Infocom bugs
Nathan
on to modern IF. I seem unable to move beyond my nostalgia. The only
Infocom game I actually owned in the good old days was Zork II, but I
bought Masterpieces some 8 years ago. I've played all of these games,
but I've still only finished about a dozen of them, so it will probably
be quite a while before I get to Curses. Perhaps I'll never catch up.
The FAQ implies that it's common/appropriate to post reports of Infocom
bugs to this group, but I haven't seen many such posts, at least not
recently. Are there still a lot of people interested in Infocom bugs,
or am I unique?
Over the last 6 months, I've compiled a list of some 300 bugs I've found
in Infocom games. Most of these bugs aren't in Graeme Cree's list at
all; a few are generalizations or clarifications of bugs he has listed.
For example, I've found new ways to crash or lock up Arthur, Ballyhoo,
Beyond Zork, Cutthroats, Deadline, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,
Moonmist, Shogun, Spellbreaker, and Zork II. I've also found new "body
parts" bugs (whereby you can detach one or more of your body parts) in
Beyond Zork, Border Zone, Moonmist, Plundered Hearts, Shogun, Trinity,
Zork Zero, and Zork II. In a few cases, I discovered the bug by
accident, just playing through the game and trying things that made
sense. Most of the time, of course, I was deliberately trying to break
the game.
I have emailed Graeme Cree about the bugs I've found, but I haven't
received a reply. Maybe I got caught in his spam trap; maybe he's just
not interested. I notice he hasn't updated his list in 6 months. Does
anyone know if he's still maintaining it?
Michael Coyne
> The FAQ implies that it's common/appropriate to post reports of Infocom
> bugs to this group, but I haven't seen many such posts, at least not
> recently. Are there still a lot of people interested in Infocom bugs,
> or am I unique?
I would love to see new bug information about Infocom games.
> Over the last 6 months, I've compiled a list of some 300 bugs...
> ...
> Most of the time, of course, I was deliberately trying to break
> the game.
Are you interested in doing some beta testing? : )
Michael
Nathan
> I would love to see new bug information about Infocom games.
Okay, then. Just one, until I see if there's more interest. This one's a little
silly, and I don't think you could do anything useful with it. In any version
of Deadline, you can raise the late Mr. Robner from the dead! Just say:
MR. ROBNER, GET UP
Now there's "a Mr. Robner" in the room, and you can order him to move around
and do things for you. It seems he can't do anything you can't, and anything
you have him pick up disappears. Also, EXAMINE MR. ROBNER gives a garbage response.
> Are you interested in doing some beta testing? : )
Maybe someday; not just now.
Peter
"Nathan" <nts...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:1e068d95.04030...@posting.google.com...
> Michael Coyne <coy...@mtsDOT.net> wrote in message
news:<EcO%b.7$l44...@news1.mts.net>...
>
> > I would love to see new bug information about Infocom games.
>
> Okay, then. Just one, until I see if there's more interest. This one's a
little
> silly, and I don't think you could do anything useful with it. In any
version
> of Deadline, you can raise the late Mr. Robner from the dead! Just say:
> MR. ROBNER, GET UP
> Now there's "a Mr. Robner" in the room, and you can order him to move
around
> and do things for you. It seems he can't do anything you can't, and
anything
> you have him pick up disappears. Also, EXAMINE MR. ROBNER gives a garbage
response.
>
I wish to express more interest.
How many bugs do I get for that?
What if I said I was really really interested?
This is actually meant to be a serious post. It just got a little silly
along the way.
Thanks,
Peter.
Daphne Brinkerhoff
> Michael Coyne <coy...@mtsDOT.net> wrote in message news:<EcO%b.7$l44...@news1.mts.net>...
>
> > I would love to see new bug information about Infocom games.
>
> Okay, then. Just one, until I see if there's more interest.
...
You are reading the newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction.
You see here:
more interest
--
Daphne (lame, but hopefully effective. I think Infocom bugs are
funny, and would gladly read more)
Nathan
> "Nathan" <nts...@netscape.net> wrote in message
> news:1e068d95.04030...@posting.google.com...
> > Michael Coyne <coy...@mtsDOT.net> wrote in message
> news:<EcO%b.7$l44...@news1.mts.net>...
> >
> > > I would love to see new bug information about Infocom games.
> >
> > Okay, then. Just one, until I see if there's more interest.
> I wish to express more interest.
> How many bugs do I get for that?
> What if I said I was really really interested?
Uh, five, I guess. I don't think it makes sense to post my entire 100K
list at once. Perhaps I'll publish serially.
