Knight Tyme
| Knight Tyme | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Game No. | 543 | |
| Voting | 7.80 points, 5 votes | |
| Developer | David Jones, Paul Freeman | |
| Publisher | Mastertronic | |
| Musician | David Whittaker | |
| HVSC-File | MUSICIANS/W/Whittaker_David/Knight_Tyme.sid | |
| Release | 1986 | |
| Platform | Amstrad CPC, C64, ZX Spectrum. MSX | |
| Genre | Graphic Adventure | |
| Gamemode | Single player | |
| Operation |   
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| Media |  
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| Language | 
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| Information | Series:
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Description[edit | edit source]
Knight Tyme (an archaic spelling, meaning "Knight's Age") is a graphic adventure game spanning 25 screens, rendered using a flip-screen technique. As a magical knight, the player must return to their own era and medieval castle within a limited time from the spaceship "USS Piscies", to which they have accidentally teleported. To do this, the knight can use items scattered throughout the spaceship and on the surrounding planets, as well as ask the spaceship's crew and the planets' inhabitants for help.
"Knight Tyme" is the third game in a four-part series centered on the magical knight. It is the sequel to "Finders Keepers" and "Spellbound", but does not require any prior knowledge of those games. Aside from using the "Windowmation" menu system already familiar from "Spellbound", references to the previous games are limited to insignificant allusions. For example, the character "Hooper" looks like the king from "Finders Keepers", and just like in "Spellbound", there is also a fish in "Knight Tyme" — this time, however, it is unlabeled.
Backstory[edit | edit source]
In the previous game, "Spellbound", our magical knight successfully returned all the characters to their respective eras and brought them home. However, this exhausts him so much that upon his return he makes a fatal mistake — and instead of returning to his medieval castle, he catapults himself into the 25th century and lands on the spaceship "USS PISCIES." He has 30 days to correct this error, or the Paradox Police will discover and arrest him. So he sets off to find the Tyme Guardians and obtain a time machine from them. First, however, he must communicate with the spaceship's crew — and his only helpers for this initial step are two small robots and a transputer.
Design[edit | edit source]
The spaceship and the planets are equipped with numerous complex devices that are fitting for a 25th-century setting and are visually appealing. However, only a few of the numerous planets can actually be visited, and these each consist of only a few rooms. Anyone hoping for an expansive game board — especially after their experience with the predecessor game "Spellbound" — will be disappointed.
After the game starts, the sound is limited to background noise during menu actions. However, the magic knight carries a Walkman ("Personal Stereo") which provides musical accompaniment to the game as soon as he puts on the headphones. The melody, with its numerous special effects, fits the futuristic spaceship setting, but becomes intrusive over time.
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Graphics[edit | edit source]
The graphics are rendered in monochrome bitmap mode, using only a 256x152 pixel area for the spaceship scenes. Since only one screen page is reserved for this purpose in the Commodore 64's main memory (at address $E000, with the corresponding color information in the screen memory starting at address $CC00), a mixture of old and new screen content is visible for approximately 0.4 seconds during the transition from one screen to the next.
Only the magic knight is represented by four monochrome sprites (sprites 4–7). All other elements, especially all other characters and the objects scattered in the spaceship and on the planets, are incorporated into the bitmap representations. If objects overlap with characters, the character is preferentially displayed in the corresponding areas. If only objects overlap, the object that is furthest down in the object table (see section "Internal Data Structures") is displayed.
Hints[edit | edit source]
Controls[edit | edit source]
The player character can be controlled either with a joystick in port 2 or with the keyboard. The same applies to navigation and selection in the menu system, which can be accessed by pressing the fire button or the spacebar.
When using the keyboard controls, the following mappings apply:
- SPACE : Start the game, access the menu system.
- N / M : Left / Right.
- A / Z : Up / Down.
- RUN/STOP : Exits the game.
The commands that solve the given task and ultimately return the magical knight to the Middle Ages and his castle are entered via a multi-level menu system, which Mastertronic calls "Windowmation." A first press of the joystick's fire button or the spacebar opens the main menu with the various command types. A cursor in the form of a pointing hand can be moved up and down to the desired menu item before it is activated with the fire button or spacebar. This then either opens a submenu with further options or executes the desired action.
The list of actions offered in the individual menus is not static but can expand with additional entries based on the items the knight is carrying and his current location.
Screen Layout[edit | edit source]
Commands[edit | edit source]
Pressing the fire button or the spacebar activates a multi-level menu system where the desired action can be selected from the currently available commands and objects. This ensures that it is always clear which actions are possible in a given situation. All commands, except for "LAUNCH TIME MACHINE", must be confirmed with "EXECUTE COMMAND" or can be canceled with "REJECT COMMAND."
The following commands are always available:
- "PICK UP AN OBJECT" picks up an object located near the knight, provided he is not already carrying the maximum of 5 items (otherwise, the message "YOUR HANDS ARE FULL" appears). If multiple objects are within range, one of them is picked up.
