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It's been a long time coming but the last of the Kickstarter rewards got shipped out last weekend. I've updated the attachment on the original post with the final version for anyone wanting it.

The changes are:-
  Lucky number actually implemented (i.e. same number will equal same dungeon)
  Always solvable dungeon maps
  Slightly more responsive interface
  Title screen
  Persistent dungeons that don't shift every time you return to them
  Flipped all the monsters to be the correct way round
  Various bug fixes

I'm fairly pleased with how it all turned out. It's a faithful representation of the original I reckon. I would have quite liked to add music but without writing something original, I couldn't use anything from the Ultima series without breaching copyright. This wasn't an option when this was getting an official release.

Yes, I just about remember fixing that one. I do have a newer version of the code but won't be releasing it publicly here until after the backers of the Kickstarter I mentioned above have received their copies which should be in a couple of months or so. Covid has kept pushing things back or it would already have happened.

I've made a few small fixes and improvements like a title screen, always reachable maze exits and persistent mazes that don't move every time you go to a new floor. You aren't missing too much with the version on here though. I'm just waiting on playtesting now - I've been holding out for months for my playtester to get set up with a Vectrex + Vectrex32 which he finally sorted out today as it happens.

I don't think storing them all in RAM is an option unless memory allocation has changed in the firmware revisions since I wrote most of this. I was fighting memory issues right the way along with all the predefined arrays I'm using. I ended up pushing some of the graphics arrays out to separate files on the cart to be loaded on request to free up some room.

I'll create my own random number generator instead - it doesn't have to be anything too clever. I'm sure I can pinch an algorithm from somewhere.

Is there any way to manually seed the built-in random number generator? I need to "randomly" create levels and be able to regenerate the same level again at a later time so I'd like to reseed to the same starting point each time I build the level.

I haven't but will be diving back into it at some point in the next few months as it happens. Everything worked as such, the only real improvements I'd like to make were around interface and getting the flickering down. I'm not going to claim it's the most fun game to play but it's pretty much faithful to the original experience as is so I don't want to change too much.

While it's based on the original source code the dungeon generation is crude and gives no guarantee of a path through the level so I might want to look at that. Later versions of Akalabeth fixed this so it's a question of which one I'm trying to copy.

The reason I'm going back to this is that I'm helping out with a Kickstarter for part 2 of a book about Origin Systems which is starting next week. Among the rewards are going to be 20 copies of Vecalabeth, complete in zip lock bags with cover artwork signed by Richard Garriott himself. We are planning on just having a credit card USB stick for the cheaper end but also some with a Vectrex 32 so we will be looking to buy several of these from yourself at some point if successful. Given we are charging money for it, I'll be going back to make some improvements + I have someone lined up to help with playtesting this time around. The bulk of the first version was essentially written over one week of evenings so I would hope I can get it more polished with a little effort.

Other than that, I was watching a video that mentioned 3D Deathchase on the ZX Spectrum the other day and thought what a great Vectrex game it could make. It's dead simple and probably wouldn't be all that tricky to port either so I'm giving that serious consideration for the next project.

Glad you are enjoying yourself. I was beginning to wonder if anyone else was ever going to play it. I did get a tweet off Richard Garriott (Lord British himself) saying he wanted a copy for his own Vectrex and I pointed him here to buy a Vectrex32. No idea if he has or not though.

There is a trick which makes beating the game much easier but I won't give it away. Watch out for those gremlins when you get that far by the way even if they don't look that menacing.

It doesn't really take advantage of the vector graphics at the moment. At some point, I'm going to have a go at adding some smooth panning on the overworld and pseudo 3D movement around the dungeons. Probably nothing too realistic, something like Lands Of Lore if you ever played it. If I ever get that done, I might see whether it's possible to throw some music and sound in there.

Update 10th Nov 2021

I've released the final version and updated the attachment on this first post.


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I've been working on a port of Akalabeth which was one of the first ever RPG's created back in 1979 by Richard Garriott for the Apple 2. It used nothing but line graphics making it a perfect fit for the Vectrex. The game sold about 30,000 copies at the time which then led him to quit his degree and start the Ultima series and ultimately Origin Systems.