So here's a few:
1. In all versions of Arthur, in Cottage, if the peasant is awake,
then PUT anything ON PALLET is somehow interpreted as GIVE CRUTCH TO
PEASANT, giving it to him no matter where it is. This works even if
you have destroyed the crutch in the fire. It's fun to give the crutch
to the idiot, get it back with this bug (since you can always take it
from the peasant), then try to give it to the idiot again.
2. In Ballyhoo, if there's something other than water in the bucket,
then DRINK FROM BUCKET generates the response, "midget car backfires
loudly and comically.", in the Infocom interpreter. At first this
might seem like yet another of Ballyhoo's sarcastic error messages,
but it's really a severe bug. If you do this under Frotz, it exits
with the message, "Fatal error: Call to non-routine".
3. In Border Zone, in Chapter 1: The Train, in Your Compartment, you
can put parts of your body under the rear-facing bench. If you PUT
FOOT (or HEAD) UNDER REAR you get, "You slide the body part under the
rear-facing bench." Now the room description includes, "The space
under the rear bench contains a body part." You can also PUT HAND
UNDER REAR, but it doesn't show in the room.
4. In Hollywood Hijinx, the sofa in Living Room is takeable, but you
can always interact with it in Living Room, even if you've left it
elsewhere. It also fits in most containers. If you hang the bucket on
a peg with the sofa inside it, then go back to Living Room and GET
SOFA you're told, "You'd better take the bucket off the peg first."
5. In Infidel, when you're wearing the knapsack, you can PUT KNAPSACK
IN almost anything visible, including many closed containers and all
non-containers. You can use this to effectively expand your inventory
if you PUT KNAPSACK IN AIR. Now the knapsack and its contents are
permanently accessible to you, although it's not in your inventory.
LOOK IN AIR shows you the knapsack and its contents, and you can
certainly PUT things IN KNAPSACK, and GET or otherwise use its
contents.
I have bugs for all the Infocom Z-machine games except Journey, and
I'm willing to take requests. Which games' bugs would you most like to
see?
James Marshall
>nts...@netscape.net (Nathan) wrote in message news:<1e068d95.04030...@posting.google.com>...
>> Michael Coyne <coy...@mtsDOT.net> wrote in message news:<EcO%b.7$l44...@news1.mts.net>...
>> > I would love to see new bug information about Infocom games.
>> Okay, then. Just one, until I see if there's more interest.
>You are reading the newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction.
>
>You see here:
>more interest
:) Yes, I suspect that a lot of people here would be interested in seeing
more bug reports. I would. Even if I'm never going to remember them to
try in the games (whenever I may get around to them), it's pretty amusing
to see what sort of mistakes can happen in the games. If it's unreasonable
to post them all here, could you post them on a web site somewhere?
--
. . . . -- James Marshall (SAG) .
,. -- )-- , , . -- )-- , mars...@astro.umd.edu ,. . ,
' ' http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall .
"Electrons are just purple hazes with green racing stripes." , .
Stuart Feldhamer
> > "Nathan" <nts...@netscape.net> wrote in message
> > news:1e068d95.04030...@posting.google.com...
> > > Michael Coyne <coy...@mtsDOT.net> wrote in message
> news:<EcO%b.7$l44...@news1.mts.net>...
> > >
> > > > I would love to see new bug information about Infocom games.
> > >
> > > Okay, then. Just one, until I see if there's more interest.
> (snip)
> > I wish to express more interest.
> > How many bugs do I get for that?
> > What if I said I was really really interested?
>
> Uh, five, I guess. I don't think it makes sense to post my entire 100K
> list at once. Perhaps I'll publish serially.
>
> So here's a few:
>
>
> I have bugs for all the Infocom Z-machine games except Journey, and
> I'm willing to take requests. Which games' bugs would you most like to
> see?
Sorcerer! There must be some bug with that time travel puzzle. Also,
how did you come up with these? They make great reading.
Stuart
Adam Conover
> I'm willing to take requests. Which games' bugs would you most like to
> see?
Clearly there's a lot of interest -- I, for one, am fascinated.
Personally, I'd like to see bugs for Suspended, since it has so much
interesting-bug potential already.
- adam
Adam Myrow
Hitchhiker's Guide to be added. Basically, any time after the Vogan
Poetry reading, the bulldozer driver is in scope and be fully interacted
with. I found this by accident when I wanted to examine the
improbability drive, but typed "examine driver" by mistake. Also, I
found one in Beyond Zork. If you are sitting on the Pterodactyl, typing
"stand" results in "you are already standing." Most of the time,
Infocom games let you exit a vehicle or creature that you can ride with
this command.
Esa A E Peuha
> I have bugs for all the Infocom Z-machine games except Journey, and
> I'm willing to take requests. Which games' bugs would you most like to
> see?