- "DROP AN OBJECT" places one of the carried objects on the ground. The bucket of glue cannot be dropped, but can only be passed to other characters. The mirror breaks when dropped and can only be retrieved as useless shards.
- "TAKE AN OBJECT" takes an object from another character and transfers it to the Magic Knight, provided he is not already carrying the maximum of 5 objects.
- "GIVE AN OBJECT" gives an object belonging to the Magic Knight to another character, provided that character is not already carrying the maximum of 5 objects.
- "EXAMINE" examines a character, an object, the knight himself, or the spaceship. In particular, this can be used to determine the knight's power reserves and the spaceship's fuel reserves.
- "COMMAND A CHARACTER" gives an instruction to a character in the current room ("GO TO SLEEP", "WAKE UP", or "HELP").
- "READ SOMETHING" reads an inscription on an object or describes it in detail.
- "CAST A SPELL" activates a spell (see next section).
- "WEAR/UNWEAR OBJECT" opens a submenu with further options: "WEAR OBJECT" allows the Magic Knight to put on an object he is carrying. "UNWEAR OBJECT" allows him to take off an object and then carry it with him, provided he is not already carrying the maximum of 5 items. Otherwise, the attempt to take off the object fails with the message "YOUR HANDS ARE FULL".
Some commands appear in the menu only under certain conditions:
- "MOVE STARSHIP" moves the starship to a neighboring planet and is only available if the Magic Knight is on the starship's bridge, possesses a valid ID card, and has given Gordon the star map.
- "COMMUNICATE" makes contact with the inhabitants of the nearest planet ("REQUEST HELP" or "REFUEL STARSHIP") and is only available if the Magic Knight is on the starship's bridge and possesses a valid ID card.
- "USE TRANSPORTER" beams the Magic Knight to the nearest planet and appears only if the Magic Knight is in a transporter room and standing on the transporter's platform.
- "LAUNCH TIME MACHINE" starts the time machine and is only available when the Magic Knight is in the room with the time machine provided by the "Tyme Guardians".
Spells[edit | edit source]
- "REMOVE BARRIERS" removes barriers blocking the Magic Knight's path.
- "CONSULT ORACLE" consults the oracle.
- "FORTIFY CHARACTER" strengthens a character, for example, to give them enough strength to accept an object.
- "FORTIFY YOURSELF" strengthens the magic knight himself, but temporarily blocks further spells.
- "LIGHTNING BOLT" hurls a bolt of lightning that can then, for example, repair or power an object.
Tips[edit | edit source]
- If a character is too tired to help, you should put them to sleep (actions "COMMAND A CHARACTER" followed by "GO TO SLEEP") and wait a while before waking them up and asking for help again.
- If a character refuses to hand over an item, you can either put them to sleep as well, strengthen them (spell "FORTIFY CHARACTER"), or bribe them with gifts (for example, with the chocolate heart from the Transputer "Delta IV"), and then try again to get the item.
- When traveling by spaceship, it is recommended to request refueling on each planet visited to avoid running out of fuel if the destination planet is experiencing a fuel shortage ("SORRY MAGIC KNIGHT WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH FUEL TO FILL UP YOUR TANK" or even "SORRY MAGIC KNIGHT WE ARE OUT OF FUEL").
- The minimum speed ("TIME DISTORT 1") is sufficient for interplanetary travel: Increasing the speed only slightly reduces travel time (at best from 14 to 8 seconds), while fuel consumption increases proportionally. At minimum speed, a full tank is sufficient for a total of 25 interplanetary trips, while at maximum speed, the game ends without refueling after only the third trip due to fuel shortage.
Solution[edit | edit source]
The following sections present the shortest possible path to solving the game. In particular, only the necessary number of magical actions and objects are used.
Map[edit | edit source]
The following images show the rooms of the spaceship and the four visitable planets in succession. Once the Magic Knight has visited the "Guardians of Tyme", the room on the far right of the spaceship, previously Room 6 ("THE LIFE BOAT"), is replaced by Room 24 ("THE CONTROL COLUMN"), which then contains the time machine for returning to the Middle Ages. The corresponding internal room number is listed below each room; the location information in the "Step by Step" section also refers to these numbers.
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Star Map[edit | edit source]
The following graph shows the connections between the planets. Celestial bodies that must be visited to solve the game are highlighted in bold. These include the planets that can be visited via teleporters, as well as the black hole "Gangrole."
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Step by Step[edit | edit source]
To keep the following descriptions concise, some verbs represent a group of actions. "Attending" an item means initiating the "WEAR" action and selecting the item from the list of carried objects. "Steering" the spaceship to a planet corresponds to a sequence of "MOVE STARSHIP" actions on the spaceship's command bridge (Room 1) for each of the target planets listed as waypoints.
- On the bridge (Room 1), take the McTablet food from Sarab to ensure you have enough strength at all times.
- Remove the shield and place it down along with the personal stereo.
