The Status Line Volume VIII Number 1 Formerly The New Times Spring 1989 James Clavell's Shogun comes alive First, there's the sick, mutinous survive a dangerous journey crew to deal with. Then there's through uncharted seas. At last your own exhaustion and illness. on the unknown shores of The Plus the stormy sea and the Japans, you face a barbarian's treacherous reef to navigate. But welcome of torture and impris­ all that pales in comparison to onment. To keep your life, you the challenge of surviving your must identify who can hurt you abrupt entrance into a culture and who can help you. At first, totally foreign to you. Yourtrain­ you know very little about the ing has prepared you for every­ world in which you find your­ thing ... everything but this. self. Exploring, asking, learn­ has taken the ing, testing are all crucial to your adventure, intrigue, and excite­ survival. Death is always the ment of James Clavell 's classic merest whisper away. novel, Shogun, one step further In James Clavell's Shogun, in a masterful new work of inter­ you will meet Toranaga and active fiction. The seven million Ishida, vicious enemies who take HOGON Shogun fans who enjoyed James the lives of thousands of men in Clavell 's book and the tens of their struggle for the coveted title The beauty of color graphics combine with millions who watched its televi­ of Shogun. You also meet and the richness of 's storytelling to sion adaptation can now explore fall in love with Mariko, your bring you unforgettable entertainment. the world of feudal Japan, with translator and initiator into un­ its labyrinthine palaces, rank dreamt-of mysteries. jails, serene teahouses, and The key to success in the in­ equally fascinating and compli­ teractive Shogun is the ability to cated inhabitants. act as the British pilot-major The adventure begins on the Blackthorne would. Handsome, Journey: Enter a new Erasmus, the only ship of five to Continued on page 3 realm of storytelling Introducing Arthur: A great evil has acter judge while fallen over the pursuing the de­ land. Your town, feat of the evil The Quest for Excalibur sujferingfromfive which has in­ years of blighted fested the land. Imagine sitting in in the stone that will crops, sickness The party sets your London flat, make you King of and contaminated out from your sharing a Sunday England. You meet water, begins to home town of meal with your up with Merlin, the lose all hope. It is Lendros. You family, when ... most famed of ma­ then that a small leave your town poof! ... you turn gicians, who give group sets forth in for the very first yourself into an you insight into both search of help ... time and are as­ eel. Your Aunt the world of nat4re These words send you on your tonished by the legendary won­ Rose faints dead and the nature of Journey. Subtitled The Quest ders you encounter in your ad­ away into her man. But equally as Begins, this classic narrative, in venture. Your quest leads over mashed potatoes precious a gift is the the exciting tradition of J.R.R. mountains, through underground as your mischie­ power to tum your­ Tolkein, plunges you into an un­ caves, across the plains and over vous little brother runs to cap­ self into several different ani­ charted world of dwarves, elves, the sea. Clashes with the forces ture you in a mayonnaise jar for nymphs and wizards. of evil are fought with unex­ mals. This allows you, as eel or Journey-the first in our new pected allies, and you must de­ hideous biological experiments. owl or salamander, to get into Role-Play Chronicles series­ cide who are friends and who are Although it seems like little more places and pe1form heroic deeds takes you through a world ruled messengers of the Dread Lord. than a neat party trick, you 'II impossible for a mere human. by magic and inhabited by mythi­ Journey breaks into an excit­ take this special power seriously The legend of young Arthur cal creatures you may befriend ing new genre of computer games in Arthur: The Quest for Excali­ comes alive as never before or battle. And, because you that draws from the best features bur. through the graces of lnfocom' s control the actions of the party, of , role play­ Infocom 's newest Graphic newest-generation parser (see you must be physician, magi­ ing games and traditional fiction Interactive Fiction story casts page 2). Communicating with cian, combat strategist, and char- to create a game with rich prose, you as the youthful Arthur on a the story is now easier than ever, Continued on page 2 quest for the lengendary sword Continued on page 3 Spring 1989 The Status Line Page 2 The Status Line The first Role-Play Chronicle Mike Dornbrook Continued from page 1 Rumored to be challenging puzzles, and a di­ Publisher verse group of characters. Over 100 beautifully rendered graphic Stuart Kirsch images add tone and depth to the Resigned as tale. Editor-in-Chief Journey departs from other games in its format as well. You Gayle Syska interact with the story through Denies any connection menus which provide individual and group options. That means you spend more time enjoying Hollywood the story and less time trying to Dave Anderson figure out where you can go and Could not be found what you can (or can't) do. With to comment the new menu interface you don 't need to be a typist to play. Sim­ The following claim ply hit the first letter of the op­ absolutely no editorial tion you desire or use the arrow responsibility: keys, and voilti , you're on your Marjorie Gove way. Or, should you prefer, you Journey combines the challenge of interactive fiction, the adventure of Elizabeth Langosy can just use a mouse or a joys­ role-playing, and the enchantment of an epic chronicle. tick. This simplicity lets you get Jon Palace into the story quickly. If you ' re a of interactive fiction. Marc co­ intrigue. Debbie Reilly seasoned player, you' 11 love how authored the original mainframe Journey is now available on fast you can make progress on version of Zork and the personal the and Amiga, and is Allegedly at the scene of your trek. computer versions of , II, scheduled for release on the production: Journey , itself a new explo­ and III, and Enchanter. Also to Apple II, IBM and 100% Com­ ration in the field of computer hi s credit are Deadline, the first Bonnie Pettengill patibles in May. All versions storytelling, was written by Marc interactive mystery, and Border of Journey will retail for $49.95. © 1989 Infocom Blank, a pioneer in the creation Zone, lnfocom's first story of 125 CambridgePark Drive Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140 byStuGalley The Status Line is said PARSER ?? to be published four times a What is a parser anyway, and I'm like the recording engineer and so it grew more clever, but year by Infocom. Address why should it matter to you? for your favorite rock album, also harder to fi x and improve. changes and subscriptions Almost any dictionary can an­ because my job is to make sure Eventually we decided to build a should be sent to swer the first question, and I'm that the artists' talent comes new parser from scratch, using The Status Line, lnfocom, here to tell you about the second through to you as clearly as pos­ the theory of computational lin­ 125 CambridgePark Drive, one. sible. If the guitarist wants more guistics. (Technically speaking, Cambridge, MA 02140, As the dictionary states, a reverb ... I mean ifthe implemen­ we used an ATN algorithm with Attn: Subscription parser is something that takes tor wants adverbs to work in his a LALR grammar and one-token Manager. The Status Line apart a sentence, word by word, story, then I provide it. The bet­ look-ahead.) is an independent journal, and determines what the words ter I do my job, the less you So what does this mean to not affiliated with the mean, and then what the sen­ notice it! you? It means that you can con­ New York Times and tence means. If you ever dia­ Almost anyone can write a verse with our interactive fiction vice versa. grammed a sentence for an simple parsi ng program, just as more simply than ever, and we English class, then you were almost anyone can make simple can easily add features that you've parsing. But it's a lot easier for recordings on their boom box. A never seen before. For example, Cuuhroa1s, Oc:1tllinc. End1:u11cr. ln fic..lc l. Leather you to parse English than it is for notices if you seem to Goddcssc' of Phobos. Pl :mctf:tll. Sca.. talkcr, Stan:ross. simple parser could parse any Suspect, Slhpcndcd. The StatU )> Line. The Wimcss. a machine, because you've had a two-word sentence, by calling be having trouble with the parser, Trini1y. Wishbringcrand Zork :m.• rcgistcn.'tl m1dcmark:o. of lnfocom. lot more practice at it, and you the first word a verb and the and it offers helpful suggestions, started life with a certain natural such as sample commands. And . 1\ rl hur: TI1c Quc ~ t for second one a noun. If it didn't Excalibur. B:1llyhoo. Border Zone. Burcaucr.u:y. Classic ability to do it. in Shogun, you can use a wider My!<>tcry Libr.iry. . Fooblitd:y. G:unma know the verb, or if the noun Fon.-c, Holl ywood Hij in x. lmmon:il Lc,gcmb, At lnfocom, I've been work­ wasn't the name of something in range of sentences, including lnf0<.·omic.:i., J1wisiClucs. Journey. L:tnc Ma ... 1odun. Moonm bt. Nord and Bert Couldn ' t ~l:Lkc Head or Ta il ing on a program that will parse the room, then it would give up. statements and questions, to con­ of II. Plurukn:d Hcaris. Quancri.taff. Science Fiction verse with the characters you' II Classics. Sherlock: The Riddi.! of lhc Cmwn Jewels. your commands and pass on their Some simple adventure games Sorcerer. Spcllbrcakcr. . The Cr.... sccnt Hawk's "meaning" to an interactive story. meet. In the future, we may de­ lncep1ion. the Lurki ng Horror and The Tomb of Sc1mo1h work exactly that way. arc 1rndcmarl.. i,. of lnfocom. This program is a part of Zork Until now, Infocom's thirty­ velop new kinds of products, able Ba11JcTech is a registered trJdcmark of FASA Zero,Arthur. and Shogun, as well odd interactive stories have all to "talk" with you about many CorporJlion. The Hitchhikcr's Guide to the Galaxy is a 1rJdem11rk of Douplas Adtlms. Shogun is a as future Infocom products that used the parser that evolved from topics; our interactive fiction 1r:uJcrnark of James Clavcll. may want to understand more 'Z.ork/.Buteachnewstoryneeded could become much more than complex sentences. In a way, some new features in the parser, mazes and mysteries! Spring 1989 The Status Line Page 3 Arthur: it'll bring out the animal in you Continued from page 1 and mercifully, we decided not and even a drooling village idiot. to require you to use Olde Eng­ But especially beware the evil lish. Nearly 100 pictures enhance demon Nudd, whose powers rival your adventure with vivid scenes those of Merlin. of medieval England. For the Arthur offers all the features less aesthetically inclined, the you've asked for in adventure graphics may be set aside in favor stories. Merlin's crystal ball lets of on-screen mapping, your in­ you take advantage of on-screen ventory, or your score. hints. The Undo command The Quest for Excalibur is a makes it possible to rescind even - three-day crusade with a finite the most foolhardy of decisions. numberof moves, so don't waste And the mouse option offers you them trying to cultivate a mean­ flexibility you've never had ingful relationship with the before. kraken you hook up with in the Arthur is Infocom's second lake. And not even a future king collaboration with game designer gets something for nothing, so , eloquent author of be prepared to offer gold or good Arthur adds an exciting new dimension to the timeless Arthurian tale Sherlock: The Riddle of the deeds as needed to move along while preserving all of its original richness and grandeur. Crown Jewels. Fans of fantasy in your quest. You'll need to artwork will immediately recog­ keep your eyes and ears open to nize Greg Hildebrandt's exqui­ find the treasures for your trades site style in the package cover il­ and the tools for your good deeds. Chivalry, Experience, Quest, and King Lot, your archrival for the lustration. Within, you'll find an And you can hone your wits with Wisdom. All are needed as proof throne, and the mysterious Lady illuminated Book of Hours. the riddles sprinkled throughout that you have what it takes to be of the Lake. You'll encounter a Arthur: The Questfor Excali­ the game. a righteous king. spectrum of knights-blue, bur will be available in June Arthur lived in the Age of You'll meet many intriguing black, red, and colorless (but not 1989 for the Macintosh, Apple II Chivalry, a time when virtue was characters, some nice, some dull)- whose zeal for their series, IBM, and Amiga com­ recognized and rewarded. Your needy, and some downright ne­ knightly activities saddles you puters. Retail price is $49.95 for accomplishments will also be farious. Included from the clas­ with roadblocks. There's ape­ the Apple II version, and $59.95 rewarded, earning you points for sic Arthurian legend are the evil culiar dragon, a spicy leprechaun, for all others.

