ZIGGURAT: THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
Software Super Savers, 1984
===========================
Solution by Exemptus - December 2020
Overview and general hints:
---------------------------
In this adventure we must escape from inside a building with as much treasure as
possible. There are exactly three treasures in this regard, and it is possible
to escape with all three for a total of 380 points and 100% completion.
The building has three floors, which are squares five rooms a side; we begin at
the lowest floor. The exit is at the diagonally opposite room on the top floor.
Commands work as expected: INVENTORY lists our objects and LOOK redescribes our
location. It is possible to EXAMINE objects (though seldom useful) and there is
a HELP facility that can be used four times. Originally, the game could also be
saved on tape four times at most, which does not apply to emulation, but this is
to be considered if for some reason you are recreating the 1984 game experience
as accurately as possible.
Fortunately, there are no vocabulary oddities. SMASH works instead of BREAK, but
this is all. Exits are always marked and accurate (no hidden exits).
Inventory is weight based, not slot based, meaning that we will be able to take
objects as long as their weight does not exceed our carrying capacity; taking
the heaviest object in the game fills up our inventory. In addition, there are a
number of coins scattered around the rooms. These are not treasure, but are
required to solve a puzzle. They can be taken by number (e.g., GET 14 COINS in a
location with 20 coins will do exactly that and leave 6 in the room) and the
maximum number of coins we can carry, if we hold nothing else, is 30.
The whole map is an environmental puzzle, as once we go from the bottom floor to
the middle floor, there is no way to go back down, so we need to carry with us
the objects we think we will need. From the middle to the top floor there is
a restriction as we can only carry one object with us, but it is possible to go
back via a roundabout way. Each object is used exactly once, except for one of
them, which is used twice, and we do not know this in advance, so some trial and
error might be needed.
The game is almost deterministic: there is some randomness with the grappling
hook not falling again, but it is of no consequence as we can repeat the command
until it catches. There is also a fight with an NPC which appears to have
randomness, and this can be the source of some frustration, because we
need to carry an object in order to win the fight - if we do, we will win with
practical certainty, and if we do not, we will lose, but the player might be
fooled into thinking the fight is more random than it is.
The game will prompt repeatedly for input if the player does not enter a command
after a while, but this is not indicative of real-time play as there is no
in-game concept of time, no turns pass, and no events are triggered; it is just
an effect put in for show.
Walkthrough:
------------
[We begin in a room with a barred window.]
EXAMINE WINDOW [We see a tiger at the other side]
GET BOTTLE
EXAMINE BOTTLE [It rattles]
SMASH BOTTLE
LOOK [There was a green key inside]
GET KEY
N
GET COINS
[We are going to want to get all the coins we come across. They are needed to
solve a puzzle later. There are 98 of them, but we can only carry some at a
time - so we will need to stash them temporarily on a location until we can move
them between floors.]
N
N
N
GET SWORD
[The rusty sword is the only object we will need twice, so we will need to carry
it up to the third floor. We do not know this in advance, but this walkthrough
is set up to be more efficient than a blind playthrough.]
W
GET COINS
E
S
S
W
W [To Derelict Room]
[Here we have our first locked door. The key, against expectation, does not open
this door. If we ask for HELP here, we will be told that maybe we should resort
to violence, so this is what we do.]
SMASH DOOR [It opens]
N
[Here are 7 coins, but we are going to need the piece of raw meat to be found
immediately E of this room. This is so heavy that we cannot carry anything else,
so we leave out things here while we solve a puzzle with the meat.]
DROP COINS
DROP KEY
DROP SWORD
E
GET MEAT
W
S
E
E
S
S
[We are back at the starting room. We are now supposed to feed the meat to the
tiger in the adjacent toom through the barred window, so later we can enter that
room from the other side without the tiger pouncing on us.]
FEED TIGER
N
N
W
W
N
GET COINS [There are 15 coins]
GET KEY
GET SWORD
W
W
[This is a good place to store the coins and maybe other objects for a while, as
we need the inventory space to collect the other coins around. Note that the
room N of here is not opened with the green key either, and in fact the game
tells us we do not have the right key.]
