InsideADRIFT ISSN 1743-0577
1
Issue 23 May/June 2005
Contents
News and announcements.
1. Main news
(
ADRIFT 4.0
release 46; ADRIFT site traumas;
Reviews Exchange Issue 4 out
now)
1. Competition news
(
InsideADRIFT Spring results;
ADRIFT Intro Comp 2005; Spring
Thing results
)
3. Forum news (
Quiet
)
Regular features
2. Editorial
3. Drifters birthdays
4. Events diary
3. Drifters Toolbox: Nothing this issue
6. ADRIFT recent releases
9. InsideADRIFT merchandise
10. Failed intros Some Spies Have All
The Luck by Jason Guest:
Articles
5.
The (big) idea by KF
: The law
of diminishing returns.
3. Competitions: why would
anyone enter them.
5. Does anybody c are. By David
Whyld
Reference
7. Manual: Modules
Issue: 23 (May/Jun 05)
Issue 24 due out 30 July 05
News and announcements
ADRIFT 4.0 release 46
At last we have a new release of ADRIFT, but it really is not much more
than a bug fix, though the bugs fixed does include the long term one of
ADRIFT not being good at understanding weights of objects.
ADRIFT site traumas
Towards the end of April the difficulties with the ADRIFT site continued,
with it being down more often than it was up. At least this time the
problems were caused because Campbell Wild was working towards a
solution.
Having transferred to a new service provider for his broadband
connection in order to acquire a static IP address, there were times
when the two providers seemed to be involved in a war over his server.
This meant that the ADRIFT site became unavailable as it was pointing
to the wrong address.
Touching wood, those problems seem to be a thing of the past and the
server has been there for us.
Reviews Exchange Issue 4 out now
Issue four has been released by David Whyld and is available from:
http://www.shadowvault.net/rex.htm
Reviews in this issue include:
Authority by Eva Vikstrom œ review by David Whyld
Bedlam by Mark Whitmore œ review by David Whyld
Bolivia By Night by Aidan Doyle œ review by David Whyld
Castle Quest by Andrew Cornish œ review by David Whyld
A Day At The Seaside by Matthew Hunter œ reviews by David Whyld and
Robert Rafgon
Fire In The Blood by Richard Otter œ reviews by David Whyld and Robert
Rafgon
Flat Feet by Joel Ray Holveck œ review by David Whyld
Frustrated Interviewee by Robert Rafgon œ review by David Whyld
House Husband by C. Henshaw œ reviews by David Whyld and Robert
Rafgon
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InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
2
Editorial
Only ever seems to have been
a difficult time before I come
to write this each issue.
The problems with the ADRIFT
site availability are hopefully a
thing of the past
KF
Contact
Send any suggestions,
requests or comments about
the newsletter to:
editor@insideadrift.org.uk
Find the newsletter at:
http://www.insideadrift.org.uk/
InsideADRIFT merchandise
You can now purchase an
exciting InsideADRIFT mug, if
you so desire. It has been
updated with the new logo.
The store is really not fully
operational, if you are
interested look at
www.cafepress.com/insideadrift
More details can be found on
page 9.
How It All Started by Kevin Treadway œ review by David Whyld
The Monster In The Mirror: Part 1 by Mystery œ review by Robert Rafgon
The Monster In The Mirror: Part 2 by Mystery œ review by Robert Rafgon
The Mystery Of The Darkhaven Caves by David Whyld œ review by
Laurence Moore
Private Eye by David Whyld œ review by Robert Rafgon
The Prostitute by The Anonymous Martian œ review by Laurence Moore
Selma‘s Will by Mystery œ review by Robert Rafgon
Threnody by John Schiff œ review by David Whyld
Whom The Telling Changed by Aaron A. Reed œ review by David Whyld
Competition news roundup
InsideADRIFT Spring Competition 2005 results
The competition was marred by a lack of judges, just six people voting,
leaving an unsatisfactory result with three games finishing level at the
top, and the other two tied for fourth.
