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The Eamon Adventurer's Guild
June 1989
Editorial - by Tom Zuchowski
OUR FIRST YEAR: The EAG was started up in March '88 when we contacted all of the various Public-Domain sellers, offering Eamon library support in return for EAG support from them. The transfer of the Apple-NEUC membership to the EAG was accomplished in mid-June, and the first EAG newsletter went out on June 30.
How did we do the first year? As of Feb. 28, 1989, we had taken in $911.43, spent $787.02, and had a club balance of $124.41. The membership has nearly tripled from the NEUC level and is pushing 70 now. The P-D people have decided that the EAG is a Good Thing, and they are now advertising us in their catalogs, which should greatly aid new membership. We have succeeded in eliminating most of the bad, buggy Eamon libraries. This was a very important step, as too many of the non-EAG Eamons were seriously bugged, which may have caused countless people to decide that Eamon was trash.
The outlook is good. Along with the update and back issue revenues, the $7.00 membership is turning out to generate a slightly positive cash flow. The newsletter costs approximately $1 per member-issue, and the costs of supplies and postage are not quite using up the other $3 of the membership fee.
CONTEST: It seems like a good place to put a little of this excess cash is into an Eamon contest. Prizes galore! Everybody wins! See inside for details.
ENVELOPES: As you can see, the newsletter is now being shipped in a letter envelope. We had originally tested mailing it in 6x9 envelopes, which put the weight over the 25-cent limit. We thought that the newsletter would be too thick to go in a letter envelope for 25 cents (there is a surcharge for excessive thickness), but it turns out we were wrong. Since we are now using envelopes for all newsletters, we have extended the $9.00 envelope-subscriptions by one additional issue to pay back the extra $2.00.
LOWER CASE: Lower case chips can be obtained for old II's for $12 from Nexo Distribution, 914 East 8th St., Suite 109, National City, CA 92050. I ordered one and received it in less than three weeks. They have a large selection of II+-compatible stuff. Applied Engineering also sells a lower-case chip which lists for $24, and has lots of II+ stuff too.
GENIE: I have agreed to run an Eamon forum for A2-Central on GEnie. I just got an AE DataLink 1200/300 modem, but the details have yet to go thru channels. It will still be in Dos 3.3.
EXPIRATION DATE: Don't forget to check your membership expiration date on the envelope address.
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BACK ISSUES:
Apple-based back issues of the formerly Apple-based NEUC's 'Adventurer's Log' are available from us:
Aug'84, May'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
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.
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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.
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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
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167 Expedition to the Darkwoods by Greg Gioia
168 The High School of Horrors by Mike Haney
& Aaron Hunt
169 The Black Phoenix by Roger Pender
170 Ragnarok Revisited by Nathan Segerlind
171 The Pyramid of Cheops by Robert Parker
172 the Mountain of the Master by Michael Dalton
173 The House that Jack Built by Robert Parker
174 Escape from Granite Hall by Robert Parker
175 Anatomy of the Body by Robert Parker
176 Dirtie Trix's Mad Maze by Robert Parker
177 Shippe of Fooles by Robert Parker
178 The Alien Intruder by Robert Parker
'Expedition to the Darkwoods' sends you into the evil Darkwoods to rescue some children and right some wrongs. Most of it plays extremely well, but near the end it runs out of gas and fails to live up to its promise when the hinted-at big finale fails to occur.
'The High School of Horrors' finds you returning to your old high school which has been overcome by various Bad Things. Although pretty simple for the most part, it has a couple of rather obscure puzzles.
In 'The Black Phoenix', you are a member of a crack mercenary outfit, fighting a war in the distant future. You must complete 6 different missions that are each more difficult than the last. It's loaded with the high-tech gadgets, readouts, and commands that Roger has made his trademark.
'Ragnarok Revisited' continues the adventures of Samurai Cat, this time in the Norse mythos in Nathan's most ambitious special-effects Eamon to date. It is undergoing final revision and test and will be released July 15.
'The Pyramid of Cheops' has little to do with Egyptian stuff, but is a standard 'kill & loot' scenario.
'The Mountain of the Master' sends you into the Master's mountain stronghold to kill him. Primarily a 'kill & loot' scenario. Has hires & music at startup.
'The House that Jack Built' sends you wandering about Jack's place in a 'hack & slash' scenario. Some black humor in this contemporary setting.
In 'Escape from Granite Hall' you have been hired to test the security of the Hall by escaping from it.
In 'Anatomy of the Body' you are shrunk to microscopic size to kill microbes and cancer cells within a human body. The premise is good but the anatomical detail is very vague.
'Dirtie Trix's Mad Maze' sends you into a simple maze; object: escape. All the room descriptions are identical but there are no trick room connections.
In 'Shippe of Fooles' you have been shanghaied by pirates and must kill them. Standard 'hack & slash'.
In 'The Alien Intruder' you are sent to the moon base to discover why communication has been lost. Standard 'hack & slash'.
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Terminological Inexactitudes
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Nathan Segerlind writes to inform us that he has been slow on his progress in his newest Eamon because of his maintaining a 4.0 GPA, placing well in the state wrestling tournament (152 lbs), becoming an Eagle Scout, and placing first in the State Science Olympiad computer programming contest. He also notes that he is a long-time regular winner of the 'George Washington Cherry Tree Award for Truth and Honesty'. We find ourselves wondering why he saw fit to include that last award.
