Raiders of the Lost Ark Parachuting & Frustrations

[Lord Thag]

I beat this a time or two back in the day. Never could figure the scoring out though. I always found it to be fun (and strange). Early adventure games were so WEIRD, you know? I actually like that about them. I would love to see a scratch-programmed hombrew adventure-type game someday. Maybe I'll even do one myself when I have the time. The demo I programmed was *hard* to debug, but I had fun. Where are you, free time?

[NE146]

Hmm... perhaps I should add a small request--

Can someone take a small video of them getting into a Mesa?

 

Then I could study it and become a master.

 

-John

856183[/snapback]

 

Well.. cupcakus USED to have a file hosted right here on Atariage that was a video of a "perfect" game of raiders of the lost ark.

 

It used to be hosted at http://www.atariage.com/~clarkin/ ..but that appears to be gone now

 

Al, what happened to the file?

[Foxsolo2000]

So what about the rumoured Yar in the Black Market? Was that just a rumour or was there a shred of truth to it?

[Chris++]

A crippled-looking Yar (Eric the Half-a-Yar, maybe?) appears if you drop the Chai while falling past the Flying Saucer Mesa, but other than that, I don't think there's another Yar in the game.

[D.Yancey]

Here's the best explanation of scoring I've seen on this game. It does say you get 5 points for uncovering the Yar, but does not elaborate on how. It includes a few other tid bits also. Enjoy!

 

http://www.twingalaxies.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3421

[Nukey Shay]

How was already decyphered in an earlier thread (by Thomas Z.). Actions (like dropping the Chai while falling) set flags in ram. At the end of the game, these flags are tallied. THE maximum score possible has already been done. There is simply no way for the program to gather the additional "points" needed to raise Indy higher (you score 82 points out of the required 90). Here's where the pedistal height is determined:

 

*=0DDB
LDA $9E
SEC
SBC $A7
SBC $A8
SBC $A9
SBC $AA
SBC $9F
SBC $AB
SBC $AD
SBC $AE
CLC
ADC $A5
ADC $A6
ADC $AC

 

 

This corresponds to the following table of actions:

+12 Locating the Ark on the map

+10 Using the shovel

+3 Using the parachute

+9 Using the ankh

+5 Getting Yar

+2 (not added if life is lost)

+14 Finding the Ark (end of game)

+3 Safe landing in a mesa

+0 ??

-2 Use of grenade at the temple

-13 Using the secret panels in the temple

-4 Shooting a thief

 

 

Note the +0 points. This is due to the "score" involving ram location $AE. Unfortunately, this ram location isn't changed from zero. So whatever it used to be, is no longer there. That would account for the missing points...as well as the game creators' statement about the undiscovered easter egg.

 

You can follow the evolution of this reverse-engineering here:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6328

Edited May 18, 2005 by Nukey Shay

[Foxsolo2000]

** In the film, Indy and Marcus allow the Ark to be "lost" again rather than let it be experimented with...does this have any significance? Do you go all that way and NOT dig it up, but reach an ending some other way?

 

 

 

Nukey, read your earlier thread on Raiders (which is above) and it got me thinking. You may have hit on something here for perhaps that is what you have to do, not dig it up. I may be way off base here but as I stated earlier you can make the earth rise up within a mesa to make a hole appear. I have never done this in a mesa where the ark was hidden and will have to dig out my 2600 and see if anything happens. Do you think that this might be something? Also what purpose was the rock for in the entrance room? The crack looks as if it was made to accept the snake but for what other purpose was it for?

Edited May 18, 2005 by Foxsolo2000

[Nukey Shay]

** In the film, Indy and Marcus allow the Ark to be "lost" again rather than let it be experimented with...does this have any significance?  Do you go all that way and NOT dig it up, but reach an ending some other way?

 

 

 

Nukey, read your earlier thread on Raiders (which is above) and it got me thinking.  You may have hit on something here for perhaps that is what you have to do, not dig it up.  I may be way off base here but as I stated earlier you can make the earth rise up within a mesa to make a hole appear.  I have never done this in a mesa where the ark was hidden and will have to dig out my 2600 and see if anything happens.  Do you think that this might be something?  Also what purpose was the rock for in the entrance room?  The crack looks as if it was made to accept the snake but for what other purpose was it for?

857659[/snapback]

 

 

Well, the kernal was designed to handle 3 playfield objects. I guess since the key graphic was no longer needed, the rock was probably added to take it's place. Other than decoration, I can't guess about what it might be used for. I don't see anything in the code that's checking for a set of specific X-values for the snake's ram.

 

And the dirt mound is just a glitch as far as I can tell. It doesn't matter if the Ark is there or not (and once making it happen, it won't be dug up and you'll have to exit and reenter the screen to get it back to normal).