Equal First
* "Fire in the Blood" by Richard Otter (1 1 0 2 2 2 = 8)
* "Frustrated Interviewee" by Robert Rafgon (2 0 2 0 0 4 = 8)
* "Private Eye" by David Whyld (0 2 0 1 4 1 = 8)
Equal Fourth
* "A Day At The Seaside" by Matthew Hunter (0 0 0 0 1 0 = 1)
* "The House Husband" by C. Henshaw (0 0 1 0 0 0 = 1)
Congratulations to those who entered as I thought that the games were
all well written and I thought none looked, as some in the past have,
that they had been rushed for the competition.
It was a shame that more didn’t judge, although forum difficulties in the
first week of judging may have hampered the process. This was the first
time the new top three system of voting had been used, and it cannot
be considered a success. With only two non-author judges, their votes
possibly had too much effect on the result. In truth there is little that can
be done to create a voting system that works in this sort of situation.
ADRIFT Intro Comp 2005
The results of this event are due out just after the newsletter is
released. Eight entries were received and are being judged, good luck
to all.
InsideADRIFT Competitions
The rules for the Summer and Game of the Year competitions can be
found at http://
www.adriftwiki.org.uk
.
pg_0003
InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
3
Drifters birthdays
June
6 En Kerklaar (19); Mattaius (19);
Seciden Mencarde (16)
8 EricS39 (40)
13 The Amazing Poodle Boy (35)
15 Matt (Dark Baron) (16)
16 Blakk Matt (19)
19 NickyDude (36)
21 Kinvadren (22)
22 betpet (30)
25 Cannibal (35)
July
1 proganyl (59)
2 30otsix (35)
8 syke39 (33)
9 The Mad Monk (16); mammoth
(37)
11 3-blind-mice (17)
15 Tonyg (17)
17 Mel S (19)
18 ejl0007 (31); nick (21);
driftingon (25)
29 jonrock (52)
Drifter’s Toolbox
Sorry, nothing to offer this
issue, don‘t think I have used
any new software.
W ider IF Comm unity
Spring Thing 2005
The results have been announced and are as follows:
1. "Whom The Telling Changed" by Aaron A. Reed
2. "Bolivia By Night" by Aidan Doyle
3. "Threnody John" by "Doppler" Schiff
4. "Flat Feet" by Joel Ray Holveck
5. "Second Chance" by David Whyld
6. "Authority" by Eva Vikström
It was generally felt that David Whyld‘s entry was unlucky not to be
higher placed.
One Room Gam e Competition 2005
Sadly only one game, in Italian was submitted for this event. Perhaps the
ADRIFT community missed a trick in not entering.
Rules, deadlines, prizes etc. are here:
http://www.avventuretestuali.com/orgc/orgc2005_eng.html
Forum news
I think it would be fairest to describe the forum as quiet, it is unusual for
more than 3 or 4 threads to be added to in a day, and some of those may
be complaining about how quiet it is.
Articles
Competitions: why would anyone enter them.
On the InsideADRIFT site I asked people to contribute a short piece for
this article, so thanks to Christy Henshaw and Richard Otter for
responding with their thought.
As a newbie (and no, I don't mind that term at all!), ADRIFT is a great
platform for experimenting with IF, getting to grips with having to write in
a fragmented format, and learning to second-guess player actions. But
experimenting and even writing full games falls a bit flat for me if I can't
get any feedback or have little external motivation for really putting the
effort in.
When I first started out, I thought it would be ages before I would feel
confident entering anything in a competition, and as there are so many
ADRIFT games already on the archive, I guessed it would be like pulling
teeth to get the game played, especially by experienced players and
writers. Once I realised that there are comps just for the ADRIFT
community, and that there are lots of friendly, helpful people on the
ADRIFT forums, I felt more confident about going in the deep end right
away. I might get a shock, but at least I'll have gotten it over with early
on! The deadline motivated me to get the game finished, the possibility of
player feedback (or lashback) encouraged self-criticism and improvement,
and the possibility of financial gain was just the cherry on top.
Christy Henshaw
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InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
4
Events Diary
May 2005
28 ADRIFT Intro Comp 2005
judging ends and results.
June 2005
30
Lotech Comp 2005
Entries should be in today for the
competition for C YOA based IF
games.
July 2005
1 IntroComp05
Intentions to enter must be in.
17 IntroComp05
Entries to be in today.
30 InsideADRIFT Issue 24
July/August 2005 due out.
August 2005
21-28 InsideADRIFT Summer
Competition 2005.
