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-------------------
Level 9 Fact Sheet V1.1 -- 1999/JAN/25
-------------------
Copyright (c) 1998, 1999 Miron Schmidt <miron@comports.com> and Manuel Schulz
<mschulz@comports.com>.
This file attempts to list all relevant information about the British company
Level 9 and their published games.
The most recent release can always be found at the IF-Archive on ftp.gmd.de
as ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/level9/info/Level9_Facts.txt
This first public release contains some information that was submitted to us
and which we couldn't confirm. So please contact us with any different
experiences you might have.
List of contents:
1 Overview
2 Distribution and Packaging Details
3 ClueSheets
4 Game File Versions
5 Trivia
6 Chronology
A Appendix
A.1 Non-Level9 Games
A.2 The Level9 Authors
A.3 Interpreters and Tools
A.4 Lenslok FAQ
T Special Thanks
I History of This Fact Sheet
1 Overview
--------------
a) The company
Level 9 published 20 games, and were in one way or the other connected to a
number of other games.
This extraordinary feat makes them the second largest text adventure company
right after Infocom, blatantly ignoring Sierra On-Line (whose early and
middle-period games did have text parsers after all, but counting the
3D-animated adventures as text adventures would be pushing the definition).
They were founded in 1981 by Pete, Mike, and Nick Austin: Mike was a fan of
Advent (aka Colossal Cave) and was disappointed that there was no port for
the British micro computers, so he simply wrote his own -- and that's how it
began, concerning text adventures. Before that, they had already published
software for 8bit computers, such as Extension Basic, and a couple of arcade
games for the Nascom.
The decision to publish the games mainly on tape and to port them to many
platforms made them the leading adventure company in England. Furthermore,
their games featured a decent parser with a dictionary of sometimes 1000
words and more, making them the most advanced adventure games ever available
on tape. Needless to say, this added to their success: Scapeghost, their last
and least-successful game, still sold about 15,000 copies.
The commercial decline of the text adventure genre finally forced them to
close down in June 1991, after they had desperately tried to stay in business
by selling their programming efforts to other companies. For instance, they
ported Cinemaware's Amiga game It Came from the Desert to the PC.
b) A-Code
Level 9 used their own interpretation language, A-code, which was more memory
efficient even than plain Z80 assembler. It was developed around 1979, long
before the first L9 game appeared, as the Colossal Cave port was intended
to fit into 8 KB.
A-code underwent a couple of revisions: there are three distinct versions in
all, plus a couple of extensions which form new A-code versions of their own.
The A-code data files were usually incorporated into the executable file for
specific machines, together with the interpreter part. Still, even those
executables were significantly shorter than pure assembly code files would
have been!
This efficiency was partially due to advanced text compression routines that
reduced the memory need for texts to about 50% of their true length.
Infocom's text compression, in comparison, only reduced text strings to about
67% of their real length (abbreviation alphabets notwithstanding: see
elsewhere for details).
A strength of the A-code system -- and at the same time one of its greatest
weaknesses -- is a system of script variables, of which there are a fixed
number: generally more in higher A-code versions.
For the later three-part games, Knight Orc, Scapeghost, and the Ingrid
series, the script variable system was extended by an NPC movement and action
system which was internally called KAOS. The framework of this new system was
originally developed by John Jones-Steele who had gained first experiences at
Melbourne House. KAOS was able to make NPCs appear "intelligent": they move
independently of the player's commands, pick up things, utilise weapons,
etc., following so-called "racetracks," which could be quite complex (as
Knight Orc demonstrates impressively). The name "KAOS" is a mangled acronym
of "Knight Orc Adventure System."
Finally, an animation control system named HUGE (The (w)Holy Universal Game
Engine) was added, which was actually a new system on its own, but derived
from A-code. HUGE drivers existed for the Amiga and Atari ST only. It was
never used for issued Level 9 games, but e.g. their conversion of It Came
from the Desert was programmed using HUGE.
c) The adventure games
The Middle Earth Trilogy
The next three games first formed the Middle Earth Trilogy, but were later
repackaged in a single box as the Jewels of Darkness Trilogy.
- Colossal Adventure
Their first game, and the reason to start Level 9 as a commercial company.
Colossal Adventure is a modified version of ADVENT, the very first
adventure game. The modifications are mostly an enlarged master game, and a
more detailed outside world.
Written by Mike, Nick and Pete Austin. Based on ADVENT, written by Will
Crowther and Donald Woods.
First published: 1983
- Adventure Quest
The first adventure game of their own design. Mainly a collection of
puzzles which don't always make sense in the context.
Written by Mike, Nick and Pete Austin.
First published: 1983
- Dungeon Adventure
A strange dungeon-crawl and treasure-hunt adventure. It introduces a magic
system that was in part derived from the one introduced in the role-playing
game D&D.
Written by Mike, Nick and Pete Austin.