A rumor is going around that Tom Zuchowski is really a talking dog who can type. His family and friends deny this but after we found dog hair in a disk mailer we became suspicious, seeing as that none of us have ever seen him. This explains why there has never been a dog in any of his Eamon games.
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EAMON ADVENTURE CONTEST
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Announcing the first EAG Eamon Adventure Contest! Yes, now is the time for you to start work on that Eamon adventure that you were always going to get around to 'someday'! There are no restrictions; write any old kind of Eamon adventure that you desire, but if it is written for a specific type of audience (eg: grade school classrooms or AD&D freaks), let us know so we can judge it accordingly.
FIRST PRIZE: *** FIFTY DOLLARS! *** (yes, $50.00).
SECOND PRIZE: A nifty Eamon binder for your EAG newsletters, etc. These are really nice padded vinyl 3-ring binders, with olde-English lettering on front and spine and the Eamon dragon on the cover (retail value $13.00).
THIRD PRIZE: Any 3 Eamon adventures of your choice.
ALSO: the top 3 prizewinners will receive a 1-year extension to their memberships.
ENTRY BONUSES: ALL entries which did not place in the top three will receive a 1-issue extension to their memberships, plus:
--NEW EAMON AUTHORS will receive a 1-issue membership extension for every rating point that their entry receives that exceeds 4.
--EXPERIENCED EAMON AUTHORS will receive a 1-issue membership extension for every ratings point that their entry receives that exceeds 6.
--MAXIMUM EXTENSION: 4 issues total.
JUDGING will be done by Tom Zuchowski and anyone he may select as consultant. The final decision will be made by Tom Zuchowski, and the selection of the winners will be based on rating, story, plot, special stuff, orginality, author experience, continuity, and so on. The rating will not be the final determinant; the aim is to balance the contest so that beginners will have an equal chance with experienced authors. A well-done 5 from a beginner has a good chance to beat a 6 from an author who routinely gets 7's. Neatness counts; the fewer bugs and errors, the better you are likely to do.
MULTIPLE ENTRIES are acceptable. However, only one entry from each author will be eligible for prizes or for membership extension. You need not designate your entry; we will automatically select your best one.
ADDITIONAL PRIZES: may be given out if an entry merits special mention but does not place in the top three.
DEADLINE: All entries must be submitted by October 31, 1989 so we can announce the winners in the December issue. An extension to this deadline will be considered if anyone needs it; we would rather have your Best Stuff than see you cut it short for lack of time.
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Dungeon Designs
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Traps and Obstructions - Doing It Right
by: Tom Zuchowski
How many times have you been blind-sided by a no-warning death trap while playing Eamon? How much did you enjoy having to start over again? Eamon authors seem to undergo some kind of strange compulsion to include in their own Eamons the very traps that they hate in others' Eamons. There are three reasons why Eamon authors install death traps:
1) They are practical jokers and think it's funny. RESPONSE: It's NOT funny to have to start over for no good reason and many people will quit if they have to start over too often.
2) They are giving proper responses to stupid player moves. RESPONSE: No one will intentionally kill himself off-if he made a stupid move then the warning clues were very poorly written by the author.
3) They consider it to be an essential part of the plot. RESPONSE: There are alternative methods that can be used that will fit the plot equally well.
ALTERNATIVES TO DEATH
Whenever I complain to an author about a given death trap, a response that I often get is that 'if it were real life, the player WOULD get killed there. I've got to be realistic.' Well, if it were real life, then the player would be really dead, and would never, ever again get to play the adventure. To continue this 'realism', the Eamon disk should erase itself when the player is killed. To carry this 'real life' thing to its ultimate absurdity, the player will have to quit Eamon altogether! The real issue here isn't realism, but sloppy adventure writing.
What this means is that an Eamon that is well-written for realism will be very survivable. Note that I said 'survivable', NOT 'easy'! A rule which all Eamon authors should closely follow is that it should be possible to escape, overcome, or endure anything that the player encounters in the dungeon. If a trap is unavoidable then it should be survivable at least 98% of the time. 'Pass/no pass' puzzles or riddles should send the player away to search for clues, not kill him or force him to battle supernatural opponents.
There are a number of ways that damage can be inflicted on the player when special effects are printed. Any trap will play well if minor to medium damage is inflicted. You can either inflict a standard amount of damage or can make it random. The methods are:
1) I recommend that you use a small set amount. The following will add 3 hit points to the player and then will jump to the melee routine to give a health status report:
DF = 0:D2 = 3: GOSUB 7636
2) A random hit from 0 to 4 can be given with this code:
DF = 0:D2 = INT(RND(1) * 5)): GOSUB 7636
3) If you want to make it truly dangerous with a chance of death, this code will randomly set the amount of damage to something between 0 and the character's total hardiness (M%(0,1)):
DF = 0:D2 = INT(RND(1) * (M%(0,1) + 1)): GOSUB 7636
4) A final alternative is to NEARLY kill the player by giving him hits that NEARLY wipe him out. This code will leave the player one hit point away from death:
DF = 0:D2 = M%(0,1) - M%(0,13) - 1: GOSUB 7636
THE DEATH TRAP
See if you recognize the following scenario: you are walking down a plain hall when you come to an unusual door. You open the door-no result. You pass thru the door, and are told that you walked into an atomic incinerator and have died! This is an example of the worst brand of 'Gotcha' death traps-no warning, no wind-up, and suddenly the game is over. There are four fair ways to have handled this same trap:
1) When the player attempts to open the door, open it, then print an effect that is similar to this: AS THE DOOR SWINGS WIDE, YOU ARE STRUCK BY A BLAST OF WHITE HEAT EMANATING FROM A ROARING INFERNO WITHIN. YOU HAVE FOUND AN ATOMIC INCINERATOR. Then if the player proceeds into the room, kill him.
