Commodore 64 Sword of Fargoal

[BillyHW]

Greetings Classic Gamers!

 

So I'm playing Sword of Fargoal for the C64 and was wondering if anybody else has played this before. I'm trying for a really deep dungeon dive, but the game is becoming almost impossible to play cause you can barely move. Also, my invisibility spell doesn't seem to work down here. The bad guys still follow me around. Anyone know why that is? Standing on the temple does make me invisible though.

 

Has anyone else ever tried for a really deep dungeon dive? How far down did you get?

Edited January 12, 2012 by BillyHW

[+SpiceWare]

It's been ages since I've played the 64 version, though it is a very difficult game. I recent beat the iPhone port on Legend(expert) mode.

[JamesD]

It was included as a game with the C64 Joystick (Commodore 64 in a joystick).

I've only been able to get through a few levels, it's very difficult to stay alive as you go deeper.

You've probably made it deeper than I have.

[BillyHW]

Ooospies, I think the light spell cancels out invisibility.

 

The game is a bit easier with the save states in the VICE emulator. Was it possible to save your game on the original system? Also it runs realllly slow deep down and the sound gets annoying.

 

Yes, it gets very difficult deep in the dungeon (past the sword stage). Darn near impossible. Demons get very difficult to avoid, you can't even tell if they're demons, and they basically wipe out all your progress and experience, so that you can't kill anyone anymore.

 

I think it would be really cool if the programmer put in some sort of secret wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy deep down in the dungeon, but I haven't found anything in my searches online. Is it possible to check the source code to see if there are any easter eggs down there?

[BillyHW]

You know with just a few tweaks, this could have been a much better game.

 

1. That sound effect when the enemy moves gets really annoying late in the game. It has to go. It would help the game move faster too, which would be a big help.

2. It needs a better ending, maybe even a nice graphic with our hero smooching some princess.

3. Just needs two secrets: i. A secret enemy or two very deep in the dungeon (maybe even a four-tile boss dragon?). ii. A secret item or two, like a Diamond of Enchantment. Maybe beating the special character gives you a clue to solve to find the special item.

4. An alternate ending if you get the secret item, maybe the same graphic, but the princess strips to her underwear if you get her the diamond.

5. Would it kill to have just the tiniest backstory?

6. Demons need to be less powerful.

 

I realize this was a 1982 game, but it does seem doable for the C64. Nothing crazy.

Edited January 12, 2012 by BillyHW

[BillyHW]

Boooo, I think fighting an enemy also cancels out invisibility.

[+SpiceWare]

Ooospies, I think the light spell cancels out invisibility.

Yep, that it does.

[carlsson]

I understand the VIC-20 version that came before the C64 version is yet more limited, but I don't quite know in what ways. At least each map is much smaller at 22x23 characters instead of 40x25. Perhaps Jeff McCord and those who helped him had to cram in as much as they had time for in order to meet Epyx' deadline, so there wasn't much time to make it very much more advanced.

 

One could have asked for a Fargoal II though, with some of your additions. Perhaps Epyx sold enough of the Apshai series so there never was a desire for an sequel, or that Jeff never had a chance to do it and thus nobody else would get to it as well? Just speculating here. I understand he is on the Internet with his own Fargoal site and all, so you might want to reach him and initiate a discussion.

 

Sword of Fargoal is a cool game with a certain amount of followers, but I believe it is a small niche compared to e.g. the M.U.L.E. community. Indeed it is a completely different game, but roughly contemporary and at least on the C64 both were available and being ports from other systems (VIC-20 and Atari 800 respectively).

[JamesD]

I think it originated on the PET but I'm not sure.

[BillyHW]

I thought it was VIC-20 too.

[JamesD]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_of_Fargoal

 

 

Sword of Fargoal was created by author and programmer Jeff McCord and based on his original dungeon adventure, Gammaquest II, which was programmed in BASIC for the Commodore PET computer and written while he was still in high-school in Lexington, KY. Gammaquest IIcreated randomly generated dungeons which were revealed piece-by-piece as the character explored the map, and stayed "lit" behind the character as it moved, emulating the "mapping" of a dungeon level. The game graphics however, were limited to the character set of the computer.^[2]

 

McCord accepted an offer to publish the game from the software company Epyx Inc. in 1982 on the Commodore VIC-20. His original name for the new version was Sword of Fargaol, deriving the name from the Old English spelling of jail (gaol), but his producer at Epyx, Susan Lee-Merrow, convinced him to change it to its present form.^[3]

 

Based on a Pet game and updated for the Vic.

[SeaGtGruff]

I understand the VIC-20 version that came before the C64 version is yet more limited, but I don't quite know in what ways.

I had the VIC-20 version-- still have it, actually, but I haven't turned on my VIC in a few decades.

 

I don't know how the two versions compared and contrasted with each other, as I've never played the C64 version, but I used to enjoy playing the VIC-20 version. I wonder if anyone's ever made a list of the differences?

[Arkhan]

Hmm, this was one of the first C64 games I played. I thought it was alot of fun (and I finished it, though it took many, many tries, and lots of swearing).

 

It definitely falls short of being as fun as the other similar games: Gateway to Apshai, Temple of Apshai (Trilogy!)....

 

but it's way better than Telengard.

Edited January 15, 2012 by Arkhan

[BillyHW]

Hmm, this was one of the first C64 games I played. I thought it was alot of fun (and I finished it, though it took many, many tries, and lots of swearing).

 

It definitely falls short of being as fun as the other similar games: Gateway to Apshai, Temple of Apshai (Trilogy!)....

 

but it's way better than Telengard.

 

I'll have to try those.

[Arkhan]

Temple of Apshai trilogy is in my top 5 games on the C64, period.

 

Gateway to Apshai is similar, but a little more arcadey. They're pretty awesome. Epyx made them too, so if you like Fargoal, you can't possibly not like Apshai.

[BillyHW]

Hey guys, do you know if it was possible to save your progress in SoF on the original C64 machine?