Winners of InfoGrammy Awards A plethora of Infocomposers wrote Debbie Gibson's Army in response to the Clavell's Shogun Infocom Songwriting Contest. While this was highly flattering and entertaining, it left us at a loss to choose the single, most perfect company ditty. Therefore, Continued from page 1 our only course of action was to select THE BEST in appropriate catagories. We cagey and self-assured, his con­ original. James Clavell himself do thank all of the entrants for their submissions, and we recognize the fidence is matched only by his feels the tone of his work has effort- and sometimes talent-evident in all of them. talent to navigate a ship through been so well captured, that he Here, then, are the six winning entries, which we've taken the liberty of titling the trickiest of waters. To sur­ claims Dave Lebling is "the or retitling as deemed suitable. Each winner will receive an audio cassette taped with all the winning songs and an lnfocom game of choice. vive and succeed in this new person who knows the most world requires thorough obser­ about Shogun in the entire The Best Infocommercial vation, quick thought, and care­ world." Jamie Amos, Culver City, CA, won hands down in thi s category with lnfocom. ful action. Lebling's puzzles Infocom 's Shogun is the per­ You Put the "If' Back in Life. a slick, li vely marketeer's dream. should be attacked in Black­ fect marriage of the talents of The Best Infocom Anthem thorne 's character, and they rely two extremely prolific and popu­ Doug Benson, Dallas, TX, was chosen as the recipient of the coveted lnfocom on B lackthorne' s personal lar authors.James Clavell 's other Game Testers' Choice Award for My Heart Belongs to lnfocom, a wry, dark knowledge to be solved. novels include Tai Pan, King march. James Clavell's Shogun ush­ Rat, Noble House and _Whirl­ The Best Inforap ers in a new era of interactive wind. Dave Lebling is the author Mina and Beth Atanacio, Buffalo, NY, charmed us with Lots of Games in text adventures. Immersing you or co-author of nine works of Hundreds of Piles. an innocent, postn asal-dripping performance with winning in the world of the game, Shogun interactive fiction, including lyrics. sets the scene with richly de­ Zork I, II, and Ill, Enchanter, The Best Inforock tailedgraphics drawn in the style Suspect and, most recently, The Nick Ruth, Ellicott, MD, wants us to Cross the Line in his rockin' plea for an of l 6th-century Japanese court Lurking Horror. lnfocom world and a top 40 single. paintings. It is one of the first Shogun is now available for The Best lnfolk Song games to use our newest parser the Macintosh, Amiga and Apple H. Goodman, New York, NY, strummed Th e Grues Have Taken Over for us, a (see page 2), which makes com­ II series. A version for IBM and -vy tune with clever lyrics. municating with the game even 100% compatibles will be avail­ easier. Written in thenovel'srich, able in May. Apple II version The Best Adaptation of a George Michael Song descriptive prose, the game is as retails for $49.95; all other ver­ Bob Roeh, Victoria, TX, whose offering was Game, was "faith "ful to the diet soda hawker's sexy style. engaging as James Clavell's sions retail for $59. .95. NEW RELEASES!

