BUG
                                     1 1 1
         VERSION   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
        10/820818  Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
        12/821025  N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
        15/830331  N N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
        16/830410  N N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
        15/840518  N N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
       *17/840727  N N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

          1. THE CHEST BUG: In version 10, the chest is too big and can contain items that normally aren't supposed to fit. The most notable is the wooden staff, which, if put safely inside, will not get broken if the player fights and kills the man at the cliff ledge. Thus a player can get the treasure and keep the staff intact as well.
          Another interesting use of this bug involves using the chest to transport the lamp or torch across the lake, eliminating the need for the grue repellent and viewing table. This allows the player to win with only 6 of the 7 possible points.
          If you enter the Dark Room with a light source, the grues won't attack or even be mentioned, but the room is still called the Dark Room, and there is no room description. Typing LOOK generates no response at all, and sends you to the next turn.
          In later versions, the unbroken staff and lamp won't fit in the chest. It's incredibly difficult to find a version with this bug still intact. -- New Zork Times
          SUBJECTIVE COMMENTARY:   IMHO, the solution created a bug rather than fixed one. Since the old man took the staff out of the chest, what is the sense in saying that it doesn't fit if the player tries to put it back? And if the staff fits, the lamp should also.
          One person wrote me and suggested that perhaps the DM didn't get the staff out of the chest at all, and we merely assumed it. I went back and checked the game text, which confirms that he did:

"He hands you a plain wooden staff from the bottom of the chest and begins examining his valuables."

On the other hand, A. Franzman points out that if you shake the chest before opening it (in any version of the game), you get the unequivocal response "There's nothing in the chest." This message may be an error, or perhaps the DM put the items in the chest while he was off getting the rope (though this still doesn't explain why the staff can't be put back).
          I would have fixed the bug in the following two ways: 1) Make the chest leak, thus preventing the lamp or torch from surviving the trip across the lake, and 2) Allow the player to get both the staff and the treasure in this way, but have the Dungeon Master reject him as an unworthy candidate at the end of the game. - GC

          2. At the very end of Version 10, the sword is often a source of trouble. If the player happens to be holding it when he/she is in cell #4, the game will crash when the player asks the Dungeon Master to push the button. This is because there are two different possible exits to the north, and the sword routine gets confused when it checks the adjacent rooms to see whether or not the sword should glow. Infocom's testers didn't find this originally, because they'd been leaving the sword behind to block the beam of light. -- New Zork Times

          3. In Version 10, it's possible to get the Dungeon Master to follow you beyond the Dungeon area, if you get past the door, drop one of the items you need, then knock on the door again, from the INSIDE! It's even possible to get the DM stuck in the area from Zork I. -- New Zork Times

          4. If you use the previous bug (in Version 10 only) to go to the Zork I area with the Dungeon Master, you may occasionally (but not always) be able to produce the following exchange:

>DUNGEON MASTER, GO EAST
"I prefer to stay where I am, thank you."
You suddenly find yourself back in the viewing room!
The dungeon master leaves the room.

Very strange. The Dungeon Master leaves the room after refusing to do so. Also, not only are you not really back in the viewing room, you and the DM will be stuck in the Zork I area permanently. (The Zork 1 area is only 3 or 4 areas large, and you cannot move beyond them, even in directions where Zork 1 really did have passages). -- Graeme Cree

          5. After you've climbed down the rope to the cliff ledge, you can't climb back up again with the chest. However, typing CLIMB THE ROPE (as opposed to CLIMB UP THE ROPE) or even DOWN, will make you climb down the rope to the cliff base, even though the rope ends a few feet above the cliff ledge (The long description of the room even comments on the fact that you might be able to climb down).
          You can escape with the chest this way, however, nobody except the old man can open it, so you can't get the staff (or the treasure) out of it unless you let the old man "rescue" you. Very odd, since the text makes it clear that you are supposed to be stuck whether you have the chest or not. This one's present in all versions.

          6. When you get to the Dungeon area, try this (in any version):

>DUNGEON MASTER, KILL ME WITH THE STAFF
"If you wish," he replies.
If you insist... Poof, you're dead!

