Probably the 4th or 5th budget game I ever got back in 1987. Couldn't really figure it out back then, have tried every few years since and still find it illogical and frustrating. For the video I decided to use my actual copy purchased from the newsagents in 1987 so had to press the 464 into service (can't find my tape lead and the 464 is the most reliable for loading).
YES! Loved this one.
I actually only finished this one a few years back. I'd been diagnosed with depression and was on a bus to my shrink, and was playing this on a PSP. It was actually a really good fucking game to keep my mind occupied. The hardest part is the colour codes to lock and unlock the gates, but with logic and a little perseverance (and a good memory as the sequences remain the same), and it can be done.
The trick to it is:
1) Fix the fuel line (the generator) first, it'll be the first to go otherwise.
2) Keep the outside gate locked at all times (the inside gates are ok to keep open), you won't be able to pilot the ship otherwise.
3) Not all the lines need to be repaired, once the generator is done, you just need to fix the scanner and the engine. Find those and where they lead to and fix them fast. The likes of the tape machine doesn't need to be fixed unless you want to save the game, but it's a bit of a gimmick and you won't use it once you figure out how the locks are opened.
Once you can figure out where the essential repair work needs to be done, the game can actually be finished in about 20 minutes. But if you don't have patience, this one ain't for you.
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 05:05, 10 October 16
The trick to it is:
1) Fix the fuel line (the generator) first, it'll be the first to go otherwise.
2) Keep the outside gate locked at all times (the inside gates are ok to keep open), you won't be able to pilot the ship otherwise.
3) Not all the lines need to be repaired, once the generator is done, you just need to fix the scanner and the engine. Find those and where they lead to and fix them fast. The likes of the tape machine doesn't need to be fixed unless you want to save the game, but it's a bit of a gimmick and you won't use it once you figure out how the locks are opened.
Once you can figure out where the essential repair work needs to be done, the game can actually be finished in about 20 minutes. But if you don't have patience, this one ain't for you.
Seems to be a common theme that people either get it or have been struggling with it for nearly 30 years aware there is a game in there somewhere. Alot of it seems illogical at times and its the shame the spanners aren't marked to indicate they do different things.
I also recall ending up bouncing through a wall and ending up in space in the past although I couldn't replicate that when I played it for the review.
You'll get that when you hit the top wall on the screen north of the start point. Head around the western side of the ship, there is a pink area on the side of the map, this is the airlock where you can get back into the ship. Remember to close it again once back in.
Used to be able to finsih way back when, but I forget a few details. Maybe I'll make a MAME INP demonstrating a finish if I can remember it all. :)
Quote from: chinnyhill10 on 08:35, 10 October 16
Seems to be a common theme that people either get it or have been struggling with it for nearly 30 years aware there is a game in there somewhere. Alot of it seems illogical at times and its the shame the spanners aren't marked to indicate they do different things.
A lot of people lose their patience with games as they age. Christ knows, I'm one of them. I was impatient in 87, and I'm impatient now. But I'm also one of those guys who's too dumb to quit and will revisit games that have had me stumped even nearly 30 years later.
Quote
I also recall ending up bouncing through a wall and ending up in space in the past although I couldn't replicate that when I played it for the review.
Yeah, that's where the hole in the ship is, it was intended to be that way. I used to use it as a short cut to get to the outdoor lock so I could get to the tools faster. There were a couple of other places you could force your robot to go through walls to get outside too, but those were bugs which could lead to the game freezing at times.
I remember playing this way back when, and I didn't have the first clue what I was meant to be doing. Although I remember it looking fairly funky and being smooth.
I got this game on a compilation of 50 games on 7 discs (http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=6360) back in 1991, and I also still don't understand what I am supposed to be doing to this day! :(
I thought back then, and I still think now, that the music is brilliant. In fact, it's one of those games I would load just to hear the music! :laugh:
I had it on the same compilation / dodgy Mastertronic collection!
Quote from: Nich on 21:00, 10 October 16
I got this game on a compilation of 50 games on 7 discs (http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=6360) back in 1991, and I also still don't understand what I am supposed to be doing to this day! :(
I thought back then, and I still think now, that the music is brilliant. In fact, it's one of those games I would load just to hear the music! :laugh:
Yeah, I loved the music. It's probably one of my favourite Amstrad tunes, and it's often overlooked.
Basically the plot to the game is, you're a droid, who's sole function is to fix toasters (I swear, I couldn't make this up!), but your droid is the only lifeform left on the ship that is headed towards a star. So you've a limited amount of time to fix the fuel line (to stop you from running out of fuel), the generators (to power the ship properly) and the scanner (to help navigate the ship away from the star and back home) before your ship collides with the star.
There's a room with three barrels that have three different shaped pipes that you need to repair around the ship. Having a map helps, there's a really good one on World Of Spectrum. There are 3 or 4 locks that require a combination to be all one colour (one is green, one is white, etc), they're tricky at first but they all have a sequence that can be memorised eventually. All except the one that opens the side door of the ship can remain unlocked once you've figured it out.