DROP COINS
DROP SWORD
E
N
GET COINS
E
GET COINS [Note the 02:55 time on the clock here, as it is a hint for later]
W
S
W
DROP COINS
S
GET COINS
E
GET COINS
S
W
GET COINS
UNLOCK DOOR [With the green key]
DROP KEY
S
GET RING [The ring is the first treasure]
N
E
INVENTORY
[If all goes well, we should have the bronze ring and 12 coins.]
S
E
GET COINS
W
N
E
E
GET COINS
S [Here was the tiger]
GET KEY
N
W
W
N
W
N [Back at the Lobby]
UNLOCK DOOR [With the blue key]
DROP KEY
GET 1 COIN [So 30 are left here, to minimise trips later]
N
[This is the lift. As we can imagine, we will use this to take us up, so we need
to bring here all the objects we will need: the coins, the sword and the ring.]
DROP COINS
DROP RING
S
GET SWORD
N
DROP SWORD
S
GET COINS
N
DROP COINS
LOOK [Check: in the room there should be the ring, the sword and 55 coins.]
EXAMINE PANEL
[Now we turn our attention to making the lift work. It has a numeric panel and
expects a 3-digit code as input, we do not get to pick the floors. If we ask for
HELP here, we will be told that "the answer may take time". Remember the clock
we saw earlier? Now this is a nice bit of puzzle: the obvious thing would be to
input 255 as code, as that was the time the clock displayed, but the code turns
out to be wrong. The answer is that same time, but read in English: five minutes
to three, that is, five-to-three, that is, 5-2-3 when said aloud.]
PRESS BUTTON
523 [Correct combination: the lift moves up...]
[...but malfunctions, taking us up to the second floor instead of all the way
up. Oh well.]
S
GET COIN
S
GET ROPE
E
S
GET COIN
S
GET COINS
N
N
E [The Changing Room]
[This room has two levers, L and R, which can be pulled. Either rotates the room
so the only exit points in a different direction, thus allowing access to the
rest of the floor. The R lever rotates the room clockwise, the L anticlockwise.]
PULL LEVER
R
N
N
GET COIN
W
GET COINS
S
GET COIN
N
E
S
S
DROP COINS [Temporary storage]
LOOK [There should be 13 coins]
PULL LEVER
R
E
GET COINS
N
GET COIN
N
GET COIN
E
GET COIN
KICK BUCKET [Nice bit of humour here, suggested by HELP; something falls out]
LOOK
GET KEY
W
S
E
[This is the Landing Bay. There is a mattress here, which is a takeable object,
but it should not be moved: it will allow us later to fall from the third floor
here when we are forced to come back for the treasures left behind.]
GET HOOK [We have a rope, here is a hook...]
TIE ROPE [...so now we have a grappling hook with rope]
[There are also some pictographs here, which we cannot translate now, but there
is a Sumerian dictionary elsewhere that allows us to. Saving you the trouble, it
says that the room to the south of here is under construction, which we know the
moment we enter anyway, because the floor caves in and we fall to our death.
In fact, it is possible to enter, but we must have no objects with us, so we
first leave all.]
DROP COINS
DROP HOOK
DROP KEY
S
GET WASHER [The hardware piece, not a washing machine]
N
GET HOOK
GET KEY [Regrettably, we cannot take the coins in the same trip]
W
S
W
DROP WASHER
DROP HOOK
DROP KEY
E
N
E
GET COINS
W
S
W
PULL LEVER
R
GET KEY
S
E
E [Weaving room]
[The door to the south of here opens, as suggested by the graphic, with 99 coins
being inserted in the contraption on the wall. Nicely, the picture will display
how many coins are left to be inserted, so we can bring them in any order.]
