I have a question about 10-year-old Crimson Spring

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:31 pm

Yeah, I happened to find Robb's Crimson Spring he wrote in 2000 from the IF archive.

I've gotten as far as the Blue Tavern. I have spoken to both of the guys that were there, but I can't find mucous and so I tried hitting green, which started a bar fight and revealed a few more names but killed me. How do I find out who else I can talk to save having to restart the game and remembering to save before hitting the bar (figuratively)?

It may be a bit late to ask, but someone said you never forget what you wrote as far as stories. I think that might be true; I wrote my first book The Gatekeeper: The Gate Contracts some twelve years ago, and if someone picked a page at random, I could probably pretty much tell them exactly what happened and probably quote a good chunk of the dialog verbatim. I've been re-reading it and I am amazed at what I did for a first book. And yet I can't think of a change that would improve the story.

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:37 pm

Now it's even worse. I get back inside the bar and now neither snowman nor green [knight] will talk to me. And it says nothing about anyone else around. I can't leave because things still need to be done, and johnny isn't talking either.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:51 pm

I just want to make sure you are playing the latest version of the game. (You probably are.) It is here:

http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/gam ... courge.zip

That version is probably still rather buggy. :( It's the first game I ever made in Hugo.

Over the last 10 years I've fiddled with updating it. I just looked at the "in-progress" version I have, and Christ, I don't list the characters in the room description for the first room. What an awful mistake.

I think I list the characters in the bar. The villains hanging out there are Snowman, Pounder, the Green Knight, the AIDS Archer and the Iron Lung.

I believe all of them have something to say about the murder.

I know one reviewer said, years ago, that after you talk to everyone, you can't just leave the bar. You HAVE to start a fight. I don't know if I fixed that for the version you have now or not.

I do know that the easiest way to win the fight is to pull the plug out from the Iron Lung. His powers are dependent on electricity. I liked that bit.

Paul, you have encouraged me to finish the updates I had for this game after many years and try to make it an OK game to play after nearly a decade. Thank you, my friend.

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:19 pm

>please offer assistance on Crimson Spring

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:I do know that the easiest way to win the fight is to pull the plug out from the Iron Lung. His powers are dependent on electricity. I liked that bit.

>say "Pull the plug. That's the tip I needed, because it apparently looked like what you said, there's no way out without getting into a fight, and every time I got my ass kicked."

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Thank you, my friend.

>Tdarcos responds in the same fashion
Acknowledged
>

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:38 pm

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Over the last 10 years I've fiddled with updating it. I just looked at the "in-progress" version I have, and Christ, I don't list the characters in the room description for the first room. What an awful mistake.

I have a suggestion for room LightRoom Funeral1 in the long description:

Code: Select all

		else
		&#123;
		"I am before Red Cloud's closed tomb. Rain has started to fall upon the scene, turning this into
		a dark, windy and filthy night.\n"
		
		if Ameba.in_scope = 1 and Succubus.in_scope = 1
		"Ameba, Johnny and the Succubus are here.\n"

		if Ameba.in_scope = 1 and Succubus.in_scope = 0
		"Ameba and Johnny are both still here.\n"

		if Ameba.in_scope = 0 and Succubus.in_scope = 1
		"The Succubus and Johnny are both still here.\n"

		if Ameba.in_scope = 0 and Succubus.in_scope = 0
		"Johnny is still here -- he's giving me a ride when I'm ready to leave the Memorial.\n"

		&#125;

consider the following:

Code: Select all

   local connector
  ...
		else
		&#123;
			"I am before Red Cloud's closed tomb. Rain has started to fall upon the scene, turning this into
			a dark, windy and filthy night.\n"
			connector = 0
		
			if Ameba.in_scope = 1 
			&#123;
				"Ameba"
				connector = 1
			&#125;

			if  Succubus.in_scope = 1
			&#123;
				if connector = 1 
					", "
				"The Succubus"
				connector = 1
			&#125;   

			if connector = 1
				" and Johnny are "	
			else&#58; 
				"Johnny is "
			"still here -- he's giving me a ride when I'm ready to leave the Memorial.\n"
			&#125;
		&#125;

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:55 pm

Something even funnier:

Code: Select all

>change channel
&#40;I flip through the holo's channels...&#41;
'...He beat many linebackers to the corner. He beat the cornerbacks to the end zone. He beat his ex-wife and her boyfriend to death. Don't people go to jail for double homicide?

Not if you're O.J. Simpson.

O.J. Simpson for Coors. And Original Coors.'

"I'll never stop searching for the Real Original Coors."

To:

Code: Select all

>change channel
&#40;I flip through the holo's channels...&#41;
'...He beat many linebackers to the corner. He beat the cornerbacks to the end zone. He beat his ex-wife and her boyfriend to death. Don't people go to jail for double homicide?

Not if you're O.J. Simpson.

But he did end up getting 25 to life for robbing a hotel room in Vegas.  Looks like what you rob in Vegas makes you stay in Vegas.  Or so it was thought.

O.J. Simpson for Coors. And Original Coors.'

"I know I'm supposed to be in jail, but this was so important I had to break out in order to find it.  I'll never stop searching for the Real Original Coors."

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 7:04 pm

Next. Clearly I'm back at my house. I can't leave until I've slept. Can't sleep until The Succubus shows up. She's not here and watching the TV has basically passed all the time I can waste. Waiting doesn't work. Nothing in either bedroom despite claims of scratching...

Nothing under her bed.

This is why I get frustrated, I'm locked here.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 8:06 pm

Understood. This was not coded or clued well. (For what it's worth, everything you are telling me will be addressed in the re-release.)

Can you try >search room from Red Cloud's bedroom?

(This is awful. You should never have to >search room in IF.)

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:20 pm

Got to Haxx0r's house, almost killed, associate helps me, I call a cab. If I go to the cab, Rajib asks me where to go. Am I supposed to drag the two assholes with me, trying 'home' is not a good answer to the cabbie.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:19 pm

I don't think you're supposed to bring 'em with you, nah.

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 4:50 am

Getting in the cab at haxxor's place says I need to say "drive" and a direction. so trying "drive north" tells me I need a verb.

This is the sort of thing that makes me decide the game is too tedious to play.

I hate this.

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 4:53 am

Drop the last; I needed to talk to the cabbie and that worked.

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:25 am

This one I don't like, as I even read the code and can't figure out how I'm supposed to get past this, it looks like there are two of the enemy (copy of the transcript):

Code: Select all

>e

East of the Graveyard
This is the eastern section of the graveyard. From here, I can see that a Water Tower, covered in grafitti, is to the northwest. There are a few tombstones scattered about but really, nothing else of 
note.

Mister Mucous soars over to the eastern section of the grave, presumably looking for me. I'm the only member of the team still on his feet -- although Pabski could be regaining consciousness near 
the Water Tower. It looks like Mucous is carrying some sort of iron cube... now that I look towards the Cemetery entrance, it appears as if he ripped apart the gate!


>hit mucous
Which mucous do you mean, Mister Mucous or Mister Mucous?

>hit mister mucous
Which mister mucous do you mean, Mister Mucous or Mister Mucous?

>mister mucous
You'll have to be a little more specific

I have to try and stop him, or he'll kill me.

Oh. I can talk to Pabski. But how do you get two of mucous?

Tdarcos · Post by **Tdarcos** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:31 am

I got a score of 80. From reading the source to the program - or at least the part of the source that was around, some of the source files are not present - I see there were some side quests I didn't end up at. Something to do with a Klansman and a few other things.

I'm wondering where the other files are, like the ACS, whatever that is.