tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post4633762777176585312..comments2024-03-29T02:34:55.592-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 202: Super Dungeon (1979)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27102132503538704832022-06-14T16:09:54.642-04:002022-06-14T16:09:54.642-04:00Independently of the exact colours, having "s...Independently of the exact colours, having "secret doors" all highlighted on the dungeon map from the start doesn't really make them very "secret"... . <br /><br />I understand the only difference to "locked" doors is how different character types are injured or not when going through them as mentioned above and detailed on Nathan Mahney's blog (https://crpgadventures.blogspot.com/2020/03/game-38-super-dungeon-1979.html). For that purpose, a different term would have worked as well (or even better). But of course it's easy to nitpick in hindsight and creating a commercial CRPG pre 1980 is still a feat.Buscanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84060109879169090822022-04-16T05:05:26.327-04:002022-04-16T05:05:26.327-04:00"I'm not sure what the "gold deposit..."I'm not sure what the "gold deposited" bit is about. I never saw anything that would allow me to "deposit" gold."<br /><br />Looking at the source code, I discovered you can deposit all your gold in the portal in level 15 (the portals are in levels 5, 10, 15 and 20). If you enter the portal square and say you don't want to leave, you deposit all your gold, so the thief can't steal it from you.Exploradorrpghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17491422055928443184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-38486363386592822542021-10-10T17:36:53.819-04:002021-10-10T17:36:53.819-04:00"Moreover, it sounds like Super Dungeon might..."Moreover, it sounds like Super Dungeon might not even be the first. In the same catalog, the game is described as "a SUPER version of the popular Dungeons and Dragons game." I don't know if they're literally referring to the tabletop D&D or some computer predecessor."<br /><br />They're referring to TSR's tabletop game Dungeon! from 1975, in turn based in D&D.<br /><br />All the game names im the catalog are followed by "!", but this one is followed by "!!", so the real game name in the catalog is Super Dungeon!<br /><br />There was a prior computerized version of Dungeon! named Dungeon Adventure in 1978 by Farrel Enterprises for the TRS-80.<br /><br />The mechanics are simpler, with no character development, but the essence is the same: you choose a character class and explore a random dungeon for gold.<br /><br />Maybe the author made Dragon Fire to avoid legal conflicts with TSR.Exploradorrpghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17491422055928443184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-17531453895508740092020-03-05T09:43:17.149-05:002020-03-05T09:43:17.149-05:00I've been playing this for a few days and I ca...I've been playing this for a few days and I can confirm that it has an ending of sorts: if you make it to level 20, there's a black portal square in the bottom left corner, and when you step on it it tells you that you made it to the bottom of the dungeon. Then it returns you to the surface, like a regular portal. So it's 20 levels of dungeon, and that's it.Nathan P. Mahneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88583440662505261162016-06-03T09:43:33.871-04:002016-06-03T09:43:33.871-04:00Agreed, a similar train of thought is when a devel...Agreed, a similar train of thought is when a developer sees a program and says "That would be so much better if it could only..." and goes ahead and does this. IMHO this is responsible for the incremental nature of a lot of game development history.<br /><br />A few months back I was watching a video of Kings Quest on the Apple II and noticed how horrifically slow it did things like draw lines or fill regions (or even clear the screen) and decided I should write some routines that were considerably faster.<br /><br />So I did. :-) It isn't mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07797625314655594068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-30292553265296384142016-06-02T23:04:37.986-04:002016-06-02T23:04:37.986-04:00That sounds like it deserves inclusion in the Addi...That sounds like it deserves inclusion in the Addict's 1988 roster. I appreciate it when programmers hear something is impossible and then make a point of doing that very thing!PK Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14416777230563913195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-53110730707223535452016-06-02T11:28:47.933-04:002016-06-02T11:28:47.933-04:00I can't recall if I added this before or not S...I can't recall if I added this before or not Sylvern Castle was an Apple II game purchased by SoftDisk 1988 but unpublished until 1999. It has had some updates so I'm not sure how you classify this. It definitely isn't mentioned on Moby Games and there is a mention on Wikipedia but not in any of the lists of RPGs.<br /><br /> It is effectively a Wizardry clone. In fact the author wrote it in BASIC because IIRC the Wizardy manual states that Wizardry couldn't have been written in BASIC. Details here: http://finkjsc.a2hq.com/silverncastle/<br /><br />I'm more than happy to give you a hand getting it running in an Apple II emulator. I won't say "it's easy" because that's in my experience a phrase that people with hundreds of hours of experience say to neophytes which does nothing but promote ire. It's also ranks #1 on my list of "least helpful things people can say while still imagining they are helping".It isn't mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07797625314655594068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41857395401704939882015-11-21T02:27:23.129-05:002015-11-21T02:27:23.129-05:00That's not red, nor brown. As Oleg said, it...That's not red, nor brown. As Oleg said, it's more appropriate to call that colour magenta (or reddish purple). Through the magic of HTML5 you can pick the colour out of the picture and it's hexcode is <a href="http://colortohex.com/A70068" rel="nofollow">#A70068</a>; it contains 0 green in RGB, which brown always contains (brown is mixture of red and green in RGB). Also the original Apple II couldn't do red anyway :)Zalmoxisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-520930471896276882015-11-19T03:49:49.843-05:002015-11-19T03:49:49.843-05:00I wouldn't call them "red". Magenta ...I wouldn't call them "red". Magenta is more appropriate I think.Silicon Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13468904778094751143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-57587060154497610002015-11-18T19:44:46.177-05:002015-11-18T19:44:46.177-05:00The corridors are all gray though. How do they loo...The corridors are all gray though. How do they look like to you, Chet?Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-77505139063801635082015-11-18T19:42:37.397-05:002015-11-18T19:42:37.397-05:00Now we have several of these thingies.