2) When the player attempts to open the door, DON'T open it, but print an effect that is similar to this: AS THE DOOR SWINGS WIDE, YOU ARE STRUCK BY A BLAST OF WHITE HEAT EMANATING FROM WITHIN! YOU ARE STANDING BEFORE AN ATOMIC DISINTEGRATION CHAMBER! QUICKLY, YOU SLAM THE DOOR SHUT AGAIN!
3) Open the door but print nothing. When the player attempts to enter the room, do NOT actually move him into the room, but instead print an effect similar to this: AS YOU ENTER THE ROOM YOU ARE SEARED BY A BLAST OF HEAT! YOU REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED AN ATOMIC INCINERATOR! QUICKLY YOU BACK OUT OF THE ROOM AND FLEE TO THE SAFETY OF THE HALLWAY!
4) Combine option (1) and (3). First give the warning from option (1), then if the player enters the room print the effect from option (3) to show him that he did something stupid. This option or option 2 is recommended; special effects are fun, and the player is not annoyed by needless restarts. It would also be appropriate to inflict some damage as outlined above.
DANGEROUS TRAVEL DIRECTIONS
Many Eamons are set in mountainous country, and it is not uncommon to have cliffs which will kill the player if he foolishly walks off of the edge. Typically, the room description will say something like THERE IS A CLIFF TO THE WEST. Note that it doesn't say how far away the cliff is, or even if it is the top or bottom of the cliff! Subsequently the player decides to go WEST to see if there is anything near the edge, or tries DOWN to see if the cliff can be climbed. Often the results are: YOU HAVE FALLEN OFF THE CLIFF! YOU HAVE DIED!
Now, think about this. In real life, no one is going to mindlessly walk off the edge of a cliff but will stop at its edge, and no one will attempt to climb down a sheer, unclimbable cliff face, either. The author forgets that a real adventurer would KNOW where the cliff edge was and if it was unclimbable. If the player blunders off the edge, then the failure was in the author's descriptions, NOT in the player's decision.
There are 3 valid solutions to this:
1) Simply make the room connection 0, thus using the standard message 'YOU CAN'T GO THAT WAY'. Not very imaginative, but it gets the job done. Remember, if it were real life, the player would KNOW he couldn't go that way because he would be able to see the cliff edge.
2) Make the room connection some random high value negative number, like (-900). Program some code in the 3070-3300 region in this fashion:
3070 IF R2 = - 900 THEN GOSUB 56: PRINT "THE CLIFF
EDGE BLOCKS YOUR WAY.": GOTO 300
Notes: 'GOSUB 56' spaces one line and updates the line
counter by 2 lines to allow for the text
'GOTO 300' exits the Move routine
3) Use a program line similar to option (2) that prints a special effect that is similar to this: YOU STEP TO THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF. EXAMINING IT, YOU SEE THAT IT IS TOO STEEP AND CRUMBLY TO BE SAFELY CLIMBED. SEEING NOTHING ELSE, YOU STEP BACK TO SAFETY. If the effect number was 15, for example, the programming would look like this:
3070 IF R2 = - 900 THEN GOSUB 51: R = 415: GOSUB 45:
GOTO 300
Notes: 'GOSUB 51' spaces one line and increments the
line counter by 1
Effects are in the 401-600 range, so effect #15
is record 415
'GOSUB 45' calls the description print routine
Don't make insulting comments like 'THERE'S A CLIFF THERE, STUPID!' If the player tried it, then the descriptions inadequately described the danger and the failure was the author's, not the player's.
An alternative to death by falling off a cliff is death by drowning. Remember the 'real life' rule when doing water hazards. The best way to handle water is with the standard 'YOU CAN'T GO THAT WAY' response, although the alternate 'YOU CAN'T SWIM!' is perfectly acceptable.
POISONS
I dunno about you, but I NEVER drink or eat anything unless I have first saved the game. In fact, I never eat or drink at all if I can avoid it; the occurrence of 'Gotcha' fatal poisons is all too common. There are two fair ways to handle poisons:
1) Give it non-fatal consequences as outlined above.
2) Give it a readable label. This is more difficult to accomplish because it requires that the poison be two different types of artifact at once (readable and drinkable). But is the best way, because it gives the alert player a chance to avoid being blind-sided. To accomplish this:
(a) The bottle's description must mention that there is writing on it. It would be best to avoid mentioning a label, because the player is liable to try to READ LABEL instead of READ BOTTLE.
