Ah - the part 2 walkthrough is actually a .docx, so if you rename the file to 'ECHOES 2 - SAHARA SOLUTION.docx' it's readble. I reached the very last stage without it at least, but I missed an object very early on in the game and had to go all the way back
Actually it was written as .pages as I´m working on Mac, but I´m glad to know there´s a way to make it work on Windows by renaming a .page doc into a .docx .... I had no idea that would work across systems that way. :)
Hi, thanks for enjoying the adventure. I totally missed that part 2 walkthrough not being in PDF , I have no idea why. So it´s fixed. Now the walkthrough download zip, has all the walkthroughs from 1 to part 6 in Pdf. :)
Hi Luis, just letting you know that the solution for Chapter 2 in the downloads has a ".pages" extension instead of .pdf like the others, which can't be opened with Acrobat Reader on Windows (or Linux, I believe). Cheers!
EDIT - That would be the same mentioned below by Athanasius. You probably won't notice it on MacOS, since the format is supported there unlike Windows/Linux.
Hi there! Thanks. It´s cool you´ve enjoyed the game for what I tried to do. Actually...
The reason why the graphics are simple is because, due to the GAC’s memory limitations, after writing all the internal conditions that ensure the game’s mechanics, I’m usually left with only 2 or 3K to draw graphics for all the locations.
Another thing players don’t realize is that GAC consumes memory much faster with text than with graphics.
Which means that even if I gave up the simple graphics, it actually wouldn’t make a difference in the size of the descriptions, and I couldn’t use that memory to expand the text. Just writing a single paragraph would use up those 3K. So it’s always better to spend those 3K on drawings — no matter how simple they are, they always help the player get oriented — rather than spending 3K on text that would disappear in just one or two sentences.
What players don’t know in my GAC adventures is that 70% of the 21K of memory I have for each game is always used on programming logic conditions that ensure the structure has no gaps. I have to anticipate things, actions, or words that the player might try to type, even if they never end up using them.
There’s a lot of complex logic behind the apparent simplicity that the player sees on screen. And that’s where almost all of the game’s memory goes. Then about 25% goes into the short descriptions which, even though they’re telegraphic, still use up a lot of memory with each sentence. Sometimes I even have to decide whether or not to add a comma in a description, because even that small detail will cost memory in bytes that I might need later for a detail in an image.
The remaining 5% of memory — after descriptions and programming — if I’m lucky, goes toward graphics. In this case, and in my most recent adventures, they’re purely functional.
In my adventures Shangri La and Eclipsia, the graphics looked better because the narrative structure of those games was simpler to program. There were fewer things in the story structure I had to account for, and fewer things I knew players might try to type that would cause an error. In these newer games, because the worlds are more open, the number of invisible conditions I had to create has quadrupled.
In my most recent adventures, where I try to create a more open map with freedom of movement beyond just the puzzles — like A Terrific Weekend Adventure or Echoes of Atlantis — most of the memory was taken up by internal logic conditions to ensure the player could explore as freely as possible without getting stuck in or by a puzzle.
Above all, what interests me in my games is telling stories.
In fact, the initial texts are much more complex than the telegraphic descriptions used in the adventures, because I usually end up writing a book based on those ideas.
So that’s why my most recent games have basic graphics, but they also don’t need to be purely text-based games. Text uses a lot of memory in GAC, whether it’s description text or internal condition text.
So for me, the real challenge is creating a narrative within 21K. Besides, I love GAC because it’s an excellent notepad for planning book structures that can become games — or vice versa: ZX games that can become books.
In short, thanks for enjoying it. More to follow. :)
Hi, I'm very thrilled about your games (I just discovered them today). I especially love the care you took for creating the maps and extras. One thing I noticed: the walkthrough for Act 2 is not in PDF-format and I can't open it.
thanks for enjoying them, the fun for me is to create the maps actually. I need to check thing about the walkthough on part 2 …i hadnt noticed that problem …
One question: Are there real dead ends? I mean stuff like "Oh no! You forgot to take this or that totally inconspicuous item hours ago? Then you're stuck for good and can restart the game". You know, these f*** you!-dead end traps Sierra was "famous" for. ;)
You don´t need to restart any of my games if you are stuck somewhere. It took a lot of "invisible" memory for me to write conditions to make sure that would never happen.
Generally there´s a couple of different paths you can take to solve a problem. I make my worlds free enough that you don´t have to solve a specific puzzle to advance. For example you can solve puzzle A and then B and C, but you can also solve puzzle C first , then A, then B if you want. All my puzzles are confined in small areas with just a couple of them extending the entire game. But if you reach some place and you don´t have a clue what to do , or nothing you try works, that is why you need a specific object that you didn´t noticed was there.
My adventures because of the narrative structure have about three spots where you can only pass if you solved the other riddles in that specific area. You will never get stuck in a place where you cannot go back to where you have been, because I know many people miss my hidden objects. So the goal is always allow people to explore even back to the beginingin of the game if they have too.
