benw@bocar.UUCP (B Weber) (06/05/85)
Antic On-Line Special Bulletin
from the Summer '85 Consumer
Electronics Show
Copyright 1985 Antic Publishing
Inc.
Permission to reprint hereby
granted if article is reprinted
in its entirety and credited to
Antic Publishing.
Sunday, June 2, 1985
by Michael Ciraolo
Chicago, IL--New products for
the 8-bit Atari computers
include two new games from
Lucasfilm, distributed through
Epyx Software.
The two games, scheduled for
release this fall, are Koronis
Rift and The Eidelon.
Lucasfilm team leader Noah
Falstein said of his team's
game, The Koronis Rift: "It's
the year 2249. An ancient
coalition of races once existed
throughout the galaxy. They've
left behind artifacts.
"You're a techno-scavenger,
hunting for artifacts when you
find the motherlode of finds, a
weapons testing ground."
Weapons are the most sellable
of items, so you drop down to
the surface of Koronis to
scavenge. Of course, the
ancient races left behind a
variety of weapons, defenses
and anti-detection devices,
all protected by genetically
engineered Guardians.
There is one remaining Guardian
base at the end of the Rift, a
Grand Canyon-like chasm, which
can only be destroyed with the
right combination of weapons
systems.
"You are armed only with puny
weapons when you start," said
Falstein. "But you work your
way up -- acquiring detection
gear, weapons, shields,
anti-detection equipment. As
you get better equipment, you
run into tougher guardians."
Koronis Rift is a
multi-strategy game, and there
is no one solution to the game.
"It takes the right combination
of weapon systems to get to the
base at the end of the Rift,"
said Falstein.
"As I see it, this is played
the way you play a text
adventure. There will be an
Encyclopedia Galactica to
provide information on the
races leaving the systems, and
you have to consider clues and
strategy to reach the base at
the Rift's end."
The game also works on other
levels. Each weapon system is
color coded, so a blue shield
is the best defense for a blue
laser, not so good for a purple
laser, and no good for a red
laser.
As one would expect from
Lucasfilm, each game is
breathtaking, both for game
design and for programming
innovation. Koronis features a
cleaner version of the fractal
landscape generator used in
Rescue on Fractalus.
Not only are you presented with
the pilot's view, control panel
and overhead monitors, but
Koronis also includes
incredible GTIA animation
produced by Jim St. Louis, who
produced the introductory scene
in Epyx's final version of
Rescue. (Ed. Note: St. Louis
was also the artist who created
the famous Robot & Rocket demo
graphics, used by Atari at the
January CES)
The Eidolon takes you back in
time, to the 19th century.
You've ventured into you
uncle's dusty basement, and
there it is, dials still
glowing. But what is the
Eidolon? According to
Lucasfilm team leader Charlie
Kellner, it's a magic time
machine, a la H.G. Wells. The
inventor left a few notes,
but...
You start up the Eidolon, and
find yourself in a cavern. You
start running into things, and
as they get more fiercesome,
you get the feeling you're
approaching the center. But of
what?
Kellner won't say. But he did
let on that the cavern, while
immense, is not infinite.
Indeed, it's the same cavern
each time you play, and thus
mappable.
"It's partly a voyage of
discovery, partly a quest to
get to the end," Kellner said.
Eidolon uses animation
techniques never before used in
home computers, according to
Kellner. The characters in the
game -- dragons, trolls and
greps -- are produced by cel
animation, the same technique
used to animate Fred Flintstone
and other cartoons.
Without using Player/Missile
graphics, Kellner said, the
animation for any one character
is composed of four to six
overlayed cels (from
celluloid). One cel might be a
leg; moved, you see a character
walking, while the head is held
motionless.
The Lucasfilm team's
programming keeps the creatures
moving logically against a
three-dimensional background.
"The characters are drawn in
real-time, directly on the
graphics screen," Kellner said.
The games are to be priced in
the $29 to $35 range, and will
be shipped in the near future.
No specific ship date was given
by Epyx.
What's next from Lucasfilm? The
team leaders wouldn't say, but
both did mention their, and
George Lucas' goal: interactive
movies. While that may be five
to ten years away, "interactive
cartoons are a good first
step," according to Kellner.
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