+therealbountybob Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 (edited) ARCHON Oh yes, it's here... One of the greatest games of all time Archon has made it into the HSC for the season 14 finale, and it doesn't even have any scoring! Not to worry HSCers as we will come up with some creative challenges to keep you all busy and earn those precious HSC points to move you up the final standings for Season 14. Thanks for playing this year everyone, much appreciated. If you've not played before Turn up the TV volume, load Archon and let the demo mode play though, there are two sets of guys; light and dark, you move one of them around the board and when they overlap the opponents, it's battle time! The winner's piece remains on the square. If you wipe out the opponets side or capture the 5 power points you are victorious! NOTE: the light side pieces are stronger on the light squares and vice versa. Download Fandal XEX Instructions and reviews on Atarimania slx found this pdf of the original full manual The challenges Play each one using both Light and Dark sides (so you get two sets of points for each challenge). NTSC players - let me know if you think the game is too hard to beat - on PAL(UK) it's challenging but not impossible! 1 play Archon! 1pt 2 win by capturing 5 power points 2pts 3 win by eliminating the opponent 3pts - bonus point for least lost pieces/best performance we'll have to agree on this! 4 no summon elemental allowed - win by elimination 1pt 5 no spells allowed - win by elimination 2pts 6 sacrifice your wizard/sauceror - move them into a battle at the first opportunitiy - no other moves, and let them be killed. No spells allowed. Opponent moves first. 6a - win by capturing 5 power points 1pt 6b - win by eliminating the opponent 2pts 7 no Unicorns/Basilisks, no spells allowed. Do not move them and when they are attacked sacrifice them both! Opponent moves first. 7a - win by capturing 5 power points 1pt 7b - win by eliminating the opponent 2pts 8 no Ogres/Trolls, no Djini/Dragon, no spells allowed. Do not move them and when they are attacked sacrifice them all! Opponent moves first. 8a - win by capturing 5 power points 1pt 8b - win by eliminating the opponent 2pts 9 NEW "The how about this then deteacher Challenge" No power point use. 1st move wizard/sauceror onto neutral square. Then move all pieces onto neutral or squares of the opposite colour - no attacking opponent until this is done. You are not allowed onto squares of your own colour. No spells allowed. 2pts 10 Bonus play 2 player (not on your own!!), 2pts for each game - max 10pts >>>Tables<<< on Post #35 Bonus game: War Room From the abbuc software contest: it's "Archon on ice without the board!" so get stuck into the opponents. Scoring 1pt for a win with each character use joystick l/r plus Select/Option to set. Downloads: War Room updated ver and the Manual. Please give the guys some feedback Hope this is ok for everyone, I didn't like the timed idea as it's not a game to be rushed plus the NTSC/PAL differences etc but you can do this if you wish! If you find the game too hard to complete any of the challenges, just post about each game you played for a bonus point or two. This round (and the season) will end Tuesday 2nd Jan 10PM UK TIME. EVERYONE WELCOME TO PLAY, POST IF YOU NEED HELP Edited December 24, 2017 by therealbountybob 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 This is going to be a fun "week." Challenges completed: 1. Play Archon 2. Win by collecting power squares. 3. Win by elimination. (Only lost 6 pieces.) More to come, but I'll give War Room a shot first. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 Had another go at Archon. Played elimination challenge and wiped out the computer...this time, with no lost pieces. I did have to use the revive, but I ended the game with all my pieces. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 Hm.. I played a game of Archon vs a friend yesterday (Saturday), but then I realize we played it on the C64 rather than the Atari 130XE placed next to it so that game had not counted for HSC bonus even if it happened within this round. What striked me is that the C64 version I had downloaded and put on my EasyFlash cartridge is translated into German, which made it a bit harder, in particular the spells. It makes me wonder if the Atari 8-bit version also exists in many languages, although it would be a bit silly to include bonus points for playing the game in a foreign language (other than English, which all of us supposedly know well enough to handle the game). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 (edited) Ok, a few more challenges completed: Elimination w/no spells: Elimination after sacrificing Wizard: Capture the Power Spots after sacrificing Wizard: My tip for these challenges...take out the opponent's wizard/sorcerer immediately. That will eliminate CPU's ability to cast spells on you. I think I've completed all the challenges, playing the light side. Now to go to "The Dark Side." Edited December 17, 2017 by Deteacher 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 Played Archon. Had planned to play for more but failed. More practice needed. C64 Archon players completely miss the dark/light cycle...this game was really made for Atari colors. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 deteacher :thumbsup: OK either deteacher is an expert NTSC Archoner or I've lost my PAL powers (both) but I've barely survived my first outing and captured the 5 power points as light! I'm totally rusty and this was much tougher than I had expected!! it stays on screen at the end of game - here's some attract mode goodness: I'll add another stipulation and another expert challenge to the list... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 (edited) All power points captured (game 2) as Light (with Light starting). Getting back into this but don't know how I will survive without my beloved unicorns. Tried the same for dark with light starting and got clobbered after an epic battle to the last man. Light won with one knight remaining. Need to work on my melee combat skills. This time I used a gamepad, though, while the first game was with a TAC-2. Maybe my left thumb is too slow. Edited December 18, 2017 by slx 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedThunder Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 (edited) As Light 1 Play Archon! 1pt CHECK 2 Win by capturing 5 power points 2pts CHECK 4 no summon elemental allowed - win by elimination 2pts CHECK 5no spells allowed - win by elimination 2pts CHECK 7no Unicorns/Basilisks or spells. Do not move them and when they are attacked sacrifice them both! Opponent moves first. No spells allowed. CHECK As Dark TBA Edited December 18, 2017 by therealbountybob I've renumbered the challenges - trbb 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 Well you guys are hitting the road running #2 Completed - win by power points playing as Dark - changed to my Comp Pro stick as I was too scared to shoot straight using my beloved Quickshot Anyone who is new to the game and struggling can use the feature to get an extra piece for the first three challenges (I've renumbered them by the way) - I think you click on the wizard and do summon then move the cursor to a blank space - someone will know and report back on this ? I'll play more Archon tomorrow now I'm taking a look at the latest ver of War Room! I've added another couple of challenges and reduced the scoring slightly as there's two sets of points for each (light and dark) Season 14 Current Standings updated with previous round's scores. Still time to vote in the Kaz Kompo for best games of 2016 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 deteacher :thumbsup: OK either deteacher is an expert NTSC Archoner or I've lost my PAL powers (both) but I've barely survived my first outing and captured the 5 power points as light! I'm totally rusty and this was much tougher than I had expected!! Photo1850.jpg it stays on screen at the end of game - here's some attract mode goodness: Photo1851.jpg I'll add another stipulation and another expert challenge to the list... LOL! Thanks, TRBB. I played the crap out of this game as a kid. One of my all time favorites. I will say, once you learn the art of the computer's attack strategy, you can use it to your advantage. Gonna give the new challenges a try, but it will be a lot harder without my unicorns, Djinn and Trolls. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 (edited) Played my first game as the dark side...Capture challenge completed. Elimination Challenge (spells used): Almost took his whole army out with just my dragon. Edited December 19, 2017 by Deteacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 (edited) Challenge two completed for the dark side (no Elementals used but needed a spell). That dragon is nice and packs some punch even on light squares (Light wizard imprisoned it on a center vertical square and kept attacking it but never killed it off). Had a go for challenge 3 but after almost eliminating Light starting with a nice Dragon romp I accidentally won by defeating a knight on a power point. Had to try again and finally made it but with my forces severely decimated. There's a very detailed description, probably more helpful to those new to the game who have not sucked up the feeling for who's how strong when and where in their digital infancy It deserves a read even by experienced players as it confirms that the Atari version is the best version of the game. Even more detailed informations gained from reverse engineering the game, including an AI analysis and detailed stats. Maybe useful to add to post #1. Maybe another challenge to play not having read all this Just found that the manual that Atari included with the XE version is a lot shorter than the original EA version available on Atarimania. It doesn't contain the stats and omits a lot of the hints and strategy tips. What a bunch of cheapos, denying their players valuable information to save maybe 5c worth of paper and printing. I found a pdf copy of the original manual. Now there's some work to be done. Dark will