There are so many variants of the 350-point Crowther and Woods Adventure that it might be considered the first heavily “modded” game.

I even have to preface by saying the 350-point version; Don Woods himself made a 430-point version in the mid-90s. (EDIT: Don Woods made his version in 1978, the 1995 release was just a port into C.) The number of points possible in a particular port is the “identifying marker” for an entire family tree.

The “family tree” of Adventure ports.

I’m not trying every version — especially since some really are just straight ports — but I think it’s worthwhile to dive into Peter Luckett and Jack Pike’s version, because the original source code is dated 31 Dec 1978. Other sources indicate it was worked on until 1981. However, the 1978 source seems complete, and the availability date makes it the earliest mod of the 350-point version of Adventure.

I’m using this port from the original source although there is a z-code version. Some comparison indicates the versions are identical except for normalizing the old-school ALL CAPS style.

Replaying when I have truly detailed notes in the form of my old posts about 350-point Adventure feels like I’m playing a find-the-difference puzzle. I’ve taken my original maps as a reference and will poke carefully at each nook and cranny for extra rooms.

Outside. This map goes all the way back to Crowther’s version of Adventure, before Woods came along.

The time to a map break seems to be one step…

out

YOU’RE AT THE END OF THE ROAD AGAIN.

w

YOU HAVE WALKED UP A HILL, STILL IN THE FOREST. THE ROAD SLOPES BACK DOWN THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL. THERE IS A BUILDING IN THE DISTANCE. TO THE NORTH LIES A SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAIN RANGE WITH PEAKS THAT RISE INTO THE SKY. TO THE SOUTH, PARTLY OBSCURED BY A THIN HAZE, LIES A WHITE FORTRESS WITH SEVEN TOWERS. BEYOND THE FORTRESS, SHIMMERING IN THE SUN, THERE SPARKLES A GREAT EXPANSE OF WATER.

…but other than that description being elongated, I haven’t found any changes yet.

I assumed, mainly, that Adventure II would add extra rooms and treasures. That part, certainly, is true.

Click on the map to enlarge; rooms marked in blue are new to this version. Please note it is likely incomplete. The new rooms (perhaps inspired by greater storage capacity on whatever computer they were using) include longer descriptions than most of 350-point Adventure.

YOU ARE IN A MAGNIFICENTLY ORNATE ROOM THAT LOOKS LIKE A PLACE OF WORSHIP FOR SOME OLD AND MYSTERIOUS RELIGION. THERE ARE EXITS TO THE NORTH, WEST AND EAST AND A SPIRAL STAIRCASE LEADING BOTH UP AND DOWN. THE CEILING OF THIS CHAPEL SEEMS TO BE MADE OF LARGE WOODEN BEAMS. HANGING FROM ONE OF THESE BEAMS IS A THICK ROPE.

e

YOU ARE IN A ROOM THAT APPEARS TO BE A STABLE FOR A FEARSOME ANIMAL. AGAINST ONE WALL IS A BATTERED AND DIRTY TROUGH THAT IS QUITE EMPTY AND ON THE OTHER WALL IS A HUGE HARNESS. BESIDE THE HARNESS IS A SMALL WINDOW THAT OVERLOOKS A COURTYARD. THE COURTYARD IS DESERTED AND SHOWS NO SIGNS OF ANY RECENT ACTIVITY. AT THE FAR END OF THE STABLE IS A WOODEN PARTITION THAT HAS NUMEROUS DENTS AND HOLES IN IT AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT IS SECURELY FIXED TO THE MASSIVE STONE WALLS SO THAT WHATEVER IS BEHIND IT CANNOT GET OUT. IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY YOU CAN HEAR THE MUTED SOUNDS OF GROWLING AND THE SCRATCHING OF CLAWS AGAINST WOOD. THE ONLY EXIT IS THE WAY YOU CAME IN.

I’m not sure if the longer descriptions are a feature, really. Nothing mentioned in either of the rooms above can be interacted with. The rule that “interesting scenery objects will at least let you refer to them” was not established yet.

The map also includes some instant-death which seems more along the lines of Acheton than Adventure.