September 2005
1 2005 IF Comp
Authors must have signed up with
the IF Comp database by this
date.
24 InsideADRIFT Issue 25
September/October 2005 due
out.
30 2005 IF Comp
Authors upload their games to the
competition site.
October 2005
1 2005 IF Comp
Games are released sometime
around now; the six-week judging
period begins.
November 2005
15 2005 IF Comp
All votes must be submitted by
the end of the day.
26 InsideADRIFT Issue 26
November/December 2005 due
out.
I‘m old enough to have lived through those halcyon days of the early 80s
when computers like the ZX Spectrum really ruled. Every Speccy owner
worth anything would have a stack of adventure games such as ”Lords of
Time‘, ”The Hobbit‘, ”Subsunk‘ etc in their software collection. Games full
of guess-the-verb, impossible puzzles, things in descriptions which
couldn‘t be examined, I loved them all. As with everything those days
passed and the dear old 48k machine was consigned to a cardboard box
in the attic. Picture some years later, a slightly older man (failing eye-
sight, greying hair, bad back) clearing out the attic who happens upon a
box of cassette tapes and an ancient computer with rubber keys. Then,
out of the box came some of the games created on the adventure system
called ”The Quill‘ (never heard of the Quill. then have a look at
http://www.crashonline.org.uk/04/quill.htm). After spending a few happy
hours of pure nostalgia playing these old games I had this crazy idea of
checking if a Windows version of something like the Quill existed. After a
short search on the net I stumbled onto this program called Adrift and an
odd little forum that seemed more friendly than most I‘d seen (well we all
make mistakes).
So what; you are probably asking. Well, once I downloaded Adrift I began
immediately on my masterpiece, a game to beat all others and one which
would be certain to set the IF world on fire. One year later I‘m still writing
that game and will probably be at it in another year‘s time. I realised
fairly early on that I was never going to get the game into anything like a
finish state and I was starting to get a bit disillusioned with it; when along
came the InsideAdrift Summer Mini-comp. One of the three sections of
the comp was for a 10 room game and I thought ”I could do that!‘ so I
decided to have a go. Setting to, my entry ”Ticket to No Where‘ slowly
developed as the deadline got closer and closer. I found each stage was a
lot of fun, the deadline, testing, entering, the voting, the results and
reviews (well, I didn‘t like all of those!). Actually the position didn‘t really
matter to me, but I would say that as I came 5
th
narrowly beating a half
finished game. It really didn‘t seem to matter though, as I had a lot of
fun.
So what did I really get out of it. Well, the first thing I got from entering
was that I actually managed to get a game completed and even got an
entry in ”Baf's Guide‘. Next, people played my game and some of them
liked it! I mean people actually played my game, I found that just
amazing. Since then I have put entries (and votes) in other competitions
for basically the same reasons but also to help support the Adrift
community, which I feel every forum member should try to do.
So, more competition entries to come. Absolutely!
Richard Otter
As the organiser of a few comps I may be a bit biased, but I think that
entering a competition is the best way to get some response from
players. Even if it just boils down to getting a position in a list, that still
tells you something.
On both occasions I have entered a competition, before the current Intro
Comp, I was almost bullied into it by other drifters, and I don‘t regret
entering even though the were less than successful. Something that does
tend to be needed to enter a comp is discipline, even if it is just to get the
game ready to enter, and that does tend to benefit the game.
Ken Franklin
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InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
5
December 2005
.. InsideADRIFT Awards 2005
votes during this month
18 InsideADRIFT Game of the
Year Competition
2005 entries in and judging starts
2006
January 2006
1 InsideADRIFT Game of the
Year Competition 2005 ends
April 2006
16-30 InsideADRIFT Spring
Competition 2006
(Provisional)
The (big) idea by KF
The law of diminishing returns.
Does it get harder to write the
longer you use a tool like
ADRIFT.
Recently I have rather lacked
inspiration in writing with ADRIFT,
rather than at least starting
games.
My worry is that it is a bit of
familiarity breeds contempt, and
that I have been using this tool for
so long that I have tired of it.
Using a particular s ystem to do
anything can mean that you get in
the comfort zone and are not
really learning anymore.
It might be that attempting to
learn a different system would fire
up my imagination again.
Does anybody care. By David Whyld
The recent Inside ADRIFT Spring Comp 2005 was in some ways a
success and in others a failure.
