FlightSuit Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Drol Wikipedia entry I remember finding the graphics quite charming back in the day. I still have my 5.25 inch floppy disk copy, but, alas, no cable for connecting my 1050 disk drive to my Atari 800. Anyway, I haven't seen any mention of this game, which is surprising, 'cause it was one of the better ones of its era, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightSprinter Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 It was a very oft-played game for me on the Apple //e computer. In fact, I'd have to say it was one of my favorites to play as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightSuit Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 Sweet, I just found the ROM for this game and played it for the first time in years. Decades, actually. I'd been lookin' for this game for a while, but couldn't remember the name of it. Then I found my original floppy disk copy, and was reminded of what it's called. What really impresses me about this game, in addition to the fine graphics and the fact that it's quite aptly named, is that the game play and game mechanics incorporate many familiar elements without being unoriginal or overly derivative. Also, the fact that you get to fire several projectiles at a time, as opposed to all those games that maddeningly limit you to just having only one bullet at a time on the screen, is very satisfying. I understand this game also exists for the C64, so I recommend that anybody running an Apple, Atari, or Commodore emulator give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjakeqcool Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 You've just fount the Number #1 fan... ME! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I understand this game also exists for the C64, so I recommend that anybody running an Apple, Atari, or Commodore emulator give it a try. I love the game. It's one of my favorites. We played it in the A8 HSC a couple months ago and I had a blast. I was unfamiliar with the Atari version, the one for the C64 being the copy I've had the longest. I still need to try out the original Apple ][ rendition. I also have it for the Sega 3000, which is the only translation of the game on something other than a disk. What's really nice about having it on the Sega "My Card" format is that the long disc access times I'm used to with the Commodore 1541 are pleasingly absent. This would be a great game to port to the ColecoVision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 From memory, the C64 version looked almost identical to the Atari one. But the gameplay was sluggish, which made it much less playable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 From memory, the C64 version looked almost identical to the Atari one. But the gameplay was sluggish, which made it much less playable. The A8 version definitely possess a quicker pace then the Commodore one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I had it for the Apple II back in the day and it moved pretty damn fast. I can remember having to shoot all those knives and axes down when saving the mother. It was a fun game back in the day, but I haven't played it in years (those plants that popped up were a bitch). Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Oh yes, I played the hell out of this game back in the day! As soon as I saw this thread I could her the title music in my head. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 So far as Apple II ports go, it was probably the best one. I think there might even be some use of filters in the music, a rarity at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarian63 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Yep, one of my all time favorites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmel_andrews Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 good platform cum shoot em up...what versions were you playing as i've seen both an artifacted version and a colour version (A8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 how do you get past the plant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightSuit Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 Carmel, I'm not sure what you mean by "artifacted." There are colors in the version I've just downloaded. If the original that I used to play on my Atari 800 back in the day was not in color, that's news to me, although I don't clearly recall one way or the other. When I think of it in my mind's eye, blue and white are the dominant hues that come to mind. Are you saying there is a monochrome version of the game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 how do you get past the plant? You don't. If you see the plant then you went down the wrong hole. Quickly move up to avoid getting eaten and pick another hole. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightSuit Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 There's a funny double entendre or a dirty joke somewhere in that statement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 (edited) Carmel, I'm not sure what you mean by "artifacted." There are colors in the version I've just downloaded. If the original that I used to play on my Atari 800 back in the day was not in color, that's news to me, although I don't clearly recall one way or the other. When I think of it in my mind's eye, blue and white are the dominant hues that come to mind. Are you saying there is a monochrome version of the game? kind of I used to play the artifacted version of the game back in the day--didn't know of any other back then. It was black and white but Atari's little 'artifacting' trick gave it a couple extra colors. That's the cliffnotes version of artifact color. Pretty much the same explaination my pa gave me back when I was 5, and I've never really felt the need to explore it much deeper. My monitor tended to like to give me the colors of hot pink and green *lol* I've never seen an emulator replicate those... Edited July 6, 2009 by Reaperman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmel_andrews Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Artifacted mode (a8) doesn't show up too good on pal systems....mostly black and white...i guess that's why i have two versions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightSuit Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 OK, I just fired up the Atari800MacX emulator and opened Drol. The colors I see on screen are black, white, blue and maroon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 OK, I just fired up the Atari800MacX emulator and opened Drol. The colors I see on screen are black, white, blue and maroon. Those are the artifact colors - back in the day on NTSC machines you could place pixels next to each other on certain boundaries and get maroon/blue (sometimes it was more green/blue). On PAL TV's this didnt occur and you got vertical stripes of white lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmel_andrews Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) Flightsuit if you have access to a pc here are the colour and b&w versions of drol in pal mode Drol__1983__Broderbund__a_.zip Drol__1983__Broderbund__color_version_.zip Edited July 7, 2009 by carmel_andrews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightSuit Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 Thank you Carmel, that was most interesting! The color version is obviously easier on the eyes, but that monochrome version brought back fond memories of gaming on computers with green screens! Not that I got to do a lot of that personally, but back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, many of the computers I lusted after came with green screen or monochrome monitors, and when I did get to play games on them, I was too excited to even feel like the lack of color was a drawback. PS: Not sure what you meant by saying "if you have access to a PC." The ROMs worked just fine under Atari800MacX, which, of course, runs on my Macintosh. Anyway, thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmel_andrews Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Perhaps atari should have stuck in a version of the artifact mode that was PAL friendly....then no need for B&W and colour versions (Crossfire and Lode Runner come to mind) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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