Quann Tulla

The Games Machine

Atmosphere 75%

Interaction 64%

Overall 70%

Rob Steel 70%

Spectrum Cassette: £9.95 Amstrad Diskette: £14.95 Once upon a time in the golden olden days of adventuring when all that was required by the player was the old verb/noun input, there lived a software company that churned out games thick and fast - mostly written using Gilsoft's utility the Quill. Eighth Day Software produced some above average quests including: Faerie, Ice Station Zero and one of my all time favourites, Quann Tulla. Federation is a revamped version of the latter. Quann Tulla is the flagship of the federation, unfortunately its designer, Erra Quann, has hijacked it. He pilots it to an outpost of the evil Empire where he hopes to sell the secret of its innovative engines. You take the role of a member of the Federation's elite secret service; your mission is to stop Quann. The adventure begins inside a cracked life support bubble in the smoke-filled interior of your ship. The first problem is one of avoiding suffocation, but it is easily solved. The vessel is drifting close to the battered hull of the Quann Tulla, and pressing the blue button found in the cockpit allows access to it via an umbilical cord. Once these two initial problems have been dealt with the game is yours to explore. WONDERFULLY WEIRD Science fiction is usually a good topic for adventure games as it is only the author's imagination which limits the scope. All kinds of weird and wonderful objects and creatures may be incorporated in such adventures with no logical reason needed for their presence or role in the game. Quann Tulla is one such game which incorporates many futuristic/alien elements to good effect. The ball that changes size when picked up, the computer terminals, the shock-cape and the numerous hi-tech creatures found in the corridors of the great ship, all help to build up a believable atmosphere. Although most of the objects to be found may be alien to you, the EXAMINE option is sensibly implemented, helping explain, or hint at, the uses of most of them. The screen layout is nicely done, with a small graphic representation of some locations displayed in the top left-hand corner of a well designed control panel. This also shows your score - 10,000 is possible - and the number of turns you have taken. Below, scroll the text descriptions. Quann Tulla was a good game when it was first released all those years ago; its overhaul and new look modernise and help maintain its appeal, although the price is a little steep for a single-load game.

Released years ago by Eighth Day as Quan Tulla, Federation is a revamped version with graphics.

Crash

Atmosphere 7/10

Vocabulary 7/10

Logic 7/10

Addictive Quality 8/10

Overall 8/10

Derek Brewster 8/10

DEREK BREWSTER'S ADVENTURE TRAIL LULL BEFORE THE STORM If you look through this month's column you will notice it is a good deal shorter than is usually the case. The Trail is short for the simple reason that the powers that be at Crash Towers either haven't received any new software this month or they are hogging it for themselves. True, I did spend some time at the Personal Computer World Show, where I sampled a moderate quantity of the ubiquitous DD beer and struggled in vain at the System 3 stand to see why such a large crowd had gathered. It was somewhat amusing to discover some time afterwards the crowd was caused by a scantily clad dancer. But once I got back home and put my legs up I could have quite happily played a megagame or two. At the show rumours were rife but my legs were unwilling to check them all out - in fact I didn't check any of them out. This may turn out to be just as well because I'm going to mention what was there even if it wasn't. The long-awaited Lord of the Rings, the major adventure based upon the major work by JRR Tolkien, is probably some way from completion. Terrormolinos, with very nice picture post card graphics on the Commodore, but none as yet on the Spectrum, looked very interesting and I'm sure will do very well on the Spectrum, so long as they can sort out their memory problems. Sorderon's Shadow, although the graphics look very similar to the Midnight Trilogy, is in fact more an adventure game with text input and some movement within the graphics. Mikro-Gen's Shadow of the Unicorn, would seem to be a similar sort of game, and is eagerly awaited due to its brightly coloured, highly detailed graphics forming over 11,000 panoramic views. You can travel only to the left or right of the screen, turning to enter other directions. The hardware add-on which is an integral part of this game is what makes it so special adding an extra 16K to the available Spectrum memory. QUANTULLA Producer: 8th Day Software Retail Price: £1.99 Language: Quill Author: 8th Day There are two reasons why I am reviewing this 8th Day Software program, which I received way back earlier this year, here in this month's column. One is a recommendation from an avid adventurer to play one and the other is the news that they sell for £1.99. If this price is true then Quann Tulla would seem to offer good value for money as it is a very friendly program. It also has an interesting storyline which is not too difficult to unravel, as the game is easy, with few of the annoying complications seen in many a more awkward adventure. The first thing to note is that this game is one of a series of text-only Quilled games with titles like Ice Station Zero, Faerie, Cuddles and Four Minutes to Midnight. These last two aren't exactly my cup of tea since Cuddles deals with the kiddies world of playpens etc, and Four Minutes deals with what you would do given the four minute warning before a rather large bomb dropped on your head. My advice is to be prepared and take a headache tablet. Quann Tulla describes itself as being of moderate difficulty and has on its flip side detailed background information concerning games play. Highly advanced robots, computer systems and automatic defence traps form the backdrop to this science fiction adventure in which the player takes on the might of the evil Empire on behalf of the ailing Federation. The battle takes place in the shattered hull of the flagship and finally to a desperate conclusion on a distant alien world. Secret manuals must be retrieved, an evil traitor dispensed with and a crippled ship destroyed before the Federation can govern in peace once more. Quann Tulla is a long and reasonably easy adventure game with long, detailed location descriptions. It has a friendly vocabulary and fascinating plot. For £1.99 it compares favourably with other Quilled games on the market. COMMENTS Difficulty: easy - moderate Graphics: none Input: verb/noun Response: instant

