Athanor

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majikeyric
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Athanor

Post by majikeyric »

Name: Athanor
Author: Majikeyric
Released: June 15, 2016
Requirements: VIC-20 with 32K RAM expansion
Description: adventure game

Screenshots:
Image
ImageImage

Download the full package (D64, instructions, clues, plan, solution (in french)):
http://majikeyric.free.fr/my-itch/commo ... _vic20.zip
Last edited by majikeyric on Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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orion70
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Re: Athanor

Post by orion70 »

THIS is what I call an ex abrupto post! :D

Thank you very much Majikeyric for you conversion - it will be implanted in my VIC as the default game at startup (well, sort of), and it won't be removed until the end of the world, or VIC failure (whichever event comes first :P).

Lurking in the package contents now.. Are there differences between this and the C64 version? I read you encountered some issues in converting it, I am curious... RAM limitations? Graphics?

Last question, then back to Athanor: do you plan to sell a real package similar to the C64's?

[EDIT]I was sincerely impressed and thrilled while taking a first look at it in VICE - gosh, at last a graphic adventure on my loved VIC after all these years... 40(ish) columns... Also, in two languages! I'll use it to improve my poor French :)
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majikeyric
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Re: Athanor

Post by majikeyric »

Hey! :)

There is no difference with the C64 version.
I have stopped my collaboration with Safar Games, this is why I'm releasing Athanor as is, the C64 and VIC20 versions are my own work.
I have encoutered problems adding VICTracker tunes to the game, this is why sadly there is no music in this release.

Safar Games sells packages for the Oric, Amstrad and C64 versions. The VIC20 version is free but without package.
Last edited by majikeyric on Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
paradroid90
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Re: Athanor

Post by paradroid90 »

Great Work, Thanks for this :-)
3583 Basic Bytes Free ;-)
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orion70
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Re: Athanor

Post by orion70 »

majikeyric wrote:There is no difference with the C64 version.
I'll just use the C64 stuff I purchased back then.
majikeyric wrote:I have stopped my collaboration with Safar Games, this is why I'm releasing Athanor as is, the C64 and VIC20 versions are my own work.
I'm sorry to read this, hope it was a consensual breakup. Too bad this means no "real" package for the VIC. Maybe you could sell the rights to some other software company?
majikeyric wrote:I have encoutered problems adding VICTracker tunes to the game, this is why sadly there is no music in this release.
This is a pity, but not a catastrophe - I'll be streaming medieval music from the nearby PC :).
majikeyric wrote:Safar Games sells packages for the Oric, Amstrad and C64 versions. The VIC20 version is free but without package.
Thank you so much for keeping it free. I see from Safar's site they're elaborating a sequel (Athanor 2 - Legend of The Birdmen). Will it be available for you to port to VIC-20? :mrgreen:
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ral-clan
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Re: Athanor

Post by ral-clan »

This looks great!
Image Music I've made with 1980s electronics, synths and other retro-instruments: http://theovoids.bandcamp.com
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tokra
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Re: Athanor

Post by tokra »

Very nice, I like how the graphics are painted "on-the-fly" like in the original "Hobbit"-adventure. I suppose this is done to save on memory.
malcontent
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Re: Athanor

Post by malcontent »

Jeez, and i know this is not your fault, but the geography of this game is screwy. The are several locations where you leave in one direction, say north, but the way to go back is going is anything but south.
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beamrider
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Re: Athanor

Post by beamrider »

Not really my cup of tea, but thanks very much for this game and the effort to produce it.

I wondered, how did you make and store the drawings. It looks like they are vector based.
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orion70
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Re: Athanor

Post by orion70 »

malcontent wrote:Jeez, and i know this is not your fault, but the geography of this game is screwy. The are several locations where you leave in one direction, say north, but the way to go back is going is anything but south.
Isn't it intended to be a feature rather than an issue? I mean, look at the Hobbit adventure cited above.. there were many locations with one-way access, and non-coherent positions of certain locations. Same for Infocom, Magnetic Scrolls, and many others. It adds to the game difficulty IMHO.
hasseapa
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Re: Athanor

Post by hasseapa »

Really great to see a VIC-adventure with early (and good!) C64-style adventure illustrations! I will try it eventually, but I have a few other adventure games on my to-do-list. First of all I have to finish Adventureland (I began playing it last year and I think I came pretty close to complete it then) and next on my list is The Count.

Thanks a lot for thinking of us VIC-fans!
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majikeyric
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Re: Athanor

Post by majikeyric »

beamrider wrote:I wondered, how did you make and store the drawings. It looks like they are vector based.
Yes they are vector based to easily port the graphics to other platforms (and of course for the size).
Nearly the same gfx data have been used for all versions (Amstrad, Oric, C64 and VIC20).
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orion70
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Re: Athanor

Post by orion70 »

I am finally playing the VIC version of the game, and have a stupid question no one seems to have posed before: is there a way to save / retrieve games? Or you have to play it in one session, hoping to have enough time (and brain) to finish it in a few hours? Thanks, and congrats again on your VIC port (sorry to know there won't be any sequel for our beloved machine though).
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majikeyric
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Re: Athanor

Post by majikeyric »

You have to play it in one session.
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orion70
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Re: Athanor

Post by orion70 »

:( Too bad my sessions can't last so much! Thanks for info. I'll leave this for better times.
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