Prospector in the Maze of Xor - Possible Map glitch?

[ransom1122]

Hu

It has been brought to my attention that Prospector in the mazes of Xor 2nd page of levels (Procyon's Mazes)

That Level 5 and Level 14 Ursa Nagor & Vela Carina were impossible to complete due to map errors?

Is this true or not? Are there walkthroughs for this game anywhere?

[clenched]

Those two maps uploaded to HOL if it helps any. IPF source.
http://hol.abime.net/1170/gamemap

[Believethelie]

Any help would be much appreciated. I brought this up on facebook with Ranson1122 and I believe the Version I had as a Child was the 1989 release which had these errors too.

[Believethelie]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hl9vxmfz9n...5Comp.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hclx29cgmf...4Comp.jpg?dl=0

If these images make sense. Compared to the non amiga version it seems its Dynamite thats missing on these maps

[ransom1122]

Yep. Looks like an issue with level 5 in Prycons mazes...

Where the red circle is there needs to be a dynamite there. Which allows 3 blimps.to be pushed up and explode 3 dynamites.

The dynamite below the main character is exploded by pushing the rock to the right until it falls on it. But you can get there until you explode the 3 dynamite above (yet one is missing)



Are there any proper versions available? I have tried the wgdload version and DamienDs ADF both give same result?


As for the issue on level 14 I haven't gone into it enough to see the exact problem...

[Foebane]

Lack of play-testing by the creators of the game?

I am aware of a similar glitch in an Atari 8-Bit game called Universal Hero, it was uncompletable as a result.

And I had a personal experience with a type-in game listing for the Atari 8-Bit called Doctor Who Adventure, which was a similar maze-type affair, and I entered the maze data incorrectly and got locked forever in a room.

Can't the map data be edited? Or hacked with a hex editor?

[DrBong]

Originally Posted by ransom1122

It has been brought to my attention that Prospector in the mazes of Xor 2nd page of levels (Procyon's Mazes)

That Level 5 and Level 14 Ursa Nagor & Vela Carina were impossible to complete due to map errors?

Originally Posted by Believethelie

Any help would be much appreciated. I brought this up on facebook with Ranson1122 and I believe the Version I had as a Child was the 1989 release which had these errors too.

Originally Posted by ransom1122

Yep. Looks like an issue with level 5 in Prycons mazes...

Where the red circle is there needs to be a dynamite there. Which allows 3 blimps.to be pushed up and explode 3 dynamites.

The dynamite below the main character is exploded by pushing the rock to the right until it falls on it. But you can get there until you explode the 3 dynamite above (yet one is missing).

Are there any proper versions available? I have tried the wgdload version and DamienDs ADF both give same result?

As for the issue on level 14 I haven't gone into it enough to see the exact problem...

Originally Posted by Foebane

Can't the map data be edited? Or hacked with a hex editor?

Has anyone checked the IPF? If the original is affected, the game comes with a construction set/level editor....so can't it be used to fix the problematic levels that are impossible to complete??!!

[ransom1122]

Lack of playtesting or a bad crack?

Does the original game have this error?

The speccy version has the same map, and there is a dynamite where the amiga version has it missing?

Does anybody own the original game.... its easy to test, you can just select level 5 from main menu...

[ransom1122]

Originally Posted by DrBong

The game comes with a construction set/level editor, so can't it be used to fix the problematic levels so that players can complete them??!!

Prycon levels are preset levels made by the dev.... Was there a mistake by the dev by missing an important item on the map?

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by ransom1122

Does the original game have this error?

Does anybody own the original game.... its easy to test, you can just select level 5 from main menu...

clenched has already extracted the maps from the .IPF; and the dynamite is there... so no, the original is ok.

I've just looked at the disk and it's not NDOS.

I'm assuming that the following is the level data:



I've copied this from the .IPF --> the .ADF.

File in The Zone! Please test.

[DrBong]

Originally Posted by ransom1122

Prycon levels are preset levels made by the dev.... Was there a mistake by the dev by missing an important item on the map?

Seems that there is at least one pre-release version dated 1988 in TOSEC (game wasn't released until 1989, incidentally), so it could be that the cracked versions that came later in '89 aren't 100% retail release cracks either. Best to find out for sure by playing the IPF, which I'm guessing clenched has already done....but if it's easy to check, then have a look and solve the mystery for your own curiosity/sanity.

[ransom1122]

Quick test on my phone.. and dynamite is not there..