(b) make it a drinkable artifact (type 6) but add a line to the READ routine to recognize this one artifact (for example let's make it artifact # 5 and make the writing effect # 2):
23015 IF A = 5 THEN R = 402: GOSUB 45: GOTO 300
ACTS OF GOD
This category includes random events that were added to spice up the adventure. You are all familiar with the old pre-version 7.0 POWER command's 'the ceiling falls on you' death trap. Other examples that come to mind are snipers in modern settings and falling rocks in caves and mountains. This kind of random thing is great for adding realism and excitement, but is patently unfair if it kills the player off. Any of the above examples would play well using one of the 'damage' options. Imagine this special effect: A RUMBLE COMES FROM ABOVE. SUDDENLY A HUGE BOULDER CRASHES ON THE PATH BESIDE YOU AND BOUNCES ON DOWN THE MOUNTAINSIDE! YOU ARE PELTED WITH LESSER ROCKS; ONE THE SIZE OF TWO FISTS JUST MISSES YOUR HEAD! Exciting, huh? And even though you as the author know that the player won't be killed by any such special effects, HE doesn't know it!
FAIR DEATH TRAPS
Is it possible to have a death trap that is fair? The answer is yes; there are two ways to do so:
1) Automatic Resurrection: it's acceptable to kill off the player if a means of resurrecting him can be worked into the plot. One such means can be found in #114 'Thror's Ring'; the player's companions will pull him back from foolish moves or resurrect him with a spell.
2) Progressive Deadliness: death traps are acceptable if some means is provided for the player to learn how to recognize them. One way is to have a series of similar traps that increase in deadliness but offer similar clues as to their whereabouts. An alternate method of doing this is to describe the trap's characteristics in the introduction or by some other means so that the player will know what to watch for.
The bottom line on the subject of death traps is playability. It is NOT fun to have to start over and replay old, stale ground, especially if the player had no control over his demise. And the more fun that people have with your adventure, the higher they will rate it. And the higher the rating, the more people will obtain and play your hard work.
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Adventure Reviews
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#69 The Black Castle of Nagog - by Doug Burrows
Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski
MAIN PGM version: 5
Extra Commands: SEARCH, PRY, READ, HELP, DRINK, OPEN
Deleted Commands: none; no SAVE
Special Features: HELP cmd gives hints
Playing Time: 1.5-2 hours
Reviewer Rating: 7
Description: The revered hero Gladmar has gone insane. The powerful wizard Dracnard has determined that Gladmar is possessed by the demon Demogorgon. The only way to cure him is to recover a magical golden statue of the demon which was last possessed by the evil Lord Rovnart of Nagog hundreds of years ago. His stronghold, the Black Castle of Nagog, was conquered over 200 years ago and has been abandoned ever since because of its evil reputation.
Comment: The adventure is well-written with a clear quest, and was very enjoyable to solve and to play. This is not a simple rehash of old ideas, but presents some fresh puzzles and concepts. I had fun. The level of the dungeon is geared towards a 'standard' character with ordinary, mundane weapons. If you get a lot out of combat in Eamon, then arm yourself with a simple sword from the Main Hall's armorer for this foray. Using a 2D10 sword, I killed many with one blow.
The puzzles are well done, quite adequately clued, and not difficult to solve, with the following exception: LOOK doesn't find secret passages or hidden clues; that is the function of the SEARCH command. In order to find secret passages, you must SEARCH WALLS. There are several clues similar to version 6 embedded artifacts that can only be found by using SEARCH. It works well enough, but the method is poorly explained.
Because of the weak monsters (even Demogorgon!) and the complete puzzle clues, I give it a (5) for difficulty. There is a reward for a successful quest and an amusing penalty for failure. Doug produced a good adventure; it's too bad that this is the only one that he did.
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#118 Pittfall - by Scott Starkey
Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski
MAIN PGM version: 6.0
Extra Commands: REMOVE, WEAR, PRESS, JUMP, KICK
Deleted Commands: none
Special Features: 10-direction adventure
Playing Time: 1 hour
Reviewer Rating: 8
Description: The demon Pitt is challenging any fools or adventurers in the countryside to attempt the recovery of the 'Star Stone', a nearly priceless jewel, from his tomb. From what you have heard, this demon collects traps of all kinds. In Pitt's tomb you will probably find some of his collection.
Comment: This is a good adventure. It is not overly complex plot-wise but it has 44 special Effects. There are 6 or 8 nifty events that keep your interest up. There are only 8 monsters, but they are all pretty much important encounters; there are no miscellaneous guards or orcs here. One monster is a puzzle to be beaten and another is a sorceror who has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. The puzzles are thickly laid but generally fairly simple, including a dozen of the 'key' variety. The traps are well done and may be considered puzzles, as all can be found before they hit you.
Scott writes pretty well and has a sense of humor. I enjoyed a couple of running gags. There were also a number of things that were intriguing, but I never found their purpose, suggesting more Good Stuff that I missed. This adventure is of your basic 'kill & loot' variety, but it is a cut above the ordinary such Eamon. I give it a (6) for difficulty. Recommended to anyone who can get along without buckets of gore.
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#149 Elemental Apocalypse - by Sam Ruby
Reviewed by Nathan Segerlind
MAIN PGM Version: 6
Extra Commands: DIG, FILL, PULL, WEAR, REMOVE, DISPLAY
Deleted Commands: none
Special Features: 4-disks, WEAR cmd, it doesn't use
your character, DISPLAY cmd, armor artifacts,
SOLUTIONS pgm
Playing Time: 10-20 hours
Reviewer's Rating: 6
Description: Shipwrecked upon an unknown continent, you easily learn the language and are eager to get home. You decide the best way to accomplish this would be to go to the capital. When you reach the capital, the Prime Minister is eager to speak to you. He tells you that a month ago the king had traveled to a retreat in the northern district, and not a word has been heard from him since. He sends you off to find the king and report what you find.