- Take the advert and gas mask from Sharon. In the airlock (Room 5), place the advert in front of the hexagonal door and use it as a stepladder to retrieve the pewter tankard and star map. Then take the advert back with you. On the bridge (Room 1), give the pewter tankard and star map to Gordon.
- To be accepted by the spaceship crew, the Magic Knight needs a valid service ID with a photograph. Therefore, take the instant film from Gordon and collect the camera in the rest room (room 0).
- Remove the gas mask, then take off the cloak of invisibility, because otherwise the Magic Knight won't be visible in his passport photo, and place it in the same spot as the gas mask.
- Give the camera and instant film to the robot "S3 E3" and ask for its help. S3 E3 will then take a photo of the Magic Knight. Take the photograph and the pot of glue from S3 E3.
- In the transputer room (Room 3), ask the transputer "Delta IV" for help and pick up the blank ID card it spits out. An accident occurs with the pot of glue, which causes the photo to stick to the correct spot on the ID card. Put on the now valid ID card.
- Pilot the spaceship from the current planet BRIGHTSTAR via EDEN to STARBASE 1. Ask Gordon for help to repair the transporter.
- In the transporter room, board the transporter and beam down to the planet "STARBASE 1" (coordinates X1Y2Z3).
- There, give Hector the pot of glue so you don't have to carry it around anymore. The pot is so sticky that it can't simply be put down, and most characters refuse to accept it.
- In the fuel and cargo bay (room 15), place the advertising brochure in front of the left hexagonal hatch and use it as a stepladder to reach the pair of boots. Pick up the boots and put them on immediately.
- From the transporter room (Room 11), beam back to the spaceship (coordinates X0Y0Z0), then pilot the spaceship via EDEN to MONOPOLE. Pick up and put on the cloak of invisibility and the gas mask, then go to the transporter room and board the transporter. Beam down to the planet "MONOPOLE" (coordinates X1Y8Z4).
- On the way to Hooper (Room 22), pick up the fragment of a sundial. From Hooper in his room (Room 23), receive another fragment of the sundial and the magic talisman. Put on the magic talisman, then return to the spaceship from the transporter room (Room 21) (coordinates X0Y0Z0).
- Put down the sundial fragments and remove the gas mask and cloak of invisibility. Pilot the spaceship via HERRSCHELL and PLOP PLOP to RETREAT. Put the gas mask and cloak back on and beam down to the planet (coordinates X8Y4Z1).
- Follow the path to the right and cast the "REMOVE BARRIERS" spell at the barrier (Room 9). Receive a third sundial fragment from Murphy, then return to the spaceship from Murphy's Moon (Room 7) (coordinates X0Y0Z0).
- Place the third sundial fragment with the other two, then cast the "LIGHTNING BOLT" spell. The lightning bolt will fuse the three fragments into a complete sundial; pick it up. Remove the gas mask and cloak of invisibility.
- Fly to OUTPOST, put on your gas mask and cloak of invisibility again, and beam down to the planet from the transport room (Room 2) (coordinates X8Y9Z6). Go to the right and acknowledge the messages from the loud voice (Room 18) and the "Tyme Guardians" (Room 20) with the fire button. Beam back to the spaceship from the old transporter (Room 16) (coordinates X0Y0Z0). Remove your gas mask and cloak of invisibility.
- Fly to GANGROLE via RETREAT and NAFF. Then go to the control room (Room 24, formerly Room 6) and repair the time machine there with the "LIGHTNING BOLT" spell.
- With the command "LAUNCH TYME MACHINE", the Magic Knight finally returns home.
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List of assistance from the individual planets[edit | edit source]
A whole range of information can only be obtained by traveling to planets and asking the inhabitants there for help (using the commands "COMMUNICATE" / "REQUEST HELP"). The following table compiles the responses the magic knight receives to this request for help.