Did you find this one in Spellbreaker: when you are falling in the air,
entering the zipper will prevent the roc from catching you, but you will
die when you hit the ground; when you are in air again (either falling,
held by roc or flying on carpet) the zipper floats in the air right next
to you.
--
Esa Peuha
student of mathematics at the University of Helsinki
http://www.helsinki.fi/~peuha/
Nathan
> The FAQ implies that it's common/appropriate to post reports of Infocom
> bugs to this group, but I haven't seen many such posts, at least not
> recently. Are there still a lot of people interested in Infocom bugs,
> or am I unique?
I hope it's not bad form to post a followup to my original post. I've
been lurking on Usenet for several years, but I'm new to posting.
I want to respond to several of the posts in this thread, and this
seemed the simplest way.
It's good to see there is some interest, after all. I'm especially
gratified to read new bug reports from others. It's nice to know I'm
not the only one looking!
The 2 requests I've seen were for Sorcerer and Suspended bugs. Now it
should become clear that so far I've chosen only some of the most
entertaining bugs to post. I haven't gone very far in either of these
games, and I haven't found particularly interesting bugs in them,
especially Sorcerer. That said, here's what I have.
Sorcerer:
1. In versions 13 and 15, if you have no inventory and are in a
location with no takeable objects (or certain other interesting
objects such as doors), then a command using ALL such as DROP ALL,
PUT ALL somewhere, or GIVE ALL TO someone answers, "You're not
holdingall those things!".
2. In all versions, if you're holding an open potion vial, you can
THROW the potion AT something. The quantity of potion stays there
on the floor. You can DRINK it, but only if you're holding its vial.
3. In all versions, you can't GET anything while lying in bed, but if
you READ it you pick it up.
4. In all versions, if you try to do something impossible to the
doorway in Your Quarters, such as READ DOORWAY or TALK TO DOORWAY,
you get a failure message in which it is referred to as "an doorway".
(YAWN)
Suspended:
1. In all versions, you can make a robot carry more objects than it
has extensions, by having another robot PUT things IN it. This works
on all the robots except Sensa.
2. In all versions, when Waldo is wearing the grasper he can PUT
GRASPER IN BASKET, and it will continue to show as "(being worn)".
He can use the grasper without it even being in the room!
3. In all versions, when you tell one robot to GIVE something TO
another, whether it's "too heavy" for the receiving robot to hold
depends on the giving robot. Waldo can give things much better than
Poet, for example.
4. In all versions, it's possible for Whiz to leave a room but stay
plugged in, if he's following another robot.
5. In all versions, when Iris is blind, she reports the color of
items in her inventory (given to her by another robot).
6. In all versions, when Iris can see, telling her to PUT ALL
somewhere or GIVE ALL TO someone produces, "I don't have the
maintenance panel."
Now to respond to a couple of bugs others have mentioned.
In the Solid Gold version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you
can't interact with the bulldozer driver everywhere, but only in
certain locations. These include Captain's Quarters, Bridge, and
Engine Room.
I had not discovered the Spellbreaker bug leaving the zipper in
Midair when you die inside it there, because I always RESTORE or
RESTART when I die. I did find another way to leave things in
Midair: THROW them AT something. This works in both versions.
I'm not planning to put up a website with these bugs. I've never
set up my own web page, but that's not the main reason. I'm a big
fan of Graeme Cree's site, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel.
I'd rather simply have my discoveries added to his list, but as I
said before, I've had no response from him.
Now, one last bug to liven up this post! In all versions of
Enchanter, BREAK something WITH JUG says, "The jug shatters into
innumerable pieces.", but the jug is left intact. In fact, the first
object is the one that is removed. You can use this to destroy many
objects in the game.
Michael Coyne
> I hope it's not bad form to post a followup to my original post. I've
> been lurking on Usenet for several years, but I'm new to posting.
> I want to respond to several of the posts in this thread, and this
> seemed the simplest way.
If that's the only netiquette you breach, I wouldn't be too concerned
: )
> 2. In all versions, if you're holding an open potion vial, you can
> THROW the potion AT something. The quantity of potion stays there
> on the floor. You can DRINK it, but only if you're holding its vial.
Isn't this just because "THROW" is going to end up acting like "DROP"?
> 2. In all versions, when Waldo is wearing the grasper he can PUT
> GRASPER IN BASKET, and it will continue to show as "(being worn)".
> He can use the grasper without it even being in the room!
Infocom games seem very susceptible to bugs where items end up being
visible in EVERY location in the game. I wonder if they had a less
robust way of handling scope than the Inform library.