YOU ARE IN A VERY LOW SLOPING ROOM WHOSE ROOF IS BARELY 3′ FROM THE FLOOR. AT THE LOWER END A TRICKLE OF WATER ENTERS FROM A TUNNEL IN THE WEST AND RUNS DOWN A SHAFT IN THE FLOOR. AT THE UPPER END THE ROOF NEARLY MEETS THE FLOOR TO GIVE A NARROW EXIT. WATER DRIPS FROM THE ROOF MAKING EVERYTHING DAMP AND THE FLOOR SLIPPERY. THERE ARE NO SIGNS THAT ANYONE HAS BEEN THIS WAY BEFORE.

d

YOU ARE IN AN INCLINED SHAFT WHICH STEEPENS AT THIS POINT. THE WALLS ARE COVERED IN A THIN LAYER OF SLIME MAKING IT VERY SLIPPERY. BELOW YOU THE SHAFT IS FILLED WITH DARK WATER WHICH SURGES RHYTHMICALLY. THE SMELL OF THE SEA IS MINGLED WITH AN ALTOGETHER MORE UNPLEASANT ODOUR.

d

YOU HAVE DROWNED HORRIBLY IN A MIXTURE OF SEA-WATER AND SEWAGE!

There’s more new features than just extra rooms.

EXPLORING IS THIRSTY WORK, YOU MUST SOON TAKE A DRINK OR LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD.

Yes, it appears Adventure II has the honor of including the first “hunger puzzle” — thirst puzzle, mind, but functionally equivalent. After enough time without water the player dies. There are a few water sources but it is important to keep the bottle on hand and filled at all times. The message seems to indicate the thirst timer can be slowed down by dropping inventory, but I haven’t experimented enough to know exactly what’s going on.

In a way, the reuse of an object from original Adventure for a totally different type of puzzle is what intrigues me most about playing this mod. I just wish it wasn’t a reuse that added a logistical nightmare.

The enemies are also somewhat enhanced. The dwarf, for instance, is capable of dropping a “little horn” after death. Blowing the horn doesn’t end well.

THE LITTLE HORN EMITS A SURPRISINGLY LOUD SONOROUS NOTE.

AS THE NOTE DIES AWAY THE SOUND OF MANY HURRYING FOOTSTEPS BECOME APPARENT.

THERE ARE 4 THREATENING LITTLE DWARVES IN THE ROOM WITH YOU. 4 OF THEM THROW KNIVES AT YOU!

There’s also someone who mentions a chalice that I haven’t seen

OUT FROM THE GLOOM JUMPS A LITTLE FIGURE. HE LOOKS AT YOU AND SAYS IN A SURPRISINGLY DEEP VOICE “CHALICE, CHALICE? NOW WHERE DID I PUT THAT CHALICE? IF YOU SHOULD PERCHANCE FIND IT, BE CAREFUL, FOR IT IS SAID TO HAVE STRANGE POWERS”. WITH THAT HE SCURRIES OFF BACK INTO THE GLOOM.

an owl which is scared by light

THE LIGHT FROM YOUR LAMP DISTURBS AN ENORMOUS OWL WHICH FLIES OFF WITH A FLURRY OF WINGBEATS (AND A LOUD “HOOT”).

and a possible extra character only indicated by a shadow. I suspect a thief. (Also possible: random atmosphere message.) The reason why I suspect a thief is the existence of a “Thieves Den” room.

By the time I report back I expect I’ll have solved one of the new puzzles. I hope?

(It has been a while, so you might want to refresh yourself with my previous two posts on Adventure II.)

(Three different commercial release covers. Notice how two of them feature a sword, but there is no sword in the game. Pictures via Pintrest, Ye Olde Infocom Shoppe, and Maximum PC.)

I originally planned to write this post focusing on the content from the original Adventure — which remains intact in Adventure II — but the extra features (including the thirst timer I mentioned in my last post) make the gameplay feel rather different.

What I found most startling is when I found a dwarf carrying an item:

THERE IS A THREATENING LITTLE DWARF IN THE ROOM WITH YOU!

HE SCUTTLES ALONG CLUTCHING HIS BULGING COAT FRONT AND MUTTERING.

