Starglider
Encyclopedia
Starglider is a 3D
video game released in 1986 by Rainbird. It was developed by Argonaut Software, led by programmer
Jez San
. The game was inspired by Jez San's love of the 1983 Atari coin-op Star Wars, It was a fast-moving, first-person combat flight simulator, rendered with colourful wireframe
vector graphics
. The game took place over the surface of the occupied planet Novenia, and it was the player's goal to rid the world of the mechanised Egron invaders. To this end the player was equipped with a high-performance AGAV fighter aircraft, which was armed with lasers and television-guided missiles.
Starglider was originally developed by Argonaut Software for the 16-bit Commodore Amiga and Atari ST
machines. Rainbird also commissioned Realtime Games
to produce 8-bit versions for the Amstrad CPC
, Amstrad PCW
, and ZX Spectrum
(128k, with a cut-down 48k version without sampled speech or special missions), and also for the IBM-compatible PC
running in CGA
. Solid Images were commissioned to produce versions for the Commodore C64 and Apple IIGS
. Most versions included then-novel sampled speech, from Rainbird employee Clare Edgeley.
The Amiga version is notable of having a title music by Dave Lowe using instrument sounds that were of exceptionally high quality for then prevailing standards (before the age of tracker music). Both ST & Amiga versions also have about 15-second long song - a single sound file - with real vocals and synthesizers. A male voice sings: "Starglider ...by Rainbird".
Starglider was packaged with a sci-fi novella by James Follett
, describing the game's background story, in which the Ergons effortlessly blitz Novenia despite the planet possessing a previously impenetrable network of utterly deadly defense satellites. The Ergons defeat the system by disguising their battleships as a flock of intergalactic migratory birds, the Stargliders (of the title). The defense satellites had been programmed not to fire on these birds (which migrated between planets regularly) and hence did not recognise the Ergon battleships as enemies, allowing the Ergons to reach the surface unopposed. You pilot the only existing example of a prototype fighter craft, initially armed only with lasers, as the TV-guided missiles require an enormous amount of energy to launch and control, which can only be gained by induction as your craft skims over areas with high-tension power conduits.
It was followed in 1988 by the sequel, Starglider 2
.
Saturday morning children's TV show Get Fresh
. Two contestants played three-minute sessions on the modified game, the winner being the contestant with the highest score.
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
video game released in 1986 by Rainbird. It was developed by Argonaut Software, led by programmer
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
Jez San
Jez San
Jeremy 'Jez' San OBE is an English game programmer and entrepreneur who founded Argonaut Software as a teenager in the 1980s. He is also a writer and helped design the Super FX chip for the Super NES.-Biography:...
. The game was inspired by Jez San's love of the 1983 Atari coin-op Star Wars, It was a fast-moving, first-person combat flight simulator, rendered with colourful wireframe
Wire frame model
A wire frame model is a visual presentation of a three dimensional or physical object used in 3D computer graphics. It is created by specifying each edge of the physical object where two mathematically continuous smooth surfaces meet, or by connecting an object's constituent vertices using straight...
vector graphics
Vector graphics
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
. The game took place over the surface of the occupied planet Novenia, and it was the player's goal to rid the world of the mechanised Egron invaders. To this end the player was equipped with a high-performance AGAV fighter aircraft, which was armed with lasers and television-guided missiles.
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
machines. Rainbird also commissioned Realtime Games
Realtime Games Software
Realtime Games Software Ltd. is a defunct British video game developer. It was founded in 1984 by three Leeds University students, Ian Oliver, Andrew Onions and Graeme Baird....
to produce 8-bit versions for the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Amstrad PCW
Amstrad PCW
The Amstrad PCW series was a range of personal computers produced by British company Amstrad from 1985 to 1998, and also sold under licence in Europe as the "Joyce" by the German electronics company Schneider in the early years of the series' life. When it was launched, the cost of a PCW system was...
, and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
(128k, with a cut-down 48k version without sampled speech or special missions), and also for the IBM-compatible PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
running in CGA
Color Graphics Adapter
The Color Graphics Adapter , originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC....
. Solid Images were commissioned to produce versions for the Commodore C64 and Apple IIGS
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
. Most versions included then-novel sampled speech, from Rainbird employee Clare Edgeley.
The Amiga version is notable of having a title music by Dave Lowe using instrument sounds that were of exceptionally high quality for then prevailing standards (before the age of tracker music). Both ST & Amiga versions also have about 15-second long song - a single sound file - with real vocals and synthesizers. A male voice sings: "Starglider ...by Rainbird".
Starglider was packaged with a sci-fi novella by James Follett
James Follett
James Follett is an author and screenwriter, born in 1939 in Tolworth, England.Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has since written over 20 novels, several television plays, and many...
, describing the game's background story, in which the Ergons effortlessly blitz Novenia despite the planet possessing a previously impenetrable network of utterly deadly defense satellites. The Ergons defeat the system by disguising their battleships as a flock of intergalactic migratory birds, the Stargliders (of the title). The defense satellites had been programmed not to fire on these birds (which migrated between planets regularly) and hence did not recognise the Ergon battleships as enemies, allowing the Ergons to reach the surface unopposed. You pilot the only existing example of a prototype fighter craft, initially armed only with lasers, as the TV-guided missiles require an enormous amount of energy to launch and control, which can only be gained by induction as your craft skims over areas with high-tension power conduits.
It was followed in 1988 by the sequel, Starglider 2
Starglider 2
Starglider 2 was an early 3D space simulator/flight simulator video game released in 1988 by Argonaut Games and was the sequel to Starglider...
.
Get Fresh
A timed version of Starglider was used for the Get Mucky segment of UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Saturday morning children's TV show Get Fresh
Get Fresh
Get Fresh was a children's television programme that ran from 1986 to 1988 in the United Kingdom.-Premise:Broadcast on the Children's ITV network, the show starred Gareth Jones , Charlotte Hindle, and a puppet named Gilbert the Alien...
. Two contestants played three-minute sessions on the modified game, the winner being the contestant with the highest score.
External links
- Images of Starglider package, manual and screenshots at C64Sets.com