Eamon Adventurers Guild
December 1993
The Eamon Adventurers Guild
December 1993
News and Stuff
Not much news of any real importance. A guy named Darrell Raines has announced that he is developing a GS-only version of Eamon. So far there hasn’t been anything to look at, but I like a lot of the ideas that Darrell has. We’ll have to wait and see if anything significant materializes.
Elsewhere on the GS front, I recently obtained a “loaner” GS and Innerdrive for use in my duties as an assistant on GEnie. I still have to obtain some hardware and a lot of software to get it up to speed, but it’s just a matter of time. Meanwhile, my hot-rod 7mhz 3MB IIe will continue to be my workhorse.
A friend of mine recently read the last couple of newsletters, and gave me a real razzing for sticking my byline on every single article. I hadn’t noticed how silly that looks until she pointed it out to me. There was a time when we got enough editorial submissions to make the byline worthwhile, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen any significant outside input. So I’m going to start dropping most of my bylines on the assumption that you can figure out who wrote it.
Note that the part of North Carolina where I live has a NEW AREA CODE, due to area growth. My telephone area code is now (910).
New Eamon submissions have been slow for some months now. In the past year I’ve seen a trend that I can’t explain. At least a half-dozen people, probably more, have consulted with me on various aspects of Eamon design. Several have sent in partially-completed Eamons for me to help them with. A couple of them were better than half-finished. Yet none of these new Eamons seem to be making it to the final-test stage.
This is a new phenomenon. In the past, virtually every Eamon that I knew was in development went on to be completed and released. Has the high standard set by the best Eamons discouraged the release of “average” ones? Or is it somehow related to the maturity of the Apple II?
We’re spiffing up the incentives for sending in new Eamons or old Eamons that aren’t in the list. Starting now, any new Eamon submission will earn you a two-for-one credit. In other words, if you send in a new Eamon, we will send you any two Eamon adventures (yes, I said “Eamons”, not “disk sides”) of your choice in return. If the new Eamon is pretty good, we will offer you a bigger credit. I would expect a 7-rated Eamon to earn a minimum of four credits, probably more.
However, we reserve the right to withhold credit if it looks like the sole purpose of the submission is to obtain free Eamons. A 2-rated or 3rated Eamon will certainly earn the credit, but a 10-room, 2-monster dungeon that isn’t even worth releasing will not earn credit.Don’t forget that there will also be prizes for the best new Eamon of the year, too!
Eamonaut of the Month
That can only be Phillip Moore, who regularly sends me pages and pages of bug reports and general commentary. Phillip, you have won six disk sides of Eamons; send me a list and I’ll get them out to you.
Runner-up is Ralph Glatt, with a letter that had lots of interesting ideas and comments. Ralph wins four disk sides of his choice.
EAMON ADVENTURER'S GUILD
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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.
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New Adventures
Eamon DDD 7.1 Multi-Disk Supplement
This disk has been neglected for several years after it became apparent that nobody is likely to ever use it. This new release brings the 7.0 MDS fully up to 7.1 specs and fixes a few other minor bugs. The MDS contains the tools required for making Eamon adventures of virtually limitless size. I wish that I had a good idea for a 400-room adventure, just so that I could use it!
Dungeon Designs
Beating Eamon or Cheating for fun and profit
One of the really friendly things about an interpreted language like Applesoft is that you can stop the program, examine and change the program variables, then resume the program anywhere you want to. This enables the knowledgeable Eamonaut to look into the workings of the adventure and regain the upper hand in an Eamon adventure that is beating him badly.
Terminology
- <Return> the key labelled “Return”
- <Ctrl-C> hold down the key labelled “Control” (“CTRL” on a II+) and then press the “C” key. The “Control” key works just like the “Shift” key. <Ctrl-C> is a special code that halts a running Applesoft program.
- (v7) the version 7.x Eamon MAIN PGM
- (v4-6) earlier versions of the MAIN PGM
To Halt a Running Program
To stop a running Eamon adventure, type
To Resume Play
To resume play of an Eamon program at the YOUR COMMAND? prompt, type: POKE 51,0:GOTO 100
The POKE is necessary to tell DOS that a program is running. If you don’t add the POKE, the program will eventually crash with a NOT DIRECT COMMAND error.
