|
The sequel to one of the biggest 16-bit vector games was started on the C64 way back in 1989, trying to improve on the original version.
Way back in August 1988, the 16-bit versions were reviewed. In the interview with Jez San that followed, he says:
“In the end we found some good Commodore 64 programmers and they are going to be working with us. We’re going to supply our routines and lots of help, and they’re going to be programming the 6502… everyone in our company is a 16-bit programmer, no-one wanted to go back to 8-bit.”
An official conversion in the making, which seems to be what we have here. Similar to Mercenary, but nowhere near as good... For reasons unknown, the game was scrapped, a shame as it was starting to develop nicely and take shape.
Exploring the game, you can actually leave the planet, and go into 'Elite' mode and hunt around. Quite an impressive preview, it's not known how complete this preview actually is. Hopefully a list can soon be compiled to indicate what key does what.
Recently in 2009, we had an email from Pete Baron who said that this was his game!.... Whilst working on Myth, Pete was offered to do the C64 conversion. In total, 6 months was spent on actual coding whilst doing Myth, and Pete spent a lot of time trying to get up on the 3D side of things on the C64. He had never done any 3D work on the C64 before, but had been promised by Jez Sans to get any resources possible from their team to help. He had some info, but had to do a lot of working out himself. He managed to get some routines and got to work. A bit through the project, Pete demonstrated things to Jez who felt the game was far too slow. Pete then tried to improve things, and did manage to... but then Space Rogue happened...
Space Rogue featured solid filled vectors on the C64 and was very very fast for a 0.98mhz machine. It blew Pete's work out of the water and Jez had seen it too. They now had to try and match Space Rogue, so Pete now had the impossible mission of getting a solid version working. He did just that, but the frame rate was just too poor filled in. In the end, the project was canned and no more. (You can read more detail from Pete in the Creator Speaks section)
Just how the game sneaked out in its current form is unknown, but the fantastic news is that Pete did actually do a complete conversion of the game in the end that never got released, and in two flavours... the wireframe edition, and potentially the filled vector version too. Another bonus could be an unreleased loading screen which Bob Stevenson did for the game, which according to Pete was fantastic and one of his best pieces. Pete has all the sources still and will soon be allowing GTW to take a look and do a fix up job like was done with his Devious Designs game.
Additionally worthy of note, but the Amstrad and Spectrum versions actually surfaced... so no doubt this was no impossible conversion.
This is fantastic news and a huge development on this previously mystical Starglider 2 conversion.
Space
exploration going a step further on the C64...
Frank and Andrew.
(Additional
source credits - Glenn Rune Gallefois, Pete Baron, Bob Stevenson, Patrick Furlong) |
