and weapons) vary amongst them, in the balance of the game no particular characteristic takes on a greater significance than the others.

Learning to use different classes of weapons is an integral aspect of the game. Whatever character you choose, certain portions of the game will be easier because of his starting stats and others will be more difficult, so choose a character because you like him/her and not because you think he'll beat the system.

I will take my lumps for the drop of blood and a few other tricks that could have been done better or left out. It's not a normal drop of blood – how many stone arches have you seen that bleed – but it could have been clued better to make the blood seem anything but innocuous. However, in general I feel unfairly criticized for designing "numerous traps". Since, as the writer concedes, they "can be found and most of the time disarmed" or avoided, they are terminally dangerous only to "careless" players, what's the problem?

Elemental Apocalypse is the most ambitious Eamon ever attempted both in size (approximately 400 rooms, 240 monsters, 135 artifacts) and story (the plot, which is original, could fill a thick book). That it is too long for the reviewer suggests that he wants something short and simple, akin to preferring The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The story is developed within the adventure, with an all-important plot twist occurring halfway (that's two disks!) into the adventure. Subplots are woven within the segments and between them. The story would not be the same without any of the four parts of the adventure.

As to the AD&D flavor, I would remind the reviewer that Eamon was intended as a computerized D&D game. I consciously designed the resemblance in a purposeful move away from the world of Tolkein, to create a realm where anything could be encountered and the possibilities for entertaining the player with monsters and magic items would be limited only by by plot. While copy-cat descriptions might occur within, say, a Goblin camp or a Frost Giant stronghold, you will not find a wider variety of monsters and artifacts in any other adventure. The constant change of settings (an indoor forest, an arid wasteland, a marshy river valley, a forest, foothills, mountains, a mysterious valley, a castle, an arduous climb up a snow-covered mountain, and four elemental planes, to be brief!) makes the adventure anything but bland.

Finally, the references to game mechanics are essential. A significant challenge of the game is the selection of the most effective armour and weapons, and I would rather tell the player that the "silver sword" he finds in a chest in part 2 is more powerful than the "anti-magic bow" than let him try to fight with the bow and get slaughtered. There are so many different weapons and types of armour that without telling the character what is what, the game would be impossible. It is hard enough as it is, even with most weapons, armour, and healents well-described. Perhaps the reviewer would prefer that potions of extra-healing not be described as such, but during a fight against three fierce Fire Giants (for example), most players would like to know the difference between a healing potion (which heals 2-8 pts of damage) and an extra-healing one (which heals 2-16). Knowing which one to drink could be the difference between life and death. Furthermore, was the reviewer also disappointed that poisons and cursed items could be detected as such? I mean, if you really want to be "real", the only way to find out what something does would be to try it...

Sam Ruby
1718 41st Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94122

(See the Adventure Reviews, this issue)

Adventure Reviews

#100 Sorceror's Spire

by John Nelson

Reviewed by Nathan Segerlind

MAIN PGM version: 6
Extra Commands: PRESS, WEAR, THINK
Deleted Commands: LIGHT
Special Features: THINK cmd gives small hints; best magic in all of Eamon
Playing Time: 3+ hours
Reviewer Rating: 6.5   Average Rating: 7.9/4

Description: While sleeping behind the stables, you heard that a traveler crawled into town, all but dead, and barely made it to the doctor's house. You went to see the man. He was severely burned by magical blasts. The man didn't wake, but would mumble about the Sorceror's Spire.

The Sorceror's Spire is a school for wizards and the leader in mystical research. The dean, Xandar, was getting old, and was said to be working on an immortality spell in order to head off a power struggle after he dies. Whoever controlled the school would be the leading influence in magic for years to come. Being short on sense and long on guts you venture to the Sorceror's Spire to find out what is going on.

Comment: This is a very complex and difficult adventure. The plot is confusing, and the puzzles are not easy to identify or to solve. A saving point is that its use of magic is the best I've ever seen in Eamon. Your allies and enemies cast spells in combat, much more than the simple "blast". There's an impressive array of spells that the player can cast, for combat, as part of puzzles, and for other things.

The adventure was all very coherent and everything fit together very nicely. The puzzles all make sense, save for the main quest (reviving Xandar), which is difficult to even recognize, much less solve. I would have given it an (8) rating except for the extremer vagueness of this puzzle. You may or may not like this adventure, depending on whether you are able to recognize certain key elements of the plot.

#149 Elemental Apocalypse

by Sam Ruby

Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski

This adventure was reviewed by Nathan Segerlind in the June '89 EAG. As some of you know, Nathan has very strong opinions about what is right and wrong in Eamon, and he doesn't pull any punches. Sam wrote a strong protest concerning the low rating that Nathan gave this adventure (the letter is printed in its entirety in the Eamon Forum column of this issue). Sam makes several good points; in the future I will monitor reviews more closely and will give the author the chance to respond before publication if the review seems excessively harsh.

The adventure itself is actually a series of 4 full Eamon adventures that are linked together. Each adventure must be completed in order to pass through a "portal" that transports you to the next disk. There is no way to exit back to the Main Hall once the adventure is undertaken without completing all 4 disks.

I found the armor and AD&D stuff (that Nathan disliked) to be a plus in that it helped make this Eamon a unique adventure, unlike any that have come before or since. It did seem to me that the special weapons favored swordsmen, or at least heavy-duty fighters; I chose a magician as my character and had a lot of trouble surviving.

