[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Definitive Guide to Apple Secret Keys
- Subject: Definitive Guide to Apple Secret Keys
- From: dastar@crl.com (Sam Ismail)
- Date: 1996/08/11
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
- Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access (415) 705-6060 [Login: guest]
_______________________________
| |
| The Definitive Source Guide |
| to Secret Keys, Easter Eggs |
| and Hidden Messages |
| |
| : 1st Edition : |
| Apr. 15, 1992 |
| |
| Compiled by The Ramsacker |
| The Byte Bastards |
| BBS: (201) 697-7001 |
|_______________________________|
Greetings. A lot of work went into this file. I spent many long nights
tracking down these little gems that to this day still leave me smiling.
They are the last undiscovered relic of the Apple pirate world. They remain
hidden on your disks, unknown, unrealized, waiting to be discovered, perhaps
finally now, perhaps never. Never to be known by anyone except for the
person who planted it in the first place. Call me weird, but there's a
certain mystique about them. Its like finding an old coin buried in your
back yard: it was there, waiting to be dug up, and you didn't even realize
it. Or finding that last easter egg (hence the name) on that certain Sunday
when you were but a little guy. I am speaking of what I prefer to call
"secret keys". I always got off on finding the things. To think that years
ago, someone, somewhere, added something a little special to their work for
someone to find later is, well, real neat.
This file is older than promises of an upgrade for the //gs...literally
(by the way, those of you still holding out hope, give it up). I finally
felt it was time to put aside my perfectionist tendencies and put it out with
some incomplete or un-researched entries. I used to tirelessly pursue every
lead I could in order to track down secret keys and the like; calling
different pirate friends around the country and asking them about ones I had
heard rumors of; searching disks sector by sector looking for funny or
interesting messages; boot tracing nearly every single one of my cracked
games to see if the title page routine included some check for a special
keypress. I put a lot of time and effort into this file, and hope that the
few people who will take the time to read it will possibly gain some
enjoyment from checking out these gems for themselves. This file was started
almost two years ago (I can't believe it myself). If you're like me, you
still have most of these games or programs stuffed away in disk cases that
you rarely dig into anymore (mine make great dust collectors). Now you have
a chance to re-live some of those fond memories of playing cool Apple games
well into the wee hours. Perhaps not, but give it a whirl anyway, you might
enjoy some of the things you discover for the first time.
A lot of these games are ancient (some a decade old!) and you probably
don't and won't ever have them. I do have most of them (except for the GS
stuff...I don't have a GS and probably never will unless I can get one for
under $100...any offers?) Of course, some of the more obscure hardware
easter eggs will be a challenge for those of you who will attempt to
experience every single secret key documented in this file. As if anyone is
actually going to try, but if you are, try going to your school or some place
where they have old outdated Apple's. You may even find some of the older
games still making the rounds in programming class when the twits should be
coding rather than playing Mario Bros.
I had hoped to make this guide as complete and up-to-date as possible,
but considering its been aeons since I last touched it, I felt I may as well
release it now or never release it at all. I don't know what kind of
audience this file will receive, but I hope the few people who do take the
time to get it are pleased with the effort I took to present them with these
gems and hope they enjoy them as much as I do.
The Apple Pirate world was a killer playground for me: all the different
BBS' and the interesting types I met in different corners of the country.
The dead and lonely back-alley wares boards and the thriving elyte message
systems. There will never be another community, another sub-society like it.
The 80's were a decade of advancement for all computers, but Apples and Apple
users led the way. Apple users were the innovators, the originators. The
pirate code of honor (and dishonor) that spawned from the Apple world, all
the words (K-K00L!), customs (crack screens and rag pages) found their way
into many different areas of the computer world as a whole. Atari and
Commodore 64 groups hoped to only come close to the rich Apple pirate
traditions. Oh, the bustling commerce of wares being traded between
different warehouse Meccas of pirated games! But of course, all empires must
fall, or be absorbed into a greater whole.
