The Adventurers' Guild

In BT1, across from the Adventurer's Guild, there was an unlabeled building where you were treated with a pixelated picture of Mike Cranford (in the 8-bit versions, at least), with the game credits scrolling on the side. I am positive I've seen something similar in BT2, but I can't remember where. Initially I assumed it was in Tangramayne, but I've hunted through most of the buildings there and can't find it. A vague memory is tickling the back of my head that it was in Ephesus, close to the Tombs, but still no luck. Anyone remember where this was?

Marco.

Marco wrote:In BT1, across from the Adventurer's Guild, there was an unlabeled building where you were treated with a pixelated picture of Mike Cranford (in the 8-bit versions, at least), with the game credits scrolling on the side. I am positive I've seen something similar in BT2, but I can't remember where. Initially I assumed it was in Tangramayne, but I've hunted through most of the buildings there and can't find it. A vague memory is tickling the back of my head that it was in Ephesus, close to the Tombs, but still no luck. Anyone remember where this was?

Marco.

If memory serves, the "credits house" is found beside the building leading to the Dark Domain in Tangramayne.

Darendor wrote:If memory serves, the "credits house" is found beside the building leading to the Dark Domain in Tangramayne.

That's what I initially thought too. But I haven't been able to find it in either the Apple II or PC version. I've basically entered every building in Tangramayne and it isn't there. In the Apple II version, I've also hunted through almost every building in Ephesus, again because of a vague memory that it might have been close to the Tombs.

I have not tried the c64 version. I also never tried the Apple IIgs version -- I did play that latter one a lot back in the day, so maybe my memory comes from that one.

Marco.

Marco wrote:

Darendor wrote:If memory serves, the "credits house" is found beside the building leading to the Dark Domain in Tangramayne.

That's what I initially thought too. But I haven't been able to find it in either the Apple II or PC version. I've basically entered every building in Tangramayne and it isn't there. In the Apple II version, I've also hunted through almost every building in Ephesus, again because of a vague memory that it might have been close to the Tombs.

I have not tried the c64 version. I also never tried the Apple IIgs version -- I did play that latter one a lot back in the day, so maybe my memory comes from that one.

Marco.

Actually, if it's not where I said it was last time, then I think it might be beside the AG in Tangramayne.

I'm starting to forget things about Bard's Tale now as my age advances. Call the old age home!

Well, I found it in the Apple IIgs version. It is next door to the AG in Tangramayne, to the south. I have hunted for it all over the place in the Apple IIe and MS-DOS versions and never found it.

Kroah's Game Reverse Engineering Page (bringerp.free.fr/RE/) displays all the graphics for the Amiga version, which includes the "credits building" image. I haven't tried BT2 on Amiga emulation, but I presume that if the graphic exists, the Amiga version also has a credits building. I am not practiced with Amiga emulation -- has someone seen this in the Amiga version?

Marco.

Oh, for...

Going through the engine file for BTII on the C64, I discovered how to find the credits.

Press "!".

Boom.

It loads a different portrait depending on whether you're in a dungeon or not - Kazdek's if in a dungeon, the Sage's if not.

Nice find!

It works on the Apple IIe version, too. Interestingly, if you type '!' while standing in a city or in the wilderness, the game displays the sage's portrait while the credits roll past the text screen. If you are standing in any dungeon, the game displays Kazdek's portrait instead.

Does the c64 version display a different portrait while in the dungeons too?

'!' does nothing in the PC version, and I've never been able to find the "credits building" -- I've basically checked every single building in the cities, and most of the huts in the wilderness as well.

Marco.

Marco wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 1:50 amDoes the c64 version display a different portrait while in the dungeons too?

Yes, it displays Kazdek's portrait when in a dungeon. I never thought to try it before you mentioned it.

The Apple/C64 versions are essentially clones of one another I would say.

Marco wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 1:50 am'!' does nothing in the PC version, and I've never been able to find the "credits building" -- I've basically checked every single building in the cities, and most of the huts in the wilderness as well.

The PC ports are a travesty.

Darendor wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:09 amThe PC ports are a travesty.

I don't disagree with you. But I have to give the PC ports credit -- they came out in the early 1990s, a period after my parents got rid of the Apple IIgs and I lost access to all my old games. I was heading to college then, and I wound up with a PC. Emulation wasn't really a thing until the late 1990s (at least, I didn't discover emulators until then). So when the PC ports came out, it was like a dream-come-true for me, because I was finally able to replay my beloved Bards Tale for the first time in years. Sure, they had their problems and annoying idiosyncracies, but they served their purpose.

Marco.