The hairy one yet again leaves his dark, dank cave in the depths of Moria to bring you another tale from the wonderful worlds of adventuredom...
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News
Good news for those people who haven't sent off for their copy of the Island from Ken Bond - Ken is now giving away a second game on the B side of the disc absolutely free as well! The Base is just as good as the Island (if not better) and makes it an essential disc in any adventure player's collection. Ken has also released a new game called the Test - the Balrog has been given a sneak preview and it looks to be of just as high a quality as Ken's previous games. The Test costs £4.50 and is available on disc only. For more information write to Ken at 17 Adel Park Gardens, Adel, Leeds LS16 8BN or telephone him on (0532) 672278.
Last Days of Doom from Topologika is now
available. This final part of the Doom trilogy (Countdown to Doom
and Return to Doom being the others) boasts over 150K of text
and around 218 'rooms'. Accompanied by your trusty robot dog (who's
as much of a nuisance and a help as before), you'll have to deal
with squashed spaceships, renegade robots, slow beings (?!), a
ruined city - in fact a host of original Killworth puzzles - in
your quest to save Doom. Yes, in the final instalment of the Doom
Trilogy, the planet is doomed, and your mission is to save it!
For more information, contact Topologika, PO Box 39, Stilton,
Peterborough, PE7 3RL. Telephone 0733 244682. Last Days of Doom
costs £19.95 plus 50p p&p.
ADLAN the ROM adventure creator from Graduate
Software has finally been released and the Balrog hopes to review
it for next issue. More details can be obtained from Graduate
at 14 Forrester Avenue, Weston-on-Trent, Derby, DE7 2HX.
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Balrog's Post
Hitchhikers on tape?
'...Please could you tell me where I can obtain Hitchhikers
Guide to the Galaxy on tape?'
Chris Locke, Chelmsford.
Sorry to disappoint you, Chris, but all of the Infocom games,
such as Hitchhikers and Suspect are disc only - as the programs
are too large to fit into memory in one go and so have to be loaded
in parts of the disc. Sorry!
Games tested...
'...I noticed recently that one of your readers was asking
advice on getting his games play tested. I would like to say that
I would be very willing to help anyone by testing a game for them.
I have tested games before, for people such as Sandra Sharkey
and Pat Winstanly so I am not without a certain amount of experience...'
Graham Wheeler, Bath.
Well done on volunteering yourself, Graham. I hope you know what
you are letting yourself in for! So, if you have just finished
writing an adventure, then why not send it to someone like Graham
first before sending it to Amstrad Action - Graham can evaluate
the game for you and tell you it's weaknesses and good points.
To be honest I receive a lot of poor home brew games that have
bad spelling, bugs, skimpy text and bad parsers which obviously
have not been play tested enough (if at all!) Graham can tell
you whether it is worth sending the game to me - thus making my
life easier! One final point is that it is worthwhile sending
your finished games not only to AA but to fanzines (such as those
mentioned recently) for a review - this will give you a wider
coverage. If you would like your game play tested then write to
Graham at 2 Burford Close, Southdown, Bath, Avon BA2 1JF or telephone
him between 10am and midnight (0225) 426919.
Island praise
'...With regard to your column in AA53,
I sent a disc to Ken Bond for the game
Island. I would like to highlight the fact that Ken not only produced
a very good game but returned my disc within 36 hours...'
J Graham, Dingwall.
'...I read your review of the Island and I thought 'I must have
that' so I wrote to Ken Bond. I got two adventures by return of
post and they are brill!!! It is the best value for two stamps
I have ever had...'
Dave Peters, Ealing.
Just a couple of comments I have received about Ken's disc.- Well
done Ken - you obviously are attracting a group of fans! Bond
fans read this month's news - Ken has a license to quill! (I had
to say that sometime!)