| Planet | Coordinates of the transporter | Help text |
|---|---|---|
| ARIDIA | — | "THIS IS A RECORDED MESSAGE. THE SPACE PLAGUE HAS STRUCK HERE. I AM THE LAST SURVIVOR. KEEP CLEAR THERE IS NO KNOWN CURE." |
| BINGO | — | "THIS PLANET IS THE PROPERTY OF ARTHUR SCRUNGE. THE WINNER OF THE DAILY SOLAR NEWSPAPER 20 BILLION CREDIT GAME. ARTHUR IS NOT AT HOME JUST NOW BUT THE SLAVE DROIDS ARE READY TO REFUEL YOUR STARSHIP." |
| BRIGHTSTAR | — | "THIS IS THE BRIGHTSTAR COMMUNICATION CENTRE, WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF YOUR SITUATION MAGIC KNIGHT. WE SUGGEST THAT YOU TRAVEL IMMEDIATELY TO HERSCHELL TO PICK UP VITAL INFORMATION" |
| DENEB | — | "THIS IS A RECORDED MESSAGE. THE SPACE PLAGUE HAS STRUCK HERE. I AM THE LAST SURVIVOR. KEEP CLEAR THERE IS NO KNOWN CURE." |
| DRAGON EGG | — | "WARNING TO ALL CARBON BASED LIFE FORMS. DO NOT BEAM DOWN HERE. THIS IS A NEUTRON STAR !" |
| EDEN | — | "HELLO MATEY, DR VESUVIUS HERE ON PLANET EDEN APPARENTLY HOOPER THE ECCENTRIC LIVES ON A PLANET CALLED 'NAFF'" |
| GANGROLE | — | ("THERE IS NOBODY WITHIN SUB-SPACE COMMUNICATOR RANGE") |
| GATH | — | "HAIL STARSHIP, FABIAN THE HUMAN TRADER CLONE HERE. SORRY I CANNOT HELP YOU BUT MY BROTHER VESUVIUS MIGHT BE ABLE TO, HE IS ON EDEN" |
| HERSCHELL | — | "GREETINGS MAGIC KNIGHT, I HAVE A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHIEF ASTRONOMER. SHE SAYS 'GANGROLE IS A BLACK HOLE WITH A HIGH RATE OF ROTATION AND A VERY STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD'" |
| LIMBO | — | "MAY THE FORD BE WITH YOU MAGIC KNIGHT. WE ARE TOLD THAT THE PLANET HENSCHELL IS FAMOUS FOR IT'S ASTRONOMERS" |
| LYNX | — | "THIS IS RADIO LYNX ON 234 KHZ AND 97.2 FM. AND HERE IS AN URGENT NEWSFLASH FOR MAGIC KNIGHT 'MURPHY THE ECCENTRIC LIVES ON RETREAT AND THE TRANSPORTER COORDINATES ARE X8Y4Z1.'" |
| MENOPAUSIA | — | "THIS IS MENOPAUSIA WEATHER STATION. WE ARE EXPECTING PARTICLE STORMS IN THE REGION OF BRIGHTSTAR AND LIMBO. PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR SHIELDS ARE OPERATIONAL" |
| MONOPOLE | X1Y8Z4 | "HOOPER SAYS 'GO AWAY !! STARFLEET ARE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE TO DECENT FOLKS' AND BREAKS COMMUNICATION" |
| NAFF | — | "HELLO MAGIC KNIGHT I AM ZOBBF. I EXPECT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR HOOPER. HE MOVED ON AFTER HIS 'SECRET' BECAME KNOWN. THE RUMOURS SAY THAT HE FOUND A SECTION OF THE GOLDEN SUNDIAL OF ALPHA. WHILE MINING FOR QUARKANIUM." |
| NIRVANA | — | "GREETINGS USS PISCES, MAY ALLAH GREET YOUR SPIRIT IN HEAVEN, I CANNOT HELP YOU MAGIC KNIGHT" |
| OUTPOST | X8Y9Z6 | "THE TYME GUARDIANS SLEEP HERE. ENTER AT YOUR PERIL. THE COORDINATES ARE Z5Y8X7." |
| PLINKIT | — | "GREETINGS FROM THE PERSONS REPUBLIC OF PLINKIT. OUR SPACE IS YOURS AND YOUR FRIENDSHIP IS VALUED MAGIC KNIGHT" |
| PLOP PLOP | — | "THIS IS A RECORDED MESSAGE. THIS PLANET IS INHABITED BY DOLPHINS WHO LEFT EARTH WAY BACK IN THE 22TH CENTURY WHEN IT WAS DESTROYED TO MAKE WAY FOR A MCTABLET MEGASTORE." |
| POLARIS | — | "HELLO MAGIC KNIGHT. APPARENTLY HOOPER USED TO BE A CITIZEN OF THE PERSONS REPUBLIC OF PLINKIT BEFORE HE BECAME AN ASTEROID MINER." |
| PORTHOS | — | "HELLO EARTH BEING. PORTHOS IS PLEASED TO WELCOME YOU BUT WE CANNOT HELP YOU" |
| REEF | — | - ("THERE IS NOBODY WITHIN SUB-SPACE COMMUNICATOR RANGE") |
| RETREAT | X8Y4Z1 | "THIS IS MURPHY HERE.. GO AWAY MAGIC KNIGHT, I DO NOT HAVE ANY TRUCK WITH STARFLEET PEOPLE" |
| STARBASE 1 | X1Y2Z3 | "AHOY THERE MAGIC KNIGHT, WHY NOT BEAM DOWN FOR SOME SHORE LEAVE ? COORDINATES ARE X1Y2Z3" |
| TRANTORE | — | "TRANSMISSION..... RE: TYME GUARDIANS TRANSPORTER COORDINATES . DO NOT BELIEVE THOSE GIVEN BY THE TYME GUARDIANS. THEY ARE A TRAP FOR THE UNWARY VISITOR. ADD 1 TO EACH DIGIT IN THE SEQUENCE ... XMIT FROM GALACTIC CITIZENS ADVICE CENTRE ... MSG END." |
Cheats[edit | edit source]
While Knight Tyme focuses on puzzle fun and combinational skills, and resources such as energy and magical powers play a subordinate role, two CSDbs with a Trainer function can be found in the CSDb. Particularly noteworthy is the Hackersoft version "Knight Tyme +21D" with its numerous variations (left image in the gallery below).
