Zyll (Help Needed)

[Tempest]

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with this game, but it was text adventure released by IBM in 1984. Zyll allowed for two players to play simultaneously (with or against each other), featured randomized item placement, 3 different classes, and had real time game play (monsters would move around and attack you, light sources would run out, and your health would recharge even if you stood around and didn't do anything). The game was really ahead of its time, and to date there really hasn't been anything like it. It was almost like a home version of a MUD.

 

I have alot of fond memories of Zyll as my friend and I used to play it all the time on his dads IBM PCjr (he worked for IBM so they had all the IBM distributed games). Back then we got pretty far into the game, but since we were only 8 we never did beat it (although we did kill Zyll once and thought we were real bad asses for awhile).

 

Anyway, I'm currently trying to find all the treasures hidden in the game. To win the game you only need to get 4 of the 5 major treasures, but to get the best ending you need the orb of Zyll and most of the minor treasures. Unfortunately these minor treasures are usually very well hidden, and are therefore hard to find. Not only can they be in almost any room, but they can be invisible until you search for them. And unless you're a thief you might have to search several times to find them.

 

So far I've made a nice map of the games different areas, and I've located most of the treasures. Unfortunately I'm still missing three:

- Chest of pearls

- Jeweled bracelet

- Jeweled crown (which may be a major treasure and therefore put in a random location every game, I'm not sure).

 

Finding these treasures is driving me nuts! Of course if doesn't help that I keep finding new secret passageways every time I play (I thought I had them all mapped out after 20 years).

 

There's also a hidden cheat in the game. At one point I was in contact with the games authors and one of them told me of the cheat. Unfortunately I don't remember how to trigger it! All I remember is that you needed to be in a dark room, drop all your items, and do something (which is the part I can't remember). Finding this cheat would really make it much easier for me to track down the remaining treasures.

 

What I'm hoping is that someone can look through the game code and tell me a. where the remaining treasures are, and b. how to activate the cheat. The game data file is pretty small (156K), so it probably wouldn't be too hard to look through. All the game text is actually in the file, but it's pretty garbled. I was able to extract a treasure list from it however.

 

So if anyone is interested in either looking through the code, or just playing the game for fun, I'll post the files here (the .dat file with the data is in the zip). I'll also post my maps so it will be easier to move around in the game.

Oddly enough, when played on a modern computer the game defaults to a split screen as if you had selected two players. It doesn't do this on a real PCjr (unless you select two players that is). Oh and the choices on the menus are selected using the function keys (F1-F10). Once again, this makes more sense on an old XT style or PCjr keyboard.

 

Tempest

 

BTW you can turn off the random item placement by pressing ESC during the opening music.

 

Zyll Box: http://www.if-legends.org/~yois/images/vault/ibm_zyll.jpg

Zyll Screenshot: http://abandonware.universal.av7.net/Jeux/Zyll.1984.gif

 

Zyll.zipzyll_maps.ppt

[Tempest]

Ok uploaded the 'good' maps. Happy adventuring.

 

Tempest

[Tempest]

Ok, not that it appears that anybody cares, but with the help of the wayback machine I was able to dig up one of my old webpages that had some helpful info on them.

 

1. The Jeweled Bracelet was in a hidden room only accessable through the portals (which is why I never found it)

2. The Chest of Pearls is hidden in a dungeon cell (should have remembered that one)

3. The Jeweled Crown IS the same as the Golden Crown which is a major treasure (usually hidden in kings tower)

 

As for the cheat:

 

1. Start the game in competitive mode

2. Go into a dark room carring only a lamp or a torch (unlit)

3. Hit "other" and then hit the menu key marked "---"

4. You should get the message 'ok'.

 

 

This cheat gives you the following abilities:

 

- All spells (regardless of your character type)

- Full ability to pick locks, pick pockets, and find hidden objects

- Unlimited ability to carry objects

- Full strength

- Full ability to heal

- Full armor protection

- 2000 extra bonus points

 

 

My top score is 2627 (not using the cheat).

 

Tempest

[Ze_ro]

I was surprised to find that there's actually a FAQ for this game on GameFAQs... however, there's no mention of a Jeweled Bracelet or Chest of Pearls, so my guess is that you probably know more than it has to offer. However, I would urge you to submit that cheat to the site, as that's exactly the kind of information that could potentially be lost forever if it's not archived somewhere (Posting it here is good, but less likely to be found by people actually looking for it).

 

--Zero

[Tempest]

I was surprised to find that there's actually a FAQ for this game on GameFAQs... however, there's no mention of a Jeweled Bracelet or Chest of Pearls, so my guess is that you probably know more than it has to offer. However, I would urge you to submit that cheat to the site, as that's exactly the kind of information that could potentially be lost forever if it's not archived somewhere (Posting it here is good, but less likely to be found by people actually looking for it).

 

--Zero

 

There's an FAQ because of me actually. The site that the writer mentions in the FAQ intro was mine! I took down the site when I graduated and moved more into Atari stuff, so he made the FAQ. Ironically it appears that he has now disappeared (is email address is defunct and his site doesn't even mention Zyll anymore). Looks like it's time to put up the Zyll Shrine again. I had forgotten how much fun this game was...

 

There are several treasures missing from his list, I dug up and old email from one of the programmers and he told me exactly how many treasures there are (18 + 6 major treasures). I have now found them all, found the orb, and killed Zyll, so I feel I have truly won the game (even though you only really need 4 major treasures and the orb for the best ending I think).

 

Submit it to GameFAQs eh? I probably should, but I've never looked into that. I'd also like to submit my maps and a corrected FAQ (there are a few pieces of missing/wrong info in his), but the damn maps are in powerpoint (I suppose I can jpg/gif them).

 

That cheat almost WAS lost forever, it was only because of the wayback machine that I was able to retrieve it off my old home page. I got that cheat directly from one of the programmers, there was no way I was ever going to find it on my own...

 

I invite everybody to download and try the game out at least once. If you liked Zork and those early Infocom games, you'll like Zyll. It almost plays like Beyond Zork, but much less complex.

 

Tempest