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Bard's Tale Club
Adrian Forbes is a true Bardist - he has sent many interesting
programs and tips to the club. Here is a useful mapping program
for printer owners:-
1 ' Bard's Tale Map maker
2 ' Public Domain by Adrian Forbes
10 PRINT#8,CHR$(27)+"@"
20 CLS
30 INPUT"(N)LQ or (D)raft :",a$
40 IF UPPER$(a$)="N" THEN PRINT#8,CHR$(27)+"x1":GOTO
70
50 IF UPPER$(a$)="D" THEN PRINT#8,CHR$(27)+"x0":GOTO
70
60 GOTO 30
70 INPUT "Title :",t$
80 ' Title is the name of the level such as Castle 4
90 PRINT#8,CHR$(27)+"W1"+CHR$(27)+"G"+CHR$(27)+"4"
100 PRINT#8," "+CHR$(27)+"-1";t$
110 PRINT#8,CHR$(27)+"-0"+CHR$(27)+"H"+CHR$(27)+"5"
120 FOR a=1 TO 23
130 PRINT#8,STRING$(23,".")
140 NEXT
150 PRINT#8,CHR$(27)+"W0"
160 PRINT#8:PRINT#8
170 PRINT#8,CHR$(27)+"-1Key"+CHR$(27)+"-0"
180 PRINT#8
190 PRINT#8," - Wall"
200 PRINT#8," - Door"
210 PRINT#8," - Trap"
220 PRINT#8," - Spell negation zone"
230 PRINT#8," - Darkness"
240 PRINT#8," - Teleport from"
250 PRINT#8," - Teleport to"
260 PRINT#8," - Stairs up"
270 PRINT#8," - Stairs down"
280 PRINT#8," - Portal up"
290 PRINT#8," - Portal down"
300 RUN
Each map in the game is drawn on a 22 by 22 grid and this program
draws a grid of 23 dots by 23 dots so take each dot as the corner
of a box. Write the numbers 0-22 along the sides of the square.
Before you enter a maze cast Magic Compass and Scry Sight and
find on the grid the relevant co-ordinates. Then just fill in
the map as you go along.
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Example print-out of Adrian's program?
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He also has a question - what is the high pitched beep he sometimes
gets when he leaves a building, and what is the hissing sound
he gets when leaving buildings?
Adrian has also compiled a list of areas in the dungeons with
masses of monsters just waiting to be killed. These places can
give your team of adventurers much gold and experience but, be
warned, some of these fights could cost you your life...
In catacombs 1:
12,3 66 Skeletons
2,19 52 Skeletons (in the dark)
9,18 28 Zombies
10,20 45 Zombies
16,6 11 Wights
Catacombs 2:
11,6 49 Wights
Castle 3
5,12 Loadsa experience (but be prepared for the combat to take
half an hour!)
37 Victoria Road Gourock Scotland PA19 1DF
Brian Thornton has just completed the Bards Tale so if anyone
wants some help, write or phone (Monday-Friday 8am - 4pm)
130 Bulloch Crescent, Denny, Stirlingshire, FK6 5AN Tel 0324 823555
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Clue Sniffing with the Balrog
An Interceptor Special in this month Clue Pot as the
Balg gives tips on every single Interceptor game. The intrepid
adventurers who contributed to this month's Clue Pot were C Rivers,
Joan Pancott, Stuart Whyte, Claire Smith, Nigel Arnott, P Chamley,
The Balrog, Graham Wheeler, Mandy Rodrigues, Angela Allum, Debby
Howard, Wendy Watters, and Simon Netherwood.
After Shock
Carry TV or radio to get past looters; drop both to get
past soldiers.
In old house, support stairs with beam before climbing them -
beam in on waste ground.
Red Herrings - Pen, desk, tissues, pickaxe, diamond, stick, cap,
trumpet, ticket, sweets and rusty nail.
Bards Tale (especially for Philip Martin)
The statue of the Mad God is in the castle, top level,
location 1 north, 21 east. But you'll need the eye to get further...
Attack the samurai statue - it is the easiest of the guardians
to kill and is worth a lot of experience.
Bugsy (especially for Mark Moore)
Go to the gunsmith, talk to him and then buy the gun.
Then go straight to the post office and rob it.
Forest at the World's End
An elf and flying lizard appear at various stages in
the game - use the bow to kill them. Sometimes you miss and get
killed so, make sure you save the game frequently.
Kill the spider in the wooded vale with the bow.
Put log over chasm to cross it.
Blow the horn on the brink of the precipice. A dragon will appear
and carry you down to the bottom of the cliff.
At the volcano tie the rope to the rock and then climb down rope.
Heroes of Karn
Serpent Beren, Kill serpent with bird
Hydra Use the spear
Bear Use the honey to put him to sleep
Balrog Play the flute
Get Istar to read scroll
To free Istar, play flute
In the hall of infinity type:
'TAKE GOLD KEY, DROP GOLD KEY, TAKE GOLD KEY, EAST'
Oil the chest before opening it
Beren can catch the bird with the wicker cage
The bottle carries all liquids
Kiss the frog in the dead marshes
Finally, use the crowbar to open the clam.
Jewels of Babylon
Shout and the boulder will crush the crab, then shoot
the pirates. Throw fish to lion.
Lancelot (especially for Robert Cross)
Ignore the sieging army and go into the inner chapel
at Tintagel.
Message from Andromeda (especially for Sammy-Jo D'Angelo)
Rotate the sphere and get it. Go to the blue room and
drop the sphere on the pedestal and then rotate the sphere.
To kill slug, wear gloves, get fungus, throw fungus at slug. Kill
alien commander with space axe to get key for computer. Kill creature
- examine skeleton, cut ropes, get stones, throw stones at creature.
