Dungeons of Avalon

Dungeons of Avalon
Developer: Zeret Publishers: CompuTec Verlag (DE), MC Publications (UK) Platform: Amiga Released in UK: June 1992 Released in DE: March 1992 This game has unused areas. This game has unused playable characters. This game has a hidden developer message. This game has unused enemies. This game has unused objects. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused cinematics. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences. This game has unusual dummy files. This game has a prototype article This game has a bugs page

Dungeons of Avalon is a German CRPG released as a free coverdisk with the April 1992 issue of Amiga Fun magazine. Following a bootleg English translated release by cracker group Paradise, an official English version was released by UK magazine Amiga Mania. Later that year it received a sequel, Dungeons of Avalon II.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Bugs

Unused Areas

On level 3 of the dungeon, a section of the map is inaccessible. A text message says "THE ROCKS ARE VERY LOOSE HERE!", or in German, "DAS GESTEIN HIER IST VERDAMMT LOSE." In fact, casting the mapping spell Eagles View will reveal that several wall blocks south and west of the message are a different type of stone, and are represented by a different block ID (0x15 instead of 0x16).

However, there is no known way to break down the stone. If you could, it would lead to Switch #5, which opens a path to Chest #2, containing 1000g, a healing potion (anti-poison), and a Key 1. The loose stone block type also appears on dungeon levels 4 and 5, but does not block any areas of the map.

Castle level 2 has a section of breakable walls in the top left corner, which, viewed in a map editor, spell "FINAL". However, it's impossible to see them, since they're not reachable, and are so far away that a mapping spell will not see them.

Unused Characters

The NPC Hanibal can be resurrected from Gnom Bones. However, Gnom Bones do not appear in any chest in the game, making this character unavailable. This may be a bug, as Dwarf Bones appear in two locations.

Hanibal is level 10 with 68 HP and all stats at 60. His character class ID is #9, which according to strings in the alpha build of the game is called Mörder (Murderer). The other two NPCs, Beard and Clint, would be Pirat (Pirate) and Barde (Bard), respectively. There is no XP chart for NPC classes, but NPCs cannot learn spells, level up, or equip items, so their class is irrelevant.

Unused end cutscene

Dungeons of Avalon contains a victory roll and end credits, but due to a major bug it is inaccessible. It can only be viewed by editing the game, such as with the WinUAE debugger or uncompressed save state editing. The final boss is also so difficult as to be unbeatable, but even if defeated, it does not set the flag to show the credits. It can be set manually by searching memory for 011f 051e 081e and replacing it with all zeroes.

The victory screen also contains unique music. Rudolf Stember would go on to write the music for Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny and Mr. Nutz: Hoppin' Mad (Amiga).

A victory text appears in the file S/TXE and S/TXD for English and German, respectively. It is presented below with changes to line-breaks and spacing, but the spelling is original.

