Talk:Repton (video game)

Rename 'The Repton Series'?

As this article covers many different games, should it not be renamed 'The Repton Series' with redirects from each individual game title? The other alternative would be splititng the article but I think it works well as one big article. -- Retro junkie 01:35, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

I don't know whether there's any point in actually moving the article, but redirects are always useful, so I have now created several, both from variants of The Repton Series and from individual game titles. Let me know if I've missed any. Thanks Paul20070 21:47, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Language

Could anyone tell me what language the BBC games were written in? Raw assembler? Surely not BASIC? Or did they have C compilers then?

Pretty sure it would have been developed in raw assmebler (machine code). Most games were. In general the BASIC interpreter is too slow to do any kind of slick animation/scrolling/special effects (Much to my frustration as a kid!) Although some games were cunningly designed to work around such limitations, or to use embedded blocks of assmebly code within the BASIC code... most of the more slick games like Repton, were machine code from top to bottom. -- Nojer2 13:39, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Boulderdash clone?

Isn't Repton essentially a (nice) Boulder Dash clone? If so, then the article should definitely say so.--Malcohol 08:46, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Certainly not! Both belong to the same genre -- to attempt to summarise briefly, a series of levels, each a square grid, with a player-controlled character who moves around one square at a time; the level is filled with puzzle objects that interact with the player in different ways. I don't know which game was the first of this genre, but I'd bet there were others even before Boulder Dash. Aside from that, though, the similarities are few. Both games contain a lot of types of object that don't appear in the other, and that leads to the two games having completely different "feels" when you play them. -- 11 July 2005 10:05

The other Repton

There is, confusingly, another well-known home computer game from the period called Repton. [1] It's a Defender-inspired game for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit, and Commodore 64. Mirror Vax 1 July 2005 20:43 (UTC)

The Reception section of this article erroneously refers to the other Repton and should perhaps be revised or removed. DavidBoddie (talk) 17:13, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Screenshots

The screenshots seem to be just of the Electron version, and not the original BBC version. They differed in many ways. AFAIR, the Electron version didn't use hardware scrolling, which permitted the status bar down the side. 213.120.158.228 21:20, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Repton Thru Time

i'm sure someone will disagree with what I'm about to say, but I have recently been playing the flash version of Repton Thru Time, and found that one of the levels (Pre-History) is impossible to complete. This is on account of having to collect one of the keys from underneath a boulder situated between two trees. If you collect this key, then attempt to move, the boulder falls and crushes the game's eponimous hero. You may think at this point 'No worries, I've still got two lives', but you re-materialise back at the beginning, where you will eventually find that your path has been blocked by more boulders which have fallen as you've collected the berries. Have a go if you don't believe me.

I can't speak for the other levels of the game as Pre-History did my head in so much I eventually gave up.

81.152.222.87 19:38, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

If this object is indeed a key, then it does not need to be collected in order to complete the screen. Only one key has to be collected, not all of them. In any case, you'd be better off asking this on a BBC games forum such as the ones at stairwaytohell.com. —Blotwell 14:58, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Hi. Thanks for getting back to me. I knew someone would disagree with me - and now I'm going to disagree with myself. After I posted my comment the other day, I had a go at the Victorian level and found I was able to complete this one. I guess I must be doing something wrong with Pre-History therefore, so I will ask someone at the site you suggested. Thanks again. 81.152.223.30 22:09, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I wrote the flash version of the repton games, and although i've tried to recreate the logic of the gameplay as close as i can, i have done this by eye. I know for sure the 1st level of prehistoric is probably impossible as when the game starts the spirits on the real game just off the start viewing area all move into cages. On my version there is one cage left. I have no idea why this is as the spirits just follow the wall in (As far as i can tell) exactly the same way as the original. I did my best. :) You can actually skip to the later levels by clicking on the 0 in the box at the start and using the cursor keys to adjust the level. 218.162.183.34 13:03, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

Hi there. I hope I didn't offend you with my comments about Repton Thru Time. I was unfamiliar with the game at the time I wrote my message, having never actually played any of the original Repton series, so I thought that any programming mistakes must have been something to do with the original design and not the flash version. Therefore, please accept my apologies. Also, thanks for the advice on skipping levels as I did not know you could do this. 81.152.217.198 09:46, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

(The object between two trees on Prehist Screen A is actually a time capsule; these do not need to be collected at all unless you need to replenish your time to avoid losing a life. On this screen you have plenty of time so you can just leave the time capsule alone. I know you say you've passed the level now but I'm clarifying so that people aren't given a misleading impression about the game being impossible.) 91.105.55.182 01:41, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

For those who are interested in such matters here is a list of the Repton levels which I have found are impossible to complete (for whatever reason that may be).

