HSC01 Round 4: The Incredible Wizard

[ballyalley]

"The Incredible Wizard" is the main game for Astrocade High Score Club Round 4. The bonus game is "L.T. Little Terrestrial." Round 4 will last two weeks. This round ends on Sunday, April 3'th at 8pm MST.

The Incredible Wizard





Challenge the Incredible Wizard and his creatures in their own environment: treacherous dungeons! Slip through the magic door to the other side of the dungeon, but prevent the super monster from escaping through it. Shoot the Incredible Wizard and experience the tremor of the entire dungeon as his magic wavers. Become a Worlord and play Worlord Dungeons-- even go all the way to the PIT. Fantastic sounds and bonus plays make the Incredible Wizard just like coin-op games!

"The Incredible Wizard" cartridge ROM image (called "wizard.bin") is part of this archive:

http://www.ballyalley.com/emulation/cart_images/cart_images.html#AstrocadeROMCollection

"The Incredible Wizard" manual is here:

http://www.ballyalley.com/cart_manuals/pdf_manuals/Incredible_Wizard,_The.pdf

Here is a review, by Joe Santulli, of "The Incredible Wizard." This review originally appeared in the January/February 1996 issue of the Digital Press #28 newsletter.

http://www.ballyalley.com/documentation/reviews/IncredibleWizard/incrediblewizard.html

Here is a second review of the "Wizard." This review is called "Astrocade's 'The Incredible Wizard' for Astrocade" by Danny Goodman and was published in "Radio Electronics," April 1983: 14, 20.

http://www.ballyalley.com/articles_and_news/Videogames-RadioElectronics-April1983/Videogames%20-%20New%20Life%20for%20Your%20Atari%202600%20(April%201983)(Danny%20Goodman)(Radio%20Electronics).pdf

(or read the text version of the review here:

http://www.ballyalley.com/articles_and_news/Videogames-RadioElectronics-April1983/Videogames%20-%20New%20Life%20for%20Your%20Atari%202600%20(April%201983)(Danny%20Goodman)(Radio%20Electronics).txt

Here is an in-depth strategy guide for the "The Incredible Wizard." This is from an article called "Conquering: The Incredible Wizard" from "Videogaming Illustrated," Dec. 1982: 24-26.

http://www.ballyalley.com/articles_and_news/Conquering%20The%20Incredible%20Wizard/Conquering%20The%20Incredible%20Wizard%20(Dec%201983)(Videogaming%20Illustrated).pdf

(or read the text version of the strategy guide here: )

http://www.ballyalley.com/articles_and_news/Conquering%20The%20Incredible%20Wizard/Conquering%20The%20Incredible%20Wizard%20(Dec%201983)(Videogaming%20Illustrated).txt

Here is a video review of "The Incredible Wizard" by "Nice and Games:"



"The Incredible Wizard" play settings are much more limited than previous game for the Astrocade High Score Club. You only need to choose the Skill Level Medium.

"Incredible Wizard" Bonus Points

There are four ways to score bonus points in "The Incredible Wizard:"

 

1) Highest Dungeon Reached - The player who reaches the highest Dungeon will earn a bonus point.

2) Beating 453,200 Points on Easy difficulty level - In the December 1983 issue of "Arcadian," in the "Game Player" column, the high scores were recorded in the "Scoreboard" high score table. Stan Kendall managed an impressive score on the easiest difficulty level. If anyone can beat Stan's score of 453,200 points on Easy (which is not the normal playing level for this round), then they will get a bonus point. Remember, this bonus point is completely separate from the main game, which is played on skill medium.

3) Playing a Two-Player Game - If you play a two-player game, then you'll earn an extra point. If you've never experienced "The Incredible Wizard" with two players, who each play at the same time (either competitively or cooperatively), then you owe it to yourself to give it a try; you'll love it!

4) Highest Two-Player Score Game - The highest combined total for a two player game will earn a bonus point.

L.T. Little Terrestrial (BASIC Bonus Game)

This round's BASIC bonus game is called "L.T. Little Terrestrial." This 1982 game is by WaveMakers, usually regarded as the premiere company who released the best games written in BASIC for the Astrocade.

