The Halley Project
Encyclopedia
The Halley Project is a 1985 game developed for the Apple II, Commodore 64
, Atari 8-bit family
, Amiga
and possibly other platforms, by Tom Snyder and Omar Khudari and published by Mindscape. It was later ported to the Commodore Amiga with updated graphics.
. The game opens with a mix of electric guitar music and actual digitized speech — a considerable feat considering the limitations of the Apple II — during which the player is shown the text of a transmission sent from the headquarters of a body known as "P.L.A.N.E.T.":
The player starts out from a base on Halley's Comet and must first make his way to Earth
, and then back to Halley. As longer and more difficult missions are completed, the player's rank increases from the starting level of Raven
through Shrike
, Vulture
, Darter
, Condor
, Swift
, Nighthawk
, Falcon
, Eagle
, and finally Starbird.
A secret mission at the end of the game is accessible by typing in a password mailed by the software company after the player completes the last registered mission and receives a number code. The code is then mailed to "Project Halley" (in reality the software company that designed the game) on a pre-packaged postcard. A letter is then received from the software company instructing the player to load the program, go to Earth, and type MINDSCAPE to access the secret mission.
that engages when the speed of the craft reaches 300,000 kilometers per second (the speed of light
). Navigation takes place entirely in a flat plane with no "vertical" component, though the direction the ship travels and the direction it faces are each controlled separately. The player is aided by a radar system that pinpoints the planets on a circular display centered on the ship's position, around which are also marked the 12 constellations of the Zodiac
. The range of the radar can be zoomed from 50 million kilometers out to 10 billion.
praised the game for seamlessly weaving educational material about the solar system into the game. The game's scoring system, which imposes no penalty for taking time to plan a flight, was also praised, as were the visuals and sounds. However, the five-week wait for the final mission was considered frustrating.
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Atari 8-bit family
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and possibly other platforms, by Tom Snyder and Omar Khudari and published by Mindscape. It was later ported to the Commodore Amiga with updated graphics.
Overview
In The Halley Project, the player assumes the role of a star pilot whose mission is to travel between the various bodies of the solar systemSolar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. The game opens with a mix of electric guitar music and actual digitized speech — a considerable feat considering the limitations of the Apple II — during which the player is shown the text of a transmission sent from the headquarters of a body known as "P.L.A.N.E.T.":
Greetings,
You have been chosen from all the pilots in the Solar System to attempt to qualify for The Halley Project team. If you do indeed qualify, you will be invited to take part in the greatest scientific adventure in history: The Halley Project ... the Final Challenge.
Good luck, you will need it.
Neal "Buzz" Collins
Starbird 1st Class
P.L.A.N.E.T. out
The player starts out from a base on Halley's Comet and must first make his way to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, and then back to Halley. As longer and more difficult missions are completed, the player's rank increases from the starting level of Raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
through Shrike
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
, Vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
, Darter
Darter
The darters or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term "snakebird" is usually used without any additions to...
, Condor
Condor
Condor is the name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.They are:* The Andean Condor which inhabits the Andean mountains....
, Swift
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...
, Nighthawk
Nighthawk
A nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae. Nighthawks are medium-sized New World birds, with long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They usually nest on the ground. They feed on flying insects. The Least Nighthawk, at and ,...
, Falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
, Eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
, and finally Starbird.
A secret mission at the end of the game is accessible by typing in a password mailed by the software company after the player completes the last registered mission and receives a number code. The code is then mailed to "Project Halley" (in reality the software company that designed the game) on a pre-packaged postcard. A letter is then received from the software company instructing the player to load the program, go to Earth, and type MINDSCAPE to access the secret mission.
Description
The Halley Project is distinctive for the accuracy and sense of realism it seeks to convey. The distances between worlds are realistic, their sizes reasonably accurate, and the task of landing safely often less than easy — a small window at a certain point in orbit must be reached in a given amount of time. Travel across the vast distances of the solar system is made bearable by one of the game's few fictional elements, a hyperdriveHyperdrive
Hyperdrive is a name given to certain methods of traveling faster-than-light in science fiction. Related concepts are jump drive and warp drive....
that engages when the speed of the craft reaches 300,000 kilometers per second (the speed of light
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
). Navigation takes place entirely in a flat plane with no "vertical" component, though the direction the ship travels and the direction it faces are each controlled separately. The player is aided by a radar system that pinpoints the planets on a circular display centered on the ship's position, around which are also marked the 12 constellations of the Zodiac
Zodiac
In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
. The range of the radar can be zoomed from 50 million kilometers out to 10 billion.
Reception
A review in Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
praised the game for seamlessly weaving educational material about the solar system into the game. The game's scoring system, which imposes no penalty for taking time to plan a flight, was also praised, as were the visuals and sounds. However, the five-week wait for the final mission was considered frustrating.