Asterix und Obelix Die Odyssee (1986)

Asterix und Obelix Die Odyssee (1986)

Asterix und Obelix Die Odyssee (German for Asterix and Obelix The Odyssey) is quite a bizarre type of experience in the Asterix games franchise. It was developed by one person and published by Markt & Technik studio as a free game that came along with the April edition of German C64 magazine 64'er in 1986 only in Germany. In fact any type of information about this game was only mentioned in that magazine. It had one page dedicated just for that game.

The game itself is a typical text based adventure and was released only on the Commodore 64 console. The game was based on the comic Asterix and the Black Gold and pretty much repeats its story. The goal of the game is to help Asterix travel to Mesopotamia, defy all dangers on the way, and then find the rock oil.

### Game Featuring

Die Odyssee being featured first time in 1986 edition64'er Magazine 1986 game manualDie Odyssee later reappearance in 1996 editionArticle from 64'er Magazine 1996Asterix and the Black Gold comics cover
### Story

>
>
>
> We are in the year 50 BC. The whole of Gaul is occupied by the Romans ...
> All of Gaul? No! A village inhabited by indomitable Gauls never ceases to resist the intruder.
> And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who are garrisoned in the fortified camps Babaorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Kleinbonum ...
>
>
>
>

This time druid Miraculix (Getafix) needs a tiny amount of rock oil to brew his famous magic potion, which gives superhuman powers. He ran out of supplies and ordered new rock oil from the merchant Ekonomikrisis, however when he arrived at the village he realised that he had forgotten the rock oil. Asterix was chosen and sent to get a good quantity of coveted oil from Mesopotamia. In the meantime, Caesar sends one of his best agents, Dubbelosix (who was also a druid), to spy on the Gauls to find out what the secret of the magic potion is. While on their journey they venture through Judea and onto Jerusalem where the important rock oil can be found, however the Romans have seized every bit of rock oil after they knew of the Gaul's plans. Therefore, the only way for them to get the rock oil is by going through the desert to Babylon. After gaining the oil, Asterix and Obelix make their way back home but Dubbelosix catches up with them and pours the oil into the sea. Once back at their village, they see Romans fighting with the villagers. Asterix asks Getafix what happened and is being told that Getafix could create the oil with beetroot juice, meaning that the adventure was for nothing.

### Gameplay

The gameplay is very simple. All the player needs to do is read the text on screen and choose from available options what to do and proceed like that in storyline. The player has the option to write entire sentences from the available options but shortcuts also work. Directions such as south and northwest however must be typed in as shortcuts. The game contains about 48 rooms, some of which don't show any difference in visuals which can cause the player to get lost easily. The inventory is limited to 5 items, but bugs in many available versions. The player will face different situations in the game where they will meet enemies that will try to kill them. If you die you start the game from the beginning.

### Interactable Objects and Entities

* Sickle - You need to give this item to Getafix so he gives you the potion.
* Sword - Does nothing.
* Obelix - Does nothing but follows you like a creep for the entire game.
* House - Does nothing.
* Door - Knocks on the door of Getafix. He gives you magic potion.
* Note - Locks interaction on the snake.
* Snake - You need to tickle it to get gold.
* Roman - You need to punch the Roman to save the merchant.
* Merchant - Helps you to get to Mesopotamia with his ship .
* Ship - Transports you to the next destination point.
* Bottle - Empty bottle of magic potion that Getafix gives you.
* Rope - This will help you to deal with the crocodile at the end of the game.
* Josua - A random side character who is just there and does nothing.
* Ladder - Helps you get over the city wall.
* Club - Does nothing.
* Shop - Here you can buy a disguise from the dealer.
* Patrol - Roman guards you need to avoid by putting on the disguise.
* Dealer - Sells you the clothes for gold.
* Crocodile - Another enemy in the game which you need to scare with the rope.
* Crate - It contains a bag that will help you at the very end of the game.
* Bag - You need to fill a liquid in the bag from Oasis.
* List - Shows your inventory with text.
* Inventur/Inventory - Does the same as list.

### Step by Step Guide

Below are the text commands that you need to write to get to the end of the game.
This is one way of completing the game.

