+therealbountybob Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 (edited) The Tombs of Doomb! We'll it's nearly traditional that we have an extended HSC round in September (happened at least one time before) so here we go!! Conscious that we have re-played a lot of games this season and not had a tournament round we set off on our journey to uncover some new treasures and avoid the steaming mummiified cat droppings! MAIN GAMES Pharaoh's Curse Fandal XEX atarimania info Three four skill levels, if you complete "0" the default then begin on the next one using the passwords (type "SYN" on title screen to enter level 1, "SYNIST" for level 2 or "SYNISTOPS" for level 3) King Tut's Tomb Fandal ATR atarimania info Not played in the HSC before, supports two joysticks in single player mode - if you play using two I guess it will let you shoot and move in different dirs like in Crossfire, I suspect this will make the gane easier so we'll possibly use 1 stick and have the two sticks as a bonus. King Tut's Tomb Settings we're going to go for NO backfire and Skill 1:Difficult (if NTSC this is too crazy then skill 2 is ok). There are several missions that let you starrt on the later levels but use the default "Sands of Time" to begin on stage 1. Seems a nice game, great sounds and nice looking but whether it has the intensity of Tutenkhamun remains to be seen.] SPACE=Bomb, also replenishes your shield! ESC=pause Holding down the OPTION key when booting loads the Create-a-Maze program which allows you to create new mazes. Lost Tomb I think after last time Fandal's version is fixed Fandal ATR atarimania info One of my favourites, a superb Robotron style game. Whip them baddies and get the treasures and escape. NOTE: emulator users -disable fast SIO. See my Lost Tomb Hints below! Pharaoh's Pyramid Fandal XEX atarimania Info Q*Bert style game with a good rating! [See carlsson's comments] Default options "Slave & Novice" are fine, it levels up after each pyramiid is built. Builder is pyramid II etc and the other setting is speed as far as i can see. Desert Falcon Fandal XEX gamesdatabase info atarimania info Another one that would not normally get a HSC outing as it's 130XE only (you can use emulation for this one if you don't have one). Does not show score at end of go. Play on Advanced. Pharaos Quest Atarimania ATR and info He He more Turbo-BASIC goodness! It's Pharaoh's Curse stylee! Hold up to jump then keep L/R held. Doesn't show score at end of go but you can use ctrl-1 to pause it/un pause it or press Break and type PRINT P to show your score, you can then try GR.17:CONT to resume perhaps (not tried that last bit!). Pyramid Run Fandal XEX atarimania info This one looks promising! Revenge of the Mutant Camels Fandal XEX atarimania info Budget game! Some crazy fun, has a shop and level selection screen. Puzzle Bonus Lorien's Tomb Fandal XEX atarimania info Yes a puzzle game but a good one, they never win the polls so this is a good excuse to play one Play for level reached, there are moving platforms from Level 10 so gameplay changes here. Pyramid Fandal XEX Pair two cards with the sum 13 or 26 (e.g. 8+5, B+2, D+A, K+K) arrow keys = cursor movement, Return = select a card, K = take one card from the stack, S = turn the stack, Space = pair selected card with a card from the stack, Q = new game Adventure Bonus The idea here is to try an adventure game, hopefully find one that is fun! There are several with a suitable theme (I've droppped Sands od Egypt as it was not much fun as you started in an unmappable maze). The Tomb of Death Fandal XEX Don't go in that's my advice! What the heck it's text adventure bonus game time! Classic trbb Curse of the Pharoah Fandal XEX and a but of RPG for anyone so inclined... Beneath the Pyramids Fandal ATR atarimania info One from Mike Potter (Synapse: Shadow World etc) If it's any good there is another one Indiana Jones - Pyramids of Giza ! Bonus Bonus Desert Survival Test atarimania Ok that will do, have fun enjoy the games just play the ones you want to so no complaining We'll sort the scoring once we see how the games hold up, If we need to we can bring in Tutenkam/Tutenkhamun and relegate others to bonus game status. The following games have been re-burried in the tomb: Pharaoh's Tomb Fandal XEX Desert Race Fandal XEX Pyramid Fandal XEX Crypts of Plumbous Fandal XEXCrypt of the Undead Fandal ATREgypt Ball Fandal XEX Crypts of Egypt Fandal XEX - atarimania info The Sands of Egypt This one required BASIC and OS/B so probably no one will get it working!! Use the Translator disk, the Holmes Archive has lots of them. Fandal ATR - atarimania has info Round ends Thursday 1st October 10am UK time EVERYONE WELCOME TO PLAY, JUST POST A SCORE FOR ANY OF THE GAMES Edited September 11, 2020 by therealbountybob Desert Survival Test Added! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Wow, this must be a record round size-wise! Sands of Egypt was my first adventure game, and a tricky one for someone not a native speaker. Nicer graphics than the Sirius adventures. Can‘t remember it needing BASIC but OS/B wasn‘t an issue on my 800. Can‘t remember if it had a score either. Iirc you‘d just die of thirst if you took to long. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted August 30, 2020 Author Share Posted August 30, 2020 2 hours ago, slx said: Wow, this must be a record round size-wise! Sands of Egypt was my first adventure game, and a tricky one for someone not a native speaker. Nicer graphics than the Sirius adventures. Can‘t remember it needing BASIC but OS/B wasn‘t an issue on my 800. Can‘t remember if it had a score either. Iirc you‘d just die of thirst if you took to long. I'm sure well can a few of them! The handful of better ones will end up as main games and make the tourney, the others can get players some extra participation points, should be something for everyone here and hopefully will all get to play something we haven't played before too King Tut first go it's just too slow/easy on default "speed 3" on PAL anyway so change it to Difficulty 2 or 1 perhaps. Seems a nice game, great sounds and nice looking but whether it has the intensity of Tutenkhamun remains to be seen. Will update the first post with info/settings as we go on the games. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 (edited) Geez, 21 games and still you skipped a few candidates! Yeah, some will probably be worthy a 3 minute test play while others will be more enticing. Edit: A first run of the main games to tell which ones I want to play more or not. King Tut's Tomb: 4444 pts (too bad it only supports horizontal shooting) Lorien's Tomb: ~11000 pts (doesn't display high score or last score) Lost Tomb: 2000 pts (looks hectic, reminds a lot about Shamus) Pharaoh's Curse - 2575 pts (not sure how much I like this, though I'm sure other people do) Pharaoh's Pyramid - 2221 pts (diagonal joystick movement!) I had to read the hints about Pharaoh's Pyramid in order to play it. What looks like safety steps at the bottom of the screen, are stones you should pick up one at a time and move to the top of the pyramid. Once you have moved all of them, you can clear the pyramid as usual and the level ends. Pressing fire button seems to cause instant game over, so watch out for that. Actually the game has a bunch of settings at the start screen: Joystick left: Toggles "C" on/off, not sure what it does Joystick right: Toggles 1 or 2 players (I presume) Joystick up: Toggles Slave, Builder, Architect, Wizard, Prince, Phraraoh (difficulty level?) Joystick down: Toggles Novice, Intermediate, Expert, Awesome, Just for fun (speed?) I played on Slave + Intermediate. Not sure which combo to start with. Edited August 30, 2020 by carlsson 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graywest Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Looks like it's going to be an epic round! I started out with Pharaoh's Curse since it has been a favorite ever since I was a kid. L0: 4375 L1: 4470 L2: 4790 L3: 4155 For those who beat the game the scores will probably all be in the same 4000-5000 range, unless you hang around and kill the pharoah/mummy over and over or pick up a lot of bonus crowns. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 Yes thanks guys, EPIC ROUND is the plan! Comments ion the games, and suggested skill settings or scoring alternatives e.g. level reached very useful, like I said we will probably can can a few games but between us we should be able to give them all a once over Season 17 Current Standings UPDATED. hope you are ok deteacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Played a bit of Sands of Egypt. I did remember a lot but not enough to get more than about halfway through. There is no scoring at all, so scores would have to be based on progress or - that would be my suggestion - one bonus point for giving it a try. It's tough and needs some old-school mapping to avoid getting lost in the desert. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 13 hours ago, slx said: Played a bit of Sands of Egypt. I did remember a lot but not enough to get more than about halfway through. There is no scoring at all, so scores would have to be based on progress or - that would be my suggestion - one bonus point for giving it a try. It's tough and needs some old-school mapping to avoid getting lost in the desert. That's nice that it is a game you knew. I'll be playing all the games, that is for sure Has a long session on Lost Tomb 31760. It's all about the Whips folks, great game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 Pharaoh's Curse 2,935 I was a bit rusty! Checked out a few of the bonus games: Pyramid Run 2,880 (default skill 5), not bad at all, there is an end of level stage (I messed it up) gets faster on each level. If you start on skill 1-4 you get less men too. Let's you enter your name and saves it too by the looks of it - might mess up a menu disk Crypts of Plumbous retured on "really Tough" way too easy unless I'm missiong something you just shoot the baddies and the scrolling and background doesn't really feature? Was thinking of dropping this one from the round? Or we could have highest score in 1 man on Really Tough, in which case I scored 6 points! ? Pyramid (Mirage) yes a plod and map game, not really my cup of tea but the movement is fairly quick. Getting on the ladders is a pain. Nice title screen and music fairly good but couldn't turn it off. Could drop this one also? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) How about this? Main 5 games: each game ranked based on score, with internal points X .. 1 depending on number of participants Bonus games: 0.5 internal point per game played (max 7) Total: The sum of all 5 games + how many bonus games you played, and HSC points awarded based on the total. A bit similar to how we ended up playing Pitstop, where RedThunder got a massive bonus for playing exactly every combination of settings, combined with the best scores for a selected set of courses. Edited September 1, 2020 by carlsson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graywest Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Eew, Crypts of Plumbous is just bad. I have it on tape and played it exactly once. Now it sits on the shelf, looking pretty. The most interesting thing about it is that it was written by a relatively highly-rated cardiologist who learned machine language in his spare time, and he is still practicing medicine today: https://www.dignityhealth.org/ourdoctors/1245324201-james-jengo No word on whether his game design skills have improved, though. ? I tend to agree with Carlsson's idea - I wouldn't drop any, even if they're horrible. We've got four weeks, might as well try as many as possible. But I'm pretty flexible, so... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) Aha. Based on the still screenshot, I kind of hoped that Crypts of Plumbous would be something like Nebula on the Super Cassette Vision, which has a little bit of that Egypt vibe to it. By the way, I saw one comment effectively making a comparison that the Epoch Super Cassette Vision is the Japanese equivalent to Atari 7800: great sprites capacity, limited backgrounds, weak sound. The SCV came out in 1984 which was the scheduled release of the 7800 as well. Technology wise I don't they have anything in common though, just conceptually. Edited September 1, 2020 by carlsson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 WOW! alot of games. Might want to make this a 2 month round Desert Falcon manual scan here https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Atari_8_bit/Manual/formated/Desert_Falcon_-_1988_-_Atari.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 (edited) Moderate excitement building in the HSC... Plumbous is in the Drop Zone Maybe we have some promotion to main game candidates! p.s. I've snuck in another game! Edited September 2, 2020 by therealbountybob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 (edited) I suppose Dunjonquest: Curse of Ra and Pyramid Puzzler also may be candidates. If you extend the list of adventure games, Infidel supposedly has an Egyptian setting. There is also another Polish platformer, Fluid-Kha. While Riddle of the Sphinx might not be essential to port from the VIC-20, Oh Mummy (ZX, CPC, MSX, Camputers Lynx, Tatung Einstein and just the other year remade for Intellivision in IntyBASIC) might be a candidate for the future. Edit: Actually I downloaded Riddle of the Sphinx for 16K expanded VIC-20 and was pleasantly surprised by its variation of maze with mini-games. Some are pure random, some are skill based, pretty much all in BASIC. While I lack skills in Atari programming (even BASIC) so I won't give it an attempt at converting, I might play this game a little more seriously later in the month, outside the HSC then. Edited September 2, 2020 by carlsson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 PhARAoh I'm going to be confident I can speill it by the end of the round! PharOAh's Tomb, completed the first stage but it's not a lot of fun, nice graphics. Select togles the T to an S but couldn't see any difference. Pressing fire lets you scroll the screen . Space is a teleport. Another Drop candidate Pharaoh's Pyramid ok I thought I'd figure it out and you need to go back to the top each time to allow you to collect a stone from the bottom again. Some sort of wall being built?! proabably will read carlsson's instructions above again! got to level 4: 5,531 on default skill, has potential to be a decent game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Wall? I think Achmed is buildning a pyramid to pay the kidnappers of his bride. Strange form of ransom but who knows how they did business in ancient Egypt? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedThunder Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 I've downloaded them all ? Do you get a bonus point for that ? Pharaohs Curse King Tuts Tomb Lost Tomb Lorien's Tomb Pharaoh's Pyramid Crypts of Eqypt Pharaoh's Tomb Desert Race Desert Falcon Pharos Quest Pyramid Run Revenge of the Mutant Camels Pyramid Crypts of Plumbous Crypt of the Undead Egypt Ball Pyramid 1992 The Tomb of Death The Sands of Egypt Beneath the Pyramids 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graywest Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 (edited) Wow, Lorien's Tomb is AWESOME! 16,900 Very simple concept - move the frame and press fire to select a block. You can slide the blocks right and left, and they are affected by gravity. Putting two blocks with like symbols next to each other causes them to disappear. Clear all the blocks to advance. Escape to restart (lose a life) if you get stuck. Reminds me of a puzzle game I'd played before, but I can't remember what... Whatever it is, I dig it. Oh, and if you're into the whole snapshots thing - make sure you take a picture before you lose your last life! Edited September 3, 2020 by graywest 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 1 hour ago, graywest said: Reminds me of a puzzle game I'd played before, but I can't remember what... Puzznic by Taito 1989. The same year they also released Plotting (Flipull) which is the fraternal twin to Puzznic. If you want to try a Plotting clone on the Atari 8-bit, you can look up Mad Stone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 18 hours ago, RedThunder said: I've downloaded them all ? Do you get a bonus point for that ? Pharaohs Curse King Tuts Tomb Lost Tomb Lorien's Tomb Pharaoh's Pyramid ... How many do I get for putting them on actual (brand new) floppies? Played some more last night will post later, the cut will come at the weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Oh, it sounds like a golf tournament. First two qualification rounds, then a cut before the top players play the remaining two rounds. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 King Tut's Tomb 14,093 - played on Difficult #2 "Skilled" better but may try skill #1 Got more Lost (in the) Tomb! 71,420 getting into it now, I picked up all the treasures in each room but you could play to see how far down you can get. Crypts of the Undead (I think) BASIC game, plodded around and got some gold, killed by a zombie, you can list the code to see if there's a mission or end goal but probably will drop this one too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 Revenge II: 1500 I so wanted to like this one. Not the intensity of the otriginal but very amusing enemies!! Not sure about the KM and the level selection/shop screen is confusing too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Wow! I was unable to participate in the Zaxxon round due to work constraints, but I'm back for this tomb-themed marathon. Starting with King Tut's Tomb: 9,140! More to come! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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