Once you've fixed all the required lines, you head back to the control room (to the right of where your droid started) and you point the ship away from the star and the game is finished. :)
Okay, here's an INP that finishes Rasterscan.
Should run in any standard MAME 0.178 (Windows binaries available from mamedev.org).
Extract rasterscan.inp to the INP folder in the folder where you have installed MAME, and extract the zipped disk image (leave it zipped) anywhere you wish.
From the commandline (I'll assume you know how to traverse folders in a command prompt):
mame cpc6128 -playback rasterscan.inp -flop1 [full path and filename to where you placed the included disk image zip]
Note: 64-bit versions of MAME will be called mame64.exe, instead of mame.exe, so if you're using that, replace 'mame' with 'mame64' in the commandline above.
I'm glad this has all come up...this is one game that got me back then, and still does to this day... I'll have to read all of this carefully and give it another go with renewed enthusiasm!
I swear the game crashed in places, or I'd get stuck in one of those spanner things...I think it was where the 3 of them are near the front of the space ship.. Yeah, something like that.
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 05:05, 10 October 16
YES! Loved this one.
I actually only finished this one a few years back. I'd been diagnosed with depression and was on a bus to my shrink, and was playing this on a PSP. It was actually a really good fucking game to keep my mind occupied. The hardest part is the colour codes to lock and unlock the gates, but with logic and a little perseverance (and a good memory as the sequences remain the same), and it can be done.
The trick to it is:
1) Fix the fuel line (the generator) first, it'll be the first to go otherwise.
2) Keep the outside gate locked at all times (the inside gates are ok to keep open), you won't be able to pilot the ship otherwise.
3) Not all the lines need to be repaired, once the generator is done, you just need to fix the scanner and the engine. Find those and where they lead to and fix them fast. The likes of the tape machine doesn't need to be fixed unless you want to save the game, but it's a bit of a gimmick and you won't use it once you figure out how the locks are opened.
Once you can figure out where the essential repair work needs to be done, the game can actually be finished in about 20 minutes. But if you don't have patience, this one ain't for you.
20 Minutes!? Wow...
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 03:21, 11 October 16
Once you've fixed all the required lines, you head back to the control room (to the right of where your droid started) and you point the ship away from the star and the game is finished. :)
Ok - I think this is where I'm going wrong... the control room. 3 Spanners right? somehow this is where it all goes pear shaped. Some special order / trick here?
Quote from: Border_7 on 06:50, 31 October 16
Ok - I think this is where I'm going wrong... the control room. 3 Spanners right? somehow this is where it all goes pear shaped. Some special order / trick here?
Nah, the room with the three spanners is useless from what i remember.
The control room is below it, before you get to the room with the three spanners, move your droid down two screens and then to the right and you need to open another lock. Unlock that and you're into the room where you can control the ship. Above that is the map.
Steer the ship away from the star and you should be fine. =)
Quote from: Border_7 on 06:06, 31 October 16
I swear the game crashed in places, or I'd get stuck in one of those spanner things...I think it was where the 3 of them are near the front of the space ship.. Yeah, something like that.
Yeah, the game was bug riddled to shit unfortunately. But even on the Speccy version, those 3 spanners didn't do anything. I remember one of those three spanners changing the border and locking the game, one started the tape drive, and one I think rebooted the machine!
Sometimes your droid would get stuck in nooks and crannies on the inside of the ship too!
Never had the game crash on me before, only bug I remember is sometimes if you hit the corner of the screen just right, you'd be transported to the wrong side of a neightbouring screen, kinda like a funky warp. :)
The 3 spanners above the control room are used to activate the scanner, so you can see where you're going while trying to pilot the craft to safety. Activate the right and then the left spanners to enable the scanner. This is not a requirement to complete the game, though.
Thanks guys - interesting. Only one thing left to do!
run "raster
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 21:33, 31 October 16
Yeah, the game was bug riddled to shit unfortunately. But even on the Speccy version, those 3 spanners didn't do anything. I remember one of those three spanners changing the border and locking the game, one started the tape drive, and one I think rebooted the machine!
Sometimes your droid would get stuck in nooks and crannies on the inside of the ship too!
That's interesting, as I'm finding out again, yes. Stuck a few times.... arghhh
Quote from: mahlemiut on 22:09, 31 October 16
Never had the game crash on me before, only bug I remember is sometimes if you hit the corner of the screen just right, you'd be transported to the wrong side of a neightbouring screen, kinda like a funky warp. :)
The 3 spanners above the control room are used to activate the scanner, so you can see where you're going while trying to pilot the craft to safety. Activate the right and then the left spanners to enable the scanner. This is not a requirement to complete the game, though.
Left and Right Spanners....Gotcha.
