[comp.sys.apple2] Anyone remember "The Bilestoad"?

norm@cfctech.cfc.com (Norman J. Meluch) (06/12/91)

In 1983 I shared a room in college with a friend who owned an apple ][.

He had "collected" (:-) several games for the machine and it was a constant
source of entertainment.

One of the more amusing games that he had for the machine was a game called
"The Bilestoad".  At least I'm pretty sure that was the name.  The purpose
of the game was to run a gladiator character against another human
opponent or the computer.  Battle to the death.

Sounds, graphics, chopping of armor & limbs!  God that was fun!

Does anyone remember this game and:
	What company put it out?
	Do/Did they make a version for the IBM PC?

Thanks for remembering with me.

						- Norm.
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q4kx@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (Joel Sumner) (06/12/91)

In article <1991Jun11.173828.24500@cfctech.cfc.com>,
norm@cfctech.cfc.com (Norman J. Meluch) writes: 
> One of the more amusing games that he had for the machine was a game called
> "The Bilestoad".  At least I'm pretty sure that was the name.  The purpose
> of the game was to run a gladiator character against another human
> opponent or the computer.  Battle to the death.
> 
> Sounds, graphics, chopping of armor & limbs!  God that was fun!

Ah yes, that was a neat game.  You could swing the guy's arms, turn him and
run.  Watch the blood come out as you slowly chopped off each limb one
by one.  What entertainment!  I really don't remember who made it though
because the version I saw was cracked.  I never even saw it in any stores.
Neat game though.  I have never seen it anywhere else so finding it for
the PC may be tough.

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v902032@si.hhs.nl (Crouzen) (06/13/91)

> One of the more amusing games that he had for the machine was a game called
> "The Bilestoad".  At least I'm pretty sure that was the name.  The purpose

Yep, Yer right!

> of the game was to run a gladiator character against another human
> opponent or the computer.  Battle to the death.

YEAH! MAIM! KILL! DESTROY! INSULT!

> Sounds, graphics, chopping of armor & limbs!  God that was fun!

AAHHHHhh....

> Does anyone remember this game and:
> 	What company put it out?
> 	Do/Did they make a version for the IBM PC?

I sure remeber it!

I thought EPYX or MUSE was the one publishing it, but a few months (years?) ago
SOFTDISK published it again! (I seem to remember).

The thing I liked best about it was the tune played when you couldn't see
your opponent. 'Fur Elise' and other classics (Turkey in the Straw?)

Nope, I didn't think it was converted to the PC, but now you mention
it, I seem to remember that one magazine i read for the Atari or PC had
a story about it and a game BASED on it's principles...

Well, that's about it. Have fun!

/------------------------------[ Alex Crouzen ]-------------------------------\
| v902032@si.hhs.nl                    | Editor of the 'AppleDossier' mag.    |
| No disclaimer, I'm not employed (yet)| Author of DoubleDump 2.0.            |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

ericmcg@pnet91.cts.com (Eric Mcgillicuddy) (06/13/91)

I never did see the commercial package, just a cracked pirate version sans
docs. I played it a couple of times and was amazed at the detail and speed of
the animation, I amazed at what one could get out of 6 colours. :)

The hello screen was replaced with the local pirate's cove message, so I have
no idea who originally made it.

UUCP: bkj386!pnet91!ericmcg
INET: ericmcg@pnet91.cts.com

minar@reed.edu (06/13/91)

In article <1991Jun12.100659.5406@vax5.cit.cornell.edu> q4kx@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (Joel Sumner) writes:
>In article <1991Jun11.173828.24500@cfctech.cfc.com>,
>norm@cfctech.cfc.com (Norman J. Meluch) writes: 
>> One of the more amusing games that he had for the machine was a game called
>> "The Bilestoad".
>the version I saw was cracked.  I never even saw it in any stores.

trivia: the cracked version I saw the most was the one cracked by the
Dirty Dozen. It was one of the first cracked programs to use fastload
technology: it would load EXTREMELY quick. While it was loading it
overwrote your text page - that was one weird feature of it. Cracked
games later did more of this.

one of the early Apple // programs to use the apple keys (also known as the
paddle buttons)

great animation

honest to god sound. I only saw a couple of other games with sound that
approximated anything interesting on a //.

so, when's that Mac or IBM port coming? I've always wanted to do one with
more features..

nyet@nntp-server.caltech.edu (n liu) (06/13/91)

minar@reed.edu writes:

>In article <1991Jun12.100659.5406@vax5.cit.cornell.edu> q4kx@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (Joel Sumner) writes:
>>In article <1991Jun11.173828.24500@cfctech.cfc.com>,
>>norm@cfctech.cfc.com (Norman J. Meluch) writes: 
>>> One of the more amusing games that he had for the machine was a game called
>>> "The Bilestoad".
>>the version I saw was cracked.  I never even saw it in any stores.
...
>so, when's that Mac or IBM port coming? I've always wanted to do one with
>more features..

Hrm. The closest i can get is with apl2em (ibm apple emulator). Works ok.
speed is pretty damn close on my 386-25. (kinda ironic. How many mips did
the apple have again?:)

And don't ever forget Bolo..

asong@pro-nbs.cts.com (Andi Song) (06/14/91)

In-Reply-To: message from v902032@si.hhs.nl

 Just imagine if there was a GS-specific version! Gruesome, bloody
graphics, nasty sounds, and great music (Fur Elise in stereo!). Wow... if
only somebody could...(hint, hint) :)

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avery@netcom.COM (Avery Colter) (06/14/91)

LOVED THAT GAME!

 T H E   B I L E S T O A D !!!

Ahhhhh, nothing like a good clean decapitation to brighten your day.

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bouma@cs.purdue.EDU (William J. Bouma) (06/18/91)

In article <1991Jun13.074847.12831@nntp-server.caltech.edu> nyet@nntp-server.caltech.edu (n liu) writes:
>
>Hrm. The closest i can get is with apl2em (ibm apple emulator). Works ok.
>speed is pretty damn close on my 386-25. (kinda ironic. How many mips did
>the apple have again?:)
>

   It seems I am one of last of the dinosaurs, still running my old Apple II
   I bought back in '77.  (That's right, no C, no E, not even a +.)  At 1 Mhz
   clock and with instructions ranging from 2-6 cycles, I estimate it averages
   about 0.3 mips.

   I have "Bilestoad", but haven't played it much since it seems awkward to 
   control.  So many potentially good games have been ruined by lousy controls!
-- 
Bill <bouma@cs.purdue.edu> 

    "The decision could easily be made by a computer." -- Dr. Strangelove