Big Player Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 The first time I saw the Alien I was watching my brother play the game. So he got a lot more of a shock than I did. But even when you know about it, it's still frightening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devwebcl Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 incredible! I thought I was the only one who got afraid when that alien appeared. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heaven/TQA Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 i think its a real "suspense" game... like resident evil... done with minimalistic stuff but very clever... imho... just wondering that nobody every copied the whole gameplay or the part with the aliens... (ok...3d flights of course but the rest?) i mean even mule wasn't copied so much... (i just can remember an amiga game...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracon Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Well.... FOX /tqa and myself also were really scared when playing this game for the first time (and noticing such alien monster....).... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandviewCoin Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 No replay value? Bah! Back in the day this game was STATE OF THE ART! Using fractal geometry! I say play it, and appreciate it for the technical marvel that it is. I mean we had from 16-128K to work with. I say the day of the Ps2 has made some gamers jaded! Daniel lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 No replay value? Bah! Back in the day this game was STATE OF THE ART! Using fractal geometry! I say play it, and appreciate it for the technical marvel that it is. I didn't say the graphics were bad. They are, in fact, GREAT. But the gameplay is the same thing over and over. I say the day of the Ps2 has made some gamers jaded! I know for a fact this game was awesome for its day and I am not jaded by modern games (since I hardly ever play them) I would rather play a game with sub-par graphics and great diverse gameplay rather than a technological marvel that is a bore to play. (except for the few seconds the alien comes out) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandviewCoin Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Same game over and over? Wasn't that the game play of the era? I have a whole rec room full of uprights that all you do is play the same game over and over. But people don't hesitate to play them, cause they're fun no matter which way you look at it. I feel the same goes here. It progresivly gets harder and pushes your reflexes pretty hard, and offers up an occasional scare. I still feel( My own Opinion.. ) that todays games with endings, are no more than interactive movies with little to no replay value whatsoever.. It's all about the $$ and not the actual art of pramming these machines. Everything is solved by a new video card, not smarter and or clever programming.. But hey, that's another whole argument alltogether.. Live long.. Play Atari. Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Hi folks, complete manual (for Atari 8-Bit version) can be found here: Rescue on Fractalus Manual André Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andylama Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Same story here. Many years ago, there I was, an adolescent gamer, deep behind Jaggi Lines (a great pun on graphics resolution, BTW) late at night, only partially noticed that the pilot's head was a different color...then WAIAIAIAIHH! I nearly soiled myself. Easily half of the shock factor comes from the sudden pseudo 1950's sci-fi-movie sound effect (as opposed to, say, a monstery growl or somesuch). My heart was pounding for a good while! I agree: the game is really well done, but mind-numbingly repetetive after a while. Even back then, I excused it because I understood the memory limitations. Golly, if only RAM were as cheap back then as it is now... (topic for another thread, no doubt) Ah, memories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Hi folks, complete manual (for Atari 8-Bit version) can be found here: http://www.atarimania.com/detail_8bits.php...FT_LIB&SENS=ASC André Thank goodness! I was having trouble scanning the pages at a small enough size for posting but still at a high enough res to read. Mine's an XE cart version, BTW. It's B&W instead of color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Incidentally I was told by David Fox (one of the programmers) that you can kill the alien if it gets into your airlock by leaving the planet (using your retro boosters). The theory is that the aliens can't wear helmets and they die in space. Tempest Yes it is true. That is what I would do if he managed to smuggle aboard the ship. He would die in the coldness of space since I guess he never closed the hatch once he got in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 By the way, the first time that I had the alien attack the ship, I nearly fell off my seat. I did not know that this could happen and he broke through the window. It was a great effect for the first time. After that, I found it more annoying than anything else. I would actually watch the pilot to see if the pilot had a green hue to him, if so the engine got turned on before he ever got close to the window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eobet Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 I still absolutely adore the music in that game! (Does anyone know if it is a real classical piece, or just a very good blend of Pomp & Circumstance Marches/1812?) Not until Wing Commander by Origin was released has the launch sequence in Rescue on Fractulus been surpassed. I still think it is bloody impressive! I wasn't old when I played the game, so it still haunts my memory, but I asked my dad a few days ago about this, and even he remembered how terrifying the alien was! And yes, approaching green skinned pilots got fried pretty fast. This prompted me to go out into the garage and snap some pictures, if anyone's interested: http://www.eobet.com/temp/rescue_on_fractulus.jpg (Btw, I found The Eidolon and Koronis Rift as well, so I've got a complete set of fractal Lucasfilm games, wohoo!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 @bjk7382 There's a screen shot of a green alient at http://vjetnam.hopto.org/atari/index.php?f...tt&dir=r&page=2 @SS This thread is getting me interested about the game. Can you scan the whole manual please? Screw you! I clicked that link and now I'm going to have nightmares again. Maybe it's because I was a kid but that will always be the scariest thing I've ever seen in a video game. I think one of the reasons it is so scary is that you have to play a lot of levels to get to it and that takes you off guard. If you've never played the game before you'd never expect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 Exactly. When I first played it, I did not know about the alien and it scared the beejesus out of me! Definitely it was a well done and sneaky thing to do. After that though, it became a mere annoyance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I originally had the cassette version, which had the skill level bumped up a notch or two. Started off faster than either disk or cart version and so was a little more fun to play (cart version feels as though you're flying an ET-powered bicycle). Like just about everyone here I nearly had a heart attack the first time the alien popped up. Wonder how many deaths it caused After that I was a nervous wreck playing the game. I could only get over the alien popping up by not looking at screen when I was picking up a pilot. Wimp or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I still absolutely adore the music in that game! (Does anyone know if it is a real classical piece, or just a very good blend of Pomp & Circumstance Marches/1812?) It's ~95% "Ride of the Valkyries" from Richard Wagner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I still clearly remember the first time the alien jumped out at me. I must have nearly pissed my pants and almost fell out of my chair (I remember lurching backwards, as I was sitting pretty close to monitor). I'm sure that sent my pulse skyrocketing for a few minutes. Even though the game is fairly repetitive, I still had a blast playing it for long durations. If you look at many games of the time, quite a few of them are repetitive. I don't know that the situation is really that much improved these days. I didn't know about the trick you could use to kill him if he gets in your airlock, though. Learn something new every day! ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 I didn't know about the trick you could use to kill him if he gets in your airlock, though. Learn something new every day! Yeah either did I. I also learned that they're not downed Jaggi pilots (like I always assumed), but that they've killed YOUR downed pilots and set a trap. Makes the game a bit darker in my opinion... Still, it's a game I find myself saying "One more time!". Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 What is the highest setting that anyone has ever played? I remember that it got very fast and the turrets got very accurate as the level of play got higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krupkaj Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 And in higher levels is getting dark. It is much more scary when alien comes in the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracon Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 What's the difference between BEHIND JAGGI LINES and RESCUE ON FRACTALUS (except name of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 At what level does it begin to get darker. I do remember one time having to play strictly with the instrument panel because the visibility was reduced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 Behind Jaggi Lines was the pre-release title that someone got a hold of and starting spreading it around the Atari community (i.e. bulletin boards, diskettes to friends, etc). Rescue on Fractulus is the commercial version. There are other subtle differences between the two but I no longer remember the subtle differences. Someone no doubt will reply with what were the subtle differences soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 From what I've seen: The title screen says Behind Jaggi Lines. The game starts up on the main title screen instead of the cockpit screen. The stars don't fade out before enetering the atmosphere. The long range scanner doesn't flash when a pilot is near. Many of the sounds are slightly different Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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