CRYSTAL CASTLES BUGS, ETC...
As the title
indicates, this section will reveal a number of bugs, and other
similar occurrences, that Crystal Castles contains. Of course,
all games of any complexity have bugs - it's just a matter of
finding them.
Let me start by defining the terms I'll be using. I've
broken this section of the booklet into four categories: bugs,
glitches, logic errors, and Easter eggs. Most people know that a
bug is a mistake in a computer program that causes a problem. A
glitch is also a problem that can be as serious as a bug, but it
cannot be helped in most cases because it is the result of a
program being correctly carried out, but with unexpected, or
unwanted, results.
A logic error is a mistake in logic, in the program. What
is meant to happen, or what should happen, doesn't actually
happen. Finally, an Easter egg is a 'hidden' message,
or object, in the game that has been purposely put there by the
programmer so that the player might uncover it.
Let's start with the more serious category, and work our
way down to the least. If you still don't understand the
definitions above, perhaps you will after reading a few examples.
BUGS
1. This bug, and the following one, have been eliminated
from conversion kit games, as previously mentioned. So, if they
don't work, try them on another machine.
On the hidden ramp screen, it is possible to generate a
'false gem', false meaning that the gem is not really there.
It is easy to see this, as part of the gem is cut off. The only
maze I've seen this bug on is "Hidden Ramp". To
generate it, go to the top section of this maze, to the part
that's closest to the elevator nearest the honey. On the left
stairway leading to the platform with the elevator, go up towards
the top, and then cut a hard right in such a way that you miss
the gem on the platform in front of the top step of the stairway.
Any gems you touch immediately thereafter, that lay above the
tunnel, will become false gems. The most I've ever generated on
one platform is 5.
2. This is the most serious bug, but FXL said all he had
to do to correct it was to change one line of code in the
program. Start by playing a two player game. Have one player
(either one) complete level 10 AFTER the other player has had at
least one turn (i.e., both games must be in progress).
After the first player has finished level 10, and entered
their initials on the "Hall of Fame" scoreboard, the
normal block painting display will NOT appear (this, I think, is
the key that causes the bug). Instead, the "GET READY PLAYER
" screen will appear, and the other player's game
will appear to resume as normal. However, as the maze play
progresses, you may notice that the bees don't land. They never will
land on that maze, even if there's a honey pot, or if you're
killed and the maze play resets.
Next, you'll notice that getting the last gem will not
cause you to advance to the next maze as normal, in most cases.
Simply put, you'll never advance unless ALL maze objects (i.e.,
enemies, honey pot, hat, gems) are gone. If any enemies remain
that can't be eliminated, you'll never advance beyond the screen,
and the game will be ended only by losing all of your lives.
If only the hat and/or honey pot remain, you can collect
them in the usual manner (after the last gem), and when the point
number disappears, you will advance to the next maze, just as if
you had collected the last gem.
Still, whether or not you get the last gem is accurately kept track of. Normally, you'll always get the last
gem in this situation. But, if you eliminate the last gemeater as
it gets the last gem, and advance, the game shows that "THEY
GOT THE LAST GEM".
Boards that you can
get off of include "Staircase", "Berthilda's Castle", and the 3/4
"Berthilda's Dungeon". After you advance, by the way, the game goes
on completely normally.
When you come back on a 'warp board', the warps
will not work. This includes the tunnel (if there is one) on
1/1. Also, the Easter egg on 6/4 doesn't work.
3. Sometimes when you try to warp in the tunnel on 1/1,
and then come out to pick up a few gems, you'll find you didn't
warp, even though jump was pressed in the tunnel. This is because
the 'proper' warp spot is in the 'back' of
the tunnel.
4. An unusual but annoying occurrence is when a gemeater
doesn't eat his gem when landing on the maze. Many times I've
gone to eat a line of gemeaters, only to get killed on the first
one, which has the gem it landed on still under it.
5. Something somewhat related to the above is when I go to
eliminate a gemeater, but get killed on it, yet I see the gem
going up its gullet as Bentley is dying! This is a problem with
the order of the lines in the program. The line that asks if
Bentley hit a gemeater comes before the line that says the
gemeater is eating a gem. The lines simply need to be reversed.
6. A bug I discovered recently is quite interesting. If
you eliminate an enemy or object from the screen, then the spot
where the object originally landed on the screen causes collision
detector problems at that spot. If one enemy is on the
'eliminated' spot (say, the tree), then other enemies
(such as gemeaters) will pass right through, as if nothing were
there!
The best screen to do this is on Cross Maze. Eliminate one
or two gemeaters from the board, and then move Bentley such that
the tree will be on top of the eliminated gemeater's spot. Now,
when another enemy or object (like the hat) approaches, it will
freely move through the tree.
7. This next bug is sometimes helpful, though most bugs
are more trouble than they are a help. If you turn a corner at the same time
an enemy is at the corner, you can sometimes miss being hit. This
is simply a problem with the collision detector and/or position
indicator.