What's particularly funny about some of these bugs is the thought of how
difficult it might be to recreate them if you were trying to create an
EXACT Inform recreation, bugs and all, of some of these games : )
> Now, one last bug to liven up this post! In all versions of
> Enchanter, BREAK something WITH JUG says, "The jug shatters into
> innumerable pieces.", but the jug is left intact. In fact, the first
> object is the one that is removed. You can use this to destroy many
> objects in the game.
Now that's pretty cool. Destruction of objects is always fun. What
happens if you break your older self with the jug? (makes mental note
to try at home).
Michael
Michael Coyne
> Nathan wrote:
>
>> 2. In all versions, if you're holding an open potion vial, you can
>> THROW the potion AT something. The quantity of potion stays there
>> on the floor. You can DRINK it, but only if you're holding its vial.
>
>
> Isn't this just because "THROW" is going to end up acting like "DROP"?
Never mind, just reread your post more closely. I understand now.
Adam Myrow
bug. After typing that command, the game would tell me "there is a Mr.
Robner here." With some experiments, I found that commanding Mr. Robner
to move in a direction moves the player, but the player is returned to
their original location on the next turn. Actually, I think that it
just gives the description for the next room after moving Mr. Robner.
The most interesting thing is that once I made Mr. Robner appear, I
managed to maneuver him into the house and the game would tell me that
Mr. Robner was off to the south if I was north of him/it. The reason I
find this bug interesting is that it gives some insight into how Infocom
handles topic lists in Deadline. If you try to ask george about his
father when Mr. Robner isn't in the room, the game will say something
like "you can't see any father here." Apparently, each ask topic in
Deadline must be an object. Running "infodump -o" confirms that theory.
One of the first objects listed is "concert" presumably so you can ask
characters about the concert. Try giving the concert orders, and you
are told "you can't talk to the concert!" So, I'd say that Inform's
method of handling topics for conversation is much more efficient. I
wonder if other Infocom games used a more sane method? given Deadline's
age, I'd bet they eventually came up with something better.
Matthew Russotto
Michael Coyne <coy...@mtsDOT.net> wrote:
>
>Infocom games seem very susceptible to bugs where items end up being
>visible in EVERY location in the game. I wonder if they had a less
>robust way of handling scope than the Inform library.
>
>What's particularly funny about some of these bugs is the thought of how
>difficult it might be to recreate them if you were trying to create an
>EXACT Inform recreation, bugs and all, of some of these games : )
Yep. Because Inform uses a different model, it lends itself more
easily to a largely different set of bugs.
--
Matthew T. Russotto mrus...@speakeasy.net
"Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in pursuit
of justice is no virtue." But extreme restriction of liberty in pursuit of
a modicum of security is a very expensive vice.
Nathan
exploit to circumvent a puzzle or otherwise make things easier.
I think I've been successful up to now at avoiding spoilers, but I'm
pretty sure this time I'll need...
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1. In all versions of Beyond Zork, when you PUT a worn or wielded
object UNDER or BEHIND something, such as BEHIND TREE or UNDER RUG,
its state doesn't change. You can GET it, and it will still be worn
or wielded. Since WIELD only sets aside an already-wielded object
if it's in your inventory, you can use this to WIELD multiple
objects. You could WIELD your entire inventory! You can't use this
to do extra damage by wielding two weapons, however. Apparently,
ATTACK MONSTER only attacks with the first wielded object. On the
other hand, you can WEAR multiple suits of armor and get the total
of their armor class bonuses. You don't even have to have the armor
in your inventory to benefit from it.
2. In version 47 of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you can get
the plotter out of the case using READ PLOTTER, LOCK something WITH
PLOTTER, or BREAK something WITH PLOTTER. Now it's in your
inventory.
3. In versions 47 and 56 of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you
can get the plotter out of the case using HANG PLOTTER ON HOOK. You
get the response, "It slips off the hook." Now it's sitting on the
deck, where you can pick it up.
4. In all versions of Lurking Horror, you can take the keyring away
from the hacker, using WEAR KEYS, FILL KEYS, or BREAK something
WITH KEYS. Now all you have to do is ASK HACKER ABOUT KEYS to make
the master key appear, and the key problem is solved. If you ever
drop the keyring you can't simply GET it; the hacker stops you,
wherever you are. You have to use one of those other verbs.
5. In both versions of Moonmist, in the green variation, if you ASK
ABOUT INKWELL you get credit for finding the treasure, instead of
"(You haven't found it yet!)".
6. All versions of Witness have a serious bug in the use of IT. It
allows you to interact with objects you haven't even seen yet. For
example, you can EXAMINE LIQUOR CABINET THEN OPEN IT, or FIND
MYSTERY THEN READ IT from anywhere in the game. Another interesting
thing to do is EXAMINE WOODEN CHAIR THEN SIT IN IT on the first
turn. This doesn't get you inside the house, but Mr. Linder tells
you his story and hands you the threatening note.
