Murder on the Atlantic (C64)

Games for Spectrum, C64, Amstrad, Amiga, Apple ][ and the rest of the 8-bit and 16-bit platforms. Pleas for help, puzzles, bug reports etc.

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Ruxa
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:36 am

Murder on the Atlantic (C64)

#1 Post by Ruxa » Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:43 am

I'm stuck, and cannot find hints anywhere except for a PC version, which seems to be more complex than the c64 one. As far as I can tell, there is not much you can 'do' in the c64 version, except talk to witnessess and search the rooms. As such, I also wonder how one is supposed to complete the game. By answering all the questions correctly in the separate testing program?

I have talked to all the witnesses except for #37 whom I cannot find, and #31 who doesn't talk to me yet. I have answered correctly to the password question, searched all the rooms for several times, found the second corpse, figured out the priests question, the question at the shooting range, and searched Altman's cabin. I don't know what else I can do.

I have, however, been unable to decipher the morse code message, but I don't see how that would affect gameplay. Can someone give me a nudge to the right direction?

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#2 Post by terri » Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:17 pm

I have tried to play this C64 game, but I am confused by the layout. I have figured out that typing E, allows you to move around east-west along the engine room. I have found the raft/rope but I don't know how to get or examine or do anything, and one of the passengers in the cart who has lost his papers (by typing I). There are two combination locks which I don't know how to open.

Is this the game you are playing? Can you give me some pointers as entering verbs, nouns, etc. doesn't work? Is this a text game?

If you are playing another game, can you tell me where I can find it? I can't seem to enter the ftp.gmd.de archive any more.

Ruxa
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:36 am

#3 Post by Ruxa » Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:56 am

Sounds like the same game. It's not a text adventure in the typing-of-words sense. In fact, theres very little you can do. The control keys are

J:up, M:down (works at staircases etc)
>:right, <:left
S: see where you are,
L: look at the characters
E: search/examine
O: open (eg. a box)
A: action or autopsy
I: interrogate or ask
*: call a lift, choose floor by letter when it arrives
P: list main characters
SPACE: pause a testimony
+: save state of inquiry

There are fourty characters in the game and all the live ones have a testimony you can (I)nterrogate from them. Some won't talk to you until you have talked to someone else first.

I suppose that using the testimonies and the materials included with the game in the box (there is a bunch of letters, photos etc. that are 'discovered' on the ship) you are supposed to piece together what happened. I don't know how the game can be finished, but there is a "TEST" program on the disk that asks questions to tell how far along you are.

There is also a couple of easy puzzles that you need information for from outside of the game, though it may give a clue. I've figured them out. The radio operator has a message in morse, but I've not managed to make any sense of that. Anyways, I appear to be stuck by not finding someone and not having someone else talk to me because of that.

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#4 Post by terri » Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:07 pm

Thanks.

I didn't find a TEST disk.

I'll see how I do.

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#5 Post by terri » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:48 pm

I am confused and stumped.

First, I am trying to differentiate between the C64 game and the other one.

Second, some of the commands that you indicated do not work. I am using WinVice, and have tried to play it on both the 64 and 128 versions.

Can you let me know where you found the game, so that I can be sure I am playing the correct version?

Notwithstanding that I likely have forgetten how to play C64 games (saving, loading, etc.).

On one of these version I start in a ballroom, and can't seem to move. On one of them I first get a loading screen of a large boat. On another just a line graphic.

I know I saved something in a .vsf format, but I can't seem to access this.

I suppose I should wipe everything out and start over.

Ruxa
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:36 am

#6 Post by Ruxa » Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:24 am

Actually I've had the game for about 20 years. http://www.gb64.com/game.php?id=14700 looks like the game in question, though.

It starts in ballroom. I quoted you the commands from the manual, but I didn't stop to think about it enough. On a C64 keyboard, <and> are located as SHIFT+, and SHIFT+. The manual is only referring to the physical keys - you don't need to SHIFT them to move in this game. Therefore it should really be saying you move left and right with , and .