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Map of Slaine?
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Warlord
Get the helmet by going to the pool on the beach, jump
in water, E, N, climb out. Wear it to pass the warrior on the
causeway.
Sleep at the lake to get the sword.
When "The Roman suddenly appears and he attacks you",
attack Roman. He then runs away and makes camp near the start
(try Woodland Path, Vale of Rhia or Wooded Vale) and you must
have the rope to capture Roman.
To find the staff and cloak, go to the Inner Courtyard and jump
on straw. To get back, lean ladder against platform.
Debby Howard, Simon Netherwood, Graham Wheeler and P Chamley all
came to the aid of Daniel Tish in Rigels Revenge - go to suburbia
(you must have the stun gun), go east till you find a screwdriver,
get screwdriver, put screwdriver in satchel, remove goggles, get
rubble, E, throw rubble at security light, wear goggles, go east
and you will find the uniform on the porch outside the bungalow.
But only take the rigelian uniform.
Simon Netherwood wrote to help Alec Chapman with his difficulty
in Mindfighter - Don't open the envelope. Turn on the kettle,
steam envelope over kettle, examine envelope. Now go to the lounge,
turn on TV, on Friday night a newsflash will occur...
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HELP!
Can you help these adventurers in distress? If so write
to the Balrog and save their lives!
Dean Sweet is stuck in Knightmare...
"I can get past the door on the first screen, but it's the
second screen I am stuck on. Please could someone tell me what
to do."
Christopher Clark is also stuck in Knightmare "I have found
the potion, scroll, plenty of gold, the maid (useless) but I can't
find the Dragon - could somebody please tell me where it is!"
Peter Templeton from Ipswich is stuck in the Hobbit:- 'I have
got the map, golden key. large key, rope, sword, lunch and some
more food. I have been caught and put in the elvenking's hall.
In the hall I have found a magic door... I am now stuck - please
could someone help me!"
James Burr is stumped in Jinxter - he is unable to saddle the
unicorn as the saddle won't stay on the cloud and he can't use
anything else instead of it. Can anyone help him?
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Just for Laughs
The rib-tickling responses this month are brought to you thanks to Antcrusher, Mark Berbezier, Simon Netherwood, the Grue & Jonathon Burton.
Big Sleaze
Try leaving the office door unlocked - driving away then returning
Reading the dynamite
Do as the dame asks in part 3
Seastalker
Try arresting anything
Ship of Doom
Try swearing
Sorceror
Casting Yomin on various NPC's and items
Drinking the Indigo (Flaxo) potion
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Lords & Ladies of Adventure
Graham Wheeler has written complaining about a couple of letters
he has received from some readers, notably Paul Daykin and Mark
Cassell. Both of these people asked Graham for complete solutions
to over five games which is a lot of paperwork and photocopying
for Graham. Please do not ask for full solutions, cries Graham,
and the Balrog whole-heartedly agrees. When writing to a Lord
or Lady of Adventure, remember to tell them exactly where you
are stuck in the game and what your problem is. The Lords/Ladies
ask no money for their services - so treat them with the respect
they deserve! Don't forget to also enclose a stamped self-addressed
envelope so the Lord/Lady can reply to you.
Base, Hollywood Hijinx, Infidel, Island, Test, Wishbringer &
help for PAW programmers.
Ken Bond, 17 Adel Park Gardens, Adel, Leeds,
West Yorkshire LS16 8BN. Tel (0532) 672278.
Colossal Adventure, Heroes of Karn & Message from Andromeda.
Stuart Mason, Flat E3/3.5, Lupton Flats, Alma Road Leeds 6.
Cricket Crazy, Life Term, Smashed and Mindshadow.
Paul Daykin, 93 Hummersknott Avenue, Darlington, Co. Durham DL3
8RR
Adventure Quest, Dungeon Adventure, Gnome Ranger, Kobyashi Naru,
Jewels of Babylon, Lancelot, Lords of Time, Mystery Indus Valley,
Price of Magick, Redmoon, Return to Eden, Shadows of Mordor, Snowball,
Souls of Darkon and Venom.
Wendy Watters, 82 Booth Road, Stacksteads, Bacup, Lancashire,
OL13 OSF. Tel: (0706) 877518
Classic Adventure, Fantasia Diamond, Hobbit, Hollywood Hijinx,
Inca Curse, Invincible Island, Mountains of Ket, Planet of Death
and Sorceror.
Dave Havard, 21 Belvoir Close, Fareham, Hants, PO16 OPJ.
Forest at the Worlds End
James Mackle, @45 Kenure Park, Rush, Co Dublin, Ireland.
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Winning entry of 'Draw the Balrog' which was never printed
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