Comment: The above is a VERY abbreviated version of the introduction. The real intro is EXTREMELY long, a trademark of Sam's adventures. You are not allowed to use your own character but must select a new one from an offering of 10 'bios'. Most of the important weapons are swords, so you would do best to pick a swordsman of some sort.
DISPLAY toggles between full room descriptions or just the room name. Armor is 'real' and includes magic stuff that only works in this adventure. The WEAR command is mainly for putting on armor.
One of two flaws that knocked it down from an 8 in my opinion was that it's just too long. There are 390 rooms, and the monsters are so tough that you must start over again and again. The other was short, dull descriptions and its resemblance to an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (c) TSR adventure. Many monsters had copy-cat descriptions and got tiresome by the fourth disk. The resemblance to AD&D was irritating (to me anyway) in its bland treatment of magic items, weird monsters, and direct reference to the game mechanics in descriptions (eg: 'this item will give you a +6% bonus to hit'). The monsters were OK, but does any 'real' fantasy hero have a '+2 sword' or a 'potion of extra-healing'? This aspect might not bother you or might even be a plus for you, but I disliked it.
I also disliked the numerous traps, which can be found and most of the time disarmed, but can kill careless people. Some were illogical or unfair, such as being killed by a drop of blood or not being informed that you were standing on the very edge of a cliff.
This had a solid plot and challenging nature. If you can stand the length and traps, you will enjoy it.
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#166 Storm Breaker - by Sam Ruby
Reviewed by Tom Zuchowski
MAIN PGM version: 6.2 (with 7.0 search routine)
Extra Commands: SHOW, BUY, USE, XTINGUISH, WEAR, RESUME
Deleted Commands: BLAST, SPEED, HEAL, POWER, TAKE,
SMILE, WAVE, OPEN, FREE
Special Features: 3-disks; author's notes; hints
program; 3 simultaneous saves permitted
Playing Time: 5-10 hours
Reviewer's Rating: 9
Description: You had finally reached your home continent. You went up the coast, looking for a sea port, but for 3 days you found none. On the morning of the fourth day, you awoke to find something else. A tremendous storm had set in, the likes of which you had never seen. The clouds were black and threaded with crackling energy. Huge waves and strange currents tossed your ship about. Finally, a port was sighted, and with great hardship, you made it in safely. The captain says that sailing is impossible under these unnatural conditions and that the best thing to do is to wait it out. You agree, and as the crew secures the ship, you step out onto the docks.
- - - - - - - - - -
Centuries of sleep ended. He awoke. Gradually his awareness returned...and he remembered. Then he looked outside...a city surrounded him - it had been built around his tower! But by whom? They were men, and for a moment he feared that his enemies of long ago had survived...but no, these that surrounded him were weak; unlike the others, these could be controlled. He felt power surging through him, recharged after a millenium of rest. Aye, he would rule them, and they would worship them, for was he not a god?
Comment: This huge Eamon has 195 rooms and 125 effects. Much of the action takes place within the city, but you must make several forays into the countryside for a variety of reasons. The puzzles are many and difficult, interlocking and evolving as the plot progresses. Usually the danger is not too high as you can FLEE to safety; the emphasis here is puzzles, not combat. The SOLUTIONS program offers hints for each puzzle that progress to outright solutions, and chats about what is happening around you just in case you are not sure. Sam offers his usual author's notes to clarify command modifications.
The above description is the introduction. Several things happen right off that leave you stranded without gold or weapons in a city that is undergoing a grave supernatural pounding. It is up to you to figure out what to do about it. Things are confusing at first as you wander about a large city with dozens of shops, but gradually you hit upon clues that put you on the right track. There IS a detailed, complex story here, but you must discover it a piece at a time while playing. Besides the above-mentioned god and sundry citizens, there are giants, dwarves, undead, evil cultists, dangerous animals, and even a dragon to overcome, and it all fits together within the framework of the story that Sam has wrought here.
This adventure is a sequel to #149 'Elemental Apocalypse', but the two stories stand alone and you do not need to have played #149 first. The difficulty rating will range between 5 and 10, depending on how much you use the SOLUTIONS program. If you require 'Hack & Slash' combat, you won't find much here, but it is highly recommended to puzzle fans.
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Bugs 'n Fixes
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DDD 6.2 Dungeon List program
Date Fixed: 5/3/89
Problem: crashes when it encounters a custom artifact
type number that is greater than 10.
Fix: The real fix is to use the Dungeon List program
from the DDD 7.0, which already had this fix:
3550 IF A2 = 2 AND A%(2) > 10 THEN PRINT " [SPECIAL
CATEGORY]";: GOTO 3580
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#21 - The Quest for Marron
Date Fixed: 5/4/89
Problem: 2 trashed records in EAMON.MONSTERS
Fix: The club copy did not have this error, but it did have a directory error which may have caused bad copies to be generated. The directory has been repaired. Your copy may not have this problem; if you can reach 'YOUR COMMAND' you are probably OK. You will need a good disk utility like 'Bag of Tricks' to check it further.
