Helix Colony for Unexpanded VIC-20

[chysn]

Helix Colony is available for download here: https://github.com/Chysn/VIC20-HelixCol ... s/tag/v1.2

And will soon be available on tape, for kicks.

It is the year 1999. Earth has entrusted you to establish the Helix Colony in the Procyon system.

* Explore the planet
* Build gamma mines
* Protect your crew

You have sixty days.

DIRECTIVE: EXPLORE THE PLANET

Use the joystick to move your craft around the planet in four directions. Each move consumes one energy. If you have 0 energy, your craft cannot move.

Your craft is equipped with a sensor that records its readings on your PlanetDisplay. It tells you how many gamma geysers are adjacent to your craft, up to four. The current reading is in the lower left-hand corner of your PlanetDisplay.

Response to question below: The map is set up at the beginning of the game, and does not change during play.

DIRECTIVE: BUILD GAMMA MINES

Your survival depends on energy self-sufficiency. Your Hab landed with a limited amount of energy, so you must build gamma mines over gamma geysers to sustain the colony. The Hab itself consumes one energy per day.

When you think you know where a gamma geyser is located, based on sensor readings, press the Fire button. Your ship will land. Move the joystick toward the sector on which you want to build a gamma mine. A gamma mine costs 50 energy to build.

If you built the mine on a geyser, the mine will produce an extra 3 energy per day, which you can use to explore and build additional mines.

If you built the mine anywhere else, it will not produce energy.

DIRECTIVE: PROTECT YOUR CREW

Unfortunately, gamma geysers are lethally radioactive. They are also invisible to the eye. If you fly your craft over one, the ship and its pilot will be destroyed. Only six of you made the trip, so heed your sensor readings!

You can safely fly your craft over gamma mines.

EVALUATION
After sixty days, your colony will be evaluated.

* You will score 50 bonus energy for each remaining crew member
* You will score 50 bonus energy for each successful gamma mine
* If your entire crew is killed before sixty days, the game ends with no bonuses
* The game will also end without bonuses if you run out of energy with no mines

[Kweepa]

This looks very interesting, thanks!

[TNT]

It is the year 1999.

Lovely futuristic theme

[chysn]

How do you evoke "retro" and "future" at the same time? 1999!

When I was a kid, I was given a die-cast Eagle from Space: 1999, although I don't think I ever saw a single episode.

[Vic20-Ian]

Great idea for a game with the time element, you can't just build once and sit back and collect the cash to get a high score.

Are the locations fixed at the start of the game or do dynamic changes happen in the core of the planet? e.g. a deposit springs up, shows on radar and if not mined could fade away and once safe areas now become active?

How do you evoke "retro" and "future" at the same time? 1999!

When I was a kid, I was given a die-cast Eagle from Space: 1999, although I don't think I ever saw a single episode.

Me too - I remember the sprung landing pads, releasing the cargo and the rocket engine nozzles but also never saw the show until many years later.

[chysn]

Are the locations fixed at the start of the game or do dynamic changes happen in the core of the planet? e.g. a deposit springs up, shows on radar and if not mined could fade away and once safe areas now become active?

It’s like Minesweeper; the board is set up at the beginning, and it stays that way. If you’ve found a sector to be safe, it will be so until the end of the game.

I should put this info in the manual, because time is a factor, and it’s important to know that routes you discover won’t suddenly become dangerous.

[aitsch]

well done.
respect, the third AAA-program this year from you.
the concept is simple, but brings a lot of fun.

i like your feeling for colors and grafics but the song kills my nerves
did you create the font yourself? it looks good.

and the best of all: it is for an unexpanded vic!

i'm looking forward to your next project.

aitsch

[chysn]

well done.
respect, the third AAA-program this year from you.
the concept is simple, but brings a lot of fun.

Thanks for trying it!

i like your feeling for colors and grafics but the song kills my nerves

I've got tons of memory left. I think I'm going to make a music on/off setting.

did you create the font yourself? it looks good.

I did, it's loosely based on the Alexana Neue Typeface.

[Noizer]

Nice Game. May even better: select music on / off and sound fx on / off

[chysn]

i like your feeling for colors and grafics but the song kills my nerves

Nice Game. May even better: select music on / off and sound fx on / off

The new version with music control on the title screen is attached to the original post. Up/Down sets the music, Left/Right sets the level. I didn't do sound effect control. That's what the volume knob is for I think zero people are going to think, "I want the music but not the sound effects."

Actually, the music control was just sort of an afterthought. The real fix in this version is that I reset the jiffy counter during setup. In the original version, you could potentially be cheated out of almost an entire day because I wasn't resetting the clock. The game also ends at the END of Day 60. So this update ensures that you have the correct amount of time.

[Noizer]

...I think zero people are going to think, "I want the music but not the sound effects."[...]

who are those zero people, maybe the citizens of planet procyon ?

[Jeff-20]

I can't wait to try this one! Looks great!

[orion70]

Didn't have the time to test it yet. Will give a try over the weekend. Thanks for producing a game with a good level of complexity in less than 3 kilobytes!

[KomekCommodore]

Great job I will gonna to review this game in the next issue of commodore gamemag "Komoda Amiga plus"

[chysn]

Helix Colony is now available on cassette at https://www.etsy.com/listing/842496224/ ... for-vic-20