First published: 1984
The Silicon Dreams Trilogy
These games center around Kim Kimberley, the legendary secret agent and space
navigator. In early advertisements, the trilogy was called the "Silicon
Dream" trilogy: without the "s".
- Snowball
The spaceship Snowball 9 has to be safely landed on the planet of Eden.
More than 7000 rooms, 6800-odd of which form a tricky maze on board the
ship.
Written by Mike, Nick and Pete Austin. Additional expertise: Ian Buxton.
First published: 1983
- Return to Eden
After approaching Eden, you have to escape to the city of Enoch before
certain imprisonment due to false accusations.
Written by Nick Austin and Chris Queen. Pictures by Tim Noyce.
First published: October 1984
- Worm in Paradise
Yet a couple of years later, Kim Kimberley has become a legend on Eden. The
player sets out to uncover the government's dark secrets. This game
features lots of political statements.
Written by Mike, Nick and Pete Austin. Pictures by James Horsler. (Delayed
by: Adrian Mole.)
First published: December 1985
The Time and Magik Trilogy
Not originally planned as a trilogy, these three games center around "magik"
and magical events.
- Lords of Time
Time-travelling through the distant past, you collect a number of items to
defeat the evil Lords of Time. The first Level 9 game not designed by the
Austins. It was initially to be published as "Timelords."
Written by Sue Gazzard. Additional expertise: Ian Buxton.
First published: 1983
- Red Moon
The Red Moon crystal has to be retrieved.
Written by David Williamson (design), Simon Aspinall (implementation), Pete
Austin (design and implementation). Pictures: James Horsler.
First published: July 1985
- The Price of Magik
Written by Pete Austin (design), Nick & Mike Austin (implementation),
David Williamson (original idea). Pictures by James Horsler.
First published: May 1986
The Gnome Ranger series
The third game in this series was already written and designed, but never got
finished.
- Gnome Ranger
Ingrid the Gnome and her diverse adventures. This game consists of three
parts, each a game file on its own.
Written by Pete Austin. Gnomish by Peter McBride.
First published: 1987
- Gnome Ranger II: Ingrid's Back
Ingrid's further adventures. Again, the game comes in three distinct parts.
Written by Pete Austin (game design) and Graham Jones (game programming
and text). Game text polishing: Peter McBride. Graphics by Dicon
Peeke. Additional programming by Mike Austin, Nick Austin, John
Jones-Steele and Mike Bryant.
First published: 1988
The Adrian Mole series
These games were based on the children's books by Sue Townsend.
- The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4
No text parser, but a series of multiple-choice questions. Divided into
four parts, each a game file on its own.
Written by ...
First published: 1985
- The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole
Like the first Adrian Mole game, this one is based on the book of the same
name, features multiple-choice questions rather than a text parser, and is
divided into four distinct parts.
Written by Pete Austin. Pictures by Joan Lamb.
First published: 1987
Individual games
- Emerald Isle
Stranded on an island, the protagonist finds a lost civilisation. This game
was at some point meant to be the first game in the same trilogy as Red
Moon and The Price of Magic.
Written by Shaun D. Abbott (design). Pictures by James Horsler.
First published: 1984
- The Saga of Erik the Viking
Based on Terry Jones' book of the same name (later filmed by Terry Gilliam
with Tim Robbins as Erik).
Written by ...
First published: 1984
- The Archers
Based on the British soap opera of the same name. The dialog was supposedly
written by the series' real authors. No text parser, but a sequence of
multiple-choice questions.
Written by Pete Austin. Pictures by Joan Lamb.
First published: 1986
- Knight Orc
As Grindleguts the Orc, the player has to solve many adventures. Like the
Gnome Ranger games, the game consists of three distinct parts. In the third
part, the player is in for a surprise.
Written by Pete Austin.
First published: 1987
- Lancelot
The player assumes the role of Lancelot, the noble knight, replaying his
adventures of chivalry, love, and the Holy Grail. Three parts, like the
Gnome Ranger games.
Story and final game text: Christina Erskin. Pictures by Joan Lamb, Neil
Scrimgeour, Dicken Peeke, Nusarath Jahan. Systems: Mike and Nick
Austin, John Jones-Steele, Mike Bryant.
First published: 1988
- Scapeghost
A dead detective returns to the world of the living to solve his final
case. Like the last few games, Scapeghost comes in three distinct parts. It
was originally announced as "Spook."
Written by Pete Austin, Sandra Sharkey and Pete Gerrard.
First published: 1989
d) Non-Interactive-Fiction Software
- Extension Basic
Level 9's first ever program.
- Missile Defence
- Champion of the Raj
A colonial India strategy game. Written mainly for a commercial burst, this
was the only non-adventure game Level 9 published in their later period.
e) Games for other companies
- It Came from the Desert
PC port only. The original was the Amiga version by Cinemaware.