 

 

 

The object of L.T. is to make your way through five different single-screen stages. The stages are called: "Steps," "The Pits" (what is it with pits in 8-bit games with extra-terrestrials?), "Zapping Gaps," "Stepping Stones," and "L.T. Flies Home, Almost." It's quite amazing how much is packed into the Astrocade's 1.8K of RAM. "L.T.," unlike last round's game, "Exitor's Revenge," manages to be quite fun.

"L.T. Little Terrestrial" Bonus Points

1) Playing "L.T." - You get a bonus point just for playing "L.T."

2) L.T. High Score - You can earn another bonus point if you get the highest score for this game.

3) Complete All Five Levels - The first person to complete all five levels will be a bonus point.

4) Video of "L.T." - To continue to promote Astrocade BASIC programs, a bonus point will be awarded to the first person to upload a video of "L.T." containing a full game, plus the game's loading screen. While not required, it would be great if the full game showed all five levels.

The "L.T." AstroBASIC program is available here:

http://www.ballyalley.com/program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/wave_makers/L.T.%20(Little%20Terrestrial)%20(WaveMakers).zip

"L.T.'s" manual is here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/tape_manuals/wavemakers/pdf%20-%20color/LT%20%28instructions%29%28color%29%28300%20dpi%29.pdf

Here is a review of "L.T." that originally appeared in the May 1983 "Arcadian" newsletter (see review #7-- search the page for "L.T."):

http://www.ballyalley.com/documentation/reviews/astrocade_reviews.txt

Please post all of your scores for both games here. Scores posted on the Bally Alley discussion group will no longer be accepted. If you post a video score, then please note the score obtained in the video-- as this makes it easier for me to keep track of all the scores.

 

"The Incredible Wizard" is often called the best game on the Astrocade. If you happen to have some special memories playing this game, then I'd love to hear about them.

 

Have fun playing "The Incredible Wizard" and "L.T. Little Terrestrial" and... enjoy your Astrocade!

Edited March 22, 2016 by ballyalley

[glazball]

As if I needed a reason to play Incredible Wizard! It's truly the best home version of this game. Though I've played IW quite a bit, I've never really pushed myself as hard as I could so it It'll be fun to see how well I can do. It'll be neat to spend some time with L.T. also.

 

@ballyalley - thank you for organizing these high score competitions! PS: noticed a small typo above - you wrote "Space Fortress" when mentioning the video review.

[ballyalley]

As if I needed a reason to play Incredible Wizard! [...] Though I've played IW quite a bit, I've never really pushed myself as hard as I could so it It'll be fun to see how well I can do.

 

I feel the same way about this game; it's great fun, but I've not really played it as much as I've liked. It will be neat to see how well some of us players do-- I imagine my "Wizard" score will be pathetic compared to some of the experts that might turn up playing.

 

@ballyalley - thank you for organizing these high score competitions! PS: noticed a small typo above - you wrote "Space Fortress" when mentioning the video review.

 

I created the Astrocade High Score Club so that I would have an excuse to play my Astrocade. So far, this is working great! I'm glad that you're enjoying them as much as me, Glazball. (I fixed the above typo; thanks for pointing it out).

[ballyalley]

Here are the full instructions for "The Incredible Wizard:"

Challenge the Incredible Wizard and his creatures in their own environment: treacherous dungeons! Slip through the magic door to the other side of the dungeon, but prevent the super monster from escaping through it. Shoot the Incredible Wizard and experience the tremor of the entire dungeon as his magic wavers. Become a Worlord and play Worlord Dungeons-- even go all the way to the PIT. Fantastic sounds and bonus plays make the Incredible Wizard just like coin-op games!

The Incredible Wizard #2017

Created by Tom McHugh, Scot Norris, and Julie Malan.
With creative consultation and in conjunction with
Action Graphics, Inc.
Produced by Astrocade, Inc.

Licensed from Bally/Midway Mfg. Co. and based on the original © "Wizard of Wor" game done by Dave Nutting Associates (A Bally Co.)
Cassette documentation by Scot Norris and Dave Armstrong
Copyright Action Graphics, Inc. 2/22/82

The Incredible Wizard (1 or 2 players)

A player is referred to as a "worrior" as he or she is in the Dungeons of Wor, the Wizard's homeland. In two player mode, both players play at the same time, in the same maze. Player 1 is on the left, player 2 on the right. Their adversaries are the Wizard and his pets, the Worlings.

