Repton 3... screens :)

Moist_Mog · Post by **Moist_Mog** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:58 pm

OK... not sure if this should go here or in the suggestions area... please move if needs be

I've got quite a number of screens I designed for R3 way back in the 80s and was wondering if anyone else did the same... I can't finish all the screens I created myself, even though I remember testing them fully at the time.

If so... it'd be interesting to see other people's efforts. Maybe this could be a sub-section in the downloads area... perhaps alongside user-created levels for other games...?

MM

CMcDougall · Post by **CMcDougall** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:30 pm

there use to be some on 8bs.com too.

if u want to change them from beeb<>electron, so ere

http://www.stairwaytohell.com/sthforums ... .php?t=618

AJW · Post by **AJW** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:16 am

MM- can you post them to www.acornarcade.com ? They have an emulation section.

Tallulah · Post by **Tallulah** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:26 pm

I used to do that as a kid! Unfortunately, all my efforts have been lost to the mists of time, but I used to make the first two screens nice and challenging, then get bored and make the remainder of the screens impossibly easy!

I used to make Repton appear with no clothes on, in my sick, twisted ten-year-old mind!

What? Lizards don't wear clothes!

saucepn · Post by **saucepn** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 1:21 pm

MM, I'd be really interested in having a look at those levels!

I just launched a Repton remake written in Javascript as a widget for the Opera browser (http://widgets.opera.com/widget/6051) and would like to be able to offer some original levels as well.

I'd be happy to do the work transcribing them from BBC format to my own XML format, if you would be happy for me to use them. Levels get uploaded to a central web server, so everyone with the widget can access them immediately.

And of course, if anyone else reading this thread has anything they'd like to contribute, I'd be very happy indeed to make use of them!
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Moist_Mog · Post by **Moist_Mog** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:53 pm

OK...

At the moment I've got most of them on tape and a few on 5.25" disc... I assume these could all theoretically be transferred...?

Think it'd probably be good for me to test them again myself... I last loaded them up a few years ago now and there were a few definite errors... blocked off diamonds etc... and a few other bits I couldn't do... but that may just be me rather than the levels themselves...!

Would you need copies of the original tapes?

Footie · Post by **Footie** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:11 pm

Moist_Mog wrote: If so... it'd be interesting to see other people's efforts. Maybe this could be a sub-section in the downloads area... perhaps alongside user-created levels for other games...?

Myself, my brother and my sister all did new screens for Repton 3 when we played the game a lot. I have put them on my website at:
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mjfoot/bbc.htm

They are in a archive called MScreen which can be downloaded from the bottom of the page.

Cheers,

Mike.

Cybershark · Post by **Cybershark** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 5:34 am

Tallulah wrote:I used to do that as a kid! Unfortunately, all my efforts have been lost to the mists of time, but I used to make the first two screens nice and challenging, then get bored and make the remainder of the screens impossibly easy!

lol, same.

i had a set called 'kitchen' full of milkbottles, cupboards and suchlike but it was nothing to write home about

i'd be more interested in seeing if there's any more attempts at new concepts which people wangled out of Repton Infinity. i know there's a Pacman and a couple more out there on PD discs at least.

sentinel · Post by **sentinel** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 10:13 pm

I made a repton "sequel" called Repton at the Movies, there was horror, James Bond (spirit was Oddjobs bowler hat!), star trek (fungus was tribbles), superhero and dirty dancing (ok that one's a joke). But I never designed much actual levels for them. Lost the data on the disc, along with my exile and elite saves... (why I didn't back it up I still don't understand)

jonwiththewind · Post by **jonwiththewind** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 1:57 am

RE: Footies post (about 3 posts up).

How do I load your screens "into" Repton 3 ?

I'm sure there's a simple way, but i haven't figured it out yet.

I'm currently re-working a set of repton screens I did 15 years ago (!)
Hope to put them online when I've finished. Exciting, or what?

aferenbach · Post by **aferenbach** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 11:22 am

Hi All

I just have to ask - where can I find games written for Repton Infinity?

Does anyone remember in the Micro user they had a competition and the winner was called "Nectar Collector" which looked jaw droppingly awesome but as I did not subscribe to the disc that came with it I had no chance of laying hands on it.

OR any others, weblinks would be lovely

Andrew

Dave_E · Post by **Dave_E** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 1:45 pm

Hi there,

There were a load of games produced by Repton fans. They're scattered throughout the PD archives - one day I might get around to getting them all together and making them into their own archive.

