QUEST
Tansoft, 1983
=============
Solution by Exemptus - April 2022
Overview and general hints:
---------------------------
A small almost-adventure by Geoff Phillips for the Oric-1. I say
"almost-adventure" because the interface is too simplified: commands are
executed on single key press, and only N(orth), E(ast), S(outh), W(est), U(p),
D(own), O(pen), T(ake), L(eave) and P(oints) are present in the vocabulary. The
objective is enter a cave complex, find a treasure chest then get out again with
it.
There are exactly three objects: a set of Keys, a bag of Coins, and a Treasure
chest. Only the chest counts; the keys are needed to open things and the coins
only add to the score. And there is, arguably, a single puzzle: finding a route
out of the cave once the treasure chest is found. It is only a puzzle because
some routes are blocked when we carry the chest and there is a way around this
that the player is expected to find.
This may sound very simple, and it is, but the adventure is trickier than
expected because some map connections are stateful: they depend on the internal
state of the game and, in particular, of whether some events have happened or
not. Once we are carrying the chest, the only route to get out of the caves is
unavailable to us until something else has happened (the pirate robs us and
hides the chest again), and this happens randomly. But there is no indication
that this changes anything, so it might be difficult to find out that the event
opens a new path. This kind of game mechanic is similar to "Gold", from
Hilderbay, which slightly predates this game; and there are other similarities
that make me think this might be a case of cross-pollination.
In any case, the game is short except for the need to wait for the random event,
and despite the high number of dead end rooms, the only difficulty is figuring
out where the exit route is and how to trigger its availability.
Walkthrough:
------------
[We start outside the cave.]
S
S [Home of the Gnome King, who's out; there is a cupboard here]
E
S
E [In a grotto; there is a book, but it isn't an object and can't be taken]
S [Dead end; the keys are here]
T(ake) [Take what?]
KEYS
[The keys, as expected, allow us to open the cupboard we saw earlier.]
E
W
N
W
O(pen) [Open what?]
CUPBOARD [The gold coins are here]
T(ake) [Take what?]
COINS
E
S
D [Pits, chasms, and other likely places can often be climbed up or down]
E
S
S
U [Up on a ledge]
S [There is an oak door here]
O(pen) [Open what?]
DOOR
W [The treasure chest is here]
T(ake) [Take what?]
TREASURE
[If we try to get out the way we came, we will find that all routes out of the
cave are blocked: The Gnome Kind will be in his room, so it can't be entered,
and other places are too narrow to pass through while carrying the chest. We
need to trigger the opening of a new route. This happens once we have visited
the "R&D room". You won't find it in the map because it overlays another
location temporarily, and it cannot really be visited.]
N [N of chasm]
N [R&D room; visitors are not allowed so we are thrown back to N of chasm area]
[From now on the chest can be robbed from us, and it ought to be, since
otherwise we cannot get out of the caves again with it. This will take place at
random, so I will just assume it happens. You can explore the caves at your
leisure in the meantime.]
[Ready? You have to go to where the treasure chest is, which is the Dead End
directly S of the "Twisting Little Maze" location E of the Little Grotto. Make
your way there then; from N side of the chasm, the most direct route is probably
as follows:]
S
E
N
D
N
N
E
U
S
S
[If all went well, you should be at Dead End with the treasure here. By the way,
it is not impossible to be robbed a second time, though it will not serve any
other purpose except annoying us. The moment we find the treasure again,
entrances to R&D Room from either N side of chasm or Xanadu are unblocked and
the path leads elsewhere. Random connections from the Ashram location also
change, but it is not even necessary to visit the Ashram to finish the game.]
N
N
D
W
S
S
U
S
W
N [N side of chasm again]
N [Glass Palace now]
E
S
S [Black hole; the only way is down]
D [Down a chute and back at the Low chamber again]
N [Out of the cave]
[And this is the end of the game. Depending on places visited, turns and other
variables, more than 100 points are possible.]