Starting The Game

Choose "1-THE WIZARD." Another menu comes up asking for a one or two player game. Choose one, and a third menu will ask for easy, medium, or hard. Choosing one of these will start the game.

Before each maze there is a screen display to inform the player(s) to "GET READY," and of any bonuses awarded. Then a super large "GO" screen appears for a few seconds before the next maze starts. The worriors enter the maze from the bottom and have ten seconds to leave their home squares before they get booted in automatically.

Playing The Game

The hand control functions for The Incredible Wizard are:

Joystick - Moves the worrior up, down, left, or right.
Trigger - Shoots your "Concentrated Unified-Field Disturbance Rifle" in the direction you're facing.

Because of the nature of a unified-field disturbance, only one shot can be "in the air" at a time, and until it strikes a wall, monster, another shot, or the other worrior, another shot cannot be fired. Long corridors can be dangerous because while the shot is traversing the corridor, a monster can come in behind it and eat the player, who could not shoot again. This puts a great importance on WHEN the player shoots, and when NOT to shoot. Alternately, short shots hit nearby walls and can be reloaded quickly, giving the player a rapid-fire capability. The problem with short shots is there is only one chance to shoot a monster or he will sneak in between shots and run over the player.

There are two objectives in The Incredible Wizard: descend as far as possible into the dungeons and score as many points as possible. Higher point totals are achieved by shooting the Worluk and the Wizard to earn a point multiplier on the next maze. Descending into the eighth maze earns the player the title "Worlord" and the privilege of challenging the Worlord dungeons. An extra player is given at the fourth maze, nicknamed "The Arena," at the eighth maze entering the Worlord dungeons, and at the eleventh maze, the pinnacle of the Worlords, "The PIT." Extra players are also awarded every four more mazes, e.g. 15, 19..., and another PIT is encountered, giving Worlords a standard to compare each other's ability, as in "I made it to FOUR PITS!!!"

The first creature to battle is Burwor, the hopping monster. He is the slowest of all the monsters and is always visible. After Burwor is Garwor, the chomping monster. Then, Thorwor, the "lightning" monster, as he is the fastest of the three basic monsters. Both Thorwor and Garwor are invisible until the player is in the same CORRIDOR as the monster. The real world analogy is that a person walking around a corner is "invisible" until they "appear" in the front of the observer.

A RADAR at the bottom of each maze tracks these "invisible" monsters. Although the radar has no lines to show the walls in the maze, one can get very good at knowing where a monster is located in the maze. The radar is critical in tracking Thorwor as he moves too fast to rely exclusively on reflexes. DON'T WALK AROUND A CORNER JUST BECAUSE NO MONSTER IS VISIBLE!! Check the radar first.

Clearing all these monsters out of a maze brings out Worluk, the flying monster. Worluk is visible all the time and will try to escape out of one of the two magic doors. He is very fast and can be avoided if the player chooses to do so, but then double score may not be earned for the next maze. Should you try and stop him, maneuver towards the door and cover it, so when Worluk tries to leave, you are in position to shoot him. After the Worluk escapes or is shot, the Wizard may appear.

The Wizard comes out more frequently in higher mazes, and is more difficult as the player descends deeper into his dungeon. He disappears and reappears and cannot be tracked by radar. Avoiding the Wizard is impossible, as he will teleport closer and closer to either worrior until one of them has "bit the dust" or has shot him. Shooting the Wizard makes his magic waver and the entire dungeon shakes with his demise. He cannot be completely destroyed and will be back in a subsequent maze. While he is walking around, he is shooting lightning bolts in random directions waiting for a mistake.

To battle the Wizard, one can try to anticipate his movement into a corridor and shoot down that corridor, or one can wait for him to walk in front of you and shoot him then. The latter method has a serious drawback. While waiting for him, he is reappearing closer and closer to you, and he might show up right behind you! Shooting the Wizard doubles the next maze's points, so shooting both the Worluk and the Wizard is good for QUADRUPLE (4x) points in the subsequent maze.