JOURNEY"' SHOGUN" QUARTERSTAFF™: You accompany a party of James Clavell's top-selling novel THE TOMB OF SETMOTH"' •• - ·I ;UR~~r desperate villagers in their quest comes alive on your computer. In a quiet colony, now deserted, for the revered wisdom of the As Blackthorne, an English sea hides the dreadful secret of the great wizard, Astrix. Only his pilot, you have embarked on an Druids' sudden disappearance. wisdom can save their village. unchar1ed route to Japan where Parties of brave adventurers In the tradition of J.R.R. Tolkein's a political power struggle is have gone in search of the key The Lord of the Rings you'll erupting between two Japanese to the mystery-and no one has _,,"'-""~ share in the magical adventures regents aspiring to be Shogun. returned. Now it is your turn to of Tag, Bergen, Esher and Minar as you solve puzzles, ,~ Your success over the powerful discover the fate of the Dru ids. overcome obstacles and explore unknown lands. '------"'-~ political forces depends on your Quarterstaff features a spectacular Macintosh interface Journey is the first software title in an exciting new ability to think and make decisions as Blackthorns would. with realistic sound, sparkling color and black and white category called 'Role-Play Chronicles" created by Marc Stunning graphics in traditional,16th century Japanese graphics, hierarchical menus, contact-sensitive on-screen Blank. Role-Play Chronicles draw on the best features style. Creator Dave Lebling collaborated with Clavell to hints, and a dynam ic map window. (Requ ires Mac Plus , of interactive fiction, role-playing games and traditional produce this magnificent piece of software. (Mac requires SE, or II with 1 Meg of RAM. Colqr requires Mac II with 2 fiction. (Mac requires 512K. Supports color on the Mac 512K. Supports color on the Mac II. Apple II requires Meg of RAM and 16-color Video Card.) II. Apple II requires 128K.) 128K and two 51/4" disk drives or one 31/2" drive.) #JY-1223 Macintosh $49.95 #JY-2132 Amiga $49.95 #JY-2131 Amiga $59.95 #JY-1726 Apple II $49.95 #JY-1 730 Apple II $49.95 #JY-1728 Macintosh $49.95 #JY-1732 Macintosh $59.95