NECTAR COLLECTOR wasn't released by The Micro User. However, it was released as a PD game by BBC PD (one of their very last discs to come out):

http://www.acornelectron.co.uk/haven/cats/bbcpd_o.html

It is disc no. 170.

The other ones that spring to mind were:

BRICKIE, KWAK!, PAC MAN, PAC MAN 2, STONE WALL & STONE WALL 2 which were produced by Headfirst PD. The official versions have not yet been recovered - you can see them advertised in the HeadFirst catalogues preserved at:

http://www.acornelectron.co.uk/haven/ca ... first.html

Fortunately, they submitted the finished versions to EUG and the games were published in EUG #21, available at:

http://www.acornelectron.co.uk/haven/cats/eug.html

There was also REPTON 5, which was produced by Dominic Ford. The Electron version has survived, and is also available in the EUG catalogue (EUG #26):

http://www.acornelectron.co.uk/haven/cats/eug.html

There was a BBC version as well which I gather was submitted to Solinet, so if anyone's got the Solinet discs they might be able to slip it to you.

The rest of the discs, well you'll have to traverse Chris' old 8BS catalogues - just do a search on the word "Repton"!

These things are more rewarding if you have to search for them anyway!!

If you end up playing any of them in any detail, I would be grateful to have a review of them for the Acorn Electron World site!

Good luck, Dave E

jonwiththewind · Post by **jonwiththewind** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:01 pm

Sorry to repeat my question from earlier (but I'm worried it might get forgotten with all that fabulous info from Dave!!)

How do I load the screens from
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mjfoot/bbc/MScreen.zip

into BeebEm when I've got "Repton 3" running? Cheers..

I can load up .ssd files no problem. Just can't seem to get .inf files to work....

sorvad · Post by **sorvad** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:50 pm

Extract the files from the zip file to a normal folder on your PC.

Use a disk image creation program like Jon Welch's DFS Explorer (scroll down to the Utilities by Jon Welch section) or my DFS Manager.

Copy the files you extracted to a new disk image (.ssd) in one of these progs. (You can just drag and drop.

Then you can load that as a disk into BeebEM by using the "Load Disc" menu item (best select 0). The use whatever menu options you need to in Repton to load the levels.

Hope that's a little clearer than mud !

aferenbach · Post by **aferenbach** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:17 am

Hi there

first - great news that I can finally give nectar collector a bash. Also was wondering, the Repton infinity screens archived at the Acorn Electron world, can they be played on BBC version, or should I grab an electron emulator for them?

Also I would be honoured to review them for you, now I just need to find some spare time to do so

Andrew

regregex · Post by **regregex** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 12:38 pm

By pure coincidence, I was wondering where I could find documentation on Repton Infinity so I could knock together a version of Sokoban... if it hasn't been done already. Thanks for the PD links, I'll quickly scan for mentions in any software catalogues.

(Hint: It's a Repton-like puzzle game where you push boxes around a room onto designated target squares.)

--Greg

aferenbach · Post by **aferenbach** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 1:29 pm

ah, that was out for the gameboy wasn't it? or the concept and the name sounds familiar.

jonwiththewind · Post by **jonwiththewind** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:12 pm

Thanks for the advice Sorvad!

Jon Welch's DFS Manager worked a charm -
and as if to prove it (if proof be need be) I have made Mike (Footie)'s repton screens available as an ssd file to download at:

http://www.kershawmusic.net/bbcmicro/mscreen.ssd
(Hope this is of interest to other people)!

You can find passwords here:
http://www.kershawmusic.net/bbcmicro/ms ... swords.htm

but try and have a proper go before resorting to them

PS - Mike, if you're not happy for me to have done this, let me know and I'll take the file down.

Dave_E · Post by **Dave_E** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:31 pm

It's so nice to know that NO-ONE ever visits any of the instruction manual and docs archives that I have laboured so hard to put up for people...

Everything you always wanted to know about REPTON INFINITY is at:

http://www.acornelectron.co.uk/haven/ca ... .html#rep7

As are instructions for almost every game ever written for the Acorn Electron. So's if anyone's looking for anything that was written for the BBC, it's always worth checking...!

Dave Footitt · Post by **Dave Footitt** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:19 pm

Just checked the site, I like the idea of putting quotes to retro images, great stuff!

sorvad · Post by **sorvad** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:33 pm

Dave_E,

Acorn Electron World is great, I do visit it, especially for the hardware section and have downloaded PDF manuals from there for various items.

Thanks for what you do.