SCORING

Name Color Point Value
Burwor Blue 10 points
Garwor Yellow 20 points
Thorwor Red 50 points
Worluk Blue with Yellow Wings 100 points
The Wizard Blue 250 points
Worriors Yellow or Blue 100 points


PLAYING AGAIN

To play The Incredible Wizard again, press the RESET button, and follow the instructions for starting the game.

[ballyalley]

Here are the full instructions for "L.T. Little Terrestrial:"

Side 1: "Little Terrestrial" - Everyone uses their own control handle
Side 2: "Little Terrestrial" - All players use control handle # 1.

Input Instructions are: Just key in :INPUT GO and start the tape. Select # of PLAYERS with knob # 1 and trigger.

Screen # 1 (Steps) - The object of this phase is to get L.T. up the steps to the telephone. To do this, use your joystick for left and right and the trigger to make L.T. jump up to the next step. Be careful not to over-shoot the step. Once you reach the top you go on to the next screen.

Screen # 2 (The Pits) - Using the joystick in the same manner as screen 1, jump up to the platform above through a hole. You will have to move left or right to make it to the level or you will fall back through the same hole you jumped through. The moving "pits" are trouble, you may need them to go from one level to the next but they will also be your "downfall". You will need to plan a little strategy to reach the phone in this one.

Screen # 3 (Zapping Gaps) - Use the joystick for up, down, left and right to move through the moving gap. Don't touch any walls or you are ZAPPED.

Screen # 4 (Stepping Stones) - Same joystick use as in screen 1 and 2. Jump up to the stones to reach the space ship. You may jump through a stone and stand momentarily on a moving stone as you jump to a solid one. Careful of the moving stones, they make solid stones disappear and if you happen to be standing on a solid one you will fall through it. Plan your moves before you start so you don't find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Screen # 5 (L.T. Flies Home, Almost) - This lets you know you have made it through the first level but L.T. gets in trouble and is sent back to start over. THIS TIME WON'T BE AS EASY AS THE ONE BEFORE.

Scoring

Each screen has its own way of scoring 1, 2,and 4 are based on time, you must complete the screen by reaching the top to get a score. You have limited time to make it each second "ticks" points off of your score so make your move fast. Score values increase with progressing skill levels. Screen # 3 is the only screen based on how far you get. You are sure to get something if you get to this screen. A BONUS is given for getting past all 5 ZAPPING GAPS based on the skill level you have reached.

Players Turns

Scores are shown at the top of the screen. If more than one player is playing, he continues to play until he falls or is zapped. You cannot touch a wall in any screen or you get "ZAPPED". Play goes on to the next player and is noted by the lighted PLAYER NUMBER at the top of the screen.

The End

This appears after all players have lost five lives each. To start a new game, pull the trigger. DO NOT HALT THE PROGRAM AT ANY TIME OR IT WILL RESET AND YOU WILL HAVE TO RE-LOAD IT FROM TAPE.

[roadrunner]

2,260

[ballyalley]

Thanks for posting the first score, "roadrunner." Your score got me in the mood to play "Incredible Wizard." I do play this game every once in a while, but it's been a while since I've played more than a game or two in a row. After popping in the cart to the console, and playing few games to warm myself up a bit, I managed to clear a few levels and get a score that was out of the low thousands. It sure helped that the Wizard appeared on two levels in a row, which allowed me to quadruple my potential points on the next screen.

Incredible Wizard - 5,180 (Level - Medium)

 

I'd forgotten just how many baddies can appear on the screen at once in this game! As the game progresses through the levels, the game's radar screen just pops with dots all over the place. I wonder if the arcade game (which uses the Astrocade chipset) has invisible monsters so that more baddies can be onscreen at once (even if they weren't all visible)? Perhaps not all of them could appear at one time on the screen without slowdown or flicker? It would have been a neat way to work around limitations of the number of objects that could appear on the screen.

Let's start a competition between consoles. Whenever you you see the Wizard appear on the Astrocade's screen, just imagine that it's the "Wizard of Odyssey." Surely, another console's spokesman ("spokeswizard?") trying to make his way into your Astrocade World will get the blood boiling!

 

(If there are some blank stares out there, then this video will help you understand what I'm talking about:)

 

Oh, those 80s-- they sure were wacky, weren't they?!?