I went back through my old notes and correspondence from mid-1987 to see just exactly what Pat Hurst and I thought about Elemental Apocalypse. Here is a condensation (the second number of each rating is for difficulty):

Disk 1:	Tom-(8:9)	Pat-(8:10)	(loaded with death traps)
Disk 2:	Tom-(6:6)	Pat-(7:9)	(1st half tedious & boring, 2nd half excellent)
Disk 3:	Tom-(8:7)	Pat-(9:7)	(best disk of the 4)
Disk 4:	Tom-(8:9)	Pat-(7:9)	(sudden death everywhere)
Overall: (8:9)

My notes say: "It is an excellent effort. There was a definite thrill to completing each segment and going on to the next, causing an escalation of interest with each one. There is a big investment in time and effort by the player here, and you get well wrapped up in the story/plot as you proceed along." Further notes refer to the extreme danger of various traps and monsters, making the adventure extremely difficult to survive.

#169 The Black Phoenix

by Roger Pender

Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski

MAIN PGM version: 6
Extra Commands: RETREAT, SALUTE, SURRENDER, COMPUTER, MISSILE, COMMO
Deleted Commands: FLEE, BLAST, HEAL, POWER, SPEED
Special Features: 10-direction adventure; character's personal weapons not used
Playing Time: 2–3 hours
Reviewer Rating: 7   Average Rating: 7.8/3

Description: After a struggle of nearly 300 years, Sol system has been devastated, but the fight continues between the two empires. It is now 5688, and the Star League and Procyon Confederation are locked in mortal combat on the planet Apollonia in the Epsilon Indi star system.

The special forces team of the 101st (the Black Phoenix) has been reactivated, and you have been called up under your old commission. After six months of intensive training, you find yourself orbiting Apollonia in the troop carrier Sulu Sea, receiving final instructions before you drop to the surface. As you step into the drop capsule the technician gives you a thumbs up sign. You are on your way to hell with the Black Phoenix.

Comment: The introduction is much longer and more detailed than the above description, outlining galactic history and describing your reinstatement in the Black Phoenix. Roger's galactography is rather hazy (he admits that he was more interested in how it sounded than an accurate map), but it is a treat to read the historical section if you are a science-fiction fan.

This adventure has many of Roger's science-fiction trademarks: personal computer, menu-driven options for special commands, and so on. The adventure does not have a single quest but has 6 missions that must be performed that begin with a simple reconnoiter of an enemy position, progress through various rescue and covert activities, and end with a very rough "hold until relieved" firefight.

You command a team of on-the-bounce fighters. You keep track of your mission requirements and progress through your computer, though you actually receive each from your commander. You periodically receive fresh equipment and replacements. The COMMO command is great fun; you can call in an air strike or artillery support, or a med-evac if required. Each option brings up its own special screen, and the responses are well timed for realism.

There are some minor puzzles to be solved with each mission, but the main thrust of this Eamon is space opera, and it is well done. There are 40-odd special effects, and they cover a lot of special events. Highly recommended to fans of military science fiction.

#183 The Boy and the Bard

by Sam Ruby

Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski

MAIN PGM version: 6 (heavily modified)
Extra Commands: SWITCH, USE, WAIT, PLAY, ENTER, RESUME
Deleted Commands: TAKE, BLAST, HELP, POWER, SPEED, WAVE
Special Features: musical instruments; can READY artifacts in either or both hands; 2-game SAVE; can RESUME a saved game at any time; uses a special character; reusable containers
Playing Time: 2–5 hours
Reviewer Rating: 8.5

Description: You were orphaned at an early age, and were taken under the wing of the village Bard, who taught you wonderful stories and gave you musical instruments, and taught you how to play spells on them. The Bard was a powerful musical magician who often aided the King's men. He braved many dangers but was finally killed by the evil Kroger. Enraged, you set out to avenge his death, though you were but a small boy. Kroger's men captured you, took your instruments, and laughed as they sent you away.

Six years have passed, and one day you overhear two of Kroger's men talking in a tavern. One of them mentions where each of your magical instruments was cached. Older now, but still desiring revenge, you resolve to recover your instruments and kill Kroger.

Comment: Sam Just keeps cranking out Eamons with amazing detail and overall high quality. The feature of readying artifacts in either hand is novel and makes this Eamon special. For example, you need to READY a torch in order to light it, but you will want to carry it readied in your left hand in order to keep your sword ready in your right. Sam adds realism to the player's inventory by severely limiting the number of items that can be carried loosely but adding a backpack, pocket, and scabbard to store things in. The musical instrument spells are another new feature in Eamon, and are well executed. Besides the new commands, many of the old ones were extensively reworked to accommodate new features; the commands are well explained in the introduction, and the command descriptions can be dumped to a printer if desired.

As usual, Sam's puzzles are tight, tough, and often fatal. To compensate for this, two simultaneous SAVEs are allowed, and either can be RESUMEd at any time during play, or after a fatal move. There are approximately a half-dozen major puzzles, and they are good ones, new to Eamon, and made up of lesser puzzles.

The player's character is not used but is returned unharmed to the Main Hall. Instead, Sam supplies a "boy" character to be used that has exactly the qualities and abilities that are described in the introduction. There is a fair amount of dangerous combat, but it involves semi-random denizens of the forest; the puzzles can not be bulldozed past using brute strength, but must be solved.

Puzzle fanciers will love this one. Fans of Sam's work will be well entertained by the detailed story and special stuff. Fans of the "Hack&Slash" genre and those who enjoy using a super-character to smash all opposition will be disappointed. I give it a (9) for difficulty, because of puzzle difficulty and the good chance that wrong choices will be fatal.

Bugs 'n Fixes

When the EAG was originally set up, we were using a public-domain disk-copy program to distribute Eamon adventures to the Public-Domain sellers. A couple of bad copies surfaced, and it was thought at the time that the disk copier had made bad copies because of tangled Eamon files. This copy program had been used for years by me without problems, so it was not suspected.