7. In versions 7 through 19 of Zork II, when the wizard is in the
room, you can WAVE WAND AT something even though the wizard has it.
This makes it possible to move the menhir without solving most of
the puzzles or getting any of the treasures; just wait in Menhir
Room for the wizard.
I'm leaving out some bugs that are only slightly useful, such as
the various techniques for carrying around liquids without a
container.
Here's one I'm not sure about. It may be a useful way to get
information, or maybe it's just weird.
In Suspect, the verb EXAMINE can get very confused if you're seated.
If you SIT on a sofa, toilet, or chair--except for the window seat
in the Morning Room or the armchair in the Library--then you can't
EXAMINE anything you're carrying; it says, "You can't see the
[object] here." Things get even stranger if you sit on the side
table in the Library or the end table in the Sitting Room (which for
some reason is the default, if you simply type SIT). Then anything
you EXAMINE produces two lines of output, and it claims everything
has a telephone sitting on it. Most of the time, the two lines are
the same. For example, EXAMINE ME gives, "On yourself sits a
telephone." twice, EXAMINE PEN says, "On the pen sits a telephone."
twice, EXAMINE TELEPHONE gives, "On the telephone sits a telephone."
twice, and EXAMINE LINDA gives, "On Linda sits a telephone,
accompanied by a Linda's hair and a ballerina costume." twice.
Sitting on one of these tables gives you limited clairvoyance; you
can EXAMINE most objects in the game, even if not present: EXAMINE
FIREPLACE says, "You can't see any fireplace here. On the such thing
sits a telephone.", but EXAMINE LARGE DESK gives, "On the large desk
sits a telephone, accompanied by a manila folder." twice. You can get
about things throughout the game, including rooms, by examining them
from there. EXAMINE TABLE gives, "On the end [or side] table sits a
telephone. On the telephone sits a telephone.", in the Infocom
interpreter (with two spaces after "telephone"). In Frotz, the second
line reads, "On the ck it's k feher x sits a telephone."
Peter
>
> I'm leaving out some bugs that are only slightly useful, such as
> the various techniques for carrying around liquids without a
> container.
>
I'd like to hear about those.
Thanks,
Peter.
Nathan
Note that all of these do require you to get the liquid in some
container first, and then you can abandon the container after getting
the liquid into your main inventory. The main strategy is to use a
verb that automatically picks up the object before acting on it.
1. In versions 10 through 24 of Enchanter, if the jug is present with
water in it, then you can put the water in your inventory using
LOCK something WITH WATER, BREAK something WITH WATER, or UNLOCK
something WITH WATER.
2. In all versions of Planetfall, you can GIVE a liquid TO FLOYD then
ASK FLOYD FOR it.
3. In versions 2 through 30 of Zork I, if the bottle is present with
water in it, you can use EAT WATER, READ WATER, LIGHT WATER, RING
WATER, LOCK something WITH WATER, UNLOCK something WITH WATER, LIGHT
something WITH WATER, or BREAK something WITH WATER.
4. In all versions of Zork II, if a container is present with water in
it, you can use EAT WATER, READ WATER, LOCK something WITH WATER,
UNLOCK something WITH WATER, or BREAK something WITH WATER. In version
48, you can also FILL WATER. In version 48, EAT WATER says, "(Taken)
You have to be holding the cretin first."
There are also a couple of ways to carry water in an inappropriate
container. In versions 2 and 5 of Zork I, you can APPLY WATER TO SACK.
In all versions of Zork II, you can PUT WATER ON MAT.
Nathan
versions of Lurking Horror, if the open flask is on the floor you
can pick up the cold liquid using FILL LIQUID, WEAR LIQUID, or
BREAK something WITH LIQUID.
Peter
Thanks for all those.
Any bugs in Nord and Bert?
Thanks,
Peter.
Nathan
> Any bugs in Nord and Bert?
Nothing spectacular. Here's what I have:
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1. Several objects are surprisingly closable, and behave inconsistently.
In Shopping Bizarre, the flower is closable. When the flower is closed,
EXAMINE FLOWER tells you its contents, but you can't interact with them.
In Buy the Farm, the rusty tin trough is closable. When it's closed, you
can't interact with its contents, but EXAMINE TROUGH still tells you
whether or not it contains oats. In Shake a Tower, the rat and hat
(which are really the same object) are closable. If you CLOSE RAT then
you can't interact with the habit, but EXAMINE RAT still mentions it.