English	German
AS YOU BRING THE GOOD MESSAGE TO YOUR KING, HE LOOKS AT YOU. YOU CRY,"THE DARK LORD IS DEAD" BUT THE KING GET ANGRY AND SHOUTS "IF YOU ARE NOT TELLING ME THE TRUTH,I WILL LET KILL YOU. MANY MEN RETAINED THE SAME BUT THEY ARE ALL DEAD. THE WERE ALL GREAT LIARS ! "SHOW ME A EVIDENCE, AND I WILL BELIEF YOU." THE KING GOES ON. THE LEADER OF THE PARTY STEPS FORWARD. HE TAKES OUT FROM THE BAG THE SKULL OF THE DARK LORD. "LOOK MY KING,IS THIS ENOUGHT" HE ANSWERS TO THE WORDS OF THE KING. A LONG SILINCE COVERES THE OLD HALLS. EVERYBODY IS STEARING AT THE PARTY. THE KING ANSWERED REMORSFUL, "ACCEPT MY PARDON HEROS". "SPREAD THE GOOD MESSAGE ALL OVER MY KINGDOM." HE TELLS TO HIS MESSENGERS. "THIS IS A GREAT DAY IN OUR HISTORY." HE COMPLEDET! "THE REWARD BELONGS TO YOUR PARTY." THE LAND IS DEFEATED FROM A EVIL LORD. SEE YOU IN PART 2 OF AVALON ???	ALS IHR DEM KÖNIG DIE NACHRICHT, VOM TOD DES DARK LORD BRINGT, SIEHT ER EUCH NUR UNGLÄUBIG AN.SEIN ALTES GESICHT ERZÜRNT SICH. "DAS HABEN VOR EUCH SCHON VIELE BEHAUPTET. DIESE LÜGNER WOLLTEN SICH NUR DIE BELOHNUNG HOLEN. ICH HABE ZWAR NICHT MEHR VIEL MACHT, ABER NOCH GENUG, UM EUCH FÜR EURE LÜGEN BESTRAFEN ZU LASSEN.", SCHALLT DIE TIEFE STIMME DES KÖNIGS DURCH DIE HALLEN. "HABT IHR EINEN BEWEIS FÜR EURE BEHAUPTUNG ?", FRAGT DER KÖNIG MIT EINER LAUTEN STIMME. "JA MEIN KÖNIG", SAGT DER ANFÜHRER EURER GRUPPE. ER ZIEHT DEN LEBLOSEN SCHÄDEL DES DARK LORDS AUS DEM SACK HERVOR, UND LEGT IHN AUF DEN TISCH DES KÖNIGS. EINE GROßE STILLE ERFÜLLT DIE HALLE UND ALLE BLICKE BÜNDELN SICH AUF DEM SCHÄDEL. DIE STILLE WIRD DURCH EIN RAUNEN UNTERBROCHEN. BLICKE,VOLLER BEWUNDERUN, RICHTEN SICH AUF EUCH. DIE TIEFE KLARE STIMME DES KÖNIGS SETZT DEM RAUNEN EIN ENDE, "VERZEIHT MIR MEINE SKEPSIS. WIR SIND EUCH ALLE ZU DANK VERPFLICHTET. ALS DANK FÜR EURE TAT BEKOMMT JEDER VON EUCH 20.000 GOLDSTÜCKE. BILDER VON EUCH SOLLEN AB HEUTE DIESE HALLE HIER ZIEREN. LASST DIE GUTE KUNDE IM GANZEN KÖNIGREICH VERKÜN DEN." – THE END?? –
--- CREDITS : --- IDEA BY ZERET (C)1991 CODE AND GRAFIX HAKAN AKBIYIK MONSTER GRAFIX KLAUS EHRHARTD MUSIC AND SOUND RUDOLF STEMBER LEVELDESIGN THOMAS JAKOWATZ MONSTER SKETCHES: DONE BY FRANK MATZKE BUG HUNTING CHRISTIAN AWIZIO SPECIAL THANX TO: A.U.D.I.O.S. FOR THE TFMX. THOMAS SCHOLL HISOFT FOR THE DEVPAC ASS. MICHAEL NIEDECKEN FOR SOME INFOS. TO THE DEVELOPER OF THE AMIGA. ZERET ARE : HAKAN AKBIYIK CHRISTIAN AWIZIO RUDOLF STEMBER ANDRE WILLMS LOOK OUT FOR OTHER PRODUCTS FROM ZERET (C)91/92 BY ZERET	--- CREDITS : --- IDEA BY ZERET (C)1991 CODE AND GRAFIX HAKAN AKBIYIK MONSTER GRAFIX KLAUS EHRHARTD MUSIC AND SOUND RUDOLF STEMBER LEVELDESIGN THOMAS JAKOWATZ MONSTER SKETCHES DONE BY FRANK MATZKE BUG HUNTING CHRISTIAN AWIZIO SPECIAL THANX TO: A.U.D.I.O.S. FOR THE TFMX. THOMAS SCHOLL HISOFT FOR THE DEVPAC ASS. MICHAEL NIEDECKEN FOR SOME INFOS. TO THE DEVELOPER OF THE AMIGA. ----------------- ZERET ARE : HAKAN AKBIYIK CHRISTIAN AWIZIO RUDOLF STEMBER ANDRE WILLMS LOOK OUT FOR OTHER PRODUCTS FROM ZERET ----------------- (C)1991 BY ZERET!

Unused Traps

Traps #4 and #9 are unused. However, they appear to be duplicates of Traps #5 and #10, respectively, or at least variants which use the same text.

Trap ID	German	English
0x04	GIFTPFEILE KOMMEN AUF EUCH ZUGESCHOSSEN.	POISENED ARROWS HITS THE PARTY .
0x09	EINE FALLTÜRE ÖFFNET SICH UNTER EUCH.	A TRAPDOOR OPENS UNDER YOU .

Hidden Devmessages

An unobtainable Scroll 4 reads "BUY AVALON II, IT'LL BE BETTER!" In German, Schriftrolle 4 reads "KAUFE DIR AVALON II" ("Buy Avalon II"). The chest which contains it was never added to the map, perhaps, ironically, because the game was rushed.