Rather like the thief in Zork, the dwarves can now pick up stuff. However, they don’t seem to be necessarily going for treasure and I wasn’t sure what was going on until I came across this old post

Adv440 is unique in that it makes dwarves cumpulsively tidy minded. If in their wanderings around the cave they come across a misplaced object (i.e. an object not in its initial location), they’ll pick it up and carry it around with them, until they happen to walk into the initial location of the object, in which case they drop it there.

The mere presence of a chaotic system on top of exact same content led to changes in my behavior (and by extension, the implicit narrative that is built as I play). I am being much more careful about touching utility items (since if I have to drop them to carry treasures there is a good chance they will disappear) while simultaneously keeping my eye on my water supply and judging my route based on the availability of water at the right time.

Chaotic systems like dwarves that move items are pretty rare in modern IF games, but they add a strategic layer to what would normally be raw puzzle solving (in this case, some puzzles I already know how to solve). It does go a fair way in making the environment feel like it is generating a story, rather than simply providing a mute catalog of obstacles. Maybe it’s a tradition worth a new look.

While I’ve played many, many adventure games throughout my life, I usually have relied on hintbooks, walkthroughs, or the like to take them to completion. The most difficult adventure game of significant length I’ve ever beaten without hints is Peter Killworth’s Countdown to Doom (from 1982). I am still not sure if it was simply strong puzzle design (it does have some) or some other strange magic that led me to finish hint-free, but one of the things I did that was unusual for me is write a walkthrough while still mid-game. This was out of necessity; the entire game is on a timer and normal exploratory play would not be sufficient to win.

The act of doing so led me to think about every step; what could be optimized, what I might be missing.

If nothing else, on a game like Adventure II where I know how to do a lot (the original Adventure content) but none of the new stuff, making a walkthrough gives me something to do. (The optimizing might be necessary too — I don’t know how many turns I have before lamp power runs out.)

My current walkthrough progress

This is a walkthrough for personal tactical purposes. It’d be terrible for someone trying to understand what’s going on. For instance, I grab items from rooms without light on because I know what’s in there and I don’t need to waste a turn with the lamp on.

I’m using the building extensively as a “home base” not just because the treasures are supposed to go there, but also because the dwarves can swipe the non-treasure items so I only want to be holding what I’m actually using at the time.

Hopefully I’ll solve one of the new puzzles soon? If all else fails I can dive into the source code.

I posted long ago about what I thought was a general instant-death:

d

YOU ARE IN AN INCLINED SHAFT WHICH STEEPENS AT THIS POINT. THE WALLS ARE COVERED IN A THIN LAYER OF SLIME MAKING IT VERY SLIPPERY. BELOW YOU THE SHAFT IS FILLED WITH DARK WATER WHICH SURGES RHYTHMICALLY. THE SMELL OF THE SEA IS MINGLED WITH AN ALTOGETHER MORE UNPLEASANT ODOUR.

d

YOU HAVE DROWNED HORRIBLY IN A MIXTURE OF SEA-WATER AND SEWAGE!

However, it turns out this fluctuates, and entering and returning can yield something different.

YOU ARE IN AN INCLINED SHAFT WHICH STEEPENS AT THIS POINT. THE WALLS OF THE SHAFT ARE COVERED IN A THIN LAYER OF SLIME MAKING IT VERY SLIPPERY. BELOW YOU THE SHAFT STEEPENS AND ENTERS A N/S CULVERT PARTIALLY FILLED WITH A BRACKISH EVIL SMELLING LIQUID. YOU COULD SLIDE DOWN HERE BUT YOU COULD NOT CLIMB BACK UP.

Entering when the water is lower leads to, alas, another maze. (Click for a larger view.)

I see the authors of Adventure II had sort of a repeated fractal design in mind, which is slightly interesting, but … no, this is not a worthy addition to the 350-point original.

It let me escape with another treasure (an ivory horn), so technically this was a puzzle, but it certainly didn’t feel like I solved one. I wandered into the “low tide” by accident, and mapping the maze didn’t involve any creativity at all; the only new element was that the tide would start to rise and kill the player, forcing a reload of a saved game to continue exploring. This is not would I would call a “feature”.