[nd2003grad]

Worrior, while you were developing science, we developed magic...

[ballyalley]

Worrior, while you were developing science, we developed magic...

 

I really like that quote. Did you just make that up?!?

[nd2003grad]

 

I really like that quote. Did you just make that up?!?

I do too, and I wish! The actual wording is "Worrior, while you developed science, we developed magic." It is one of the sentences uttered in disturbing monotone by the actual arcade cabinet.

[ballyalley]

Chris++ and I played several two-player games of "The Incredible Wizard" last night. We played cooperatively: we never shot at each other on purpose (we both claim ) . Chris++ managed to score 4,350 points, while I eked out a bit more with 4,840 points. We're aiming for a bonus point for a high two-player game combined score:

 

The Incredible Wizard - 9,190 (combined two-player score)(Level - Medium)

 

 

We had a great time playing a two player game. Last night was the first time that I ever got to see "The Pit" (there is no maze; the level is wide open!). Chris and I plan to play this some more this coming week.

 

Are there any worriors who dare challenge us for this bonus two-player point?

 

(Yeah, I talk big, but Chris and I both know that we can do better-- and so can anybody else; or can you?)

[roadrunner]

Thanks for posting the first score, "roadrunner." Your score got me in the mood to play "Incredible Wizard." I do play this game every once in a while, but it's been a while since I've played more than a game or two in a row. After popping in the cart to the console, and playing few games to warm myself up a bit, I managed to clear a few levels and get a score that was out of the low thousands. It sure helped that the Wizard appeared on two levels in a row, which allowed me to quadruple my potential points on the next screen.

 

Incredible Wizard - 5,180 (Level - Medium)

 

Season 1 - R 04 - Incredible Wizard (Level - Medium)(5180)(Cropped).jpg

 

I'd forgotten just how many baddies can appear on the screen at once in this game! As the game progresses through the levels, the game's radar screen just pops with dots all over the place. I wonder if the arcade game (which uses the Astrocade chipset) has invisible monsters so that more baddies can be onscreen at once (even if they weren't all visible)? Perhaps not all of them could appear at one time on the screen without slowdown or flicker? It would have been a neat way to work around limitations of the number of objects that could appear on the screen.

 

Let's start a competition between consoles. Whenever you you see the Wizard appear on the Astrocade's screen, just imagine that it's the "Wizard of Odyssey." Surely, another console's spokesman ("spokeswizard?") trying to make his way into your Astrocade World will get the blood boiling!

 

(If there are some blank stares out there, then this video will help you understand what I'm talking about:)

 

 

Oh, those 80s-- they sure were wacky, weren't they?!?

 

 

 

No problem, a good game choice for this round.

[nd2003grad]

I'm doing OK for just getting one!!!! Morale boost!!!

 

 

[ballyalley]

 

I'm doing OK for just getting one!!!! Morale boost!!!

 

Good score-- and it's great that you gave "L.T." a try! What did you think of the BASIC game?

 

Adam

[ballyalley]

I just finished reading an excellent strategy guide for the arcade version of "Wizard of Wor." Not everything that is suggested is relevant to the Astrocade version of the game, but an awful lot of the information can be used to play "The Incredible Wizard."

 

http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Wizard_of_Wor

 

The guide covers the following general topics in detail:

1. Wizard of Wow Overview
2. How to play
3. Walkthrough
4. Home Version Comparisons

This "article" is a fun read and I highly recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in the game!

 

Adam

[nd2003grad]

LT was interesting, it's the only basic game I've spent any time with. I was a little frustrated by the jumping mechanism, but this console never ceases to amaze me with its versatility and unique characteristics.

[ballyalley]

I've been playing "The Incredible Wizard" in MAME using my Astro-dapter, which is a USB adapter that allows an Astrocade controller on a PC/Mac (or Raspberry Pi). If you don't have an Astrocade, then using this adapter with a real Bally Arcade controller will make using MAME feel almost like the real thing. You'll even be able to use the knob portion of the controller. The adapter looks like this:

 

 

It can be bought for $25 (plus s/h) from here:

 

http://www.2600-daptor.com/Astro-daptor.htm

 

This evening I've also been using it to play the arcade version of "Wizard of Wor" in MAME.

