Hocus Pocus ------------ Hocus Pocus.atr - boot without basic Disk labeled "HOCUS POCUS (c) Frank Cohen 1984 Atari 800 48k". See accompanying picture. File List ------------ DOS.SYS - DOS 2.0 DUP.SYS - DOS 2.0 ZUGY.SET - Character Set ZUG2.SET - Character Set ZUG3.SET - Character Set TITLE.PIC - Title Screen Pic AUTORUN.SYS - Hocus Pocus main program Early version of Frank Cohen's Scrolls of Abadon. Several differences are noticeable right away: - Main title music is not as elaborate as Scrolls of Abadon. - Player starts with 3 lives instead of 5. - Screen and Status Bar colors are different. - Graphic markings on the blocks on screen are different. - No musical tune upon collecting Amulate. - Transport disks don't spin - Gems pulse instead of rotating Scroll/Spell differences ------------------ Some of the scrolls have different text in them and additionally, some of the scrolls don't exist in one version or the other though the spell from that scroll works. You must type in the entire spell name in Hocus Pocus while in Scrolls of Abadon it's only necessary to type the first 3 letters of the spell. Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ To whomever shall find this scroll- My name is Hiram, an explorer, who like yourself has found himself zapped into this strange world by the Wizard. My quest is to find the Wizard's four Magic Amulates and free myself from his magic. I am not certain that I will succeed, so I will try to leave a diary of my quest on scrolls such as these. May the Gods favor be with you... Hocus Pocus version ------------------ (same) Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ To the mortal who reads this, I congratulate you. However, the end to our quest is not nearby. I have seen the Wizard pass this way. Not knowing my presence he used a magic spell to walk against the arrows. Type the word: 'WALK' and you will find that the arrows no longer inhibit the direction you wish to travel. And now I must continue my quest. (Only necessary to type "WAL") Hocus Pocus version ------------------ To the mortal who reads this, I congratulate you. However, the end to our quest is not nearby. I have seen the Wizard pass this way. Not knowing my presence he used a magic spell to freeze the creatures. Type the word: 'ICE' to incant the Wizard's spell and the creatures will stop temporarily. And now I must continue my quest. Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ I have found a way to freeze the creatures; however, they will still be deadly to touch. Type the word 'ICE' to incant the Wizard's spell and the creatures will stop temporarily. I find myself growing weaker as the end of the quest still eludes me. Brave is the heart, but old is the body. Hocus Pocus version ------------------ The power of the arrows can be eased by incanting one of the Wizard's spell... Type the word: 'WALK' and you will find that the arrows no longer inhibit the direction you wish to travel. I find myself growing weaker as the end of the quest still eludes me. Brave is the heart, but old is the body. Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ With all of his power, I have seen the Wizard killed at the jaws of one of the creatures. But the Wizard's power permeates even the world of death. When you see Game Over, by typing the word 'RESSURECTION' you will be able to live one more life. I wonder what other spells the Wizard knows of... (Only necessary to type "RES") Hocus Pocus version ------------------ (same)(Only necessary to type "RES") Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ There seemed no way to kill the bouncing creature Nim. Now, however, I have found a way. Type the word 'SPARKS' to incant the Wizard's spell. Lightning will spark from your hands killing everything around you. Beware of the Beast! For this spell does not have any effect on him. (Only necessary to type "SPA") Hocus Pocus version ------------------ There seemed no way to kill the bouncing creature Nim. Now, however, I have found a way. Type the word 'SPARKS' to incant the Wizard's spell. When the Fire Button is pressed lightning will spark from your hands killing everything around you. Beware of killing any of the Wizard's creatures, for he will become angry and send the Beast after you! Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ (no scroll/message - Spell doesn't work) Hocus Pocus version ------------------ Beware of the Fire Dragon, for he can burn the skin from your bones. I have seen the Wizard destroy the Fire Dragon with fire balls. Type the word: 'FIRE' to incant the Wizard's spell. Press the fire button and point the joystick to fling a fire ball. It will kill all creatures except the Nim, and the Beast. (Although this scroll/spell is displayed in the game, it doesn't seem to be implemented.) Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ Now that you have proved yourself Master of the First Level. I will show you the power of flight. Type the word: 'FLIGHT' to incant the Wizard's spell and you will be transported to the next level. You may only use this spell once. Our journey might be closing to the end, the Wizard is near. (Only necessary to type "FLI") Hocus Pocus version ------------------ (Scroll text not implemented/corrupt, but spell works) Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ Accidentally I rubbed some of the magic dust in my eyes. Blinded for a short time, I find that I can see the Transporter disks before all of the Gems have been picked up. Type the word 'VISSA' to incant the Wizard's spell and the Transporter Disks will appear. (Only necessary to type "VIS") Hocus Pocus version ------------------ (Scroll text no implemeted/corrupt, but spell works) Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ To view the entire map of the game blocks before actually traversing all of the game blocks you may incant the Wizard's spell. Type the word 'MAPPA' to incant the Wizard's spell. When the Space Bar is pressed the entire map will be displayed. (Only necessary to type "MAP") Hocus Pocus version ------------------ (Scroll text not implemented/corrupt, but spell works) Scrolls of Abadon ------------------ YOU'VE DONE IT !!! Your arrival has forced the Wizard to flee. Our quest has come to its end. Now you may assume your rightful place as the Wizard. When you type the word: 'POW' on the keyboard you may control the direction of the creatures. Joystick #2 directs one of the three creatures. Press the Fire Button to switch to another creature. My friend, our quest has been long and hard yet I will always value our friendship as I follow the Wizard to wherever he shall go... Hocus Pocus version ------------------ (no scroll/message - Spell doesn't work) Bugs ------------ - The Amulate counter gets corrupted after level 2 which prevents you from clearing level 2 after collecting all 4 Amulates. You can use the 'FLIGHT' spell to progress to level 3 and beyond but the counter is still corrupted. - Corrupt scrolls - One scroll on level 2 and both scrolls on level 3 have corrupted text. I assume these are the FLIGHT, VISSA & MAPPA spells. - There are 4 levels and after that level 4 keeps repeating. - The level 4 layout only contains 3 Amulates even though 4 are required to clear the level. - You can use the 'FLIGHT' spell to start on level 4. After collecting the 3 Amulates, the level doesn't end. Use 'FLIGHT' spell again to repeat level 4, Upon collecting the first Amulate, the level ends and repeats level 4 while corrupting the Amulate counter. Notes ------------ - Unsure what the "FS" on the physical disk represents. Author Frank Cohen believes it signifies the demo disk he sent to Freedom Software when pitching the game. - Title screen is lacking FANDA copyright. - Scrolls are coded in the game to display in the order of a scroll being accessed. As an example, if you advance to level 3 or 4 before finding a scroll, the first scroll displayed will be the scroll you would normally find on level 1. - permission from author Frank Cohen to share this version with community - 02/22/21. Archived - National Videogame Museum (J. Hardie) 9/9/2020