2 Distribution and Packaging Details
--------------------------------------
All dimensions are given in millimeters.
a) "Ziploc Bag" releases
The first five games were initially released in simple transparent Ziploc
bags. Each contains a 12-page manual, a game tape, and a Hint-request card
plus an envelope to mail it. The early Hint-request cards allowed the player
to pose three questions of their choice which were then laboriously answered
individually by the Austins.
(1) Colossal Adventure
(2) Adventure Quest
(3) Dungeon Adventure
(4) Snowball
(5) Lords of Time
b) "Cardboard Box" releases
In late 1983, the same five games were re-packaged in 224 x 146 x 19
cardboard boxes. The boxes have a small hole below the upper edge to allow
retailers to hang them on display hooks.
The contents are the same as in the "Ziploc Bag" releases: the 12-page
manual, a game tape, and the early Hint-request card plus envelope.
(1) Colossal Adventure
(2) Adventure Quest
(3) Dungeon Adventure
(4) Snowball
(5) Lords of Time
c) "Wallet" releases
In 1984, the packaging went through another revision: the games were issued
in 215 x 160 x 15 soft plastic wallets. Each package contains a 420 x 300
poster with detailed instructions on the flip side, a 420 x 300
advertisement poster, an early Hint-request card, a 144 x 205 system-specific
reference sheet (with loading/saving instructions), and a game tape; all the
contents are slipped in a pocket on the wallet's inside.
The wallets have a clear plastic cover in which an inlay is slipped for each
game.
(Possibly, the Wallets' contents were changed shortly before the release of
the MK II packages. In this case, the contents given here would refer to the
later packaging: but we have no confirmed details available.)
(1) Colossal Adventure
(2) Adventure Quest
(3) Dungeon Adventure
(4) Snowball
(5) Lords of Time
(6) Return to Eden
(7) Emerald Isle
d) "MK II" releases
The expensive large wallets were dropped by 1985 in favour of smaller,
130 x 86 x 18 "Microcase MK II" boxes. The inlay is slipped into the
box' cover; each bears the game cover on the front side, and instructions
on the insides, which are folded away. The unfolded dimensions of the inlay
are 180 x 487. In addition, the package contains but a mere game tape.
(1) Colossal Adventure
(2) Adventure Quest
(3) Dungeon Adventure
(4) Snowball
(5) Lords of Time
(6) Return to Eden
(7) Emerald Isle
(8) Red Moon
(9) The Worm in Paradise
Contents: See header.
(13) The Price of Magik
Same contents as above. Additionally, The Price of Magik
contains a Lenslok device.
e) "Virgin" and "Mosaic" releases
The Archers and Erik the Viking were developed for, and released by Mosaic;
the Adrian Mole games were similarly published by Virgin Games.
(10) The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4
Comes in an MK II box such as described above. The inlay
contains a brief instruction sheet. Additionally to the tape,
the box contains a Hint Request Sheet.
(11) The Archers
Comes in a black, 132 x 90 x 18 plastic tape box in the cover
of which an inlay is slipped. The inlay (181 x 294) has
instructions and notes on the main characters of the game
printed on the back. Apart from that, the box contains only
the game tape.
(12) The Saga of Erik the Viking
The black, 220 x 140 x 29 plastic box (similar to a video
tape box) contains an instruction booklet (which also
features extract of the Terry Jones book), and a game tape.
The cover is slipped into the box' front.
(17) The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole
Packed in a 140 x 108 x 17 clear plastic box for two tapes,
this game contains a folded instruction sheet and one game
tape.
f) "Rainbird" releases
Two of the trilogies and Knight Orc were published by British
Telecommunications, Inc. In the UK (and Europe), these went under the
Rainbird label.
The Rainbird games come in blue two-part, 215 x 153 x 27 cardboard boxes
which are printed with the game cover and a bar-code for retailing.
In addition to the detailed contents below, each game contained three game
tapes or one game disk, and a new Hint request sheet to request the ClueSheet
for the respective game.
(14) Jewels of Darkness Trilogy
Contains:
- 150 x 210, 68-page booklet with loading instructions, a
game play guide, and Peter McBride's novella "The
Darkness Rises"
- Lenslok and Lenslok instruction sheet, OR
notice about absence of Lenslok
- translation of the instructions (German release)
(15) Silicon Dreams Trilogy
Contains:
- 150 x 210, 68-page booklet with loading instructions, a
game play guide, and Peter McBride's novella "Eden Song"
(16) Knight Orc
The box of the German release of this game has "Deutsche
Version" printed on the box in red letters.
Contains:
- 150 x 210, 52-page booklet with loading instructions, a
game play guide, and Peter McBride's novella "The Sign of
the Orc", OR
150 x 210, 78-page booklet with loading instructions, a
game play guide, and the AGC Hamburg translation of Peter
McBride's novella "Im Zeichen des Ork"
- 4-color map (410 x 294) by P.R. Human
g) "Firebird" releases
In the US, the British Telecommunications releases went under the Firebird
label. Those games come in 227 x 163 x 30 black, video tape box-like plastic
boxes with a clear cover in which an inlay is slipped. The contents are the
same, with additional registration and warranty cards thrown in.
