Dark Dungeons on Zimmers buggy.

[nbla000]

If you hit H you get some basic help, although there are other commands...

During my fixing work, i've extracted the full hidden basic code in TXT form if someone need.

I can send you food from the place where I work (Emilia)

oh yeah, i love Emilian food: ham, cheese, Tortellini and the Lambrusco wine...
it is one of the reason because i need to lose weight

[ral-clan]

I'm pretty sure I have an original Dark Dungeons tape. I'll check if I have the documentation.

[EDIT]

Okay I checked and I do have an Anirog game simply called "The Dungeons" which seems to be the exact same game. Unfortunately the instructions on the cassette J-card are not much better than in the game.

It merely lists the same commands shown in the in-game help and says "There are more commands than this but you have to discover them. You need one thousand points and the key to the pass through the exit door from this adventure into THE LOWER DUNGEONS".

I guess "THE LOWER DUNGEONS was never published...?

[Kweepa]

During my fixing work, i've extracted the full hidden basic code in TXT form if someone need.

I'd love to see it, and a quick explanation of what you did to fix it!

[Mayhem]

Okay I checked and I do have an Anirog game simply called "The Dungeons" which seems to be the exact same game. Unfortunately the instructions on the cassette J-card are not much better than in the game.

They are quite similar but not exactly the same, I get the impression one is like an enhanced and spruced up version of the other. Both are in GB20 and linked together.

[nbla000]

During my fixing work, i've extracted the full hidden basic code in TXT form if someone need.

I'd love to see it, and a quick explanation of what you did to fix it!

OK but you need to wait Tuesday because i've the hidden basic text file and working log to the office and Monday is a public holiday in Italy.

Remember, i've done the work during the lunch pause

It merely lists the same commands shown in the in-game help and says "There are more commands than this but you have to discover them.

I think you or Orion may write an exhaustive manual by looking inside the hidden basic code so be patient...

[orion70]

Remember, i've done the work during the lunch pause
...
I think you or Orion may write an exhaustive manual by looking inside the hidden basic code so be patient...

I'm in. My lunch time is available for the manual.
Thanks for your work.

[ral-clan]

Has anyone tried this game on a real NTSC VIC. Is it PAL only? Would it be easy to convert the screen location to make it run on an NTSC VIC? I seem to remember a lot of Anirog games have shifted screens on NTSC machines, cutting off the bottom of the screen.

This game seems pretty good and would be great to play on a real VIC!

[nbla000]

Has anyone tried this game on a real NTSC VIC. Is it PAL only?

Looking the hidden basic code it does not change screen coordinates, except for the protection that is not executed anymore after my fix.
Playing it on VICE (NTSC mode) it has the same X/Y coordinates of a standard NTSC screen so i assume that it works on real NTSC vics too, which is the problem ? may i reproduce it on VICE ?

During my fixing work, i've extracted the full hidden basic code in TXT form if someone need.

I'd love to see it

You may download the hidden basic code in TXT form here.

and a quick explanation of what you did to fix it!

Not so quick btw it was a work "on-fly" so no log file this time but i remember the main important phases.

As first thing i've loaded from TAP and saved to disk image the main program but when i reloaded and ran it, the vic crashed.

OK, so this is an hard work, good...

I focused my attention on the main program single row of code:

Code: Select all

0 POKE8192,0:POKE44,32:RUN

It means that the real basic code is from $2001 and from $1201-1fff there are data or LM routines if any.

43-44 Pointer: Start of Basic (lo/hi)


Phase 1:
using vice i've loaded the second part, without run it, to look where is the last byte of code by checking locations *002D-002E 45-46 Pointer: Start of Variables

after ever using vice monitor i've saved code from $2001 to the last used address

now load the saved file using:

Code: Select all

LOAD "BASIC-CODE",8 [NOT ,8,1]

Et voila the hidden basic code....

There is a strange row after the first 2 lines that hidden itself by using backspace technique, so how to read it ?


Phase 2:
I loaded the BASIC-CODE from C64 VICE emulator and resaved it without modifies.
Now i've the same basic v2.0 code but in a C64 prg files.

Code: Select all

LOAD "BASIC-CODE",8 [NOT ,8,1]
SAVE "BASIC-CODE64",8 

To manipulate d64 images i use Star Commander or DirMaster

Now using the tool TOK64: Text <==> C64 Basic Converter
i've converted the basic prg file in a TXT file:

Code: Select all

TOK64.EXE /totxt BASIC-CODE64.prg

Et voila the basic hidden code in TXT form


now i may look the strange hidden basic row, it is the row number 8 but there is another strange row the number 945

Code: Select all

8 ifpeek(849)<>66thenpoke36864,99:sys1:rem "{BACKSPACES*40}
945 ifpeek(849)<>66thenpoke36864,99:sys1:rem "{BACKSPACES*40}

both does the same and this is the copy protection.

the code look on the Cassette buffer area 828-1019 ($033C-$03FB) for the value on the byte 849 ($351), if is not 66 ($42) it crash the vic.

This value is present when the program is loaded from the tape but not from disk of course.

To confirm my thesis, i've loaded my old non working saved prg file from disk image using these commands to start it.

Code: Select all

POKE 849,66:RUN

Good it works but the work is not finished yet....


Phase 3:
To start the game, using a poke before, is not so elegant, what i can do ?

As first thing i crunch the file using Pucrunch to reduce size.

Code: Select all

PUCRUNCH.EXE original.prg crunched.prg -c20 -m5 -x0xc871

That produce a compressed ML program for 16k vics that automatically start the basic code by calling (c871 run Perform [run]) after decrunching process.