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Internal Data Structures[edit | edit source]
Starting at address $10C2, a 36-byte table is stored in which the current location of each character is recorded in 3 bytes, encoded as a room number and X and Y coordinates within that room. The location of the Magic Knight (see section "Map"), and simultaneously the room currently displayed on the screen, can be found at address $142E. The Magic Knight's current resources are located in the range $0FE2–$0FE6 (value range 0–100, $0FE2: STRENGTH, $0FE3: HAPPINESS, $0FE4: STAMINA, $0FE5: CHARISMA, $0FE6: MAGIC LVL.), and the spaceship's fuel reserves are located at address $0FDB (value range 0–200).
Starting at address $107C, there is a 60-byte table in which the items currently carried by each character are stored in 5 bytes. The identification number (Id) for each object is stored according to the table of objects listed below; if a character has fewer than 5 items, the unused bytes are set to 0.
Another table with 12 entries of 8 bytes each, starting at address $0FF0, stores the state of the characters. For example, bit 7 of the first byte distinguishes between awake (bit cleared) and asleep (bit set).
The numbers of the objects carried by the magic knight are stored in the address range $1072–$1076, followed by the numbers of the objects he wears as clothing in the range $1077–$107B. Both lists are padded with null bytes if they are not filled with 5 objects each.
| Figur | Adresse Raum | Raum | Adresse Inventar | Inventar | Adresse Zustand | Beschreibung wach/schlafend |
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$10C2 | 1 | $107C | 4 | $0FF0 | GORDON IS AT THE HELM CONTROL GORDON IS ASLEEP AT THE HELM CONTROL |
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$10C5 | 1 | $1081 | 14 | $0FF8 | SARAB IS DEPUTY HELMSMAN SARAB IS A SNORING DEPUTY HELMSMAN |
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$10C8 | 2 | $1086 | 36 | $1000 | KLINK IS A ROBODROID KLINK IS A NON FUNCTIONING ROBODROID |
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$10CB | 3 | $108B | 10 | $1008 | S3 E3 HAS A FAMOUS COUSIN S3 E3 HAS BLEEPED INTO THE LAND OF NODE |
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$10CE | 23 | $1090 | 12, 18 | $1010 | HOOPER USED TO MINE TRILITHIUM HOOPER IS DREAMING ABOUT MINING |
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$10D1 | 10 | $1095 | 20 | $1018 | MURPHY LIKES POTATOES MURPHY IS ASLEEP |
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$10D4 | 6 | $109A | 27, 17 | $1020 | SHARON COMES FROM VALHALLA SHARON IS DREAMING ABOUT VALHALLA |
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$10D7 | 11 | $109F | - | $1028 | FORBIN IS QUITE CLEVER FORBIN IS TOTALLY ZONKED OUT |
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$10DA | 3 | $10A4 | 23 | $1030 | DERBY IV RUNS AT 200 GHZ DERBY IV RUNS AT 0 MHZ WHEN SWITCHED OFF (LIKE NOW) |
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$10DD | 15 | $10A9 | - | $1038 | SWIFTFOOT FEELS LIKE A BIT OF A HEEL SWIFTFOOT IS IN THE MIDST OF A DREAM |
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$10E0 | 12 | $10AE | - | $1040 | JULIE 8 IS VERY ROMANTIC FOR AN ANDROID JULIE 8 IS DREAMING ABOUT ROMIE 0 |
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$10E3 | 15 | $10B3 | - | $1048 | HECTORR IS A FEATHERED ALIEN HECTORR IS DREAMING ABOUT RAVENS |
Starting at address $10EC, main memory contains a table with 37 entries, each 3 bytes long, which records the location of every item in the game. The first byte of this group of three contains the room (in the form of a room number in the range 0...24) where the item is currently located; if the Magic Knight or one of the other characters possesses the item, or if it does not yet exist or no longer exists, this is indicated by the room number "99". The following two bytes store the exact position of the item within the room.