(14) Jewels of Darkness Trilogy
Contains:
- 150 x 210, 68-page booklet with loading instructions, a
game play guide, and Peter McBride's novella "The
Darkness Rises"
- Lenslok and Lenslok instruction sheet, OR
notice about absence of Lenslok
(15) Silicon Dreams Trilogy
Contains:
- 150 x 210, 68-page booklet with loading instructions, a
game play guide, and Peter McBride's novella "Eden Song"
(16) Knight Orc
Contains:
- 150 x 210, 52-page booklet with loading instructions, a
game play guide, and Peter McBride's novella "The Sign of
the Orc"
- 4-color map (410 x 294) by P.R. Human
h) "Mandarin" releases
These games were developed by Level 9, and distributed originally by Mandarin
Software. Later, DataSoft distributed the games in different packages in the
US.
(19) Time and Magik Trilogy
Datasoft:
A two-part, 227 x 150 x 28 cardboard box with a printed
cover, containing:
- game disk
- 26-page instruction booklet with brief system-specific
details, plus Peter McBride's short story "Time and
Magik"
- 40-page clue book including maps and numbered hints much
like the Clue Sheets for other games
(20) Lancelot
Mandarin:
The two-part cardboard box (213 x 152 x 27) has a printed
cover and contains:
- game disk or tape
- 44-page booklet with instructions (general and loading)
and the novella "King Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table"
- 282 x 196 map of England
- "Holy Grail Contest" sheet
i) "Late" releases
(18) Gnome Ranger
Comes in a clear tape box (even the disk releases) with
slightly varying dimensions.
Contains:
- 4-color, 130 x 219 inlay with instructions and system
instructions
- Ziploc bag, containing game disk or tape, and a booklet,
190 x 108, 52 pages, called "The Gnettlefield Journal"
(21) Ingrid's Back: Gnome Ranger II
The 215 x 152 x 25 cardboard slipcase with printed cover
contains a 211 x 148 x 21 tray (also printed with the cover
motive), which in turn contains:
- The game media
- 4-color poster (278 x 199) with advertisements for the
then-available L9 games
- Clue Request Card
- 44-page booklet (with detailed instructions, an "Official
Secrets" ad, and "The Second Gnettlefield Journal,"
written as usual by Peter McBride) inside a Ziploc bag.
(22) Scapeghost
Black plastic, 185 x 150 x 25 multi-casing-box with game
disk or tapes.
Further contents:
- 4-color poster (270 x 350) with instructions and general
loading instructions
- Clue sheet order form
- 4-color poster (230 x 153) with an advertisement for
several adventure games
3 Clue Sheets
---------------
The games didn't come with clues other than those hidden in the
documentation, but Level 9 offered to send hints for a self-addressed,
stamped envelope.
In the early years, buyers were allowed to ask a certain number of questions
which were personally answered by the Austins. Later, time didn't permit this
anymore, as the volume of hint requests increased steadily.
Therefore, the general hint request form was replaced by a request form for
so-called Clue Sheets, which gave answers to all the puzzles and listed
locations and items. Electronic versions of these Clue Sheets are available
at ftp.gmd.de, in the /level9/clue-sheets/ folder.
4 Version Information
-----------------------
The A-code game files are all that is needed if you have a suitable
interpreter at hand (see section A.3) -- though game files were regularly
linked to the machine-dependent interpreter.
It is possible, however, to "cut down" game files to their minimum length:
those lengths, and further information used for testing or by interpreters,
are given below.
All game file versions are given in the following form: length, A-Code
version, checksum (2 bytes in hexadecimal), CRC16 checksum (4 bytes in
hexadecimal: never used by interpreters, but more useful for identifying
game file versions than the 2-byte checksum), publishing information for
this version.
Abbreviations used: JoD -- Jewels of Darkness Trilogy
SD -- Silicon Dreams Trilogy
T&M -- Time and Magik Trilogy
TO -- Text-only version
Game files prepended with an asterisk are those we haven't actually seen:
please contact us if you have one of these.
Finally, game files marked "game-data only" are not playable with an
interpreter: they lack a similar file of A-Code instructions, the format of
which has not been entirely decoded as of yet.