 

Adam

 

[ballyalley]

I've noticed that when playing "The Incredible Wizard" under MAME, that sometimes I can bump into baddies and not got killed. I don't recall seeing this happen before on real Astrocade hardware. Has anyone else noticed this?

[ballyalley]

I have used the Astrocade emulation in MAME to take screenshots of the twenty unique dungeons that I've come across so far in "The Incredible Wizard." The dungeons that the player reaches on each stage seem to be randomly selected. Therefore, there are probably more dungeons that I'm not aware of yet. Some of these screenshots of the dungeons have quite high scores (for me, anyway). I reached these later levels using save states in MAME while searching for more dungeons. None of the scores in these screenshots count for the Astrocade HSC.

 

Check out all the level variety that I've seen so far in, as the Wizard calls his collection of dungeons in the arcade game, the "Caverns of Wor."

 

 

That's a whole lot of dungeons to explore, Worrior!

[darthkur]

9,150 (Board 8 )

 

 

 

 

I tried to load the bonus basic game but couldn't get anywhere. I've never loaded a program with the Basic cart with the Line in/out port. Not sure if I typed in the correct commands or if playing the wav file with VLC on the computer with a cable running out of the Headphones port into the Basic cart is the problem. Even turning the volume completely up and raising the treble only made the led on the cart barely flicker.

Edited March 30, 2016 by darthkur

[ballyalley]

I tried to load the bonus basic game but couldn't get anywhere. [...] Not sure if I typed in the correct commands or if playing the wav file with VLC on the computer with a cable running out of the Headphones port into the Basic cart is the problem. Even turning the volume completely up and raising the treble only made the led on the cart barely flicker.

For whatever reason, I'm unable to load Bally BASIC programs from my current Windows 7 computer. I've tried several work-arounds, but nothing works for me-- so I know exactly how darthkur feels. I can load programs from my old laptop-- so if darthkur has a spare computer, then he might try that. However, what I've settled on for loading programs is just loading them from a CD in a portable CD player. This works well for me.

 

In May of 2007, I made a compilation of 184 programs for the Astrocade that load with AstroBASIC. These can be loaded from a computer as WAV files, or made into three convenient CDs for use with a portable CD player (my preferred method). This isn't all the software for the Astrocade, not even close, but it is a great sampler by some of the best companies:

• CD 1 - Music by George Moses
• CD 2 - WaveMakers and Mike Peace
• CD 3 - Esoterica Ltd., George Moses (non-music), L&M Software, New Image and The Tiny Arcade.

You can get all these programs here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/184%20Astrocade%20Programs%20on%203%20CDs.zip

 

You can load many programs from BASIC with this command:

 

:INPUT; RUN <GO>

 

Getting the LED on the AstroBASIC cart to glow is quite important. If you're not getting that, then you'll never be able to load a program properly. Darthkur, are you getting anything appearing on the Astrocade's screen? Even just seeing garbage would be an indication that you're moving in the right direction.

 

Adam

[ballyalley]

Chris++ pointed out to me that the 1981 book called "How to Master the Video Games," by Tom Hirschfeld, has a chapter dedicated to mastering the arcade version of "Wizard of Wor." I have this book in my personal library, sort of on a semi-permanent loan from Chris (his name is still on the inside cover of the book-- I gotta remember to cross that out with a permanent marker!). Here is a scan of the book:

 

 

There are some interesting tips that I wasn't aware of in this game. Some of them may be applicable to the home version, but I'm not sure. There are fourteen map layouts that show "each dungeon has a couple of passageways that the monsters are programmed to enter from only one direction." It seems that the player can take advantage of this to find safe spots in each dungeon. I wonder if each dungeon in the Astrocade version of "The Incredible Wizard" has safe spots?

 

Adam

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2016 by ballyalley

[darthkur]

For whatever reason, I'm unable to load Bally BASIC programs from my current Windows 7 computer. I've tried several work-arounds, but nothing works for me-- so I know exactly how darthkur feels. I can load programs from my old laptop-- so if darthkur has a spare computer, then he might try that. However, what I've settled on for loading programs is just loading them from a CD in a portable CD player. This works well for me.