Question to anyone: When the power supply fails, is it because I just took too darn long? (this is the generator ?)
Quote from: Border_7 on 03:00, 02 November 16
Question to anyone: When the power supply fails, is it because I just took too darn long? (this is the generator ?)
You've essentially answered your own question. The generator will only provide power for so long before it fails. It's pretty much the games time limit.
The drip is the fuel gauge, this too will drain, but once you fix the fuel line it will take forever and a lifetime to drain, so it's the least of your worries.
The exclamation is the danger gauge. This isn't as scary as it looks. It raises and drops every time you open a lock, so if you're spooked by it, lock the doors behind you, especially the one at the left hand side which brings you to the outside of the ship. It's the easiest of the puzzles anyway.
Good luck =)
Excellent thanks - just wanted to clarify that there wasn't some overall time limit, regardless of what is going on with the broken lines etc.. Cheers.
Re-discovered the teleporter, which cuts out the need to bounce outside and loop around...which I think is unnecessary...
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 03:17, 02 November 16
You've essentially answered your own question. The generator will only provide power for so long before it fails. It's pretty much the games time limit.
The drip is the fuel gauge, this too will drain, but once you fix the fuel line it will take forever and a lifetime to drain, so it's the least of your worries.
The exclamation is the danger gauge. This isn't as scary as it looks. It raises and drops every time you open a lock, so if you're spooked by it, lock the doors behind you, especially the one at the left hand side which brings you to the outside of the ship. It's the easiest of the puzzles anyway.
Good luck =)
Ok well I've fixed the big leaking pipe on the outside and all the broken internal pipes. Then what's the next trick? Do you need to switch (enter a spanner) each of 4 engines on? Seems like every single switch I enter kills me. Or do you just then head to the control room as soon as you have fixed everything?
No, no switches are needed. You can hit the left and right spanner in the 3 spanner room to turn the map on, although it's not a requirement.
Two screens below those spanners (go left two screens and then go down two screens and then right), you'll find another lock. Unlock it and you'll get to the control room (move to he left hand side of the control screen and press fire and the target should move), from there you can go up and see the map (if you've triggered the 3 spanner room). After that, wait a couple of minutes the ship will be steered to safety and you'll finish the game. :)
Ok - I was starting to think this was quite tricky because I read the Spectrum Cassette inlay...
Just on the 3 switches, no matter which order I activate them, the first one kills me every time (Dangers to ship have over whelmed you etc..) - do I need to activate something else first?
Also - forgetting the 3 spanners for a moment, I can't seem to get rid of 3 red danger Exclamations marks, does this mean I've missed a break somewhere or not relevant?
and lastly, after triple-checking that I've repaired all pipes, I still run out of power... have I done something in the wrong order?
Quote from: Border_7 on 04:40, 04 November 16
Ok - I was starting to think this was quite tricky because I read the Spectrum Cassette inlay...
Just on the 3 switches, no matter which order I activate them, the first one kills me every time (Dangers to ship have over whelmed you etc..) - do I need to activate something else first?
One of the scanner cables had been damaged since repair. The only time they stay repaired is if there is no danger at all. Once you get danger again, when you go to activate the 3 switches, the dangers to the ship will overwhelm you and you'll lose the game.
QuoteAlso - forgetting the 3 spanners for a moment, I can't seem to get rid of 3 red danger Exclamations marks, does this mean I've missed a break somewhere or not relevant?
Someone here mentioned that the scanner is irrelevant, I can't verify this myself as I fixed it when I finished it but if you've still danger, it means you've missed either a break in one of the cables, or you forgot to lock the door to the outside behind you when you re-entered after fixing the fuel line.
Quoteand lastly, after triple-checking that I've repaired all pipes, I still run out of power... have I done something in the wrong order?
Nope, you've just taken too long. The generator will eventually run out of power once the pipes are repaired. I did it in the following order:
- repair the fuel line- repair the scanner
- repair the generator
That bought me the most amount of time to unlock everything, activate the scanner, then steer the ship to safety.
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 21:33, 31 October 16
Yeah, the game was bug riddled to shit unfortunately. But even on the Speccy version, those 3 spanners didn't do anything. I remember one of those three spanners changing the border and locking the game, one started the tape drive, and one I think rebooted the machine!
Sometimes your droid would get stuck in nooks and crannies on the inside of the ship too!
Alot of pressure on the coders at BDL to get the games out on a deadline. If it worked it went out regardless of if all the bugs had been found. As long as Mastertronic (as the customer) were happy it went off to the duplicators!
Quote from: chinnyhill10 on 01:30, 16 November 16
Alot of pressure on the coders at BDL to get the games out on a deadline. If it worked it went out regardless of if all the bugs had been found. As long as Mastertronic (as the customer) were happy it went off to the duplicators!
If you replaced BDL with Probe and Tiertex, and Mastertronic with US Gold, it would also be a scaringly accurate statement also! xD