The Paradise bootleg translation release starts with the hidden string "Paradise Rules>                        ".

Debug Features

Pressing "G" while in the Adventurer's Guild brings up a Monster Gallery feature. Left and right on the keyboard scrolls through the graphics, and spacebar quits. Dummy images and unused monsters are visible.

Unused monsters and monster art

A large number of monsters appear in the first Dungeons of Avalon which are completely inaccessible through normal gameplay, as they do not appear on any encounter tables. Several use unique graphics which are not used for any other monster. Additionally, there are pieces of art which are not used for any monster.

Most of the cut monsters or graphics re-appear in some form in Dungeons of Avalon II.

Number	Image	Notes
00		Dummy image.
09		Dummy image.
10		Thorndragon.
14		Green Dragon, Dragon. Re-uses the NPC dragon Elistaire graphic.
15		Unused graphic.
16		Great Spider. Re-uses the Spider graphic.
18		Vampire.
20		Phantom.
21		Master Mage. Re-uses the Magician graphic.
22		Ninja. Re-uses the Silver Ninja graphic.
23		Woodoo Man.
25		Devil.
26		Alien.
27		Unused graphic.
29		Unused graphic.
30		Blue Dragon.
35		Unused graphic.
36		Unused graphic.
37		Unused graphic.

Unused Items

The following items appear in the game, but are not obtainable by any means. Some later appear in the game's sequel. The sprites for Kel's Crossbow, Stone-Ring, Silver-Ring, Chest, and unidentified items are completely unused.

ID	Sprite	German	English	Notes
0x00		UNBEKANNT	UNKNOWN	Not an item, but a dummy title used for unidentified items. However, no unidentified items appear in the dungeon in the first Dungeons of Avalon, so the question mark sprite is unused. If it could be instantiated, its stats allow it to be wielded as a weapon dealing 3 damage. Technically uses item sprite 0x00, a blank tile, and normally represents an empty item slot.
0x12		TODESBLITZ	DEADLY FLASH	Spell scroll. For all the spells on this list, the spells can be cast by player characters, but scrolls cannot be found.
0x16		KEL`S ARMBRUST	KEL`S CROSSBOW	A ranged weapon which can be wielded by Fighter, Knight, Hunter, and Healer. Deals 10 damage and adds +4 Attack. Kel's Arrows can be found in a chest on the top floor of Rhateph's Castle, but not the bow. This is the only item which uses this sprite, so it's an unused graphic.
0x1b		STEINRING	STONE-RING	Adds +1 attack and can be used to cast Medusas Eye. Holds 5 charges. Known in the alpha build as Ghal's Ring. This is the only item which uses this sprite, so it's an unused graphic. The Bee-Ring is the only ring slot item in the game.
0x1c		SILBERRING	SILVER-RING	Adds +1 armor, and can be used to cast Silver Speer. Holds 15 charges. Known in the alpha build as Perl's Ring. This is the only item which uses this sprite, so it's an unused graphic.
0x2c		TRUHE	CHEST	An item which can be sold for cash. None of these appear in the first Dungeons of Avalon.
0x33		SCHRIFTROLLE 4	SCROLL 4	A scroll which reads "BUY AVALON II, IT'LL BE BETTER!" In German, it reads "KAUFE DIR AVALON II" ("Buy Avalon II").
0x35		ANTISTEIN	RESTONE	Spell scroll.
0x37		EISATEM	ICE BREATH	Spell scroll.
0x39		HEILUNG II	HEALING II	Spell scroll.
0x3b		HEXERRÜSTUNG	MAGIC ARMOUR	Spell scroll.
0x3e		GNOMSCHÄDEL	GNOM BONES	A set of bones which can be used to raise the NPC Hanibal. He is level 10, has 68 HP, and all stats are 60. Perhaps his omission is a bug, since there is a duplicate Dwarf Bones.
0x4b		VOGELBLICK	BIRDS VIEW	Spell scroll.
0x4c		-----	-----	Dummy item. Would function as Key 7.
0x4d		-----	-----	Dummy item. Would function as Key 8.
0x4e		-----	-----	Dummy item. Would function as scroll 0xff.
0x4f		LINKS	LEFT	Dummy item representing an empty left hand holding no weapon.
0x50		RECHTS	RIGHT	Dummy item representing an empty right hand holding no weapon.

In addition to the aforementioned unreachable Chest #2 on Dungeon level 3, several chests appear in the list of chests, but were never placed in the map, making them inaccessible. Several of the unavailable items (marked in bold) are only placed in these chests.