Glitches
1. I thought this up one morning, and when I tried it out,
it worked. When you see the bouncing hat below you in a tunnel,
and you are directly above it, simply press jump to capture it.
Remember, you always get the hat when you jump over it, so it's
logical. Unfortunately, when it's above you, you
can't jump, since you're in the tunnel (though you can jump into
the tunnel, and get it).
2. Similar to the above, place yourself in a tunnel with
an enemy that's positioned above you, or you above an
enemy that's in a tunnel. The tree is the easiest one to try this with, since it
holds firm in its position. In the tunnel example, the tree exudes a vertical 'cylinder of
protection' that won't allow (for the most part) any other enemy
to touch you, since they think the tree is in your position. Because of this, they go around you. The best screen to do this on, as with the
above, is "Hidden Ramp".
3. If you reach the last gem at the same time as another
enemy, and one of you picks it up at the same time that you
collide, Bentley will start to die, but then come back to life,
and the game will progress normally. You won't even lose an extra
life. The best way to do this is to set up the last gem in a
corner, and wait for the bees to land on the maze. When they
close in on Bentley, jump for the gem.
4. While in the warp tunnel on 1/1, let a ball kill
Bentley, and then press jump once. When the screen starts
over, don't move. Simply press jump to accomplish the
warp.
5. The full details of this appear in the Fun Facts
section of the booklet, but I will tell some info on this glitch.
Right before the bees start to descend on top of Bentley, go into
a tunnel, and they will land on the front corner of the maze,
instead of on Bentley. After varying times, their buzzing sound,
and their landing cycle, will 'turn over' to 0, and
both will start over again.
6. This is a neat way to puzzle your friends. Play a two
player game where a warp tunnel appears on 1/1. Have both players
kill off their lives on this screen. When player 1's game is
over, player 2 will have 1/1 complete with the warp tunnel, but
pressing jump inside won't warp you. Remember, to determine where
you will warp, the program looks at the highest level completed
in the last game played. Since player 1 didn't get off 1/1, this
is the highest level completed.
7. This warp tunnel glitch is similar to the above, but
the game must be set to give 4 or 5 lives at the start, and the
warp tunnel must NOT appear on 1/1. Have player 1 complete at
least 2/1 or higher, and then kill off their game. Have player 2
also kill off their game, on 1/1. Now, when player 1's game ends,
player 2's 1/1 screen will say to enter the tunnel and press jump
to warp to level . But, there is no warp tunnel, because
the maze was originally constructed without one! So, of course, player 2 cannot
use the tunnel warp, in spite of what the game says!
Logic Errors
1. This particular error is easily the most severe, as it
can ruin a great game, mainly on the 9/2 board. On all of level
9, after the hat lands on the maze, it turns into a ball on the
6th bounce. Normally, this is no problem, as you just get the hat
before it changes. However, since many of my patterns involve
eating gemeaters at the start of the board, I don't let the hat
land on Bentley. Therefore, it sometimes moves around, and you
have to jump for it, or chase it. Now, while you are doing either
of these, there's always the possibility of getting killed. If
Bentley dies, the hat will continue to bounce as Bentley
shrivels. And, even tho the game is not in progress, it can still
turn into a ball if it reaches the 6th bounce before Bentley
flies offscreen. This serious logic error has made me really mad
on more than one occasion!
2. In contrast to the above, this error is very minor,
and, as a matter of fact, is quite hard to do. Unbelievably
enough, there is a way that your score can go DOWN in the game!
All you have to do is point-press starting at level 2, and play
to the 5/3 warp. Now, make sure your score is over 420,000
when you warp. Whatever your score is, it will always be put down
to the 420,000 points awarded for warping.
Easter Eggs
1. I discovered this myself, by accident. To generate the
game designer's initials, FXL, simply go to the back corner of
6/4, and press jump. They will appear on the lower right portion
of the screen.
2. If you jump at least 128 times in the front right
corner of any maze, the next maze that is fully drawn from the
beginning will have a string of the words ATARI stretched across
the middle of the screen. It disappears on the next maze, unless
you are playing a two-player game, in which case it can appear on
two screens.
How did I figure this out? I didn't! FXL told me.
3. This Easter egg is free. When the machine is in its
demo mode, wait until 1/1 appears. When Bentley gets killed, hold
down BOTH jump buttons, and the accounting screen, which shows customer play information, will appear. Mike Quarles in California told me
this one.
4. This is not really an Easter egg, but it is an unusual
message. Depending on how you play your game in the middle
levels, a message telling you how to accomplish one of the three
secret warps may appear at the end of your game.
5. Like the above, this is not really a hidden message that you can generate, but not many players know the 'proper' name for 8/1. As you've seen in this booklet, it's "Staircase". Normally, this name doesn't appear, because most machines are set to give a bonus life every 70,000 points, and the message window on this board indicates the bonus life setting. But, when the bonus option is turned off, the name of the board appears in the window instead.
