Net Yaroze part 2

Net Yaroze part 2

Net Yaroze was a great product for hobbyist game programmers to get a taste of PlayStation development.
I played many Net Yaroze games. Not enough, I say.

You may have noticed that I didn't mention many games in the first page.
As I said in on that page, those were the games I personally played when I was a kid.
Now I will cover all the Net Yaroze games made back in the day.

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Super Bub

Genre: Puzzle
Programmer: Alex Herbert
Released: 13/12/1998

Super Bub, also known as Super Bub Contest, is a puzzle game in the style of  Bust-A-Move and Super Puzzle Fighter and Puzzle Bobble: a reverse Columns!

You can play as four different characters:
* Bobo the pig
* Grizz the lion
* Chump the frog
* Jasper the ghost

The main menu background, with its texture and animation, reminds me of the loading screens in Kula World.

I like the music. It's that techno kind of music I identify as 90's vidya music.
It's too bad that it's drowned out by the sound effects.
And no, you can't change the volume settings.

The preview portion of the screen lets you see upcoming colours.
But there's a catch: you can only see the next 5 colours.
And you throw two at a time.
You can't plan too far ahead - not that you would have the time anyways.

There's not much to this game, just simple puzzle action. Quite addicting.

Where are they now?:
Alex Herbert has been a Community Manager for many projects, like Dust: An Elysian Tail, and Spelunky.
Check out his website at: herbs64.plus.com


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TankX

Genre: Arcade
Programmer: Stuart Macdonald
Developed in: 4 weeks
Released: 06/1999 (09/07/1999?)

TankX is a two player shooter wherein you both control a tank and aim to destroy each other.

There are three modes and three maps to play on, and two states to play with.

The states you can play with:
* rotating turret
* fixed turret
I don't see much difference between them

The three maps you can play on:
* a perimeter of land in the shape of a square
* a big city filled with buildings
* a series of islands connected by strips of land

The three modes you can play:
* Duel - 1v1, first to three eliminations wins
* Search & Retrieve - collect flags found on the map and bring them back to your base. First to three flags obtained wins
* Capture the Flag - there is only one flag to get to win and it is in the enemy base. First to capture the enemy flag wins

Every mode starts the same: both you and the enemy tank are shielded by a transparent blue aura that shields from harm until it expires.
This returns upon every respawn and lasts like 7-8 seconds.

The controls are awkward. Granted you are driving a tank.
If one pixel of your tank hits an obstacle you come to a stop. That is very annoying.

There are multiple items to collect:
* tank bases restore your health. That's good because you start off at 60% health.
* missiles are a good weapon upgrade. Longer range is great because the default weapon is poopoo
* the big missile is a very long range weapon with huge explosion radius but it only fires one at a time and is slow moving and slow reload rate
* explosion boost gives extra explosion radiuses

You'll see a blimp flying around these maps.
It serves no purpose other than aesthetic. Should have put a logo on it.

This is a bit of mindless fun for two players.
You may need a drinking game to sit through it though.

Where are they now?:
Stuart Macdonald was employed at Rockstar Games for a good time.
Now he is the Art Director at Remedy Entertainment.


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Decaying Orbit

Genre: Space Shooter
Programmers: Dragon Shadow Industries
Developed in: over 1 year
Released: 23/05/1999

Decaying Orbit is an ambitious space shooter game that showed the possible Yaroze game quality.

The plot of the game is that you are in a space war with alien races. You have been sent behind enemy lines but ambushes have killed off your comrades. Now you just want to escape.
All is explained in the opening text crawl upon starting a new game.

The goal of this game is to land from one planet to the next.
This is easier said than done.

You have many things to take into account:
* thrust - too fast and you can't land on the planet
* shield - get hurt too much and your ship explodes
* enemies - you may be forced to destroy some/all in a level
* credits - collect them and you can buy upgrades like missiles
* energy prioritizing

Energy prioritizing is an interest game mechanic.
Ordinarily you ship divides energy between the engine, lasers, shield, and cooling.
By using R1 + the face buttons you can give priority to one mechanic above all others.
That can be useful for battles and/or shielding damage.

