KnechtRuprecht

I think the normal selling price was US$75 per? Am I wrong? I could be. If I were to sell here and now I'd put Kroz at that price or $70 lowest because I think it's worth it (damned, I put five years into that game, blood sweat and tears) but Old School I'd sell at maybe US$35? I'm up for haggling. Honestly. Just thinking about it... the first person who wants Old School for US$25 has it. BTW that means shipping not included. It's from Canada, and shipping adds about $25 Canadian. So if you do the math and it seems cool then one of those is yours but only the first caller.

It's been a while since I posted, and I apologize if this isn't the proper place to post this. I'm in a bit of a financial crunch and have to unload a few copies of Kroz and Old School. I've three copies of Kroz (serial #s 226, 227, 229) and six Old School (Serials #111-116). All are in their original shrink-wrap except one opened Old School. I've also five test/prototype carts of Kroz available that I promised myself I would never sell. I hate to give them up but I have to make some hard choices. I am going to put one of each game (the published shrink-wrapped versions) up on ebay today. I will hold off on the others as I discover the direction this moves in. As a courtesy to the community, I thought I'd post this news here and on Intellivision Invasion (Facebook) first, before I put up any of the others. The five prototype carts of Kroz... Not sure yet how I will handle those. I've written their build number on each cart sticker. I know that three or four of the carts are completely playable, with the rest possibly playable with a cheat code. I'm assuming that the earlier builds are the broken ones -- it's been a while and I'd have to go through them to figure it all out. They each have box, overlays and manual (I believe). Oh, I should add that one or two of the proto carts would have the original level #7 that was heavily modified for the final release as it was deemed (perhaps wisely) too difficult. All the best to everyone, John Doherty.

I've no desire to update these roms. They were never meant to be completed games but rather were attempts to come to terms with programming in assembly. The coding is hideous and buggy, but at their very least they led to my later projects. Shape Escape is merely a stripped down Bejewelled rip-off and Firegirl was written before I properly understood the Intellivision's video display properties (some may say I still don't understand 'em. These roms are 'as is' although playable in a limited capacity. Maybe they'll serve as examples for new programmers intimidated by Joe's SDK -- to see what a relatively inexperienced programmer can come up with after six month's worth of hair-pulling and nail-biting.

Very exciting!

I've heard Elekronite has a programmer for that game already. But there's no release date set.

Thanks to everyone who voted. I've stated before how there are so many people involved in the making of this game. Congrats to everyone. What a neat thing to be part of. A well-deserved number of votes went to Ms. Nightstalker, which was a worthy contender in my estimation and right on the money as a game I wanted to see made. Congrats, David. It looks really slick. Poor Old School, Kroz's unfortunate sibling. Someone did say it in the thread: there is a little Old School in Kroz. Actually, most of the thief's movement before optimization comes from Old School. And the idea of the switches, and other stuff. Anyhow, thanks everyone!! What an awesome honour. I'm really happy the game was well received. Off to make another one now!

I thought it had been fixed as well, until I saw IntellivisionDude's video.

Each room does have an undocumented 'time to beat' that awards you points if you should beat it. You'll know you beat that time when the score tally appears after getting each crown. A long while back, there was some code written for a best time for each level. I removed it because there initially wasn't space for it. This was before I had access to Joe's cart improvements.

Yes, I was thinking of doing a complete walk-through on the medium skill level and point out some differences between your methods and mine. Perhaps in the next few weeks.

