Enchanter


                             BUG
                                     1 1 1
         VERSION   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
        10/830810  Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y
        15/831107  Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y
        16/831118  Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y
        24/851118  N N N N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y
       *29/860820  N N N N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y

          1. THE JUG BUG: A well-documented bug in versions 10, 15, and 16 allows the player to fill the jug anywhere in the game simply by typing FILL JUG WITH WATER, provided that there is at least a small quantity of water already in it. If you try this in Versions 24 or 29 when there is no external water source present, you are told "The only water here is in the jug." -- New Zork Times
          NOTE:  Both Chris Forman and I mistakenly claimed in earlier lists that this bug was corrected before Version 10, because the New Zork Times report listed the incorrect command: FILL JUG. However, Hekan Huss discovered the correct command, FILL JUG WITH WATER, and relayed it to me.
          All versions of Enchanter which contain The Jug Bug also contain The It Bug. See the discussion of this in the Generic Bugs section to learn how it affects this one. - GC



          2. In versions 10, 15, and 16, sending the turtle into the temple is interpreted by the game as though you'd gone in instead, and you are the one that is killed. This is also true if the turtle encounters the hideous shapes that roam near the Banquet Hall and Library. In later versions, the turtle is unaffected. -- New Zork Times



          3. In versions 10, 15, and 16, casting Guncho on the rope around the jewelled box will work, but the box will be empty, and typing LOOK while the box is on the ground nearby will show you the rope, even though it isn't really there. In later versions, casting Guncho on the rope makes the box disappear as well.



          4. In versions 10, 15, and 16, the lighted portrait in the gallery disappears one turn after you take it.
          The only way to get it is to TAKE it two turns in a row, and then immediately leave the Gallery with it. The first time you take it, the description says that you place it on the ground. The second time, it is added to your inventory. On the next turn, any command except an INVENTORY, or a directional command which takes you out of the Gallery, will result in the portrait being removed from the game permanently. In addition, it will also be removed from the game if you ever bring it back to the Gallery.
          Interestingly, in all versions of the game, even after this bug was fixed, the portrait continues to be called a "lighted portrait" even after you take it away from the candle. -- Alan Franzman



          5. In versions 10, 15, and 16, if the turtle dies from walking into a dark space, his death is reported as though it were yours, like so:

>TURTLE, GO NORTH
The rainbow turtle, ever the good friend, leaves you.
Oh, no! Something slithered alongside you and feasted on your person!

*** The rainbow turtle has died ***

In later versions, the turtle could survive the darkness. This is similar to what happens when you send the turtle into the temple in Versions 10, 15, and 16, but with this one, the turtle really is the one killed, not you. -- Graeme Cree



          6. THE PHANTOM BLOCK BUG:   In Versions 10, 15, and 16 the block of stone in the cell remains in the room description even after you've taken it. The block itself is invisible if taken and/or moved, and it can be made to teleport back into the cell.
          When you first enter the cell, the room description reads:

This is a damp and unhealthy dungeon cell with writing on the walls. The rusty door of the cell is open.
          There are two ways that this description can change. One is by closing the door. The other is by taking the square block of stone (which can be seen by examining the walls). The first time you do this, the block is dropped in the room rather than added to your inventory, and an extra sentence is added to the end of the room description which reads:  "A square block sits beside a passage in the eastern wall."
          However, if you TAKE BLOCK (again, this time putting it in your inventory), you will still be able to see it in the cell when you LOOK. You can take it anywhere, but it will be invisible both in your inventory and in LOOK commands (if you should drop it somewhere else and then LOOK). You will be able to EXAMINE it however.
          If you drop the block somewhere else, return to the cell, and then type TAKE BLOCK, the block will be teleported away from wherever you left it, and back into your inventory.
          In versions 24 and 29 this bug was fixed by making the block too heavy to lift. -- Allen Garvin



          7. Here's one of those rare bugs that occurs only in later versions of a game. In Enchanter, you can "unfrotz" any glowing item except yourself with the command EXTINGUISH [item], (EXTINGUISH SPELL BOOK, for example) generating the response "The [item] is now off."
          However, in the last two versions (24 and 29), this will be followed by: "It is now pitch black," regardless of whether you are now in the dark or not. -- Graeme Cree



          8. Normally, if the player continues to wander around without sleep for long enough, he'll drop from exhaustion. If you happen to be near the Engine Room when this occurs, however, you won't be able to sleep because of the noise. After you drop, try typing DIAGNOSE, and you'll see garbage for the description of how rested you are. Repeat this several times, and eventually you'll start seeing the Rainbow Turtle's dialogue mixed in. This one works in all versions.



          9. Here's a bug that erases the entire contents of your spell book. At the Landing, enter the following sequence: MEMORIZE BLORB. EAST. KULCAD THE STAIRS. CAST BLORB ON ME. When Belboz restores you to life, your spell book will be empty when you try to read it! You can do this in any version.



          10. In all versions, it is possible to obtain the Kulcad scroll without the help of the turtle, by the following method. Empty the jug, and use the exex spell to go to the control room yourself. Then type the following four commands: TAKE SCROLL. PUT SCROLL IN JUG. THROW JUG AT HAMMER. NW. When you are brought back to life, the jug with the scroll still in it will be nearby. If you try to walk out of the room without throwing the jug at the hammer the (empty) jug will be at your feet when you are resurrected, but not the scroll.
          The THROW JUG AT HAMMER command is responsible for a slight bug all of its own. In versions 10, 15, and 16, you get the odd response: "The jug shatters into innumerable pieces. You're not carrying the jug." In versions 24 and 29, the second sentence is deleted. After you've thrown the jug at the hammer, but before you've been killed, the scroll is nowhere to be seen, of course. -- Asad A. Zaidi



          11. TURTLE EGRESS BUG:  If you are Inside Gate with the turtle, and say TURTLE, WEST (ordering him to leave the castle), he will refuse, explaining:

"Uh, no thanks. I prefer to stay near my beach. I don't see much yummy seaweed out that way."
          But you can get around this simply by saying TURTLE, OUT. He will obey this command (which has exactly the same effect as TURTLE, WEST) and may then be ordered around normally once outside. This works in all versions. -- Allen Garvin



          12. THE GATE BUG:   A minor bug, present in all versions of the game. Every time you Rezrov the gate to Largoneth Castle, you get this same message:

>REZROV GATE
The chains of the iron gate fly into the air and vanish. The gate flies open and a blast of cold air fills your lungs.
Even though the gate is already open (and the chains gone) after the first Rezrov, and can never be closed again. Interestingly, this bug is not there in the case of the Cell Door. If you try to Rezrov the Cell Door when it is already open, you get the natural response, "It's open already. Why bother?" -- Graeme Cree



Click here to return to the Infocom Bugs List Table of Contents

Click here to return to Graeme Cree's "Bob & Ray Overstocked Surplus Warehouse" Home Page.