Recently some more bad copies have surfaced. It prompted me to look over my "work library" (I have two libraries; one is used for copying, testing, playing, and modifying; the other is never used or played or even modified but is for emergency backup). These new discoveries have prompted me to thoroughly test the entire library, using the CHECK FILES pgm and Quality Software's Bag of Tricks FIXCAT utility. All programs were visually examined for completeness.

I discovered widespread VTOC errors (the VTOC keeps track of which sectors on the disk are free and which have been used). This is the source of the bad disk problem. What happens is that the FRESH MEAT file is written to already occupied disk space. If it is a program, the program will crash, and examination will reveal that much of it is missing. If it is a text file, the adventure will crash with an OUT OF DATA error.

As far as I know, this problem only affects EAG versions. If your disk is not an EAG version, it may well be OK. A program is underway to replace all of the known problem Eamons with our public-domain affiliates, and will soon be done, perhaps by the time you read this.

If you wish to correct the VTOC errors in your own EAG copies, here are the adventures that we found VTOC errors on:
  2,3,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,20
  23,24,25,31,32,35,37,38,40
  41,42,43,44,46,47,48,50,52,54,55,56,57,58,60
  62,63,64,65,66,67,69,70,71,72,73,75,76,79,80
  81,84,95,96,98,99,100
  111,112,113,116,117(40-col.),123

To insure the safety of your own Eamons, do not modify these disk in any way unless you have first made a fresh copy using FID or another file transfer program like Copy II Plus. Do not make a "whole disk" copy, or you will copy the VTOC errors, too. The copy must be made file-by-file. Once this has been done, the new disk will have a good disk map.

Note that Eamon #123 has no DOS on the disk.

We apologize for any problems that you may have encountered because of this mix-up. To help make up for it, we are making a one-time offer to our membership: we will send members free updates of the following Eamon Adventures, or any other adventures that can be shown to have OUT OF DATA errors or truncated programs:

  7, 24, 45, 60, 72, 81, 109, 138, 142

These conditions must be met in order to get the free updates:

1. They must be EAG versions.
2. The "Last Update" must be older than the fix dates listed in the following bug reports.
3. You must send a copy of each Eamon to be updated. They need not be originals, and you can double-side to save postage. We will double-side your updates.

Dungeon Designer Diskette 7.0 MAIN PGM

Date Fixed: 5/23/89; 8/17/89; 8/26/89

Problem: NEXT WITHOUT FOR error if the last member of a group monster flees the room.
Fix: In Line 333, change RETURN to GOTO 500
      In Line 336, change GOTO 490 to GOTO 500

Problem: Healing potion counter doesn't decrement when used to heal monsters by giving them the potion.
Fix: Add this statement to line 9300: A%(A,6) = A%(A,6) - 1

Problem: GET S$ subroutine doesn't exit correctly.
Fix: 4905 IF NOT LT THEN POP: GOTO 100

Problem: Armor Expertise doesn't work right.
Fix:

7600 IF NOT OF THEN UP = (100 * RND (1) > WM +
     WA%(W2)): IF RND (1) * 100 < WA%(W2) THEN IF ABS
     (EA) > 10 * RND (1) AND AE < AC * AC THEN AE = AE
     + 2: EA = AE - AC * AC
31120 EA = 0: IF AE < AC * AC THEN EA = AE - AC * AC

Some changes were made to the Designer's Manual:

1. All instances of "DUNGEON EDIT" & "DUNGEON LIST" were appended with "7.0" to reduce confusion over which program should be used. Also, this paragraph was added directly beneath the title "USE OF THE DUNGEON DESIGN DISKETTE" on page 1:

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are 2 edit & list programs on this disk. Do NOT use the programs DUNGEON EDIT or DUNGEON LIST on a version 7 Eamon. It will mess up the data files! Use ONLY the ones marked 7.0 for version 7 databases! See the Utilities Manual for more information.

1. The phrase, "(Closed = 1; Open = 0)" was added to the descriptions of the Container, Drinkable, & Readable type artifacts.

In the Utilities Manual, the section on DUNGEON EDIT & DUNGEON LIST had this sentence added: DO NOT USE THESE PROGRAMS ON A VERSION 7 EAMON!

DDD 7.0 Multi-Disk Supplement

Date Fixed: 6/6/89

Problem: The single-drive option doesn't work. Fixes were necessary to two programs:

DUNGEON EDIT 2-DISK program

7 REM DD4 6/6/89

20 VD = DK: IF DR = 1 THEN VD = 1
21 IF DR = 2 OR DK = CD THEN PRINT
   D$"VERIFY"DK$(DK)",D"VD: RETURN
22 IF DR = 1 AND DK < > CD THEN PRINT:PRINT D$"CLOSE":
   PRINT CHR$(7);"INSERT ";DK$(DK);" IN DRIVE":PRINT
   "THEN HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE":GET A$:PRINT: CD = DK
23 PRINT D$"VERIFY"DK$(DK)",D"VD
24 IF DK = 1 THEN PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.MONSTERS,L";LM;
   ",D1": PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.ARTIFACTS,L"LA
25 IF DK = 2 THEN PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.DESC,L242,D"DR:
   PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.ROOMS,L"LR
26 RETURN

50 PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.NAME,D1": PRINT D$;"READ
   EAMON.NAME": INPUT DU$: INPUT ND$: INPUT DV$: PRINT
   D$;"CLOSE"

90 IF DR = 2 THEN DK = 1: VD = 1: GOSUB 23: DK = 2:
   VD = 2: GOSUB 24

(Delete Line 140)