BATI'LETECH®: THE ZORK®ZERO ZORK TRILOGY"' ~~lfJ~~\l!i Travel through time to Dimwit CRESCENT HAWK'S lnfocom 's 3 most popular .'.'.' lllllll~ stories together at last! Your INCEPTION"' Flathead's court , where you War is the way of life in the 31 st lllllli witness the powerful curse of ~ quest for the fabulous Treas ­ ures of Zork takes you further century on the Human Sphere. Megaboz. Wake up years later as one of your own descendants ...._. into the Great Underground You are training to be one of the l 11111 1 elite warriors. Your education is and embark on an adventure Empire. Expect the unex­ ·· violently interrupted by an enemy that tells the story behind the pected-such as the Wizard of invasion, and you must save your story of the classic Zork Trilogy . Frobozz who materializes at planet and your life. Challenge Larger than any previous odd moments and casts your combat strategy skills, and lnfocom story, Zork Zero is L~~;;;;;;;;;;:;;;;;;;;;;;:;;i bothersome spells. As the explore the more than 4 million individual locations of the bursting with dastardly graphical Dungeon Master draws you game. Exciting graphics and animation show you puzzles , maniacal riddles, and more challenge than the deeper into his mysterious inner sanctum , you'll need everyth ing, from your immediate geography to close-ups of other Zorks combined. An aggravating court jester takes courage and wisdom to prove yourself worthy of the your gaming skills to the lim it in a devilish round of Double Master's Great Secret-and of life itself. the action. Bat~eTech is a fully-integrated par1 of FASA's BattleTech universe. (IBM requires CGA, EGA, VGA, Fanucci. On-screen hints and maps, and friendlier parser. MCGA or Tandy graphics and 384K.) Zork Zero is the creation of the deranged Steve Meretzky. #JY-1359 Amiga $49.95 (Mac requires 512K. Supports color on Mac II. Apple II #JY-1357 Apple II $49.95 1 1 #JY-2130 Amiga $49.95 requires 128K and two 5 /4" disk drives or one 3 /2" drive.) #JY-1361 Atari ST $49.95 #JY-1063 Apple II $49.95 #JY-1356 C64/128 $44.95 #JY-1024 Amiga #JY-1229 C64/128 $39.95 $59.95 #JY-1358 IBM $52.95 #JY-1225 IBM $49.95 #JY-1723 Apple II $49.95 #JY-1360 Macintosh $49.95 #JY-1224 Macintosh $59.95

