A long time ago ..

Before the Commodore 64, before the first IBM PC ever shipped, there was a remarkable desktop system called the CBM PET. One of the earliest games ever written for the CBM PET, and for any desktop system for that matter, was a dungeon crawl game called Telengard.

Back in 1975, when TSR's D&D was new, desktop microcomputers were just beginning to emerge. Back then, computer games were few, and found running often only rogue on mainframe systems. Within a few years though, the CBM PET would be produced by MOS Technology, which became the Commodore Semiconductor Group. By 1977, Commodore releases the CBM PET 2001, soon evolving into the VIC 20 and the Commodre 64, which would launch the age of home computing well exceding every other system in every regard with features, market penetration, software releases, demand and revenue. Commodore has not seen its due in the tales of computing history .. there was no system to compare at the time, and why new hardware and software are still being created today for an architecture that was there at the beginning.

Telengard was authored by Dan Lawrence back in 1976 on Digital Equipment Corp mini systems, which were really mainframe class computers. While attending Purdue at Lafayette in 1978, Dan acquired a new PET 2001, and rewrote Telengard for the PET. At a D&D gaming convention, Telengard got noticed by Avalon Hill, a stratedgy gaming company who were just beginning to publish computer games. By 1981, Avalon Hill released Telengard for the PET.

Just before the release of the c64, I started to see Atari 400's and Timex Sinclair home computers, with Atari running some pretty cool games, certainly much better than anything on the 2600 or the new Intellivision consoles. It was around this time I first saw Telengard running on a CBM PET. Even in green monochrome, there was a magic about computer gaming that captivated and never let go. Those really were the days ..

At sys64738.net, I've posted a rework of Telengard called DDI Telengard.
The site works properly in Internet Explorer, best viewed at 1024x768.

It's been a life long hobby project of mine, and one that I wanted to share with the Commodore community at large. It's a highly enhanced version, with many new features and code corrections for smoother and richer game play. You may not notice much difference at first, as I strived to perfect the game more than change it for the sake of change. To the contrary, much of the game's code flow remains faithful to the original code, with enhancements that give the game a bit more depth. Nearly every section of the program has been reworked to reclaim memory, perfect mechanics, and infuse features. After thoroughly understanding the program now, I can say I'm really impressed with the depth of Dan's advanced programming skills on the c64, being a new platform in 1983. It's one thing to have all that c64 experience since, and be able to program like a wizard, but entirely another thing when you're one of the first to do so.

The domain, and hopefully the site, will be online for five years. There are many resources there and I invite you to have a visit and relive some good olde dungeon dwelling days.

Sounds good, pass on using IE though lol..more holes than ass convention.
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If you click on the link you'll see a d64 for download. No IE required!

I love me some telegard, Will play this evening after work and report.
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I must be missing something, because this is just plain old Telengard. Where is the D64 containing the new version?
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The site is new and I've been making several updates to it, along with the resource content. I don't expect to have to make any further updates at this point. I've checked on the DDI Telengard.zip file, which was updated recently with the wrong d64 disk image. I've placed the correct DDI Telengard.d64 disk image in the DDI Telengard.zip file. My apologies to anyone who had recently downloaded the d64, only to find it was the original AH Telengard.

In case that was not your issue ..

All the resources on sys64738.net can be downloaded by clicking on various resource graphic images. The resource graphic images will show when moving the mouse pointer over a parent graphic image. Just move the mouse around the page and anything that changes will be a resource. Fully functional in IE, and also should be in newer versions of FF, not yet tested in chrome.

DDI Telengard can be played online as well, however characters can not be saved online, and a couple of game features can not be mapped to the Java64 emulator keyboard.

Also, as of 2014, the newest versions of Java for your browser will not load "unsigned apps", and requires the purchase of a SSL Certificate, and a lot of technical effort to get the app signed with the security certificate. This is Sun's newest implementation of security for Java, which unfortunatley has the effect of excluding any non-commercial hosted apps, as few not for profit site admins can afford the yearly costs of app signing.

Long story short, the Java64 emulator app is not signed, and you'll likely get a message either denying to load the app, or asking your permission to do so. If you're running older versions of Java, Java either won't care or will require that you add the sys64738.net domain to an exception list in the Java Console, which should be found in your Windows Control Panel. This only needs to be done once. Please have me elaborate if you have any Java questions or concerns.

Otherwise ..

Simply click on the DDI Floppy Disk in the lower left to download the DDI Telengard zip package.

Any feedback on the game would be great. Check the txt file in the zip package for more info. A LOT of time and effort went in to this project, much more than will be apparent at first glance. This was an intensive high calibre effort to perfect a great game. If you're a die hard Telengard fan, you'll soon realize what improvements and enhancements were made. For those new to the game, it should be an enjoyable intro to simpler dungeon dwelling days ..

I hope the site is also a nice diversion, where there are several links to early computer RPG gaming history sites.

Fight, Cast, Evade and Enjoy ..

Clicking that link gives me a D64 containing a character generator, a few sample characters.... And plain old regular Telengard.

Edit - sorry, I didn't read your reply carefully enough. Thanks!
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Can't wait to try this. Thanks for fixing the download!
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Spent a few minutes with this... Truly inspired work, thanks very much!!
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I've had a go with it. The additions are pretty cool. I'm especially excited to try the cartridge version (going to try it with VICE, as I don't have that sort of hardware sitting around). I would love to have a look at the source. I've always wanted to add some spells of my own!

The DDI Telengard ROM images are not CRT's. There are three files for the three EPROM's that comprise the cart version of the game, as implemented on a Jason Ranheim CPR3 cart. The CPR3 board schematic is included with the ROM's, which can be transcribed to a PCB layout, or manually wired up on a ProtoCart Mini or Vector plug board, or on any proto board and a hacked c64 cart card edge. Otherwise, I don't think VICE emulates JR carts. A pdf of the modified code source is up on my site as well ..
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Dale,

Do you have a complete Telengard manual that has a detailed description of ALL the spells for you to post on your site, if possible?

The descriptions (in the manuals that I have downloaded from various sites) start on page eleven, but then on page twelve the section on Monsters begin. Page eleven describes spells up to Level 2, that's it.

Thanks!
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The AH Telengard manual is the best documentation I've found for the game. Details on 3rd through 6th level spells were never published by AH, and were apparently meant to be discovered through game play.

AH Telengard spells ..



DDI Telengard Spells


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Dale, thank you for your quick reply.

May your sword always remain sharp and your backpack be full of Telengard gold!
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Thanks for posting the manual

zap
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Telengard fans ..

One final code revision was made to DDI Telengard and the final d64 release has been posted at sys64738.net. It was a critical fix to the save routine.



Over the last few months, I had small number of DDI Telengard cartridge PCB's fabricated, added the logic and burned EPROM's. The finished cartridges were sold at the 2014 ECCC last month.



All the resources needed to make your own DDI Telengard cartridge are available in a single zip package at sys64738.net. Details can be found in the mini blog on the right of the page, and in the DDI Cart zip package.
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