Adrian Mole I, pt. 1
14897 3 e5 0bdb BBC
33587 3 b7 e2ac C-64
31855 3 0f ba24 CPC
29434 3 8b 6f12 Speccy
Adrian Mole I, pt. 2
14321 3 77 d231 BBC
33869 3 50 5353 C-64
29582 3 5b 7e3d Speccy
Adrian Mole I, pt. 3
14592 3 1c 5d9a BBC
33361 3 5f 862a C-64
29557 3 e5 3f3e Speccy
Adrian Mole I, pt. 4
14608 3 ac 07f9 BBC
31352 3 5e 6ea3 C-64
30933 3 e3 cd7d Speccy
Adrian Mole I, pt. 5
15062 3 a7 95d2 BBC
Adrian Mole I, pt. 6
14501 3 0f defc BBC
Adrian Mole I, pt. 7
13854 3 7e fd9f BBC
Adrian Mole I, pt. 8
14644 3 75 e141 BBC
Adrian Mole I, pt. 9
13585 3 cc d829 BBC
Adrian Mole I, pt. 10
14557 3 31 2534 BBC
Adrian Mole I, pt. 11
14784 3 44 89df BBC
Adrian Mole I, pt. 12
14866 3 8f c2bd BBC
Adrian Mole II, pt. 1
* 22842 3 00 0 BBC
31025 3 b9 c51b CPC/C-64
26689 3 4a 94e7 Speccy
Adrian Mole II, pt. 2
* 22502 3 00 0 BBC
31967 3 a5 43e3 CPC/C-64
27584 3 62 ab3d Speccy
Adrian Mole II, pt. 3
* 22553 3 00 0 BBC
31244 3 97 4bea CPC/C-64
26924 3 21 2015 Speccy
Adrian Mole II, pt. 4
* 22427 3 00 0 BBC
30851 3 e2 ee0e CPC/C-64
26378 3 94 a2a6 Speccy
Adventure Quest
28256 3 83 18e0 Amiga/PC JoD
* 23384 3 00 0000 Atari JoD
25526 3 2e ef38 C-64 JoD
26984 3 32 0c01 CPC JoD
26992 3 d6 a820 Speccy128 JoD
23246 3 11 f118 Speccy48 *patched* JoD
23246 3 11 dc12 Speccy48 JoD
28252 3 f6 d356 ST JoD
The Archers, pt. 1
22580 3 42 cc9d BBC
30301 3 cd fc02 C-64
* 27877 3 00 0 Speccy
The Archers, pt. 2
* 0 3 00 0 BBC
28248 3 07 bffc C-64
* 26842 3 00 0 Speccy
The Archers, pt. 3
* 0 3 00 0 BBC
32408 3 6a 95e5 C-64
27751 3 9a 9a6a Speccy
The Archers, pt. 4
* 0 3 00 0 BBC
33250 3 d5 b278 C-64
* 0 3 00 0 Speccy
Champion of the Raj, pt. 1
18502 4 00 d9c1 ST German
Champion of the Raj, pt. 2
4597 4 00 7aa4 ST German
Colossal Adventure
30452 3 5e 1fe5 Amiga/PC JoD
23318 3 3b e2aa Atari JoD
27790 3 b6 9be3 C-64 JoD
28493 3 cb e8f2 CPC JoD
28526 3 78 28cd Speccy128 JoD
23182 3 f2 2c96 Speccy48 *patched* JoD
23182 3 f2 7cca Speccy48 JoD
30452 3 5a cf4b ST JoD
Dungeon Adventure
25358 2 8d 7d7d CPC
22842 3 80 7a34 Atari JoD
27602 3 65 a41f C-64 JoD
28096 3 63 5d95 CPC JoD
28136 3 4c d795 Speccy128 JoD
22691 3 38 a1ee Speccy48 *patched* JoD
22691 3 38 8ce4 Speccy48 JoD
28428 3 95 1f64 ST/Amiga/PC JoD
Emerald Isle
25534 2 d6 cf5d Atari/C-64/Speccy/CPC
Erik the Viking
13491 2 20 ccda C-64
13491 2 c7 9058 CPC
13491 2 53 8f00 Speccy
Gnome Ranger, pt. 1
44353 4 a8 42c5 C-64 TO
45481 4 80 5fb7 ST/Amiga
24560 5 f8 3a13 CPC (game-data only)
21162 5 df 7b5b Speccy128 (game-data only)
Gnome Ranger, pt. 2
42805 4 f7 2e08 C-64 TO
43933 4 31 be6d ST/Amiga
24612 5 01 aaa9 CPC (game-data only)
28666 5 db dde2 Speccy128 (game-data only)
Gnome Ranger, pt. 3
43456 4 9e 0d70 C-64 TO
44584 4 87 b6b6 ST/Amiga
24630 5 3d 6c6c CPC (game-data only)
29242 5 69 039b Speccy128 (game-data only)
Ingrid's Back, pt. 1
53640 4 13 dc60 Amiga
37001 4 44 eff4 C-64 *patched*
46960 4 03 9a03 C-64 TO
37001 4 ce c5e2 C-64
53659 4 ad 306d PC
35511 4 68 ee57 Speccy48
53635 4 83 ef72 ST
23096 5 f7 876e CPC (game-data only)
30368 5 3a b803 Speccy128 (game-data only)
Ingrid's Back, pt. 2
50580 4 03 ea95 Amiga
37005 4 f6 2a11 C-64 *patched*
46913 4 b6 2aa5 C-64 TO
37005 4 80 30c7 C-64
50597 4 fe 3c98 PC
35614 4 84 2538 Speccy48
50575 4 65 f337 ST
21274 5 ed cf3f CPC (game-data only)