2. In Shopping Bizarre, if you're carrying the mussels you can DROP
MUSCLES or PUT MUSCLES IN or ON something. You still undergo the
"Hulkian physical transformation", but the muscles are on the floor or
wherever you PUT them. You can still pick them up. You could even PUT
MUSCLES ON SALE and BUY MUSCLES. If you change them back to mussels,
then they fall to the floor--even from inside the freezer.
3. In Buy the Farm, if you PUT HAMMER IN HAYSTACK you get, "No need to
worry about anybody running off with your the hammer.". You get the
same phrasing, with "your the", for any object you try to put in the
haystack, except the "one stone".
4. In Shake a Tower, if you are carrying the gritty pearl you can PUT
PRETTY GIRL IN HAT (or even RAT). You can go through the door carrying
the girl in the hat, but the text talks about the pearl.
Peter
> "Peter" <dacelo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<c2gvgn$1shsma$1...@ID-108459.news.uni-berlin.de>...
>
> > Any bugs in Nord and Bert?
>
> Nothing spectacular. Here's what I have:
>
Interesting.
I don't think anyone's asked for Planetfall and Stationfall yet have they?
Thanks,
Peter.
Mark J. Tilford
reproduced it never worked:
Go into the basement carrying the sword and knife.
Enter the troll room and type "KILL TROLL".
When the game asks what you want to kill the troll with, type "KILL TROLL"
again.
At that point, the trapdoor opens.
Can anybody try to reproduce this?
--
------------------------
Mark Jeffrey Tilford
til...@ugcs.caltech.edu
Michael Coyne
> A friend once told me about this bug in Zork I, though my attempts to
> reproduced it never worked:
>
> Go into the basement carrying the sword and knife.
> Enter the troll room and type "KILL TROLL".
> When the game asks what you want to kill the troll with, type "KILL TROLL"
> again.
> At that point, the trapdoor opens.
>
> Can anybody try to reproduce this?
>
On revision 88 / serial number 840726:
>kill troll
What do you want to kill the troll with?
>kill troll
You don't have the troll.
I was carrying the knife, sword and lantern.
It`s possible that your friend was using an earlier release. I no
longer have my original Zork I disks... they`re gone along with my Apple
II, but I remember that my original Zork III had bugs that the free
Activision builds don`t have.
Michael
Michael
Joe Mason
> It`s possible that your friend was using an earlier release. I no
> longer have my original Zork I disks... they`re gone along with my Apple
> II, but I remember that my original Zork III had bugs that the free
> Activision builds don`t have.
Check out the infocom/patches directory (or something like that) on the
if-archive if you want to try different versions of Zork.
Joe
Nathan
> A friend once told me about this bug in Zork I, though my attempts to
> reproduced it never worked:
>
> Go into the basement carrying the sword and knife.
> Enter the troll room and type "KILL TROLL".
> When the game asks what you want to kill the troll with, type "KILL TROLL"
> again.
> At that point, the trapdoor opens.
>
> Can anybody try to reproduce this?
I tried this in all versions (2 through 52). I couldn't make it work.
Nathan
> I don't think anyone's asked for Planetfall and Stationfall yet have they?
How nice of you to ask! Planetfall's possibly my favorite game, but
its several versions contain a number of bugs.
1. In version 20, it doesn't matter whether Floyd is turned on or
off when he's with you at Bio Lock East. Even if you turn him off
right after you get there, he still peers through the window and
talks about the miniaturization access card. He will even go
through the whole process of retrieving the card and dying, after
you have turned him off!
2. In version 20, you can DRINK MEDICINE with the bottle closed.
3. In version 20, the laser won't go in any containers, although it
should. PUT LASER IN something says, "The laser doesn't fit the
depression.", which is the message intended for PUT something IN
LASER.
4. In versions 20 and 26, you can ASK the microbe things, although
other attempts at communication fail. For example, ASK MICROBE
"WHERE IS CELERY" produces, "The microbe seems confused. "I don't
see any celery here!"".
5. In versions 20 through 29, you can CLOSE FLOYD when he's turned
off. When Floyd is closed, you can't GET anything from him, and if
he's turned off, you can't PUT anything IN him. OPEN FLOYD doesn't
open him, just searches his compartments. You can get him open again
by ordering him to GIVE you something or DROP something.
6. In versions 20 through 29, if the survival kit is open, then you
can DROP the goo. It stays in that room and can't be taken.
7. In versions 20 through 37, besides WEARing the towel or survival
kit to get them from inside the web, you could also DRINK, EAT, READ,
or UNLOCK ME WITH them. (except READ, which doesn't work in version 20)
8. In the Solid Gold version, if the diary is present, then you can't
operate the Upper or Lower Elevator. For example, PUSH DOWN BUTTON
says, "Pushing down the little button has no effect."