• Repton Thru Time
  • Prehist: Level A
  • Victorian: Level C
  • Victorian: Level H
• Repton Around The World In 40 Screens
  • America: Level F
  • Arctic: Level E

This list is by no means exhaustive and there may be others. I haven't got round to playing all the levels on all the games yet. Watch this space. 217.43.192.135 21:42, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

• The Life of Repton
  • Work: Level D —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.43.195.39 (talk) 16:44, 28 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Work: Level G —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.152.148.92 (talk) 19:56, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

We're now invited to create user IDs and log in so we can compare our scores with those of other players. Would help if the glitches were sorted out. Egdirf 19:42, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

I hate to say this, but you may be giving up too easily when you get stuck on a puzzle. All levels of the Repton games are possible to complete. (Though it does depend on which version you are using; some unofficial versions have gameplay bugs that make certain levels impossible, for example by making the fungus grow much faster than on the "real" Repton games.) Work D, for example, is one of the levels I completed on the original BBC version when I had it as a child.

I have written solutions to all the Repton 3 and Life of Repton levels, which can be downloaded from http://www.stairwaytohell.com . I haven't got round to writing up the Around the World and Thru Time levels yet but I have completed them all and they are all possible. 91.105.27.2 19:54, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Wait a second. Prehist A? Is the problem that one of the spirits is going in an endless little circle? If so, that shouldn't happen but I can explain why it does. Let me know if that is your problem. 91.105.27.2 20:08, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, that's right, the spirits do go round in endless circles. I also had the same thing happen on the two Victorian levels I mentioned, and Life of Repton Work Level G. The problem on the Life of Repton Work level D, meanwhile, seems to be with the transporters. Use one and you are transported out of the game rather than to another area of the screen. Repton is then able to pass through walls and deadly objects, but can no longer collect any of the things needed to complete the level. This also happens on Level A, but it is possible to complete this level without using the transporter.

As regards the Around the World series, I think you might be right there. I should probably persevere a bit more, although I spent several hours on the particular levels, and there seemed to be no way through to the end. In the Arctic level, for example, the route to the ice pick that is needed to unlock the safes is apparently blocked by thin ice, with no way of reaching it.

Like you say, however, I might be giving up too early. I'll keep trying though, but will also keep an eye on the stairwaytohell website in case I'm still stuck.

Once again, thanks for getting back to me on this and hopefully you may be able to remedy the problem. 81.156.154.83 22:06, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

PS: Forgot to say the other day that the spirits also go around in endless circles on other Victorian levels, although it is possible to correct this by dropping/pushing a boulder on them. This is definitely the case in levels E and G (I think, but have never been able to get that one right). It can't be done in C and H though. 217.43.195.174 12:25, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

OK. The issue is that each of the Repton 3 packs (Repton 3 itself, Around the World, Life of Repton and Thru Time) includes the levels and the game engine, but the versions of the game engine are not identical. The three add-on packs use a later version with a different algorithm for deciding which direction a spirit first tries to move as you start the level. On the old version that came with Repton 3, spirits would always start by trying to move west, and if this was blocked they would follow the walls to their left as they normally do. This means that if you play some of the later levels, such as Prehist A, on the Repton 3 game engine, the spirits start off dazed because they start by trying to move west and have no wall to take hold of. To complete the levels, you need to play them on the later version of the game engine.

On Work D, it depends on which transporter is malfunctioning; you don't need the second one, only the one in the lower left. As I said, I did complete this one on the original BBC version, so you may just have a buggy copy of the level file. The secret to Arctic E is to find the correct ice-pick.... there is one that is possible to reach. 91.107.134.55 16:40, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in mind. I really should probably invest in a copy of this game rather than keep playing the flash version. Incidentally, it's on the flash version where I've been experiencing the above mentioned problems, so I guess it must be based on the different version you mention. Hopefully, the guy who created it might read this and do some much needed tweaking, especially as you can now log in as a member of his site to play against others. What use is a game you can't complete?

