Longplay from the C64 game "Scarabaeus"
Download Video (63 MB)
Manual
scarabaeus (c) andromeda, 1985
at the main intro you (and your dog)
enter a pharaoh's tomb which has three
levels. you have to open the crypt on
the lowest level, after gathering key
objects and solving puzzles.
the main screen
on the left is the actual view of the
tomb's arcade. on the right, downwards:
- heading indicator, shows the north
direction
- schematic chart of the levels,
indicates your position
- a sand-glass to indicate the re-
maining time;
a health indicator: when the door
behind the man is fully opened up
then you die
- a heart-beat diagram (try to keep it
calm)
level 1 (the ghosts)
a ghost is rambling in the maze, and
tries to avoid you. catch him to get a
piece of a key pattern, which you will
need to solve the second level. this
pattern consist of 9 symbols, so you
have to catch 9 ghosts.
joystick (in port 2) up, left or
right makes motion. pull down to see
the map of this level, where a flashing
figure stands for you, a skull for the
ghost. push button to see the key
pattern or to return from that.
when the pattern is ready, go to the
elevator (at the southern wall) and
descend to the second level.
the elevator
you have to drive the elevator
manually (electricity in a tomb?). push
joystick forward, then move it around
counter-clockwise to descend (opposite
direction to rise). do it carefully,
because if you let center the joystick,
then the elevator falls down to the
next level, which makes your health
condition worse.
you reached the next level when the
grey stripes change to maroon. don't
release the stick, just press button to
exit.
level 2 (the niches)
there are 13 niches in this arcaded
hall, each one is guarded by a spider.
pull down the joystick to see the map.
the dots in the niche chambers are the
spiders. if a chamber is represented
with thin lines then you have already
visited that. if one of the spiders is
moving, you can see it on a map as a
skull. the collected key pattern is
appeared right to the map.
in 12 of the niches there are a phial
and a gas mask. you have to make a
correct decision about each one. if you
take a good phial then it will help
your choices on the third level. (you
will hear the same effect when you
decided well and when not.) if you take
a good gas mask then you can use it as
a ghoul trap on the third level.
taking a bad one makes your health
worse. if you refused a thing then you
dropped it, and can't take it again.
there are only 8 good phials and 4 good
gas masks in the niches.
when opened up a niche, on the left
you can see a clue made of 20 symbols
for the phial, an other for the gas
mask on the right. you must make your
decision based on the following: if you
can find a 3x3 sized area on the clue
which has exactly the same symbols as
the key pattern (in any order) then you
may take that object, else drop it.
choose the pen to note or the hand to
take, same sign striped to refuse. the
spiral sign is to exit without a
decision.
one of the niche chambers keeps an
other kind of puzzles. you will see 12
small slabs in three rows. one side is
marked with symbols, the other side
with the 'ankh' cross. flip all the
slabs till they show the same ankh
symbol.
one of the rows, columns or diagonals
can be flipped at the same motion.
there are hands around the slabs, move
the red cursor to the appropriate one
and press button to flip. if the puzzle
is solved, you will be able to walk
through the separation walls in the
third level maze. you can leave this
chamber if you position the cursor on
an empty field and press the button.
you mustn't step into a chamber
directly, because of the spider, its
bite is bad for your health. if you
run away in front of a chamber, a few
seconds later that spider starts to
follow your route in the maze. when you
run away again in front of the same
chamber then the spider, following you
returns home and settles down. you can
run faster, so making a round trip in
the maze and lure the spider away, you
can have some time to examine the
niche. be aware of that not only one
spider can follow you at the same time,
so select your way carefully.
when you collected the required
objects you can descend to the third
level with the elevator. (more points
will be scored if you decided about all
the objects on this level.)
level 3 (the medicines)
this hall is the biggest of all. the
crypt is in the center. there are 12
chambers in the hall, hiding phials. 8
of them contain medicine, the rest is
poison. to open the crypt you will need
clues, that's why you have to drink all
the medicines. but if you drink poison,
you die.
under the map (joystick down) there
are all the phials' picture there which
you noted on the second level. you
can't see here any mark about if any of
them has been a wrong choice.
open every chambers, take medicines
from the niches, and don't take
poisons. medicines are in the phials
with the same shape which you had to
note on the previous level (and hope-
fully are really done). move joystick
up and down to select the symbol you
want (hand to take, spiral to leave).
each time when you open up a chamber,
a ghoul appears somewhere in the maze,
he tries to catch you. touching a ghoul
would harm you. if you gathered ghoul-
traps on the second level then they can
be put down at your actual place by
pressing the fire button, one by one.
you have only 4 (or less) traps, so
choose their places well. ghouls
walking across a trap will be captured.
the traps don't became full, and you
can lure the ghouls by standing behind
the trap.
the crypt
when you have drunk the medicines, go
to one of the crypt's gates and open it
up. there is a puzzle in there at the
center, little slabs with symbols you
see. they can be moved away, sliding
them on the board. point the blue
cursor on a slab, then pull the joystick
while pressing the button to move that
and the others in that's way. only 40
motions can be done before the chains
lock this gate for ever. if you could
not finish, try again with another
gate (8 can be found). if you can move
the symbols in the proper positions
then you can enter to the pharaoh's
crypt, and the mission is completed.
but what is the proper position? if
you drank all eight medicines, you
can see the two halves of the good
solution beside the board. if you
didn't, only a part of this sample is
displayed. no more ghouls will disturb
you, so time can be taken to find the
good layout.
after you completed the mission you
will see the inside of the crypt, and
finally the program will calculate and
save the scores.