9. In all versions, you can disconnect the laser setting dial from
the laser. If you have the laser you can DROP DIAL, THROW DIAL, or
GIVE DIAL TO FLOYD. EMPTY LASER also drops the dial. You can't GET
DIAL, but after giving it to him, you can ASK FLOYD FOR DIAL, and he
gives it to you. The dial never shows in the room description or your
inventory. If the dial is the only thing you are carrying, then
INVENTORY gives no output. In the Solid Gold version, you can also
GIVE SMALL BUTTON TO FLOYD and ASK FLOYD FOR SMALL BUTTON, but if you
try to EMPTY DIARY or DROP or THROW BUTTON while it's still part of
the diary you get, "The small button is closed."
10. In all versions, if the survival kit is open, then you can THROW
the goo. You can EAT the goo when it's sitting on the floor, but in
versions above 20 you have to be holding the kit.
11. In all versions, if the canteen is open and full, then you can
DROP LIQUID or THROW LIQUID. The "quantity of protein-rich liquid"
stays in that room and can't be taken. You can DRINK it when you get
hungry or POUR it, but only if you're holding the canteen. If you
refill the canteen in the kitchen, then the liquid disappears from
where you left it. Similar things apply to chemical fluid in the flask,
except you can drink it without holding the flask. The medicine in the
bottle works the same way, except that its description is always, "At
the bottom of the bottle is a small quantity of medicine.", even if
it's not in the bottle. You can also SHAKE BOTTLE when it's open to get
the medicine onto the floor. In versions above 20, in order to DRINK
MEDICINE you must be holding the bottle, and it must be open.
12. In all versions, when the medicine bottle is closed, LOOK IN BOTTLE
is treated as OPEN BOTTLE. This, in spite of the fact that it is
described as "translucent", and its contents (if any) are always listed
in the room description or your inventory.
13. All versions have problems dealing with objects inside the closed
medicine bottle. If the red spool, for example, is inside the closed
bottle, then DROP SPOOL or THROW SPOOL produces, "The red spool is
closed.", but you can GIVE SPOOL TO FLOYD.
14. Here's an example of an odd bug that exists in all versions. Go to
Machine Shop with Floyd and the open kit with the red goo inside it.
Now try this:
>FLOYD, PUSH RED
"I don't understand! What are you referring to?"
>FLOYD, PUSH RED BUTTON
You can't see any Floyd here!
15. In all versions, you can CLOSE the kitchen door. If you're in
Kitchen, this seems to trap you. If you try to OPEN DOOR, the light
flashes that you should use the access card, but there isn't any slot
on that side of the door. However, you can still go NORTH with the
door closed!
16. In all versions, you can dream of Floyd (whom you recognize, by name)
without having met him.
I've also found a couple of Stationfall bugs:
1. As in Planetfall, you can DROP SOUP or THROW SOUP when you're holding
the open thermos, or THROW GOO when you're holding the open survival kit,
and you have to be holding each container to eat its contents.
2. If you ENTER a takeable object that you're not carrying, there is no
output.
John W. Kennedy
microbe, it will be resurrected (and you're screwed).
--
John W. Kennedy
"But now is a new thing which is very old--
that the rich make themselves richer and not poorer,
which is the true Gospel, for the poor's sake."
-- Charles Williams. "Judgement at Chelmsford"
Default User
>
> A friend once told me about this bug in Zork I, though my attempts to
> reproduced it never worked:
>
> Go into the basement carrying the sword and knife.
> Enter the troll room and type "KILL TROLL".
> When the game asks what you want to kill the troll with, type "KILL TROLL"
> again.
> At that point, the trapdoor opens.
I haven't heard of that one. The trap door bug I know of is:
OPEN TRAP
D
N (or some other direction to take you away from underneath the trap
door)
G (the trap door opens)
You have to use the AGAIN command, if you repeat OPEN TRAP it won't
work. I found this by accident, trying to use AGAIN to repeat a
movement, but instead it opened the trap door. It's worked in every
version I've tried.
Brian Rodenborn
Nathan
> In early versions of Planetfall, if you return to where you killed the
> microbe, it will be resurrected (and you're screwed).
This only happens in version 20.
Nathan
ones, which disappeared from one release to the next. I've already
mentioned a few; here's some more of my favorites:
1. In version 77 of A Mind Forever Voyaging, you can CALL people who
aren't there. In particular, you can CALL RYDER at any time.
2. In version 86 of Bureaucracy, you can EXAMINE BUTTONS in Galley or
Rear of Aeroplane and get the same description of the buttons (which
aren't there!) as if you were in your seat.
3. In versions 18 and 19 of Deadline, there is a memory error that can
create lots of garbage output. Here's one way to produce the problem.