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#30 - The Underground City
Date Fixed: 5/4/89
Problem: 2 trashed room records in EAMON.DESC
Fix: The 2 records were reconstructed using a disk zap utility, and the disk directory was repaired. Your copy may not have this problem; you can verify it with the CHECK FILES Eamon utility program. If you have the errors, you will need a new copy of the disk.
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#69 - The Black Castle of Nagog
Date Fixed: 4/7/89
Problem: Demons appear but don't fight.
Fix:
24060 GOTO 3600
24240 MD%(36,5) = ROOM: GOTO 3600
Also, the speedup mods were added.
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#81 - The Rescue Mission
Date Fixed: 4/9/89
Problem: This adventure was designed to be played as part 2 of #80 'The Search for the Key' and could not be played alone. These two should have been listed as a single two-disk adventure, but they are widely listed seperately now and it is too late to change it.
Fix: The program WRONG WAY was modified to allow play of #81 as an individual adventure:
(delete 5090)
5100 HOME : VTAB 4: HTAB 17: INVERSE: PRINT "NOTICE!":
NORMAL
5110 PRINT : PRINT : PRINT "'THE RESCUE MISSION' IS
DESIGNED TO BE PLAYED AS 'PART II' OF EAMON
ADVENTURE #80, 'THE SEARCH FOR THE KEY'."
5120 PRINT : PRINT "TO PROPERLY ENJOY THIS ADVENTURE,
YOU SHOULD FIRST PLAY #80. HOWEVER, IF YOU DO
NOT HAVE #80 AND WISH TO PLAY THIS ADVENTURE
RIGHT NOW ANYWAY, YOU MAY DO SO."
5130 PRINT : INPUT "DO YOU WISH TO RETURN TO THE MAIN
HALL NOW?";A$: IF LEFT$ (A$,1) < > "N" THEN 10
5140 PRINT : PRINT "VERY WELL.": PRINT DK$"RUN THE
RESCUE MISSION"
------------------------------------------------------
#118 - Pittfall
Date Fixed: 5/4/89
Problem: READ cmd gives wrong effect or OUT OF DATA
Fix: In line 23210, change AD%(A,4) to AD%(A,5)
Problem: OUT OF DATA error if carrying 6 weapons
Fix:
2015 PRINT DK$"CLOSE"
2060 HOME: VTAB 5: PRINT "AS YOU START TO ENTER THE
MAIN HALL,": PRINT "LORD WILLIAM MISSLEFIRE
APPEARS AND": PRINT "TELLS YOU, 'YOU HAVE TOO
MANY WEAPONS": PRINT "TO KEEP THEM ALL--4 IS THE
LEGAL LIMIT.": PRINT "YOUR WEAPONS ARE
Problem: club address is wrong
Fix: change Effect #4 to correct address
------------------------------------------------------
======================================================
Eamon Adventure Listing
------------------------------------------------------
Ratings are given on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 highest. Format is R/N, where R = the adventure's overall rating; N = the number of people who have rated it.
Note key:
a: version 4 or older h: contemporary setting
b: version 5 i: 40/80 column capability
c: version 6 j: 80-column only
d: version 7 k: 40 & 80 col. versions
e: (not used) l: 2-disk adventure
f: contains a quest m: 3-disk adventure
g: science-fiction n: 4-disk adventure
1. Main Hall & Beginners Cave D. Brown 4.5/2 a
2. The Lair of the Minotaur D. Brown 3.3/3 a
3. The Cave of the Mind Jacobson/Varnum 2.5/2 a
4. The Zyphur Riverventure J. Jacobson 5.7/3 a,f
5. Castle of Doom D. Brown 4.7/3 a
6. The Death Star D. Brown 4.0/2 a,f,g
7. The Devil's Tomb J. Jacobson 5.3/3 a
8. The Abductor's Quarters J. Jacobson 6.0/1 a,f
9. Assault on the Clonemaster D. Brown 5.0/1 a,f
10. The Magic Kingdom D. Cook 3.0/1 a
11. The Tomb of Molinar D. Brown 3.0/2 a,f
12. The Quest for Trezore J. Jacobson 7.0/1 a,f
13. Caves of Treasure Island Genz & Braun 3.0/1 a,f
14. Furioso W. Davis 4.0/1 a
15. Heroes Castle J. Nelson 5.0/1 a
16. The Caves of Mondamen J. Nelson 8.0/2 a,f
17. Merlin's Castle R. Hersom 4.0/1 a
18. Hogarth Castle K. Nestle 4.0/1 a,f
19. Death Trap J. Nelson 7.0/1 b
20. The Black Death J. Nelson 7.0/1 a,f,h