ID	Level	Chest ID	Status	Contents
#48	Castle 1	Chest 1	Closed	Key 4, Fire Shield, Stone-Ring, Scroll 4, Kel's Arrows, Healing Potion x2, Healing Potion (anti-poison) x3
#49	Castle 1	Chest 2	Closed	Key 4, Healing Potion x2, and Healing Potion (anti-poison) x2
#50	Castle 1	Chest 3	Closed	Key 4, Antipoisen spell, Silver-Ring
#51	Castle 2	Chest 0	Open	Eagles View spell
#52	Castle 2	Chest 1	Closed	Eagles View spell
#54	Castle 2	Chest 3	Closed	Eagles View spell
#55	Castle 2	Chest 4	Open	Healing Potion x2
#56	Castle 2	Chest 5	Closed	Healing Potion x2
#57	Castle 2	Chest 6	Small explosion trap	Empty
#58	Castle 2	Chest 7	Cold wave trap	Empty
#59	Castle 3	Chest 0	Open	Arc's Axe, Arc's Sword, Arc's Boolas, Killersword

Unused Text

Text	English	German
Dungeon 3 text #3	DEAD END.	DEAD END.(SACKGASSE)
Castle 1 question #0	WHAT DID A KING WEAR?	WAS IST EINES KÖNIGS INSIGNIE ?
Castle 1 answer #0	CRONE	KRONE
Castle 4 question 0	RÄTSEL 00	RÄTSEL 00
Castle 4 answer 0	LÖSUNG 00	LÖSUNG 00
	USED A RUNE,	BENUTZT EINE RUNE
	MONSTERY GALLERY!	MONSTER GALLERY!

The text "USED A RUNE," refers to a mechanic mentioned in the game's manual, where player characters would be able to learn to read runes. The final game did not have this feature, and mentions of it were removed from the game's sequel.

A string "MONSTER GALLERY!" appears in the list of strings used for the main town menu, suggesting that it was to be available, perhaps as a reward for completing the game, as in the sequel. However, the menu entry is unused.

Regional differences

There are four main versions of the first Dungeons of Avalon:

• An alpha build dated 8 May 1991, a cracked version of which was released on 1 October 1991 by Skidrow. Apparently a leaked build, but how it was leaked is unknown.
• The German release, distributed as a free coverdisk with Amiga Fun magazine, published by CompuTec Verlag.
• The official English translation, distributed in the UK as a free coverdisk with issue 4 of Amiga Mania magazine, published by MC Publications. Based on build timestamps, both the German and English versions were produced by the same developer at the same time, although the German release happened to occur first.
• A bootleg English translation released by group Paradise, who were evidently unaware that an official English translation was forthcoming. Identifiable by the text "PARADISE 92". Bizarrely, Amiga Mania issue 4 includes screenshots from this pirate version of the game. Due to the lack of English manual to explain the game's provenance, this version was accidentally distributed by public domain software companies as freeware.

Like many Amiga games, various pirate versions were also distributed, including cracktros, trainers, or small changes to the save files.

The German version of the game included a comprehensive 4,575 word German-language manual describing the game's lore and gameplay. This was removed from the English release, presumably since the developers were unable to translate it into English on time.

The manual includes a backstory explaining the rise of the evil magician Rhateph, who took control of the kingdom of Avalon and covered it in snow. A party of five heroes have gathered to recover the rune of the good sorcerer Arakus, hidden in the dungeons, which holds the key to defeating Rhateph. The backstory alludes to two features removed from the alpha version: a graphical effect where snow appears on the mountains; and the party size of 5, which was increased to 6 in the final release.

A few additional details appear in the German game text which aren't mentioned in English, such as how the good wizard Kham's party were killed after being led into an ambush by a traitor, and the name of the rune is the Rune of Hakan, after the game's programmer.

A bug occurs on dungeon level 5 in the English version only, due to a missing floor text line, causing three texts to be off by one. They appear in the north-south corridor between the ice floor room and the room full of monster encounters.

The bootleg English release by Paradise is based on an early pirate release by another group, Tequila. It describes itself as "Dungeons of Avalon I V1.0E". The translation is full of spelling errors, although to be fair, the official translation is also full of different spelling errors. The executable, which was compressed from 119KB to 62KB to fit on disk, had to be uncompressed in order to edit it. To make room, various files were deleted, including one copy of the dungeon map file, which the translators probably assumed was an unused duplicate. This leads to a bug where the dungeon is empty on a new game, although loading a save game allows play as normal.