This game is pretty hard to me. I just can't do it.
Get to the planet too fast and you bounce right off.
Attempts to drift slowly towards it usually means being pulled off-course by another planet or missing the goal entirely.

A cool feature in this game, also seen in Between the Eyes and TankX, is that since the entire game is stored in RAM you can put in a music CD and play with that music.
Yeah, remember back when the PS1 was used as a music player?
What do you mean you've never actually used a PS1 to play music CDs?

Another cool feature is the level editor. I love it when games add editors.

You can enter cheats as well.
I won't list them all but here's a useful one.
Level skip = /\()/\X/\[]/\()/\X
Then you press all the shoulder buttons + Start ingame to skip the level.
That's the theory. I've never gotten it to work.

I've always wanted to play this game but sadly I never got Euro Demo 49 because the magazine it came with - Official Australian PlayStation Magazine issue #26 September 1999 - never got to my house.
I still ponder to this day. Was it a postage error? Did my dad hide it from me because it had South Park on the cover and swear words? Lame.

Where are they now?:
Dragon Shadow Industries has been making games here and there.
One of the guys there started a company: Oom Games. It's no longer around I think. Their twitter page is suspended goddamn.
Scott Cartier's twitter: https://twitter.com/ScarPixel


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Blockz

Genre: Puzzle
Programmer: Daniel M. Johnson
Developed in: 13 weeks
Released: 1998

Blockz is a Yaroze port of Johnson's 1994 game Blocs for the Acorn computer.

The goal of this game is to move blocks and form 3x3 formation to remove them.
Aim for a high score, or any score if you can.

This game is essentially a nightmarish Tetris on an open field.
The pieces generated range from simple tetrominos to ghastly octominos.
Good luck forming 3x3 grids.

Different types of squares can be spawned on the piece:
* Bombs - these blow up
* Move wall - these move the wall back in the direction of the arrow
* Double square - counts as two squares
* Rockets - after clearing a 3x3 grid these rockets fire off
* Reverse controls - this reverses the controls. You don't want this

Bombs and rockets can cause chain reactions. Good luck doing that.

There are several issues that I have with this game:
* the 3x3 grid to be formed has to be normal red blocks.
* clearing a grid can leave behind awkward leftover normal blocks
* the direction of rockets and Move Walls stay the same when the piece is rotated
* the controls are too sensitive - rotating a piece is troublesome
* you only get 8 seconds or so per turn
* the original Blocz has more special blocks
* no music or sound effects

These game is good for a while. It's one of those humble games.

Where are they now?:
I think Daniel M. Johnson is now a software professional based in Auckland.
Check out his ancient website here: https://www.arcsite.de/hp/dansgames/


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Video Poker Simulator

Genre: Card Game
Programmer: Scott Campbell
Written in: 6 weeks
Released: 23/04/1999

Video Poker Simulator is just that: a video poker simulator.

I used to be kind of good at Poker. Of course that was half a decade ago.
My mind has since been melting, so I am in trouble.

You get dealt 5 cards from a half-assed animation.
You can then choose to hold some cards.
Then Deal to get more cards and hopefully achieve a nice hand.

That's all. No checks, no tells, no actual social poker mechanics.
I'd rather play Poker Night at the Inventory.

The only music track in the game is a pretty nice ragtime piano tune.
And then it repeats. And repeats. All the while you lose your money.
It's like musical salt in the wound.

Where are they now?:
Scott Campbell later went on to co-found BigFizz Games Ltd in 2003 and is still a director there.


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Yaroze Rally

Genre: Racing
Programmer: Harvey Cotton
Released: 08/02/1999

Yaroze Rally is an awkward but ambitious racing game. Every step is a misstep but it means well.