 

In May of 2007, I made a compilation of 184 programs for the Astrocade that load with AstroBASIC. These can be loaded from a computer as WAV files, or made into three convenient CDs for use with a portable CD player (my preferred method). This isn't all the software for the Astrocade, not even close, but it is a great sampler by some of the best companies:

• CD 1 - Music by George Moses
• CD 2 - WaveMakers and Mike Peace
• CD 3 - Esoterica Ltd., George Moses (non-music), L&M Software, New Image and The Tiny Arcade.

You can get all these programs here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/184%20Astrocade%20Programs%20on%203%20CDs.zip

 

You can load many programs from BASIC with this command:

 

:INPUT; RUN <GO>

 

Getting the LED on the AstroBASIC cart to glow is quite important. If you're not getting that, then you'll never be able to load a program properly. Darthkur, are you getting anything appearing on the Astrocade's screen? Even just seeing garbage would be an indication that you're moving in the right direction.

 

Adam

 

 

Thank you very much for the cd files. I will give that a try. Assuming I am following the correct procedure. On the Astrocade Basic template, that I've taken a pic of below, I have figured out how to type in ":INPUT; RUN" but where exactly is the Enter "Go" tab? I see the Go to 10 selection in the upper left corner, which I've tried only to receive a "What?" response that I've read indicates a syntax error. What exactly do I depress after entering :INPUT; RUN ?I tried simply starting the sound file after typing it in in which case I seen only the faintest flicker of the l.e.d. on the Basic cart. I've never had anything appear on the screen afterward.

 

 

Chris++ pointed out to me that the 1981 book called "How to Master the Video Games," by Tom Hirschfeld, has a chapter dedicated to mastering the arcade version of "Wizard of Wor." I have this book in my personal library, sort of on a semi-permanent loan from Chris (his name is still on the inside cover of the book-- I gotta remember to cross that out with a permanent marker!). Here is a scan of the book:

 

How to Master the Video Games (Cover).jpg

 

There are some interesting tips that I wasn't aware of in this game. Some of them may be applicable to the home version, but I'm not sure. There are fourteen map layouts that show "each dungeon has a couple of passageways that the monsters are programmed to enter from only one direction." It seems that the player can take advantage of this to find safe spots in each dungeon. I wonder if each dungeon in the Astrocade version of "The Incredible Wizard" has safe spots?

 

Adam

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have that book........somewhere. I remember buying it back then. I definitely have seen it since just not sure where it is at the moment.

[nd2003grad]

At this time, I have yet to get the cartridge to work either. I HAVE been able to get the Bally Basic unit to work, but I just can't figure out the problem on Astrobasic. I played L.T. off of the handy dandy Ken Lill cart (may he be praised).

[ballyalley]

I have figured out how to type in ":INPUT; RUN" but where exactly is the Enter "Go" tab?

 

The <GO> key is the equivalent of the <ENTER> key in Bally and Astro BASIC. The <GO> key is the top-left button on the Astrocade's 24-key keypad. In BASIC, on most other computers, you would replace <GO> with the <ENTER> or <RETURN> key. For instance, on an Atari 8-bit computer, you might type something like:

 

10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD!" <RETURN>

 

After you enter the above program line, then you type:

 

RUN <RETURN>

 

On the screen would appear:

 

HELLO WORLD!

 

In Bally or AstroBASIC you would type this:

 

10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD!" <GO>

RUN <GO>

 

Click on this animated GIF I made (quite a few years ago) to see the results of this statement in AstroBASIC (if you don't click the picture, then you'll only see a white screen with a back cursor):

 

 

A complete understanding of AstroBASIC is not needed to run BASIC software. That said, reading a few key pages at the beginning of the AstroBASIC manual would be helpful. In particular, check out page 15 that explains "The Audio Cassette Interface." Here is a direct link to that page of the manual:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/basic/Astro_BASIC_Manual_%28instructions%29%28bally%29%28color%29%28300%20dpi%29.pdf#page=17

 

Also, on page 5 of the "AstroBASIC manual" are the general "Operating Instructions" on BASIC. They're very brief, but they will allow you to use BASIC quite easily. Before you know it, you might be writing your own BASIC software-- maybe we'll be playing your software as a bonus game this season!

 

(So, "Darthkur," does this help you understand the procedure to execute a BASIC command?)

 

Adam