Image shows its missing and other image shows the blimp is there ready to be pushed up for it to glide left into the missing dynamite

[ransom1122]

Originally Posted by DrBong

Seems that there is at least one pre-release version dated 1988 in TOSEC (game wasn't released until 1989, incidentally), so it could be that the cracked versions that came later in '89 aren't 100% retail release cracks either. Best to find out for sure by playing the IPF, which I'm guessing clenched has already done....but if it's easy to check, then do it and solve the mystery for your own curiosity/sanity.

Did the first release in 89 have the extra missions? I thought the re release 2 years later had the extra missions...

More then happy to test whatever you guys throw at me

[Steffest]

Originally Posted by DamienD

clenched has already extracted the maps from the .IPF; and the dynamite is there... so no, the original is ok.

Hmm... At emeraldmines.net we received the IPF many years ago (with kind permission)

I just checked and the dynamite is not there so there must be multiple "official" versions.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by Steffest

Hmm... At emeraldmines.net we received the IPF many years ago (with kind permission)

I just checked and the dynamite is not there so there must be multiple "official" versions.

Does the CRC32 from the .IPF you've tried match the official one in TOSEC (and what I assume clenched extracted the HOL maps from)?

@ransom1122: have you tried all other cracks available?

[ransom1122]

Originally Posted by DamienD

Does the CRC32 from the .IPF you've tried match the official one in TOSEC (and what I assume clenched extracted the HOL maps from)?

@ransom1122: have you tried all other cracks available?

No...

Only your ADF and whdload version

[Galahad/FLT]

IPF 1465 is bugged.

Put the correct protection word in there and the missing item is still missing so you can't proceed in that 5th level, so it doesn't appear to be protection related unless of course the protection is bugged.

[Steffest]

Originally Posted by DamienD

Does the CRC32 from the .IPF you've tried match the official one in TOSEC (and what I assume clenched extracted the HOL maps from)?

A bit to my surprise: YES!
So the TOSEC IPF one, doesn't have the dynamite in level 5

[Believethelie]

Originally Posted by ransom1122

Did the first release in 89 have the extra missions? I thought the re release 2 years later had the extra missions...

More then happy to test whatever you guys throw at me

The Original was released in 1987 I believe called XOR. Which only had the first 15 mazes. Procyon was added when Prism re-released in in 1989 and in 1990. I had the Prism version as a kid and the disk I had didn't have the dynamite there and Levels 5 and 14 were both un-completable.

Both Levels missing a Dynamite. If anyone can edit the map and put the dynamites where they should be I think we could finish the job the original creators didnt!

[DrBong]

Originally Posted by ransom1122

Did the first release in 89 have the extra missions? I thought the re release 2 years later had the extra missions...

Originally Posted by Believethelie

The Original was released in 1987 I believe called XOR. Which only had the first 15 mazes. Procyon was added when Prism re-released in in 1989 and in 1990. I had the Prism version as a kid and the disk I had didn't have the dynamite there and Levels 5 and 14 were both un-completable.

Both Levels missing a Dynamite. If anyone can edit the map and put the dynamites where they should be I think we could finish the job the original creators didnt!

Oki doke, just a few things to know. The original 1987 version Xor - released on 8-bit platforms and the Atari ST - contained just 15 levels and for some versions (if not all) the construction set was a separate purchase. The Amiga conversion, Prospector in the Mazes of Xor, was an enhanced version of the original 1987 8-bit/ST release, containing the original 15 levels (Xor) + another 15 bonus levels (Procyon) and a built-in construction set.

All *retail* releases of the Amiga version - released by Logotron in 1989 and then re-released on budget by Pocket Power (Prism Leisure) in 1990 - contained the bonus levels and construction set AFAIK. At least one (if not all) of the TOSEC cracks may not be 100% complete (i.e. they're based on pre-release versions that could be missing features of the retail release), but you'd have to test them for yourself to find out for sure.

The Amiga conversion is unique, so if there are levels that cannot be completed in the retail release because they're bugged.....then they'll have to be fixed by delving into the code if they cannot be rectified using the construction set. The best possibility of the bugged levels being fixed by the original Amiga coders probably lies in the budget re-release by Pocket Power (Prism Leisure), but I'd be surprised if they went to the trouble for a £3 budget re-release unless it was already done.

I checked to see if I have the budget version, but unfortunately I don't (and my original copy by Logotron is buried in a box somewhere in the spare room, so I can't check that either atm). I know BarryB has been collecting the Pocket Power budget stuff, so maybe he can provide an ADF or IPF for you and others to check out.

Hopefully that clarifies things a little about the Amiga version....

EDIT: Just checked the TOSEC cracks and they're all from 1989 when the retail release was published, so are probably 100% complete and are just mislabelled as being cracked in 1988. Good old TOSEC - so meticulously long-winded with their file naming, but have got the wrong year on so many Amiga cracks!