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Crime Stopper for the Apple II and C64

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:41 am
by Juan
Has anyone around here played Crime Stopper by Imaginative Systems Software/Hayden Book Company for the Apple II and the Commodore 64?:

http://doperoms.com/roms/apple_ii/Crime ... 9.zip.html

http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=1799&d=18

It was made by Dan Kitchen (same guy who programmed Crystal Caverns) and Barry Marx.

I've done a number of things already, including meeting the informant at the museum (but he gets killed before he can say much), but I can't quite find out what to do next. The game seems to work basically by "triggering" (i.e. you need to visit places, do certain things or interact with certain characters, which will then trigger the appearance of new places, things or characters that were not visible before.) Since I have been stuck for quite a while, I couldn't resist taking a look inside the program itself, to see if maybe I could find any "clues" about what to do next. I "discovered" that there is a pawn shop at a certain location, but this is not visible at the point of the game I am in. There's also a ticket for a basketball game, a key to a locker, etc. but none of these items have appeared yet.

If anyone knows what to do for these "invisible" places and things to appear, please feel free to divulge it.

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 1:38 am
by Amby
I haven't played this game but it is covered in an old adventure game hint book I have. Based on what's in that book the guy in the museum part is pretty far along in the game...

Lets see, have you:
gotten stuff out of drawer
answered telephone
read telegram
turned on TV and changed the channel
visited the roof
gotten the safe combination
bought a newspaper
...

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:05 am
by Juan
Amby wrote:I haven't played this game but it is covered in an old adventure game hint book I have. Based on what's in that book the guy in the museum part is pretty far along in the game...

Lets see, have you:
gotten stuff out of drawer
I suppose this is the drawer at your office. Yes, I have.
answered telephone
Yes, BOTH times (once at the phone in your office and the other time at the public phone in front of the bank)
read telegram
turned on TV and changed the channel
visited the roof
gotten the safe combination
bought a newspaper
...
Yes, I have. But just in case, I will repeat it again. Does the book indicate if these actions have to be done in a particular order?

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 1:11 am
by Amby
gotten stuff out of drawer
answered telephone
read telegram
turned on TV and changed the channel
visited the roof
gotten the safe combination
bought a newspaper
This was the order the book listed them in followed by
reading the newspaper and saying something to the guard at the Sizemore building

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 2:52 am
by Juan
Amby wrote:
gotten stuff out of drawer
answered telephone
read telegram
turned on TV and changed the channel
visited the roof
gotten the safe combination
bought a newspaper
This was the order the book listed them in followed by
reading the newspaper and saying something to the guard at the Sizemore building
I didn't say anything to him. Just showed him the note (or the telegram, can't remember which one right now) and then he gave me some items. Does the book say what is it you have to say to him?

Any other clues? The ones above seem to be from the very start of the game.

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:07 am
by Amby
Does the book say what is it you have to say to him?
Book says: Tell Guard, Al Clubs
Any other clues? The ones above seem to be from the very start of the game.
Yes, these are the first clues in the book. There are 15 or so more. It's hard to know which ones to give since I haven't actually played the game and I don't want to give a clue that gives too much away and spoils your enjoyment of the game...

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:20 am
by Juan
Book says: Tell Guard, Al Clubs
Oh, yes, that's right, when he asks you to identify yourself. Yes, I did that.
Yes, these are the first clues in the book. There are 15 or so more. It's hard to know which ones to give since I haven't actually played the game and I don't want to give a clue that gives too much away and spoils your enjoyment of the game...
Well, I'm at the point where the informant gets killed at the museum. Haven't been able to continue from that point. As stated in the first post, I actually took a peek at the program itself, and found out that there's at least one location which has not appeared yet: the pawn shop. I must do something for this location to appear, but what???

Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 4:32 am
by Juan
Amby wrote:Yes, these are the first clues in the book. There are 15 or so more. It's hard to know which ones to give since I haven't actually played the game and I don't want to give a clue that gives too much away and spoils your enjoyment of the game...
Does your clue book say anything about these items?:

Blowgun
Dart
Hypodermic needle
Small statue
Noise maker
Silk hanky
Old handgun

These objects are lying around and I have not found any use for them so far. Maybe one of them is the key to get "unstuck".

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 2:53 am
by Amby
Ok, lets see..
It says that the blowgun and dart of of no use - as is the hypo
It doesn't even mention the statue or noisemaker
There is a situation very near the end of the game where you have to "Shoot Man" more than once so I'm assuming this is where you make use of the handgun??

Have you woken up in the freezer yet?

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:03 am
by Juan
Amby wrote:Ok, lets see..
It says that the blowgun and dart of of no use - as is the hypo
OK, thanks. I can stop wasting time with those items then.
It doesn't even mention the statue or noisemaker
Hmmmm...
There is a situation very near the end of the game where you have to "Shoot Man" more than once so I'm assuming this is where you make use of the handgun??
Yes, I suppose so, but as you say that seems to be near the end of the game, not quite where I am stuck (1/2 or 3/4 into the game, I guess?)
Have you woken up in the freezer yet?
Yes, and I have gotten out of it as well. I have also used the ticket stub to get into the movie theater.

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:42 pm
by Amby
Did you get the invitation while at the theatre?
Open the safe?
Receive message at station platform?
Answer the phone at 6th and 50th?

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:37 am
by Juan
Amby wrote:Did you get the invitation while at the theatre?
Yes.
Open the safe?
I assume this is the safe at Al Clubs' appartment. In that case, yes, I have.
Receive message at station platform?
I assume this is the bus station. In that case, no, I have not received any message there. What do I have to do to get this?
Answer the phone at 6th and 50th?
Yes.

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:12 am
by Amby
assume this is the bus station. In that case, no, I have not received any message there. What do I have to do to get this?
It doesn't specify a type of station, only that is is at 2nd Ave and 90th St where "a man should approach with a message". This comes after opening the safe in the apartment and before answering the phone.

Next comes finding a dead man apparently.

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:27 am
by Juan
Amby wrote:It doesn't specify a type of station, only that is is at 2nd Ave and 90th St where "a man should approach with a message". This comes after opening the safe in the apartment and before answering the phone.

OK, 2nd Ave and 90th St., that clarifies it. It is not the bus station but one of the many subway stations. Yes, I have done this. The man who approaches you with the message is the informant that you later have to meet at the museum.
Next comes finding a dead man apparently.
Later on the informant gets killed at the museum before he can say much, and when you turn around you find his corpse. I suppose this is what is being referred to.

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:27 am
by Amby
Next big events seem to be paying the ransom then meeting the courier.