The Orion Quest c64

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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Alex
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The Orion Quest c64

#1 Post by Alex » Tue May 26, 2020 10:47 pm

Has anyone tried to play the Orion Quest on the c64? I only managed to find a laser. One time I saw a Zarp at the oasis but it never happened again. I am also unable to enter the building at the clearing. Anyone any hints or wants to give it a try?

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Strident
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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#2 Post by Strident » Wed May 27, 2020 5:11 pm

If you MOVE ROCKS then you uncover a LASER.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#3 Post by Alex » Wed May 27, 2020 10:07 pm

Strident wrote:
Wed May 27, 2020 5:11 pm
If you MOVE ROCKS then you uncover a LASER.
Thank you but yes that is the only thing I managed to discover so far. It seems the game is full of bugs. I took a quick look at he program code. For instance at the clearing you should be able to type GO BUILDING to enter the building, but it doesn't work. I can't find any of the other objects. There should be a rope to climb down the pit somewhere and a torch. It is hard to believe that this game was published commercially and sold.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#4 Post by Strident » Wed May 27, 2020 11:07 pm

Yeah... I couldn't do much in it; except die in a few places (the swamp, the pit).

It only seems to be working off the first couple of letters of the input.

I've seen (on You Tube) someone get a different response when examining the alien ("a light appears on your belt") but that didn't happen when I examined him.

According to the advertising and a news article, it was/should've been released for Spectrum and BBC too.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#5 Post by Alex » Thu May 28, 2020 7:59 am

Did you encounter the alien each game because I only found it the first time I played the game and since then it has gone for some reason?

Being completely stuck and not able to find other objects I changed the code and just put the objects in a specific location in order to be able to try to solve some of the puzzles. I managed to make a map and solve some puzzles but others don't seem to work. For instance I can't light the torch and using the laser to kill guard or open the steel door doesn't seem to work either. I'll keep trying for a while and then I'll make a hint sheet with the puzzles I did manage to solve.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#6 Post by Strident » Thu May 28, 2020 9:36 am

I've seen the alien more than a few times. It feels like he appears randomly at the oasis.

Edit: Yep, I've just rediscovered him again after visiting the oasis multiple times. This time I did get the "light dims on your belt message" when I examined him. (This message seems to appear when you do any sort of interaction with him)

Edit2: Rediscovered him again by doing west/east repeatedly.

Edit3: You can also die in a fight with the Zarp. :)
Last edited by Strident on Thu May 28, 2020 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#7 Post by Strident » Thu May 28, 2020 10:07 am

What is particularly frustrating is that is will understand an input and then says it can't understand that very same input a few seconds later.

Like you say, it's amazing this got released. It was extensively advertised as part of the range too.

I can only find a single (Italian!) review of the game...
https://archive.org/details/Computer-Ga ... n+quest%22

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#8 Post by Alex » Thu May 28, 2020 10:40 am

Strident wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 10:07 am
I can only find a single (Italian!) review of the game...
https://archive.org/details/Computer-Ga ... n+quest%22
My Italian is not very good :) but Google translate gives this result:

Orion Quest is an adventure game, a game genre that is catching a lot in Italy, despite the difficulties that the English text entails for many of you and us.

The adventure of ASP, one of the most famous software houses in England, does not have great narrative flourishes, and the usual soup of the incredible survival of a defender of planet Earth committed against the most disparate and desperate perils.

Needless to say, the space theme, especially treated with such ease to say the least, is no longer satisfied and it is time for simulation game writers to do more intelligent things, as they have shown they can do.

In any case, for those who want to try, Orion Quest is not easy, although for experts of this genre it should not be impossible.

I recommend a very small strategy for the very first moves: avoid reckless steps and unnecessary blind attempts. It is more advantageous to try with the "look" and "examine" commands, rather than venturing in dark directions.

Orion Quest is part of the ASP game series called "Mind Games" and exists in both the Commodore and Sinclair versions for the Spectrum

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#9 Post by Alex » Thu May 28, 2020 10:45 am

Strident wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 10:07 am
What is particularly frustrating is that is will understand an input and then says it can't understand that very same input a few seconds later.
Yes I did notice that on several occasions. Very frustrating, because you have to enter commands several times to see if they work.

Thanks for the hint about the zarp I did find him again after walking several times e-w. Now I have to find the bottle to poison him :)

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#10 Post by Alex » Thu May 28, 2020 11:03 am

I just found a screenshot on the internet showing one of the objects (the recorder) . So I guess I'm doing something wrong or my copy is not working correctly.
screenshot recorder.png
screenshot recorder.png (1.92 KiB) Viewed 3274 times

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#11 Post by Alex » Thu May 28, 2020 11:11 am

I managed to kill the zarp with the bottle :) (Ok I still have to find the location where I will find the bottle, but I cheated a bit) and I found a cube.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#12 Post by Exemptus » Thu May 28, 2020 5:24 pm

The Spectrum version was advertised, but I have reason to think it was not released, since it was never reviewed nor mentioned as definitely existing. Happy if anyone can prove me wrong. By the looks of it not a lot was missed.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#13 Post by Strident » Thu May 28, 2020 7:50 pm

Exemptus wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 5:24 pm
The Spectrum version was advertised, but I have reason to think it was not released, since it was never reviewed nor mentioned as definitely existing. Happy if anyone can prove me wrong. By the looks of it not a lot was missed.
The BBC version was advertised, and mentioned in the news article announcing the release too. They were advertised fairly heavily over a period of nine months... you'd think that would mean they were made, but they certainly aren't archived anywhere or (as you say) reviewed anywhere; so it seems likely they may never have been released. Even the C64 version only got that one solitary (Italian) review, though, so a lack of a review isn't conclusive compared to the news reports/adverts.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#14 Post by Alex » Fri May 29, 2020 1:03 pm

I've been unraveling the basic code which is a bit hard because the game is compiled and I can't see the original line numbers.

The biggest problem is I can't find the objects. The Italian review says "It is more advantageous to try with the "look" and "examine" commands, rather than venturing in dark directions" and the screenshot I found on the internet shows that at least someone managed to find objects, but I've no idea how to achieve this. I guess some objects should be in the wilderness. Objects don't only have a location, but they also have a variable for visibility and you can't use the objects correctly if they are not visible (by which I mean if I put an object in my inventory by cheating they can't be used because other variables are incorrect). Not only objects but for instance also the building at the clearing. You can only type GO BUILDING after it becomes visible in the description.

I know the games contains the following objects:

Location unknown:
BATTERY
BOTTLE
RECORDER
ROPE
TORCH
WIRE

Know how to find them:
BELT
CUBE
DISK
LASER
SPADE

Know how to find them but torch needed:
KRELL
PLANK
TAPE

I know the use of most of the objects and have a general idea on how to solve the puzzles. I did manage to finish the map and will upload it.

So if someone manages to locate the objects please let me know.

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Re: The Orion Quest c64

#15 Post by Alex » Fri May 29, 2020 1:18 pm

I just uploaded the map to the site. The objects that I have not been able to find are unfortunately still missing from the map. As soon as I have more information I will update the map. For now I'll keep trying a way to find the objects.
Any help will be appreciated if someone has some ideas.

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