It was enlightening watching you play/critique the game. You have solutions for some rooms that I never even thought of as well as a solution for a small bug that wasn't picked up by the testers. Transporter coils: The man sometimes walks off the second coil where he reappears and into danger. This happens if the disc is pressed too long while entering the first coil. I noticed you set up a statue to stop his movement in one level, which is a clever idea. I've already fixed this for the sequels. I'll fix the Kroz version of it as well. Fire Skull: I didn't even consider going through the eyes. When I saw that, my first reaction was: "hey, he's cheating!" Madd Elmor: Originally he shot fireballs from both hands. I think the testers copies of the game have that version of Elmor. It was insanely difficult unless you happened to figure out the 'sweet spot' in the sequence, which apparently you did in your first video. In hindsight I wish I had the bosses increase in difficulty with each difficulty level. Level 27: Timed Slider Maze (Spoiler Alert!!): I didn't consider sitting in a 'hole' in the pipe maze when it resets. That's a clever idea. And I always considered that white key in the bottom left of the screen a bit of a red herring. My method was to enter the Skull Room and grab the white key from there, then scoot back up, open the white door, throw the switch and get rid of all the horizontal or vertical Slider Pipes. There are a few other things I've noticed you missed, and I may have mentioned them elsewhere. But, I'll keep the solutions to myself as I think some hints to the first game may appear in the second installment of the series. Off topic: I probably shouldn't be letting this out so early, however, I am currently messing around with a sequel to Kroz, tentitively titled 'Fortress Skull' or 'The Four Skulls', that will include the typical Kroz-style puzzle solving but with an added dungeon crawl/fighting element. Therefore, there will be three ways to play the game--either through solving puzzle room or running through caverns and dungeons beating up monsters and bosses, or both. All methods will offer a different ending. On the wish list: I hope to flesh out the main character with a name and a bit more of a past and add some 'dialogue driven action' between him and certain mobs. A third installment will potentially remove 75-80 per cent of the puzzle solving element and focus on fighting monsters but with more robust armour/weapon/vital stats/inventory elements and possibly side quests and such.

By the way, I *was* laughing when you hit that red switch in level 2 or 3 and got zapped by the red cannon.

Let's see how well this game does first.

We reigned in both Elmor and the Wizard because we thought they were too difficult. I'll have to consider making them more difficult for the potential sequel. And no, they don't get more difficult on higher difficulties. That's something I wish I had implemented. Next time.

I second that. This game would never have seen the light of day if not for Elektronite, the testers, the save-the-day coders and every-one else who took part in making this game. It started out as a side-project a few years ago and, under Elekronite's guidance, morphed into something way beyond its original expectations. The game is a true collective effort and I'd like to think that everyone -- from the main testers, Dave Frost, Lawrence Popa, Steve Orth and Dave Jolly, to the coders, Joe Z, Steve again and me, to the administration, Tim Naber, Valter Prette and William Moeller -- have a right to call this their game. And, of those people, there are a few who deserve way, way, way (waaaay) more credit than that appearing in the manual or the in-game credits. Without these guys, the player movement and controls, the speed, the polish and the depth would not exist. Personally, I only really want to take credit for the concept, which admittedly is unlike any other Intellivision game ever made. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? For me, it's a good thing. It's a game certainly not for everyone. There are tedious elements to some of the levels, and walking into what appears to be a room with randomly strewn meaningless graphics may seem overwhelming. But, when I first started designing the game, I really was making it only for myself and my kids. It has a bit of action, but it’s mostly puzzle-based. It’s about cause and effect, the process of elimination, memory and experimentation and sometimes dumb luck. For those who don’t know what to do, I suggest start by running into something. Or hit it with the action button. Something may happen. Eventually, one thing does lead to another and the solution will come. The game requires creative thinking and much patience. Thankfully, the puzzles are finite. There's the save option, too. Sorry in advance if Level 7 seems just too ridiculous. Let that level forever be known as the David Frost level. I want to clear up one thing: The game title brings up a reference to Kroz, the old ascii series by Apogee, but the truth is, the original Kroz series (and the similar but different ZZT) exist in this game more as inspiration than as lifted game-play elements. Those looking for an exact Kroz experience won't find it. The player character doesn’t have a whip, for one thing. I had my kids in mind when I started drafting the concept of this game and wanted to keep it 'aggression' free. That being said, I’m thinking an all-out carnage-based blood-letting dungeon crawl might be something next I can put together with the same engine. There are several other inspirations: Zelda and many early computer games, including a VIC20 basic game of my own I made in the 80s. The Lost Caves of Kroz probably resembles that long lost game the most. In fact, the lava pit in Level 31 is a direct homage to that game. I still feel it is a suitable descendant of the Kroz series and worthy of having the name in its title. Anyhow, I hope your guys like it. It’s a peculiar game. It’s big. I hope it’s fun.