GET COINS
INSERT COINS [Now 73 are left]
GET CARPET
W
S
GET COINS
UNLOCK DOOR [With the red key]
DROP KEY
W
GET GOBLET [The second treasure]
E
N
W
N [Changing Room again]
DROP GOBLET
PULL LEVER
R [Back to the initial position]
W
S
W [There is a fire to the south of there, but this is why we have the carpet]
SMOTHER FIRE
DROP CARPET
S
GET COINS
[Here is the Sumerian dictionary we mentioned earlier; there is no need to use
it now.]
N
E
N
E
GET COINS
PULL LEVER
L
S
E
E
INSERT COINS [Only 56 left now]
W
W
N
[Time to bring the rest of the coins and other objects we left at the lift. We
will need several trips for this.]
PULL LEVER
R
W
W
N
N
GET 30 COINS
S
S
E
E
DROP COINS
W
W
N
N
GET COINS
S
S
E
E
DROP COINS
W
W
N
N
GET RING
GET SWORD
S
S
E
E
DROP RING
DROP SWORD
LOOK [Check: Ring, goblet, sword, grappling hook, washer, and 55 coins.]
PULL LEVER
L
GET 30 COINS
S
E
E
INSERT COINS [Only 26 left now]
W
W
N
GET COINS
GET WASHER
S
E
E
INSERT COINS [Just one coin left]
[There are no more coins in the game, and one is missing. Luckily, the washer
has the same size as a coin, so it is natural to try.]
INSERT WASHER [It fits, and the door opens]
W
W
N
GET SWORD
GET HOOK [We leave the treasures here for the moment]
S
E
E
S [There is a ledge up here]
THROW HOOK [If it falls back, repeat this command until it does not]
CLIMB ROPE
[We are now on the top floor, and we cannot go back the way we came. The reason
why we have left the two treasures behind is that the game prevents you from
climbing the rope carrying more than one single object. We will first need the
sword to expedite a path back, then the idea is to make two separate trips in
order to fetch the treasures.]
N
W
GET SCREWDRIVER
S
GET KEY
UNSCREW DOOR
DROP SCREWDRIVER
N
E
N
W [Messy room]
[Here there is a mummy blocking all other exits from the room. HELP says we
should use violence, therefore we must fight. Although the fight has random
elements, there is no practical way to defeat the mummy unless we carry the
sword. If we do carry it, which is the case, it is almost impossible to be
defeated. If the outcome of the fight is death (very improbable), just restore a
saved position and try again. Normally it requires hitting the mummy with the
sword 4-5 times, but it can be more or less than this.]
KILL MUMMY
Y [Response to "Strike again?", repeat as necessary until the mummy flees]
DROP SWORD [Won't need it again]
[Now we can make the two trips back to the middle floor in order to bring the
treasures, but first it pays to clear the way to the final treasure in this
floor and to the exit as well.]
W
S
W [Note there is no door back E here]
W
UNLOCK DOOR
DROP KEY
S
GET FLUTE [The final treasure]
N
N
N
PLAY FLUTE [The melody opens the music lock door north to the exit]
[We could finish the game now just going N, and we would have a score of 280
(73.6%). The following section is just for 100% completists.]
DROP FLUTE [We will need our hands free for the following manoeuvres]
E
N [The S door closes behind us, despite the lack of a message]
[This door is a shortcut to the exit that we will use, but it only opens if we
SIT ON THRONE. The problem is that it closes again the moment we stand up. The
other door is always open, so we need to put a heavy object on the throne to
keep the S door from closing.]
E
S
S
S
S
GET ANVIL
N
N
N
N
W
PUT ANVIL ON THRONE
[Preparations are finished. All left to do is retrieve the two other treasures
and exit.]
E
S
S
E
N
E [There is no floor here and we fall to the Loading Bay on the middle floor]
W
S
W [Note that we can enter the Changing Room even if the exit points South]
GET GOBLET
S
E
E
S
CLIMB ROPE
N
N
W
DROP GOBLET
N
E [Loading Bay again]
W
S
W
GET RING
S
E
E
S
CLIMB ROPE
N
N
W
GET GOBLET
W
N
N
W
S
W
GET FLUTE
N
[End of game, with 100% score. If the computer resets, this is intentional, by
the way.]
