Documenting the unreleased/cancelled/prototype video game "Ice Palace"

[Rich]

Just seen this about a game called Ice Palace which was I think unreleased, please read here

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2024/01/ice-palace/





There is a cartride .bin file for download

I`ve loaded it with Vice and it loads and plays

[akator]

Thanks for the heads up

[Ola H]

This looks wonderful and is an even earlier example of "reverse Tetris" than the UK Vic 20 game Bricks by Ian Sutherland which I thought was the first example of the genre. I'd love to try it but I don't know how to get a .bin-file to work in Vice.

[Rich]

This looks wonderful and is an even earlier example of "reverse Tetris" than the UK Vic 20 game Bricks by Ian Sutherland which I thought was the first example of the genre. I'd love to try it but I don't know how to get a .bin-file to work in Vice.

Here is a snap shot for Vice vic20

IcePalaceVic20.7z

(6.83 KiB) Downloaded 38 times

[groepaz]

Here is a snap shot for Vice vic20

... which apparently was made in a decades old VICE - and doesn't work in a recent one.

Making a .crt out of it would make a lot more sense

[tokra]

Here is a snap shot for Vice vic20

... which apparently was made in a decades old VICE - and doesn't work in a recent one.

Making a .crt out of it would make a lot more sense

Hmm, in the original post there is a link to a .bin-file that you can just attach as a generic image in WinVICE 3.2 and it starts automatically. Have been trying to do the same with GTK VICE 3.8 but I cannot find that option anymore and could not get the .bin to start easily.

Maybe there is a good reason to remove support for these files, since they seem to have no starting-address, but this seems to break some software-downloads out there. I agree that a VICE-snapshot of a random version is always a poor option.

[tokra]

Update: Of course, Mike immediately called me and pointed me to this:

https://sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bu ... bin+loader

Just replace "wax2.bin" with the extracted filename (after you copied it to a d64 together with Mike's loader)

Meanwhile I found out that in GTK Vice you can start the .bin-file as follow:
- "File" - "Attach cartridge image"
- in the lower left where it says "cartridge type" select "Generic" from the pull-down-menu
- at the very right select "All Files (*)" in the pull-down-menu
- pick the .bin-files in the file-selection box
- click "Attach" at the bottom of the menu

[Ola H]

Thanks all! I got it to work in GTK Vice now. The pull-down menu where you select "generic" cartridge type has somehow eluded my eyes.
Seems like a very high-quality game and a lovely addition to the Vic 20 game library

[groepaz]

Have been trying to do the same with GTK VICE 3.8 but I cannot find that option anymore and could not get the .bin to start easily.
Maybe there is a good reason to remove support for these files, since they seem to have no starting-address, but this seems to break some software-downloads out there. I agree that a VICE-snapshot of a random version is always a poor option.

In the "attach cartridge" dialog, where it says "cartridge type", select "generic", there are the .bin options. I'm revisiting this stuff right now actually (after i have finally added .crt support to xcbm2 some days ago, so all emulators have .crt support now), so let me know if something doesn't work right

[hasseapa]

This ticks almost all my boxes for a great Vic game.

-Smooth jumping platformers were a rarity on Vic in the early '80s and action puzzlers were even rarer. This combines them!

-It has music (and a melody 13-year-old me would have recognized from a favorite childhood kids-LP).

-It has fruits – loads of fruits to discover. My first game Jelly Monsters/Pac-Man had me obsessed with this. In Ice Palace when a fruit picking streak is broken, you have to start all over from the low scoring apple, so fruit discovering is kind of a challenging side quest and conflicts interestingly with level completion.

-Last but not least, it’s cute and have an attract screen.

At first I didn’t realize that there is a way to destroy the blocks. However, the attract screen does show block destruction so perhaps the green thing on the first platform is required? Indeed, with that in your possession, stand next to a block and press ‘down’. In the short phase before you have it in your arsenal, you risk being stuck between two blocks. It can, however, almost always be avoided with a good strategy and quick thinking. This goes for the whole level – it is hard and sometimes infuriating but never unfair. Level one is also perfect for high score chasing thanks to the fruits.

The second level is completely different from the first. At its core it has sound mechanics but the implementation leaves much room for improvement. It is incredibly frustrating – it’s like the random generator is having a laugh at you all the time. It is possible to play forever and rack up crazy scores, but also almost impossible to finish if you are not off to a great start.

I then tried the C64 version (the only released version). As the blocks are much bigger there are only 10 columns (vs 14 for Vic) and only 4 stacked rows (vs 9) are required to complete level one. This tips the balance unfavorably from the puzzle side to the action side of the spectrum. This is strengthened by minor alterations/additions, i.e. you die if you head ice taps, blocks melt away if you stand still on them for a while. This level is easier, but also less fun than the Vic version.

On the other hand, C64 level two is much, much easier than the Vic level two, and also much more enjoyable.

Finally, the C64 has a third level missing in the Vic version. I had trouble with the emulator version so I cannot rate it really. But it adds the ability to create blocks (to build a stair to your girlfriend). Interestingly the creation and destruction of block mechanics predates Solomon’s Key by a few years. There is also fire that interacts with ice, just like in Solomon’s Key II aka Fire ‘n’ Ice (ported ’16 as Icicle Race to C64). Solomon’s Key designer was inspired by Lode Runner, but Ice Palace is much closer.

All in all, the Vic game definitely feels like a finished product. I would make some simple changes to level two. Make it a more like a 60 s bonus round and it would make for a fun change of action.

Level one, on its own, is enough for me to put it in my personal ‘80s Vic 20-games Top-10!

[Ola H]

The second level is completely different from the first. At its core it has sound mechanics but the implementation leaves much room for improvement. It is incredibly frustrating – it’s like the random generator is having a laugh at you all the time. It is possible to play forever and rack up crazy scores, but also almost impossible to finish if you are not off to a great start.

I haven't managed to reach the second level yet as I find even level 1 incredibly frustrating! Every time I get close, the time runs out. I have myself to blame as I am risk-averse and stay on the left side of the screen, keeping the level of ice low with my pick. But if I don't, I find it almost impossible to react in time to the falling blocks. Already on the bottom of the screen, it is not always easy to get out of harm's way in time.

But I am very impressed by the game all in all! A technically very competent and very cool mix of platforming, puzzling, and arcade aesthetics. The only thing that would have improved it is if the rival Penguin (playing the Donkey Kong, villain part) was altered to a big white polar bear or a menacing walrus