The game is essentially a demo version.
You can only race on one track.
You can only race in four types of cars, which are all reskins.
And after your laps after over it is back to the title screen.

This game is awkward to play for so many reasons:
* the skybox sweeps as you turn
* your car isn't slowed at all by the grass
* you easily get jammed against walls, causing an irritating banging sound
* no matter which car type you choose at least one NPC opponent has your car
* the race course is demanding

Let me elaborate on the sole race course.
You have to go in a circle through very tight corners through checkpoints.
Imagine going through the Circuit de Monaco but in a car that handles like sludge on wheels.
It is confusing your first time because you don't encounter the checkpoints in order.
You'll never make it through a corner without bashing off the walls.

At least there is no collision detection with the other vehicles.
That omission is a mercy.

The most grave misstep is in the name.
This is not RALLY!
Rallying is racing on private or private roads.
This track is in a race course.

Where are they now?:
Harvey Cotton has made some games/software for the TI-85 calculator.
I think he's done some programming on other games.


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The Appointed Station

Genre: Shooter
Programmer: Uchiyama / Syuntarou Yoshikawa
Released: 1996

The Appointed Station is a Japanese-made space shooter on rails. A shmup to you and me.

The title screen says, from what I've heard: "Help Me Chatani-San 96 The Appointed Station." Yes...

It is a bit of a bullet hell kind of space shooter.
Every bullet has an red arrow and red text saying "check".
Gotta make sure you know what to look out for.

Shoot down the space fish, shoot their missiles, and don't get hit.
Getting hit makes you emit a yelping female voice.

You shoot regular rockets with [] and fire a volley of rockets with X.
When they all explode you get nice fireworks visuals.

The game flat out admits that it is a test program via onscreen text.
There is a time limit too; 20 seconds. You probably won't beat the high score.

This is an early Yaroze game that showed the world what indie PS1 development can do.
My how times have changed.


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A Dog Tale

Genre: Platformer
Programmer: Ira Rainey
Developed in: 8 weeks
Released: August 1997

A Dog Tale is a 2D sidescroller game. You play as a dorky human who has to go around collecting bones.
Apparently this is a dog tale.

This is an early Western Net Yaroze and sure plays like one.

The title screen has a funny monologue text scroll at the bottom.
He actually swear. No don't let Timmy and Sally play this game, there is a swear word!

The controls are so stiff, it makes control quite hard.
The protagonist jumps too fast. The gravity needs to be less.
You can't move after jumping in the air.
It's like the jumping physics are too realistic. That would be fine in a realistic game, but this is cartoony. Give me cartoony physics.

The game is not forgiving with pixel death zones.
If just the tip of your shoe touches a cactus then you die.
C'mon, at least Mario offered some merciful leniency.

The constant music is kind of good at first but quickly pounds into your brain like a musical worm.
The originator admits he 'borrowed' the music from Sony in the title screen text scroll.
You can stop the music by pausing the game. With the Start button? Nope, the Select button. 
There are no sound effects.

As mentioned, the greatest challenge comes from the controls.
Every jump because tight due to harsh jumping physics and unforgiving death collision detection.
I find myself having to save my save state after every jump. I Wanna Be A Dog Tale?

Once you get through the grueling level you encounter your dog... and the game ends.
Just one level.
Granted, it's a tech demo, tinkering with Net Yaroze, but still.
What if this game got expanded upon? A full PC game? That would be a real dog of a game.

Where are they now?:
Ira Rainey has taken up running, living life by leaving you in the dust.
He has written some books, such as Fat Man to Green Man, and Still Not Bionic.


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F-Racer

Genre: Racing
Programmer: Gerhard Rittenhofer
Released: 1999

F-Racer is a Formula One racing game where you are alone on the track, aiming to qualify for the race.