Striga (st...Now we have several of these thingies.<br /><br />Striga (strzyga) - An undead female vampire who feasts on pregnant women.<br />Strige (strix) - A vampiric bird.<br />Stirge (D&D) - A huge mosquito.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65390159949371089702015-11-18T12:19:31.208-05:002015-11-18T12:19:31.208-05:00I agree that stirge has been in use so long in the...I agree that stirge has been in use so long in the D & D world that it is the standard spelling. You would get a lot of funny looks if you told players they found a grex strigarum.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-69312501129392979092015-11-18T08:06:11.922-05:002015-11-18T08:06:11.922-05:00Good job on the comparing and contrasting. I still...Good job on the comparing and contrasting. I still like Dragon Fire better due to the room descriptions. JJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-29686865184026394192015-11-18T00:47:14.932-05:002015-11-18T00:47:14.932-05:00Definitely red.Definitely red.Bluerazorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08417137714916057380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-77019945436248097762015-11-18T00:08:05.500-05:002015-11-18T00:08:05.500-05:00You and Fred can slug it out as to whether the reg...You and Fred can slug it out as to whether the regular ones are maroon or red. I did mean to say "white" for the locked doors.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-31218820314916186062015-11-18T00:07:19.219-05:002015-11-18T00:07:19.219-05:00A combination of both, I guess. I meant to say &qu...A combination of both, I guess. I meant to say "white" for the locked doors. I guess the ones that I'm perceiving as "gray" or actually red. Really? That's red?CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8657072039483416552015-11-17T22:58:44.939-05:002015-11-17T22:58:44.939-05:00"Secret doors are blue, locked doors yellow, ..."Secret doors are blue, locked doors yellow, and regular doors gray." The doors in your screenshot are blue, white, and red. Is this your color-blindness at work, or did you just goof?Fred M. Slonikerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00160266344815166217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-81084324694242689282015-11-17T22:27:08.684-05:002015-11-17T22:27:08.684-05:00Huh. I've done a lot of reading about early D...Huh. I've done a lot of reading about early D&D, and had never heard of the 'strige'. My fault for focusing too much on the game and not enough on classical mythology.Nathan P. Mahneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-5982454190510024832015-11-17T20:41:42.038-05:002015-11-17T20:41:42.038-05:00Unless I'm reading the picture of secret doors...Unless I'm reading the picture of secret doors wrong, their colors are blue, white, and maroon, with yellow walls, rather than the reported blue, yellow, and grey.Quirkzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16409671254311123117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65832931195586401762015-11-17T20:02:13.351-05:002015-11-17T20:02:13.351-05:00I remember this discussion coming up recently, but...I remember this discussion coming up recently, but I remembered it wrong. I thought the story was that D&D had correctly spelled it as "strige" but knock-offs had misspelled it. Thanks for the clarification!CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-31619760088572693362015-11-17T16:08:26.216-05:002015-11-17T16:08:26.216-05:00Ref "stirges [sic]", that's the way ...Ref "stirges [sic]", that's the way they spelled it in the original D&D manuals, and the typo has stuck ever since. Since the stirge isn't exactly a vampire, it could be argued that it's actually an original creature, in which case giving it a new name is fine. Anyway, it isn't this game's fault - D&D did it first. :-)Corey Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772474266362396768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18275394378123623922015-11-17T16:04:12.396-05:002015-11-17T16:04:12.396-05:00Just have to say, your thorough research into the ...Just have to say, your thorough research into the history of these games is as impressive as reading your playthroughs. Fantastic work on this blog, really.KenHRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11613789646908929989noreply@blogger.com