~2 minute readFAMILY COMPUTING: Software for Learning and Leisure
Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: 1MB Mac
PUBLISHER: Infocom, Inc., 125 CambridgePark Dr., Cambridge, MA 02140; (617) 492-6000
PRICE: $50
COPY PROTECTED: No
OVERALL PERFORMANCE: â â â â
DOCUMENTATION: â â â
PLAY SYSTEM: â â â â
GRAPHICS QUALITY: â â â
EASE OF USE: â â â â
Quarterstaff stands out from the rest of Infocom's excellent games. It has the depth and variety of puzzles that we've come to expect from Infocom, but is also highly realistic and easy to use.
The story-line of Quarterstaff is nothing special: The Tree Druids, who have helped maintain peace over five kingdoms, disappeared three months ago. It is your mission as a man-at-arms to explore the deserted Tree Druid colony for clues to their whereabouts. But this is where conventionality ends.
Tired of getting stuck in adventures searching for synonyms that the program will understand? Quarterstaff solves this by providing menus of 51 verbs, 11 prepositions, visible exits, and all visible objects. These lists not only circumvent the frustration of not being able to express yourself, but save you time since the words can be entered with a simple point-and-click of the mouse.
Your commands can also include words not suggested by the menus. Entries can be one word, complex sentences, or a group of sentences.
Another time-saving feature is the inclusion of macros. If you use a sentence or group of sentences often, simply create a macro and then use a single keystroke or click of the mouse to enter the words. The extensive on-line help is also useful, offering general information and specific hints.
Quarterstaff is the most realistic computer role-playing adventure I've ever played. Not only do you have to eat and drink on a regular basis, but when you sleep (required each day), there is a time-delay, simulating the passage of 50 rounds. The limited light resources, which extinguish after a predetermined number of rounds, also add to the realism, as do the digitized sounds of creaky doors opening and screams of death.
The auto-mapping feature is an improvement over previous Infocom games. Instead of squares representing the terrain, detailed maps of your surroundings are drawn as you progress into the Tree Druid colony. The only other graphics represent primary characters and objects that appear infrequently.
Throughout the course of the game, you meet many interesting characters, and you have to cooperate with some of them to successfully complete the game. The most advanced feature of the game allows you to split your party into several units and venture into different areas of the colony simultaneously. Another lets you shoot objects from room to room.
Quarterstaff was originally released in 1987 by Simulated Environment Systems (SES) but did not receive widespread distribution. Infocom purchased the rights to the game and cleaned up the program before releasing it under its own banner. Many improvements were made, including word menus, on-line help, and a revised story line.
A fatal bug in version 2.0C causes the game to crash when object-carrying adventurers enter one of two locations. The bug is fixed in the latest version, 2.0E, so be sure to inquire about the version before purchasing. And purchase the program you should, since even with the bug, Quarterstaff is an exciting adventure.
This article appeared in
Family Computing
Jun 1989
These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.