A .vsf file is a Vice feature that saves the state and memory of the emulated machine into a file. There ought to be a "Load snapshot" feature in some menu or another that allows you to restore the emulated machine to such a saved state. I guess it can be handy for saving your game, especially if the game in question does not have a save function by default.

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#7 Post by terri » Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:14 pm

So, comma (,) and period (.) move left and right?

Yes, there is a Load Snapshot feature, though for some reason it didn't work.

I guess what they say is true "use it or lose it". I have to play non-spectrum games more often...

Thanks, will tray again.

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#8 Post by terri » Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:02 am

I can go left and right now, but not up and down, or north and south. I've run into a couple of characters, but cannot talk to them yet. I've also come across a letter, but can't do anything with it.

I have tried various ways, but how does one represent an asterisk (*)?

How does one enter a corridor?

Alastair
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Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2005 12:21 am

#9 Post by Alastair » Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:34 pm

Terri, with reference to WinVICE, you should have also unzipped some HTML manuals along with the emulator on to your computer. Look for "vice_toc.html" which is the table of contents. Failing that, the same file is located on the internet at
http://www.viceteam.org/vice_toc.html
with keyboard related sections here
http://www.viceteam.org/vice_2.html#SEC11
and here
http://www.viceteam.org/vice_6.html#SEC48

Anyway, with a UK keyboard I have to press the following keys to get an asterisk with the following keyboard mapping
Symbolic DE (win_sym_de.vkm) use }, that is SHIFT+]
Positional (win_pos.vkm) use ]
Symbolic (win_sym_us.vkm) does not seem to work.

On my keyboard the ]/} key is positioned two to the right of the P key.

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#10 Post by terri » Fri Feb 15, 2008 12:21 am

Thanks Alastair,

Yes I have those files. Do I need to open them, because I can't.

So I will try the square brackets (which in this keyboard are also two positions of the P key).

Also found the hmtl files. Will the .toc. file tell me how to go n/s?

Alastair
Posts: 1046
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2005 12:21 am

#11 Post by Alastair » Fri Feb 15, 2008 1:01 am

The manuals are just regular HTML files, just double-clicking on them should open them up in an internet browser, if not, start up your usual browser and drag "vice_toc.html" on to it.

If you mean the .vkm files then you can open them with WordPad if you wish, but it is not necessary. It is possible to create your own by copying one of the .vkm files and modifying the contents, though to be honest I don't quite understand them.

I've found that the easiest way to find out what key does what is to start WinVICE without a program loaded and then tap on all the keys and make a note of the outcome.

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#12 Post by terri » Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:27 pm

Aaahh..

I tapped all the keys, but with a program loaded. Thanks for this tip.

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#13 Post by terri » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:12 pm

Goodness - what a game. Each boat level needs to be mapped? And all those empty sapces? And people you cannot talk to? Yipes.

This may have to wait a while, as a map out each level.

terri
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 am
Location: Canada

#14 Post by terri » Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:09 pm

OK I have examined every place I can go.

I see all these witnesses and objects, but I can't take them or read them or understand them.

Whenever I see a face, I try to interrogate them, but then the game freezes.

I have run across the radio messages, but don't know how you figured out they are in morse and what they mean.

There must be something that I am not doing.

Ruxa
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:36 am

#15 Post by Ruxa » Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:14 pm

Almost two years have passed, but I finally examined the game to figure out what it is about. Turns out most of its game logic is BASIC, so it was easy to read (or easier than machine language anyway). I thought I'd post a word of my findings here for the sake of posterity.

As far as I can see, I was stuck only because the game wants me to be stuck. It seems that several hours need to pass before one can get forward and the time spent playing isn't even saved, so one should leave the computer on overnight or something. On top of this, it doesn't look like the game really finishes in any manner, you can just find the last witness.

I also discovered the game has an incorrectly fixed off-by-one error in its morse table, which results in the K-P being output as if they were L-Q. This explains why I could never get anything sensible out of the morse code message.

Overall, quite a rip. I don't know why this game held my fascination since 1986. :( Perhaps the versions for the other platforms are better.

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