INFOCOMICS™All The Fun of Comic Books On Your Computer ONLY$9

LANE MASTODON"' VS THE BLUBBERMEN GAMMA FORCE"' AND THE PIT OF A THOUSAND SCREAMS Lane Mastodon, accountant turned superhero, saves humanity This exciting superhero series features a Waterbeast of from the Blubbermen of Jupiter in this cornball spoof of 1930's indomitable strength, a Human gifted with flight and futu re space operas. visions and an elfin Princess of unearthly power. See the #JY-1302 Apple II orig ins of the trio as they team -up to free thei r planet from #JY-1301 C64/128 an evil overlord and his Pit of a Thousand Screams. #JY-1303 IBM #JY-1305 Apple II #JY-1304 C64/128 ZORK~ QUEST: ASSAULT ON EGRETH CASTLE #JY-1306 IBM Set in the fabulous world of Zork, a magic amulet leads a small ZORK~ QUEST: THE CRYSTAL OF DOOM """"' of ""''"' to my.,00= Egreth Co;flo, tho moldohog • Tho ""'" io "'' """'' lair of trolls, hobgoblins, night gaunts and a diabolical wizard. w ·• :.. '<::.. #JY-1563 Apple II ""~ #JY-1308 Apple II - • #JY-1562 C64/128 #JY-1307 C64/128 #JY-1564 IBM #JY-1309 IBM -

Apple II requires 12BK; IBM reqwres 256K memory and colorgraphics card. Nol available for IBM PCjr. - ~- ~

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BEYOND ZORK"' ZORK~ I Design your own character, HITCHHIKER'S ~ In th is timeless story, a great blending attrbutes such as GUIDE TO THE Your life as a postal clerk is starting point for first-time strength, endurance, compas- GALAXY"' ordinary until you're asked to adventure players, you travel sion and luck to survive the deep himself recre- deliver a strange envelope to into the Great Underground underground, where monsters ates the Hltchhiler universe the outskirts of town. Then Empire in search of the guard the world's most fabulous and sets you free to roam at LEATHER ~ things become quite fabulous Treasures of Zork. treasure - the fabled Coconut of will. You 're headed for a You're a lowly deck-swabber In extraordinary. Includes on- Includes on screen hints. Quendor. hilarious series of of interga- GODDESSES the stellar patrol. Then your ship screen hints. (Except Atari ST (Except Atari ST and lactic misadventures. OFPHOBos~ explodes and you're jettisoned on & Amiga versions.) Amiga versions.) #JY-1329 Amiga Features three levels of play, a mysterious deserted planet. #JY-1327 Apple II #JY-1541 Amiga (Tame, Suggestive and Lewd) Luckily you have Floyd, a multi- #JY-1403 Amiga #JY-1493 Amiga #JY-1222 Apple llGS #JY-1539 Apple II to satisfy all appetites. purpose robot. #JY-1401 Apple II #JY-1491 App le II #JY-1331 Atari ST #JY-1543 Atari ST #JY-1405 Atari ST #J°l'-1495 Atari ST #JY-1326 C128 #JY-1538 C641128 #JY-1365 Apple II #JY-1566 Apple II #JY-1400 C641128 #JY-1490 C641128 #JY-1328 IBM #JY-1540 IBM #JY-1364 C641128 #JY-1565 C64/128 #JY-1402 IBM #JY-1492 IBM #JY-1330 Macintosh #JY-1542 Macintosh #JY-1366 IBM #JY-1567 IBM #JY-1404 Macintosh #JY-1494 Macintosh #JY-1332 lnvisiCluesN #JY-1545 lnvisiCluesN #JY-1368 Macintosh #JY-1568 Macintosh #JY-1407 lnvisiCluesN #JY-1497 lnvisiCluesN Apple II requires 12BK IBM requires 192K Macintosh version requires 512K

CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-227 ·6900 Monday-Friday 6AM-6PM Saturday 9AM-4PM Pacific Time Spring 1989 The Status Line Page 4 Helpful Hints from Customer Support

So, you've gotten all kinds of up too much memory and crash ing South. •You've tried to burn some thing neat new Infocom games, but BattleTech. Remember, you and your machine crashed, now realize that they 're no longer can always add more mem­ 3. The message next specifies right? Or you walked into a par­ just interactive fiction. Here are ory. Then you won't have to "four steps to the East." This ticular location and your Mac a few clues to help you out with worry about which DOS means you' II be obtaining a four froze up for an eternity? You've our new brand of entertainment you're using! letter word. Each "step" (or in had the privilege of encoutering software. If you have any other some cases, "pace") equals one the dreaded BURN bug in Quarterstaff letter in the word. technical questions, not hint re­ • It's unanimous - no one Quarterstaff. To avoid the crash, quests, or need to upgrade your never bum anything that has a knows what the heck to do 4. Proceeding around the com­ disk for any reason, please send sub-menu (for instance, any with the coin and parchment. pass from North to East, the first all correspondence to: Infocom, creature carrying an item or any So we 'II tell you: letter would then be "G." The G 125 CambridgePark Drive, item that acts as a container). is on the parchment. When Cambridge, MA 02140, Attn: On the lower portion of the parch­ Stick to burning torches and deciphering the other magic Customer Support. ment, there are four cryptic doors. When you get to the words, the 1st letter may appear messages surrounding a com­ Charred Room, don't linger BattleTech on the coin. However, in all cases, pass rose. These four messages there. The room is so hot it will • In the first of our series of each "step" will alternate be­ are instructions for deciphering set your party on fire and, even­ BattleTech releases, you can tween the parchment and the four different "magic words." tually, crash your machine. So, on) y have three mechs and four coin. So, if the first letter is on Each magic word, when used in go through in just one turn. (The other people in your party. the coin, the second letter will be conjunction with the magic Iden­ only item in the room is a on the parchment and so on. •When you get to the map room, tify Wand (the one depicted on BRONZE SEAL. Once you get don't despair. Touch the seven the upper portion of the parch­ 5. Moving from the compass to the BRONZE SEAL KEY, send planets that are listed in the ment), will reveal the nature of one party member back to un­ dark green shaded area on page potions, scrolls, keys, or other the coin in our·example, the next letter would be U. lock it. That will eliminate prob­ 14 of your manual. You' ll be wands. lems there.) Finally, on the sec­ surprised as to what happens I. The first step in deciphering a 6. Then, moving back out to the ond level of the dungeon, the next. magic word is to place the coin compass, the third letter is R. region with areas A I through • When you get to the Inventor's on the compass with the coin's AS, etc., contains land mines Hut, you don't exactly feel arrow pointing in the prescribed 7. Finally, the fourth letter, going which will also set your party on welcome? Simple solution: direction. For instance,_.!he cryp­ back to the coin, is Z. You then fire. If you stick to the D's and make sure you have a tech and tic message on the lower left end up with GURZ. the S's, you'll avoid the mines a medic in your party and that comer of the parchment begins and the crashes. they are both trained to excel­ with "Peering South." You would 8. Now you can identify the na­ lent level. Bring them to the then place the coin on the com­ ture of an old key and let "no •Did you start to load the game Inventor's Hut with you, and pass rose with the coin's arrow Lock be your barrier." Simply only to have it inform you that the red carpet will be rolled pointing South. hold the Identify Wand and and your System and Finder are too type GURZ OLD KEY. old? You need to use System out. 2. Next the message says, "let 6.0 or higher and Finder 6.1 or • If you're playing BattleTech your mind's eye opposite jour- 9. If you 're still having trouble, higher. The game comes on a Tandy 1000 with 384Kof ney."Therefore, you begin deci­ write to Customer Support at In­ equipped with the necessary memory, you must use DOS phering atthe North point, keep- focom for directions enhanced versions. Simply boot up off the 2.11. Any other DOS will take ing the coin fixed in place, point- with graphic illustrations. Quarterstaff System Disk and M\~~ Elfl\L'l 'FtA11-\EAD' PA1E.LLPI IN\'ffi AN U~B\f6ED fEEX.liTN..; you 'II have it made. You might find that you have the most re­ WAAl'S ALL l\\l:i ru:i"J l \\£Al\ cent System on your disk and it AB0\.11 'C£\N6 EATEN 11--1 lt\E. M'i'K still has problems. In this case, ~':I A SLA\IE.R.\N