**** The dungeon master has died ****

The dungeon master follows you.
Your sword has begun to glow very brightly.

          7. Or this:

>DUNGEON MASTER, KILL DUNGEON MASTER WITH STAFF
"If you wish," he replies.
"If you wish," he replies.
You aren't even holding the staff!

The last message appears even though you ARE holding the staff! Very surreal.

          8. This bug is not only in all versions of Zork III, it also exists in most Dungeon/Zork ports. While you're shoving blocks around to solve the Royal Puzzle, drop the book in the slot to open the door, then move a block in front of the door and leave the usual way (via the ladder). Walk around to the side door and you'll find it's not blocked! If you re-enter the puzzle via the side door, the sandstone block will be gone. If you move away from the door (without exiting the puzzle) the sandstone block will reappear in the area as soon as you leave. This bug was reported to Infocom many years ago, but it doesn't seem to have ever been fixed. -- Dave Newkirk

          9. Interacting with the pedestal in the Jewel Room is always difficult.   In all versions after Version 10, if you try to TAKE PEDESTAL, you get the response "You can't reach it through the cage", even if the cage is not present (i.e. you travelled back to a time before it was installed). In Version 10, it says "You can't see any pedestal here.", even though it is mentioned in the room description. Thus, in all versions, if you take one of the crown jewels other than the ring, and realize your mistake, there is no way to put it back on the pedestal. -- Graeme Cree

          10. When you reach the Zork I area, go east and south. It will say:

"You have come to a dead end in the mine.
There is a small pile of coal here."

However, the coal is not really there and cannot be interacted with. In fact the game doesn't even know the word "coal." "Pseudo-items" frequently appear in room descriptions, but not on separate lines of their own. This bug is present in all versions, but is hard to find because of the difficulty of staying in the Zork I area long enough. -- Graeme Cree

          11. THE KLEPTO BUG:  In the Jewel Room, you can retrieve not only the ring, but also the sceptre or knife without traveling back in time, by use of the command UNLOCK CAGE WITH [noun]. For example:

>UNLOCK CAGE WITH RING
(Taken).
It doesn't seem to work.

You can take them all at once with UNLOCK CAGE WITH ALL. You will then get a message that says something like "You can't use multiple indirect objects with "unlock". (the exact message varies slightly from version to version), but you will take them all the same.

Once taken, the items will not be listed in your inventory, though you will be able to examine them. If you try to WEAR THE RING you will be told you are already wearing it. The jewels will still be listed in the room description, even if you leave them someplace else and return.

If you drop them, then you will not be able to see them with a LOOK command, but may still EXAMINE them. If you try to take them again, you will be told that they are in the locked cage, and there will be no way to pick them up again unless you are still in the Jewel Room and can repeat the whole process. This works in any version. -- J. Smith

          12. THE HELLO SAILOR BUG: At the Flathead Ocean, if you say you say HELLO SAILOR before the Viking ship arrives you are told "Nothing happens yet." and if you say it after it has left, you are told "Nothing happens any more."
          This can cause a minor bug in that there is sometimes a 1-turn window after you get the vial, but before the ship has gone, in which you are told "Nothing happens yet." even though it already has. For example:

>WAIT
Time passes...
Passing alongside the shore now is an old boat, reminiscent of an ancient Viking ship. Standing on the prow of the ship is an old and crusty sailor, peering out over the misty ocean.

>HELLO SAILOR
The seaman looks up and maneuvers the boat toward shore. He cries out "I have waited three ages for someone to say those words and save me from sailing this endless ocean. Please accept this gift. You may find it useful!" He throws something which falls near you in the sand, then sails off toward the west, singing a lively, but somewhat uncouth, sailor song.

>AGAIN
Nothing happens yet.
The boat sails silently through the mist and out of sight.

>AGAIN
Nothing happens anymore.

For some odd reason, if you say something other than WAIT on the turn the ship arrives, this doesn't work. The ship will give you the vial, and leave, all on the same turn. In this case, the message that says "The boat sails silently through the mist and out of sight." is added on to the end of the previous turn's output. -- Alan Franzman

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