Return of the Ring

[Alastair]

Re. the rewritten version, to be honest the version on this site works fine, it's just that some of us (well one of us, well er.. okay me) was too hasty in "inserting" the cassette image.

[snarkhunter]

The issue I'm having is far from this...

After loading, I do have the well known "load/create" screen. But there's already some "garbage" data near the top of the display. Then, when I try to type "2" to create a new character, the game crashes and the emulation performs a "cold reset"...

I tried this with the patched 1.1C rom.

... And ain't I stupid indeed? I guess this game will only work under standard emulation, i.e. without any DOS loaded.

(yes : it does work now - thanks guys!)

But could anyone remind me of the game's commands, please? Especially the ones that are used to "enter" (or whatever it is) the teleporters...

[Duncan]

Game Commands are Act activate transporters, TRA to transact with shop keepers or other characters, (including mutants and some forest moon beasts), full directions from the inlay card can be found in downloads>manuals>wintersoft- return of the ring. May luck travel your path .... !!

[Alastair]

But could anyone remind me of the game's commands, please? Especially the ones that are used to "enter" (or whatever it is) the teleporters...

I'm repeating what Duncan said, but the URL is
http://archive.worldofdragon.org/archiv ... r=Manuals/

[snarkhunter]

Thank you very much, Alastair : I've just bookmarked this URL...

[snarkhunter]

Thanks to the link provided by Alastair yesterday, I could load this game, then start a new game. I couldn't get very far, though : after finding a transporter that did not require any pass, I pressed a key when instructed to do so, then "inserted" the 3rd part of the tape... and it loaded forever, so I eventually decided to end the emulation.

Perhaps it wasn't the proper part to insert. Anyway, I believe I wouldn't have lasted very long while out on the moon, that is, without any weapon or shield as a protection.

But does it feel strange indeed to see these screens again after such a long time. I played and completed this game when it was released, which should be somewhere around 1984-85 if I remember well.

I was wondering whether or not someone would still consider playing such old-style computer games nowadays, because they were quite slow-paced, and yet with plenty of time spent on purposeless tasks and endless mazes that were put in only for the sake of having one waste even more time.

And yet, back in the early and mid-80's, that sure was great fun! I really felt like an adventurer while playing. And indeed, a genuine adventurer I was!

And playing the Wintersoft "trilogy" of adventure games (i.e. "TROD", "ROTR", then "Juxtaposition") is one of the most memorable time of my early years as - kind of - a "computer freak". Every single one of these games was also an absolute technical tour de force, given the characteristics of the machine it was designed for.

I think this has already been discussed in an old thread about one's favourite adventure games (on the old forum), but there was no actual need for brilliant graphics or multi-processor pyrotechnics, when everything one actually needed was a good storyline and some imagination.

Thanks to all the people who gave us just that : you ARE unsung heroes...

[snarkhunter]

After retrying once more this evening, and with the "revised" files, it appears that the "Moon" part of the game crashes right away after loading : sudden garbage (text mode) all over the screen & "Moon" was loaded from file "return.cas"...

[Alastair]

Thanks to the link provided by Alastair yesterday, I could load this game, then start a new game. I couldn't get very far, though : after finding a transporter that did not required any pass, I pressed a key when instructed to do so, then "inserted" the 3rd part of the tape... and it loaded forever, so I eventually decided to end the emulation.

Perhaps it wasn't the proper part to insert. Anyway, I believe I wouldn't have lasted very long while out on the moon, that is, without any weapon or shield as a protection.

Leave RETURN2.CAS "inserted" as it also contains the forest moon section, then for the return trip "re-insert" RETURN2.CAS when the game tells you to press play - not when the game tells you to rewind the tape. RETURN3.CAS contains the end game.

Yep, you're right about not being able to survive for any length of time on the moon, you have to reach level 2 first before you can buy a breather mask.

I think this has already been discussed in an old thread about one's favourite adventure games (on the old forum), but there was no actual need for brilliant graphics or multi-processor pyrotechnics, when everything one actually needed was a good storyline and some imagination.

Thanks to all the people who gave us just that : you ARE unsung heroes...

Whatever happened to the people at Wintersoft? Whatever happened to everyone else involved with the Dragon for that matter?

[snarkhunter]

Thanks to the link provided by Alastair yesterday, I could load this game, then start a new game. I couldn't get very far, though : after finding a transporter that did not required any pass, I pressed a key when instructed to do so, then "inserted" the 3rd part of the tape... and it loaded forever, so I eventually decided to end the emulation.

Perhaps it wasn't the proper part to insert. Anyway, I believe I wouldn't have lasted very long while out on the moon, that is, without any weapon or shield as a protection.

Leave RETURN2.CAS "inserted" as it also contains the forest moon section, then for the return trip "re-insert" RETURN2.CAS when the game tells you to press play - not when the game tells you to rewind the tape. RETURN3.CAS contains the end game.

Yep, you're right about not being able to survive for any length of time on the moon, you have to reach level 2 first before you can buy a breather mask.

Yes, it worked perfectly this way. Thank you very much once again!
And I'm so glad I could die again in the Moon forest after only a few steps!

Whatever happened to the people at Wintersoft? Whatever happened to everyone else involved with the Dragon for that matter?

I'm afraid I couldn't tell about the "Wintersoft" people...
But we already know that former "Dragon people" like Scott Adams, Ken Kalish or Bob Withers, are still alive and doing well.