30324 5 0b e92f Speccy128 (game-data only)
Ingrid's Back, pt. 3
55199 4 b5 1661 Amiga
37022 4 15 f4da C-64 *patched*
46993 4 a1 d065 C-64 TO
37022 4 9f decc C-64
55214 4 9e 1878 PC
35612 4 a8 9262 Speccy48
55194 4 57 49c5 ST
22500 5 19 b354 CPC (game-data only)
30302 5 ba 086d Speccy128 (game-data only)
Knight Orc, pt. 1
48019 4 36 6a05 Amiga
35184 4 e2 b6f3 C-64 *patched*
35184 4 6b 3c7b C-64
47982 4 a6 9753 PC
34512 4 b7 adbd Speccy48
47982 4 ad 4d40 ST
29920 5 92 885e Speccy128 (game-data only)
Knight Orc, pt. 2
35728 4 4e 098c C-64
50574 4 43 e9ce PC
34949 4 22 e293 Speccy48
50574 4 4a 4e9d ST/Amiga
28092 5 97 6f55 Speccy128 (game-data only)
Knight Orc, pt. 3
35562 4 4e ca54 C-64
52122 4 08 6c36 PC
34789 4 0e dc33 Speccy48
52122 4 0f 0804 ST/Amiga
29698 5 07 385f Speccy128 (game-data only)
Lancelot, pt. 1
48036 4 94 0871 Amiga/PC *USA*
36843 4 ba a800 C-64
35550 4 f2 fffb Speccy48
49359 4 4e b7fa ST/Amiga/PC
20434 5 9d 799a BBC (game-data only)
30348 5 e8 8fc6 Speccy128 (game-data only)
Lancelot, pt. 2
53440 4 56 8c48 Amiga/PC *USA*
36715 4 fa 0f7e C-64
35598 4 fb 0bab Speccy48
54761 4 6a 4192 ST/Amiga/PC
19884 5 a8 86ed BBC (game-data only)
30384 5 1d 0fcd Speccy128 (game-data only)
Lancelot, pt. 3
46764 4 c6 aea0 Amiga/PC *USA*
36721 4 2f 0ddc C-64
35507 4 c1 cb62 Speccy48
48015 4 1a 7487 ST/Amiga/PC
20374 5 22 30f8 BBC (game-data only)
30302 5 4f 3b73 Speccy128 (game-data only)
Lords of Time
24249 2 30 e99a CPC
24249 2 6e c689 Speccy
45655 4 f8 fbd5 Amiga *USA* T&M
46454 4 2a 7239 Amiga T&M
36216 4 3a ba6e C-64 *USA* T&M
45664 4 e5 c5b2 PC *USA* T&M
46460 4 44 7779 PC T&M
35152 4 a1 1ea2 Speccy48 *patched* T&M
35152 4 a1 bb16 Speccy48 T&M
27134 5 56 ecfb CPC T&M (game-data only)
28446 5 da 2ce0 Speccy128 T&M (game-data only)
Price of Magik
28614 3 14 f9b6 C-64
23204 3 c1 bbf4 CPC
29712 3 5e 60be Speccy128
23204 3 c1 10a0 Speccy48 *corrupt*
23204 3 c1 8a65 Speccy48 *patched*
23204 3 c1 eda4 Speccy48
46999 4 1f 84a9 Amiga *USA* T&M
47818 4 3a 221b Amiga T&M
35910 4 f0 caf6 C-64 *USA* T&M
47008 4 7e 2226 PC *USA* T&M
47815 4 7f ddb2 PC T&M
* 0 4 0 0 Speccy48 T&M
23120 5 a9 a5fa CPC T&M (game-data only)
24840 5 dd efe7 Speccy128 T&M (game-data only)
Red Moon
20588 2 f0 ba72 BBC/CPC/C-64
20573 2 32 2dcf Speccy
41880 4 82 d031 Amiga *USA* T&M
42642 4 d1 6a99 Amiga T&M
36182 4 d3 146a C-64 *USA* T&M
41892 4 df 6732 PC *USA* T&M
42654 4 6c b268 PC T&M
34835 4 11 d0cd Speccy48 *patched* T&M
34835 4 11 22de Speccy48 T&M
26760 5 8d 7f6a CPC T&M (game-data only)
28064 5 b8 3802 Speccy128 T&M (game-data only)
Return to Eden
24676 2 bd 73ec Atari
24676 2 01 5b3c BBC
24676 2 da e610 C-64
23713 2 33 1c43 Speccy/a
23735 2 64 0790 Speccy/b
24823 3 68 c2bc Atari SD
30511 3 ca 8602 C-64 SD
31999 3 f8 6044 CPC SD
32020 3 e8 fbab PC SD
31829 3 18 daee Speccy128 SD
24387 3 ca 6e1b Speccy48 *patched* SD
24387 3 ca 828c Speccy48 SD
32022 3 e6 5438 ST/Amiga SD
Scapeghost, pt. 1
49458 4 14 7adc Amiga *bak*
48811 4 2d 94d9 Amiga
48788 4 cc 04b8 ST/PC
23740 5 a5 0dbe CPC (game-data only)
30254 5 82 8848 Speccy128 (game-data only)
Scapeghost, pt. 2
39357 4 65 032e ST/Amiga/PC
22834 5 4e b2b5 CPC (game-data only)
23510 5 35 79ef Speccy128 (game-data only)
Scapeghost, pt. 3
48310 4 7a 7d4f ST/Amiga/PC
22624 5 95 3227 CPC (game-data only)