A success: it got five entries. Now that might not sound like a huge
amount, particularly when compared to the 30+ entries in the yearly
IFComp – but in a community the size of the ADRIFT one, which rarely
has more than 30-40 active members at any one time, it’s a notable
achievement all the same. It’s also a larger number of entries than any
other Spring Comp has received so it’s a success for that reason alone
if nothing else. On top of that, it also attracted a couple of games by
newcomers which is always a nice thing to have.
A failure: it got a grand total of six votes.
Six
. Of which four were from
people who were competitors in the Comp itself. Only two other people
out of all the current users of ADRIFT bothered to vote. However you
look at it, that’s a pretty poor turnout. Just as well the ADRIFT Comp
didn’t have the same kind of requirement as most Comps have – i.e.
that the people who enter them aren’t allowed to vote – because
otherwise the total number of voters would have been even smaller.
So just why is there such a poor turnout for Comps. I can think of
several reasons offhand:
1. People can’t be bothered.
2. People
are
bothered but don’t have the time to play through five
games in the Comp’s two week judging period.
3. People have played the games, not liked them much, and decided
not to vote.
4. They don’t like Comps full stop and have no interest in voting for the
games in them.
5. They
meant
to vote but never got round to it.
6. They didn’t like the games and decided not to vote in case they
ended up annoying the game’s author by giving his game a poor vote.
7. They prefer to lurk as opposed to actually participating.
8. The recent problems with the ADRIFT forum (hopefully now fixed)
left them unable to get access to the games until it was too late.
9. They played some of the games but didn’t get around to playing
them all and figured that just voting for the ones they played wasn’t fair
on the ones they
hadn’t
played.
10. They’ve entered a game in the Comp and feel it’s a bit unsporting
voting for the other games.
I can imagine a few people citing point 2 as their reason because
unless you have lots of free time, two weeks
isn't
really long enough to
play through five full size games (even if two of them
were
quite small).
You could certainly play
some
of all of the games but three of them
were big and would likely take a fair amount of time to reach the
pg_0006
InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
6
ADRIFT recent
releases
This issue new games are still
thin on the ground, with most
being either re-releases or
competition entries.
Complete games
* signifies a previously
released game
In The Claws Of Clueless Bob
(35 Kb) B y David Whyld,
released Wed 18th May 2005
You’ve fallen into the claws of the
most notorious villain of them all:
Clueless Bob Newbie, the world’s
worst game writer! He’s now
forcing you to play his games
over again and again - a fate
surely quite a bit worse than
death. Unless, of course, you can
escape...
Frustrated Interviewee [Version
2] (50 Kb) B y Robert Rafgon,
released Sat 7th May 2005
[Now in ADRIFT 4.0] Frustrated
Interviewee shows the story told
by an interviewee in a job
interview to illustrate different
aspects of a difficult question. The
story covers an apartment, three
other friends and a quest on a
computer game set in a strange
clichéd fantas y land. This game
was entered into the 2005
InsideADRIFT Spring competition,
where it finished equal first from
five entries.
Beethro’s Text Adventure (19
Kb) B y Sokko (uploaded by
Timmon), released Sat 7th May
2005
Although labeled a ’demo’,
"Beethro’s Text Adventure" is a
complete and fully playable
subset of a much larger
adventure ( I view it as a prequel
). In fact, with 40 rooms, 7
characters, 51 objects, and full
ending. Point 5 might be a valid point but it’s a bit unlikely that people
forgot
about the deadline. Point 8 is probably also an issue. Regular
forum members know about the other ADRIFT sites and so the main
forum being down wouldn’t affect them too much but any newcomers
likely wouldn’t be aware. Point 9 might also be an issue for the same
reason as point 2. Point 10. Could well be a valid point. Can you enter
a Comp yourself and give a totally honest vote to the other games,
knowing that it might be your good vote to another game that allows it
to beat your own. In an ideal world, you could. In real life, personal
opinions probably intrude and affect your overall vote. But the
main
reason for more people not participating in the voting process.
Simple. Point 1: they can’t be bothered.