Near the end, other computers' pirating customs began spilling back
into the Apple realm, and it was completely lame. But by then, the Apple
world was pretty much extinct anyway, only being carried on by those die-hard
romantics hoping to effect some sort of revival. Now the Apple modem world
is but a ghost of what it once was. Lonely, desolate, Apple BBS' are few and
far between. I sometimes call out, now only to one and sometimes two Apple
BBS'. The Apple may be dead, but then, so are a lot of other computers. The
90s are here, man. Things are changing real fast. Apple and IBM working
together? MicroSoft and IBM, splitsville? Its so diverse out there now.
Don't hold back. Use your Apple experience as a stepping stone onto other
platforms. There's so much out there to try...
Well, I got carried away, but since this is in all likelihood my last
major Apple world contribution, what the fuck.
:Acknowledgements:
Thanks to Hot Rod (where ever the hell he is these days) for publishing the
first secret key files and turning me on to this entertaining pastime and
for finding all the secret keys he did. Also, thanks go to Apple Core for
the secret keys he found and published in his "Secret Game Keys" file.
Finally, thanks to the many people that informed me of new ones I hadn't
known about. This file basically compiles all previously published secret
keys plus the few ones I have located into this one source guide.
These are the different types of "Easter Eggs" you will find listed in this
file:
1) Secret Key (a single keypress that results in some action, such as a
message being displayed)
2) Password (a series of keypresses that result in some action)
3) Hidden message (a message embedded somewhere in a program or somewhere on
a disk)
4) Game cheat (a sequence of keypresses that leads to some sort of game
cheat)
I have even included some hardware Easter Eggs! These are ones found in
certain pieces of Apple hardware that I have deemed significant.
An entry that has "(unverified)" next to the name of the ware indicates that
I have not been able to verify that entry, but am including it for you to
explore. No claim is made as to the actual existence of an easter egg for
that particular entry.
Enjoy!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advanced Pirate's Signature
A) Press [ESC] at the main menu for a hidden page
B) Press [CTRL-C] at the hidden page to enter the monitor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Airheart (Evil Sock's 16 sector crack; unverified)
A) Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $00, Sector $2
B) Boot a DOS 3.3, insert your Airheart disk in the drive and then enter the
following:
CALL -151
300: A9 00 8D EB B7 8D F0 B7 A9 21 8D EC B7 A9 0A 8D
310: ED B7 A9 04 8D F1 B7 A9 01 8D F4 B7 20 E3 03 20
320: D9 03 CE ED B7 EE F1 B7 AD F1 B7 C9 08 D0 ED 2C
330: 00 C0 10 FB 2C 10 C0 A9 04 8D F1 B7 AD ED B7 C9
340: 02 D0 D9 60
300G
This enters the monitor and creates a short program which loads some
sectors off of the Airheart disk which contains a message from The Evil
Sock. I assume there is (or was) a way to load this message using a
secret key but I was unable to figure it out.
(I tried contacting The Evil Sock to find out just how to access these
messages from a secret key. No go. I tore the game apart and looked for the
possible secret keys myself. What I found instead were his routines to crash
the game if his text crack pages were changed in any way. Neat, but no
secret keys to be found.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ankh
A) When it asks you to choose which way, press '^' (use 'I', 'J', 'K', 'L' to
move, [ESC] to exit). It's different every time.