Miss Emily 'Flathead' Patella with an unbiased rebuttal Brad Schenck Spring 1989 The Status Line Page 5

We call this puzzle an InfoCrostic. If you have never done a puzzle of this type before, here's how it works: First, go through the list of clues, from A through W, filling in as many as you can. Then, use the numbers below the blanks to fill the letters you've gotten into the like numbered boxes in the dia­ gram. (The letters in the boxes in the dia­ gram tell you which clue that letter comes from.) You can now work back and forth between the diagram and the clues until you have finished both. When you 're done, the diagram will be an excerpt from an Infocom game. The first letter of each clue, reading down from A through W, will spell out the author's name and the source.

A. Scolding from Grammy Q. Zork II location ) (3 words) 173 55 210 21186125 84 121 2 107 (2 words) 33 81 63 174122 85 141 185 3 69 73 192

B. A holiday 168 183 58 145 79 18 l 18 140 61 180 24 IOI 213 65 203 R. Mischievous child C. Alec Guinness line 62 190 151 (4 words) 200 109 47 176 89 97 95 8 28 139 194 128 S. ___ force, 92 105 34 a fundamental interaction (2 w6rds) 90 207 27 153 164 53 4 D. Sports figure Arthur 117 39 40 113 T. West Indies capital (2 words) 143 22 54 131 60 158 91 146 177 75 E. Talks on and on 44 191 103 159 216 132 50 29 114 116 F. Breakfast drink (2 words) U. Possible time to buy gas 99 178 150 134 6 l 98 l 99 l 30 37 l 57 68 gas during a shortage (3 words) 45 205 38 135 31104124 G. Cover-up 196 26 87 32 206 19 170 152 59 Y. Motto of a midwestem state 13 156 129 21 l 57 94 H. A loud laugh (2 words) 43 184 51 96 142 74 W. Little girl ingredients I. Turn on 201 149 66 138 187 83 25 70 17 108 71 11 133 30 76 123 155 163 109849 J."Nowl ___ (3 words) 165 189 182 7 56 144 20 112 35 Name: K. A common Zork I input Address:______(4 words) 13 7 64 88 212 93 172 193 15 127 I 15 12 166

167 52 119 161 215 41 209 23 T-shirt size (S, M, L, XL): _____ L. Great Lakes city (2 words) 169 82 16 217 148111 9 126 175 48 86 120 RULES: 1. All entries must be postmarked by July I , 1989. (Entries from outside the 80 147 154 204 U.S. and Canada are due Sept. I, 1989.) 2. Entries must be on this form.or a photocopy of this form. 3. Limit of one entry per person. 4. All entries must M. Rodeo cry be mailed separately. 5. Up to 25 prizes will be awarded. If more than 25 46 208 77 18 I 5 I I 0 correct entries are received, a drawing will determine the winners. 6. Void N. There are many in Zork I where prohibited. 202 72 102 160 136 179 42 188 214 PRIZE: The New Zork Times Puzzle Winner T-Shirt 0. Y.P. monogram 197 14 67 MAIL TO: infocom, Inc. P. Mischievous vapors Puzzle #20 106 I 78 195 100 36 171 162 125 CambridgePark Drive Cambridge, MA 02140 L------~ Spring 1989 The Status Line Page 6 Solution to Puzzle #18 In Puzzle #18, we asked you to use a series of clues, all based on Beyond Zork, to replace the letters in a mathematical equation with numbers, and then to solve the equation. The correct answer would be a positive integer. Here are the intended answers to the clues: A.200 B. I 03 C. 3 D. 41 E.120 F. 811 G. 9 H.O I. 3 J. 877 K. 30 L. 843 M. 2 Plugging these into the equation, we get: 200 41x120 ( + 103 - 3 811+9 64 877 + 30 - 843