Yep, the ‘lack of feedback’ issue rears its ugly head once again. It’s no
secret to anyone who’s been a member of the ADRIFT community for
more than a few months that while people are happy to encourage
others to write games, offer advice, beta-test them, give ideas,
opinions, etc, etc, but when the game is done and ready to be played…
everyone goes mysteriously quiet. You might a review after a while. You
might, if you're especially lucky, even get a brief comment on the forum
about your game. Once in a blue moon there'll even be a full blown
discussion but don’t hold your breath waiting for one about your game
because you'll be waiting a long, long time. But more often than not,
you'll get precious little feedback at all. The Reviews Exchange has
gone some way towards ensuring that more reviews are written but
speaking as the poor fool who organises it every couple of months, it’s
not always easy to get contributions and there are still a good number
of games that go unreviewed and their authors get no feedback upon.
Competitions used to be the one way of actually getting some much
needed feedback on your games because the majority of the ADRIFT
community (or a sizeable portion of it at least) would take part, play the
games, vote on them and some would even go as far as to review
them. But even that seems to have dried up recently. In a smallish
community that nevertheless boasts upwards of thirty active members,
just six votes for the first competition of the year is a pitiful amount.
What were the other people doing. Yes, they’ve got lives outside the
Comp but showing their support would have been nice.
Okay, writing ADRIFT games and voting on them isn't a way of life: it’s
a hobby. You don’t get paid for what you do and you're very unlikely to
gain any recognition from the rest of the IF world for your efforts*. You
write them because you
like
writing them or because you want to win a
competition and show everyone how good you are. Or simply because
it’s a hobby and it passes the time. Or maybe you do it for the
recognition, to know that there are a few people out there who actually
want
to play your games. Of course, if you get no feedback at all for
your efforts, it’s often hard to know if anyone likes them or, indeed, if
anyone is even playing them. You might as well decide to jack it all in
and do something more worthwhile with your time instead.
* You might, of course. The rest of the IF world isn't
quite
as anti-
pg_0007
InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
7
hints, this game is larger and
more developed than many
’complete’ ADRIFT adventures. It
was not written by me, but by
someone named Sokko.
Grab your Greatsword and get
cracking!
GAME OF THE MONTH
Second Chance (260) By
David W hyld, released Mon
2nd May 2005
It begins on the day you die,
crushed beneath the wheels of
a speeding lorry, and then an
enigmatic stranger gives you
the opportunity to set things
right. You are given a second
chance. (Entered in Spring
Thing 2005)
Private Eye (482 Kb) By David
Whyld, released Sun 1st May
2005
Millionaire oil t ycoon Marcus
Kavallon has been kidnapped and
only you, Lep R. Chimner, private
eye extraordinaire, can save him.
Well, you and your ever inefficient
sidekick, Jim, that is. [Genre:
Comedy/Detective/Gamebook]
(Joint winner of the Adrift Spring
Comp 2005)
Fire in the Blood V1.00 (100 Kb)
By rotter, released Sun 1st May
2005
Since that night your life has
seemed like a living dream or to
be more accurate a living
nightmare. Coming home and
finding her like that, her still form
lying in your lounge
Even now, two months later, you
still can’t come to terms with what
has happened. Assault, murder,
rape are only words, just words.
But those words ended your
world. . (Joint winner
InsideADRIFT Spring Competition
2005)
Spring Comp 05 (1081 Kb) By
various, released Wed 20th Apr
2005
ADRIFT as it used to be a few years ago but don’t go expecting the
RAIF crowd to proclaim your new ADRIFT game as superior to
Photopia
or
City Of Secrets
any time soon.
Which brings me back to the recent Spring Comp and its poor turnout of
voters. Six people voted in the Comp out of a community of perhaps
thirty to forty regular members, and some ten to twenty casual
members. Six out of a possible sixty isn't a good amount however you
look at it. It doesn’t say to anyone planning to write a game for a comp
that doing so is a
good
idea. More than anything else, it says that
people don’t care about competitions and that there's no reason to
enter them.
So c’mon, people, the next time a competition is run: either enter a
game or vote on the entries. Or, better still, do both! Or one day it might
well turn out that a competition is announced and no one enters
because they’ve seen the lack of enthusiasm for previous ones. And as
competition games comprise the bulk of all released ADRIFT games
these days, that would be a pretty disastrous thing to happen.
