Nostalgia

Games for Spectrum, C64, Amstrad, Amiga, Apple ][ and the rest of the 8-bit and 16-bit platforms. Pleas for help, puzzles, bug reports etc.

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moriarty
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Nostalgia

#1 Post by moriarty » Sat Nov 26, 2011 10:39 pm

New member...my first adventure game was Urban Upstart on the Spectrum which i loved...took me months to complete but loved it. That game got me hooked and i went on to complete over 1000 adventure games on Spectrum, C64, Atari ST and Amiga.

I still have all of those solutions together with full maps all stored on my hard drive.
I'm amazed at some of the titles around then...i really likes the "Grandad" games on the Speccy which were very witty.

I play them on emulators now and still really enjoy them..at the moment i'm playing "Sherlock" and it's just as hard now as it was then..if you don't do things in the right order and at the right time you've had it!.

Quantum
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Joined: Wed May 02, 2012 9:35 pm

#2 Post by Quantum » Thu May 03, 2012 9:52 am

Hmmm, right about shirlock. Is it the Infocom version you're playing? I remember another shirlock game and then a game called 221B Baker street, probably a shirlock game as well. Hmmm, if the infocom game you're right. Very cramped schedule.
Hmmm.

moriarty
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Re: Nostalgia

#3 Post by moriarty » Thu May 03, 2012 7:48 pm

Hmmm...right..it's the melbourne house game. I've played it through a dozen times now and the part where lestrade is supposed to be at the station when your train pulls in never occurs.
I know i've done everything in the correct order he just never appears.
I've just gotten hold of the C64 version so will try again on that as the Speccy version may be bugged.
Another game which is very "picky" is "The Hobbit". Same thing...things don't happen when they should...have you tried it?.
When i worked on "Adventure Probe" i was sent a game to review called "Book Of The Dead" which i thought was really well done and gave it an excellant review but never saw it published,which was a great shame as the stortline was clever.

Quantum
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Re: Nostalgia

#4 Post by Quantum » Thu May 03, 2012 10:02 pm

I've played the hobbit, played it online. I played the spectrum and c64 versions online, and definately liked the c64 version better. As for sherlock I don't have a c64 and, being blind (yes, you read right), probably couldn't use it.
However I have heard of a supposed speech synthesizer for c64 so If it's true and if I come in on some money I just might get one. I do play the Infocom games though, and I love them.
Goodbye for now, fellow nostalgiest.

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Gunness
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Re: Nostalgia

#5 Post by Gunness » Tue May 08, 2012 1:55 pm

Melbourne House's version of Sherlock is notoriously buggy. C&VG used to be filled with various reports on how to mistreat the parser and make hansom cabs enter themselves and make Lestrade vanish into thin air and such :) They probably pushed their Inglish parser too far.
I really love Holmes, but the pacing in the MH game is terrible and there are so many ways to render the game unsolvable without you knowing it. Now, the Infocom one is probably among their best in their post-Trinity output.

As for Book of the Dead, I'm pretty sure it was released on the Speccy (at least WoS says so), and I remember seeing it on sale for the C64.
Btw, Moriarty, when did you work for Probe?

moriarty
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Re: Nostalgia

#6 Post by moriarty » Thu May 10, 2012 9:05 pm

I worked for "Probe" from the start to the finish...i ran a solution helpline by post and phone...also did reviews and answered letters...really enjoyed my time working on that.

I never played the Infocom sherlock as i could never get hold of a copy...perhaps i'll try again.

some of my favourites were "urban upstart"...first game i ever completed. the Magnetic Scrolls games on the ST, "Secret of St Brides"...really atmospheric plot..."Bored of the Rings"...really funny and "Leisure Suit Larry"...funny and way ahead of it's time.

I still think the heyday of computer games was the eighties and nineties...i knew so many people it was unbelievable..the number of great games around and the amount of help you could get was awesome..i don't think we will see those times again...i'm so glad i was around to enjoy it.

Quantum
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Re: Nostalgia

#7 Post by Quantum » Thu May 10, 2012 10:49 pm

Moriarti, you can grab Infocom's sherlock as well as the other games for free at resonant.org/games/infocom/games.
Another site (this is my favorate) is if.illuminion.de, where you can get the Infocom games as well as Magnetic scrolls games for free.
Click Infocom, then click sherlock.
If you want to get magnetic scrolls games, click magnetic scrolls.

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Strident
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Re: Nostalgia

#8 Post by Strident » Fri May 11, 2012 7:36 am

moriarty wrote:I worked for "Probe" from the start to the finish...i ran a solution helpline by post and phone...also did reviews and answered letters...really enjoyed my time working on that.
Trying to work out who you are. :)

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Gunness
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Re: Nostalgia

#9 Post by Gunness » Wed May 30, 2012 1:21 pm

Moriarty, are you by any chance still in touch with any of the people from back in the day? One of our missions is to track down authors and other personalities from the heyday of adventuring, but it's mighty difficult to locate most of them.

moriarty
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Re: Nostalgia

#10 Post by moriarty » Wed May 30, 2012 7:17 pm

Sure am...as soon as i get chance i'll see what i can do as it's pretty hectic at the moment!.

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