16K cassette 24K disk
by Michael Duboy
An Adventure is designed for joystick input only. Move the joystick right for a yes answer or left for a no answer. Use north (top of joystick) and south directions to increase or decrease the amount of food and water being purchased by you. At other times these joystick positions will input the direction of travel. When you have the desired amount of food and water, press the fire button to acknowledge purchase.
The hero in the game starts out with only enough food and water to last one day. Three moves are a day's journey in game time. Abdul the loan shark is always ready to loan a hero enough gold to provision a short journey. He can be found at the "c" in "city. "
There is a limit of 100 weight units that can be carried by the hero. This should be taken into account when buying food and water. These provisions can be obtained at the "i." Water is cheap, but food is not. You buy these in amounts used in one day's travel.
The journey to the lost city is long and perilous, having a psychic companion along is always an advantage. A companion doubles the amount of weight that can be carried. You can only have one companion at a time, but if he dies you can always hire another companion. Remember though, that debts must be paid. Companions can be found at the "t;" but be prepared to pay their price or go alone. The more a companion's asking price, the stronger he'll be. Don't forget food and water for your companion!
Beware of the sea, as you're likely to drown. The forest is swarming with bandits. The trail is longer but safer than the forest, and -- of course -- there is also a storm that can flood the trail.
When you arrive at the lost city you will notice strange symbols on the ground. You must guess the number these symbols represent. Here a psychic companion will prove invaluable. His hints will reduce the number of guesses necessary to open the stones. (Hint: Don't guess a number over 26.) Evil spirits roam the ancient city. The longer you stay in one place, the likelier it will be that they will appear to steal food and water from you. When you tire of adventuring, you can end the game and obtain a rating by occupying the "y" in "city." You'll find leaving the lost city a lot harder than entering it.
The following variable descriptions should give the reader the opportunity for modifying the game. For example, islands and a sea adventure can be added to the game; also a trading post or another city.
Documentation
| Variable(s) | Purpose |
| A C D O | Represents constants in order to save memory |
| ITY | Turns off(1)/ on(0) loan subroutine |
| A$ B$ C$ | Used to randomize alphabet; C$ also holds output strings |
| HP | Strength of Hero |
| GD | Amount of gold carried by hero |
| F | Food units |
| W | Water units |
| WT | Weight units |
| WT$ | Used to round off weight units |
| GX GY H | x y coordinates and shape of pixel moving to |
| X Y HI | x y coordinates and shape of pixel |
| S | Direction of joystick moved |
| RD | Probability factor of an event |
| B | Number of adversaries |
| DEC | Number of adversaries killed |
| NAME$ | Contains various phrases |
| E | Used in interpreting joystick moves |
| HPB | Damage done by Adversaries |
| HPC | Strength of companion |
| I1 I2 I3 | Temporary variables |
| IT | Amount of loan repayment |
| I | Temporary indicator of who is being hit |
| T | Increases or decreases amount of gold found |
| GUESS | As GUESS increases in value the probability of Evil Spirits increases |
| ITC | Amount of gold in debt to companion for |