Kylev Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 All, I have been revisiting this game recently, and have really enjoyed the experience. I own a copy of this game (the physical disks and manual are somewhere in Mom and Dad's basement) and have never completed this installment. The only thing I have come across that troubles me is that, under emulation, I can't find a version of the disk images where the Weapons menu is functional. Everything else about the game seems to be working in both Altirra and A800WIN. I don't get the error sound when trying to access the menu and I have all of the programs for the computer to enable weapons system functions. Every time I select the Weapons menu I hear the accepted beep and the simulator tries to access the disk in drive 2. At this point, the program is hung. It repeatedly tries to access the same sectors on the Flight 2 disk but never brings up the weapons screens. The weapons functionality was flaky on real hardware (back in the day), but at least you could get to the screens after the menu was selected. Has anyone else been playing this game recently? If so, have you experienced this problem? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I've not tried under emulation specifically, but here you go. Universe 1.3 (64K).zip Universe Manual 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylev Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 remowilliams, Thanks for disk images. I will give them a try and let you know how I am faring. Thanks for the manual. I believe I have previously downloaded this so I will not be using the one you supplied. I really appreciate your making this available, though. On another note, have you ever imaged the complete product list supplement that used to be available from Omnitrend? I would really like to get my hands on an electronic version. I purchased the supplement back in the '80s, but my copy is stuck in a basement along with the rest of the manual and is quite possibly destroyed by water damage. Thanks again for your help. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylev Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 remowilliams, You are a life-saver. Those disk images worked like a charm. Now I can fully enjoy completing this game as it was meant to be played. Instead of running from all fights, I can now defend myself. Thanks, once again, for your timely assistance. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texacala Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Well, I checked my A8 Universe box and beyond the disks and manual I found a registration card for the Universe Bulletin Board (an extremely cool idea and perhaps the most exclusive BBS in computing history) but no other supplements. Now I'm curious: was this something you could order? Universe-related or otherwise? I think Universe is possibly the most ambitious (and expensive) adventure game ever conceived for the A8. For the Apple 2, it was definitely Time Zone, but for Atari, yeah, Universe. Just incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 The only thing I have come across that troubles me is that, under emulation, I can't find a version of the disk images where the Weapons menu is functional. Everything else about the game seems to be working in both Altirra and A800WIN. I don't get the error sound when trying to access the menu and I have all of the programs for the computer to enable weapons system functions. Every time I select the Weapons menu I hear the accepted beep and the simulator tries to access the disk in drive 2. At this point, the program is hung. It repeatedly tries to access the same sectors on the Flight 2 disk but never brings up the weapons screens. It looks like your problem with the older versions is detailed in this FAQ: Universe FAQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylev Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 texacala, The supplement was an add-on sold by Omnitrend and replaced the Partial Product List in the 3-ring binder manual. I bought mine at B&C Computervisions when they still had the retail store down in Santa Clara, CA. The manual posted on Atarimania is the one that accompanied the software and does not include this add-on. The same is true for the PDF version of the manual that I downloaded recently. The Complete Product List add-on is not needed to play the game, but it certainly came in handy when I was playing at being a trader. It listed all of the products available and their sophistications so you could avoid bringing contraband material to planets that don't want them. MrFish, Thanks for the link to the FAQ. I will give it a perusal shortly. So far, the version 1.3 images that remowilliams posted have fixed the problem of not getting to the Weapons screen. I have yet to test whether the game will lock up during battle like it did on real hardware back in the '80s. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texacala Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Very interesting info, thanks! And I never knew b&c had a retail store. I love those guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 The Complete Product List add-on is not needed to play the game, but it certainly came in handy when I was playing at being a trader. It listed all of the products available and their sophistications so you could avoid bringing contraband material to planets that don't want them. Yes, I've been looking for a copy of that for a long time now to scan, but so far have had no luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylev Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 remowilliams, Sorry to hear that. I will have another go at the parent's basement next time I am over there. Maybe my copy has survived. I will let you know what I find. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 remowilliams, Sorry to hear that. I will have another go at the parent's basement next time I am over there. Maybe my copy has survived. I will let you know what I find. Russ Hmm, not sure I remember seeing it in my copy but I'll have a look next time I'm in that box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Here is the Complete Product Guide in PDF format. CompleteProductsGuide.pdf 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Here is the Complete Product Guide in PDF format. Wow... One heck of a necro-bump but thank you. I'm actually working on playing a lot of those old games start to finish and that one was definately on my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Has anyone ever actually finished this game? I put up that question last year but never heard from anyone that had finished the game. I also put out an file to allow you to get up and running with the very best of equipment in a very short time. I'll post it again here... David Milsop Omnitrend's Quick Start.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I just wrote/posted a blog post and mentioned your Quick Start Guide ... which was the reason for the necro-bump. http://atari8bitads.blogspot.com/2017/02/omnitrends-universe.html Bill 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkindig Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 NOTE: I got an interview with William Leslie of OmniTrends (one of the authors of Universe). It will be on an upcoming episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast (ataripodcast.com). Randy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 (edited) played this game for years... then lost it bought another copy and noticed they changed some things and the dos they were using... played it again for about a year and a half... moved and sure enough turned up 'lost' again... love the game but it sure can consume some massive amounts of your time Edited February 10, 2017 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 played this game for years... then lost it bought another copy and noticed they changed some things and the dos they were using... played it again for about a year and a half... moved and sure enough turned up 'lost' again... love the game but it sure can consume some massive amounts of your time The best games do! Otherwise.... well... we wouldn't waste time playing sucky games. (Usually) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 So I made a 24x36 poster of Universe. Let me know what you think. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I just wrote/posted a blog post and mentioned your Quick Start Guide ... which was the reason for the necro-bump. http://atari8bitads.blogspot.com/2017/02/omnitrends-universe.html Bill "Look," I hollered to my wife. "I'm famous!" She looked at me and said," That's nice dear. Now take the trash out!" "Yes dear." So much for fame... In all seriousness, Very Nice Job. But I ask again. Has anyone ever finished this GAME??? And what is the importance about loosing contact with Earth? Oh, is that you behind the poster? David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 NOTE: I got an interview with William Leslie of OmniTrends (one of the authors of Universe). It will be on an upcoming episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast (ataripodcast.com). Randy Please give us a time when you can. David Milsop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 But I ask again. Has anyone ever finished this GAME??? And what is the importance about loosing contact with Earth? Oh, is that you behind the poster? In all of my attempts at playing this game, I have never even seen a sub space radio message! That is not me behind the poster, that is VIstaPrint.com "print preview". It is the easiest was for me to capture the 'scale' of the document. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 To help encourage someone, anyone, to finish this game, I created a Omnitrend's Universe group on Facebook. I finally realized a mistake that I've been making. Whenever I got to the point that I had enough credits to make my way to Arbest and outfit my ship with the best equipment, I always got stuck. It seems, to me anyway, that in the manual under System 3 - Accumulators, part 16 implies that you can only have 3 installed. I'd always get stuck and never have enough energy to do anything else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 To help encourage someone, anyone, to finish this game, I created a Omnitrend's Universe group on Facebook. I finally realized a mistake that I've been making. Whenever I got to the point that I had enough credits to make my way to Arbest and outfit my ship with the best equipment, I always got stuck. It seems, to me anyway, that in the manual under System 3 - Accumulators, part 16 implies that you can only have 3 installed. I'd always get stuck and never have enough energy to do anything else. I figured that out one time when I wanted to jump from Vromus Prime to Axia. Fortunately I was still able to go back to the space dock and buy more part number 16's. What it then took me a few seconds to realize was that you could only fit three in a hull. There is a note below Accumulators that says you can have a total of 24 modules per ship. So I bought seven more hull and 21 more modules and I was set. You know I forgot to mention that in my quick start notes. I'll update my notes now. Thanks for pointing that out. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylev Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Bill Lange, You the man! Thanks for reuniting me with a lost piece of Atari 8-bit fun. I looked in the parent's basement numerous times and haven't found my manual, but this with the other stuff online, brings my available documentation for this game back to what is was in the day. Now, if I can just find the time to play the game.... Russ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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