For example in this one, there´s hidden stuff right inside room 1 in part 6 of the game. And I know many people start the adventure and then have to come back inside "the Vimana" to retrieve that important object. So there´s always a way to go back to anywhere you have explored already in the game.
Download the game Walkthrough. If you get stuck, search for the solution for that bit in there. ;) Thanks for playing.
Cool. Thank you. And thanks for getting the book too. Don´t expect a literary masterpiece. It´s just a novelization of the game with a few things added like I did for my other game A Terrific Weekend Adventure. As I write my games mostly as books it would be a waste not to create the companion books to go along too.
Leave a review later. Even if you don´t enjoy the book, it does not matter as with Amazon even 1 star reviews help the books contrary to what people may think. It helps Amazon to notice that people are interacting with the book page. So when you see those reviews that take down products and you ever wondered why Amazon is interested in having people talk bad about one of their products its because of that. Any interaction with a book in Amazon will level up the product in their search engine exposing it to more potential clients. So no matter you see 5 stars in there or 1 star, to the ranking system its the same, and to any author is actually the same too. as it helps with the search engine. ;)
And as you have bought the book, don´t forget to download the game too. :)
I'll do some poking around and see whether I can create a transcript of my playthrough. I think I may have found a bug in the enhanced version of Chapter 1 when you talk to the scholars.
Feels interesting text adventure game, thank you. I also added it to my new "Gameplay of New ZX Spectrum games from January 2025" video along with other recently released games. Hope you enjoy the video.
Thanks for trying it out. Tip, exam stuff. Sometimes theres stuff hidden inside stuff. 😁 Theres an important thing to pick up at the beach. 😎 That will get you inside the library when you show your find to the gate guard. 😁😇
I recommend you download the walkthrough pdf. The game is huge so if you follow the first chapter solution you will find your way easier through the second chapter. 😎
Thanks for enjoying it. 👍😎 Download the game walkthrough pdfs , and follow the first part if you get really stuck. If you "cheat" on the first part you will find part 2 easier to navigate. 😁
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Brilliant game (games!). I'm stuck on part II, and the walkthrough is corrupt. Any chance you could upload a working PDF?
Ah - the part 2 walkthrough is actually a .docx, so if you rename the file to 'ECHOES 2 - SAHARA SOLUTION.docx' it's readble. I reached the very last stage without it at least, but I missed an object very early on in the game and had to go all the way back
Actually it was written as .pages as I´m working on Mac, but I´m glad to know there´s a way to make it work on Windows by renaming a .page doc into a .docx .... I had no idea that would work across systems that way. :)
Hi, thanks for enjoying the adventure. I totally missed that part 2 walkthrough not being in PDF , I have no idea why.
So it´s fixed. Now the walkthrough download zip, has all the walkthroughs from 1 to part 6 in Pdf.
:)
Hi Luis, just letting you know that the solution for Chapter 2 in the downloads has a ".pages" extension instead of .pdf like the others, which can't be opened with Acrobat Reader on Windows (or Linux, I believe). Cheers!
EDIT - That would be the same mentioned below by Athanasius. You probably won't notice it on MacOS, since the format is supported there unlike Windows/Linux.
Thanks. I hadn´t noticed it... There´s a couple tweaks I need to do but that was not in my radar. Thanks.
This game triggers the imagination, just like in the good old days. Graphics are not everything! Thanks! PS: We wrote about it in BrewOtaku #006
Hi there! Thanks. It´s cool you´ve enjoyed the game for what I tried to do.
Actually...
The reason why the graphics are simple is because, due to the GAC’s memory limitations, after writing all the internal conditions that ensure the game’s mechanics, I’m usually left with only 2 or 3K to draw graphics for all the locations.
Another thing players don’t realize is that GAC consumes memory much faster with text than with graphics.
Which means that even if I gave up the simple graphics, it actually wouldn’t make a difference in the size of the descriptions, and I couldn’t use that memory to expand the text.
Just writing a single paragraph would use up those 3K. So it’s always better to spend those 3K on drawings — no matter how simple they are, they always help the player get oriented — rather than spending 3K on text that would disappear in just one or two sentences.
What players don’t know in my GAC adventures is that 70% of the 21K of memory I have for each game is always used on programming logic conditions that ensure the structure has no gaps.
I have to anticipate things, actions, or words that the player might try to type, even if they never end up using them.
There’s a lot of complex logic behind the apparent simplicity that the player sees on screen. And that’s where almost all of the game’s memory goes. Then about 25% goes into the short descriptions which, even though they’re telegraphic, still use up a lot of memory with each sentence. Sometimes I even have to decide whether or not to add a comma in a description, because even that small detail will cost memory in bytes that I might need later for a detail in an image.
The remaining 5% of memory — after descriptions and programming — if I’m lucky, goes toward graphics. In this case, and in my most recent adventures, they’re purely functional.
In my adventures Shangri La and Eclipsia, the graphics looked better because the narrative structure of those games was simpler to program. There were fewer things in the story structure I had to account for, and fewer things I knew players might try to type that would cause an error. In these newer games, because the worlds are more open, the number of invisible conditions I had to create has quadrupled.