| Id | Address | Item | Weight | Blowable? | Readable? | Portable? | remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $10EC | - | Nothing at all | 0 | - | - | - | A dummy object that fills the 5-byte inventory list of each character if they do not carry the maximum possible number of 5 items. |
| 1 | $10EF |  |
Cloak of Invisibility | 1 | No | Yes | Yes | Reading will give "I SEE NO CLOAK"; It must be worn when entering the planets to avoid being detected by security (otherwise message: "SECURITY SAW YOU AND BLASTED YOU INTO SPACE DUST") |
| 2 | $10F2 |  |
Blank I.D. Card | 1 | No | Yes | Yes | Inscription: "STARFLEET COMMANDER ................... AUTHORISED BY ..................." |
| 3 | $10F5 | |
Valid I.D. Card | 1 | No | Yes | Yes | Inscription: "STARFLEET COMMANDER ** MAGIC KNIGHT ** AUTHORISED BY KING JONES OF THE GALACTIC FEDERATION" |
| 4 | $10F8 |  |
Instant Fim | 1 | No | Yes | No | Inscription: "100 ASA. USE BEFORE APRIL 2485 AD" |
| 5 | $10FB |  |
Photograph | 1 | No | Yes | No | Passport photo of the magic knight, reading will give "NO WRITING HERE. BUT THERE IS A VERY CUTE PICTURE OF A SHORT GUY IN ARMOUR" |
| 6 | $10FE |  |
Star Map | 1 | No | No | No | — |
| 7 | $1101 |  |
Personal Stereo | 1 | No | No | Yes | When worn, the accompanying music of the game can be heard |
| 8 | $1104 |  |
Camera | 1 | No | No | Yes | — |
| 9 | $10FB |  |
Photograph | 1 | No | Yes | No | Passport photo of the magic knight wearing the invisibility cloak, reading will give "NO WRITING HERE, IN FACT ALL THERE IS, IS A PHOTO OF THE INSIDE OF THE STARSHIP" |
| 10 | $10FE |  |
Pot of Glue | 1 | No | Yes | No | Reading will give "STICKY STUFF. FIND IT AND YOU WILL HAVE TO KEEP IT" |
| 11 | $1101 |  |
5W Resistor | 1 | No | Yes | No | Reading will give "COLOUR CODE READS 1.5K OHM" |
| 12 | $1104 |  |
Magic Talisman | 1 | No | No | Yes | Required for the spell "REMOVE BARRIERS" |
| 13 | $1107 |  |
Golden Sundial | 1 | No | Yes | Yes | Reading will give "THE GOLDEN SUNDIAL HAS A MESSAGE INSCRIBED ON THE BASE. IT SAYS 'GOLDEN SUNDIAL OF ALPHA..'", Must be carried when visiting the "Tyme Guardians", but not worn (otherwise message: "THE AUTO DEFENCE SYSTEMS HAVE REMOVED YOU FROM THIS SPACE/TIME CONTINUUM. YOU NEEDED THE GOLDEN SUNDIAL OF ALPHA. TO PASS") |
| 14 | $110A |  |
McTablet Food | 1 | No | Yes | No | Reading will give "THE LABEL READS 'MCTABLET CONDENSED MEALS ARE COMPLETE NUTRIENT COURSE IN ONE HANDY TABLET' THERE IS A PICTURE OF A CLOWN HERE AS WELL !" |
| 15 | $110D |  |
Broken Glass | 1 | No | No | No | Remnants of the mirror that broke when it was laid down |
| 16 | $1110 |  |
Quark Bomb | 1 | No | Yes | No | Inscription: "250 GIGATON QUARK BOMB. BOMB ARMED", detonates upon being dropped (message: "YOU HAVE DESTROYED YOURSELF BY DROPPING THE QUARK BOMB. THERE IS UTTER CHAOS FOR 3.14 PARSECS IN ALL DIRECTIONS"), but can be passed to other characters |
| 17 | $1113 |  |
Advert | 1 | No | Yes | No | Inscription: "GAME CONCEPT AND PROGRAM BY DAVID JONES. C64 BITS BY PAUL FREEMAN OTHER GAMES FROM MASTERTRONIC STARRING MAGIC KNIGHT ARE :- FINDERS KEEPERS AND SPELLBOUND" |
| 18 | $1116 |  |
Part of a Sundial | 1 | No | No | No | Together with two other, similar parts, it forms the "GOLDEN SUNDIAL OF ALPHA" (Objekt 13) |
| 19 | $1119 | |
Part of a Sundial | 1 | No | No | No | Together with two other, similar parts, it forms the "GOLDEN SUNDIAL OF ALPHA" (Objekt 13) |
| 20 | $111C | |
Part of a Sundial | 1 | No | No | No | Together with two other, similar parts, it forms the "GOLDEN SUNDIAL OF ALPHA" (Objekt 13) |
| 21 | $111F |  |
Brass Ankh | 1 | No | No | Yes | May interfere with the use of the transporter |
| 22 | $1122 |  |
Pair of Boots | 1 | No | Yes | No | Inscription: "SIZE 10, CUSHION SOLE SPACE BOOT", must be worn when entering some planets to avoid being heard by security (message: "SECURITY HEARD YOU AND THREW YOU OUT OF THE AIRLOCK") |
| 23 | $1125 |  |
Chocolate Heart | 1 | No | Yes | No | Reading will give "THE LABEL READS 'ICH LIEBE DICH'" |
| 24 | $1128 |  |
Starfleet Manual | 1 | No | Yes | No | Inscription: "AFTER RELEASING GIMBAL THE WIZARD IN SPELLBOUND YOU FIND YOURSELF ABOARD THE USS PISCES A 25TH CENTURY STARSHIP ON A PEACEFUL TRADE MISSION. YOU MUST FIND A WAY TO RETURN TO YOUR OWN TIME. ** GOOD LUCK MAGIC KNIGHT **", "THE KEYS ARE :- N = LEFT M = RIGHT A = JUMP/UP Z = DOWN sp = MENU (FIRE)" und "THIS GAMES FEATURES WINDOMATION+ STARRING YOU AS MAGIC KNIGHT WITH GORDON SARAB KLING S3 E3 HOOPER MURPHY SHARON FORBIN DERBY IV SWIFTFOOT JULIE 8 HECTORR" |