28584 5 a4 62c2 Speccy128 (game-data only)
Snowball
24491 2 5c a309 CPC
27640 3 3f c9f7 Atari SD
29539 3 65 a0ab C-64 SD
31535 3 70 6f6c CPC SD
31535 3 70 6955 PC/Speccy128 SD
25921 3 02 028a Speccy48 *patched* SD
25921 3 02 2e6c Speccy48 SD
31537 3 6e 2e2b ST/Amiga SD
Worm in Paradise
28036 3 f9 0 C-64
30507 3 cd a503 Speccy128
21612 3 b7 9420 Speccy48
24929 3 f3 e6d7 Atari SD
30861 3 72 888a C-64 SD
31959 3 0e 4feb PC/CPC/Speccy128 SD
24251 3 f1 cc1a Speccy48 *patched* SD
24251 3 f1 4dec Speccy48 SD
31961 3 0c 4df1 ST/Amiga SD
5 Trivia
----------
* A themed attraction based on a UK television series named Crystal Maze (in
Blackpool, UK and near Tokyo, Japan) was driven using HUGE. This was an
action course where the players had to perform certain exercises which were
then concluded by pushing buttons or pulling levers. Which actions to
perform and confirmation of the correct actions was controlled by the HUGE
system.
* Margaret Austin worked for the company for a few years, handling some of
the marketing aspects. Therefore, two "M. Austin"s appeared on some
personal replies.
* As mentioned above, "KAOS" is a mangled acronym of "Knight Orc Adventure
System." The reason for this was that "KAOS" simply sounds a lot more cool
than "KOAS."
6 Chronology
--------------
1979 A-Code devised.
1981 Level 9 founded by Mike, Nick and Pete Austin.
Early non-adventure releases:
(a) Extension Basic
1983 Ziploc bag releases:
(1) Colossal Adventure
(2) Adventure Quest
(3) Dungeon Adventure
(4) Snowball
(5) Lords of Time
Packaging update: (1)-(5) re-packaged in cardboard boxes
(224x146x19).
1984 Packaging update: (1)-(5) re-packaged in plastic wallets
(215x160x15).
Oct (6) Return to Eden
1985 (7) Emerald Isle
Packaging update: (1)-(7) re-packaged in smaller plastic
wallets (130x86x18).
Jul (8) Red Moon
(9) The Worm in Paradise
(10) The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 (for
Virgin)
(11) The Archers (for Mosaic)
(12) The Saga of Erik the Viking
1986 Lenslok introduced.
(13) The Price of Magik
(14) Jewels of Darkness Trilogy (for BT)
Lenslok excluded again.
(15) Silicon Dreams Trilogy (for BT)
1987 KAOS devised.
Jul (16) Knight Orc (for BT)
Level 9 no longer use any standard packaging format.
(17) The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (for Virgin)
Sep (18) Gnome Ranger
1988 (19) Time and Magik Trilogy (for Mandarin)
(20) Lancelot (for Mandarin)
(21) Ingrid's Back (for Mandarin)
1989 (22) Scapeghost
H.U.G.E. devised.
1991 Champion of the Raj
It Came from the Desert (PC port for Cinemaware)
Level 9 decide to quit writing games. The individual brothers
go on working for software developers.
A Appendix
--------------
A.1 Appendix 1: Non-Level 9 Games
----------------------------------------
- It Came from the Desert
A.2 Appendix 2: The Level 9 Authors
----------------------------------------
Shaun D. Abbott
Simon Aspinall
Mike Austin
Nick Austin
Pete Austin
Christina Erskin
Sue Gazzard
Pete Gerrard
Peter McBride
Chris Queen
Sandra Sharkey
David Williamson
A.3 Appendix 3: Interpreters and Tools
-----------------------------------------
a) Level 9
The interpreter "Level 9"
was written by Glen Summers <gsummers@physics.ox.ac.uk>. The current version 2.0 is capable of playing
all V2-V4 games.