[Nukey Shay]

I should add that if you don't dig it up, you'll miss out on those 14 points. So I doubt that my earlier suggestion about "finding another ending" was correct at all

[NE146]

Yknow I thought we had uncovered everything there was to know about Raiders already.. aren't there a number of threads all about it's secrets/the initials/yada yada?

 

We really outta document them in one place and make an all out 'RAIDERS REVEALED' faq or something...

[Nukey Shay]

Yknow I thought we had uncovered everything there was to know about Raiders already.. aren't there a number of threads all about it's secrets/the initials/yada yada?

Everything that's known, correct. This undiscovered deal is a bit trickier...since the creators claim that it's part of the game (not to mention the game's scoring system allows for an "unknown" value to be added). And those photos exist of the game in action at one point during development that show something that is impossible (so far) to replicate. So it's just slightly above being a rumor that there's more to Raiders than what you already see.

[StanJr]

yeah, but aren't those "Screenshots" really sketches, or are they true photos?

[Foxsolo2000]

That is a question that has been bothering me. Are the pictures real? It seems strange that they cannot be replicated. I talked to Tempest the other night who confirmed that so far none of the protos have been different from the released verson so the question remains how was it done?

Thanks for the info Nukey. Tried to find out for myself the other night only to discover my power pack had rolled over and died. Thought I had worked it out last night but seems that it still eludes me

I agree with the others though, all the eggs, bugs etc should be released in one volume including any and all rumours for it would be interesting to see them all. It could finally answer what all the dots are for in the game for standing on the rock and dropping two bags of coins gives you a dot that if you attempt to drop crashes the game. Added to this there is a dot in the Mesa field that you could make move up and down the mesa field and a third dot when you manage to raise the dirt in the mesa itself. Are these dots just glitches in the game or are they actually part of the game?

[Nukey Shay]

yeah, but aren't those "Screenshots" really sketches, or are they true photos?

857917[/snapback]

 

 

This was the original question put forward (even before the unknown value was shown to exist)...both on the original Nexus site and at Digital Press. And the general consensus was that original published photo is an actual screenshot of the game...which was still a WIP at that time (there's virtually nothing to indicate that it's fake). If it was a fake, it was done very well...better than most mockups used from that era. But why would Atari choose to create a mockup picture for magazine fodder with the intent of giving away a secret in the game? Doesn't make much sense from that standpoint.

 

 

BTW the picture currently shown at DP's page IS indeed a mockup based off the original photo...if that is what you meant

[Foxsolo2000]

So do you think that Atari themselves faked the picture just to sell more games? I remember reading something like that for another game some years ago, about a secret room that was suppossed to exist when in reality it didn't and sales was suppossed to have gone up from people buying it to try and find the room. Wish I could remember which game it was.

[Chris++]

It's likely that some VCS screen shots, when they were real, were taken during development. Things seen on the screen might well have been removed from the final game before its completion.

[StanJr]

sure, but that goes back to the question of why display a screenshot of something like an easter egg? Isn't the idea of a screenshot to demonstrate gameplay, show off graphics, etc.? An egg screenshot (this one in particular) doesn't do that as well.

[Chris++]

Maybe HSW was being sneaky when he said, "Sure, use this screen right here, guys."

 

Or maybe I'm starting to get silly and should just go on home for the day.

[Nukey Shay]

So do you think that Atari themselves faked the picture just to sell more games?

858010[/snapback]

I doubt it. The Raiders name itself generated enough hype to sell the game without any third-party involvement. Most people AFAIK didn't even know about the "missing object" until they a) bought the game, b) saw the screenshot, and c) recognised that it was missing from the game purchased. Since (a) is a given, a shifty angle wasn't needed. They already bought it.

 

 

 

I remember reading something like that for another game some years ago, about a secret room that was suppossed to exist when in reality it didn't and sales was suppossed to have gone up from people buying it to try and find the room.  Wish I could remember which game it was.

I dunno...Pikablu?

 

 

 

It's likely that some VCS screen shots, when they were real, were taken during development. Things seen on the screen might well have been removed from the final game before its completion.

858088[/snapback]

Some things were definately removed (or at the very least, left unfinished). The key graphic and the unknown point value both verify this.

 

 

 

Sure, but that goes back to the question of why display a screenshot of something like an easter egg?  Isn't the idea of a screenshot to demonstrate gameplay, show off graphics, etc.?  An egg screenshot (this one in particular) doesn't do that as well.

858248[/snapback]

Nobody knows what that object is. Since JD supposedly had his initials in the game at some point during development, the missing object is assumed to be his signature. This is also an assumption that is challenged widely...since it looks nothing like his signature for ET (while HSW's does). According to the manual, the Ark is said to be buried someplace within the Valley Of Poison. Perhaps that object was once something that assisted Indy there? And along the way, it was changed as the game grew to accomodate more complex gameplay?

Sounds like just as good a theory as the signature one.