The controls are pretty bothersome.
Digital: X for gas, D-pad to control
Analogue: Right stick for gas, left stick for control
But, and this is a big but, you can only have one control scheme at a time.
Not both.
So you can't use X for gas and left stick to control, you HAVE to use right stick for gas or D-pad for control.
That's F-ing stupid.

Another sticking point is reversing the vehicle.
() puts the vehicle in reverse. Now you think all you do is head backwards, huh?
Nope, you've got to put on the gas as well.
That's so counter-intuitive. Once again realism creeps into a game.
And then you can't stop reversing because the gear is locked into reverse. By then you've lost too much time.

The game looks quite pretty for a Net Yaroze game. Could use more trees.
There are some empty patches in the grass field. If you gander at it you can see glitchy hall-of-mirrors effect, indicating missing textures.

The car doesn't slow down fast enough. You've got to break quite early and get your foot off the gas or else you'll be eating the fence.
You've got to do 10 laps in 4:13:20.
Sounds doable until you accidentally wrap your torso through the window after your 5th crash.

From what I've read this demo never made it onto a demo disk.
That's pretty disappointing because this game isn't that bad. With some more time, spit and polish, this can be a better F1 game than some of the budget retail F1 games, probably.

Cheat code:
To unlock all routes, in the route menu press the L1 + R1 + [] + {} + Start simultaneously.
I can't get it to work.

And yes, his name is familiar because he also did Rocks 'n' Gems.


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Fatal Fantasy VII

Genre: RPG
Programmers: Team Fatal
Released: 01/04/1997?

Fatal Fantasy VII is a preview of a FFVII fangame, made to test the capabilities of the Net Yaroze kit.

This was one of the first Net Yaroze games I played during my research some years ago. It is a wierd specimen.

The opening cutscene has lots of text. You can't skip it.
I can't read or understand Japanese so I can't make sense of any of the text, but I assume (yes, assume) that is pretty much text from FFVII.

After that you are in a bathroom. I haven't played FFVII yet so I don't know if this scene occurs in the proper game.
You try to walk out but guards come in to take a piss.

The controls are awkward.
You walk so slow so you have to hold X to power-walk.
And this being a Japanese game you have to hit () to confirm. Curse my muscle memory.

After that you emerge from a stone head to find yourself on a chequered windy road with the sun in an eclipse. Mmm...

Then you emerge under a building. Talking to the blue guard begins a screen transition and whooshing sound.
You think you're starting a battle but nope, the game ends.
To be continued? Released December? If only.

This demo lacks any music and has very few sound effects.

This would have been interesting to see a more developed Fatal Fantasy VII from Team Fatal.
Bigger and better, and maybe an English translation (hopefully not dodgy)?
It can be a real satire or remake.
Gotta love fan-created content.

Team Fatal also made Terra Incognita.


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Funky Beans

Genre: Puzzle
Programmer: Dayon (Kazunari Ishida)
Released: 19/4/1997

Funky Beans is a falling block puzzle game in the same spirit of Tetris.

Every turn you get given two pieces to position at a time.
There are two kinds you get:
* a square (4x4) and a long (4x1)
* two right angles; one 4 squares, one 3 squares

The goal is to match at least 3 of one colour together.
This makes those touching coloured blocks disappear.
Then you get a "yeehaw!" and single 1x1 grey blocks fall from the sky.

Those little grey blocks are a damn pain.
They block potential positioning. At least they can be matched too.

The background is a washed out painting of Old West terrain.
It could have been pretty if the programmer/s imported it right.

There's no music.
The sounds of rotating the pieces sounds kinda like the purple blob from Pushy II moving.

This is a quick game, made back in the primitive ages of Net Yaroze.

Where are they now?:
I think Kazunari Ishida is now a software engineer.


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Gasgar vs Gasgar

Genre: Action
Programmers: Gregg and Rob Gorczowski
Released: 24/11/1997

Gasgar vs Gasgar is a weird Pong clone where you have to grab white balls and shove them in your opponent's face.
I could have worded that better.

