Seabase Delta THE BALROG
Danger! Balrog at work! Yet again the Balg slaves doggedly over another issue to provide as much adventuring as will fit in a two page spread! So get reading the only Amstrad specific adventure column left...
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Review
Danger! Adventurer at Work! 2
£2 tape, £4 disc
WoW Software, Joan Pancott HPilg, 78 Radipole Lane, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 9RS.
DAAW2, follow up to DAAW (spookily!) is yet another Quilled game from the keyboard of Simon Avery. Simon has now written a large number of games and, unlike many other prolific authors, there still seems to be no reduction in his creative energy and skill.
DAAW2 continues from the last location of the first game - having finally found a peaceful haven to play adventures you settle down only to be interrupted by a power cut - in your excitement of the first game you forgot to pay the eleccy bill! So, of you pop through the portal, to travel between planes of existence to pay off your account as well as meeting strange people and recovering weird objects that could only have been thought up by Simon.
Parser is good as long as you are aware of the Quill two word input restriction (although Simon has managed to implement Look Behind (as LOBE) and other look commands that add to the game). The INFO command also brings up a list of useful commands.Although the storyline sounds far from imaginative, the game is actually very well written with humour and devious puzzles thrown in for good measure. Of particular mention is a friendly slug who slurps and squidges his way after you.
The only problem with the game is that it is short, but for only £2 it is very good value for money.
Atmosphere 75% Well devised characters and good descriptions
Interaction 72% Although the parser is limited to two words this often makes the game more fun - you don't have to worry
that a complicated input will be needed for a puzzle.
Challenge 71% Not as big as some games but then what do you expect for £2!?!
Overall 78% A well-crafted game that proves that Simon deserves to have been one of the best text adventure authors at the
Adventure Convention.
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Contacting the Balg
To get in contact with the Balg, write to him at Amstrad Action, Future Publishing Ltd, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, AVON BA1 2AP.
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News
Red Herring
Whilst at the Adventure Convention the Balg was impressed by a fanzine called Red Herring and decided to write to the editor for more details. Red Herring has been going for seven months now and has to be one of the most professionally written and laid out fanzines that the Balrog has seen. Although expensive at £2.95 a throw, you get over 80 pages of spiral bound adventure text which is often printed in small font to cram as much as possible on each page! The mag covers both 8-bit and 16-bit and to be honest the Amstrad coverage is quite low, but over a third of the magazine is dedicated to general adventurish articles that are applicable to everyone. Marion Taylor has a special offer for AA readers - buy six issues at £17.70 and get one free. Marion also tells me that the next issue has a special 8-bit crossword competition so if you fancy a go why not buy a copy and have a look! For more details write to Marion at 504 Ben Jonson House, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DL.
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Cluepot
This months strong sniff of clues comes from two frequent cluepot contributors - Laurence Boyce from Leeds and Thomas Christie from Grangemouth. Thanks Laurence and Thomas!
Grue-Knapped
The key is in the painting of Ormskirk Quay is used to unlock the cupboard door.
Helvira - Mistress of the Park
Lie on the bed, press film, get up, lie under bed, press play, crawl out from under bed, crawl out of the door.
Imagination
Give the satellite maps of earth to Gayle Winds. Provided you have done the above and have got the chips you will be able to
divert the dogs.
Give stale bread to the bat.
Mystery of the Indus Valley
Get the knife and cut rope.
Go to part of cliff with tree stump and go down (you must have the rope).
Seabase Delta
Use pancake to cover camera lens.
Iron the crumpled foil.
Use mast to lever cannon.
Subsunk
To open the tatty packing case, fire the gun.
Terrormolinos
Examine the washing line to find the swimming trunks.
Examine the tardis for the bucket and spade.
Open the drawer to find the red hanky.
Examine the settee to find the passport.
Examine the brochure to find the tickets.
Videoworld
To make night fall, close the curtains.
If however you find the room is full of smoke then pull them immediately.
Werewolf simulator
Give some money to wino.
Sell your watch and buy the silver.
Wizbiz
If you have the short rod, "fish" at the river.
Kiss frog
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Just for Laughs
This months collection of bone tickling amusing responses is thanks to the following fine adventurers:- Shane O'Sullivan,
Yannis Sariyannis, Daniel Argent and Katharyne Allen.
Big Sleaze
Say to Velma Hello.
Look in the toilet at the diner.
Go north, south or up at the bottom of the police station stairs.
Examine junk in "Mustah Wangs" back room in chinatown.
Examine items in window of pawn shop.
Read grafitti in 21st Street.
Examine tea box at your home.
Examine statues in Brooklyn Heights.
Corruption
After you have been in hospital, tell sergeant about what happened, eg the salvation army man and the BMW.
Kiss people.
Turn on televisions.
While in the toilet, urinate in the urinal.
Buy the razor from the chemist and shave yourself.
Hit the policeman (get taken to jail), and then hit the guy in jail with you.
Pawn
Try riding the adventurer's horse, and then kill it.
Try killing the guru and Kronos.
Worm in Paradise
Examine me
Go to the police station and type "GIVE ME" - you'll now have access to every object in the game!
