CASA ::

Does anyone around here have instructions for the early Adventure International title The Labyrinth of Crete?:

http://yois.if-legends.org/vault.php?id=273

How in blazes are you supposed to switch between Hercules and Jason? I can't find information on this technical detail anywhere on the net, and it seems impossible to make any substantial progress in the game without being able to control both characters separately. I even went into the program code to see if I could figure it out by looking at the command list, but so far I have found nothing in it that seems to allow the switching between characters.

Interesting; I've found an Atari version of it, though it was apparently also done on Apple and C64 (can't find anything though). The Atari version does seem a bit buggy (doesn't tell you when a command is bad).

I can say it's definately not SAGA or SAGA+ and the graphics aren't SAGE.

When I've got some more time I'll have a delve and see what more I can do on it...

Let me know if you can figure out how to switch between both characters.

I can't seem to get anywhere in it (I must be stupid), maybe you've already worked these out:

• The runes indicate Ariadne's sword is around, but I can't work out how to get it
• The wooden bridge implies an eastern exit and water beneath it, but I can't do anything with it
• No obvious way around the hydra (maybe the sword)

I'm going to have to term it too hard to continue if I can't work out any of the puzzles.

I actually found a partial solution of the first areas of the game. However, the problem is that right from the start it tells you to separate the characters! But HOW??? I want to start trying what the partial solution says but I can't even get to control Hercules and Jason separately. I even asked Scott Adams, who published the game, and he could not remember how it was done.

The big question about this is: was this done by typing a command or by pressing a key? So far I have not found any command that seems to allow this to happen.

Interesting I found a thread on the atarimania forum that states that the version there came from a copy which didn't have the copy protection fully removed; this makes me wonder whether it may be corrupted!

I didn't save the URL unfortunately and I can't find it again

Have you tried contacting Cliff Johnson? His web site is http://www.thefoolandhismoney.com/index.htm (email address about halfway down). Just remember to state that you are talking about his text adventure, and not the later game with the same name.

I did wonder about that; but I'm not certain it's the same Cliff Johnson; he doesn't mention the text adventure at all on the website and it looks like he didn't even have a computer when the text adventure came out...

It's the same guy.

From this page http://www.justadventure.com/Interviews/CliffJohnson/FoolMoney.shtm

Thanks for the info. I just sent him an email requesting info about how to switch between Hercules and Jason. Let's see what, or if, he answers.

OK, I got an answer from Cliff Johnson. Curiously enough, he wasn't 100% sure of how it was done, but gave me the following thing to test. He said that you should type commands like "Hercules go North", "Jason go East", and so forth, and that the character you are instructing to go in that direction will go there without the other. In order to "reunite" the characters just send them to the same screen and they will be controlled as one again.

I tried doing this in the Atari 8-bit version available at Atarimania, but all I got were lines of "garbage". It would appear that their copy is corrupted, or that the Atari emulator I am using (Atari800Win) is not handling the game properly. If anyone manages to get these instructions to work with that Atari version, under any emulator, please share it.

I have tried it in a few other emulators and got the same thing; it does look like a corrupt version of the game (I'd already tried sentences like the above).

Or maybe it's some insidious defect of the copy protection on it...

Having played last week Elysian fields I wanted to play another game based on mythology and stumbled on this one. At first I had the same problem of not knowing how to change between Jason and Hercules. I watched the program code but couldn't find the solution. I found this thread on the forum and thought maybe your right and the atarimania version is corrupt. Then I started to search the internet if there was somewhere another version then the one you can download on Atarimania. I found two other Atari versions but both gave the same result. Alas I didn't find the Apple or C64 version but I did find the manual of the c64 version explaining the problem (I've uploaded it to the site). The game only understands two word commands. If you want to change between Jason and Hercules you have to enter for instance J/GET SWORD or H/S. I enjoyed playing this game. Knowing a bit about Greek mythology certainly gives you an advantage but hints can be found about almost everything inside the game.