Attempting to Resurrect a Game My Dad Built

[mrulrich]

This is my first post (sorry about the length) in these forums, though I've browsed through them in wonderment over the last couple weeks. I'm really hoping someone can remember enough about developing on these old platforms that they can help me.

 

I'll start from the top. I was back East to visit my Mom and Dad a couple weeks ago and the topic of the old TI99/4a came up. My Dad built and sold a game for the 99/4a back in 1983. It ran on a 5.25" floppy with the TI Extended Basic cart installed. He happened to find one of the old disks that was in mint condition. I mailed it over to David at RetroFloppy and he made me an image. I loaded it into the JS99er Java based emulator and IT LOADED!!! That's where my luck started running out. It ran through the first 40 or so lines of code and it crashed with an I/O Error 33 at line 480. So, I called my stepmom and had her dig out my Dad's old project binder that he's saved since the 80's. Low and behold, line 480 as he originally programmed it (see attached).

 

My initial thought was that the program was trying to call back to the disk itself and there might be some sort of naming issue. I can't remember enough from BASIC to make heads or tails of the code. Further, its likely calling some other line of code that I don't have (but could likely get). JS99er is the only emulator I have tried it on so far.

 

I've attached a screen shot of the screen right before it crashes (once you type "1"), as well as the .dsk file, and a picture of that line 480.

 

I'm really hoping someone might have a solution for me. Is it possible that another emulator (i.e. - TI99sim) might resolve the issue? I'm positive this game ran on the original system when I was a kid. I'd like nothing more than to get this thing working and load it into a raspberry pi to give to my Dad for Christmas.

 

If anyone has any ideas at all, please share them. Or, if you know someone I can contact that maybe could/would take a deeper dive I would be so appreciative. Thank you all in advance!

 

EDIT: Forgot to attach the disk image

 

Mike

AZTEC.DSK

Edited December 12, 2017 by mrulrich

[+InsaneMultitasker]

In js99er, the crash first happens in the LOAD program in the following lines:

 

460 OPEN #1:"DSK1.CETZA5",INTERNAL,OUTPUT,RELATIVE
470 PRINT #1,REC 2:FN$
480 PRINT #1,REC 1:U
490 CLOSE #1 :: RUN "DSK1.AZTEC"

 

I noticed two things. First, the reported error can be "fixed" by reversing the order of lines 470 and 480. It seems that the js99er disk handler is treating the file as sequential, not relative. Second, the file on disk is record length 80; the js99er debugger indicates the file is being opened as record length 128.

 

If Rasmus sees this thread maybe he can take a quick look at js99er and determine if the emulator needs a tweak.

[+chue]

Seems to work for me in the Classic 99 emulator, found here: http://www.harmlesslion.com/software/Classic99

This is what I get when I type 1:

[Asmusr]

If Rasmus sees this thread maybe he can take a quick look at js99er and determine if the emulator needs a tweak.

 

Should be fixed now in version 5.10.1.

[Sinphaltimus]

Oh come on now!

[AMenard]

Well, at least you weren't eaten by a Gru

[PeteE]

Found the manual here.

[ramidavis]

...

Edited January 2, 2018 by ramidavis

[mrulrich]

 

Should be fixed now in version 5.10.1.

 

Wow, thank you so much for updating your code to allow this thing to run. It's been so enjoyably nostalgic to relive the hours I spent playing this game as a kid. Thank you, sir!

[mrulrich]

Wow! Thank you all so much for your help with this. It's really rewarding to be able to boot up this nostalgic part of my childhood. I'm glad some of you are enjoying playing and I think my Dad would agree that this game now has more exposure than it did in 1983.

 

Now, onto my next project. I'd like to load this game into a raspberry pi3. I've watched a bunch of video's on installing TI99sim (or others) on the pi with either RetroPie or Raspbian. I know this isn't the forum to discuss that setup. But, I wonder if you kind folks might could point me to a resource that could walk me through how to run a script that would boot straight to the game. That is, what I'd like to happen is that when my Dad connects the Pi to his TV and turns it on it books straight to the game's intro screen. That would mean, of course, bypassing the emulation station screen in RetroPie or requiring him to type in a command into the command line.

 

You all have done plenty to help so far and I thank you very much.

 

Please continue to enjoy Lost Treasure of the Aztec!

 

Mike

[PeteE]

I found the treasure! But also a couple bugs. When I try to load a saved game, it gets an error "* I/O ERROR 02 in 270". And when the game asks "To what?", the answer must start at the 4th character typed.

I totally cheated and looked at the basic source code using TIImageTool to figure out some hints. It was a puzzle in itself mapping the numbers to names in the code, but I had a lot of fun doing so. Here's a complete walkthrough that I used to 'Paste XB' in Classic99 (since I couldn't load a save file)

 

 