36020 PRINT: PRINT "PUT 'BOOT' DISK IN DRIVE 1": IF DR
      = 2 THEN PRINT: PRINT "PUT ADVENTURE DISK IN DRIVE 2"
36030 PRINT: PRINT "HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE:": POKE
      -16368,0: GET A$: PRINT A$

INPUT DATA 2-DISK (1-DRIVE) program

7 REM ID4 6/6/89

20 IF DR = CD THEN PRINT D$;"VERIFY "DR$(DR): RETURN
21 PRINT D$;"CLOSE": PRINT "INSERT ";DR$(DR); " IN 
   DRIVE": PRINT "THEN HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE": GET
   A$: PRINT
22 PRINT D$;"VERIFY "DR$(DR)
23 PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.DESC,L242: IF DR = 1 THEN PRINT
   D$;"OPEN EAMON.MONSTERS,L";LM: PRINT D$;"OPEN
   EAMON.ARTIFACTS,L";LA
24 IF DR = 2 THEN PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.ROOMS,L";LR
25 CD = DR: RETURN

65 PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.FILES":PRINT D$;"READ
   EAMON.FILES": INPUT X,N%(2),X,N%(4),LR,LM,LA: PRINT
   D$;"CLOSE"

(Delete lines 70 and 140)

7013 PRINT D$;"CLOSE EAMON.DESC": PRINT D$;"CLOSE
     EAMON.MONSTERS": PRINT D$;"CLOSE EAMON.ARTIFACTS"
7016 DR = 2: GOSUB 20: PRINT D$;"CLOSE EAMON.DESC":
     PRINT D$;"CLOSE EAMON.ROOMS"

#1 – Master Disk & Beginner's Cave

Date Fixed: 8/18/89

Problem: Parameters show 9 Effects, but there are only 6. CHECK FILES crashes, but the adventure will play OK.

Fix: Run this program (do not add it to the disk):

10 D$ = CHR$(4)
20 PRINT D$"OPEN EAMON.DESC"
30 PRINT D$"WRITE EAMON.DESC"
40 PRINT "26": PRINT "23": PRINT "6": PRINT "10"
50 PRINT D$"CLOSE"

#7 – The Devil's Tomb

Date Fixed: 7/6/89

Problem: Records 124 & 125 trashed in EAMON.DESC. Your copy may or may not have this problem. You can verify it using the CHECK FILES Utility program. If CHECK FILES runs OK, you do not need this fix. However, as the problem was caused by a VTOC error, it would be a good idea to build a new copy, using FID, as outlined below.

Fix:
Record #124:YOU SEE A VERY SMALL SPEAR MADE OF SOLID GOLD.
Record #125:YOU SEE A MONKEY WRENCH WHICH CAN BE USED FOR MECHANICAL WORK OR CAN BE USED AS A CLUB.

(Before performing this fix, you must make a new copy of the adventure. A new disk must be initialized with the program EAMON ADVENTURE #7, and all of the files transferred to it using the FID utility after the records have been restored. Do not use a whole-disk copier!)

Run this program to rewrite record #124. Note that this code is not to be added to the adventure, but is only for the purpose of restoring a text file record, and is not to be added to the disk:

10 D$ = CHR$(4)
20 A$ = CHR$(34) + "YOU SEE A VERY SMALL SPEAR MADE OF SOLIDGOLD."
30 PRINT D$;"OPEN EAMON.DESC,L256"
40 PRINT D$;"WRITE EAMON.DESC,R124"
50 PRINT A$
60 PRINT D$;"CLOSE"

Repeat the procedure for record #125.

#16 – The Caves of Mondamen

Date Fixed: 7/18/89

Problem: Vaprak keeps reappearing, even after the evil wizard has been killed and Vaprak has been banished.

Fix: In Line 16620, change RV = 8 to RV = 0
      In Line 25510, change RV = 7 to RV = 7 OR NOT RV AND NOT VP

#24 – Black Mountain

Date Fixed: 7/20/89

Problem: Records #30-33 trashed in EAMON.DESC. See #7 above for discussion and fix of problem.

Fix:
Record #30: YOU ARE IN A SOUTHERN CHAMBER. THE ONLY EXIT YOU CAN MAKE OUT IS TO THE NORTH.
Record #31: YOU ARE AT A NORTH/SOUTH BY WEST 'T' INTERSECTION. THERE ARE TORCHES BOLTED TO THE WALLS HERE, SO YOU CAN SEE BETTER THAN BEFORE.
Record #32: YOU ARE IN A NORTH/SOUTH TUNNEL. THERE IS A CHAMBER TO THE EAST, AND ANOTHER TO THE NORTH.
Record #33: YOU ARE IN A LARGE NORTHERN CHAMBER. THE ONLY EXIT IS TO THE SOUTH.

#35 – The Lair of Mutants

Date Fixed: 7/4/89

Problem: UNDEFINED STATEMENT ERROR IN 2015

Fix: In Line 2015, change 2500 to 2510

#36 – The Citadel of Blood

Date Fixed: 7/6/89

Problem: Track/Sector list errors. This could possibly cause whole-disk copy errors. If you copy passes CHECK FILES, it should be OK.

Fix: Ran Bag of Tricks's FIXCAT program. If you do not have it, then initialize a new disk using the program EAMON ADVENTURE #36. Use FID to transfer the files. Do not use a whole-disk copier!

#45 – Swordquest

Date Fixed: 7/6/89

Problem: Records #132 & 133 trashed in EAMON.DESC. See #7 above for discussion and fix of problem.

Fix:
Record #132:YOU SEE EXCALIBUR. IT MAKES ALL OTHER WEAPONS SEEM INSIGNIFICANT BY COMPARISON. YOU WOULD ALMOST GIVE YOUR SOUL TO POSSESS IT.
Record #133:YOU SEE A BEAUTIFUL SILVER GOBLET.