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GAC Programming Clinic
Even though the entry date for the GAC competition is long gone the Balg would still like to continue the clinic - so, if you
have any questions on the use of GAC, specific GAC related problems and queries or hints and tips of your own then jot
them down and send them to the Balg's GAC Programming Clinic at the usual AA address.
Dear Balg,
I was reading through AA82 last night when I came to your hallowed pages (why only two?) and saw the plea for a GAC
routine to move a character around. Here is mine; the character moves around at random.
The Dwarrow
Thanks Dwarrow! I'm sure some people will find it useful!
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GAC Character moving routine
(The character to be moved will be referred to as *.)
by the Dwarrow
HIGH:
1) CTR ( 4 ) = ROOM END
2) FIND * END
3) IF ( CONN ( 1 ) AND RAND ( 4 ) AND RES? ( 5 ) ) * TO n SET ( 5 ) END
4) IF ( CONN ( 2 ) AND RAND ( 4 ) AND RES? ( 5 ) ) * TO n SET ( 5 ) END
5) IF ( CONN ( 3 ) AND RAND ( 4 ) AND RES? ( 5 ) ) * TO n SET ( 5 ) END
6) IF ( CONN ( 4 ) AND RAND ( 4 ) AND RES? ( 5 ) ) * TO n SET ( 5 ) END
(If you have more movement verbs (such as up and down), add similar lines on the end of this part, and change the RAND ( 4
) bit to RAND ( x ) where x is the number of possible movement verbs).
7) GOTO CTR ( 4 ) RESE ( 5 ) END
(This routine only moves one character as it stands but it could very easily be expanded by repeating lines 2-6 before line 7,
using a different object number instead of *).
The character movement can also be restricted by adding conditions into the local list:-
LOCAL (Room 17)
1) IF ( VERB 1 ) GOTO 7 END
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Lords & Ladies of Adventure
Adult 1 & 2, Al-Strad, Big Sleaze, Boredom, Burlough Castle, Can I Cheat Death?, Case of the Mixed-up Shymer, Castle
Blackstar, Cave Capers, Cursed be the City, Doomlords I-III, Dracula, Druids Moon, Dungeon, Experience, Firestone,
Frankenstein, Gnome Ranger, Gremlins, Jason & the Argonauts, Kobyashi Naru, Magicians Apprentice, Mystery Indus
Valley, Price of Magik, Project X (Microman), Roog, Scapeghost, Souls of Darkon, Spacy, Storm Mountain, Stryptiche 1 &
2, Swamp Thing, Theseus, Venom, Welladay & Wolfman.
Mark Wake, 2 Oatland Close, Little London, Leeds LS7 1SW.
Big Sleaze, Gremlins, Megabucks & Seabase Delta.
Darren Sharp, 10 Alfred Road, Greatstone, Kent TN28 8SH.
Questprobe 3.
Rich Thomas, 85A St. Johns Road, Cannock, Staffs, WS11 3AL. Tel: (0543) 503045, Mon-Fri, 5-10pm.
Colour of Magic, Forest at World's End, Gnome Ranger, Heroes of Karn, Rebel Planet, Questprobe, Seabase Delta &
Subsunk.The Dragon Master, 12 Gretton Crescent, Aldridge, Walsall, West Midlands, WS9 ODY.Knightmare & Rebel
Planet.
Ross Younger, 3 Cammo Parkway, Edinburgh, EH4 8EP.
Bard's Tale, Hitchhiker's Guide, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Pawn & Shadows of Mordor.
David Nicholas, 23 Houghton Lane, Sancton, East Yorkshire Y04 3QU.
Adult II, Can I Cheat Death?, Doomlords, Firestone, Jason and the Argonauts, Roog, Spacey & Tizpan.
Adam Maxwell, 9 Peth Green, Hetton-le-Hole, Tyne & Wear DH5 OEY.
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Help!
Stuck in an adventure? Or desperately trying to find one - the helpline it the place for you! Just send a postcard to Balrog's
Helpline at the usual Balrog address.
How do you get the holy water from friar Kane without killing him and how are you meant to enter Hedric's Fortress in
Ganestor in Times of Lore?
Brian "Brains" Caulfield, Mullamurphy, Monaghan, Co. Monaghan, Eire.
Wanted: Help in Dizzy prince of the Yolk Folk - where is Seamus the leprechaun and how many cheries do you need to
complete the game?
Helen Yeo, 11 Lear Drive, Wistaston, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 8DP.
Wanted: Seas of Blood by Adventure International.
Martin Williams, 114 Florence Road, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset BH14 9JG.
Has anyone got the AA42 Bards Tale poke on disc? I can't type it in correctly! Also will Amir Mansour please get in contact
with me.
Robert, 081 668 8525, 5-7pm
Wanted: Help in Tir Na Nog - how do you get past the fire lizard, an-Lin, open the 'F' and 'N' doors and where is the second
half of the Torc buried.
Phil T, 108 Enerdale Avenue, Botcherby, Carlisle.
How do I repair the golden sundial in Knight Tyme? How do I get the amulet from the aura of fire or get out of the swamp in
Shard of Inovar?
Steven Parker, 46 Woodgate Gardens, Bartley Green, Birmingham B32 3UW.