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Personal Rating 9/10

Keith Campbell 9/10

MORE GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS 8th Day Software is one of the new breed of "cottage" software houses that have grown since the advent of the Quill. What makes the company different from most of the rest is that their games, once priced at £1.75, still cost only £2.50 each. The co-directors of the company are Michael White and Gary Kelbrick, who also write all the games using the Quill. I asked them why their games cost so little compared with other Adventures, and their answer was quite controversial. Gary and Michael both think that 99 percent of Adventure games on the market are overpriced for what they contain and feel, to a certain extent, that many games are written badly, story-wise, with unoriginal problems. Naturally, they also feel that their games are always original and worth every penny. So I thought I'd take a look at this series, to see if it is all that its producers claim. FOUR MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT This game was written by Michael White and is concerned with events after a deadly virus is released into the atmosphere from a high security research station in America. The virus has killed most of the world's population and only a few, seemingly immune, have survived, including you. You must learn the skills of the old technology and recruit five members to form a team to travel across the States to disarm nuclear weapons which have been left unguarded and still threaten the remaining population. This game is well thought out, and quite difficult. At the start, you are standing at a petrol station. A few seconds later a car crashes into it and explodes. From inside the car you hear screams. If you manage to rescue the occupant, he will help you with your mission. The game continues along these lines and is quite fun to play. Personal Rating: 7 QUANN TULLA Without doubt, the best game of the series is Quann Tuna, and I think this should be picked up by a major company. The story is of an evil empire that has fought a long and bloody war with the Just Foundation. The Foundation is losing, and your mission is to destroy some top secret manuals, kill a traitor and destroy a crippled space ship. The game takes place aboard your flagship and progresses through space to a far distant alien world. This may prove too difficult for beginners, but the experienced Adventure nut will love it, especially its weird objects such as the lead ball and lighter-than-air docking badge! Great stuff! Personal Rating: 9 ICE STATION ZERO In this one, you are cast as a secret service agent who must defeat the evil genius Stirling. Stirling, it seems, has planted a nuclear bomb somewhere near the south pole. Setting off, you find yourself standing in the freezing snow, from where you move on to discover ice floes, yetis etc., which must be overcome before killing the maniacal Stirling. Personal Rating: 7 IN SEARCH OF ANGELS This is one of the easiest of the series and is based upon Ian Fleming's early novels. You are cast as a rather poor man's version of James Bond and you find a dead CIA agent floating face-down in the Thames. From there you progress around the world trying to stop an organisation known as "The Company" from taking over. Personal Rating: 5 FAERIE This has to be one of the most spine-chilling games available! It has nothing whatsoever to do with the notorious "Pink Fairy"! The plot is, to say the least, complicated with many sub-divisions. You are sent off into the underworld to find the three treasures of Isi-Tunn, and it's not easy! Personal Rating: 8 CUDDLES Finally, Keith had a look at Cuddles, another of the 8th Day series, and after being cut by a "broach" on his Nanny's dress and finding he had to refer to it as a "broach", and that all subsequent text referred to it as a "broach" he says he could not bear to bring himself to continue with the game, let alone review it! "Games Without Frontiers" are for the 48k Spectrum, priced £2.50, and available from 8th Day Software at [redacted].