OK, now i've the compressed file but i still use POKE to start it.

I need to hack the crunched file, for this work some LM knowledge and BASIC tokens structure infos are required.


Phase 4:
Using the Vice monitor take a look on the firsts bytes of the crunched file, it is not LM code but basic structure to execute SYS4621, the real LM code that decrunch the basic program and start it:

Code: Select all

1201   0B 12 (where the next basic line is located in memory [$120B])
1203   EF 00 (the basic line number [239])
1205   9E    (the basic SYS command token)
1206   34 36 32 31 (4621 [the SYS call to $120d]) 
120a   00    (First basic line finished)
120b   00 00 (second basic line [00 00] means that the basic program is finished)

120d   78         SEI  (first decrunch LM command)

ok, now to fix our program we need to add new code on the bottom to set the value 66 ($42) on the location 849 ($351).

The last used byte from the crunched program is $3e47 so we can attach and execute code from $3e48 and after execute the normal decrunch routines from $120d.

to start code from $3e48 (SYS 15944) we need to change the basic structure and hack a bit the crunched routines

Code: Select all

1201   0C 12 (where the next basic line is located in memory [$120C])
1203   D8 07 (the basic line number [2008] ;-)
1205   9E    (the basic SYS command token)
1206   31 35 39 34 34 (15944 [the SYS call to $3E48]) 
120b   00    (First basic line finished)
120c   00 00 (second basic line [00 00] means that the basic program is finished)

Since we need an additional byte for 15944 we must replace the first byte of LM code on our FIX code:

Code: Select all

3e48   A9 42      LDA #$42
3e4a   8D 51 03   STA $0351 ; POKE849,66
3e4d   78         SEI       ; Replace the hacked command
3e4e   4C 0E 12   JMP $120E ; and continue to normal decrunch routines

OK done, and now save it using the vice monitor:

SAVE "FIXED-PRG" 8 $1201 $3e50


FINISH, i hope that someone may use my experience for other fixes/hacks.


PS: I hope that the Hidden Basic TXT file may help for a future manual too, Orion

[ral-clan]

Last night I tried out the Anirog game "The Dungeons" (as opposed to "Dark Dungeons" which we are discussing in this thread).

"The Dungeons" does indeed seem to be a slightly more polished version of "Dark Dungeons". There are some frustrating elements of gameplay removed. Your lamp is automatically lit and you don't have to haggle with the store when you buy your equipment (prices are listed). The haggling in "Dark Dungeons" was slow and frustrating.

Unfortunately, "The Dungeons" (on Zimmers) is TAP only. No disk-runnable image (I don't think, anyway).

[orion70]

FINISH, i hope that someone may use my experience for other fixes/hacks.

PS: I hope that the Hidden Basic TXT file may help for a future manual too, Orion

You can count on me, Master.

"The Dungeons" does indeed to be a slightly more polished version of "Dark Dungeons". There are some frustrating elements of gameplay removed. Your lamp is automatically lit and you don't have to haggle with the store when you buy your equipment (prices are listed). The haggling in "Dark Dungeons" was slow and frustrating.

I agree with you. I played the game mostly to discover new commands and begin to map it (30% done), and it's no fun to try and guess the prices of items in the shop.

I will give The Dungeons a go.

[nbla000]

Unfortunately, "The Dungeons" (on Zimmers) is TAP only. No disk-runnable image (I don't think, anyway).

I cannot locate this TAP file on Zimmers, may you give me a link ?

You can count on me, Master.

Master ? you may call me simply NBLA if you want to use a pet name

[orion70]

It was available on the now dead Arma's site. Fortunately, I have a copy of it: download The Dungeons here.

[nbla000]

Lunchtime safe this time, just few minutes because i know my chicken

It uses the same DarkDungeons protection except that it looks for the value 77 instead of 66 on the location 849 so i've used the same exact method above.

This is the crunched and fixed PRG file of "The Dungeons" and this is the hidden basic code in TXT form.

Please confirm if they are ok and if someone may post these files on zimmers too is not a bad idea.

[ral-clan]

Thanks! I'm playing the fixed version of "The Dungeons" right now. It's a good game. I find movement confusing though. You can't tell which way you are facing. There is no compass. You can only see three walls, even if there are four exits....you don't know which way is which! An exit might be on the wall to the right of the screen, but that doesn't mean it's the east exit!

[16KVIC20]

Thanks! I'm playing the fixed version of "The Dungeons" right now. It's a good game. I find movement confusing though. You can't tell which way you are facing. There is no compass. You can only see three walls, even if there are four exits....you don't know which way is which! An exit might be on the wall to the right of the screen, but that doesn't mean it's the east exit!

I stumbled upon this thread while being nostalgic about my VIC20.

I used to have "The Dark Dungeons", in fact it was one of my favourite games for the VIC 20 back in the 80s. As I recall the inlay card stated that you must solve the riddle (or similar) and collect a set amount of gold pieces (1000?), when you had done this you would pass through into "The Catacombs" which is the next game (not sure if it was ever released).

I remember what the riddle was and the correct answer (it wasn't very difficult).

I also had "The Dungeons", but the cassette never worked in my C2N unit, so it went back to the shop. I never saw these games for sale ever again, except once in a commodore software leaflet they showed "The Dark Dungeons" in about 1985 or 6, but this time the walls were solid on the screen shot rather than just isometric lines giving an outline. There were some pretty good graphics in this game. At the time it felt like the VIC was prone to cheating a bit, if it thought your time was up, you were a gonner.