Commands for German version

NIMM SICHEL, O, KLOPFE TUER, GIB SICHEL, O, NW, NIMM ZETTEL, LIES ZETTEL, VERLIERE ZETTEL, KITZEL
SCHLANGE, NIMM GOLD, O, TRINKE ZAUBERTRANK, SCHLAGE ROEMER, VERLIERE FLASCHE, KLETTERE SCHIFF, N, NIMM SEIL, S, W, W, KLETTERE LEITER, W, KAUFE KLEIDER (mit gold), J, TRAGE KLEIDER, NO (ohne kleider schlaegt die patroullie alarm), WARTE, SW, N, N, NO, NO, O, VERLIERE SEIL, OEFFNE KISTE (mit schluessel), NIMM BEUTEL, FUELLE BEUTEL.

Commands for English fan-translated version (Check Asterix und Obelix Die Odyssee Modding section)

TAKE SICKLE, E, KNOCK DOOR, GIVE SICKLE, E, NW, TAKE NOTE, READ NOTE, LOSE NOTE, TICKLE SNAKE, TAKE GOLD, DRINK MAGICPOTION, E, LOSE BOTTLE, CLIMB SHIP, N, TAKE ROPE, S, W, W, CLIMB LADDER, W, BUY CLOTHES, YES, WEAR CLOTHES, NE, WAIT, SW, N, N, NE, NE, E, LOSE ROPE, OPEN CRATE, TAKE BAG, FILL BAG

### Game Dialogues

* For foreign country members dialogues have been translated.
* Expand the table below to see the game walkthrough.
* All you need to do is write the German or English words in your game emulator depending on if you are using the original game file or the community modded file with English translation in order to proceed further.
* Keep in mind that the guide below shows only one of 2 ways of finishing the game.

*Directions*: north, east
*I see*: house, sickle, sword, Obelix
**>TAKE SICKLE/NIMM SICHEL**
I take sickle

**I am in front of a house**
*Directions*: north, east
*I see*: house, sword, Obelix
**>E/O**
Obelix follows me!

**I am in front of a house**
*Directions*: east, west
*I see*: house, door, Obelix
**>KNOCK DOOR/KLOPFE TUER**

**I am in front of a house**
The door opens and Getafix comes out
**>GIVE SICKLE/GIB SICHEL**

**I am in front of a house**
He gives me a bottle of magic potion
He goes back and closes the door
**>E/O**
Obelix follows me!

I am at the exit of the village
*Directions*: north, east, west, northeast, northwest
*I see*: Obelix
**>NW/NW**
Obelix follows me!

**I am on a meadow**
*Directions*: east, west, southeast
*I see*: note, Obelix, snake
**>TAKE NOTE/NIMM ZETTEL**
I take note

**I am on a meadow**
*Directions*: east, west, southeast
*I see*: Obelix, snake
**>READ NOTE/LIES ZETTEL**

**Splash Screen**
Even big snakes are ticklish

**I am on a meadow**
*Directions*: east, west, southeast
*I see*: Obelix, snake
**>LOSE NOTE/VERLIERE ZETTEL**
I put note down

*Directions*: east, west, southeast
*I see*: note, Obelix, snake
**>TICKLE SNAKE/KITZEL SCHLANGE**
The snake hisses loudly and crawls away
She leaves behind a pile of gold
**>TAKE GOLD/NIMM GOLD**
I take gold

**I am on a meadow**
*Directions*: O, W, SO
*I see*: Obelix , note
**>E/O**
Obelix follows me!

**I am on a meadow**
*Directions*: south east, west, southeast
*I see*: Obelix, Romans, Merchant
**>DRINK MAGICPOTION/TRINKE ZAUBERTRANK**
I drink the magic potion
Aaahh !! This is good !
**>E/O**
**>PUNCH ROMANS/SCHLAGE ROEMER**
The Romans run away
The Merchant thanks us and takes me and Obelix to his ship

**I am at the beach**
*Directions*: south
**> LOSE BOTTLE/VERLIERE FLASCHE**
I put bottle away
*Directions*: south
*I see*: ship, bottle
**>CLIMB SHIP/KLETTERE SCHIFF**
Obelix follows me !