21. The Quest for Marron J. Nelson 7.5/2 b,f
22. The Senator's Chambers J. Plamondon 5.0/1 b,f
23. The Temple of Ngurct J&R Plamondon 7.0/1 b,f
24. Black Mountain J. Nelson 7.0/1 b,f,h
25. Nuclear Nightmare J. Nelson 7.0/1 b,f,h
26. Assault on the Mole Man J. Nelson 7.0/1 b
27. Revenge of the Mole Man J. Nelson 7.0/1 b
28. The Tower of London F.& S. Smith 6.0/1 a,h
29. The Lost Island of Apple D. Brown 2.0/1 a
30. The Underground City S. Adelson 2.0/1 a,g,h
31. The Gauntlet J. Nelson 5.0/1 b
32. House of Ill Repute Anonymous 2.0/2 a,h
33. The Orb of Polaris J. Nelson 7.0/1 b,f
34. Death's Gateway R. Linden 7.0/1 a,h
35. The Lair of Mutants E. Hodson 6.5/2 a,f,g
36. The Citadel of Blood E. Hodson 6.0/2 a,h
37. Quest for the Holy Grail E. Hodson 7.0/2 a,f
38. City in the Clouds E. Hodson 7.0/1 a,f,g
39. Museum of Unnatural History R.Volberding 6.0/2 b,f
40. Daemon's Playground R.Volberding 4.5/2 b
41. Caverns of Lanst R.Volberding 6.0/1 b
42. Alternate Beginners Cave R.Volberding 5.0/2 b
43. Priests of Xim! M & E Bauman 5.0/2 b
44. Escape from the Orc Lair J. Hinkleman 4.3/3 b
45. SwordQuest R. Pender 7.5/2 b,f
46. Lifequest D. Crawford 2.0/1 b,f
47. FutureQuest R. Pender 7.5/2 b,f,g
48. Picnic in Paradise J. Nelson 7.0/1 c
49. The Castle Kophinos D. Doumakes 7.0/1 b,f
50. Behind the Sealed Door T. Berge 4.0/2 a
51. The Caves of Eamon Bluff T. Berge 7.0/1 b
52. The Devil's Dungeon J. Merrill 5.5/2 a,h
53. Feast of Carroll D&J Lilienkamp 4.0/1 a
54. Crystal Mountain K. Hoffman 5.0/1 b
55. The Master's Dungeon J. Allen 6.0/2 a
56. The Lost Adventure J. Allen 6.0/1 a,h
57. The Manxome Foe R. Olszewski 4.0/1 b
58. The Land of Death T. Berge 6.0/1 a
59. Jungles of Vietnam J. Allen 2.1/4 a,h
60. The Sewers of Chicago J. Allen 2.7/3 a,h
61. The Harpy Cloud A. Forter 4.0/1 b
62. The Caverns of Doom M. Mullin 3.0/1 b,h
63. Valkenburg Castle J. Weener 2.0/1 a,f
64. Modern Problems Anderson/Barban/Thompson 6.5/1 a,f,h
65. The School of Death K. Townsend 5.0/1 b,f,h
66. Dungeons of Xenon S. Bhayani 5.0/1 a,f
67. Chaosium Caves S. Bhayani -/- a,f
68. The Smith's Stronghold A. Porter 6.0/1 b,f
69. The Black Castle of NaGog D. Burrows 7.0/1 b,f
70. The Tomb of Y'Golonac R. Romanchuk 4.0/1 a,f
71. Operation Crab Key J. Vercellone 1.0/1 a,h
72. House on Eamon Ridge T. Berge 3.0/1 b
73. The Deep Canyon K. Blincoe 6.0/1 a
74. DharmaQuest R. Pender 9.0/1 b,f
75. Temple of the Guild D. Doumakes 7.0/1 b
76. The Search for Yourself D. Doumakes 8.0/1 b,f
77. Temple of the Trolls J. Nelson 8.0/1 c,f
78. The Prince's Tavern R. Davis 9.0/2 b,f
79. The Castle of Count Fuey D. Brown 6.0/1 a,f
80. The Search for the Key(80a) D. Brown 3.0/1 a,f
81. The Rescue Mission (80b) D. Brown 7.0/1 a
82. Escape from Mansi Island S. Starkey 5.0/1 b,f
83. The Twin Castles J. Tankard 5.0/1 c,f
84. Castle of Riveneta R. Karsten -/- b,h
85. The Time Portal E. Kuypers 5.0/1 a,g
86. Castle Mantru S. Constanzo 6.0/1 c,f
87. Caves of Hollow Mountain J. Nelson 6.0/1 c
88. The Shopping Mall A. Porter 1.0/3 b,h
89. Super Fortress of Lin Wang S. Bhayani 4.0/1 c,f
90. The Doomsday Clock J. Tankard 6.0/1 c,f,h
91. FutureQuest II R. Pender 8.0/3 b,f,g
92. The Fugitive D. Doumakes 7.0/1 c,f
93. Flying Circus R. Krebs 7.0/1 b
94. Blood Feud R. Krebs 5.0/1 b,f
95. The Maze of Quasequeton B. Kondalski 2.0/2 a,f
96. The Chamber of the Dragons B. Kondalski 2.0/2 a
97. The House of Secrets G. Gunn 6.0/1 a
98. Slave Pits of Kzorland R. Hersam -/- a
99. In the Clutches of Torrik J. Nelson 6.0/2 c,f
100. Sorceror's Spire J. Nelson 8.5/2 c
101. Ground Zero Sam 1.0/2 a,g
102. The Eamon Railroad Sam 2.0/3 a,h
103. Top Secret Sam 1.0/1 a
104. The Lost World Sam 1.0/1 a,g
105. The Strange Resort Sam 1.0/1 a,h
106. Camp Eamon R. Slemon 7.0/1 b,f,h