Ports exist for the Amiga and the PC (both done by the ever-present David
Kinder).
The latest version for all supported systems can be found in the
/level9/interpreters/level9 directory at ftp.gmd.de.
b) L9Cut
L9Cut is a tool that "cuts" a pure A-code game file from an executable. It
recognises versions 2-4 and works mostly automatically -- but there is an
option to even cut game files it doesn't actually recognise.
Note that L9Cut appends two zeros (0x0000) to any game file for
identification reasons.
It was written by Paul David Doherty <h0142kdd@rz.hu-berlin.de>.
The latest version (portable C source code plus PC executable) can be found
on Paul's web page at
http://www2.rz.hu-berlin.de/inside/angl/people/pdd/advent.html
c) L9Dis
A "raw" A-Code disassembler: dictionary entries and messages are printed in a
formatted form, but the actual code is simply printed one instruction at a
time. Written by Paul David Doherty <h0142kdd@rz.hu-berlin.de>, L9Dis is
currently in beta stage.
A.4 Appendix 4: Lenslok FAQ
---------------------------------
a) What is Lenslok?
Lenslok was a copy-protection system. Games with Lenslok protection were
shipped with a little plastic device with a slit lens, which was placed on
the computer screen, enabling the user to read otherwise unitelligible lines
and dots as genuine letters. The Lenslok had to be "calibrated" each time in
a painstaking process that included positioning the device in a slightly
non-orthagonal way against the screen.
b) Who developed it?
The Lenslok device was invented (and patented in the US) by ASAP
Developments Ltd.
c) From when to when was it used?
From 1985 to 1986.
d) Who used it?
It was included in the original release of Elite for the Spectrum, OCP Art
Studio, Tomahawk, and Starglider, among other games. -- Notably, of course,
the mentioned Level 9 adventures.
e) Why didn't it work for longer?
The characters were rather difficult to identify: if you don't place the
Lenslok on your screen *exactly* as prompted, the lines appear blurry and
colour-shifted. On some tv screens, it was virtually impossible to read the
text at all. Growing unrest among the players -- who had, after all, paid good money for the games -- resulted in companies gradually
dropping this form of copy-protection.
T Special Thanks
-------------------
Paul David Doherty has provided us with the basic framework of this file, and
with lots of valuable information, most notably facts from his conversations
with the Austin brothers, and game file listings. Also, Paul maintains the
version database.
Peter Schoen never hesitated to send us new packages, data files, or secrets
about his own collection.
Much of the publishing information was initially taken from Hans Persson's
(mildly unreliable) Adventure Game History at
http://www.lysator.liu.se/adventure/
Hans' email address is <unicorn@lysator.liu.se>
Many thanks to Richard Hewison, whose "Level 9 -- Past Masters of the
Adventure Game?" proved to be a very useful source of never-before unearthed
early company details.
The Museum of Computer and
Video Games in Berlin (Rungestr. 20, 10179 Berlin) has offered some moral support.
Graham Nelson unfolded some precious memories about the Middle Earth Trilogy.
The packaging details for Erik the Viking were submitted by Christian Lemke.
Contributors of new game files: David Gorst.
Eagle-eyes (finders of typos or wrong "facts"): Brendon J. Wyber.
Last but certainly not least, Pete Austin himself has helped to verify the
more doubtful details.
Nevertheless (standard disclaimer), all inaccurate information is entirely
our own fault and might have arised from a) sloppiness, b) typos (Miron's,
most probably), or c) sneaking in unverified tidbits.
I History of This Fact Sheet
------------------------------
V0.1 (970918) - First rudimentary version, typed in by Manuel from info we
had established in our first two meetings.
V1.0 (981227) - Last (very refreshing) meeting before final publication:
filled in the final details, corrected some typos, added
information about Erik, Lords of Time, and packaging types.
Uncapitalised the "G" in "Scapeghost." Renamed "Other"
releases to "Late" again; added info about Time and Magik;
added comment about possible early and late "Wallet"
versions. --Mi & Ma.
PUBLIC RELEASE.
V1.0.1 (981228) - Corrected two small typos. --Mi.
V1.0.2 (990103) - Corrected URL (Volker apparently moved it to .../info/...).
Added thanks item for Brendon Wyber. Added PDD's
maintaining of the version database to thanks list. Slight
rewording of one paragraph.
V1.0.3 (990112) - Changed a non-ASCII character for its ASCII equivalent
(thanks to PDD for the somewhat cryptic report).
V1.1 (990125) - Added David Gorst to thanks list. Rephrased sentence in
L9Cut description. Preliminarily took out sentence about
ME Trilogy and Tolkien: check later. Now uses PDD's
database 022 (instead of 016). --Mi.
PUBLIC RELEASE.
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