B) At the title page, press a number, 1-8, and then [ESC] for a message
C) Also at the title page, try 'C', 'H', 'S', and 'T'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apple Cider Spider
Use a sector editor to see a note on Track $07, Sector $3 that you wouldn't
normally see
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apple //c (Original)
Entering the following program from BASIC will produce the names of three
people on the Apple //c programming team:
10 IN#5
20 INPUT A$
30 PRINT A$
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apple //e (Unenhanced, Revision B Motherboard)
You will find the name "RICK A" stored in ASCII at $FC5C and the name
"Bryan" stored in ASCII at $FEC5 in the ROM (Rick Auricchio and Bryan
Stearns modified the ROM for the Apple //e)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apple //gs
A) When you get the "Check startup device" message after booting your
computer, press Control-Open-Apple-Option-N to see the names of the people
on the Apple //gs design team
B) Press Control-^ and then any key and the cursor will change into the key
you pressed
C) While in the monitor, enter a '#', and whenever you access the control
panel, you will have two new options, "Memory Peeker" and "Visit Monitor"
"Visit Monitor" allows you to do just that, and "Memory Peeker" lets you
look at the stack and whatever memory location you desire.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aquatron
Press [CTRL-@] during game play to advance a level
Note: Pressing 'W' used to do something but the code is gone
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arcade Boot Camp
Press 'C' during survival training for the cheat mode
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archon I
A) At the main menu of the game type: JLN [CTRL-I] JLN [CTRL-I]. This throws
you into a hidden shape editor.
B) At the crack screen, press the following sequence of letters while holding
down the "CONTROL" key: AA AB TB ZB MA HR SS. This produces a hidden
picture that pops up on the screen.
These letters are located in the last window that pops up on the crack screen
and represent the initials of the handles of each member of the Midwest
Pirates Guild (AA = Apple Avenger, AB = Apple Bandit, TB = The Burglar, ZB =
Zaphod Beeblebrox, MA = Mini-Appler, HR = Hot Rod, SS = ?)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archon II
Read Track $1A, Sector $9 to $5E00 and Track $1A, Sector $8 to $5F00. Then
save it out to a DOS 3.3 disk with a
"BSAVE EA TRACK WRITER UTILITY,A$5E00,L$200"
This recovers a utility that prompts you for a starting address and track
number and then writes the 4K range of memory beginning at the start address
you entered to the track you selected.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASCII Express
Press [CTRL-D], [CTRL-I], [CTRL-S] at the "?" prompt or from remote to get
the serial number of the running copy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ball Blazer
Pressing ';' changes the number of droids to begin with on each team
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bard's Tale GS (unverified)
Press Control-Open-Apple-Option-B at the crack screen
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Batman
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $00, Sector $A of
Side 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Battletech
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $00, Sector $0 of
Side 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beer Run (unverified)
Press [ESC] after running the program to get 9 men
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black Belt
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $11, Sectors $7 and
$B
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borg (unverified)
Press Control-^, Control-] during game play to see all the screens
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borrowed Time
Type "BURGER" during game play for a different ending
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boulder Dash
Use a sector editor to view Track $0D, Sectors $2, $9, $1 in that order, the
latter sector containing an intriguing message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buck Rogers
A) Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $01, Sectors $B-$A
B) Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $11, Sector $1
C) Press [CTRL-K] [CTRL-E] [CTRL-N] during game play for infinite ships
D) CATALOG the disk from DOS 3.3 for an endless message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bug Attack
During game play:
A) Press [CTRL-B] to kill a random bug or bug-segment
B) Press [CTRL-C] to restart the game
C) Press '1' for silence, '2' and '3' for different sound effects, and '4'
for music
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cat-Send 3.0
A) Press [CTRL-P] for a secret poem
B) Press ':' or '-' for minor screen modifications
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Championship Loderunner
A) Press 'D' at the crack screen for the dox to the game
B) Reset your computer during the game to see a message on the text screen
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Choplifter
Press [CTRL-L] and then the level you wish to move to (1-3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crack of Doom
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $00, Sector $0 of
