A-Rogue
     BY ROBERT JUNG
     From the May '87 ANTIC
     (synopsis)
     As far as Antic knows, this is the first 8-bit Atari
version of Rogue -- one of the famed early graphic adventure
games on mainframe computers.  This BASIC program works on
8-bit Atari computers with minimum 48K memory and disk drive.
     Rogue is among the earliest and most famous adventure
games developed on mainframe computers by anonymous
programmers fooling around after official work hours.  Rogue
went beyond the all-text "Original Adventure" format and used
simple character graphics to create an addictive fantasy
role-playing dungeon treasure-hunt.
     After I played Rogue on a mainframe at the University of
Southern California, the idea of an Atari 8-bit version
challenged me.  So, after many weeks of writing and
debugging, the result is A-Rogue.  While it's not a
full-scale copy, it retains the fun and excitement of the
original.  And it is the only version of Rogue for the 8-bit
Atari that I know of.
     GETTING STARTED
     Download AROGUE.ARC. ARC (short for ARChive) describes
a single file which contains one or more compressed files.
In this case, AROGUE.ARC contains two files-- a compressed
version of AROGUE.BAS (the main program) and a compressed
version of AROGUE.CHR (a redefined character set).
     Use the ARC programs in the Atari 8-bit forum in Data
Library 3 to separate and decompress these files.
(At the DL3! prompt, type BRO/KEY ARC to find the ARC
programs and all necessary instructions.)
     BEFORE YOU BEGIN
     Make sure both AROGUE.BAS and AROGUE.CHR are on the
same disk. Now you can RUN AROGUE.BAS and descend into the
dungeon.
     PLAYING ROGUE
     Your roguish mission is to go through the dungeon and
find the Jewel of Taldra.  Naturally, there's a whole horde
of creepy monsters out to stop you.  Worse, you also have
cursed weapons and deadly potions to worry about -- and make
sure you don't starve to death.
     But first you'll be prompted to type the name of your
own rogue, up to 20 characters long.  Then you'll see "LOAD A
GAME?"  Since this is your opening game, press [N].  The
first level of the dungeon will then be generated in a minute
or so.  You start the game with a handaxe, leather armor, two
rations of food and a handful of spells.  More equipment is
in the dungeon for you to find.
     You're represented by the small square on the map of the
level, which is under a display with commands and the current
dungeon level.  You only see a small part of the dungeon at
first, but you uncover more by exploring.  The dungeon is
made of hallways and rooms.  One of the rooms contains a set
of stairs down to the next level and you can't leave until
you find it.
     ROGUE COMMANDS
     [Arrow Keys] move you through the dungeon.  Sorry, your
joystick won't work with this game.  You only need to type
the first letter of the following commands.
     [I]nventory shows your status.  A sample display would
be:  Health <15> 13;  Food 2;  Gold 54;  Armor, Leather;
Weapon, Handaxe;  Health 1:  Teleport 1;  Fireball 2.  Most
of this information is self-explanatory.  The number in
brackets is your endurance (the maximum health you can have),
and next to it is your actual health.
     [R]est gives you one health point for each rest turn.
Don't rest too long, or a monster might attack.
     [E]at nourishes you with a ration of food.
     [D]ownstairs brings you down to the next level.  Be
careful, after you descend, you can't go back up.
     [C]ast Spell launches one of the magic spells in your
inventory.  (See below).
     [S]ave your current game, using the name you gave.
Games are saved in a file, ARSAVE, which A-Rogue will create
if needed.  Any earlier games are replaced and only one game
can be saved on each A-Rogue disk.
     [L]oad an earlier game.  Once loaded, the file is
deleted so you can't use it again.  If there is no saved game
on disk, the load will cancel.
     [Q]uit stops the current game.  If you want to play
later, use [S]ave instead.
     FIGHTING
     No matter what you do, sooner or later a fight breaks
out.  Blow-by-blow descriptions appear at the bottom of the
screen.  At each combat turn, you'll see a fight prompt --
[A]ttack the monster, [W]ithdraw (try to escape), or [C]ast a
magic spell.
     [H]ealth shows how much health you have at the moment.
If this falls to zero, you die.  The fight continues until
someone dies, or you escape.
     MAGIC
     There are three kinds of spells in A-Rogue, and you can
cast them any time you have one in your inventory.  A Heal
spell restores you to your maximum endurance level.  A
Teleport moves you from one part of the dungeon to another.
A Fireball spell is best for fights:  it automatically hits
the monster -- and hurts.  You start with one of each spell,
and you find more later.
     There are also magic potions.  Each color potion has
different powers.  You can't keep potions:  you must either
drink them immediately or they disappear.  Approach them with
caution, and remember what each color stands for.  For
example, if you find a green potion that heals, then other
green potions also heal.
     ARMING YOURSELF
     If you find armor or a weapon, you must either take it
now, or kiss it goodbye forever.  If you take it, you lose
your old item.
     You'll find magic weapons in the lower levels.  The only
way to tell if a weapon is magic is to take it and then use
[I]nventory to check.  Magic weapons will have a +1 or +2 on
the end.  Sometimes the magic is evil, and a weapon is cursed
-- you can't hit a monster with it.  The only way to get rid
of it is to find another weapon.
     FINISHING THE GAME
     A game ends when you die in battle, starve, [Q]uit, or
you find the Jewel of Taldra.  In any case, you'll be asked
"ANOTHER GAME?"  Press [Y] to play again or [N] to stop
playing.
     A-Rogue may seem impossible to finish, but it can be
done.  I've finished it myself -- once or twice.
     (bio)
     Robert Jung currently studies computer science at the
University of Southern California.  He's also a sysop of the
O-Mayer V bulletin board, (213) 732-0229.

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