107. The Last Dragon R. Pender 8.0/1 c,f
108. The Mines of Moria S. Ruby 8.5/2 c,f
109. The Forest of Fear S. Ruby 7.0/1 c,f
110. Fire Island G. Gioia 5.0/1 c,f
111. A Vacation in Europe D. Smith 4.5/2 c,h
112. Hills of History D. Smith 6.0/2 c
113. The Life-Orb of Mevtrelek R. Volberding 7.0/1 c,f
114. Thror's Ring T. Zuchowski 9.0/3 c,f,i
115. The Ring of Doom S. Ruby 5.0/1 c,f
116. The Iron Prison S. Ruby 5.5/2 c,f
117. Dungeon of Doom D. Knezek 8.0/2 a,f,k
118. Pittfall S. Starkey 8.0/1 c,f
119. Grunewalde P. Hurst 6.5/2 b,f,l
120. Orb of My Life J. Nelson 9.0/1 c,f
121. Wrenhold's Secret Vigil R. Davis 9.0/1 c,f
122. The Valley of Death S. Ruby 4.0/1 c
123. Wizard of the Spheres M. Elkin 5.0/1 c,f
124. Assault on Dolni Keep T. Zuchowski 9.5/2 c,f,i
125. The Mattimoe Palace J. Actor 3.0/1 b,f,h
126. The Pyramid of Anharos P. Hurst 8.0/1 c,f
127. The Hunt for the Ring S. Ruby 7.0/1 c,f
128. Quest of Erebor S. Ruby 7.0/1 c,f
129. Return to Moria S. Ruby 8.5/2 c,f,l
130. Haradwaith S. Ruby 7.0/1 c,f
131. Nucleus of the Ruby K. Somers 6.0/1 c,f,j
132. Rhadshur Warrior R. Pender 9.0/1 c,f,h
133. The Final Frontier R. Slemon 5.0/1 c,f,g
134. Pyramid of the Ancients J.& R. Pirone 4.0/1 c
135. The Tomb of Evron M. Greifenkamp 2.0/1 b
136. The Mountain Fortress M. Greifenkamp 3.0/1 b,f
137. The Ruins of Ivory Castle M. Greifenkamp 6.0/1 b
138. Starfire E. Phillips 6.0/1 c,f
139. Peg's Place M&A Anderson 7.5/2 c,f,h
140. Beginner's Forest M. Anderson 5.0/1 b
141. The Infested Fortress M&P Hamaoka 3.0/2 c
142. The Beermeister's Brewery J. Actor 7.0/1 b,f,h
143. The Alternate Zone J. Actor 6.0/1 b,f
144. Gartin Manor G. Gioia 5.0/1 c,f,h
145. Buccaneer! P. Hurst 8.3/3 c,f,l
146. The House of Horrors D. Cross 6.0/1 c,f,h
147. The Dark Brotherhood P. Hurst 9.0/1 c,f,l
148. Journey to Jotunheim T. Zuchowski 8.3/3 c,f,i
149. Elemental Apocalypse S. Ruby 8.5/2 c,f,n
150. Walled City of Darkness T. Zuchowski 8.7/2 c,f,i
151. Eamon S.A.R.-1 (Deneb Raid) D. Crawford 3.5/2 c,f,g
152. The Computer Club of Fear N. Segerlind 5.5/2 c,f,h
153. Lost! N. Segerlind 5.0/1 c
154. A Trip to Fort Scott W. Trent 7.0/1 c
155. Tomb of the Vampire Trent/Grayson 6.0/1 c,f
156. The Lake N. Segerlind 4.0/1 c
157. Pathetic Hideout of Mr. R. N. Segerlind 5.0/1 c,f,h
158. The Lair of Mr. Ed N. Segerlind 7.0/1 c,f,h
159. The Bridge of Catzad-Dum N. Segerlind 6.5/2 c,f,h
160. Monty Python & Holy Grail N. Segerlind 7.0/1 c,f
161. Operation Endgame S. Ruby 9.0/2 c,f,h,m
162. Eamon 7.0 Demo Adventure T. Zuchowski (N/A) d,i
163. The Sands of Mars T. Swartz 6.5/2 a,f,g
164. A Real Cliffhanger T. Swartz 6.0/1 a,h
165. Animal Farm S. Ruby 5.0/1 c,f,h,k
166. Storm Breaker S. Ruby 9.0/1 c,f,m
167. Expedition to the Darkwoods G. Gioia 4.0/1 c,f
168. The High School of Horrors M.Haney/A.Hunt 5.0/1 a,h
169. The Black Phoenix R. Pender 7.0/1 c,f,g
170. Ragnarok Revisited N. Segerlind (July 15)
171. The Pyramid of Cheops R. Parker 5.0/1 b
172. The Mountain of the Master M. Dalton 5.0/1 a,f
173. The House that Jack Built R. Parker 3.0/1 b,h
174. Escape from Granite Hall R. Parker 4.0/1 b
175. Anatomy of the Body R. Parker 3.0/1 b,g
176. Dirtie Trix's Mad Maze R. Parker 3.0/1 b,h
177. Shippe of Fooles R. Parker 3.0/1 b
178. The Alien Intruder r. Parker 4.0/1 b
Dungeon Designer Diskette Version 7.0
DDD 7.0 Multi-Disk Supplement
Dungeon Designer Diskette Version 6.2
Eamon Utilities Diskette
Graphics Main Hall
==========================================================
Here are two additional Eamon sellers.
They do not carry EAG versions of Eamon.
AAA Computer Products
1803 Warren Ave.
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Big Red Computer Club
423 Norfolk Ave.
Norfolk, NE 68701