#58 – The Land of Death

Date Fixed: 7/20/89

Problem: Not converted to version 4 format. Runs OK, but cannot be verified with CHECK FILES, or edited or listed using standard programs.

Fix: Converted sequential files EAMON.ARTIFACTS & EAMON.MONSTERS to random files, L128. Converted EAMON.ROOM NAMES from L32 to L64.

#60 – The Sewers of Chicago

Date Fixed: 7/20/89

Problem: Bag of Tricks indicates a Track/Sector List error.

Fix: Was repaired using Bag of Tricks. If you don't have this utility, copy disk to a fresh disk using FID. Run CHECK FILES to verify.

#72 – House on Eamon Ridge

Date Fixed: 7/22/89

Problem: Record #316 of EAMON.DESC trashed. See #7 above for discussion and fix of problem.

Fix:
Record #316:THROWING OFF SOME ROCK, ARISES A SKELETON, LARGER ENOUGH TO BE OGRE SIZE !

#81 – The Rescue Mission

Date Fixed: 7/25/89

Problem: Record 324 & 325 of EAMON.DESC trashed. See #7 above for discussion and fix of problem.

Fix:
Record #324:YOU SEE A GOONISH FIGHTER-TYPE, WITH A PATCH ON HIS CHEST MARKED '03'
Record #325:YOU SEE A GOONISH FIGHTER-TYPE, WITH A PATCH ON HIS CHEST MARKED '04'

#85 – The Time Portal

Date Fixed: 7/25/89

Problem: Was not converted to version 4 format. Runs OK, but cannot be verified with CHECK FILES, or edited or listed using standard programs.

Fix: Convert EAMON.ARTIFACTS from sequential to random files, L128. Convert EAMON.ROOM NAMES from L32 to L64.

#94 – Blood Feud

Date Fixed: 7/27/89

Problem: Number of Effects is incorrect. Runs OK, but will crash CHECK FILES pgm. Examination revealed that there are NO effects.

Fix: Run this program (do not add it to disk):

10 D$ = CHR$(4)
20 PRINT D$"OPEN EAMON.DESC"
30 PRINT D$"WRITE EAMON.DESC"
40 PRINT "99": PRINT "70": PRINT "1": PRINT "38"
50 PRINT D$"CLOSE"

#108 – The Mines of Moria

Date Fixed: 6/29/89

Problem: Too easy to inadvertently initialize the adventure disk instead of the Save disk.

Fix:

18045  POKE - 16368,0: PRINT: PRINT "INSERT A BLANK
       DISKETTE AND PRESS 'C'   TO INITIALIZE SAVE DISK
       OR ANY OTHER KEYTO ABORT SAVE:";: GET A$: PRINT
       A$: IF A$ < > "C" THEN 100
18047  PRINT DK$;"INIT MAIN PGM"

#109 – The Forest of Fear

Date Fixed: 7/29/89

Problem: CHECK FILES crashes on EAMON.ROOMS files 57-59. These rooms are not used, and this does not harm play of the adventure.

Before performing this fix run CHECK FILES on your disk. If it passes OK, do not perform this fix!

Fix: Run this program (do not add it to disk):

10 D$ = CHR$(4): X = 0
20 PRINT D$"OPEN EAMON.ROOMS,L64"
30 FOR R = 57 TO 59
40 PRINT D$"WRITE EAMON.ROOMS,R"R
50 FOR A = 1 TO 7: PRINT X: NEXT: NEXT
60 PRINT D$"CLOSE"

#138 – Starfire

Date Fixed: 7/30/89

Problem: CHECK FILES crashes on EAMON.DESC file for room #2. This room is not used and does not affect play of the adventure.

Before performing this fix, run CHECK FILES on your disk. If it passes OK, do not perform this fix!

Fix: Run this program (do not add it to disk):

10 D$ = CHR$(4)
20 PRINT D$"OPEN EAMON.DESC,L256"
30 PRINT D$"WRITE EAMON.DESC,R2"
40 PRINT "ROOM 2"
50 PRINT D$"CLOSE"

#142 – The Beermeister's Brewery

Date Fixed: 7/18/89

Problem: EAMON.DESC crashes on rooms 16 & 75. These rooms are not used, and do not affect play of the adventure.

Before performing this fix, run CHECK FILES on your disk. If it passes OK, do not perform this fix!

Fix: Run this program (do not add it to the disk):

10 D$ = CHR$(4)
20 PRINT D$"OPEN EAMON.DESC,L256"
30 PRINT D$"WRITE EAMON.DESC,R16"
40 PRINT "ROOM #16": PRINT D$
50 PRINT D$"WRITE EAMON.DESC,R75"
60 PRINT "ROOM #75"
70 PRINT D$"CLOSE"

#143 – The Alternate Zone

Date Fixed: Not fixed

Problem: MAIN PGM was rewritten to use record 0 of the data files. This throws the counting off by 1, and CHECK FILES crashes. This does not affect the play of the adventure.

Fix: Not fixed. Listed here for informational purposes only. CHECK FILES can be run on this adventure only with great difficulty, because the order of Rooms, Artifacts, Effects, & Monsters has been changed.

#149 – Elemental Apocalypse

Date Fixed: 5/26/89

Problem: You can't complete the mace

Fix: (Fix is to the MAIN PGM on 149d, the 4th disk)
In lines 21030 and 21060, change DISSEMBLED to DISASSEMBLED.

#155 – Tomb of the Vampire

Date Fixed: 8/1/89

Problem: Parameters show 12 Effects, but there is only 1. CHECK FILES crashes, but the adventure will play OK.