I've worked from the original source code to try to get things as close as possible. There is an overhead world view and first person dungeon sections. This is a seriously primitive game but an RPG on the Vectrex has to be something of a novelty at any rate. I started this ages back but kept running into memory issues because of the large amount of array data required. The file handling that was added in the last firmware made all the difference as I was able to shift some of the data into files and load it as needed.

I should say that this is by no means finished but all the elements of the game are there and it's just a case of refinement and bug fixing from here on out. The code is a bit of a mess - it's quite nice to be able to just bash stuff out and not worry about other people understanding any of it actually. I've basically dashed the majority of this off in my spare time over the last week. The menus need improving to say the least and there are definitely bugs but it's essentially playable from the little testing I've done.

If you want to give it a go, button 1 is for using things, select in menu, enter castle, climb ladder, etc.. , button 2 attacks, button 4 shows the equipment and you can equip weapons from there. There is a manual for the original game in the long list at http://www.pixsoriginadventures.co.uk/downloads/ under Miscellaneous.

Suggestions/bug reports are welcome. I haven't had chance to do proper testing on this yet but I'm aware of some issues with secret walls showing up when then shouldn't, menus being too hard to use, and I'm unconvinced by the dungeon generation even if I have followed the original code. Expect dead ends but the dungeons do shift every time you go up/down a ladder so you can possibly backtrack.


Edit - I've uploaded a new version having done some playtesting, fixed a load of bugs and generally made things more playable. There are certainly improvements I could still make but it's a fair representation of the original game now and stable enough for me to have been able to finish the game.

Further Edit - "Final" version now attached

Really quick question. Is there an inbuilt function to cast a string to an integer? I ask as I can't find anything in the documentation and am looking to use the newly added file input/output to read some in game data. I can obviously write my own function if I have to but I would imagine there must be something there already.

Thanks very much. I'll give that a go later this weekend.

The line drawing function was an attempt to reduce the size of the code itself when I was struggling to get it to load on version 1.0.  It did appear to help at the time but I'll get it changed as you suggest. I had the notion of adding the point drawing to the arrays at some point that a few of the monsters use for eyes.

I wouldn't necessarily look forward to the finished version of this game too much. In truth, the original that I'm porting from wasn't all that much fun in the first place. It just seemed like a good choice at the time since Akalabeth used near enough nothing but line graphics and was written entirely in basic.  I figured a quick port would be an easy way to learn my way around programming on the Vectrex32. All the graphics are in there now anyway, I just have to build the actual game part.

The fixed cartridge has arrived back safe and sound with no charges to pay. 

I've been playing around with it again this evening and added in the rest of the graphics for this Apple II game I'm trying to port over. The memory issues have definitely improved but I'm running into out of memory errors again now despite the code only being about 20k.

I've attached the code in it's current state. With the extra testing subroutine in there eating up a bit more space, it gives an out of memory error immediately on running. Without that, it will start but crash when drawing one of the more complex monsters. Any ideas what is going wrong?

I've checked the terms and I apparently have to be able to provide a copy of the guarantee/warranty agreement to my shipping provider when it's returned. If you can put some documentation to that effect in the parcel, it may help if it comes to that. I would have to pay customs on any repair costs or on the price of the item in full if it was replaced rather than repaired so it needs to be clear that it was repaired under warranty for free.

I'll get it back in the post to you tomorrow.

Cheers,
Rich

That's mostly good news at least. I'm loving the prospect of 3D support on a Vectrex. I'll hold off on playing around with this any more for now at any rate.

Can I ask that when you send the cartridge back again you don't put down the actual value on the customs declaration. I've already had to pay out $60 in customs fees and really don't want to have to do the same a second time. I'll mark it with a low value myself when sending it back.

Cheers,
Rich

I'm having a similar out of memory problem. Not sure if it's the same cause or not as I'm not trying to create any especially large arrays.

In brief, I'm attempting to port over an old Apple II game called Akalabeth (a very early first person dungeon crawler). I've been adding a load of functions to draw the 10 monsters in the game each of which has an array storing the data to draw the lines. Everything ran fine until I got on to #9 and 10 but it now just throws out of memory errors when trying to load the basic unless I delete the contents of some of those functions. None of the arrays are especially large so I wouldn't expect to be having any problems. The code is attached - is this the same bug?

Cheers,
Rich