both Side 1 and Side 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conan
Press [CTRL-^] after you flip the disk over for a secret message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congo Bongo
A) Press [CTRL-A] at the crack screen for a hidden page
B) CATALOG the disk from DOS 3.3 for an endless message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copy ][+ 5.x
I don't know if this is exactly a secret, but pressing [CTRL-@] whilst in the
sector editor will toggle the characters in the ASCII display between the
primary and alternate character sets.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dalton's Disk Disintegrater II
Type "DALTON" at the title screen for a tune
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dalton's Disk Disintigrator V5.0
A) Type "DALTON" at the title page for a secret page
B) Type "DALTON!!" at the secret page for a tune
C) Type "LOUIS!!!" at the secret page for another secret page
D) Use a block editor or file view utility to view the entire file which
contains embedded messages throughout the code
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dark Heart of Uukrul (TC96 Release)
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $00, Sector $0 of
Disk 1, Side 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dark Lord
A) Press 'C' at the title page to choose the prompt you prefer
B) Use a sector editor to view the messages embedded on Track $00, Sectors
$1-$F of Side 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Death Sword
Press [CTRL-V] during game play for the version number
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Demon Wrath (unverified)
A) Use a sector editor to view the messages embedded on Track $00, Sectors $0
and $A
B) CATALOG the disk from DOS 3.3 for a message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dino Eggs
While the game is booting after the crack screen, press [CTRL-^]. Then, when
the disk drive stops, press ']' to see a list of the pirates who had your
particular copy of the game before you.
(Note: Thanks to some programming wizardry, fresh copies of this MPG crack
are able to tell when they are booted up for the first time after being
duplicated. Whenever a new copy is booted for the first time, it asks you to
enter your handle, which is then added to the list of pirates through whom
your copy of the game has been handed down.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donkey Kong
A) These cheat keys are valid during game play:
1) Press '1' to give yourself extra Mario's (up to 255, after which it
will roll over to zero)
2) Press '2' to toggle invincibility On/Off (makes you absolutely
immortal)
B) Use a sector editor to view some interesting messages on Track $22,
Sectors $E and $F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drol
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $00, Sector $E (the
same message can also be found on Track $03, Sector $0)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Easter Island (unverified)
Press '@' after the second title page for a secret page
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Echelon (unverified)
A) Press 'R' at the crack screen for a hidden rag
B) Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $00, Sector $0
C) During the game, enter your name plus "*ECH" for an extra message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Epoch
Type "NOTICE" during game play for a copyright message from the author
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F-15 Strike Eagle
CATALOG the disk from DOS 3.3 for a familiar listing
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falcons
BLOAD the game into memory and then change location $1901 from 4C 00 60 to 20
BC 63, then start the game at its load address. This restores a game edit
menu that is invoked by pressing [ESC] during the title display.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flight Simulator II v1.0
A) Press [CTRL-A] at the crack screen for a secret message
B) Use a Track/Sector Map utility (Copy ][+ version 5 or earlier) on this
disk for a message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FL0BYN0ID
Use a sector editor to view messages embedded on Track $00, Sector $1 and
Track $0B, Sector $5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Force 7
Press [CTRL-P] during game play for a cheat from The Psycho which restores
your health
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frogger II: Three Deep
Use a sector editor to view Track $12, Sector $F (preferably Copy ][+)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FTA Christmas Demo (unverified)
A) At the main menu enter the following and then press [RETURN]:
1) FAG
2) KILLKILL
3) SAPIN
B) Hold down the Open-Apple key when clicking on the credits
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gauntlet
Press 'U' at the crack screen for a hidden rag
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golan Front
There is a DOS 3.3 editor similar to Dos Boss stored on the disk that is not
linked in the catalog. To retrieve the program either use a file recovery
utility (such as Fixcat on Bag of Tricks) or make a copy of the disk and then
use a sector editor and edit Track $11, Sector $F, Byte $0B from $15 to $12
(on your copy). This will connect the program through the "HELLO" file on
the disk. To get to the program, simply type "RUN HELLO".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great American Cross Country Road Race