Get two bottles and go somewhere where you can't see a door. Then do
the following 6 times: THROW BOTTLE, answer DOOR, answer a valid
bottle name. Each time you get, "You can't see any here." After the
sixth time, everything in your inventory or the contents of a
container will be preceded by gibberish. If you repeat such actions
enough, the program eventually crashes. Frotz says, "Fatal error:
Store out of dynamic memory", after some 60 repetitions, but if you do
other things you can get a different fatal error sooner.
4. In versions 18 through 22 of Deadline, MOVE DOOR or GIVE DOOR TO
someone locks up the program.
5. In versions 10 and 15 of Enchanter, the adventurer will follow you
out the main castle gate. If you stay with him after that, then
within a few moves you get, "The adventurer peers through the gate,
but he decides against passing through. The adventurer leaves the
room, heading to the [string of garbage]."
6. In versions 10 through 24 of Enchanter, if you CAST a spell ON
something that isn't there, instead of just using the spell's name as
a verb, then the error message is wrong: "You can't see any
[spell name] here."
7. In versions 47 through 58 of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,
while you are Zaphod, WHERE IS PHIL crashes the interpreter. The
Infocom interpreter exits with no error message, but Frotz says,
"Fatal error: Stack overflow".
8. In version 4 of Moonmist, talking to the late Lionel Tresyllian
crashes the program. If you TALK TO LIONEL, ASK or TELL LIONEL
something, or EXPLAIN or DESCRIBE something TO LIONEL, or if you give
him a direct command (e.g. LIONEL, DROP ALL), then the interpreter
exits with "Fatal error: No such property".
9. In version 21 of Sherlock, if the growler cab happens to take you
to Oxford Street, and you haven't been there before, then you see the
cab as if you weren't in it: "At a cabstand along the curb you see a
growler cab."
10. In Trinity, if you ASK BIRD WOMAN ABOUT TRINITY you get the game
credits. They really need a screen width of at least 77, but if your
screen width is 62 to 76, then version 11 shows the credits anyway,
writing off the edge of the screen with garbled results. If the width
is less than 79, then version 12 responds, "The bird woman just
smiles."
11. In versions 13 and 18 of Witness, you can get the chunk of putty
or the piece of green wire before the window is broken, using EAT,
READ, or LIGHT.
12. In versions 7 through 19 of Zork II, you can PUT SERPENT IN BOX,
IN CHEST, or ON MAT and carry the baby sea serpent around with you.
When you break the aquarium, the live sea serpent disappears from
wherever it is, and the dead one appears by the aquarium.
13. In versions 7 through 23 of Zork II, if you give a command to the
robot while you're in the bucket, there is no output, the location on
the status line changes to "wooden bucket", and you can no longer see
or interact with anything that isn't in the bucket, including the
bucket itself. It seems the only way to leave this location is to take
the water.
14. In versions 7 through 23 of Zork II, you can "FILCH" the dead
dragon, which is too heavy to pick up normally.
Jake Wildstrom
>Today I've decided to do one of my favorite kinds of bugs: the *fixed*
>ones, which disappeared from one release to the next. I've already
>mentioned a few; here's some more of my favorites:
Really, I urge you to put these on a web page. There's enough room in
the universe for both you and Graeme Cree to keep pages on this, and
Graeme's been letting it gather dust for a while. An organized list of
all these somewhere would be a nice resource.
PS: do you have the 'garbage strings from the stereo' bug in Deadline?
I poked Graeme 5 years ago about that one.
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| D. Jacob Wildstrom -- Math monkey and freelance thinker |
| Graduate Student, University of California at San Diego |
| "A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into |
| theorems." -Alfred Renyi |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily endorsed by the
University of California or math department thereof.
Esa A E Peuha
> Really, I urge you to put these on a web page. There's enough room in
> the universe for both you and Graeme Cree to keep pages on this, and
> Graeme's been letting it gather dust for a while. An organized list of
> all these somewhere would be a nice resource.
I second that.
Daphne Brinkerhoff
> Today I've decided to do one of my favorite kinds of bugs: the *fixed*
> ones, which disappeared from one release to the next. I've already
> mentioned a few; here's some more of my favorites:
(snip)
I'm really enjoying these.
I was browsing the DM4 last night, and in it Graham Nelson says: (section
52)
"The only known bug in any release of 'Wishbringer' (68/850501) allowed the
player to take back a spent gold coin and spend it again, gaining ever more
points ad infinitum."
Graeme Cree's list has another bug, if you type "FOLLOW CAT" in the Solid
Gold version.
Are there, by chance, any others you have found in Wishbringer?
--
Daphne