Hacker Chronicles 2/HACKER2.BIN/2244.UFO.REV

Text File | 1990-12-26 | 11KB | 170 lines

 UFO

 SubLOGIC's UFO is another in the line of realistic flight simulation programs
from the Bruce Artwick Organization. Other efforts of Artwick's (all classics)
are NIGHT MISSION PINBALL, JET, and FLIGHT SIMULATOR II. (This review is based
on the IBM-PC version.)

 In viewing the demo, the first thing I noticed was the striking beauty of UFO's
main display on my EGA screen. The demo starts in space, but low-Earth orbit;
the Eastern U.S. is in plain view. The space vehicle is hovering over Miami, and
the Mother Ship is nearby, projecting an "approach tunnel" of rectangles in
space. There are many similarities between Microsoft's FS3/FS4 and SubLOGIC's
UFO: The "approach tunnel" is very much like FLIGHT SIMULATOR's EFIS/CFPD
(Electronic Flight Instrument System/Command Flight Path Display). UFO compares
very favorably with Microsoft's long-popular program.

 The space vehicle swoops down, covering Florida in an instant, heading up the
East Coast. Clearly visible are the Appalachian and Smoky Mountain Ranges, and
major Eastern Metropolitan Areas of Philadelphia and New York. The space vehicle
swooshes left across the heartlands, with Detroit and Chicago plainly visible,
quickly reaching San Francisco. You make a low pass under the Golden Gate
Bridge, a 180-degree turn to the left, and go back through downtown San
Francisco, passing the TransAmerica Pyramid. The spaceship stops in front of a
large building and turns its energy-draining beam on the building, vaporizing
it, and capturing all the energy in the building. There's a quick dash back to
low-Earth orbit/Miami, and then a beautiful docking maneuver to deposit the
collected energy.

 Running the demo on the PC/XT-class machine was noticeably choppier, with the
space vehicle traveling more distance between screen updates. This is a
reflection of the slowness of the processor/graphics system standard on XTs.
UFO's beautiful EGA graphics are also noticeably more difficult to see on the
CGA resolution screen.

 You might expect that flying a UFO would be different from flying an Earth
vehicle. There are numerous controls used to fly a UFO. Systems previously
unknown to man, and to computer pilots, must be mastered. These systems are:
Anti-Gravity support beam; Rotational controls for pitch, yaw, and roll;
Thrusters for low-powered fine movements and docking; Motion Neutralizer for
braking; Gluon Drive main engine; and Anti-Laminar drag decreaser. Also, since
the craft is extra-terrestrial, the control readouts are in UFO units of measure
according to Interplanetary Convention Standard 403. Examples are Gorads (1 foot
= .89 Gorads), Klacks (.94 Klacks = 1 mile), Kels (145 Kilowatt Hours = 1 Kel),
and Fulites (1 degree F = 1.75 + .955 Fulites).

 The main display includes the following viewing areas: from the flight deck out
the windshield in one of nine directions, overhead radar view, or a combination
of both; exterior spot view, as if you had a companion UFO to view your UFO
from; probe view from a fixed remote point; and track view from a fixed point
(but when you get more than five Klacks away, it follows you around). All these
can be zoomed in coarse or fine increments. View options include an Axis
Indicator that lets you choose any of three orientation markers (cross hair,
4-dots, or V-shaped) to be used as an aid in maneuvering and lining things up.

 A full-screen external view option displays views from outside the UFO on the
full screen, instead of only filling the 3-D window. The instruments become
invisible when this is option is selected. Shader, when turned off colored
surfaces, becomes wire frame outlines, giving interesting effects and faster
display rate. Titles on Windows puts a small label on each window identifying
the source of the view, Track, Spot, Cockpit, etc. Finally, there's a Set Spot
View menu that manipulates the view distance, direction, and other spot view
parameters.

 Also on the main display are many instrument indicators. These include the
Primary Flight Instruments: a Velocity Indicator for vertical, horizontal, or
depth movement, which also shows skidding movements; a 3-D Coordinator, which
displays the movement around three axes; an Attitude Indicator, which shows
pitch and roll relative to Earth (good to use when the horizon is obscured by
clouds, or when you're in low-Earth orbit); a Directional Indicator, which
points to the UFO's "compass-like heading," and gives upwards or downwards slope
information; an Altimeter, which shows distance above sea level in Gorads or
Klacks, whichever is applicable; an Anti-Laminar Indicator, which indicates the
percentage of drag reduction in effect; a Motion Neutralizer Indicator, which
provides the percentage of braking being applied; a Gluon Indicator output in
percentage, which shows main engine power; a Graviton Indicator, which relates
the percentage of power drawing you towards an energy source; an Anti-Gravity
Indicator, which shows the current percent power of the support beam; and an
Epidermal Temperature Indicator, which relates the UFO's skin temperature as it
varies with speed and drag (and shouldn't be allowed to exceed 1500 fulites).

