TI BASIC Game: Rescuer

[SteveB]

Hi there,

 

in todays Zoom-Call we talked a little about TI BASIC games .. I just preserved one from an old tape, dated early 1984. I played "Fort Apocalypse" with friends on their Commodore 64 and tried something similar - without scrolling - in TI BASIC.

 

You have to fly your helicopter with the joystick 1 and rescue all 8 people before destroying the reactor. There a cannons shooting, laser-beams and moving walls to watch out for. Keep an eye on your fuel, you may refuel at the starting point by flying into the "F". You can pause the game using the 1 key.

 

Shortly after finishing this game I got my Extended BASIC, so this was actually my last and I think my best TI BASIC game, not published before.

 

RESCUER

 

I hope you'll enjoy it.

 

@pixelpedant : As promised, perhaps it makes it to your list .. 

[pixelpedant]

This is an absolutely fantastic game.  Amazing level of detail and complexity, for a TI BASIC game. 

[+Schmitzi]

 

 

yeah ?

 

 

 

[unhuman]

This is crazy good.  I'm a bit stressed as it's pretty tricky....  The use of call color to animate instead of actually moving objects works amazingly well.

[Airshack]

That's a fun one @SteveB. I suppose the Iran Hostage crisis and especially Choplifter inspired many helicopter rescue style games. 

 

I wrote this one in 1980. One of my first BASIC games on my TI-99/4(no A). A clone of the overly simple 1979 Odyssey2/Videopac title Helicopter Rescue. 

https://youtu.be/j8anuA94yUk

 

Of course, I misspelled the title to read "Helocopter Rescue." The best part was when @sparkdrummer found it for me 36 years later. Gameplay is just as underwhelming as the original despite multiple pickup locations. My chopper seems to lack the awesome animation sequence of Magnavox's original version. Filename: DSKx.COPTERESCU

Helicopter.dsk

 

Believe it or not I actually received critical/fan mail for this game (around 1983) from a player in Utah and another in Atlanta. This happened several years after I sold my TI rig. People were easily amused back then...simpler times. I recently used Facebook to finally respond to the guy in Utah... 

 

 

He still lives in Utah. He remembered the game but no longer wanted to speed up the Helicopter...

 

So...I asked him how he got a copy of the game. My original cassette copy was sold off with my 99/4.

 

I remember signing a contract with a guy in Tulsa (or OKC maybe) to distribute this game. He called his company Christian Software. It was a mail order catalog software house. I did see a catalog but never received any $$$ as the company reportedly went out of business one month later.

 

 

This little machine made many sweet memories for all of us. Facebook is a powerful tool but I'm not so sure we've really "advanced from the TI days."

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Airshack

[SteveB]

11 hours ago, Airshack said:

I wrote this one in 1980. One of my first BASIC games on my TI-99/4(no A).

I managed to pick up a person ... but how do I drop them at the hospital? Either I die or nothing happens...

[unhuman]

23 hours ago, Airshack said:

 

I remember signing a contract with a guy in Tulsa (or OKC maybe) to distribute this game. He called his company Christian Software. It was a mail order catalog software house. I did see a catalog but never received any $$$ as the company reportedly went out of business one month later.

 

Same thing happened to me with Asgard, but they didn't go out of business.  They just didn't pay me.  At least one person on here told me they actually bought my work... 

[Airshack]

14 hours ago, SteveB said:

I managed to pick up a person ... but how do I drop them at the hospital? Either I die or nothing happens...

You need to land atop that chimney looking block on the hospital building. Then press the button to drop off your passenger. Admittedly, not the best game mechanic.

 

Fun Bug: When the helicopter's basket drops it removes and building segments it drops onto. Only the hospital chimney regenerates so dropping the basket can completely remove the tower and/or the hospital, one block at a time, except for the intended drop zone, the hospital chimney. This allows the helicopter to fly unobstructed by buildings to save people suspended in thin air. 

 

I'm contemplating a 42'd Anniversary version of the game just for fun. One with a speedier helicopter...minus the invisible building bug....and perhaps some form of enjoyable gameplay.

Edited January 3, 2022 by Airshack

[Airshack]

1 hour ago, unhuman said:

They just didn't pay me. 

I was just an excited kid learning about business. The game was my first BASIC try at a game so I was plenty happy just to get some form of approval. It was pretty cool to see my own sloppy code from forty years ago. My address was included in the comments as well -- funny. A practice I no longer practice.

Edited January 3, 2022 by Airshack