I don't know if I'm weird or if it's just normal to get random reverse engineering urges.
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I tried using UNP again: it throw a memory error from AXE.
and I was able to confirm (since I have AXE2.2, the packer used) creates a file that breaks in the same way in UNP.
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I missed that there was a -l option to UNP for bigger memory blocks, which makes it "succeed" at decompressing.
I say "succeed" because running the resulting EXE causes an immediate crash to IBM ROM BASIC NOT AVAILABLE -
I tried doing the same on an IBM XT with actual ROM BASIC but sadly it just hung
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@foone You've see a fan filled-out map though? https://worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/games-maps/e/Echelon.png
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@growf oh, no! I didn't think to check the other versions. Thanks!
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so it turns out there is a filled out map! It's just not for the PC version. I forgot to check ports. This is thanks to @growf who alerted me to it:
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I think the different versions use the same map & puzzle solutions, but I've never tried.
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@foone This shows that the starting map for the C=64 version looks identical to the corresponding sections of the ZX Spectrum version you linked.
https://c64sets.com/echelon/patrol_zone_map_top.jpgSo, yeah, probably the same. Raises the obvious question: Which is the best version to play?
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@SDoleMelipone it's trivially the PC version. The other ports are for computers with less RAM than a chicken nugget
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@foone @SDoleMelipone The C64 version shipped with the Lip Stick, though. This was sold as a sophisticated voice activated system that increased the game's immersion.
It was effectively a Clapper attached to the Joystick 2 fire button.
So, yeah, maybe you're right about the better port...
I recall sending Access a few dollars to get the filled out map, but they'd already gone out of business by then.
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@mdwyer @SDoleMelipone The PC version advertises the Lip Stick in the manual, but I guess they didn't bundle it
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@foone @SDoleMelipone
I wonder how it was implemented there. I don't know if I ever saw dual game ports on the PC. But then, by the time I was looking at PCs, I think it was a feature of sound cards. -
@mdwyer @SDoleMelipone good point, I'm not sure how it worked. Possibly a joystick pass-thru? It'd be dead simple to implement, since there's no "protocol", just a wire you'd need to connect to 5v
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@mdwyer @SDoleMelipone I don't think it'd be a soundcard thing, this game is from 1988, when sound cards weren't yet a thing (but would be soon)