Fix: Run this program (do not add it to the disk):

10 D$ = CHR$(4)
20 PRINT D$"OPEN EAMON.DESC"
30 PRINT D$"WRITE EAMON.DESC"
40 PRINT "52": PRINT "45": PRINT "1": PRINT "26"
50 PRINT D$"CLOSE"

#161 – Operation Endgame

Date Fixed: 5/26/89

Problem: Hand grenades don't work right.

Fix: In line 11475, change NBTL to M%(NBTL,1)

#162 – Eamon 7.0 Demo Adventure

Date Fixed: 5/23/89

Problem: NEXT WITHOUT FOR error if the last member of a group monster flees the room.

Fix: In Line 333, change RETURN to GOTO 500
      In Line 336, change GOTO 490 to GOTO 500

#167 – Expedition to the Darkwoods

Date Fixed: 6/13/89

Problem: Can't summon wizard.
Fix: In Line 204, change AD%(42,4) = RO to AD%(42,4) = - 2

Problem: POWER can teleport you to a nonexistent room.
Fix: In Line 13110, change 26 to 26 + 1

Problem: POWER fireblast doesn't work right
Fix: In Line 13420, delete the following instructions:

A2 = M + NZ - NM: AD%(A2,4) = RO
13430  NEXT: IH = 0: R3 = RO: GOSUB 3600: GOTO300

Problem: POWER jumps out of a subroutine
Fix: In Line 13045 change GOSUB to GOTO

Problem: POWER resurrect routine is invalid.
Fix: In Line 13050, change 55 to 80.
      Delete line 13060.

#169 – The Black Phoenix

Date Fixed: 6/13/89

Problem: There is a chance that some townsmen will attack you. If you kill them, you are court-martialed.

Fix: Change friendliness of monsters #10-12 to 100%.

176 – The Pyramid of Cheops

Date Fixed: 7/4/89

Problem: Missing quote mark.

Fix: In Line 3080, change YOUESCAPE!" to "YOU ESCAPE!"

Others

#177 – Shippe of Fooles
#178 – The Alien Intruder
Date Fixed: 7/4/89

Problem: Title & adventure wrong in EAMON ADVENTURE pgm
Fix: Put correct title & number in line 0 of this pgm.

#171 – The Pyramid of Cheops
#173 – The House That Jack Built
#174 – Escape from Granite Hall
#175 – Anatomy of the Body
#176 – Dirtie Trix's Mad Maze
#177 – Shippe of Fooles
#178 – The Alien Intruder
Date Fixed: 7/4/89

Problem: FLEE routine crashes.
Fix: In Line 8020, change D$ to DR$
      In Line 8520, change 10 to 6

Eamon Adventure Listing

Column:

1. Adventure Number 2. Adventure Title 3. Difficulty (1-easiest; 10-hardest) 4. Last Revision Date 5. Speed-up Mods installed 6. Reviewed in newsletter

