Syrtis Adventure
Advertising related to the game Adventure by UK developer Syrtis Software (Michael J. Evis).
This is one of the earliest known port of the mainframe game to a home computer system by a British developer; predating the Level 9 version by at least several months and other, less accurate translations, such as the one by Abersoft.
The game was produced by Somerset-based programmer Michael J. Evis, who had been writing and selling Nascom software as early as 1979/1980, as this Practical Computing small ad, from February 1980, shows...
The earliest mention of "Syrtis Adventure" (found so far)... May 1981... making it one of the earliest "Britventures" (British text adventure for home computers)
Source: Computing Today - May 1981 - magazine scan by Flaxcottage
Adventure 16K for the Nascom. Being sold by ANDCO.
Source: Computing Today - December 1981 - magazine scan by Flaxcottage
(There was an earlier mention of ANDCO & the assembler in Computing Today January 1981)
In February 1982, Michael was advertising the game under his own name again; there is a mention of the software having been advertised by ANDCO in this advert, though.
Source: Computing Today - February 1982 - magazine scan by Flaxcottage
Source: Computing Today - March 1982 - magazine scan by Flaxcottage
Source: 80-Bus News April-June 1982, Volume 1 Issue 2
Source: Computing Today - May 1982 - magazine scan by Flaxcottage
Michael Evis reminds Practical Computing that his game exists in June 1982...
and in the small ads from the same issue...
A 32K version of the game was produced later that year...
Source: 80-Bus News July/October 1982
Source: Computing Today - July 1982 - magazine scan by Flaxcottage
The 32K version was advertised several times in Computing Today over the following months.
By January 1983, the price of the 32K Nascom game has been discounted to £8.95...
Both the 32K version of Syrtis Adventure, and what appears to be the 16K version are archived on the Nascom homepage. 16K / 32K. They had been mistagged as the Level 9 versions (Colossal Adventure) in the past... That's one of the issues when you've got lots of different ports of the mainframe game!
Source: The Nascom Homepage & Software Repository
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Above: The start screen of the 16K and 32K versions of "Syrtis" Adventure for the Nascom. Note the different responses to the AUTH command, which is one way of telling the two versions apart.
(Thanks to Pernod for the screenshots)
The Spectrum Port...
The 1983 port to ZX Spectrum.
Source: ZX Computing August/September 1983
The Syrtis Software Spectrum version of Adventure gets a mention in this Mind Games column in Sinclair User, February 1984.
The Spectrum version was re-released by Micro Gold.
Note: The inlay states that the correct title of the Spectrum version is ZX Adventure 32K.
Source: Mocagh
Micro Gold's Tony Rainbird (later associated with the software label of the same name) sought out and republished games previously advertised in the classified sections of magazines. From the date of this news article it seems likely the Micro Gold release dates from 1984...
Source: Sinclair User, December 1983
See also their full page advert in PCG December 83 / January 84
The Micro Gold re-release is listed in issue 3 of Software Index...
Source: Software Index 1984 Number 3
(Issue 2 was published in March 1984,
Issue 4 was published in September 1984)