If you are still completely stuck in Exile despite John McHugh's solution, you might like to use this utility to look through all the parts of the game that you never reached. I found it useful to read through the solution in conjunction with the map before playing properly.

The program is based upon an Exile mapper written by James Bonfield (published in The Micro User in December 1990). The original version was written for the BBC disk version. I have converted it to work on the Electron tape version.

After running the mapper program, insert your Exile tape, forward to the file "Game??" (this is the first long file on the tape) and press PLAY. When it has loaded, you can scroll around the map using the usual Z, X, * and ? keys. The scrolling is jerky and slow - this is to be expected since it uses the routine in the Supervisor program, designed for displaying your position from the menu. It also means the map is different from the actual map in a few places. For example, the main water line is not included, and many of the bushes look different from the corresponding ones in the game. Also notice that the Destinator is displayed in your ship, as it is for the first second of gameplay, instead of its usual position. (What do you mean, you've never found it before?)

It is possible to see from the map whether objects are collectable or destructible and which are part of the walls or scenery. The moveable items are displayed a fraction of a second after the rest of the screen in this program, and it's particularly noticeable at the top of the screen. So if you scroll an object to the top of the screen and then alternately left and right, you will be able to detect this difference.

You will also find cheats for several commercial games present on this disk. They were all written for Electron tape compilation versions though they may work on originals as well. Details of the cheats are given when the programs are run.

Matthew Ford

Wow! All the cheats are filed under the Cheats Menu. Exile continues to interest a number of members - including me when I have the time for it.

Gus Donnachaidh, EUG #21