Unfortunately, I have scooped up all the treasures I can find and my lamp light is running low and I don’t seem to have triggered any sort of endgame. I still have some characters (like a giant and an owl) I haven’t interacted much yet and I’ll discuss them in my next post. If the game goes for too much longer I’ll need to work on optimizing my walkthrough to the limit, though.

I. The Wizard

For some reason I missed the presence of a really nice online port of Adventure II that comes with a hand-drawn map. (Link here)

In any case, the map above alerted me to a treasure I missed for rather silly reasons. I’m not sure if I should blame myself or the game. I’ll let you decide.

You might notice the “chalice” on the map. You find it from here:

YOU ARE IN A MAGNIFICENTLY ORNATE ROOM THAT LOOKS LIKE A PLACE OF WORSHIP FOR SOME OLD AND MYSTERIOUS RELIGION. THERE ARE EXITS TO THE NORTH, WEST AND EAST AND A SPIRAL STAIRCASE LEADING BOTH UP AND DOWN. THE CEILING OF THIS CHAPEL SEEMS TO BE MADE OF LARGE WOODEN BEAMS. HANGING FROM ONE OF THESE BEAMS IS A THICK ROPE.

I assumed UP would go up the rope, but that goes up the staircase instead. There’s an entirely different way to go up:

climb rope

YOU HAVE CLIMBED THE ROPE AND CRAWLED INTO A SMALL RECESS IN THE BEAMS.

A MAGNIFICENT INLAID CHALICE LIES HERE!

To be fair, I might have hit this section first in the z-code version, which has a bug that makes “climb rope” not work and require “climb” instead; I might have got frustrated and assumed I was going up the rope anyway. This is possible because of the odd characteristic of IF to have all forms of travel often “feel” the same, so going up a staircase and going up a rope have the same responsiveness.

In any case, I have gathered now what _seem_ to be all the treasures but I still don’t have the endgame triggering. I’m guessing I’m missing one? It might have to do with the cast of the game, which is worth examining in detail.

So one of the new puzzles is a room which has a treasure (a crystal orb) but has a slab that closes behind the player when they enter the room. (“AN ENTRANCE LEADS NORTH BUT IT IS BLOCKED BY A LARGE STONE SLAB.”)

With nothing else to do, I messed around with the crystal orb until I tried THROW ORB, and then…

THROUGH THE PORTCULLIS STEPS A TALL WIZARD CLOTHED IN GREY. “BE OFF!” HE COMMANDS, RAISING AN ARM. AS THE SCENE FADES HIS DISTANT VOICE CONTINUES “AND TAKE YOUR BELONGINGS WITH YOU!”.

YOU ARE IN A SECRET N/S CANYON ABOVE A LARGE ROOM.

A CRYSTAL ORB LIES HERE!

…did I solve that, or is it just something that happens?

After a few more attempts, it turns out it doesn’t matter — the wizard ejects you to safety no matter what you do. So this isn’t a puzzle, exactly. You just have to wait.

II. The Giant

“FEE FIE FOE FOO!” THE GIANT THUNDERS, AND AT THE THOUGHT OF FOO’ GREAT SLIVERS OF SALIVA ISSUE FROM THE GIANTS MOUTH AND FURTHER SOIL HIS ALREADY FILTHY SHIRT FRONT.

“STAY IN THERE UNTIL I AM READY TO EAT YOU!!” THE GIANT BELLOWS AND THROWS YOU INTO HIS DUNGEON.

YOU ARE IN A DUNGEON. THE WALLS AND CEILING APPEAR TO BE MADE OF SOLID ROCK AND THE FLOOR IS MADE UP OF TIGHTLY FITTING FLAGSTONES. HIGH ON THE WALLS ARE SOME STANCHIONS FOR CHAINS, BUT THE CHAINS ARE NO LONGER IN PLACE. THE ONLY SOUND, APART FROM YOUR OWN BREATHING, IS THE OCCASIONAL PLOP OF WATER AS IT DRIPS FROM THE CEILING. THE ATMOSPHERE IS DANK AND CLAMMY AND THERE IS AN UNUSUAL SMELL IN THE AIR. A PASSAGE LEADS BACK TO THE SOUTH.