Variables
Here are some useful variables for you to know:
Rooms
- NR…total number of rooms
-
V%(x) “seen” flag for rooms eg: if V%(22) = 1 then you have already been in Room 22. If V%(22) = 0 then you have not been in that room yet. - RO…room number of the room you are in
- R3…room number of the last room you were in
- R2…room number of the room you are moving into
Artifacts
- NA……..total number of artifacts
- A$(x)…..name of an artifact (v7)
- AN$(x)….name of an artifact (v4-6)
- A%(x,4)…location of an artifact (v7)
- AD%(x,4)..location of an artifact (v4-6)
Artifact Locations (v7) | Code | Location | Example | |————-|———————————–|——————————-| | 1 to 200 | In room 1-200 | 71 means Room 71 | | 201 to 400 | Hidden in room 1-200 | 271 means hidden in Room 71 | | 501 to 700 | Inside container artifact 1-200 | 524 means inside Artifact 24 | | -1 | Carried by the player | | | -2 to -201 | Carried by monster 1-200 | -62 means carried by Monster 61 |
Artifact Locations (v4-6) | Code | Location | Example | |————-|———————————–|——————————-| | 1 to 100 | In room 1-100 | 71 means Room 71 | | 101 to 200 | Inside container artifact 1-100 | 124 means inside Artifact 24 | | 201 to 300 | Hidden in room 1-100 | 271 means hidden in Room 71 | | -1 | Carried by the player | | | -2 to -101 | Carried by monster 1-100 | -62 means carried by Monster 61 |
Monsters
- NM……..total number of monsters
- M$(x)…..name of a monster (v7)
- MN$(x)….name of a monster (v4-6)
- M%(x,5)…location of a monster (v7) eg: M%(13,5) = 37 means that Monster 13 is in Room 37
- MD%(x,5)..location of a monster (v4-6)
- M%(x,1)…a monster’s hardiness (v7)
- M%(x,13)..a monster’s hit damage (v7)
Note that the above variables for (v4-6) are the standard ones. There are several (v4-6) Eamons that use a variable set that is similar to the (v7) one; examples can be found among my own and Sam Ruby’s Eamons, and there are others as well. If you get a BAD SUBSCRIPT error while trying any of the techniques listed below, try listing the code at lines 100-200 to see what variable names are used in the program.
Peeking into a Running Program
All of these examples are meant to be typed after halting the game with
- To see which rooms you haven’t visited:
FOR I = 1 TO NR: PRINT V%(I): NEXT
- To list the numbers & names of all artifacts:
FOR I = 1 TO NA: PRINT I,A$(I): NEXT
- To list the locations of all artifacts:
FOR I = 1 TO NA: PRINT I,A%(I,4): NEXT
- To list the numbers and names of all monsters:
FOR I = 1 TO NM: PRINT I,M$(I): NEXT
- To list the locations of all monsters:
FOR I = 1 TO NM: PRINT I,M%(I,5): NEXT
An Example
Suppose you are on a Quest for a Magic Sceptre of some sort. You have been everywhere and LOOKed everywhere, and you haven’t found it. You are at your wit’s end, and are ready to cheat! OK, after halting, take these steps: (This example is for v4-6.)
1) First, find the artifact’s number: FOR I = 1 TO NA: PRINT I,MN$(I): NEXT
(As the artifact list scrolls by, watch for the Sceptre’s name in the list. Use
2) Find the Sceptre’s location: PRINT AD%(13,4)
Let’s say that the Sceptre is in Room 144. We know that locations in the 101-200 range are containers. Thus, the Sceptre is contained in Artifact #44.
3) Find out the container’s name: PRINT AN$(44)
Let’s say that it is named SMALL DOOR.
4) Find the container’s location: PRINT AD%(44,4)
Let’s say that it’s in Room 259. Ah ha! We know that locations in the 201-400 range have descriptions that are “embedded” in the room’s description, and don’t appear until they are acted upon. The door is in Room 59.
5) Have we been in Room 59? PRINT V%(59)
“Teleporting” to Other Rooms
This is a very simple thing to do. The entry point for this is line 3500 in the MAIN PGM. This routine will move you and your companions to whatever room is defined by the variable R2. This works just like an ordinary move; your enemies may chase you, also!
Let’s say that we want to jump to Room 59 where that Sceptre is hidden: R2 = 59: POKE 51,0: GOTO 3500
If V%(x) shows that you have not been in the room yet, then you shouldn’t “teleport” there, because you may be jumping past important plot elements and may make the adventure impossible to complete. If you haven’t been there yet, list all of the rooms’ flags and “teleport” to the nearest room number that you have been in. Once there, look for the entry to the room you want. This doesn’t always work, because rooms are seldom numbered in exact sequence, but it often works out quite well.