When asked if you want to load an opposing field from disk, press 'Y'. Then,
when you are asked to select a field to load, press 'I' and then 'M' for a
message from the author (I.M. are the author's initials).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gumball
A) Press [CTRL-H] to view the Gumball Hall of Fame
B) Press [CTRL-U], [CTRL-C], [CTRL-B] to see a hidden list of credits
C) Press [RETURN] to toggle a target sighting on/off
1) Use the 'U', 'I', 'O', 'J', 'K', 'L', 'M', ',', '.' keyboard block to
move the sighting
D) Press both joystick buttons to turn the target sighting on and then move
the sighting to the lower left-hand corner of the screen for a secret
message
E) Press [CTRL-Z] during the cartoons (as revealed by D)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hacker
A) At the LOGON prompt, enter:
1) "AUSTRALIA" to bypass the initial messages and tests
2) "TITLE" for a title scroll
3) "HYDRAULIC" for a message
4) "MAGMA, LTD" and "AX-0310479" are recognized, but produce no effect
B) Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $02, Sectors $E-$5
(the same message can also be found on Track $00, Sector $0)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hacker II
At the LOGON prompt, enter:
A) "TITLE H2SC" for a title scroll
B) "COVER H2SC" to win the game
C) "DEMO H2SC" to make the text scroll faster
D) "00987" to bypass the initial messages and tests
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halley Project
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $0F, Sector $A
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hardball
A) Type "SPAZ" at the crack screen for a farewell message from The Spaz
B) CATALOG the disk from DOS 3.3 for a message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hard Hat Mack
A) Press Control-^ or Control-] during game play for separate secret messages
B) At the title page, press 1-3 to start at that level before you start the
game
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Heist
At the title page, press Shift 1-3 to enter that respective level with 98 men
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
After pressing a key once at the crack screen, press [CTRL-F] for a secret
window
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hyborian Fontpack Three
Invoke Picture Scanner 1.0 (included on the disk). Set it for Track $07 and
press [RETURN] to scan the Fontpack disk. Press [SPACE] to see the hidden
picture.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Into the Eagle's Nest
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $13, Sectors $C-$D
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intrigue!
At the crack screen, type "AMIGA" for a secret page
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jellyfish
During the demo, press '!' for one player or '"' for two players
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jumpman (unverified)
When the level number is being shown, press 1-6 to select the game speed
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karateka (Original Disk)
Boot the back side of the original disk for a neat surprise
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Krackerjack's Autograph
Select the "Toggle Overlay" option in the program twice in a row to discover
the hidden rag page
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kung-Fu Master
Press [CTRL-J] during the demo or game play for a secret page (press [CTRL-F]
to return to the game)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labyrinth (unverified)
During game play, press [ESC] and then type "KAY", then a number (1-8) to
enter that level or '9' for an extra ship
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laser 128
Press Control-Reset-M all together and you will be thrown into the monitor
anytime (Press [CTRL-RESET] to resume where you reset)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lode Runner
A) During game play:
1) Press [CTRL-@] for an extra man
2) Press [CTRL-^] to advance to the next level
B) Press [CTRL-E] during the demo to enter the screen editor (not really a
secret)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lode Runner II
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $17, Sector $B
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunar Leeper
Use a sector editor to view a message embedded on Track $13, Sector $C
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marauder
CATALOG the disk from DOS 3.3 for a message
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marble Madness
On level 1, maneuver your ball down the screen until you get to the second
steep incline located on the narrow path. Make your marble jump over this
incline onto the area to the left. Move your marble over to the side of the
screen and then up a couple squares and then wait there until the clock
reaches 13 seconds. If you are at the right place, the game will tell you
that you are entering the "Water Maze", and you will advance to this maze
once the clock reaches zero.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Microwave
During the demo, press [CTRL-Q] and then 'C' to see all the mazes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mario Bros.
On the 202 Alliance file crack, press [ESC] when it starts printing out
"<:-:> THE 202 ALLIANCE <:-:>" for a secret message.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merlin Assembler