After a little time the giant will grab and eat you, but there is a way out. Unfortunately, it involves abuse of the property that nothing in the descriptions seems to be usable by the parser … except for this:

get flagstone

THE FLAGSTONE LIFTS SUDDENLY AND YOU TOPPLE HEADLONG INTO THE DARKNESS BELOW.

YOU ARE IN A WINDING EARTHEN PASSAGE WHICH SLOPES DOWN TO THE SOUTH. THE LOWER END OF THE PASSAGE BECOMES NARROWER AND DAMP.

III. The Owl

THE LIGHT FROM YOUR LAMP DISTURBS AN ENORMOUS OWL WHICH FLIES OFF WITH A FLURRY OF WINGBEATS (AND A LOUD “HOOT”).

The only way to keep the owl from running away is to have your lamp off, but moving around with your lamp off gives a good chance you will fall in a pit and die. However, I discovered you can HOOT:

hoot

YOU HEAR A FLURRY OF WINGBEATS AND A LOUD “HOOT”.

That is, if you are near enough and you hoot the owl will come to you. If you’re in a room lit from some other source the owl just won’t enter.

IV. The Dwarves

I’ve already discussed the weird neatness habits of the dwarves, but there’s one more novel artifact that a dwarf will eventually drop: a little horn.

Using the horn, however, seems to be always fatal:

blow horn

THE LITTLE HORN EMITS A SURPRISINGLY LOUD SONOROUS NOTE.

AS THE NOTE DIES AWAY THE SOUND OF MANY HURRYING FOOTSTEPS BECOME APPARENT.

THERE ARE 4 THREATENING LITTLE DWARVES IN THE ROOM WITH YOU.
4 OF THEM THROW KNIVES AT YOU!

ONE OF THEM GETS YOU!

Ow? Perhaps blowing the horn at the right moment might make this survivable (I tried summoning the dwarves to the same room as the giant, but to no avail — and if one follows the player into the giant’s room, the giant ignores it anyway).

V. The Pirate

The pirate works exactly the same as classic Adventure — he takes treasures you are holding them and stashes them in the maze. This is required to happen so that his own treasure appears.

VI. The ???

I don’t know much about this one, but:

THERE ARE FAINT RUSTLING NOISES FROM THE DARKNESS BEHIND YOU.

I think whatever it is, it has a movement program like the dwarves do, because I once ran into the sound in adjacent rooms (as if I happened to go the same direction as the thing) but I haven’t seen any in-game effect like items getting stolen. Maybe it’s just for atmosphere?

(ADD: Scott Healey cleared this one up in the comments. It’s a message for when the pirate is close.)

…

In any case, I’m sadly suspecting what I’m missing is not some interesting character interaction, but a single pesky room or action (like I was doing with the chalice). I’m going to go finish-or-bust at this point and say if I post about Adventure II again, it’s because I won; otherwise this posting will be the end.

Adventure International’s cover from their 1981 catalog, via Gaming After 40. I’ve never even heard of the existence of this Adventure International product until today.

So there was indeed one last treasure, and finding it was interesting, but unfortunately when the endgame triggers the game crashes. A glance through the code indicates the endgame is identical to 350-point Adventure, so I’m safe to call this one done.

The giant turned out to be the key, and the puzzle made clever re-use of something in a way that I was hoping I’d see — sort of an overlap of the original structure creating something new.

If you walk into the room with the giant carrying food, he’ll eat the food but complain it is too tiny (but at least not eat you instead). I admit I racked my brain on this one for a long time while missing the obvious, which you’ll see if you study this partial list of the treasures of the game.

THERE ARE RARE SPICES HERE!
THERE IS A JEWEL-ENCRUSTED TRIDENT HERE!
OFF TO ONE SIDE LIES A GLISTENING PEARL!
THERE IS AN EMERALD HERE THE SIZE OF A PLOVER’S EGG!
A SMALL VELVET PILLOW LIES ON THE FLOOR.
THERE IS A LARGE NEST HERE, FULL OF GOLDEN EGGS!
THERE IS A PLATINUM PYRAMID HERE, 8 INCHES ON A SIDE!
THERE ARE DIAMONDS HERE!
THERE IS A PERSIAN RUG SPREAD OUT ON THE FLOOR!
THERE IS PRECIOUS JEWELRY HERE!
THERE ARE BARS OF SILVER HERE!

