Terror - Fear the Unknown:

Last Updated: 8/7/17
Genre: Puzzle/Survival-Horror
Platform: DOS
RELEASE DATE: NEVER! Source lost in hard drive crash! TBD, source code recovered!
Latest Version (2/2/17): Click Here
Room Debug Source (2/2/17): Click Here
Original Version Source: Click Here (Not really functional due to corruption)
Original Version Demo: In Qbasic files section

NEMB Thread on Source Code Recovery: Click Here

8/6/17:

So I decided to post a few screenshots of the recovered Terror source code just for the heck of it. You can click the image to get a larger size.

Title screen:
title screen

Upstairs hallway closet door:
upstairs closet door

Downstairs outer hallway:
downstairs outer hallway

Kitchen inventory box off dining room:
kitchen inventory



2/2/17:

Here's an update I never thought I would be doing to this page! A few days ago I was digging through my old floppy disks, checking for any important stuff that should be backed up elsewhere now that they're all getting so old. As luck would have it, on one one of the disks I found a folder called "TERROR". I opened it up expecting it to be the executable that's currently in the files section. I was amazed to see VAMPIRE.BAS (the source code to the original version of Terror that was also lost) and TERRNEW.BAS (the "lost" version that's been the subject of this project's page for almost 15 years!).

When I tried to copy the files off, I kept getting a cyclic redundancy error reading from the disk. (It also did this on some other files as well.) I was annoyed because I was so close to getting the source code back after all these years.

In a "Hail Mary", I ran chkdsk on the floppy disk thinking best case I might get pieces of data back, worst case I'm where I was before with no copy of the source code.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this:
C:\temp>chkdsk /f /r a:
The type of the file system is FAT.
Windows is verifying files and folders...
Removing nonvalid long folder entry from \...
Removing nonvalid long folder entry from \...
Removing nonvalid long folder entry from \...
Removing nonvalid long folder entry from \...
Windows replaced bad clusters in file \TERROR2.CLP
of name (null).
Windows replaced bad clusters in file \COMPLETE\GRIMACE\POS.BAS
of name (null).
Windows replaced bad clusters in file \COMPLETE\WRY\WRY.BAS
of name (null).
Windows replaced bad clusters in file \TERROR\VAMPIRE.BAS
of name (null).
Windows replaced bad clusters in file \TERROR\TERRNEW.BAS
of name (null).
File and folder verification is complete.
Windows is verifying free space...
Free space verification is complete.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

1,457,664 bytes total disk space.
6,144 bytes in 9 folders.
1,334,272 bytes in 52 files.
16,384 bytes in bad sectors.
100,864 bytes available on disk.

512 bytes in each allocation unit.
2,847 total allocation units on disk.
197 allocation units available on disk.


Unbelievably, it worked! I was able to copy the files off the floppy disks. I took a day or so and cleaned up some of the jumbled sections of the source code and have brought it back to it's former status. I'm actually surprised the version on this disk is basiclally the latest version before the hard drive crash. The "Room Debug Source" code is a BAS file I used to draw the rooms up and then copied and pasted them in to the main game source. I included it at the top of the page because it is a missing room graphic of when you open the upstairs room's closet.

I over estimated it's completeness in my previous update in 2006 saying that I was half done. It looks to be somewhere between 25%-30% done. The first floor of the west wing of the mansion as well as it's puzzles are all complete. There is also the main hallways and a room of the second floor of the west wing completed.

Link to download source code is at the top of the page. Who knows, I might potentially try to finish this one as even though it's clunky (and hasn't aged too well) its the only "survival horror" game I know written in Qbasic.


8/8/06:
Screenshot of inside a mansion hallway (lost version)

Terror was a game I was working on a couple years ago that had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, I never thought of the unforeseeable chance my 486's hard drive would crash, so I never backed anything up. But then again, they say that hind-sight is 20/20, and I suppose they're right.

Screenshot of on upstairs back staircase landing (lost version)

In Terror, you navigated your way through an abandon mansion using the arrow keys and spacebar to inspect. The game was done "fixed camera angle" style similar to the "Resident Evil" series or the old Graphic adventure/comics of the Sega CD era. In the game you'd find keys to unlock previously locked doors and explore new areas, the whole time avoiding your now maniac, axe wielding, friend. The game was about 1/2 way done when the drive crashed. The demo version in the files section is a completely different version than this. That is the old "first person shooter" style of the original idea. (Very different game play, graphic style is similar though...).

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