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genre:thrus-type [2011/07/12 06:19] the_blueberry_hill link to Balloon Fight series page, fixed a typo, added 'When Pigs Fly'. |
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- | ====== Thrus-Types ====== | ||
- | //also known as: gravity shooters; gravitational shooters; gravitors; cave-flyers; thrust-types// | ||
- | Most commonly developed in Europe, **Thrus-Types** are games where you pilot a rotatable craft with thrusters in back (think //Asteroids//) while constantly fighting the pull of gravity (and, often, and the craft's inertia). Common elements include carrying heavy objects, fragile ships, precision landing, limited fuel, and player-destroyable fuel refills. | ||
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- | This seems to be a popular genre amongst hobbyist programmers, possibly because of the interesting coding challenges it presents. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== Lineage ===== | ||
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- | Thrust-types can be considered one of the earliest videogame genres. Both //Spacewar!// and //Lunar Lander// had thrust-based gameplay and their original incarnations predate the year 1970. | ||
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- | //Gravitar// (1983) and //Gauntlet// (1984) created many of the genre's conventions. However it wasn't until //Thrust// (1986) was released (and ported to every home computer out there) that the genre gained some popularity. | ||
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- | //Gravity Force 2// (unofficial sequel to //Gravity Force//) popularized multiplayer Thrust-Types, and spawned many clones for the Amiga and from the Finns, such as //TurboRaketti//, //AUTS//, //Super PakPak//, and a dozens of games with "Gravity" in their titles. | ||
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- | ===== Examples ===== | ||
- | {{ :fig:solar_jetman.jpg?250}} | ||
- | ==== General ==== | ||
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- | * //Comet Racer// (2009, browser) | ||
- | * //Fleuch 2.0// | ||
- | * //Fly Harder// | ||
- | * //Gauntlet// (1984, no relation to the popular arcade game) | ||
- | * //Gravitar// | ||
- | * //Graviton// | ||
- | * //Graviton 2// [[http://xout.blackened-interactive.com/Gravitron2/Gravitron2.html|Official site]] [[http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopic.php?t=16520|Forum thread]] | ||
- | * //Gravity Crash// | ||
- | * //Gravity Force// | ||
- | * //Oids// | ||
- | * //Rotor// | ||
- | * //Solar Jetman: The Hunt for the Golden Warpship// (1990 by [[company:rare|Rare]], [[hardware:nes|NES]] only, home computer ports canceled) | ||
- | * //S.T.I.N.G.// (NES homebrew) [[http://nesdev.parodius.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=4505|Nesdev forum thread]] | ||
- | * //Sub-Terrania// ([[hardware:genesis|Genesis/Mega Drive]], objective-based missions, has retro-thrusters) | ||
- | * //TerraFire// | ||
- | * //Thrust// (originally for the [[hardware:bbc_micro|BBC Micro]] and [[hardware:acorn_electron|Acorn Electron]]) | ||
- | * //Thrust II// (open world) | ||
- | * //Virus// (name of various ports of //Zarch//) | ||
- | * //Zarathrusta// [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HIO1NRmpmQ|Video]] (uploaded by the game's coder) | ||
- | * //Zarch// (fast 3D from //1987//!) [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALfnZjCiuUQ|Video]] | ||
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- | ==== VS. Multiplayer ==== | ||
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- | * //A2: The Ultimate Sequel To AUTS - The Ultimate Stress Relief Game// | ||
- | * //Assault Wing// | ||
- | * //AUTS - The Ultimate Stress Relief Game// | ||
- | * //Bratwurst// (uses scalable vector graphics to avoid the need for split-screen) | ||
- | * //Gravity Force 2// | ||
- | * //Gravity Power// | ||
- | * //Rocket Chase// | ||
- | * //Spacewar!// | ||
- | * //Super PakPak// (NES homebrew) [[http://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/Super_PakPak|Nesdev Wiki page]] | ||
- | * //TurboRaketti II// | ||
- | * //V-Wing// | ||
- | * //X-Pilot// (open source) [[http://www.xpilot.org/|Official site]] | ||
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- | ==== Lunar Lander clones ==== | ||
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- | The original //Lunar Lander//, simply called //Lunar//, was designed by a 17 year old high school student in 1969 for the PDP-8 computer. The game was text-based, with the player entering the amount of fuel he wished to burn each "turn". Despite being one-dimensional, the game was compelling enough for others to make clones of it. The first graphical version, called //Moonlander//, was made in 1973 for the DEC GT40 computer terminal and is the first version of the game to resemble what we are familiar with nowadays, with a 2D landscape and a rotatable craft. | ||
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- | The singular goal in most Lunar Lander-type games is to land on a flat surface on a rocky planetoid. The smaller the surface, the greater the score. Typically the game starts out with a zoomed-out view of the entire playfield, and zooms in when you're close to the surface. | ||
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- | * //Astrolander// (//[[game:timesplitters_2|TimeSplitters 2]]// minigame) | ||
- | * //Candy Lander// (game in //Totally Tiny Arcade//) | ||
- | * //Jupiter Lander// (VIC-20/C64 game by [[companies:HAL]]) | ||
- | * //Lander// (Windows 3.1) | ||
- | * //Lander// (3D, developed by [[company:Psygnosis]]) [move to General section?] | ||
- | * //Lunar Lander// (various games used this title) | ||
- | * as part of //Videocart-23// for the [[system:channel_f|Channel F]] | ||
- | * 1979 Arcade game by [[company:Atari]]. Ported to: | ||
- | * GBA (part of a compilation) | ||
- | * Atari 2600 (for the Atari Flashback 2) | ||
- | * developed by [[company:pack-in-video|Pack-In-Video Co.]] for the [[hardware:Game Boy]] (JP only), added shuttle lift-off and on-foot exploration segments | ||
- | * //Moon Landing// (part of [[company:Compile|Compile's]] MSX //Disk Station #0// magazine type thing [TODO: research this]) | ||
- | * //Out of This World!// (slight upgrade of //Space Rendezvous//) | ||
- | * //Rocket Lander// | ||
- | * //Space Explorer// | ||
- | * //Space Rendezvous// (Odyssey 2 game, 2-player, goal is to dock on an orbital ship) | ||
- | * //Super Lander// (for the Dragon 32/64 microcomputers, has ceilings) | ||
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- | ===== Offshoots ===== | ||
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- | This section includes titles that have similar gravity-based gameplay but with different propulsion methods, and games that might/would qualify as thrus-types if gravity was added. | ||
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- | ==== "Flappers" ==== | ||
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- | * //[[games:balloon_fight_series|Balloon Fight]]// | ||
- | * //Flywrench// | ||
- | * //Joust// | ||
- | * //When Pigs Fly// | ||
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- | ==== Non-Gravitational ==== | ||
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- | Though they exclude the effect of gravity, these games share Thrus-Types use of inertia. So controlling the avatars, and mastering their control, in these games has a similar satisfaction. | ||
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- | * //Asteroids// | ||
- | * //Descent// (series)(3D) | ||
- | * //Forsaken// (3D) | ||
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- | ===== External Links ===== | ||
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- | * [[http://technologizer.com/2009/07/19/lunar-lander/|Forty Years of Lunar Lander]] - Technologizer Article |