**Splash Screen**
After a few weeks we arrive in Mesopotamia.
The trip was calm and you have seen no ship except for a pirate ship,
that the pirates however strangely enough sunk themselves

**I am at the beach**
*Directions*: north, west
**>N/N**
Obelix follows me !

**I am in the desert**
*Directions*: south, west
*I see*: rope, Obelix
The magic potion has no effect anymore
**>TAKE ROPE/NIMM SEIL**
I take rope

**I am in the desert**
*Directions*: south, west
*I see*: Obelix
**>S/S**
Obelix follows me !

**I am at the beach**
*Directions*: north, west
*I see*: ship, Obelix
**>W/W**
Obelix follows me !

**I am at an oasis**
*Directions*: east, west
*I see*: Obelix, Josua
**>W/W**
Obelix follows me !

**I am at a city wall**
*Directions*: east
*I see*: ladder, Obelix
**>CLIMB LADDER/KLETTERE LEITER**
Obelix follows me !
The ladder breaks behind us, we can't go back anymore !

**I am in a street**
*Directions*: north, west, northease, northwest
*I see*: club, Obelix
**>W/W**
Obelix follows me !

**I am in front of a shop**
*Directions*: north, east, northeast
*I see*: shop, Obelix, Merchant
**>BUY CLOTHES/KAUFE KLEIDER**
The trader wants gold for that
Do you wanna give it to him ?
**>YES/J**
OK. got the clothes !
**>WEAR CLOTHES/TRAGE KLEIDER**
OK. I put the clothes on !
**>NE/NO**
Obelix follows me !

**I am in a street**
*I see*: Obelix, patrol
**>WAIT/WARTE**
Now Obelix too sees the patrol and knocks out all Romans
He comes back and gives you a key he found among the Romans
**>SW/SW**
Obelix follows me !

**I am in front of a shop**
*Directions*: north, east, northeast
*I see*: shop, Obelix, dealer
**>N/N**
Obelix follows me !

**I am in a street**
*Directions*: north, south, east, southeast
**>N/N**
Obelix follows me !

**I am at the city gate**
*Directions*: north, south, east, northeast
*I see*: Obelix, patrol
**>NE/NO**
Obelix follows me !

**I am at an oasis**
*Directions*: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest
*I see*: Obelix
**>NE/NO**
Obelix follows me !

**I am in the desert**
*Directions*: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest
*I see*: Obelix
**>E/O**
Obelix follows me !

**I am at an oasis**
*Directions*: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest
*I see*: crate, Obelix, crocodile
**>LOSE ROPE/VERLIERE SEIL**
I put down rope
The rope wraps itself around the mouth of the crocodile !
The crocodile is so scared that it runs away !
*Directions*: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest
*I see*: crate, rope, Obelix
**>OPEN CRATE/OEFFNE KISTE**

**I am at an oasis**
*Directions*: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest
*I see*: crate, rope, Obelix
**>OPEN CRATE/OEFFNE KISTE**
OK. I open the crate !
Inside the crate is a bag
**>TAKE BAG/NIMM BEUTEL**
I take the bag

**I am at an oasis**
*Directions*: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest
*I see*: crate, rope, Obelix
**>FILL BAG/FUELLE BEUTEL**

**Splash Screen**
Congratulations !! You have solved the adventure.
I hope you weren't looking for answers in the listing too many times !
That's of course not allowed ! I wish you just as much luck with other adventures !

### Map

The map of this game is a quite big one and the player will have to navigate through it and obtain key elements that will help them in their adventure.

Game Map on GermanGerman Map Translated
### Hints

* Asterix will not go on a journey without a magic potion. Knock on Getafix' door.
* Snakes are ticklish, you hear. And a little gold can't hurt on a long journey.
* The first use for a sip of the magic potion won't be waiting for long. Romans that captured a defenseless Merchant.
* Camouflage is never wrong. You have gold with you to buy clothes.
* So that you are not surprised by the patrol, you should also wear the clothes.
* To get rid of these guys, you just need a little patience. Obelix is ​​already very wild on it.
* Cuffing someone can sometimes go by itself if you just lose the rope...
* A key can not only open doors, but also boxes.
* Put oil in a bag? That works well, it's more like a kind of beverage hose ouf of leather.

### Design

The adventure was mostly programmed in BASIC and used in addition to PETSCII -Raumgrafik isolated Multicolor - Sprites . The programmer orientated himself on the comic style typical for Asterix. There is no music or sound effects.

