Another blast from the past I used to play on my mates Beeb. Thrust was originally released for the BBC micro in 1986 and despite being converted to a host of other computers it is this version that remains the best. It beats it's rivals in all the main areas - Atari ST (gameplay), Commodore 64 (sound), Amstrad CPC (speed) and Sinclair Spectrum (everything). It plays similarly to the Atari arcade game Gravitar and is rock hard.
The blurb says the resistance is going to launch an offensive against the evil Intergalactic Empire but they lack the Klystron pods needed to power their battlegrade starships. You are tasked with pilfering the Klystron Pods from the Empires storage planets.
For each planet you start just above the surface. Ship controls are rotate left/right, thrust, fire, and shield/tractor beam. Nearby you will always find a reactor which powers the limpet guns that protect the base. Pump a few bullets into this and it will disable the defences for a short while. Shooting the reactor too much causes it to go critical giving you 10 seconds to escape before the planet explodes.
Blasting the reactor disables the defences for a short time.
The first Klystron pod is located on the surface of the planet but subsequent ones need to be collected from underground. Navigating the underground tunnels is made tricky by the gravity, your ships inertia and the limpet guns taking pot shots at you. You can activate shields to protect you from the shots, but the shield quickly uses up fuel. Extra fuel can be picked up from the silos dotted around - just hover near them and activate the tractor beam.
Once located, the Klystron pod also has to be picked up with the tractor beam. When collected it is attached to your ship and has to be taken from the planet. As the pod has it's own weight and inertia navigating the caverns is easier said than done. The game cycles through six planet layouts, with the later levels featuring reverse gravity and invisible walls (which can only be seen with the shield activated).
Thrust is one game I'm absolutely crap at (as can be seen from the video clip) though it is a fun, if frustrating, game to play. The graphics and sound can best be described as 'functional' but as it was a budget game this is forgiveable. The only real gripe I have with the game, and this applies to nearly all versions, is the keyboard layout which is not the easiest to get to grips with. The awkward positioning of the buttons makes it difficult to get comfortable and you can't redefine the keys.
Tau Ceti is a game I spent a lot of time playing in
my youth when it was published in 1985 for the Sinclair Spectrum. It was later converted to the Amstrad CPC,
Commodore 64 and Atari ST for release in 1986. I knew this game would appear on the blog so played them to pick the one to feature. As with Elite, the ST had a weak
conversion and has gameplay issues that ruled it out of the running. I had heard the Commodore 64 version was the
pick of the 8-bits so tried that next.
After clearing the the threats from the first city, I warped to the next
one only to be annihilated by three suicidal flying saucers without killing a
single one. I tried again with the same
result – I didn’t remember the game being this hard! On the third attempt I took down one saucer
with a missile at point blank range just before I died. So, while it had the best graphics and sound the C64 is way too hard to be enjoyable. Next up was the Spectrum version which played
much as I remembered. It didn't have the
puny laser of the Commodore 64 so you could actually destroy things. Lastly I loaded up the game for the Amstrad CPC. This turned out to be the definitive version
– it played pretty much the same as on the Spectrum but had colour (instead of monochrome shaded) graphics in the viewing window.
The game is set on
the planet of Tau Ceti III which was colonised in 2050. In 2150 a plague swept through the colony
which was then abandoned and left to the devices of the robot maintenance
systems. After a couple of years a cure
for the disease was found. About the same time radio contact was lost with the automatic systems when the planet was hit by a massive
meteor. In 2164 it was decided to
recolonise Tau Ceti III but minutes after landing a mayday message was received
followed by silence. It was decided that
the robots had run amok after the meteor impact and the only way to stop them
without destroying the buildings is to shut down the fusion reactor in the
capital city. This is where you come
in….
Your mission is to explore the planet in a Gal-Corp Skimmer, searching the reactor substations in each city for a total of
40 pieces of reactor cooling rods.These need to be assembled into 20 complete rods and inserted into the
main reactor in the capital city of Centralis. This will shut down the reactor and disable
the planet defences allowing the colonists to return.
37 more rod pieces to find
You start the game aboard a skimmer that is docked in a
lander. The skimmer is armed with
lasers, 8 heat seeking and 8 anti-missile missiles. It additionally comes equipped
with a defensive shield, flares and infra-red night sights. The display is largely made up of a viewing
window, a communications screen and a radar map. You are also provided with displays showing
the skimmers status and navigational aids (direction finders and compass).
Once launched the viewing window displays the view from your
ship (it can be changed to view from the rear or either side). The buildings and hostile ships are viewed in
solid 3D and, ground-breaking for the time, are shaded in accordance to the
position of the sun. As the day
progresses Tau Ceti moves across the sky and the shadows deepen. When the sun sets it is completely dark which
is when your flares and nights sights come into play. One day/night cycle on Tau Ceti III lasts approximately one
hour.
Using Infra-Red is essential at night but things get a bit blurry.
The quickest way to navigate between cities is to utilise
jump pads. Jump pads can be located in the
North, South, East and/or West of a city and each one has a particular
destination. One ADF will point to the
nearest pad. When landed you can call up
a map which displays the jump network.
Just like Google Maps.
The cities have several types of defences including fortress
buildings, robot hunter-killers (the flying saucers), guardian crawlers and
proximity mines.Your main armament is a
fairly powerful laser (or a useless one in the case of the Commodore 64).It does overheat if used constantly so you
need to keep an eye on the temperature gauge.To back this up you are armed with eight fire and forget missiles.Defensive armament comprises a shield and
eight anti-missile missiles (your communications display shows when an enemy
launches a missile).If you are still
being hit when your shields are low then your systems start to fail.
The city of Hame contained a lot of hostiles. It was 'Game Over' soon after this screenshot.
As well as the
reactor substations you can also dock at supply centres and with your lander.
The civilian supply centres allow you to repair the skimmer. Docking with the lander or at military supply
centres allow you to re-arm as well as carrying out repairs. Typing EQUIP in the communications window
displays the available facilities.
Re-arming the skimmer can only be achieved at your lander or a military supply centre.
In its day, the graphics in Tau Ceti were unique and way ahead of its time. Nowadays they look a bit dated and the sound isn't up to much, however the playability is still there. There is also a lot of strategy involved - do you go in with all guns blazing or try to pick off enemies one at a time? Do you use your missiles now or save them in case there is nowhere to rearm? It doesn't take long to get immersed in the game and I enjoyed revisiting it. There was a sequel to Tau Ceti called Academy which on paper looked like it should have been better, but I didn't get on with the mission based structure.
Docking at a sub-station where cooling rod pieces are found.
