KRAGO CASTLE Assassin Software, 1984 ======================= Overview & Hints by Exemptus - October 2022 Our goal in this game is to find the hoard of gold hidden within Krago Castle then escape. The introduction tells us a number of useful things: green potions restore stamina, red potions double strength, black potions are bad, parchment scrolls allow us to detect secret doors, and vellum scrolls remove an obstacle. Also, Krago Castle is full of evil creatures which will attack on sight. Does this look more like an RPG scenario? You could be forgiven for thinking so. This game straddles the line between text-based RPGs and text adventures: it uses text commands for some things while movement is single-entry, it is real-time, there are random combats, the player has stamina and strength as the two main attributes, and there are objects which can be used to bypass some obstacles, so it is a bit of a mix. The game mechanics consists in roaming about the castle and gathering treasures. We are told that there is a room which has a capstone blocking the hidden gold, so the idea is to look for it. Rooms descriptions do not show any exits or objects in them by default, the player has to VIEW a room for that. When VIEWed, rooms show their visible exists and two possible classes of objects: immovable ones, which can only be LOOKed, and carriables, which are on the floor and can be PICKed up and carried with us. The interface is odd. As noted, directions such as NESW are single-key entry, no ENTER needed, and there are two other single key commands as well: V: Gives a description of exits and visible objects in lighted rooms. C: Allows a command (verb + noun) to be entered Long commands include LOOK (an object) only used to search immovable objects. Most of these will have nothing to see, but some can hide other carriable items. For some reason, we have to use TAKE for objects uncovered by LOOK, but PICK with objects on the floor. The verb LIFT also exists, but it is totally useless. We can EAT and DRINK, which restores a bit of stamina, and also REST at will, but the latter carries the risk of an enemy attacking us. Some enemies are in fixed positions, and others are located at random, as are many objects. An old man can appear as well, whom we can ASK for some cryptic clues. There is also a HELP facility, but it can only be used a few times, and it offers a single-word clue for the room we are in if it has anything special (most of the time it just says "You're OK"). Another command is TEST WALLS, which looks for secret passages. These are always in the same places, but won't be revealed unless we have used the parchment scroll or said command. Finally, WAIT pauses the game, and SAVE allows to dump the game status to tape. A reliable walkthrough for this game looks unfeasible due to two reasons: * There is too much randomness. Objects are hidden anywhere within immovable room decorations (which are constant), revealed by LOOK, but not always. There is a chance of an object not being found just by LOOKing, so it is necessary to do this several times. We get tired just by ambling about, and our stamina is reduced. Food, drink and rest are very slow in building it up, and the green potion is the only reliable way to top it up, but there is usually only one to be found in the whole game. Also, in the kitchen, the floor sometimes gives and pulls us to the dirt-pit, preventing access to other rooms reachable from there. And fights also have a random factor, so it is essentially impossible to predict where the objects we need are, or how many times we'll need to look for them. * The game is bugged in several places. The DROP logic is faulty, and some objects may disappear after dropping others, which can put the game in an unwinnable state. It's best not to DROP anything, not that it's necessary at all, but this makes things cumbersome. Also, the endgame trigger requires an object (the ancient map) which might not appear anywhere in the game, for some combinations of random numbers, and hence the player can't know in advance if the game can be completed once the map is generated. Happy days. However, it is possible to give a general sketch of playthrough. This goes as follows: (1) Start VIEWing all rooms and LOOKing all decoration which shows by the VIEW command, several times to make sure. You will look for the following six items, which are needed to complete the game: * A vellum scroll * A crowbar * An ancient map * A plank * A pair of boots * A bucket (2) If you draw your own map, use TEST WALLS as well in all locations. Some will have secret exits which can be made available this way. If you are using my map, these will be the places where a dotted connection appears in a direction not shown by VIEW. Continue LOOKing for hidden objects in rooms reachable this way. If you come across a parchment scroll, USE it as it will detect secret exits automatically. (3) Avoid combat if possible. Remember that time passes while waiting for a single-key command (but not when the game waits for a long command) and a monster could come in the room meanwhile. If you come across a room with a monster, you can normally move right away and avoid the fight, but you will need to fight if you need to search the room, of course. (4) Some non-puzzle objects you will probably need are the green and red potions (I never came across a black potion), in order to restore stamina and double strength, which makes fights easier. (5) There are four locked doors and three keys: bronze, copper and iron. Each one opens one of the doors; the last door is not opened with a key. You may or may not need to get the keys, as you could potentially find all the needed objects without them, but if in doubt, carry them. The copper key can actually be ignored because the group of rooms behind can be reached via a secret passage, but the other two can't. (6) You do not need the lamp, lantern, or tinderbox, since dark locations can be ignored. Darkness has no ill consequences in this game. The same goes for amulets, talismans, or any other treasures. Weapons allow for easier fights and there are two around: a mace and a sword. But they're not strictly necessary as you need to avoid fights as much as possible; use your own judgement, depending on stamina level. (7) Once the six items above are found and taken, go to the corridor with the locked door and USE VELLUM. This removes the locked door and allows your passage into the room with the capstone. Here you need to USE CROWBAR, which lets you go East. The boots allow you to cross the lava room and USE PLANK will negotiate the pit. If you found a second vellum scroll, you can use it to open the locked door in the Rock Vault (actually, you don't need to carry it and USE VELLUM will work). Make your way to the Oval cave where the hoard of gold is. (8) But this is just an illusion (as revealed by HELP), and TEST WALLS will reveal yet another Rock vault to the east, with the true hoard of gold. If you have both the bucket and the ancient map with you, the command USE BUCKET should load the last part and show you the endgame. This can be hit and miss due to the game status being unreliable due to randomness. In case the command does not work, you can break the game (as it's unprotected) and type the following: POKE u+19,1:GO TO 50 so this will force the endgame part to be loaded. Apparently, as the endgame says, there was going to be a sequel called "Mog in the Land of Soth", but it never saw the light of day. Just as well.