Big K

Graphics N/A

Playability 3/3

Addictiveness 3/3

Overall 3/3

Fin Fahey 3/3

MAKER: 8th Day Software FORMAT: cassette PRICE: £1.99 each Pure text adventures seem to be becoming a threatened species of late. There seems to be a general feeling that to sell, a program has to contain graphics. Doesn't matter how tacky, how irrelevant to the plot line, how much memory is wasted, we gotta have them pictures. A good counter to what I, for one, see as a pernicious trend is this collection of six pocket-money programs from 8th Day, a new Merseyside outfit. The packaging is understandably minimal, a plain black wrapper in every case, although you do get a natty plastic rack if you purchase all six. There's nothing cut-price about the quality however. as far as I could see, each of these is a well-thought out, properly plotted adventure. Better still, every one is on a different theme. The nearest to the hackneyed old Sword-and-Sorcery schlock is Faerie, but this rests more on Celtic whimsy than conquering barbarians. The vital thing is to keep the fairies happy, one way being to swap a human baby for their changeling, a bit naughty this. Four Minutes to Midnight seems to be the most advanced program, and pits you against a post-catastrophe world. The object is to rebuild civilisation from the ruins by assembling a team of capable and technically-skilled people. To my mind this goes one better than The Hobbit in terms of human interaction, and displays genuine originality. Cuddles is a bit on the cute side - you are a bored toddler and you have to escape from your cot and get past nanny to sample the delights of the outside world. Ice Station Zero owes something to the dreadful Alistair Maclean story - for Zero read Zebra - it's a thriller set on the Arctic Icepack. The obligatory space adventure is represented in the form of Quann Tulla in which you have to get a crippled starship working again. In Search of Angels is a Fleming-style spy story full of the obligatory souped-up sportsters full of gadgetry. A lot of ground has been covered here, all six packages taken together cost the same as two normally-priced Spectrum programs, but represent months of playing time. This is the first time I've encountered software at a reasonable price which sacrifices nothing in the way of quality. Surely this, and not peculiar security devices, is the answer to piracy?

Personal Computer News

Mike Gerrard

It's been quite a day, let me tell you. Fortified by just a bowl of cornflakes I had to start by saving America which had been devastated by a bacteriological disaster. Then, after a short break for coffee, I was wrestling with Stirling, the international terrorist, who was threatening to wipe out New York if he didn't get his billion dollar ransom. As this exceeded my limit at the NatWest Service till I left him to it, only to find that one of Britain's early warning attack satellites had gone missing. Of course I had to step into the breach and deal with that before I felt I'd earned my lunch time pie and pint. The afternoon, if anything, was worse. I had to battle with the might of the evil corrupt Empire on behalf of the Federation, though this was as nothing compared to doing battle with the might of my nanny in order to break out of the playpen and find a new arm for tattered old teddy. Finally, I entered a magical world of fairies and grottoes in the traditional hunt for treasure, without which no adventurer's day is complete. The blame for my day of mayhem and monsters lies fair and square with 8th Day Software, which has just released the first six in its series called 'Games Without Frontiers', all written with The Quill for the 48K Spectrum and all selling at the incredible price of £1.75 (including postage, from 8th Day Software, [redacted]). CHEAP BUT GOOD As with the recent batch of cut-rate arcade software, cheap prices don't necessarily mean inferior quality. It was heartening to load these adventures up and discover that the general standard was very high indeed, catering for a range of preferences and ability levels. Don't expect glossy packaging for that price, though the cassette covers look smart with their uniform black background and silver lettering. Another standard feature is the inclusion on the B-side of each cassette of the storyline for the adventure you've bought, and of the others in the series, with a few pages on the playing of adventure games in general. Each adventure is graded as beginner's, moderate or advanced, and hint sheets or individual clues are available from 8th Day. This thorough and professional approach would be wasted, of course, if the adventures themselves were dismal efforts, but they're far from being that. Even the beginner's game proved pretty tough going in places. FLOE AND THE KIDS This is Ice Station Zero, whose loading screen for some reason shows a pterodactyl flying over an iceberg. I could understand a polar bear, huskies and even a Yeti in the icy wastes, but a pterodactyl? This is the one with mad Stirling and the billion dollar ransom, and you have to cross the Arctic ice-cap to get to him. You begin outside a small snow-covered tent on the western edge of an immense ice-field with a pack of wolves howling across the frozen plains. Though there are a few items in the tent, the means to defend yourself against the wolves (and their newly acquired striker) is carefully hidden away somewhere for you to find. Little graphics touches are possible when using The Quill, such as when you EXAMINE GUN which shows you the number of bullets remaining, while FIRE GUN produces a couple of bullet-holes either side of the screen. Can you escape the polar bear and the Yeti, what happens if you remove your clothing (known as losing your Kagool) and how do you make the air turn blue? The storyline of this one is full of healthy nonsense but the standard of the text is very high, as with most of this series. From Yeti to Nanny and the moderately difficult Cuddles, described as an adventure for big kids. Pack the nappies, examine the potty and plot your route for finding a new arm for teddy, who you thoughtlessly left up a tree. As you move round the nursery you find coloured building blocks, each with a different letter on it - and no, they don't spell out a rude word. But woe betide the player who searches the nappy cupboard without nasal protection. NUCLEAR 'N NAUGHTY From the nursery to nuclear war with Four Minutes to Midnight, which opens in dramatic style. 'You are on the forecourt of a small gas station beside several neglected gasoline pumps. There is a small road waning to the east while the garage fronting is west. You can also see a dusty mini-bus. A car is careering down the road towards the station.' Needless to say you don't have many turns before 'The car hits the pumps! With a massive explosion the station erupts in a ball of flames!' You too, of course. Unfortunately a slight lack of care over the inputs means that it's virtually impossible to get through the first few moves properly. You can step the car exploding but it still burns, and you have to respond to the driver's pleas for help by somehow rescuing him. You're told his name is Dave, but GET DAVE, CARRY DAVE, HELP DAVE and so on all fail to work. Eventually my patience ran out and I cheated to discover I should have typed RECRUIT DAVE. Hmmmm... bit naughty, that. Also naughty is a routine in in Search of Angels, an espionage thriller. You very soon find yourself at an airport where the girl on the desk asks you for your destination. Only by looking at the Hint Sheet can you discover your possible destinations of exotic locations - such as Rio, Casablanca, Berlin, Tokyo and London. Once you know where you can go, however, you can move around the world trying to piece together clues about the lost early warning satellite and the dead CIA agent floating in the River Thames. SPACE 'N FAERIS Naturally there had to be a sci-fi story in this batch. Quann Tulla is vaguely in the Snowball tradition of space ships, robots, security doors, secret manuals and so on. 'The fate of the Universe is in your hands!' My reaction to that was blunt and brief, and I was promptly told: 'Hygiene Clone II appears from nowhere with a bar of soap to clean out your mouth!' Finally Faeri, an advanced difficulty game whose plot twists and turns so much that it's hard to describe. You're in a fantasy world, looking for treasure, with the guardians of the Underworld and Overworld out to prevent you from doing that. There are 30 main treasures and an additional three Sacred Treasures. 8th Day reckons this one will keep you busy for the next six months.