get some reprieve before getting eliminated. Edited December 19, 2017 by slx 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 Won by elimination as Dark Side! What about that extra piece thing deteacher? I forgot to try it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedThunder Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 (edited) I know this is not scoring, but. I played how I like with Light on this occasion and timed it to a Win. 22Min 48 Sec TIMED TOTAL ELIMINATION I thought I wrapped it up early.... but lost the unicorns, genie and wizard. Edit: I only playing this version to total elimination, because I had an early quick win and messed up the times. Just lucky. Edited December 20, 2017 by RedThunder 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedThunder Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 (edited) Got worse :-{ 24Mins 05Sec Edited December 19, 2017 by RedThunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedThunder Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 21m15sec Slightly better...still hopeless time :-( Warroom Played the game, got to Round 5.....back to Archon :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Won by elimination as Dark Side! Archon.jpg What about that extra piece thing deteacher? I forgot to try it. What extra piece thing? Don't know what you mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 ... What about that extra piece thing deteacher? I forgot to try it. What extra piece thing? Don't know what you mean. I've just been messing around, might not be what I thought but I did find this: if you choose revive (lose a piece first) and then click on the bottom space instead of the lost piece you get a random(?) piece but when it gets planted on the board it is only a knight. So not much use really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 ...I found a pdf copy of the original manual. Thanks for this Added link to the first post - this is a good read in itself, the Q&A part is amusing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 Working my way through the list one battle at a time... Light Side won with no Summon Elemental. Had to sacrifice a Unicorn when I realised I was about to get the 5th power point 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 Had my first blow-out: Dark side no summon - a bleeding valkyrie had my number! Was down to 1 vs 2; my sauceror and a guy with a club, but had to tackle it on a light square. When the computer is down to one piece it looks like it doesn't attack you even on a changeable square. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) Challenge 3, Light winning by elimination (and having all power points at the same time). Altogether winning by elimination feels a bit like a slog compared to capturing all power points. Some computer decisions feel half-baked, like the computer imprisoning my Phoenix rather than the Djinni. Anyone found an elegant use for the Phoenix besides roasting goblins on lighter squares? Edited December 20, 2017 by slx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 Challenge 3, Light winning by elimination (and having all power points at the same time). ... Altogether winning by elimination feels a bit like a slog compared to capturing all power points. Some computer decisions feel half-baked, like the computer imprisoning my Phoenix rather than the Djinni. Anyone found an elegant use for the Phoenix besides roasting goblins on lighter squares? It's fun vs shapeshifter and especially the wraith! banshee!! [edit[Just reading that manual it implies it is one of the strongest pieces but I'm not so sure about that? Would be great to see some of the logic modified. With this extended Archoning I'm trying to use the blockage things more - hiding behind them with the little guys and nipping out for a quick slug or shooting diagonally through them to catch mr.computer unawares 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) With this extended Archoning I'm trying to use the blockage things more - hiding behind them with the little guys and nipping out for a quick slug or shooting diagonally through them to catch mr.computer unawares I will have to learn that, too. My standard tactic is to move up and down on the left or right side and wait for an enemy to move up/down to my location and then hit him with a sideways shot. I am hopeless at diagonal shots and find vertical shots much harder, too. I did a Shapeshifter vs. Phoenix fight in one of the games but that really seems to be a matter of split-second trigger action to inflict some damage before/after the fire protection begins/wears off for the other player and the only way to win this is probably due to more strength to start with. I really need to play this against a good human player again. This is really one of the best Atari 8-bit games of all time, a technical marvel when published and probably the best fusion of chess and action ever. Edited December 20, 2017 by slx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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