Golden Wombat of Destiny - Huw Collingbourne
          (PC text adventure on SynTax PD disk 57,
             also works on ST using PC emulator)

It seems that anyone who buys an PC and starts investigating the
PD/Shareware market inevitably buys a copy of Golden Wombat. The
title so intrigued me that I bought it even before we got the PC
and first played it using PC Ditto on the ST and I've been playing
it off and on ever since. From letters and phonecalls I had
recently it also seemed as though no-one had managed to
complete it and it was due to the fact that, in the end, there
were about eight readers stuck in it that I started serialising
the 'solution so far' in SynTax in the hope that one of us would
finish it if we pooled our knowledge. At last, someone has and
"Kedenan's" solution is in this issue (I'm extremely miffed that I
was only about 20 moves short of finishing, only two of which were
non-movement commands! But such is life...). Now that the solution
is in, I thought it was about time there was a review of this
excellent (if frustrating) game in SynTax, so here it is.

You are an explorer, searching for the Forbidden City of the Great
Lost Empire. As far as you know the city contains many mysteries,
great wonders and knowledge - but is uninhabited. The reason for
this is unclear but rumours say that the civilisation it contained
was wiped out by a deadly plaque, seemingly unleashed by their
wise men who dug too deeply into the Book of Knowledge, unleashing
a nameless horror which doomed them all to eternal destruction.

So here you are, outside the city, deep in a mangrove swamp. If
you don't like mazes, then this may not be the game for you for
the mangrove swamp is a largish maze and you're not carrying a
thing. However, if you move, you notice you leave footprints ...
first one pair in the mud, then two, then more until the ground is
churned up. Theoretically if you note the way the footprints
occur, you can tell whether you're in a new location or, if not,
how many times you've been there before. Great theory. In
practice, I found that the best thing to do was slosh about in the
mud at random until I eventually discovered the city walls. A
large doorway with a keyhole will permit you to look into the city
but trying to get in that way is hopeless, because you don't
have a key. Maybe the answer to the problem of your intended
entrance into the cursed city IS in the swamps after all. It's
time for more sloshing.

If by this time you're ready to turn the disk into a frisbee and
send it out of your window in frustration (or, more restrained,
consigned it to the 'given up' drawer; yes, we all have one, don't
we?) the route from the start to the entrance to the city is, in
fact, pretty short. Check out the hints in Issues 16/17 or the
solution in this issue and dig the game out again. It's a shame to
let such a gem of a game remain unfinished.

So, you're inside the city and, yes, it is mostly deserted. All
that's left is a sleeping wombat lying in a cul de sac, a hamster
(which you'll have to find for yourself), an ant which bites you
when you try to pick up a skull lying in an alley, a termite which
prevents your passage into one section of the city and - the
nameless horror in its dark tower. What IS the nameless horror?
Well, you'll have to do some investigating to find out but
discovering the truth is essential if you're to finish the game.


The game doesn't contain a vast number of locations (not counting
that unmentionable swamp) so mapping is pretty easy apart from one
room which may have you confused for a while as each time you go
through it, it contains different things. Don't worry, all will be
revealed. There are a few puzzles to sort out before you can
explore the whole area such as how to get rid of the enormous
termite which >flumps< its squidgy body in front of you each time
you try to pass it and how to open the door in the Avenue. Once
the area is mapped, it's a case of looking at the items that you
possess which range from the normal (a jewel box) to the bizarre
(a dead potto, whatever that might be) and working out what the
heck to do with them. However, despite the number of us that
were stuck in the game, all the puzzles ARE logical and sensible,
at least in retrospect (aren't they always!).

The adventure is liberally sprinkled with humour, both in the
descriptions and responses during the game and also in some of the
messages given by the program when, for instance, it doesn't
understand your input. They get better and better with each
increasing failure by the parser.

Despite its age, Golden Wombat of Destiny holds up very well.
There are options to change your save drive, change the screen
colours and to recall your last input, editing it as necessary.
There's also a comprehensive (and humorous) manual on the disk
as well as optional, on-screen instructions. The ending is good
too which is always a relief when you've spent years trying to
finish a game!
                                                 Sue