In Ice Station you leave your tent to fight hungry wolves.

Micro Adventurer

John Fraser

MICRO: Spectrum 48K PRICE: £1.75 FORMAT: Cassette SUPPLIER: 8th Day Software, [redacted] You might not have gathered this from the title, but Quann Tulla is a science fiction adventure in which you take on the whole might of an evil galactic empire. The name comes from the spaceship, the Quann Tulla, on which you are the sole survivor. You are about to be attacked by approaching alien vessels. Eventually, if you survive long enough, you may succeed in leaving your ship via a teleportation device. This will set you down on a remote planet for a final confrontation with the forces of evil. Although the game begins, like so many space adventures, on a marooned spaceship, the atmosphere is vididly conveyed. Like the other games in Eighth Day's series of cheap adventures this one was written with the Quill. Although the Quill format is recognisable the game should appeal to a good many adventurers at beginner and slightly more experienced levels. For the uninitiated side two contains a menu with options for the storyline, playing hints and descriptions of Eighth Day's other games. The hints are general and don't refer to any specific game, so no secrets are given away. This might seem unnecessary for the more advanced player but newcomers will find them very useful. You can get a hints sheet which is a good deal more forthcoming than the help facility in the game as that only warns you not to use excessive violence. This is a game with all the ingredients that a Sci-Fi fan could wish for: robots, force fields, secret missions, etc. It's certainly well worth £1.75, providing as much fun as some adventures I've played which cost three times the price.

Your Spectrum

AND ON THE 8TH DAY... Yet another Liverpudlian software house has just programmed itself into existence. Called 8th Day Software, the company's opening its range with six text adventures, ranging in difficulty from beginner's stuff to 'jolly difficult'. All have a low price of £1.75, but 8th Day is quick to disclaim the "you-get-what-you-pay-for' syndrome. The six new titles, all launched under the 'Games Without Frontiers' banner, are all Quilled adventures and your measly £1.75 even includes postage, packing and VAT. How they can do it at such a low price and still make a profit defeats us. Unwrapping the first six packages, we have Four Minutes to Midnight (an advanced strategy adventure), Cuddles (a moderately difficult adventure for 'big' kids), Quann Tulla (a science fiction adventure), Ice Station Zero (a beginner's crime solving adventure), In Search of Angels (another crime adventure) and Faerie (an advanced fantasy adventure). All the games can be ordered direct from 8th Day Software, so give them a ring on [redacted].

In Search of Angels - one of six packages priced at £1.75!