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Krago Castle (krago_castle_hints.txt)

KRAGO CASTLE
Assassin Software, 1984
=======================

Overview & Hints by Exemptus - October 2022


Our goal in this game is to find the hoard of gold hidden within Krago Castle
then escape. The introduction tells us a number of useful things: green potions
restore stamina, red potions double strength, black potions are bad, parchment
scrolls allow us to detect secret doors, and vellum scrolls remove an obstacle.
Also, Krago Castle is full of evil creatures which will attack on sight. Does
this look more like an RPG scenario? You could be forgiven for thinking so.

This game straddles the line between text-based RPGs and text adventures: it
uses text commands for some things while movement is single-entry, it is
real-time, there are random combats, the player has stamina and strength as the
two main attributes, and there are objects which can be used to bypass some
obstacles, so it is a bit of a mix.

The game mechanics consists in roaming about the castle and gathering treasures.
We are told that there is a room which has a capstone blocking the hidden gold,
so the idea is to look for it. Rooms descriptions do not show any exits or
objects in them by default, the player has to VIEW a room for that. When VIEWed,
rooms show their visible exists and two possible classes of objects: immovable
ones, which can only be LOOKed, and carriables, which are on the floor and can
be PICKed up and carried with us.

The interface is odd. As noted, directions such as NESW are single-key entry, no
ENTER needed, and there are two other single key commands as well:

V: Gives a description of exits and visible objects in lighted rooms.
C: Allows a command (verb + noun) to be entered

Long commands include LOOK (an object) only used to search immovable objects.
Most of these will have nothing to see, but some can hide other carriable items.
For some reason, we have to use TAKE for objects uncovered by LOOK, but PICK
with objects on the floor. The verb LIFT also exists, but it is totally useless.
We can EAT and DRINK, which restores a bit of stamina, and also REST at will,
but the latter carries the risk of an enemy attacking us. Some enemies are in
fixed positions, and others are located at random, as are many objects. An old
man can appear as well, whom we can ASK for some cryptic clues. There is also a
HELP facility, but it can only be used a few times, and it offers a single-word
clue for the room we are in if it has anything special (most of the time it just
says "You're OK").

Another command is TEST WALLS, which looks for secret passages. These are always
in the same places, but won't be revealed unless we have used the parchment
scroll or said command. Finally, WAIT pauses the game, and SAVE allows to dump
the game status to tape.

A reliable walkthrough for this game looks unfeasible due to two reasons:

* There is too much randomness. Objects are hidden anywhere within immovable
  room decorations (which are constant), revealed by LOOK, but not always. There
  is a chance of an object not being found just by LOOKing, so it is necessary
  to do this several times. We get tired just by ambling about, and our stamina
  is reduced. Food, drink and rest are very slow in building it up, and the
  green potion is the only reliable way to top it up, but there is usually only
  one to be found in the whole game. Also, in the kitchen, the floor sometimes
  gives and pulls us to the dirt-pit, preventing access to other rooms reachable
  from there. And fights also have a random factor, so it is essentially
  impossible to predict where the objects we need are, or how many times we'll
  need to look for them.
  
* The game is bugged in several places. The DROP logic is faulty, and some
  objects may disappear after dropping others, which can put the game in an
  unwinnable state. It's best not to DROP anything, not that it's necessary at
  all, but this makes things cumbersome. Also, the endgame trigger requires an
  object (the ancient map) which might not appear anywhere in the game, for some
  combinations of random numbers, and hence the player can't know in advance if
  the game can be completed once the map is generated. Happy days.
  
However, it is possible to give a general sketch of playthrough. This goes as
follows:

(1) Start VIEWing all rooms and LOOKing all decoration which shows by the VIEW
    command, several times to make sure. You will look for the following six
    items, which are needed to complete the game:
    
    * A vellum scroll
    * A crowbar
    * An ancient map
    * A plank
    * A pair of boots
    * A bucket
    
(2) If you draw your own map, use TEST WALLS as well in all locations. Some will
    have secret exits which can be made available this way. If you are using my
    map, these will be the places where a dotted connection appears in a
    direction not shown by VIEW. Continue LOOKing for hidden objects in rooms
    reachable this way. If you come across a parchment scroll, USE it as it will
    detect secret exits automatically.
    
(3) Avoid combat if possible. Remember that time passes while waiting for a
    single-key command (but not when the game waits for a long command) and a
    monster could come in the room meanwhile. If you come across a room with a
    monster, you can normally move right away and avoid the fight, but you will
    need to fight if you need to search the room, of course.

(4) Some non-puzzle objects you will probably need are the green and red
    potions (I never came across a black potion), in order to restore stamina
    and double strength, which makes fights easier.
    
(5) There are four locked doors and three keys: bronze, copper and iron. Each
    one opens one of the doors; the last door is not opened with a key. You may
    or may not need to get the keys, as you could potentially find all the
    needed objects without them, but if in doubt, carry them. The copper key can
    actually be ignored because the group of rooms behind can be reached via a
    secret passage, but the other two can't.
    
(6) You do not need the lamp, lantern, or tinderbox, since dark locations can
    be ignored. Darkness has no ill consequences in this game. The same goes for
    amulets, talismans, or any other treasures. Weapons allow for easier fights
    and there are two around: a mace and a sword. But they're not strictly
    necessary as you need to avoid fights as much as possible; use your own
    judgement, depending on stamina level.
    
(7) Once the six items above are found and taken, go to the corridor with the
    locked door and USE VELLUM. This removes the locked door and allows your
    passage into the room with the capstone. Here you need to USE CROWBAR, which
    lets you go East. The boots allow you to cross the lava room and USE PLANK
    will negotiate the pit. If you found a second vellum scroll, you can use it
    to open the locked door in the Rock Vault (actually, you don't need to carry
    it and USE VELLUM will work). Make your way to the Oval cave where the
    hoard of gold is.
    
(8) But this is just an illusion (as revealed by HELP), and TEST WALLS will
    reveal yet another Rock vault to the east, with the true hoard of gold. If
    you have both the bucket and the ancient map with you, the command USE
    BUCKET should load the last part and show you the endgame. This can be hit
    and miss due to the game status being unreliable due to randomness. In case
    the command does not work, you can break the game (as it's unprotected) and
    type the following:
    
    POKE u+19,1:GO TO 50
    
    so this will force the endgame part to be loaded.
    
Apparently, as the endgame says, there was going to be a sequel called "Mog in
the Land of Soth", but it never saw the light of day. Just as well.