Apologies if you are him btw, and thanks again for getting back to me. 81.157.70.162 (talk) 12:09, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

So where is that ice pick on E? I'm still trying to find it. Some directions there would be useful. 81.152.144.127 (talk) 23:09, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Ah, sorry, I haven't been watching this page for some time. My walkthrough for Around the World should be available from Stairway to Hell some time in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the correct key (ice-pick) on Arctic E is the one in the bottom-left corner. 91.107.176.87 (talk) 01:56, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Just been trying to get there, but can't seem to do it. Whichever direction I choose, I always seem to find my way blocked. I think I'll have to wait for your Stairway to Hell article. Thanks 81.152.1.70 (talk) 13:43, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Just a heads-up to let you know that the walkthrough is (at last!!!) available. 91.107.131.126 (talk) 01:47, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Thenks for keeping me up to date. I'll check it out 81.152.222.39 (talk) 12:43, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I see the problem now. There seems to be an extra boulder on the version I have been playing. When you start 2E on this version, moving left, right, up then left, you are forced to push a boulder to reach the next part, which falls over another boulder and blocks the way down. There is, therefore, no way of completing the level on this version. Similarly, two of the spirits on Level H of the Victorian round in Repton Thru Time go round in endless circles and there's no way to free them and complete the game. There are also similar errors on the other levels, which I've mentioned above. Oh well, Guess I'll just have to buy the proper version. 86.150.43.251 (talk) 16:50, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Repton in other media

Has anyone ever considered a film or television series featuring Repton? I'm sure it would make an interesting idea if it were ever possible.

I have - and have discussed this possibility with Richard (Hanson). However, I have so far failed to come up with a suitable storyline.Geraldholdsworth (talk) 21:24, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Repton anim.gif

Image:Repton anim.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 04:18, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

C64 screenshot

I have never played the C64 version so I don't want to simply edit the page as I may be wrong, but -- the caption says this is an in game screenshot, whereas to me it looks like the editor. (The editor menus and control panel are clearly visible along the top and in the top-right.) Does anyone know? 91.105.25.170 (talk) 01:39, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

You're quite right, it is the editor.129.234.252.65 (talk) 08:01, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

The C64 version was played within the editor screen, so yes the screen shot is right.Geraldholdsworth (talk) 15:01, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Desktop Repton

Released in late 2001, at a RISC OS show. I have mail from David Bradforth [ProAction] from April 2001 saying "want to publish for Wakefield", meaning the Wakefield RISC OS show in May that year; that didn't happen, but he did at least get to see the game at that show (I took a copy with me). I know that it was on sale at the 2002 Wakefield show (I was there).

I used graphics from previously-released Arc versions (64×64 sprite support appeared in mid-2002, using level data from John Wallace's versions); in 2004, Richard Hanson sent me the extra levels for Repton 1 (PC version), and I'd done a few R1 levels of my own.

As for why: the 1988 release. I don't doubt that it worked well on Arthur, but I ran it on RISC OS 3.1 and found that it just didn't get along well with RISC OS: completely single-tasking, had to reboot when finished.

Dsalt (talk) 18:23, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Additional screenshots query

Hello,

I've recently grabbed in-game screenshots of both "Riptoff" (ZX Spectrum) and "Ego: Repton 4" (Archimedes). I would like to upload them under a fair use rationale and add them to this article. Firstly this would illustrate these games (which do look different from the Repton series proper) and also provide some images to the bottom part of the article which unlike the top part, seems to be lacking in screenshots.

Normally I would just do this, but I notice in the recent edit history, it was mentioned that this article may already have too many non-free images on it. Is there a concensus on this? I would upload them if I thought there's a good chance they wouldn't get immediately removed again. Is it whorthwhile to add these additional images of these other games? (just one image per game) As I say, there is a purpose to it as these are actually different games than the main Repton 1-3 series. Thanks for any possible input on this, Cheers Green Lane (talk) 10:27, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Oh well, I added the images to the article anyway so everyone can at least see them. Presonally, I think they are useful in illustrating these other games. They also provide some images to balance the article so there are some pics in the lower part of it, rather than all in the top half. If anyone disagrees and removes them, then fair enough, I won't contest it - it's really not that important, and I'll probably be too busy with other stuff. Cheers! Green Lane (talk) 13:43, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Sarah Walker

I have discovered through posts on the stardot forums that Tom Walker, the programmer of Repton: The Lost Realms, now uses the name Sarah. I will amend the page accordingly. 2A00:23C7:548F:C01:F881:7D0E:F718:A7DC (talk) 14:05, 17 February 2023 (UTC)