Resurrecting Yourself (DOS 3.3)
When you see that YOU HAVE DIED! Type
- If you fell in combat, or were killed by POWER or a deathtrap:
DI = 0: M%(0,13) = 0: POKE 51,0: GOTO 29060
- If you walked into a deathtrap room that you should better have avoided entering:
DI = 0: M%(0,13) = 0: R2 = R3: POKE 51,0: GOTO 3500
Resurrecting Yourself (ProDOS)
When you see that YOU HAVE DIED! Type
- If you fell in combat, or were killed by POWER or a deathtrap:
DI = 0: M%(0,13) = 0: POKE 51,0: GOTO 29060
- If you walked into a deathtrap room that you should better have avoided entering:
DI = 0: M%(0,13) = 0: R2 = R3: POKE 51,0: GOTO 3500
The program will immediately crash. Type:POKE 51,0: GOTO 29060
Getting Out of No-Exit Traps
After halting at YOUR COMMAND?, type: R2 = R3: POKE 51,0: GOTO 3500
Healing Yourself
- If you are getting beat up badly in combat, you can halt at YOUR COMMAND? and type:
M%(0,13) = 0: POKE 51,0: GOTO 100
- If you want to beef up the HEAL command after it’s pooped out on you:
S2%(2) = 2000: POKE 51,0: GOTO 100
Cutting the Bad Guys Down to Size
If the bad guys in the adventure are impossibly difficult to kill, you can make them one hitaway from death with this line:
- (V4-6)
FOR M = 1 TO NM: MD%(M,13) = MD%(M,1) * (MD%(M,14) = 1): NEXT: GOSUB 3600: GOTO 100
- (V7)
FOR M = 1 TO NM: M%(M,13) = M%(M,1) * (M%(M,3) = 1): NEXT: GOSUB 3600: GOTO 100
This will only affect monsters that you have actually met up with that are your enemies.
Bugs’n’Fixes
Dungeon Designer Disk 7.1 MAIN PGM Date Fixed: 9/19/93
Problem: NEXT WITHOUT FOR error if a neutral monster flees. Fix: In Line 330, change GOTO 490 to NEXT : GOTO 500
Problem: WT is reduced any time anybody’s weapon is dropped or broken, even if not player. Fix: In Line 7530 and Line 7540: change: WT = WT - A%(W,3) to: WT = WT - ((OF = 0) * A%(W,3))
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DDD 7.1 Multi-Disk Supplement Date: 8/21/93
This disk has been neglected for several years; this release brings all 7.0 and 7.1 bug fixes up to date and fixes several other minor bugs.
There was only one new bug fix of consequence: in MAIN PGM MULTI-DISK, Line 35015, change 36000 to 36010.
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EAG Eamon Utilities Disk DESC EDIT Date Fixed: 8/22/93
Problem: UNDEF’D STATEMENT in 618 Fix: Delete Line 618
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Eamon #36 Citadel of Blood Date Fixed: 11/14/93
Problem: UNDEF’D STATEMENT IN 2015 Fix: In Line 2015, change GOTO 2500 to GOTO 2510
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Eamon #43 Priests of Xim! Problem: SYNTAX ERROR IN 1200
Fix: This reported problem does not exist in the EAG archival copy. If your copy contains: 1200 ENTFEE = INT (( GO …. then you have the error. The proper code is: 1200 ENTFEE = INT ( GO …
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Eamon #47 FutureQuest Date Fixed: 11/14/93
Problem: SYNTAX ERROR IN 13060 Fix:
13060 RR = INT (100 * RND (1) + 1): IF RR < 11 THEN PRINT : PRINT “THE SECTION OF TUNNEL YOU ARE IN “: PRINT “ COLLAPSES AND YOU DIE.”:DIE = 1: GOTO 2000 13070 IF RR < 86 THEN PRINT : PRINT “YOU HEAR A VERY LOUD SONIC BOOM”: PRINT “ THAT ECHOES THROUGH THE TUNNELS.”: PRINT : GOTO 300
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Eamon #49 The Castle Kophinos Date Fixed: 9/28/93
Problem: ILLEGAL QUANTITY IN 1045 Fix: New lines: 1045 AD%(44,4) = -1 5045 MD%(40,5) = 0: MD%(41,5) = 0: MD%(42,5) = 0: AD%(44,4) = 0: GO = 0
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Eamon #50 Behind the Sealed Door Date Fixed: 11/14/93
Problem: UNDEF’D STATEMENT IN 11020 Fix: In Line 11020, change 11030,11040,11050 to 11030,11035,11045
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Eamon #148 Journey to Jotunheim Date Fixed: 11/14/93
Problem: UNDEF’D STATEMENT IN 9100 Fix: This adventure was derived from Eamon #124, and Line 9100 is part of #124 and not #148. It is EXTREMELY unlikely that you would see this error because of the conditions necessary for it to execute, but to be on the safe side you should delete Line 9100.