(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
1.	Main Hall & Beginners Cave	3	08/18/89
2.	The Lair of the Minotaur	5	12/15/84
3.	The Cave of the Mind	4	12/15/84
4.	The Zyphur Riverventure	5
5.	Castle of Doom	4	12/15/84
6.	The Death Star	6	12/14/85
7.	The Devil's Tomb	9	07/06/89		Aug84
8.	The Abductor's Quarters	7	06/21/85		Aug84
9.	Assault on the Clonemaster	6	06/21/85		Aug84
10.	The Magic Kingdom	2	06/21/85
11.	The Tomb of Molinar	7	10/16/88
12.	The Quest for Trezore	8	07/03/85		Aug84
13.	Caves of Treasure Island	6	10/30/84
14.	Furioso	9			Aug84
15.	Heroes Castle	6	05/28/86
16.	The Caves of Mondamen	8	07/18/89	Y	Aug84
17.	Merlin's Castle	5	08/27/84
18.	Hogarth Castle	5
19.	Death Trap	9	12/04/84		Aug84
20.	The Black Death	6
21.	The Quest for Marron	8	05/04/89	Y	Aug84
22.	The Senator's Chambers	5	04/24/86
23.	The Temple of Ngurct	7
24.	Black Mountain	8	07/20/89
25.	Nuclear Nightmare	7	09/30/84		Aug84
26.	Assault on the Mole Man	7	09/30/84
27.	Revenge of the Mole Man	7	07/04 85
28.	The Tower of London	6
29.	The Lost Island of Apple	9			Aug84
30.	The Underground City	7	05/04/89
31.	The Gauntlet	6
32.	House of Ill Repute	–	06/19/85
33.	The Orb of Polaris	7	11/28/85		Aug84
34.	Death's Gateway	6	03/03/88	Y
35.	The Lair of Mutants	7	07/04/89
36.	The Citadel of Blood	7	07/06/89
37.	Quest for the Holy Grail	6	12/06/87	Y	Aug84
38.	City in the Clouds	8
39.	Museum of Unnatural History	7	11/15/85
40.	Daemon's Playground	5	04/29/84
41.	Caverns of Lanst	5	06/03/85
42.	Alternate Beginners Cave	3	02/28/85
43.	Priests of Xim!	6	06/04/85
44.	Escape from the Orc Lair	3	06/04/85
45.	SwordQuest	8	07/06/89	Y	May85
46.	Lifequest	9	05/15/85
47.	FutureQuest	7	03/19/88	Y	Mar84
48.	Picnic in Paradise	7	08/16/85
49.	The Castle Kophinos	7	04/04/86
50.	Behind the Sealed Door	3
51.	The Caves of Eamon Bluff	6			May85
52.	The Devil's Dungeon	3	04/07/84		May85
53.	Feast of Carroll	4	12/14/85
54.	Crystal Mountain	7	07/04/85
55.	The Master's Dungeon	4	07/14/84		Jan85
56.	The Lost Adventure	7
57.	The Manxome Foe	4
58.	The Land of Death	6	07/20/89
59.	Jungles of Vietnam	1	10/12/88	Y	Mar85
60.	The Sewers of Chicago	2	07/20/89	Y	Mar89
61.	The Harpy Cloud	6	05/27/86
62.	The Caverns of Doom	–	05/17/85
63.	Valkenburg Castle	–	07/31/85
64.	Modern Problems	–	07/22/85		Mar89
65.	The School of Death	–	04/04/86		Mar89
66.	Dungeons of Xenon	4	07/04/85
67.	Chaosium Caves	–	07/04/85
68.	The Smith's Stronghold	5	01/29/89	Y
69.	The Black Castle of NaGog	5	04/07/89	Y	Jun89
70.	The Tomb of Y'Golonac	9	06/07/87		Sep88
71.	Operation Crab Key	1	08/26/84		Oct84
72.	House on Eamon Ridge	10	07/22/89	Y
73.	The Deep Canyon	4	10/07/84		Oct84
74.	DharmaQuest	8	10/16/88	Y	Jan85
75.	Temple of the Guild	5			Oct84
76.	The Search for Yourself	6	11/28/85		Oct84
77.	Temple of the Trolls	9	12/31/85	Y	Jan85
78.	The Prince's Tavern	7	09/14/85	Y	Jan85
79.	The Castle of Count Fuey	7	11/03/84
80.	The Search for the Key	4	11/03/84
81.	The Rescue Mission	8	07/25/89
82.	Escape from Mansi Island	5	12/09/86
83.	The Twin Castles	4	12/07/86
84.	Castle of Riveneta	–	05/27/86
85.	The Time Portal	–	07/25/89
86.	Castle Mantru	3	06/05/87
87.	Caves of Hollow Mountain	–	09/20/85		Mar89
88.	The Shopping Mall	1	10/12/88
89.	Super Fortress of Lin Wang	9	11/12/86
90.	The Doomsday Clock	9	12/10/84
91.	FutureQuest II	7	12/04/87	Y	Aug85
92.	The Fugitive	5	11/03/88	Y
93.	Flying Circus	–	07/05/85
94.	Blood Feud	6	07/27/89	Y
95.	The Maze of Quasequeton	1
96.	The Chamber of the Dragons	1	07/15/84
97.	The House of Secrets	–
98.	Slave Pits of Kzorland	–
99.	In the Clutches of Torrik	8	11/08/88	Y	Dec88
100.	Sorceror's Spire	9	06/03/87	Y
101.	Ground Zero	2
102.	The Eamon Railroad	2	06/20/85
103.	Top Secret	–	06/20/85		Mar89
104.	The Lost World	–
105.	The Strange Resort	–
106.	Camp Eamon	6	07/01/85
107.	The Last Dragon	7	06/02/87	Y
108.	The Mines of Moria	8	06/29/89	Y	Oct85
109.	The Forest of Fear	6	07/29/89	Y	Jun86
110.	Fire Island	5	12/08/87	Y
111.	A Vacation in Europe	4	06/16/88	Y	Oct85
112.	Hills of History	5	06/16/88	Y
113.	The Life-Orb of Mevtrelek	8	06/16/88	Y	Jun86
114.	Thror's Ring	9	03/30/87	Y	Jun86
115.	The Ring of Doom	–	06/16/88	Y
116.	The Iron Prison	10	06/16/88
117.	Dungeon of Doom	7	08/26/86	Y
118.	Pittfall	6	05/04/89	Y	Jun89
119.	Grunewalde	8	06/16/88	Y	Mar89
120.	Orb of My Life	9	12/07/86	Y	Jun86
121.	Wrenhold's Secret Vigil	8	04/19/88	Y	Jun86
122.	The Valley of Death	5	06/16/88	Y
123.	Wizard of the Spheres	4	06/16/88	Y
124.	Assault on Dolni Keep	6	04/13/88	Y	Oct87
125.	The Mattimoe Palace	4		Y
126.	The Pyramid of Anharos	8	06/16/88	Y
127.	The Hunt for the Ring	9	06/16/88	Y
128.	Quest of Erebor	7	06/16/88
129.	Return to Moria	9	06/16/88	Y	Oct87
130.	Haradwaith	7	06/16/88	Y	Oct87
131.	Nucleus of the Ruby	6	08/07/88	Y
132.	Rhadshur Warrior	9	10/16/88	Y
133.	The Final Frontier	3	06/16/88	Y
134.	Pyramid of the Ancients	3	06/16/88	Y
135.	The Tomb of Evron	2	05/13/87
136.	The Mountain Fortress	2	06/16/88	Y
137.	The Ruins of Ivory Castle	4	06/16/88	Y	Jun88
138.	Starfire	4	07/30/89	Y
139.	Peg's Place	7	06/16/88	Y	Jun88
140.	Beginner's Forest	5	07/18/88
141.	The Infested Fortress	4	09/22/88	Y	Oct87
142.	The Beermeister's Brewery	6	07/18/88	Y	Jun88
143.	The Alternate Zone	6	02/02/87
144.	Gartin Manor	4	10/18/88	Y
145.	Buccaneer!	9	03/30/87	Y	Oct87
146.	The House of Horrors	5	06/16/88	Y
147.	The Dark Brotherhood	9	03/30/87	Y	Jun88
148.	Journey to Jotunheim	7	07/31/88	Y
149.	Elemental Apocalypse	9	05/26/89	Y	Sep89
150.	Walled City of Darkness	10	08/08/88	Y	Sep88
151.	Eamon S.A.R.-1 (Deneb Raid)	5	08/01/88	Y	Sep88
152.	The Computer Club of Fear	6	08/08/88	Y
153.	Lost!	4	04/06/88	Y
154.	A Trip to Fort Scott	4	07/08/88	Y
155.	Tomb of the Vampire	5	08/01/89	Y
156.	The Lake	3	07/04/88	Y
157.	Pathetic Hideout of Mr. R.	5	10/11/88	Y
158.	The Lair of Mr. Ed	7	11/06/88	Y	Sep88
159.	The Bridge of Catzad-Dum	6	11/01/88	Y	Dec88
160.	Monty Python & Holy Grail	6	08/29/88	Y
161.	Operation Endgame	10	05/26/89	Y	Dec88
162.	Eamon 7.0 Demo Adventure	–	05/23/89	Y
163.	The Sands of Mars	4	10/12/88	Y
164.	A Real Cliffhanger	4	11/08/88	Y	Dec88
165.	Animal Farm	8	08/03/87	Y
166.	Storm Breaker	8	03/28/89	Y	Jun89
167.	Expedition to the Darkwoods	–	06/13/89	Y
168.	The High School of Horrors	–	03/09/89	Y
169.	The Black Phoenix	–	06/13/89	Y
170.	Ragnarok Revisited	–	06/24/89	Y
171.	The Pyramid of Cheops	4	07/04/89	Y
172.	The Mountain of the Master	3	05/16/89	Y
173.	The House That Jack Built	3	07/04/89	Y
174.	Escape from Granite Hall	4	07/04/89	Y
175.	Anatomy of the Body	2	07/04/89	Y
176.	Dirtie Trix's Mad Maze	2	07/04/89	Y
177.	Shippe of Fooles	3	07/04/89	Y
178.	The Alien Intruder	2	07/04/89	Y
179.	The Wizard's Tower	4	07/04/89	Y
180.	Gamma 1	3	07/05/89	Y
181.	The Eamon Sewer System	2	07/05/89	Y
182.	Farmer Brown's Woods	1	07/05/89	Y
183.	The Boy and the Bard	9	08/26/89	Y
Dungeon Designer Diskette Ver.7.0			08/26/89
DDD 7.0 Multi-Disk Supplement			06/06/89
Dungeon Designer Diskette Ver.6.2			05/23/89
Eamon Utilities Diskette
Graphics Main Hall

