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The Caves for the HP-42S

Original version by James Surber. Adapted for the HP-42S by Paul Dale

This program is a port of The Caves program for the HP41 by James Surber. It appears in the Games II HP-41 Users' Library Solutions book from Hewlett-Packard. In this version the menu system of the HP-42S is used instead of keying in commands.

Example:



Instructions:

Welcome to the "THE CAVES". The Caves is an adventure game in which the player (a wizard) moves about a series of 67 caves to pick up nine items of considerable value (for a total 1200 points) without dying from the hazards. The construction of the caves is a single stranded helix with interconnecting tunnels. The even numbered caves have tunnels going up to seven caves, while the odd numbered caves have tunnels going down to seven caves. These tunnels, and the tunnels going to the two intermediate caves on either side, make each cave connected to the three adjacent caves.

Upon entering the caves, you will be in cave number 0 which will always be empty and "SAFE". Five pieces of equipment will be given to you before starting through the caves, and three more pieces may be picked up while going through the game. These are to help you to get through the hazards and pick up the valuables. You will be given at the start of the game the following: Keys, Water, Knife, Gloves, and a Lamp.

Only these five original pieces of equipment can be "SNATCHED" (taken) by the bats. Possession of these items is indicated in the display by setting flags 0-4; each number representing a different piece of equipment. (When set, these flag numbers appear along the bottom of the display.) The three pieces that are picked up along the way are immune to the bats due to a magical spell they have over them. These pieces are: Wand, Magic Word, and a Cape.

If you lose any of the five original pieces of equipment the Wand will magically "PRESTO" return all lost pieces in one wand usage. The Wand will work only twice after each visit to the Wand Cave (not accumulative). The Magic Word "ABRAKADABRA" will take you out of the game at any time or place you wish to use it. The Cape will render you invisible to any dragon you may find in the cave. If the Cape is lost along the way, it may be reacquired by returning to the Cape Cave.

You will be given warnings of some of the hazards in the adjacent caves after you enter a new cave and have encountered any hazards present. These warnings appear after the word "SAFE" and do not have tones associated with them. Below is a list of the warnings and their hazards:
- "FEEL DRAFT" a bottomless pit - end of the game. (no score) "YYEEEIIII THE PITS"
- "SMELL DRAGON" if no cape, the dragon will eat you - end of the game. (no score)    "CHOMP"
- "HEAR SPLASH" cave is full of water and you will drown - end of the game. (no score)    "ALL WASHED UP"
- "DARK CAVE" if no lamp is present, you will fall into a bottomless pit - end of the game. (no score)    "OOPS NO LAMP" "YYEEEIIII THE PITS"
- "HEAR SQUEEKS" bats will "SNATCH" one piece of your equipment. "SNATCH"    "BATS TOOK (    )"
- "HEAR VOICE" a wizard will tell you all that occupies the six closest caves (usually the three on either side). He does not see stairs or forks.
- "SEE LIGHT" a tunnel out of the caves will take you out - end of the game. (with score)    "END GAME"    "SCORE _ ( )"

There will be other surprises lurking in "The Caves" without warning. These will be inconvenient or lethal only if equipment has been "SNATCHED".

There are caves with stairs and forks in them. The stairs will display "UP OR DOWN?". This will randomly place you either above (higher number) or below (lower number) the cave that the stairs are currently in. The fork will randomly select two caves and display them with no warnings. You must then choose between them. Once you are placed in a new cave (in both the stairs and fork cases), you must suffer any hazards there and will be given new warn-ings and adjacent caves. At each re-entry into a cave with stairs or forks, you will be given new random caves. You never know what you might find at the end of your tunnel.

At anytime you may go "BACK" and return to the last cave you were in. This function will also work with stairs and forks.
A list of all valuables and their points is given below. After you have placed a valuable "IN PACK" it is removed from the cave and that cave will be empty upon re-entry. When all the valuables are found the HP-42S will "beep" so you'll know when you have finished.   

DIAMONDS 100
IVORY 100
MING VASE 100
PEARLS 100
CRYSTAL (in one of the two "small caves") 100
RUBIES (locked in a chest)
150
SILK (locked in a chest)
150
AG (silver - too hot, use gloves) 200
AU (gold - too cold, use gloves)   
200


Technical notes:

Binary files for emulators:
Raw binary: caves.raw  Binary for HP-42X: caves.42x































































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