Reference
Modules are an area of ADRIFT that has always looked promising, but has
been hampered by some buggy early implementation, Recently many of
the bugs have been fixed.
Modules
Modules are essentially segments of adventures, which can be plugged
in” to another adventure. They allow developers to create standard
libraries of commonly used objects and functions to reduce the amount
of repetition and recreating the wheel”.
Creating a Module
The simplest method of creating a module is to simply export it from an
adventure you have created. To do this, select File > Export > Module
from the menu. This will bring up something like the following window:
pg_0008
InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
8
The entries for this competition
run in April/May 2005:
"A Day At The Seaside" by
Matthew Hunter
"Fire in the Blood" by Richard
Otter
"Frustrated Interviewee" by
Robert Rafgon
"The House Husband" by C.
Henshaw
"Private Eye" by David Whyld
* Wax Worx (38 Kb) By Eric
Mayer, released Sun 27th Feb
2005
You’re locked in a wax museum.
If you can find your way out, you
might also remember who you are
and how you got here. It shouldn’t
be too difficult, with all thos e wax
serial k illers waiting to help you
out.
* A Walk At Dusk (21 Kb) By
Eric Mayer, released Mon 14th
Feb 2005
As you walk down the dirt road at
dusk you hear the trilling of
peepers. You’ve heard tree frogs
since you were a child, but never
seen them. Is this the evening
you finally glimpse one of the
mysterious singers. An
interactive essay.
Demos
Hunt (DEMO) (3 Kb) By Pofty,
released Sat 7th May 2005
An upcoming breather for the
game, hunt. This DEMO allows
you to feel the hilarity off some of
the jok es and kill the boss quickly,
however keep in mind one thing.
Rabbits, can be deadly...
Realtime Countdown demo (1
Kb) B y KF, released Sat 2nd
Apr 2005
After you type countdown, the file
will display a countdown to zero
after each turn and, if time runs
out end the game.
This lists everything in your adventure in a series of lists. To select
items you wish to export to your module, simply click on them in the list
click them again to deselect them. You can select an entire list by
clicking on the list title at the top, and you can select the entire
adventure by clicking on the Select All button.
You have to be careful when exporting a partial adventure, because
most items have references to another. For example, you might have a
task light candle” which requires you to be holding a match and a
candle. If you exported the task without the objects, it wouldn’t make
much sense as a module. To assist with this, you can select the
Automatic dependencies checkbox. Now, whenever you select an item
from a list, it will automatically select anything else if it is referenced by
that item.
When you are happy with the items selected, click the OK button to
continue. This will prompt you for a filename. Enter the name of the
module, and click Save. Your module has now been created.
You can also create a module directly into a text editor, such as
Notepad by adding the text and saving the file with the extension AMF.
Modifying a Module
Modules are stored in text format to allow manual editing of the files,
and to promote easy sharing over text forums. To edit a module, simply
double-click on the icon, or right-click on it and select Edit. This should
open the file in Notepad.
Importing a Module
Importing a module is very simple. Simply select File > Import > Module
from the menu. This will bring up a file browser window to allow you to
select the module.
Clicking Open will then parse the module. Firstly the syntax is checked.
If anything in the module does not match the defined structure (see
below) then an error window is displayed showing the parse errors. If
there are no parse errors, a window will be displayed if there are any
parse warnings. These are generally if there is an item referenced but
not present in the module. If this is the case, you are asked whether or
not you wish to continue importing the module. Selecting Yes, or if there
are no parse warnings will then display the same window as when
exporting so that you can preview what the module contains. Clicking
OK will then import the module into your adventure.
Module Structure
Modules must adhere to a strict syntax in order to be parsed
successfully.
You can enter comments at any point, as long as the line starts with the
character #”. The parser will ignore anything else on the line. Blank
lines will also be ignored.
Spaces and carriage returns are ignored when parsing, and all non-
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InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
9
InsideADRIFT
Merchandise
Although this is not intended
as a money spinning idea,
more a way to create items for
me, these items are available
for the discerning drifter to
purchase.
The boxer shorts, priced at
$13.49, with a discreet
InsideADRIFT logo on the right
leg.
Costing $17.39, the baseball
jersey comes in red/blue/black
and white.
