Greetings! I have decided to take a break from the mind wrenching job of debugging this sucker,and write as much as I care of this little text file burning the midnight oil.This is one of those ancient text only adventures (Remember those),and it's set in this time,and age with gun toating terrorist which is out to get our hero,namely you!I will explain the adventure system later (When I feel like it!). The goal of the adventure is to get safely out of the trap which the terrorists have laid out for you by escaping through the downmost door in the corridor.You start in your office where you're staying working overtime due to last week's success (You'll get a fair briefing of the situation at the start of the adventure).You start empty handed except for two keys.I have spent more than six months on this program,and the strange part is that I find the debugging part of it the most enjoyable probably since I first get to see how it's shaping up having only dreamt about it while I have spent countless hours infront of my text editor piling up the source code.I am one of those masochist who program in assembly language,and it's my last program as such if I ever get the money,time and inspiration to buy a C language.The source text behind this program went well ahead of two hundred bytes,so I was saved by the fortune of having inherited quite a large sum of money to buy an accelerator.I whole-heartily recommend one to my fellow colleagues which program anything in size in machine language.Without the accelerator,the program takes one minute,and forty seconds to assemble,but with the accelerator it takes only about fifteen seconds!One question to the programmers among you,or two really:How do you read the clock in assembly language,and what is it's format?If anyone of you out there knows the answers,please write,and tell me.I might even throw in a bonus gift to the one which straightens out these matters.I might push my luck,but if you know how to get the directory which one is opening a program from,I will be overjoyed to hear from you. I might not be the most competent programmer ever,but I believe in the philosophy:'Use what works.Anything else is a waste of time.".When I first got my amiga (An A500),my goal was to see if I could learn 68000 assembly language.I soon found out that that wasn't such a trick (Everything is relative since I have learnt just as much to serve my purposes).What was,however,a trick,was learning about the operating system,how to write to the screen,read the keyboard,and it was for a long while I thought that the trick to it was knowing the address registers which pointed to the screen,keyboard,etc.You won't win a grand prize if you guess that I have programmed a 8-bit computer before.My first computer was the 48K Spectrum which I even today hold high regards about (Nostalgia time again!),but more about that later.When I found out that there was system routines which did those jobs,the show was on the road,and not before long I was writing brilliant programs like how to write my own name in a window which spellbinds everyone when they do it the first time in basic (Remember?).This is the first program which I feel is adequately programmed,and which looks half-decent except for the primitive DOS window. Nostalgia time again (It's a wonder I had the self control to finnish my nonsense about my pioneering days on the amiga).I have owned three computers (Including this one),and the most gratifying (Probably because I was young,and I saw wast potentials in it) computer to work with was the spectrum.It had a very attractive screen display (If only a pain in the ass being divided in three sections) which was incredible easy to work with.I fondly remember the midnight hours burnt infront of the television trying to learn machine code.It took me about two years before I understood the basic concept of machine code,and a further year before being able to write any program of mentionable quality,and size.But the downside of it was that it was a regular television eater,and that I had to use those dreaded microdrives which invalidated the program ever so often.When I look back at that time now in my age of twenty six,I don't believe that the program was revolutionary good,but it was a time of discovery.Trailing from one theme to the other,I am one of those which thinks the current computer trend stinks (i.e software).It's like imagination dried out.I for one hates OCEAN games,and I don't believe that they have ever released a decent game.If Jeff Minter,or who ever thought up the theory about the men in suit is right,I for one is a believer.Let's sound the death-knell to them.Whatever happened to the text adventures,and infocom?Do the games creators think the buyers to be illiterates?Anyone with a view is welcome to write to me! Back to this current game.I have tried to make it as logical as possible (For me),so special care has been taken by designing the terrorists movement patterns,and reactions to the players various manifesting actions.I feel like putting my thoughts,however silly and boring,down on paper,or in bytes,so I'll just brood on this point for awhile before I let you get on with the game.In designing this game,I had the option of making a caracter control code which could be modified for each adventure I'll be making (It's yet to see if any more is emerging),or just make it valid for this adventure.I choose the last option because I felt (And still feel) that artificial intelligence as we know it in the primitive world of the amiga is pretty pathetic.So I made a control routine which moves the caracters (Except the player) in a pre-determined manner,scanning the floors for the player.The terrorists is invoked either by the sight of the player,or sounds produced by his,or hers actions.When either of those conditions are met,the nearest (Or the one who spots the player) goes to that location.I have thought fairly much about caracter control,and artificial intelligence