End Notes

by Tom Zuchowski

The subject this time around is reliability. The "Bugs & Fixes" section this issue runs about 5 pages, and describes a number of problems that we found in the "official" EAG library.

The best check on your own Eamons is simply to play them. If you can successfully play a given adventure, then it is probably a good copy. You can verify that Eamon data files by using the Utility program CHECK FILES, which will verify that all of the descriptions and data can be read without encountering an OUT OF DATA error. The best check for the programs themselves is (besides running them) to simply LOAD and LIST the highest-numbered lines. If the end of the program looks right and doesn't have any garbage or abruptly truncated lines, then it is probably OK.

Further checks can be made with commercial programs. The disk verifier on Copy II Plus is very good at catching errors. Catalogs and disk free space maps can be validated with the FIXCAT program on Bag of Tricks.

Because of its very structure and its use by beginner-level programmers, Eamon is quite vulnerable to picking up subtle errors. Be careful, and keep backups of anything important.

CHECK FILES will not verify some Eamon adventures because they have non-standard file structures. If CHECK FILES encounters an error, it could be for one of these reasons:

1. non-standard file lengths. You can check these by listing the MAIN PGM's INIT section to see if it opens the various data files as random files and to the correct standard lengths (ROOMS:64; ROOM NAMES:64; ARTIFACTS:128; MONSTERS:128; DESC:256).
2. non-standard file format. The older, obsolete Eamon versions used some sequential files. A couple adventures have rearranged EAMON.DESC file structure from the standard arrangement (ROOMS:records 1-100; ARTIFACTS:101-200; EFFECTS:201-300; MONSTERS:301:400). Some Eamons defy verification because of heavy modification, such as #143, 161, & 166.
3. incorrect parameters NR, NA, NE, NM. These 4 variables are stored in record 0 of EAMON.DESC, and define the number of rooms, artifacts, effects, and monsters, respectively. It is possible to misuse DUNGEON EDIT in such a way that these numbers become larger than the actual number of records. Since CHECK FILES uses these numbers, it will crash with OUT OF DATA errors when it attempts to verify the nonexistent records.

---

Nathan Segerlind received a copy of Sam Ruby's letter that is printed in this issue. He wrote a letter responding to Sam's and requested that it be run after Sam's. Well, Nathan, as always, pulled no punches and took no prisoners, and it seemed that it would be much like throwing gasoline on a fire to print his letter. Let it suffice to say that Nathan stands by his earlier views, and blamed the "swordsman" character-selection suggestion on me (a true charge). However, it seems appropriate to print Nathan's final comments:

"Final Note: it was my review, I call 'em how I see 'em, the adventure played like a 6, so I gave it a 6. If you don't like that, all you stupid, whiny, wimpy, gay, bleeding heart Commie-loving pinko yuppie Nazis can go back to Iran."

Keep 'em coming, Nathan. Things wouldn't be nearly as interesting around here without you.

---

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to actually participate in a D&D-type adventure; to actually become a master swordsman or a magic user? Dream Park, a science-fiction book by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, describes a future-technology park where people can do exactly that. The story revolves around a group of gamers who have set out to solve a quest that is set in an interesting South Seas mythos that is unlike anything you have ever heard of. I found it to be an excellent story and I could hardly put the book down until the end. Highly recommended.