Also available from
www.cafepress.com/insideadrift
are:
trucker hat $11.79;
sweatshirt $22.39; sleeveless
tee $15.89; women‘s tank top
$15.89; mousepad $11.49;
teddy bear $13.79; sticker
$2.69; journal $7.69;
messenger bag $19.99.
quoted tokens are not case sensitive.
To embed a quote, i.e. ‘ ‘, you must precede it with a backslash, i.e. \”.
E.g. you might have something like The sign reads \”No Entry\”.”
The first non-commented line must contain the ADRIFT version that the
module is compatible with. At the moment this will not affect how the
module is parsed, but it’s there in case I change the module structure in
future versions. It should be in the format.
Each item within a module must be defined explicitly in the format
Version X.XX Release X
DEFINE <itemtype> <itemname>“
A complete skeleton for an ADRIFT Room is as follows:
DEFINE Room <room reference>“
SHORTDESC = “<short room description>“
LONGDESC = <long room description>“
NOTONMAP = [True / False]
ALTDESC
IF TASK <task ref>“ IS {Not} Completed
THENSHOW description“
NEWSHORTDESC = <new short description>“
HIDEOBS = [True / False]
SHOW [Immediately / After Main / After Any]
END ALTDESC
NORTH = <room ref>“ {IF OBJECT <object ref>“ IS <state>“}
EAST = <room ref>“ {IF TASK <task ref>“ IS {Not} Completed}
SOUTH = <room ref>“
WEST = <room ref>“
UP = <room ref>“
DOWN = <room ref>“
IN = <room ref>“
OUT = <room ref>“
NORTHEAST = <room ref>“
SOUTHEAST = <room ref>“
SOUTHWEST = <room ref>“
NORTHWEST = <room ref>“
END Room
An object definition:
DEFINE Object <object reference>“
PREFIX = <object prefix>“
NAME = <object name>“
ALIASES = <alias 1>“ {,“<alias 2>“}
DESCRIPTION = <description>“
pg_0010
InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
10
Failed Intros
Some Spies Have All The Luck
An unfinished game written by
J. J. Guest in 1987, using
Incentive's Adventure Creator
A little while ago I fired up my
old Acorn Electron
microcomputer which hadn't
been used for more than
fifteen years. To my
amazement, not only did it
work, but so did the old
cassette tapes I'd recorded
my unfinished text adventure
games on! Here's the intro to
one I wrote in about 1987,
entitled "Some Spies Have All
The Luck"
Having been sacked from your
job as general dogsbody at a
second-rate fast food joint, you
stumbled across an advert in the
Espionage Times.
"Would you like a job where you
can travel to exotic places, meet
lots of interesting people and go
sk iing a lot. Are YOU the sort of
person that likes action and
adventure, and skiing. The pay is
lousy, but the fringe benefits are
well worth the risks! If interested,
please contact:
The British Secret Service,
Underneath the manhole cover,
Quite near Hyde Park,
London SW1"
This game was a broad spoof of
the James Bond spy genre. It
began with the player onboard a
light aircraft somewhere ov er the
south pacific. The player's
mission was to parachute down a
certain island, locate the secret
base of some megalomaniac or
other, and foil his plans. If the
player didn't jump out of the plane
within a certain number of moves,
the decision would be made for
him:
LOCATION = [Hidden / All Rooms / [Inside / On] <object ref>“
/ “<room ref>“ {,“<room ref>“}]
TYPE = [Static / Dynamic]
OPENABLE = [True / False]
OPENSTATE = [Open / Closed / Locked]
STATES= <state1>{|<state2>}“
STARTSTATE=“<state>“
INITIALDESC = <initial description>“
SURFACE = [True / False]
CONTAINER = [True / False]
END Object
A task definition:
DEFINE Task <task reference>“
COMMAND <command>“
{COMMAND }
WHERE = <room ref>“ {, <room ref>“}
MESSAGE = <message reply>“
RESTRICTION (See Task Restrictions)
ELSESHOW <message to show on failure>“
{[AND / OR] RESTRICTION }
ACTION (See Task Actions)
REVERSIBLE = [True / False]
REVCOMMAND <command to reverse task>“
{REVCOMMAND }
REVERSETEXT = <message when task reversed>“
REPEATABLE = [True / False]
TRYAGAIN = <message if tried again>“
END Task
An event definition
DEFINE Event <event reference>“
NAME = <event name>“
START After Task <task ref>“
LENGTH Between <start no> and <end no>
REPEATING = [True / False]
WHERE = <room ref>“
STARTTEXT = <text on event start>“
MIDTIME1 = <mid no 1>
MIDTEXT1 = <text 2>“
MIDTIME2 = <mid no 2>
MIDTEXT2 = <text 2>“
PAUSE IF TASK <task ref>“ IS {Not} Completed
pg_0011
InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
11
"Come on, old chap!" says the
pilot, "Got the jitters all of a
sudden, have we." He flies the
plane in a loop so that you fall out
and plummet towards the ground.