### Game Screenshots

Obelix's HouseDruid GetafixSnake EnemyRomans captured MerchantMerchant's ShipClothe's ShopThe OasisDie Odyssee End Screen

## Asterix und Obelix Die Odyssee Modding

Since the game was only released in German, one of our community members, Mr.Rubinshtein#7132 with help of Feurus Fuchsus#0655, decided to make an attempt to translate the game into English to make it more accessible.

### Technical Difficulties

The coding druids from our community AdrienTD#7412 and PegPeregoGaucho#0252 suggested to use HxD to edit the text of the game. This made it possible to edit but not insert or delete characters, as this would break the game's code. There are possible workarounds to this, however it was still not a solution. It would result into some weird crutches that would make it look ugly and not passable in quality.

HeX Editor Attempt
### Solution

After some time S.P.Q.R discovered a solution. He discovered a way of saving the game source code so it can be edited without any limitations. The program "CBM prg Studio" makes it possible to edit the source code of Commodore64 BASIC programs. Using VICE emulator, the finished edited BASIC program can be played. Asterix & Obelix Die Odyssee did not possess any protection against accessing the source code.

Game Source Code in CBM Studio
### English Translation (Screenshots)

After extensive testing, the game was successfully translated into the English language. No official English translation exists, making this the only (fan-created) translation to English.

Added title screen to the gameObelix House and TranslationDruid's House and TranslationTickle the SnakeSave the MerchantStory ScreenPedlar and ClothesEnd Screen
### How to Mod the Game

Refer to our Discord server for additional help.

* 1) Download VICE emulator or acquire the Asterix Retro Pack from Asterix Gaming Guild
* 2) Extract the contents of the archive somewhere. Then launch **x64sc.exe** in the **bin** folder
* 3) Drag and drop **ASTERIX3.T64** file onto the blue screen of emulator and it will automatically start the game
* 4) After the game launched, it will display BITTE WARTEN (Please Wait). Simply press **ESC** to stop the game
* 5) In VICE emulator, go to **File>Create and attach empty disk image** in order to make a file where we will store our source code
* 6) Type **SAVE "ASTERIX & OBELIX", 8** and wait until the code has finished saving
* 7) Download CBM prg Studio and create a new project. Finally, close VICE and go to **File>Import>BASIC File** to import the file you saved the code to
* 8) You now have your very own copy of source code for "Die Odyssee". It is possible to change text, improve graphics, add new locations, add new sprites and much more. When you made changes, just click **PRG button** on the toolbar so CBM studio builds the program that can be launched by dragging the finished .prg file into VICE emulator window

## Trivia

* Norbert Klein used the "Asterix - The Odyssey" comic by Albert Uderzo which was released in 1981 as a template for the graphic adventure "Asterix & Obelix".
* The end screen contains an allusion to the fact that it is not fair to search the program code for help.
* The score can be saved.
* The game doesn't have any title screen. When you load the game it just brings the text BITTE WARTEN (Please Wait) and then sends you to the Obelix's house.
* You can view the game's and the creator's name by typing in the console of game LIST.
* Asterix und Obelix Die Odyssee was available for the first time in the magazine **64's special issue 1986/04**
* The game was not printed as a listing, but only published on the booklet diskette that could be purchased separately.
* **64 special issue No. 60** contained only adventure games. Asterix und Obelix Die Odyssee was included in the issue.
* Besides the fact that the version that is available on the C64 Games website has been fixed by HTW, the versions that were released on **64 04/1996** and **64 special issue no. 60** were faulty.
	+ When an item was dropped, the number of items in the inventory was not reduced. Even though the inventory was limited to 5 items the game still could bug out at the end which would restrict you from picking up the bag. You can avoid this bug by just throwing away items from inventory you don't need.

## References

**General Links:**

1. 64'er's Magazine Special Issue 1986/04
2. 64'er's Magazine Special Issue 04/1996

**Footnotes:**

* http://solutionarchive.com/file/id%2C17920/
* http://solutionarchive.com/file/id%2C9930/
* http://solutionarchive.com/file/id%2C9929/
* http://www.homecomputerworld.com/64ersh.html
* http://squarefaction.ru/game/asterix-und-obelix-die-odyssee/releases
* https://www.c64-wiki.de/wiki/Asterix\_und\_Obelix\_-\_Die\_Odyssey
* http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/asterix/asterix2.htm