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Zarch
Zarch (also released as Virus) is a 3D video game developed by David Braben in 1987 for the launch of the Acorn Archimedes computer. Zarch started off as a demo called Lander which was bundled with almost all release of the Acorn Archimedes.
In 1988, ports of Zarch, renamed Virus, were published for the Atari ST and Amiga (coded by David Braben) and IBM PC (coded by Chris Sawyer). It was later ported to the ZX Spectrum by Steven Dunn.
The game was groundbreaking for the time, featuring a three-dimensional mouse-controlled craft (the "lander") flying over a tile-rendered landscape that dazzled reviewers in a primarily 2D-dominated game industry - ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) magazine led with the headline "SOLID 3D - the future of games?" when it reviewed Zarch with a score of 979, the highest rating ACE had given at that time, only bettered by the later Atari ST port Virus at 981.
Virus was one of the first solid 3D games and was also the first to have 3D lighting effects and shadowing, although these are less sophisticated than those of Zarch.
The plot of the game is reminiscent of the arcade game Defender, in that the player, piloting a lone craft with limited firepower, must defend a finite landscape against ever increasing waves of enemy craft. In Zarch, the landscape is being invaded by aliens who are spreading a virus across the landscape. The Seeder vessels are slow-moving, predictable, and easily destroyed, but as the game progresses they are supported by increasing numbers of flying support craft, which do not scatter said virus but instead attack the player.
The Seeder vessels scatter red virus particles across the landscape. As they land, they turn the green landscape to brown and red, and cause the trees to mutate. Some flying enemies shoot the mutated trees, to cause themselves to become much more aggressive and dangerous. To clear each attack wave, the player must destroy all enemy vessels.
At the conclusion of each attack wave the player is awarded bonus points for the amount of landscape which remains uninfected. After four attack waves have been successfully repelled, the player is awarded a new landscape, but there is comparatively less land and more water, making complete infection more likely.
Zarch is a notoriously difficult game for beginners. Controls are extremely sensitive; simply moving the mouse while taking off can cause the lander to explode on the launchpad.
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Zarch
Zarch (also released as Virus) is a 3D video game developed by David Braben in 1987 for the launch of the Acorn Archimedes computer. Zarch started off as a demo called Lander which was bundled with almost all release of the Acorn Archimedes.
In 1988, ports of Zarch, renamed Virus, were published for the Atari ST and Amiga (coded by David Braben) and IBM PC (coded by Chris Sawyer). It was later ported to the ZX Spectrum by Steven Dunn.
The game was groundbreaking for the time, featuring a three-dimensional mouse-controlled craft (the "lander") flying over a tile-rendered landscape that dazzled reviewers in a primarily 2D-dominated game industry - ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) magazine led with the headline "SOLID 3D - the future of games?" when it reviewed Zarch with a score of 979, the highest rating ACE had given at that time, only bettered by the later Atari ST port Virus at 981.
Virus was one of the first solid 3D games and was also the first to have 3D lighting effects and shadowing, although these are less sophisticated than those of Zarch.
The plot of the game is reminiscent of the arcade game Defender, in that the player, piloting a lone craft with limited firepower, must defend a finite landscape against ever increasing waves of enemy craft. In Zarch, the landscape is being invaded by aliens who are spreading a virus across the landscape. The Seeder vessels are slow-moving, predictable, and easily destroyed, but as the game progresses they are supported by increasing numbers of flying support craft, which do not scatter said virus but instead attack the player.
The Seeder vessels scatter red virus particles across the landscape. As they land, they turn the green landscape to brown and red, and cause the trees to mutate. Some flying enemies shoot the mutated trees, to cause themselves to become much more aggressive and dangerous. To clear each attack wave, the player must destroy all enemy vessels.
At the conclusion of each attack wave the player is awarded bonus points for the amount of landscape which remains uninfected. After four attack waves have been successfully repelled, the player is awarded a new landscape, but there is comparatively less land and more water, making complete infection more likely.
Zarch is a notoriously difficult game for beginners. Controls are extremely sensitive; simply moving the mouse while taking off can cause the lander to explode on the launchpad.