A Bug in C64 Mercenary Lets You Ride an Invisible Elevator to the Colony Craft
C64 MERCENARY (1985): a novel exploit bug at the start of the game
In the 1985 classic Mercenary, a coding oversight turns a patch of grass into a working elevator. The E key's lift check ignores height, so standing on the grass directly below the Colony Craft's lift at 08-08 triggers the same ride. Press E to descend into the hangar, press again to reach the deck at altitude 64,997. The hangar doors are locked, so your only escape is walking off the roof.
It never reads the height. So the patch under the deck's lift works exactly like the lift.
- uzidil
Mercenary impressed me very much as a teenager. My take on it (has it really been ten years?!)
- amiga386
R.I.P. Paul Woakes. He died on 15th July 2017.
http://mercenarysite.free.fr/minmemoriam_paul_woakes.htm
May his essential 12939 supply never run out.
- a1r
100 paces NW of the starting position is an invisible patch of grass where the author forgot to include a height check. Press E and you teleport to the Colony Craft, far above you. This bug has gone unnoticed for 41 years!