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Eamon #166 Storm Breaker CONCLUSION pgm. Date Fixed: 10/19/93
Problem: UNDEF’D STATEMENT IN 485 Fix: In line 485, change 2520: to 485
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Eamon #217 Eye of Agamon Date Fixed: 9/18/93
Problem: bad room connections Fix: Edit the database to make these changes: In Room 86, North to 85 In Room 68, South to 61
Adventure Reviews
#49 The Castle Kophinos by Don Doumakes
Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski
MAIN PGM Version: 5 Extra Commands: WEAR, REMOVE, DRINK Deleted Commands: None Special Features: Special artifacts Playing Time: 1-2 hours Reviewer Rating: 7.0
Description: “The Castle Kophinos, once one of the most splendid houses in the land, has fallen upon hard times. Five years ago, it is said the wealthy and reclusive Nikos Kophinos (owner of the castle) made an unheard-of trip into town. Furthermore, he was on foot, and was in a state of utter hysteria about ‘the devils’ having taken over his castle. No one has visited the castle since– least of all Nikos, who is still ‘resting’ at an insane asylum.
“Naturally, this has hurt the Kophinos family reputation. Distant relatives have offered a reward to anyone who can ‘clean out’ the castle completely. No one has collected.
“The reward is more valuable than gold. The Kophinos family has commissioned the forging of a magical sword, a sword of awesome power and breathtaking beauty.
“But the family is very insistent that the castle be completely cleared of malevolent beings. If even one remains, you forfeit the reward.”
Comment: I found this adventure to be a pleasant play; not especially difficult, yet complex enough to keep my interest. Right at the beginning, it gets interesting as you encounter a wizard-merchant who wants to sell you such things as healing potions, invisibility rings and Holy Hand Grenades.
Even though it was kinda fun to play with this new magical hardware, I didn’t find any genuine need for any of it. Buy the extras if you want to play with them, but don’t worry overmuch about when or where to use them.
One of the more interesting features of this adventure is a couple of adventurer’s journals that offer pointers and warnings about the castle. While it did add to the overall interest, the journals gave very little useful aid and were actually counterproductive in several places.
The usual, proper way to play this Eamon is to touch all the bases, trying LOOK, READ RED BOOK, READ BLUE BOOK, and all the directions in every single room. There are 80 rooms, and if you do this you will be playing for many hours. Here’s a couple of tips to save some time. LOOK finds nothing extra. The books give about as much bad advice as good advice; they’re fun to use but you can safely ignore them if you want to pick up the pace.
There is an unmarked secret passage that can only be found by trying to go in that direction. Unfortunately, you can’t ignore it because one of the bad guys is back there. Look in the bed rooms for this passage.
There are a couple of death traps. Be sure to do a save every so often. I think I’ll put the difficulty at about (7), for the unmarked secret passage and the death traps, though the bad guys aren’t all that difficult and there are no puzzles to solve.
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#128 Quest of Erebor by Sam Ruby
Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski
MAIN PGM Version: 6 Extra Commands: DIG, COUNT, WAIT Deleted Commands: None Special Features: Special Dwarf handling Playing Time: 1-3 hours Reviewer Rating: 6.0
Description: “Ages ago, there was Moria, the Dwarven home. But darkness came, and we were forced to leave. It was then that Thror went to Erebor, the Lonely Mountain of the East. There he built the kingdom in exile, and became King under the Mountain. The Dwarves prospered and traded with the Northmen of Dale and Esgaroth.
“Smaug the Terrible he was, a dragon from the Withered Heath. He destroyed Dale and entered the main gate of Erebor. Once inside he killed all the Dwarves, sealed the passages, and gathered the treasure. For two hundred years he has sat there. Now it is time for us to regain our gold and kingdom. Our journey itself will be perilous, for we must go through the north of the Forest of Fear, Mirkwood. Then we must reach Erebor and face the dragon.
“There must be a secret entrance. Our map does not show where it is, but there are words that prove that one is there, somewhere.”
Comment: The above paraphrases Sam’s intro, which is somewhat longer. In short, this adventure is based on J.R.R. Tolkein’s “The Hobbit”. You will accompany Bilbo Baggins and the fifteen Dwarves on their Quest to slay Smaug and regain the Lonely Mountain. You will play all the parts that Bilbo played in the book.