$\:D/$

AJW · Post by **AJW** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:06 pm

I haven't got Repton Infinity, do those Repton 5 files work with the BBC version? Also, are they standalone or do you need RI?

Dave_E · Post by **Dave_E** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:10 pm

I'm afraid the REPTON 5 stuff doesn't work on the BBC. You need to download REPTON INFINITY and then load the individual levels into them. It's not particularly difficult.

I do recall, way back in the mists of time, that one of the EUG members wrote to me and said that he had received much updated *BBC* versions of Dominic Ford's REPTON 5 game, but because we were an Electron group at the time I did not ask him to donate them. (Sorry Beeb fans!) The member was Richard Dimond. His address might be in one of the old disc-based magazines. If you really want to do some prospecting, you could download one of the EUG mags he contributed to and write to him, ask him if he's still got it. Dominic Ford, the actual author, dropped out of the BBC scene a long time ago...!

Moist_Mog · Post by **Moist_Mog** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:59 pm

I'll get round to putting mine on soon... been going through them recently and getting stuck... and I'm sure they were all possible 20 years ago...

jonwiththewind · Post by **jonwiththewind** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 3:44 pm

D'ya know Moggie, I am having exactly the same experience as you!

Greg "the legend" Cook has very kindly converted all my 20year old disks for me (including my fondly-remembered repton screens).

I've now spent most evenings playtesting the screens and "improving" them, but I was surprised by how most of them were very buggy - almost exactly as I remember them, but difficult/impossible to finish.

I have played a few of Mike (Footie)'s screens (Mscreen) - see earlier - and there are definitely some unfinishable screens there. Mainly, it has to be said, down to some spirits which are going round and round in circles.

Could it be a glitch with the emulator that I'm using (BeebEm)???

BTW - when I submit my screens I won't be providing passwords

Much more of a challenge, dontchathink?

I may even be offering a prize to the first person to succesfully complete the screens. $\:D/$ Anyone have any idea how I can stop people cheating? - I suspect the answer is a resounding "no"!

AJW · Post by **AJW** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:44 pm

Dave_E wrote:I'm afraid the REPTON 5 stuff doesn't work on the BBC. You need to download REPTON INFINITY and then load the individual levels into them. It's not particularly difficult.

I do recall, way back in the mists of time, that one of the EUG members wrote to me and said that he had received much updated *BBC* versions of Dominic Ford's REPTON 5 game, but because we were an Electron group at the time I did not ask him to donate them. (Sorry Beeb fans!) The member was Richard Dimond. His address might be in one of the old disc-based magazines. If you really want to do some prospecting, you could download one of the EUG mags he contributed to and write to him, ask him if he's still got it. Dominic Ford, the actual author, dropped out of the BBC scene a long time ago...!

That is a shame! I'm assuming the Electron version is in a different mode or smoething like that?

jonwiththewind · Post by **jonwiththewind** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 2:13 am

It's 2am and I really should be in bed now.

but it's been worth it because I have finally finished improving and playtesting my repton screens.

I'm pretty chuffed with them!

Let me know how you get on:

http://www.kershawmusic.net/bbcmicro/Jo ... creens.ssd

The file containing the screens is just called JON.

For some unknown (to me) reason the disk only seems to load properly when BeebEm is emulating a Master. I get a disk error if it's emulating a BBC B.
Anyone know why?

sorvad · Post by **sorvad** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 1:50 pm

Is your Beeb set to use 8271 floppy disk controller ? The Master used 1770

billcarr2005 · Post by **billcarr2005** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 2:05 pm

Just managed to finish level one, after a few attempts... a well crafted level! I'll persevere and look at the others later

What error message are you receiving?
Do you get the same error using this disk image?
http://www.billcarr2004.plus.com/Repton3.ssd

jonwiththewind · Post by **jonwiththewind** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 3:48 pm

Hi guys,

Sorry if I was unclear.

There is no problem loading and running the Repton 3 program itself.

The problem comes when BeebEm is emulating a BBC B, and I load the Jon_Repton_Screens.ssd file into memory. When I press "L" in the Repton Program and type "JON" to load the repton screens into memory I get a message saying "not found".

Yet, when I do the exact same thing whilst emulating a Master, it works fine!!

@ Bill - Glad to hear you're having fun. Screens A, B and C are challenging but reasonably logical. From there on it, it gets steadily more hellish.

I haven't managed to complete the last 2 screens without using "save state" yet. I know it is possible to do all 8 without losing a life, but only just..

http://www.kershawmusic.net/bbcmicro/Jo ... creens.ssd

stardot.org.uk

Repton 3... screens :)

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