as far as my capabilities goes,and I've found that it's better to make a list of how you want the caracter to react,and behave,a general do's and do not's.Then see what is possible,and what isn't,and make a routine which consist of most of your wanted caracteristics,and take the bad things with the good.This part was the most satisfying of all to do.Since I've programmed this in assembler,all I can say:If you are about to venture into this pitfall area of computing,check if a high level language like BASIC,C,or even AMOS will do whatever idea you have for you.But,if you still persists:I recommend the book '680X0 Programming by example' by Stan Kelly-Bootle on the subject.If you have done some assembly programming on other processors,there might not be a need to buy the first book,'68000 Primer'.It matches clear,and concise explanation,with humour. The current trend in the european community is not a healthy one,with the direction of one large european continent in pretty much the same way as united states of america (Will George Orwell's 1984 come true with two big continents waging an eternal war against each other,and edit away everything which could threaten it's existence?).It's not long from there,to the totalitarian rule in which those who are different are regarded as dispensable,or non-privileged.Last month there was thirteen thousand more members to that rather non-exclusive club called the unemployed here in my country,and the union leader called for higher living standards (I.E. Being able to buy more) for everybody.I wonder if that includes the unemployed?I'm sure this is a global problem (Me being one of them) which I don't think ever will be solved.So when the teacher,or someone tells you all about the glorifying days when the machines will do the jobs for us,think of the rotten nature of human beings,and when these times hit us for full effect (We are only seeing the outline so far),it's more likely that the ones who have much has more.People have made statements in the newspaper that we have to become more effective,and that the current cuts in employment stocks is a natural effect of striving to become more cost-effective,but there have to be a limit to how much growth the community can have.Some scientists (What do they know!!!?) have projected that we,the industrial nations,are living on (Or off is a better word) the third world nations.It may be that the reason we give aid to those land in form of food,and other measures which only how short term effect,is that they will never become self sufficient.Did you know that ninety five percent of the industrial export/import deals is between themselves?The other nations,the not-so well off,has to take the crumbs falling from the ever so sweet cake.What would the world be like if that had to change? Enough of that.The adventure will happily accept the usual syntax used in most common adventures,like:get knife,rubber duck and the cream soda then mix them together (Or something like that).Other commands at your disposal is:Drop/Get all,Drop/Get all except xxxx,and so forth.I have chosen to edit away words which the program does not recognizes.That is why you may get 'Say what?' contrary to what you have specified.I believe this to give a better flow in the game instead of telling you of every word it doesn't recognize when it really isn't that significant.I have also used the 'I' point of view instead of the 'You' point of view.This may not be valid in this game,but I find it more of liberating to use that point of view since the 'I' which isn't you (You're only giving him the instructions) can help describe an action better,or at least give me,the author better control over the story.This may all be babbling,but that's how it is.I would like to have your opinion (Good or bad) about that rather small point.Save,and restore does ofcourse exist,and if you want to wait without actually typing it (More time-effective) just press enter,and the time will advance one click forward.When using the save/restore/quit/restart commands,everything after will be ignored.Sorry,but that's life.The screen display,for the ones who is new to the amiga,uses the workbench colours,and defaults (Such as:Keymap,how fast key-repetition is,etc.).The default which I have found most convenient is white lettering on black background (Spooky!),and interlace with 80 column.If you don't like this,this is elementary to seasoned amigaists,you can easily modify that,and other various bits,and pieces using the 'Prefs' program in the 'System' drawer. Just to satisfy the ones which never have played a text adventure before (Atlast there is someone I can 'convert') I'll explain the boring task of how to comunicate with the program.The program,as somewhat stated before,accept english sentences.So if you come across a token crocodile,just type'take token crocodile',or just take crocodile'.Some commands (Like 'Say') demands more than the ancient two word syntax.So,if you feel like reasoning with the terrorists,just type whatever you like to say to them in the following manner:say to terrorist 'Please take this crocodile as a token of my good will'.You can also drop the ' mark since they are erased in the formatting of your text into machine-readable form.This adventure accept the use of 'all' and 'except',but only with the command 'Get/Take' and 'Drop'.You may also use the word 'It' like:'open the door,then go through it'.Alas!There you are,that's about as much as I will dwelve into that fiendishly boring matter,and now I will move onto infinately more interesting topics (To me). "The king is dead.Long live the king!" Is a known phrase.The adventure scene has been dead for a long time now with all the major software houses in this genre gone,and we are yet to see the rebirth. Magnetic Scrolls said they were upon creating a new kind of adventure with no keyboard input,and icon controlled,Level 9 has withdrawn completely,and Infocom has been dead for some time,their