After having a conversation with Drew a couple of weeks back about the future of the novels, I came to a stark realisation that I was now unable to build the special version of Doomdark’s Revenge that he would need to allow him to freely wander the Icemark as part of his research. This was something that I did for him with The Lords of Midnight and it helped greatly.
However, the problems that I have had with the building of the games because of the loss of the Marmalade SDK are still plaguing me. I was slowly coming to the acceptance that I would soon be removing the games from the Apple app store as each new release of iOS and new devices makes the game unobtainable. This will likely follow through to Android and Windows.
All this has been compounded that my general motivation has been through the floor for a number of years now.
The upshot of this post is that this week I had a self imposed break from work and I’ve been working on the game and have made great progress already. The main menu and surrounding screens are all working. The main view is mostly done bar a few niceties and features that I don’t yet need to give Drew the functionality he needs. Today I’m working on the Think screen, but the main missing screens are the Select and Map screen.
Main Menu 
Continue Story 
Landscaping 
Actions
Thank you for keeping these games alive on modern machines. Much appreciated.
Hi ,I love DDR … but have an issue with characters dying randomly in fights that they well and truely should win .
My C64 version does not have this problem .
Would be great if this could be amended for the new format .
Regards
Kev Riley
It’s possible that it could be a bug, but I thoroughly checked over the Spectrum code and I’m pretty sure I’m matching it. However, it’s more than possible that the original Spectrum version had the bug, I can’t speak for the C64 version.
Yeah, I have this same problem. Pretty sure I had this issue with the original game (although, I can’t claim to really know as it was almost 40 bloody years ago).
I’ve had battles in the app, where Shareth has ZERO men, Z.E.R.O. and is surrounded by 8 lords with their armies, in all compass directions, I attack Shareth herself with another 40 armies in “the center square” and next morning she still, she STILL has managed to single-handedly fight through all the lords men and kill a character or two.
What the hell? That’s one tough b*tch……
I think thats kinda the idea? Shareth can only be killed in certain ways if not mistaken.. cant remember how exactly.
I played Speccy and C64 version of LM &Dd Victory and defeat was alway full of random factors jusy like real battles, eg when looking for Morkin, using Tarithelon her own I attacked Icelord fortress south of the Ice barrier of the fortress of Anviriel where Morikin is held ihoped to get her thrown acroos the ice barrier to nearr Morkin in the off-map prison did so at least 50 to 60 times plus…. without her death, and finally made it. I find that including a Cowardly character alters the outcome, as if Mike had written into them some coding that made them fight with e desperate strength of cowards. Their kill score in a battle where they are attacked is impressive, e.g “Rorthron slew 150, Herath by this point Utterly afraid, slew 55. His army is not cowardly only the lead character uncertaionty ibn battle is easily overcome by saving immediately prioor to battle, or even in the midst of battle??
I love hacks which allow me invulnerability full regenerato of itaels and fortresses (battles can be lost and refought tillultimate victory. Still the game jus the way Mike wrote it is classic. It’s intricasies held me togetherthrouh some very uncertain years.
Quasimodo
My biggest issue with DDR, and this is highlighted in reviews of the original as well, is it is too easy to recruit enemy armies, so you end up trying to recruit everyone instead of fighting.
Armies already loyal to Shareth should not be recruitable.
Well, he could always play an M/MU campaign and ask nicely not to get killed.
Actually, no, scratch that – it’s a bloodthirsty lot on there!
Drew definitely needs to play DDR though. One gripe I had about the Lords of Midnight book was that the story didn’t remotely match any of my campaigns, and I couldn’t form that link between game and story in my subconscious.
DDR is a looser game, but it still develops along certain recognisable lines. Not getting a feel for those lines would make it very hard to write a story based on the game rather than just the lore.
I never retreated as far as Xajorkith, but otherwise it wasn’t that different to one or two of the campaigns I’ve had – a big fight at a Citadel trying to hold up Doomdark’s armies whilst Morkin disposes of the ring…um…I mean crown.