| 25 | $112B |  |
Ancient Scroll | 1 | No | No | No | — |
| 26 | $112E |  |
Tower Fish | 1 | No | No | No | — |
| 27 | $1131 |  |
Gas Mask | 1 | No | No | Yes | Must be worn when entering some planets to protect against poison gas (sonst Meldung "THE GAS PENETRATED YOUR ARMOUR AND YOU DIED HORRIBLY."), must be removed before addressing characters (otherwise messages: "... CANNOT UNDERSTAND YOU" or "... HEARS A MUFFLED VOICE BUT CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY") |
| 28 | $1134 |  |
Shield | 1 | No | No | Yes | — |
| 29 | $1137 |  |
Bag of Runes | 1 | No | No | No | Required for the spell "CONSULT ORACLE" (otherwise message: "YOU CANNOT CAST THAT SPELL NOW. MAYBE YOU NEED MORE SPELL POWER"). If, however, the magic knight possesses this item and a magic level of at least 30, the oracle will give the following advice one after the other: "THE GOLDEN SUNDIAL OF ALPHA. WAS THE SYMBOL OF THE TYME GUARDIANS POWER. NOBODY KNOWS FOR CERTAIN WHERE IT IS NOW BUT THERE ARE RUMOURS THAT IS WAS BROKEN UP FOR SCRAP WHEN THE TYME GUARDIANS WERE OFFICIALLY DISBANDED.", "THE ORACLE HAS LOCATED THE TYME GUARDIANS AT A PLACE CALLED OUTPOST. THEY HAVE BEEN THERE IN HIDING SINCE THE END OF THE 23RD CENTURY.", "THE ORACLE SEES DANGER ON SOME PLANETS. SECURITY SYSTEMS MUST BE BYPASSED. SOME SILENT BOOTS COULD PROVE USEFUL.", "THERE IS A SUNDIAL TO BE MENDED. YOU MUST APPLY A LARGE BURST OF ENERGY TO THE SEGMENTS BEFORE THEY WILL MERGE", "IT HELPS TO BE UNSEEN IN SOME PLACES", "A GAS MASK WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE IF YOU USE IT IN THE RIGHT PLACE". One should not be discouraged by the occasional messages "THE ORACLE IS NOT ABLE TO HELP AT THE MOMENT" and "THERE IS NOTHING USEFUL FROM THE ORACLE NOW". |
| 30 | $113A |  |
Bag of Potatoes | 1 | No | No | No | — |
| 31 | $113D |  |
Pewter Tankard | 1 | No | No | No | — |
| 32 | $1140 |  |
Axe | 1 | Yes | No | No | — |
| 33 | $1143 |  |
Wrist Terminal | 1 | No | Yes | Yes | Reading will give "THERE IS A MESSAGE HERE. IT SAYS 'HOOPERS ASTEROID TRANSPORTER COORDINATES ARE X1Y8Z4.'" |
| 34 | $1146 |  |
Torch | 1 | No | No | No | — |
| 35 | $1149 |  |
Mirror | 1 | No | No | No | — |
| 36 | $114C |  |
10 mW Laser | 1 | No | No | No | Permanently owned by Klink (message: "KLINK WANTS TO KEEP THE 10 MW LASER") |
Votes[edit | edit source]
| Voting of the C64-Wiki users (10=the best vote): | ||
| 7.80 points at 5 votes (rank 158). You need to be logged in to cast a vote. | ||
| ASM (Aktueller Software-Markt) | Grafik 9/10, Sound 9/10, Spielidee 10/10, Spielmotivation 10/10 | Ausgabe 6/86, S. 28 |
| ZZap64 | Presentation 92%, Graphics 70%, Sound 69%, Hookability 89%, Lastability 84%, Overall 80% | Issue 41 (September 1988), S. 112 |
| Crash | Use of computer 90%, Graphics 89%, Playability 91%, Getting started 89%, Addictive qualites 93%, Value for money 98%, Overall 94% | Issue 29 (June 1986), S. 19 |
| Your Sinclair | Graphics 8/10, Playability 9/10, Value for Money 9/10, Addictiveness 9/10, Overall 9/10 | Issue 7 (July 1986), S. 30 Issue 8 (August 196), S. 69 |
| Amtix | Presentation 91%, Graphics 92%, Sound 90%, Playability 92%, Addictive qualities 93%, Value for money 96%, Overall 93% | Issue 11 (September 1986), S. 16 |
| Computer Gamer | Originality 4/5, Graphics 4/5, Use of machine 4/5, Value for money 5/5 | Issue 16 (July 1986), S. 93 Issue 18 (September 1986), S. 36 |
| ZX Computing | Great | Issue 28 (August 1986), S. 20 |
| C64Games | 6 | January 30, 2023 - 19763 downs |
| Lemon64 | 7,5 | November 18, 2025 - 28 votes |
| Universal Videogame List | 4/5 | 17. Februar 2023 |
Critics[edit | edit source]
Stephan64: "Pleasing graphics and tricky puzzles — anyone who enjoyed "Spellbound" will also like "Knight Tyme". Compared to its predecessor, it's a positive that "Knight Tyme" has eliminated some tedious routine tasks, such as regularly strengthening the knight and other characters. On the other hand, the number of rooms has shrunk to less than half, and the characters are less like individuals and more like hiding places for various objects. A point has to be deducted for this cost-cutting measure, but it still gets 7 points for another successful adventure of the magical knight."
Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]
Cover[edit | edit source]
Inlay[edit | edit source]
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Cassette[edit | edit source]
Bugs[edit | edit source]
- The game's characters move constantly without this being immediately reflected on the screen. As a result, a character might suddenly disappear from a menu even though they are still visible on the screen.
- After the 30-day deadline set for the magic knight (corresponding to 2.5 hours of gameplay), the game freezes instead of reporting and possibly graphically displaying the arrest by the Paradox Police.
- Presumably inherited from the wind instruments in the predecessor game "Spellbound", the objects possess not only the attributes "readable" and "wearable", but also "blowable". However, the "BLOW SOMETHING" action does not exist in "Knight Tyme", and the only object that can be blown is the axe.
Fastloader[edit | edit source]
The cassette version of "Knight Tyme" uses an integrated software fast charger which is automatically activated when charging and speeds up the charging process by about a factor of 4.
The fast loader is capable of sequentially loading any number of program segments to any location in memory. Each such program segment is preceded by a 4-byte data structure containing the start and end addresses of the subsequent data block; the block is then followed by a checksum calculated by exclusive-OR operation on all data bytes. Due to optimized encoding (shorter intervals for 0 and 1 bits, no duplicate storage of program data), loading Kight Tyme takes less than three minutes, whereas the KERNAL's datasette routines would take approximately 11 minutes for a file of this size.
The fast loader is identical to the loader of Stormbringer, and very similar to those of Paradroid and Uridium. It consists primarily of an interrupt routine that shows clear parallels to that of Novaload: Using a BCC instruction, which acts as a central jump distributor thanks to changing offsets, the routine independently executes all the necessary substeps for loading a data block and then informs the foreground program, via a program part counter at address $0006, how many program parts have already been loaded. In the case of Knight Tyme, the foreground program plays a Rob Hubbard theme song during this time and offers to pass the time with a variation of "Space Invaders" (right image in the gallery below). To prevent the timing of the fastloader from being disrupted by DMA accesses of the VIC to sprite data, all elements of this game are represented by suitable characters in monochrome text mode (character set at address $F000, video RAM at $F400).
The authors of the fastloader made no effort to disguise how their program works: Three program blocks are loaded sequentially: the loading screen, the background music, and the "Space Invaders" game (each approximately 2 KB at addresses $F800–$FF8F and $7000–$77FE, and approximately 4 KB at $E000–$EF5F), followed by the actual game (approximately 32 KB at addresses $0801–$8744). Knight Tyme is a separate program that begins with the BASIC line
1987 SYS2068 FOR ALL
and can be started with RUN.
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Highscore[edit | edit source]
Using the "step-by-step" solution above, anyone should be able to complete Knight Tyme in about half an hour. The resulting score of 73% can be improved by more or less imaginative additional steps. For example, if you ask the transputer "Derby IV" for the chocolate heart before starting the time machine and give it to Sharon, the score will increase to 75%. The following list therefore encourages you to document your similarly achieved scores (and perhaps explain them in the "Tips" section).
- Stephan64 - 73% (10.01.2023)
- Niemand - 0 (tt.mm.jjjj)
- Leer - 0 (tt.mm.jjjj)
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| #2 Niemand | #3 Leer |
Links[edit | edit source]
- C64.com - Game No. 1781
- Lemon64 - Game No. 1452
- Gamebase64.com - Game No. 4159
- C64Games.de - Game No. 4747
- ready64 - Game No. 4435
- Test Report No. 8971 on Kultboy.com
- CSDb
- Knight Tyme at MobyGames
- Magazine
- Crash test report (p. 18)
- ASM test report (p. 28)
- Your Sinclair test report (p. 30)
- Your Sinclair test report (p. 69)
- ZX Computing test report (p. 20)
- Amtix test report (p. 16)
- Computer Gamer test report (p. 93)
- Computer Gamer test report (p. 36)
- ZZap64 test report (p. 112)
