Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!ncar!oddjob!uxc!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!clio!brewer
From: brewer@clio.las.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Report on the Expo
Message-ID: <17000133@clio>
Date: 16 Aug 88 17:36:00 GMT
References: <639@stech.UUCP>
Lines: 48
Nf-ID: #R:stech.UUCP:639:clio:17000133:000:2313
Nf-From: clio.las.uiuc.edu!brewer    Aug 16 12:36:00 1988


   paul@mit-caf.MIT.EDU writes:

>In article <9808@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> derek@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Derek J. LeLash) writes:
>>- Colony, a game from MindScape (a must-buy for II-owning game players)
>                                                 ^^^^^^^^^
>Does this game run on the SE or the Plus?  Or is it to slow on those 
>machines?  I thought I saw it running on an SE at the show, but I'm
>not sure.  
[text deleted...]
>Paul Meyer
>paul@caf
>Microsystems Technology Lab
>MIT

	Yes it works on the 512E on up (or so they claim). I have tried it on
a Mac II and a Mac+ myself and it worked okay. I think I have a bad copy of it,
as I kept on getting bombs with it on my Mac II. Does anyone know if it is
System 6.0 hostile (and, yes I tried it without all my ten zillion INITs)?

	For those of you who haven't seen it, The Colony is quite awesome. The
game is a realtime 3D simulation. Move the mouse forward, and you move forward.
Move the mouse to the side, and you turn to the side. It looks very nice. On an
Mac Plus it can be a little sluggish. However there is an option to turn off
shading and do only wire framing, which is faster. So you can turn it on
depending on whether you are exploring or just cruising. On a Mac II it is
quicker and more fluid. It also makes use of all that extra screen real esate.
Unfortunately, no color. *Sigh*.

	The game takes place in the future. The premise is that a colony has
been overrun by aliens, and you as Space Ranger (or something similar) must go
down and find out what's what. But, as you approach the planet, you get sucked
in by a black hole, towards the planet (don't ask me why, I didn't write it...)
You manage to crash land your ship, but go unconscious in the process. The game
begins with you waking up and finding yourself on the bridge with the lights 
out.

	Another of the interesting features are the control panels. When you
approach something interesting in the 3D view, it expands into a little dialog
where you can manipulate things (open drawers, read screens). Everything is
done with the mouse pretty much.

	I haven't gotten into it much yet, but it looks like a great game, and
well worth the $30 I paid MacConnection at the Expo.

Robert Brewer
    brewer@clio.las.uiuc.edu
    {ihnp4 | convex | pur-ee}!uiucuxc!clio!brewer