Hello, everyone.
I need some help with the graphic text adventure called The Balrog.
I figured out the basic commands (as I've played text adventure games in the past), but I cannot seem to get past the section with the small door. I presume that I need to input a special command?
If you have a copy of the game's instructions, would you please share them? Cheers.
P
This game?
http://solutionarchive.com/game/id%2C1523/Balrog.html
There is a walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dimyXn0zjRM
If you don't want to watch the walkthrough, here's a hint: you can use the commands "examine" and "wave" with an item.
This seems to be an Amstrad Action cover tape game from 1987. You can check out the AA magazines here, maybe there are the instructions:
https://acpc.me/index.php#ACME/REVUES/[ENG]ENGLISH_UK/[ENG][AMSTRAD]AMSTRAD_ACTION
(copy paste link, as the board destroys this special link)
1987 is edition 17-27.
hth
Quote from: eto on 10:20, 12 April 21
This seems to be an Amstrad Action cover tape game from 1987.
It isn't. It was one of the entrants in a competition run by
Amstrad Action to create a text adventure using
The Graphic Adventure Creator (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/The_Graphic_Adventure_Creator) that featured one of its columnists, The Balrog (aka Stuart Whyte), but it was not the winner. I've no idea why the year of release/publication is marked as 1987, because the competition ran during 1992! :laugh:
The winning entrant was
Who's Afraid of the Balrog?, which appeared on the covertape for issue 93 of
Amstrad Action (https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=9523).
Ooh... Just had a thought regarding this game. Just checking something. :)
The game could possibly be EdmundSpicer's entry, but he doesn't recognise it... although he does think the graphics are bad enough to be his. :)
Thought it might've been his as the synopsis matches up more with his than the competition outline.
http://8bitag.com/temp/compo-2.PNG (http://8bitag.com/temp/compo-2.PNG) vs http://8bitag.com/temp/compo-1.PNG (http://8bitag.com/temp/compo-1.PNG)
Speaking of Edmund, he was kind enough to share what he could remember about his time writing Amstrad PD adventures as a young teenager... http://8bitag.com/info/spicer.html (http://8bitag.com/info/spicer.html)
Quote from: Strident on 22:38, 12 April 21
Speaking of Edmund, he was kind enough to share what he could remember about his time writing Amstrad PD adventures as a young teenager... http://8bitag.com/info/spicer.html (http://8bitag.com/info/spicer.html)
From the above link:
Quote"Having written that, if the PAW (or equivalent) is available as a download for Windows and if there are websites for distributing new games, then I could be tempted to try writing one final new adventure game for old time's sake!"
Well, there is WinPAW (http://www.winpaw.com/) for Windows, although I've never used it and I don't know if the adventure data files can be extracted to compile with InPAWS (http://inpaws.speccy.org/indexEng.html) so it can run on a CPC.
Oh, don't worry, I've let Edmund know of various ways to make games using modern kit (as I still make text adventures). No need for something like WinPAW when there's the likes of inPAWs, DAAD, Adventuron, and PunyInform around. All great systems that are easy to use and make adventures with.
It's a shame Edmund couldn't remember more but he was a very young teenager when he was creating his adventures. I think it is likely the Balrog game is his, given the similarity in synopsis, it's availability (showing it was probably a PD game), and the fact it plays quite a bit like one of his titles.
Quote from: Nich on 21:09, 12 April 21I've no idea why the year of release/publication is marked as 1987,
I also considered that it was part of the competition but then 1987 sounded feasible since the Youtuber who did the walkthrough also mentions that he played it in the 80s.
Quote from: eto on 12:13, 13 April 21
I also considered that it was part of the competition but then 1987 sounded feasible since the Youtuber who did the walkthrough also mentions that he played it in the 80s.
He must be mistaken. Definitely linked to the 1992 competition, and the fact that the Balrog didn't take over the adventure column until 1989 rules out the 1987 date anyway.
Quote from: Strident on 12:21, 13 April 21He must be mistaken. Definitely linked to the 1992 competition
If you contact him on Youtube, maybe he can share where he got the commands from.
Edit: sorry, not you of course - but thepeaguy83
What do you mean, "Where he got the commands from"?
Quote from: Strident on 12:47, 13 April 21What do you mean, "Where he got the commands from"?
Thepeaguy83 asked for the instructions and the commands he can use in the game.
Quote from: eto on 12:57, 13 April 21
Thepeaguy83 asked for the instructions and the commands he can use in the game.
Yeah, I've already linked to those.
Ignoring the other stuff on that channel (!) I did notice that he has another Amstrad walkthrough for The Hermitage...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJjxnARibXo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJjxnARibXo)
Unusually, it's a walkthrough for one of the earlier GACed versions of the game (there were two such earlier versions, a text-only version and one with graphics).
That's not really correctly archived online, athough CPC Rulez do have a download for it...
https://cpcrulez.fr/GamesTest/the_hermitage.htm (https://cpcrulez.fr/GamesTest/the_hermitage.htm)
CPC Power only has the later CP/M PAWed version...
https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=3007 (https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=3007)
See: http://solutionarchive.com/game/id%2C895/Hermitage%2C+The.html (http://solutionarchive.com/game/id%2C895/Hermitage%2C+The.html) for a history of the game.