W
MOV BOU
GET MAC
E
S
S
CUT VIN
CLE BRU
GET CEM
GET ROP
N
TIE ROP
THEROO
GET ROP
TIE ROP
ROWBOA
GO BOA
GET PLA
W
S
CUT VIN
GET ROP
N
N
W
W
GO SHE
GET SHO
E
S
MAK CEM
S
W
GO TRA
GET BRA
LOO BRA
GO TRA
CLI TRE
GO BRA
TIE ROP
THEBRA
GO TRU
GET ACO
GO BRA
CLI ROP
N
DRO BRA
DRO MAT
E
GET CAN
N
N
W
W
CUT CAC
DRO MAC
FIL CAN
E
E
S
GO CAB
LOO WAL
GET BOA
DRO BOA
GO HOL
GET HAM
GET BUC
S
W
N
W
W
DRI CAN
DRO CAN
GET MAC
N
E
N
E
DRO ACO
LOO FOR
GO TRA
S
DIG
GET SAW
N
W
CUT TRE
DRO SAW
GET LOG
N
W
N
N
DRO PLA
E
E
GO WRE
GO LAD
GET SAI
U
W
W
W
BUI BOA
DRO HAM
S
S
E
S
GET ACO
N
W
N
N
GO BOA
SET SAI
GO ASH
DIG
GET KEY
S
E
GO RUI
USE ACO
DRO ACO
S
W
GO TEM
UNL DOO
DRO KEY
GET STO
GO PAS
N
GET SCE
KNE
REA MAP
S
E
GO DOO
LOO URN
GET URN
BRE URN
REA BOO
DRO BOO
GO ASH
S
E
E
GO GRA
DIG
GO GRA
GET STO
U
N
GO PAL
CUT TAP
DRO MAC
GO HOL
GET ROB
LOO ROB
REA ROB
W
S
W
GO RUI
GO BRI
N
S
S
DIG
DRO SHO
GET BOT
LOO BOT
BRE BOT
GET NOT
E
S
GO TRA
S
E
S
E
E
CLI PYR
GET TOR
D
W
W
S
S
W
DRO SCE
GET BRA
LOO BRA
FIX BRA
GET MAT
LIG TOR
DRO MAT
S
W
N
LOO CAV
GO CAV
LOO WAL
S
S
W
S
LOO WAL
REA NOT
W
N
N
LOO WAL
E
N
W
W
W
S
E
S
S
W
N

And here's a map:

 

Start at 37

+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|       |91   ES|92   WE|93   WS|94    W|       |96   NS|       |       |
|       |ShoreOf|ShoreOf|ShoreOf|DeckOfA|       |Draw-br|       |       |
|       |       |       |       |WRE    |       |N=91   |       |       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|       |81   NS|82     |83    N|84    U|85    S|86    S|87    S|88    W|
|       |ShoreOf|BalsaBo|ShoreOf|BelowDe|BeachOn|Ruins  |PalaceO|RoomInT|
|       |       |       |       |SKE SAI|BOA KEY|       |TAP    |ROB    |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|       |71   NE|72  WES|73    W|74    S|75    E|76   WE|77    W|       |
|       |ShoreOf|ShoreOf|ShoreOf|DimlyLi|RoadInA|RoadInA|RoadInA|       |
|       |       |       |       |SCE    |BEA TEM|RUI COU|PAL GRA|       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|       |61   ES|62   NW|63   WS|64   NE|65    N|66    N|67    N|       |
|       |AridPla|BalsaFo|Winding|Passage|Temple |Court-y|Grave-y|       |
|       |       |FOR TRA|       |       |STO DOO|       |       |       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|50   ES|51   NW|52   NS|53   EN|54   WS|55     |56    D|57    U|       |
|VeryHot|VeryHot|SacredL|Winding|Winding|Priests|TopOfAP|OpenGra|       |
|       |       |       |       |       |URN    |       |STO    |       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|40   NE|41   WE|42  NWS|43     |44  NES|45   WE|46   WE|47   WE|       |
|VeryHot|VeryHot|TheFoot|RoomInA|SacredL|Winding|Winding|Winding|       |
|CAC    |       |       |HAM BUC|S=32   |       |PYR    |E=53   |       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|       |       |32   NS|33    W|34    E|35   SE|36   WE|37   WS|       |
|       |       |SummitO|Trapper|ToolShe|GrassyM|RockyPo|Deserte|       |
|       |       |CAB    |WAL HOL|SHO    |SHE    |BOU MAC|       |       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|20    S|21   ES|22   NW|23     |24    D|25   NS|       |27   NS|28    E|
|BoxCany|NarrowR|Mountai|LongBra|LargeOa|EdgeOfA|       |Beach  |Rowboat|
|CAV=134|       |CAN    |ROP TRE|BRA    |       |       |BOA ROO|PLA    |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|10   NE|11   NW|       |13     |14    E|15   WN|16   WE|17   NW|       |
|SteepTr|WestSid|       |EdgeOfA|EdgeOfR|Trail  |JungleT|JungleT|       |
|charmed|ROP    |       |CHA    |TRE TRA|       |       |VIN BRU|       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|130  ES|131  WE|132NWES|133 WES|134  NS|
|Winding|Winding|WindRED|Winding|Winding|
|       |       |N=102  |       |N=20   |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|120 NWE|121 NES|122  ES|123 NWS|124  NS|
|WindGRE|Winding|Winding|Winding|Winding|
|W=123  |       | green |       |       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|       |111NWES|112 NES|113  ES|114 NWS|
|  WIN  |Winding|Winding|Winding|Winding|
|       |W=114  |       |       |       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|100  NE|101NWES|102  NE|103 NWE|104   N|
|Winding|WindRED|Winding|Winding|Winding|
|       |S=131  |       |  red  |       |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

 

 

 

[mrulrich]

PeteE, glad you enjoyed it! I remember scratching maps onto graph paper when I was a kid to try to find the treasure. Ironic fact: my Dad, the author of the game, graduated from Beaverton HS. I see you ran the game in classic99? Maybe I need to try that, I'm having a hell of a time getting TI99sim to read the disk image.

[Shift838]

I got it to work on my ti99sim with no errors. if you want feel free to call me and we can try a few things ( 832-472-0805 ). now I did have to rename the file from AZTEC.DSK to aztec.dsk for some reason.

 

from my pi home directory (type cd ~ and press enter)

 

I typed:

 

ti909sim-sdl --dsk1=RetroPie/disks/aztec.dsk xb25.ctg

 

It loads up, I can select a new game and the program setups the new game and it starts a about a minute. after it starts as you know I'm on a beach.

 

I can capture my image if you wish and put it on google drive.

 

Chris

Edited January 29, 2018 by Shift838