However, there were two snags. Clue M was "The number of room names in Beyond Zork which contain the word EDGE." We meant 2-"Edge of Storms" and "Moor's Edge." However, many entrants pointed out that the location called "Ledge" contains the word EDGE, and therefore M should equal 3, and the fin al answer should equal 128. Since the clue was ambi guous enough to allow either interpreta­ tion, we have decided to allow both 64 and 128 as correct answers. The other snag was caused by Clue H: "The number of locations in the Ethereal Holmes! Charles S. Hayes Plain of Atrii whose names do not begin with the letter 0." In the game, all the rooms in the Plain of Atrii begin with "Above ... " However, the /11 visiC/11 es map was incor­ rectly printed with all the names beginning "Over. .. " Unfortunately, your lazy Puzzle Editor used the InvisiClues map rather than the game in arriving at an Good-Bye to the Status intended answer of 0 for Clue H. If the actual number, 13 , is used instead, the equation solves to the non-integers 1157.625 or 2315.25 (depending on one's interpretation of Clue M). Apologies to everyone confused by this shoddily-constructed puzzle , and thanks Line, Hello to ZQ to everyone who wrote to point out the errors. Recapping, we accepted the following answers : 64, 128, I 157.625, and 2315.25 (rounding was allowed in the last two Here it is - the 2lst edition of will write a segment of a story cases). There were a total of 174 entries, of which 109 (63%) had one of the correct The Status Line. Well, of course, that ends with a number of answers. (If you care: 74 people said 64, 3 1 guessed 128, and four had one of the non­ most of those editions were called choices. Your vote will deter­ integer answers). The New Zork Times until a mine the direction of the plot. The drawing picked these 25 lucky winners: Christine Crocket, Hacienda "major metropolitan newspaper" We ' ll tell you about a vari­ Heights CA; Dave Hrencecin , University Park PA; Matt Roos, St. Louis MO; marshalled their cadre of law­ Mitchell Megaw, Spring Hill KS; Marcia Cutler, Greenwich CT; Michelle Perry, ety of new storytelling prod­ Sacramento CA; Craig Dohmen, Apollo PA; William Carnell, South Portland ME; suit-thirsty lawyers. ucts, including the latest releases Leroy Haugen, Belfair WA; Andrew Rezvani, Wyncote PA; Michael Brill, San Jose After 21 newsletters we think from Infocom. CA; Dan Spitzley, Gross Pointe Park MI; Jeffrey Shaw, North Attleboro MA; Rudy we have somewhat perfected the George Alec Effinger, ac­ Montero, Mi ami FL; Robert Rhode, Davis CA; Eugene Foss, Flora IL; Julia White, medium. Our combination of claimed sci-fi author of When Mebane NC; Jerry Wang, Cincinatti OH; Stephen Schneider, Amherst MA; news features, nutty contests and Gravity Fails, has written an William Randall , Barberton OH; James Kuivenen, Claremont CA; Jon-Paul Ward, Bronx NY; David Lee, Saskatoon SK, Canada; Jason Riedy, Tampa FL; and puzzles has been praised by original short story especially Angela Sandelius, Cadillac MI. many, including our competi­ for this premier issue of ZQ. In the international competition for Puzzle # 17 (answer: Leather Goddesses of tors. So as we are reshaping the Plus puzzles, cartoons, con­ Deimos) we had entries from , as usual, every corner of the world: Mexico, Germany, world of interactive fiction and tests, and much more! Thailand, and so on. There were 17 entries, of wtiich 12 were correct. And the winner other forms of storytelling, it is is: Kalman Tanito, of Finland! time for us to push back the pub­ lishing envelope once again. We ln~DCDll\" Bulk Rate have decided to retire TSL and U.S. Postage replace it with a full col or maga­ P.O. Box 8123 San Francisco, CA 94128 PAID zine called ZQ. Permit #99 Don't Panic. We will still be Redwood City, the same publication we have always been, but now in color CA with more detail about story­ telling in general. And don't won-y about TSL, it is going to Florida to join the NZT at the retirement ·home for leading­ edge publications And justthink, now you won 't have to take black and white film on your vacation anymore for those Landmark Photos! Here is a sample of what to expect in the first edition of ZQ: Steve Meretzky will enter­ tain you with the first in a series of open-ended interactive sto­ ries. In each issue of ZQ, Steve