Download Video (63 MB)
Manual
scarabaeus (c) andromeda, 1985
at the main intro you (and your dog)
enter a pharaoh's tomb which has three
levels. you have to open the crypt on
the lowest level, after gathering key
objects and solving puzzles.
the main screen
on the left is the actual view of the
tomb's arcade. on the right, downwards:
- heading indicator, shows the north
direction
- schematic chart of the levels,
indicates your position
- a sand-glass to indicate the re-
maining time;
a health indicator: when the door
behind the man is fully opened up
then you die
- a heart-beat diagram (try to keep it
calm)
level 1 (the ghosts)
a ghost is rambling in the maze, and
tries to avoid you. catch him to get a
piece of a key pattern, which you will
need to solve the second level. this
pattern consist of 9 symbols, so you
have to catch 9 ghosts.
joystick (in port 2) up, left or
right makes motion. pull down to see
the map of this level, where a flashing
figure stands for you, a skull for the
ghost. push button to see the key
pattern or to return from that.
when the pattern is ready, go to the
elevator (at the southern wall) and
descend to the second level.
the elevator
you have to drive the elevator
manually (electricity in a tomb?). push
joystick forward, then move it around
counter-clockwise to descend (opposite
direction to rise). do it carefully,
because if you let center the joystick,
then the elevator falls down to the
next level, which makes your health
condition worse.
you reached the next level when the
grey stripes change to maroon. don't
release the stick, just press button to
exit.
level 2 (the niches)
there are 13 niches in this arcaded
hall, each one is guarded by a spider.
pull down the joystick to see the map.
the dots in the niche chambers are the
spiders. if a chamber is represented
with thin lines then you have already
visited that. if one of the spiders is
moving, you can see it on a map as a
skull. the collected key pattern is
appeared right to the map.
in 12 of the niches there are a phial
and a gas mask. you have to make a
correct decision about each one. if you
take a good phial then it will help
your choices on the third level. (you
will hear the same effect when you
decided well and when not.) if you take
a good gas mask then you can use it as
a ghoul trap on the third level.
taking a bad one makes your health
worse. if you refused a thing then you
dropped it, and can't take it again.
there are only 8 good phials and 4 good
gas masks in the niches.
when opened up a niche, on the left
you can see a clue made of 20 symbols
for the phial, an other for the gas
mask on the right. you must make your
decision based on the following: if you
can find a 3x3 sized area on the clue
which has exactly the same symbols as
the key pattern (in any order) then you
may take that object, else drop it.
choose the pen to note or the hand to
take, same sign striped to refuse. the
spiral sign is to exit without a
decision.
one of the niche chambers keeps an
other kind of puzzles. you will see 12
small slabs in three rows. one side is
marked with symbols, the other side
with the 'ankh' cross. flip all the
slabs till they show the same ankh
symbol.
one of the rows, columns or diagonals
can be flipped at the same motion.
there are hands around the slabs, move
the red cursor to the appropriate one
and press button to flip. if the puzzle
is solved, you will be able to walk
through the separation walls in the
third level maze. you can leave this
chamber if you position the cursor on
an empty field and press the button.
you mustn't step into a chamber
directly, because of the spider, its
bite is bad for your health. if you
run away in front of a chamber, a few
seconds later that spider starts to
follow your route in the maze. when you
run away again in front of the same
chamber then the spider, following you
returns home and settles down. you can
run faster, so making a round trip in
the maze and lure the spider away, you
can have some time to examine the
niche. be aware of that not only one
spider can follow you at the same time,
so select your way carefully.
when you collected the required
objects you can descend to the third
level with the elevator. (more points
will be scored if you decided about all
the objects on this level.)
level 3 (the medicines)
this hall is the biggest of all. the
crypt is in the center. there are 12
chambers in the hall, hiding phials. 8
of them contain medicine, the rest is
poison. to open the crypt you will need
clues, that's why you have to drink all
the medicines. but if you drink poison,
you die.
under the map (joystick down) there
are all the phials' picture there which
you noted on the second level. you
can't see here any mark about if any of
them has been a wrong choice.
open every chambers, take medicines
from the niches, and don't take
poisons. medicines are in the phials
with the same shape which you had to
note on the previous level (and hope-
fully are really done). move joystick
up and down to select the symbol you
want (hand to take, spiral to leave).
each time when you open up a chamber,
a ghoul appears somewhere in the maze,
he tries to catch you. touching a ghoul
would harm you. if you gathered ghoul-
traps on the second level then they can
be put down at your actual place by
pressing the fire button, one by one.
you have only 4 (or less) traps, so
choose their places well. ghouls
walking across a trap will be captured.
the traps don't became full, and you
can lure the ghouls by standing behind
the trap.
the crypt
when you have drunk the medicines, go
to one of the crypt's gates and open it
up. there is a puzzle in there at the
center, little slabs with symbols you
see. they can be moved away, sliding
them on the board. point the blue
cursor on a slab, then pull the joystick
while pressing the button to move that
and the others in that's way. only 40
motions can be done before the chains
lock this gate for ever. if you could
not finish, try again with another
gate (8 can be found). if you can move
the symbols in the proper positions
then you can enter to the pharaoh's
crypt, and the mission is completed.
but what is the proper position? if
you drank all eight medicines, you
can see the two halves of the good
solution beside the board. if you
didn't, only a part of this sample is
displayed. no more ghouls will disturb
you, so time can be taken to find the
good layout.
after you completed the mission you
will see the inside of the crypt, and
finally the program will calculate and
save the scores.
Reviews
Reviewer:
Godiex
-
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
November 3, 2021
Subject: thanks!
Subject: thanks!
thanks, wonderful walkthrough!
