How do I reset the shop and dungeons in Bard's Tale?

Question

I've long since lost my disks for Bard's Tale, but I've been copying the files from computer to computer for about a decade.

I'd like to play the game again, but I want to play it fresh, with no sold items appearing in Garth's Equipment shop, and none of the keys (or the eye) already taken from the dungeons. If I remember right, for the eye at least, only one party can ever get it.

Anyway, I want a fresh game. Is there a way I can go about resetting the game for the MS-DOS version without doing a reinstall?

Answer 1

After searching through my old CDs, I found a version of the game I'd copied to disc right after a fresh install.

It turns out that that the file simply called ITEMS is the one that tracks that data, but you cannot simply delete it, or when you start the game it will ask for the install disk so that it can grab a new copy. The file is modified as you play, so the only way to reset your game is to copy the default ITEMS file over your existing one. If you don't have a default ITEMS file to restore with, it appears that you are out of luck.

Answer 2

While Sterno's comment is accurate, I want to add that there is no game state really beyond what the party is carrying in items. If you delete your existing characters, and can employ the discipline to never buy things from the shop, then your game will be effectively the same as a fresh game.

However, I personally find that I like to use Garth as a "bank" of items, so I would find this unsatisfying, myself.

Answer 3

If you know how to read hexadecimal, you can use a hex editor to give a character an absurd amount of gold (the various numbers in the character files for stats, experience, e.t.c are not encrypted in any way. It will take a little trial and error, but shouldn't be that tough to figure out). Use that character to purchase all the nonstandard items from the store and just drop them. Once the store is depleted, go ahead and delete that character to remove the excess gold. Resist the temptation to abuse your newfound power...