I am the author. Thank you so much for you very detailed review!
The version here on itch.io is from 4 years ago though. (7.05)
I have been working on and off on this game for over 25 years now.
There is a newer version, with many changes.
The best place to look is on my project page at github:
The version there is 7.24.1 from October 2022.
But I have been madly working on it since then. Its not ready for another release yet, but I have made so many changes..
Some of the biggest ones are the multiplayer, which has been completely redone
and now works great over internet connections as well as LAN..
The official master repository is: https://github.com/mweiss001/purple_martians
The documentation pages are here: https://mweiss001.github.io/purple_martians/
This project is written in C/C++ and uses:
Allegro 5
gcc / MinGW-w64 zlib
libnet
Code::Blocks
Development envoronments can be set up for windows or linux, see: docs/dev_setup/
Please send me an email (mweiss001@gmail.com) with any questions, comments, suggestions, etc...
Project page on allegro.cc: https://www.allegro.cc/depot/PurpleMartians
Youtube channel with Purple Martians demonstration videos and original music: https://www.youtube.com/mweiss0001
Level 8 just requires that you jump on the switches in certain order to get past the first part.
The second part, you have to destroy a huge brick wall with bombs to proceed.
The last part, you have to collect all the keys, jump on all the switches, get another key, then do it again.
Thank you again for your interest. Please try the new version. Email me direct if you have any questions.