 Systems Status Indicators include: Landing Pod status, extended or retracted
(remember that it takes five seconds to cycle); an Energy Units Available
Indicator, which shows amount of energy available to power UFO (maximum 10,000);
an Energy Usage Rate Indicator, which tells current energy consumption rate; an
Illuminator Indicator, which tells on/off status of the energy finder (used in
the Energy Trader Game); a Translucer Indicator, which shows your invisibility
status, making you undetectable to Earth Defenses (also for Energy Trader Game);
and a Shield Status Indicator, which relates the status of your force shield to
protect UFO from Earth weapons.

 View Control Instruments show Window View direction and Magnification Index.

 The manual includes some directions for learning to maneuver and navigate your
UFO. Unfortunately, the techniques used for navigating a UFO are so foreign to
Earthlings that the manual lacked sufficient explicit examples and directions.
The controls used to maneuver a UFO are also foreign to Earthlings, so I needed
a home-made keyboard template to keep track of the regular, shifted, and ALT
function keys.

 If you're in the market for a complex and exciting new aircraft simulation, UFO
is definitely for you. Suffice it to say that you'll need some time to learn to
fly this baby! I was baffled by the navigation equipment, and after trying a
half-dozen times to navigate to the UFO's Mothership, I gave up and used the
Teleporter to move myself there. Considering who authored UFO, I expected it to
be a complex machine to fly, and deem this an asset to UFO's playability.

 One of the entertainment options is the Energy Trader Game. I'm still learning
to fly/navigate the UFO. Given more time, and some hints, I'm convinced that
I'll learn to love this part of UFO. Basically, the idea is to go from city to
city, hence the U.S.A. database of 359 cities. Chances are your home town is
available, but don't expect buildings outside of Miami, Washington, D.C., San
Francisco, and Honolulu; there are just city outlines and highways.

 When you reach a city, you identify it and capture/rob energy from the
Earthlings. The trick is to do this undetected by Earth defenses, which will
attack if they notice you're there. Return to the Mothership and deposit the
captured energy in exchange for payment, repairs, and a full tank of fuel.
Scoring is based on the amount of energy delivered to the Mothership, minus the
amount of damage to your ship that requires repair. When you accumulate 10,000
points, you're awarded an extra ship, so if you crash or otherwise get in a
state where you need it, you can continue the game. Every 50,000 points
thereafter, you earn another ship/life.

 Another entertainment option is the Earth Craft Chase. This one requires you to
chase down and scoop up Earth aircraft. This is done by flying close to them and
using your Graviton to pull the Earth craft to you and capture it. Care must be
taken not to use excessive Graviton, as it will destroy Earth aircraft. Scoring
is based on how closely you follow Earth craft, how much Graviton power is used
to capture each craft, and the number of aircraft scooped up. You're working
against a clock: When time reaches zero, the game is over.

 UFO includes some of the best scenery SubLOGIC has ever published. You see
detailed downtowns from some of their best major cities: Washington, D.C., San
Francisco, Miami, and Honolulu. These places include: recognizable buildings;
both blue-line and wide blue rivers; white-line and black-line highways;
lighthouses/radio antennas; 3-D mountains; and contrasting-color downtown areas.
Also included are some selections from the experimental part of the HAWAIIAN
ODYSSEY scenery disk. These you have to see to believe! But you'll enjoy your
discoveries underneath the red-hot caldera in the crater of the Mauna Loa
volcano. Be sure to take a trip to Albuquerque, NM, to drop some mail off for
your favorite "wabbit" and mine.

 The IBM version of UFO supports nine graphics options, ranging from Hercules
Monochrome to 16-color 640X350 (EGA resolution). Sound can be toggled, and you
can configure the keyboard sequences. Optional equipment includes a hard drive,
mouse, and/or one or two joysticks. You can copy files to your hard drive as
long as you have about 650K of space. Mouse sensitivity and null zone width are
adjustable, as is joystick sensitivity.

 The program runs on an IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, Tandy, or compatible, and requires
a minimum of 512K of RAM, at least one 5-1/4" floppy drive, and DOS 2.0 or
higher. A 3-1/2" inch diskette is available at no charge if you mail in your
5-1/4" original. Neither format is copy protected, and there are no hidden
files.

 Included in the game package are a professionally typeset 80-page manual, a
disk exchange/backup order card (for a free 3-1/2" disk or a $10 backup disk), a
UFO Controls Summary Card, and charts for Miami, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, and
San Francisco, along with an especially nice
Continental-48-States-Ontario-Quebec chart (including scenery coordinates for an
amazing 359 cities).

 UFO is definitely a keeper. You'll experience many hours of fun in exchange for
the reasonable purchase price.

 UFO is published and distributed by SubLOGIC Corporation.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS [phone]