Username: Password:
RegisterForgotten Password

Quest (quest_pscp_wt.txt)

QUEST
Peninsula School Computing Project (Roger Chaffee), 1978
========================================================

Solution by Exemptus - June 2023


Overview and general hints:
---------------------------
This adventure is a simplified recreation of the typical cave-like explorations
inspired by the Crowther & Woods original on mainframes in the 1970s, only in a
much smaller scale: the first implementation had to run in a PET 2001 with 8K
of RAM. As a result, there is no parser nor a proper inventory: the game has a
single object, the Treasure, and requires single-command entry. The player has
to enter a system of caves, locate the Treasure, then get out with it.

Despite these limitations, the game is not trivial to finish. This game was
ported by the author to MBASIC (available in practically all CP/M systems) and
the source code was published in BYTE Magazine in mid-1979. This gave way to
numerous ports, variants and adaptations of the game in the following years,
given the dearth of similar games in the market and the ubiquity of CP/M
systems. For instance, "Quest" by Tansoft for the Oric is a slight variation of
this game, with a few changes. "Gold" by Hilderbay for the ZX81 is a different
game, but very much inspired by this one, and with the same core and spirit.

The general idea of the games in this family, of which this is the original, is
to explore the caves, find the treasure, and get out, but once the treasure is
found, some of the connections change, and direct paths to the exit are no
longer possible because either some rooms are blocked from entry, or some
connections lead to other places. In this version, if faithful to the source
code (some ports I have seen are buggy due to typos), there is a pirate that
shows up a certain number of turns after the player has unsuccessfully tried to
exit the caves via the natural route, steals the Treasure, and hides it in a
different place. The player has to find the Treasure again, at which time other
alternative connections become available and exiting the caves is possible once
more, but it's for the player to figure out how exactly to get out.

This game has a points system, which allows for competitive play. It has no
bearing in completing the adventure and it mostly depends on visiting all
possible rooms, so I won't bother with maximizing the score at all. If this
interests you, know that the top score is 66 points, according to the author.

Only single-letter directions are accepted (N, E, S, W, U, D) and P for Points.
There are no other commands: if we come across the Treasure the game will ask if
we wish to take it or not.


Walkthrough:
------------
[We start outside the cave. Let's remind ourselves that there are four distinct
phases in this game which will happen sequentially:

1. We haven't yet found the Treasure:
   * We may exit the cave again if we wish.
   * The pirate won't show up.
2. We have found and taken the Treasure:
   * Exit is no longer possible.
   * The pirate will appear exactly 15 turns from the moment we get back to the
     N/S Tunnel.
3. The pirate has stolen the Treasure from us:
   * Exit is still not possible.
4. We have found the Treasure hidden by the Pirate again:
   * Exit is possible again, but requires a new path the didn't exist before.

This needs to be kept in mind, since it is impossible to avoid the pirate if we
want to finish the game.]

S [Into the caves]
S [Gnome King's quarters]
E
S [Brink of Pit]
D
E
S
S
U [Ledge: the Treasure will always be here in this version, do we want it?]
YES [We have the Treasure now]

[At this moment, the W exits from rooms 3 (N/S tunnel) and 33 (Corner) become
blocked, as the down tunnel from location 38 (Prehistoric dwelling). This
prevents all exit from the caves. At the same time, the N exit from locations
20 (North of chasm) and E exit from Xanadu lead back to where we came. And the N
exit from the Top of Climb location will be blocked. We need to trigger the
Pirate's appearance.]

D
E
N
W
U
N [N/S Tunnel]
W [Won't be possible]

[Nothing indicates it, but the Pirate has been triggered and will appear in
exactly 12 turns from now. Better let's position ourselves smartly.]

S
E
N
E
S [Now we pace back and forth, making time]
U
D
U
D
U
D
U [The Pirate should show up now]
D
S [The Treasure is here! Will you take it again?]
YES [OK, let's get out of here]

[Now some new paths are open. I won't go into details since we haven't been
around the interesting area anyway. Just follow the directions.]

N
D
W [Wide spot]
S
U
N [Giant's cavern]
E
N [Crystal Palace, which would have been unreachable before]
E
S
S [Black hole]
D [Chute which ends up automatically in the Low Chamber]
N [Out of cave]

[End of game.]