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| THE RACE FOR SPACE | HOLO VICTORY? | |
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Following on from the
success of Valhalla,
Legend has recently
announced details of its
latest package, The
Great Space Race.
Simultaneously
launched, for both the
Spectrum and
Commodore 64,
Chairman John Peel
reckons the program's
development has soaked
up well over a quarter of
a million pounds -
reputed to be the largest
amount ever spent on
the development of a
single computer game. In many ways, unlike its predecessor, The Great Space Race does use a similar (though upgraded) operating system - Movisoft 2 - which is said to feature "technical effects never before seen in home computer software". Talking of the graphics, Peel states, "we have finally achieved true solid 3D graphics which, under the control of a computerised 'camera director', create the most realistic and spectacular pictures ever." There'll also be full facial animation, with detailed |
close-ups of the various
characters taking part. Legend's first foray into the wilds of space involves players taking part in a two-phase adventure - the first being the pre-race drama, in which characters wheel and deal to amass the fastest spaceships, best personnel and suitable weaponry and the second entering the race itself; this 'anything goes' battle of wits engages you in mortal combat against time and natural obstacles, as well as all the other competitors! Instead of the traditional 'left', 'right' and 'fire' commands, an option generator is provided which allows other characters in the game to offer you various choices based on the current situation. Says Peel, "the pressure is maintained by giving you only a few seconds to make your choices." The race is now on... either check it out at your nearest micro shop or give Legend a ring on nn-nnn nnnn/n. |
The pace of measures to
protect software
companies against
counterfeiting continues
unabated. Following the
revelations of the
Imagine saga, other
companies are becoming
determined not to fold
under the pressure of
unscrupulous pirates. Elite Systems Ltd, a company launched on August 1st, is employing a new protection method against counterfeiting. All its products will carry an inch by half inch hologram of the company's logo on the cassette inlay cards. These holograms are obtainable from only one source in the world, which means that any Elite product that doesn't display the stickers - once the system gets going - will probably be counterfeit. The first Elite software with hologram stickers attached should be in the shops by mid- September. Look out for their first offering entitled Kokotoni Wilf. |
| CLOSE TO THE EDGE | DOMARK GOES HUNGARY | BOOKING UP |
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A creative group
comprising
programmers, graphic
artists and musicians has
broken away from its
parent company, Softek
International, to form an
independent division.
Called The Edge, it's
already boasting four new
titles, two of which -
Starbike and Psytraxx -
are designed for the
Spectrum. Costing £6.95, Starbike is described as taking place in a space arcade setting; your mission being to pick up aliens and transport them from planet to planet. The other, and certainly the more interesting, package, Psytraxx, uses a software technique dubbed 'synergy' which, according to The Edge's Marten Davies, "is a method of shovelling as many screens as possible into a game." And it seems to work as you'll find an amazing 1026 rooms in it! The plot of the game is that you are a small, overworked droid, drifting around inside a robot's brain in search of the malignant CPU. Both titles are due for launch sometime in September - look for them in the shops or, if you prefer, you can get closer to The Edge on nn-nnn nnnn. |
In this world's oft-
fruitless search for value
for money, a new
software package from
Domark shouldn't be
ignored - especially as
the company's been
offering £25,000 to the
person who can unravel
its mysteries. No ...
don't rush out and buy a
copy yet - at least not
until you've read this.
The prize was offered at
the Personal Computer
World Show from the
20th to the 23rd
September, so you've
probably missed it. Anyway, the jewel in the Domark crown is Eureka - a new real- time adventure and arcade game, described as the culmination of more than 10,000 man-hours of work by Hungarian programmers. With its five adventure games and five arcades (coming on just the one cassette) it's full of riddles, puzzles and clues, plus there's a colour illustrated book. Ideal, it's hoped, for Christmas! At the time of going to press, no further details could be prised from Domark. All, however, will be revealed soon. |
Longmans the publishers
seems to have won the
race to produce the first
decent replacement for
the shoddy QL style
books that have been
filling the bookshelves
since (as well as before)
the infamous machine's
launch. Good
Programming with
Sinclair QL Basic is by
Roy Atherton and takes
the reader through from
basic principles
to explaining the stuff
that the QL manual
didn't make clear. Each
chapter provides useful,
if not essential,
information for those
who want to learn
SuperBasic in a step- by-
step way, instead of
trying to follow the User
Guide's leaps from
keyboards to concepts
and back again. Each section has a self-test so that you can judge how you're progressing and the bibliography is a good indication of how much work has gone into preparing this book. Good Programming with QL SuperBasic costs £5.95, its ISBN number is 0 582 29662 5, and it should be in your bookshop now. |
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