last release was 'Arthur' I believe about one and a half year ago.Are we left with Leisuresuit Larry kind of adventure games?And let's not forget the mindless beat'em up,and zap'em games which,I believe (along with a speculative software business),put the nails on it's coffin. There is something very wrong with the interactive fiction,or adventure,that have stuck with it from the beginning.The programmers of them have treated it like they were supposed to be almost quiz games,solve a series of logical (or illogical) problems strung one after the other or like one of those adventure books where you jump to and forth in the pages not unlike a maze until you have reached an exit.When you read the back of the adventure game you've just bought (or planning to)it reads something like this:"A huge vocabulary (almost bigger than yours),many possible endings,talk to the caracters who live their own lives completely independent of each others(and who doesn't understand a thing),and visit strange (unimaginably described) and exotic places.That is a sure way to sell a game,but what they don't know (or are ignoring) is that there are so few adventures available to the consumer,and those are seemingly an extinct rase,that they don't often have a choice. Let's take a look back,as I know it,of the interactive fiction (I like to call it that which I will elaborate later):I came to the adventure scene when I first bought the hobbit which I still regard as one of the best interactive fiction games ever written.I then got aquainted with Scott Adams which stands for the adventure section that have gotten so dominating and which I dislikes.They were text short and problem rich leaving much to be desired.Then,when I got an Amiga,things were really speeding up.Soon I had a collection of Infocom games,along with others.Games like:Wishbringer,Cutthroats,the Zork trilogy,Moonmist, among others stand out as some of the best ever made.Although having a strong parser,they put their main contribution into the story department which,in some of them,just seems to wrap itself around the player.Or in other words:They let our imagination easily go.There are two adventures which I believe also deserves mention:The Hobbit,and Lord of the rings created by Phillip Mitchell with others.The best compliment one can give them is probably that they have a multitude of options which is rare to come by.Try finding a game where the caracters in the game operates more perfect.And considering the limitations of the eight bit machines,you'll understand the skill of the programmers.Although they aren't available on the amiga,those who have had a C64,spectrum,or any of the eight bit computers which they were released on,most likely have played at least the hobbit which I believe is THE most sold adventure of all time. In interactive fiction is,by my understanding of it,the technical side of it,the interpretor namely,is not very important (who cares about putting three objects into one another if it don't understand the basic:How are you?),but the lay-out and most of all the execution of the story is of the utmost importance.I have not seen one game that recognize what you are trying to say,you always have to play by their rules.Say in a detective game (anyone of those available) you must type:(CARACTER) tell me about (XXXX).Noone faced them,the makers of the games,with the problem of getting the caracters to explain something,or informing them with contradicting statements.The experimenting part of the business is over,and back we are left with games there goes thirteen on the dozen,all looking and executing the same way,it's only choosing the right pathways.Interactive fiction stands for interacting in a story.You should be able to be IN the story,not outside pulling strings,manipulate it in your direction with the chance of it developing in many directions not in one with pitfalls,or never ending loops,lurking at every wrong chosen junction of the game. Finally I will go into the obvious trapfall in my story:Is it possible to do that on the computers today?Yes,is my answer,to some extent with the new 16 bit computers widely available,and in a very short respect on the memory limited spectrums,C64's, amstrads and others.And a change in mind of the programmers putting more thought into the story than that of now.Ofcourse,the story can't go in a direction other than that programmed,but it is possible to make that area more open to the users and less frustrating.Let's hope that the wasteland the adventure scene is in now will turn once again into the spot it stood before. Harddisk installation:The program must unfortunately because of the laziness of the programmer be in a drawer called 'ANATT'.Copy all the program's files into the drawer of your choice,and add to the startup-sequence (Use any sort of text-editor):assign ANATT:ANATT DH0:.Example:If you have put all the files of this program into a drawer named ANATT ,and that again is in a drawer named 'ADVENTURE' which again is in a drawer named 'GAMES',here is what you do:assign ANATT:ANATT DH0:GAMES/ADVENTURE.If one of the drawers has a in it's name,you'll have to add the caracter " at the beginning,and the end of the path.That should be all.I was about to write a program to do it for you,but in the end I didn't. If you find this program enjoyable,I could do with a donation since having worked with this thing for over six months on and off.The typical fee for shareware I believe is £5,so that would do nicely.I would also appreciate any comments,appraisals,critic (Not too much please!!!),or if you just feel like writing nonsense down on paper and having someone to read it.Also,I will be happy to give off hints,or solutions to problems that have you stuck.If you register that is.My address: Trygve Jensen Smedgata 41 (Indre Gaard) ;Inner garden? 0651 Oslo 5 Norway Have fun! Food for thought: Franz Kafka Ray Bradbury J.R.R. Tolkien Douglas Adams Milan Kundera And the incomparable Celinė