I give this adventure an (8) for difficulty. There are parts that may not be simple to figure out unless you have read “The Hobbit”. If you have read the book, then the adventure will be easier as you will know what the correct course of action is, and will only have to figure out how to do it in the context of Eamon play.
As you might expect, having 16 to 18 companions would make a real mess out of the play, but Sam has thoughtfully made modifications so that instead of seeing 15 different Dwarf names each turn, you only see “The Dwarves are here.” And the COUNT command enables you to list them to see who may be missing.
This is a clever adventure that captures much of the feel of “The Hobbit”, without the fairy-tale touches that pervade the book. Sam added lots of special stuff to make many of the book’s events come to pass in a very readable and entertaining fashion. But here is where the rating suffers: the special programming isn’t very flexible and sometimes does a poor job of handling the events if you don’t make exactly the moves that Sam envisioned.
It is for this reason that I revised my ratings of the adventure. When I originally played it years ago, I must have had less trouble than I encountered for this review playthrough. I had sufficient difficulty that I lowered my overall rating by one number and bumped the difficulty up by one number.
One last thing: this adventure is pretty well stuffed with bad guys. Hack’n’slash fans will likely enjoy this adventure a lot. There are plenty of unfriendly spots, so be sure to save early and often.
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#154 A Trip to Fort Scott by William H. Trent
Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski
MAIN PGM Version: 6 Extra Commands: None Deleted Commands: None Special Features: Hi-Res splash screen Playing Time: 30-60 min. Reviewer Rating: 7.0
Description: “You are on your way to your 50th high school reunion at Fort Scott, Kansas. On the way you have been commissioned by the Adventurer’s Guild to look into the strange happenings in and around the Mulholland Tunnel located in the Santa Monica Mountains. There have been reports of strange creatures appearing and of people disappearing in the area.
“A famous dancer named Amanda is among those who have disappeared. Your main quest is to find Amanda and her cousin Matthew and return them to their home. Some who supposedly escaped have mentioned being transported in some weird way to Civil War times. The police have dismissed these stories as hallucinations of weirdos and have given up searching. You don’t believe the stories are true but……..”
Comment: This is a nice, little adventure with some fun and interesting stuff happening. It is a simple foray with no mental heavy lifting. I found it to be a relaxing play. However, Dr. Trent isn’t kidding about it being for advanced characters. Some of the bad guys are really powerful, so there is something for the hack’n’slash crowd, too.
The map isn’t the most clear and coherent that has ever been seen in Eamon, but the dungeon is only 52 rooms, so it’s not a serious detraction. Much of the special events and developments are fashioned in a way that young Eamonauts will probably enjoy, while still being entertaining for adults.
The time shifting into the past comes and goes rather abruptly, and may seem poorly crafted unless you remember that the introduction specifically described this type of activity.
It’s a pretty easy adventure, with no mental heavy lifting. The worst of the bad guys can be safely bypassed if you know where they are, so it’s worth doing an occasional save. I give it a (4) for difficulty.
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#217 Eye of Agamon by Hoyle Purvis
Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski
MAIN PGM Version: 7 Extra Commands: TALK, BUY, SELL, EAT Deleted Commands: SAY, PUT Special Features: None Playing Time: 1-2 hours Reviewer Rating: 7.0
Description: “You have been contacted by the king of Dorier to aid in the fight against the forces of the Darklord. Your journey to the capital city if perilous. The Undead have overrun much of the country and have laid siege to Dorier itself. Fighting your say through to the city, you are greatly praised for your skill and bravery.
“The king needs you to complete a most vital mission. You are to travel to the city of Duron, enlist their help, and return with the Eye of Agamon. The Eye is an ancient magical charm that can be used once each one hundred years to defeat the Undead.
“You are given the ‘Seal of Dorier’, a magnificent golden ring, to prove that you are the king’s messenger. Do not lose it! You will be slain if you cannot prove who you are.
“Hurry! We cannot hold out for long.”
Comment: Hoyle has crafted his most complex Eamon in this nice offering, using several ideas and features in ways that have been rarely used in the past. The TALK command was done well. There is a well-done seafaring segment. Plot development occurs, sometimes dramatically, as you progress on your Quest. You can even hire assistance at one point.
A bit of advice: things aren’t really as grim as they may seem. Don’t make needless enemies, and be sure to use TALK and INVENTORY to find out who are and are not your real friends.I give it a solid (7) for difficulty. A couple of points require careful reading to determine how to proceed. This is a sophisticated play and well worth a look.