Labelled 'BBC Playtest Version', it came supplied on a 5.25" 80 Track 'Flippy' disc as per other Level 9 graphical adventures (namely Gnome Ranger, Ingrid's Back & Scapeghost), hence the attached zip file contains two .ssd disc images ("Game Disk" and "Picture Disk").
Edit: The version archived contains copy protection in the form of a manual lookup, which doesn't kick in until the player has completed the first part of the adventure. The manual is available to download here courtesy of oldgames.sk.
The recommended platform is a BBC Master 128k which will enable full graphics, whilst the minimum requirement is a BBC B with 16k Sideways RAM (which will allow the game to run albeit in text-only mode).
Some more background on this fab discovery ... !
In the early 2000s, the Lost & Found section on the Stairway To Hell website contained a brief entry for Knight Orc (which deemed it to be 'lost') together with a scan of a Level 9 Pricelist circa summer 1988 featuring Knight Orc, which suggested it was available for the BBC/Master.
Though Knight Orc was widely available for other platforms, the [multi-format] manual made no reference to a BBC version, hence it was assumed that any plans for a BBC Micro release were shelved; especially as there had been no sign of the game whatsoever since its supposed release in 1988.
A few years later, Mike Bryant (who was credited on the BBC versions of several late-period Level 9 releases) contacted the STH website to confirm that a version did actually exist ... which gave us hope that there might be a surviving copy out there somewhere.
> Received: 07:21 PM GMT, 01/29/2005
> From: "Mike Bryant"
> Subject: Knight Orc on the BBC
>
> Hi,
>
> Just a quick bit of information... Knight Orc on the BBC does
> (leastwise did) actually exist.
>
> Mike Bryant - (yes the guy on the BBC credits for Gnome
> Ranger, Lancelot ...)
Then in 2007, forum member melchett contacted one of the founders of Level 9, Mike Austin to enquire about Knight Orc. Mike also confirmed the existence of a BBC port...
> I have been in touch with Mike Austin and he has confirmed
> that Knight Orc for the BBC Micro did exist:
>
> > Yes, Knight Orc was released for the BBC Micro. We didn't
> > do any specific versions for the Master. Hope this helps!
>
> He has also promised to take a look to see if he has a copy
> in his loft / garage so am keeping my fingers crossed... this
> is a game I would love to see on the Beeb.
However, he didn't hear back from Mike after that and the game remained lost.
Fast-forward all the way to February 2019, and eagle-eyed forum member 8BitAG (Gareth Pitchford) noted that the Centre for Computing History's archive copy of the 8-bit Atari Cassette version supposedly contained a 'BBC Test disk' on 5.25" floppy.
Adrian from the CFCH kindly located the Knight Orc package in question at the September '19 Acorn & BBC User Group meetup and brought it down for inspection, much to the excitement of the Stardot members present.
As suspected, it contained the box, manual, map and cassettes for 8-bit Atari computers ... together with the elusive 5.25" floppy which was marked "BBC Playtest Version". It also contained a Hint Request sheet that had been hand-marked as being for the BBC Master 128. This leads us to believe it was a review copy, supplied inside a retail box/package that happened to be for Atari computers - as regular retail copies of Knight Orc for the Atari wouldn't have included the BBC version on floppy.
Prior to the weekend we still weren't convinced that the disc would contain the game (for example, might it have been mislabelled?) but upon seeing the floppy (or rather, 'flippy') complete with dual write-protect tabs and authentic label, it was immediately clear that the disc was the real deal. Now all that was left to do was archive the thing (would it still be readable after all these years?) and, if successful, determine whether the disc contained the full version or merely a playable demo.
After a few scares, with the help of Pernod, Prime, Kieranhj, scarybeasts and Tom Seddon we were able to create working images of both sides, which do appear to contain the full version of the game.
This discovery and subsequent archival shows what a valuable resource Jason and team have established at their Museum in Cambridge - allowing preservation groups such as ourselves access to their vast collection of software/hardware for archival purposes. Furthermore, they should be commended for painstakingly maintaining a public catalogue of their archives (via their website) which led to the discovery of the elusive Knight Orc disc, which may well have been the only surviving copy of the game on the planet!
Finally, a couple of screenshots of the gameplay from the Master 128k version ...