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The golden eggs! While they have the nice property of regenerating (allowing them to be used to placate the troll) I somehow never thought of them as a food item, but I can see why a giant might include them in their diet.

“AH….EGG FOO…..YUM YUM”
THE GIANT DRAWLS, AND GRABS THE EGGS LEAVING YOU SHAKEN BUT UNHARMED.

The giant leaving you alone gives access to a new passage, which leads to (unfortunately) another maze.

YOU ARE IN A TANGLED WEB OF INTERSECTING PASSAGES

I lacked the energy to map the entirety of it but fortunately you don’t need to in order to find the important room.

YOU ARE IN A TANGLED WEB OF INTERSECTING PASSAGES

A LARGE UNTIDY SPIDER’S WEB COVERS ONE CORNER OF THE CAVE.

A HUGE BLACK HAIRY SPIDER CROUCHES IN ONE CORNER OF THE WEB.

(From the giant’s room, south then down to reach the spider, west then north to go back.)

The spider presented the second (and apparently, only other) new puzzle of Adventure II.

Again, some overlap of concepts from the original Adventure applied here. A bird is good enough to chase off a snake. What about if an owl met a spider? Remember from my last post that hooting will summon the owl:

off

YOUR LAMP IS NOW OFF.

IT IS NOW PITCH DARK. IF YOU PROCEED YOU WILL LIKELY FALL INTO A PIT.

hoot

A DISTANT OWL CALLS “HOOT”.

IT IS NOW PITCH DARK. IF YOU PROCEED YOU WILL LIKELY FALL INTO A PIT.

hoot

YOU HEAR A FLURRY OF WINGBEATS AND SOUNDS OF A TREMENDOUS BATTLE
(RUSTLE .. RUSTLE .. HISSS .. HOOOT! SCRAPE .. GULP! .. HOOT?)

After defeating the spider you find some documents in the web, which upon bringing them to the giant (unavoidable since you have to go back that way) he’ll give you a ruby for the documents. The ruby was the last treasure I was missing.

…

After studying the source some more what I find most fascinating is the simulationist impulse. Rather than adding a host of new puzzles (as I might expect) there were new rooms (some purely for atmosphere) and a lot of effort put into augmenting systems (like with the tidy dwarves). I derided the thirst timer earlier, but I have to admire the fact it seems to be linked to how many items the player is carrying. The relevant line is boldfaced for emphasis:

203 CONTINUE
LIMIT1=LIMIT2
LIMIT2=LIMIT2+2+HOLDNG
IF(LOC.EQ.126)LIMIT2=440+LIMIT2/2
IF(LIMIT2.LE.800)GOTO 204
IF(LIMIT1.LT.800)SPK=270
IF(LIMIT2.GE.880)SPK=271
IF(LIMIT2.GE.900)SPK=272
IF(IABS(SPK-271).LE.1)CALL RSPEAK(SPK)
IF(SPK.EQ.272)GOTO 99

For a long time adventure games seemed to try very hard to avoid simulation elements, with the few experiments that embraced it (like Disch’s Amnesia) considered cautionary tales rather than models to emulate. Only recently has this been starting to change (see Onaar and Gotomomi from this year’s IFComp).

I think there’s a lot of unexplored territory here to explore. Despite the annoyances I found it interesting when working from a walkthrough (made by myself, recall) but having to improvise anyway; for example, at one point the pirate stole treasure I meant to deliver in such a place that a different route than I had previously written became more efficient (given how tight the lamp timer is, I needed all the efficiency I could get). This sort of flexible thinking might go part of the way to removing the static-set-piece feel a lot of IF has.

While I found Adventure II interesting to write about I unfortunately cannot recommend it as an experience to others. There’s just wasn’t enough novelty to justify the effort, and the balanced experience of 350-point Adventure (still a good game) felt reduced rather than augmented.

Part of Will and Pat Crowther’s actual map of Colossal Cave, with game map locations superimposed. From Dennis Jerz.