"Never mind! " he calls, "It'll all be
over in a jiffy! "
This is all very well, of course, as
long as you've remembered to put
on your parachute. If you haven't,
the adventure is all over rather
sooner than a jiffy:
You hit the sea with the most
painful bellyflop in history. Your
belly is so sore that you are
forced to retire from active
service.
If you do remember your
parachute, you land safely on the
island, but a worse fate may be in
store for you; the island is
inhabited by cannibals. These are
no ordinary man-eaters, however,
they're the survivors of an ill-fated
Brownie Guide camp that have
been forced eat human flesh just
in order to survive! One wrong
move, and the Brownies are
preparing for a jolly old sing-song
around the camp fire, with YOU
as the main course:
The logs burn easily and within
seconds you have become
"Espionner Bouilli a la Canibale."
Unfortunately, I never finished
writing the game, so I can't tell
you what happened if you
survived the Brownies, but
presumably it would have
involved meeting interesting
people, and skiing.
Article by J. J. Guest (c) 2005
ON START MOVE Object <object ref>“ TO <room ref>“
EXECUTE TASK <task ref>“
END Event
A character definition:
DEFINE Character <character reference>“
NAME = <character name>“
PREFIX = <character prefix>“
ALIASES = <alias>“ {, <alias 2>“}
LOCATION = <room ref>“
DESCRIPTION = <description of character>“
GENDER = [Male / Female / Unknown]
TEXTHERE = <description if in room>“
SHOWMOVE = [True / False]
ENTERTEXT = <text if enters the room>“
EXITTEXT = <text if exits the room>“
WALK
STARTTASK = <task ref>“
STEP [Follow Player / Hidden / <room ref>“], <time in room>
{STEP }
LOOP = [True / False]
END WALK
{WALK }
CONVERSATION
SUBJECTS = <subject(s)>“
REPLY = <reply to subject>“
TASK = <task ref>“
ELSEREPLY = <reply if task is complete>“
END CONVERSATION
{CONVERSATION }
ATTITUDE = {Ally / Neutral / Enemy}
STAMINA = X to X
STRENGTH = X to X
ACCURACY = X to X
DEFENCE = X to X
AGIILITY = X to X
RECOVERY = X
SPEED = {Every turn / Most turns / Every second turn /
Every third turn / Every four turns}
LOWTASK = <task when stamina drops to below 10% >
DIETASK = <task when character is killed>“
END Character
pg_0012
InsideADRIFT Issue 23 May/June 2005
12
The Introduction:
DEFINE Introduction
MESSAGE = <introduction>
STARTROOM = <room ref>“
END Introduction
The winning message:
DEFINE Winning
MESSAGE = <winning message>
END Winning
And the Player:
DEFINE Player
NAME = <name of player>“
GENDER = {Male / Female / Prompt}
PROMPTFORNAME = {True / False}
DESCRIPTION = <description>“
BUTIFTASK <task>“ IS COMPLETE THENSHOW <description>“
INITIALPOSITION = {Standing / Sitting / Lying} {ON <object ref>“}
MAXBULK = <number> {Tiny / Small / Normal / Large / Huge} Objects
MAXWEIGHT = <number> {Very Light / Light / Normal / Heavy /
Very Heavy} Objects
STAMINA = X to X
STRENGTH = X to X
ACCURACY = X to X
DEFENCE = X to X
AGIILITY = X to X
RECOVERY = X
END Player
© Campbell Wild, Oct 2003
Information is copied and pasted from the manual and while every effort
is made to be accurate, there are no guarantees that it is error free
© 2005 Edited by KF.
Please send any contributions or suggestions to
editor@insideadrift.org.uk
.