In my most recent adventures, where I try to create a more open map with freedom of movement beyond just the puzzles — like A Terrific Weekend Adventure or Echoes of Atlantis — most of the memory was taken up by internal logic conditions to ensure the player could explore as freely as possible without getting stuck in or by a puzzle.
Above all, what interests me in my games is telling stories.
In fact, the initial texts are much more complex than the telegraphic descriptions used in the adventures, because I usually end up writing a book based on those ideas.
So that’s why my most recent games have basic graphics, but they also don’t need to be purely text-based games.
Text uses a lot of memory in GAC, whether it’s description text or internal condition text.
So for me, the real challenge is creating a narrative within 21K.
Besides, I love GAC because it’s an excellent notepad for planning book structures that can become games — or vice versa: ZX games that can become books.
In short, thanks for enjoying it. More to follow. :)
Hi, I'm very thrilled about your games (I just discovered them today). I especially love the care you took for creating the maps and extras. One thing I noticed: the walkthrough for Act 2 is not in PDF-format and I can't open it.
thanks for enjoying them, the fun for me is to create the maps actually. I need to check thing about the walkthough on part 2 …i hadnt noticed that problem …
One question: Are there real dead ends? I mean stuff like "Oh no! You forgot to take this or that totally inconspicuous item hours ago? Then you're stuck for good and can restart the game". You know, these f*** you!-dead end traps Sierra was "famous" for. ;)
Ah, no, there are no dead ends at all.
You don´t need to restart any of my games if you are stuck somewhere. It took a lot of "invisible" memory for me to write conditions to make sure that would never happen.
Generally there´s a couple of different paths you can take to solve a problem. I make my worlds free enough that you don´t have to solve a specific puzzle to advance. For example you can solve puzzle A and then B and C, but you can also solve puzzle C first , then A, then B if you want.
All my puzzles are confined in small areas with just a couple of them extending the entire game.
But if you reach some place and you don´t have a clue what to do , or nothing you try works, that is why you need a specific object that you didn´t noticed was there.
My adventures because of the narrative structure have about three spots where you can only pass if you solved the other riddles in that specific area. You will never get stuck in a place where you cannot go back to where you have been, because I know many people miss my hidden objects. So the goal is always allow people to explore even back to the beginingin of the game if they have too.
For example in this one, there´s hidden stuff right inside room 1 in part 6 of the game. And I know many people start the adventure and then have to come back inside "the Vimana" to retrieve that important object. So there´s always a way to go back to anywhere you have explored already in the game.
Download the game Walkthrough. If you get stuck, search for the solution for that bit in there. ;)
Thanks for playing.
Perfect, thank you for your reply and explanations. That's relieving to hear, I'll start playing this evening.
I purchased your book to *The House that wept" btw. :)
Cool. Thank you. And thanks for getting the book too. Don´t expect a literary masterpiece. It´s just a novelization of the game with a few things added like I did for my other game A Terrific Weekend Adventure. As I write my games mostly as books it would be a waste not to create the companion books to go along too.
Leave a review later. Even if you don´t enjoy the book, it does not matter as with Amazon even 1 star reviews help the books contrary to what people may think. It helps Amazon to notice that people are interacting with the book page. So when you see those reviews that take down products and you ever wondered why Amazon is interested in having people talk bad about one of their products its because of that. Any interaction with a book in Amazon will level up the product in their search engine exposing it to more potential clients. So no matter you see 5 stars in there or 1 star, to the ranking system its the same, and to any author is actually the same too. as it helps with the search engine. ;)
And as you have bought the book, don´t forget to download the game too. :)
Thanks
Thanks for making this game. Is there a way to print a transcript to a text file in the Fuse emulator?
Thanks for trying the game. I dont think the fuse emulator has many other options other than emulating the original zx spectrum…
I'll do some poking around and see whether I can create a transcript of my playthrough. I think I may have found a bug in the enhanced version of Chapter 1 when you talk to the scholars.
Feels interesting text adventure game, thank you. I also added it to my new "Gameplay of New ZX Spectrum games from January 2025" video along with other recently released games. Hope you enjoy the video.
Hey man, thanks for including my game in your video. Also, you gave me some great game suggestions too. :) Subscribed. ;)
Had a quick go at this, here. Thanks for making the game :)
Thanks for trying it out. Tip, exam stuff. Sometimes theres stuff hidden inside stuff. 😁 Theres an important thing to pick up at the beach. 😎 That will get you inside the library when you show your find to the gate guard. 😁😇
I recommend you download the walkthrough pdf. The game is huge so if you follow the first chapter solution you will find your way easier through the second chapter. 😎
Thank you for writing this interesting adventure game and making it available.
Thanks for enjoying it. 👍😎 Download the game walkthrough pdfs , and follow the first part if you get really stuck. If you "cheat" on the first part you will find part 2 easier to navigate. 😁