The game field is a like a rotating blue donut.
The goal item, the white regular icosahedron, travels around the area, from foreground to background counter-clockwise.

Your goal is to reduce the enemy's life to zero.
Grab the white object and bash it into your opponent for big damage.
You can also grab the yellow-and-purple balls to gain ammo and shoot your opponent for some damage.

The controls are tricky to get used to.
* () and [] extends the grabber
* X retracts it
* /\ fires bullets
* the shoulder buttons adjust the angle of your grabber

You must avoid the spiked balls and their electricity, as that hurts you.
Don't retract the white triangular object into you as well or else it explodes in your face.

Everything in this game reminds me of something:
* you and your opponent look like something out of Earthworm Jim
* the yellow and purple orbs look like jawbreakers from Ed Edd 'n' Eddy
* the music sounds like something from Donkey Kong 64
* the sound produced when extend your grabber makes the same sound as the hologram pickup from Blitter Boy makes. Must be a stock sound effect
* hitting your opponent with a jawbreaker makes him giggle like Bob from Prometheus and Bob
* hitting your opponent with a bullet makes them scream like Homer Simpsons

The game has no end. If someone is defeated then the other guy gets a win.

I don't know if it is just me but pressing the Start button the game crashes the game. Damn.

Where are they now?:
Gregg Gorczowski is a web developer. Not sure if he's still doing that.
Rob Gorczowski is now a Senior Software Developer at Applied Systems for the past 18 years.


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Gikadiver

Genre: Space shooter schmup
Programmer: 'Go' Tsuyoshi Watanabe
Released: 14/01/1997

Gikadiver, short for Kyuukyoku Senki Gikadiver, is a Yaroze port of the 1996 X68000 home computer game.

This game was made in the Toyohashi University's Technology Computer Club for the college festival.
He actually got his teacher to write the main part in advance.

The goal is simple: get as high as score as you can.
It's classic shoot 'em to shit, collect powerups, and get dem points.

This game doesn't have a life system, but it does tally your deaths.
I don't think they have much effect on points or anything other than bragging rights.

Some of the powerups remind me of ones from R-Type.
Multiple shots, spread shots, twisting beam shots, it's all here.

The music is pretty good, if monotonous.
Pausing the game does not mute the music.

At the end of the stage you have to fight a boss.
Since lives aren't an issue you're not too threatened by it.
Killing the boss ends the game and returns you back to the start screen.


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Laydion Limit Breaker

Genre: Racing
Programmer: Hideki "Uny" Hara
Developed in: 1 month
Released: 25/7/1996

Laydion Limit Breaker, or simply Laydion, is a racing game where you aim for the fast time whilst travelling through something out of Tron.

The ship you're in look like one of Captain Falcon's hand-me-downs.

The control are straightforward.
X accelerates.
L2 freezes the game to a stand-still.

The map is just a straight corridor but is littered with coloured barriers.
Imagine Audiosurf but instead of heading into the coloured objects you are avoiding them.

Sometimes you have no choice but be hit. I don't know if the timing is frame-perfect but most times something will hit you.

The meter at the top if the screen indicates length and progress.

The music is that 90's synth music that is very Japaneriffic.

This is the kind of game that would get an HD remake for the 4 people who are nostalgic for it.


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Manic Miner

Genre: Platformer
Programmer: Andy Noble
Released: 1998

Manic Miner for Net Yaroze is a port of the classic 1983 ZX Spectrum game.
This isn't to be confused with Andy Noble's 1997 PC port of Manic Miner.

The programmer has made it clear that this is a clean honest version with no rendered cutscenes or animations, just good ol' fashioned fun.

The plot of the game is that Miner Willy stumbled upon a long-forgotten mine-shaft that leads to a hidden lost civilization with technology greater than our own.
Willy then realizes he can make a fortune if he plunders the underground store.
Guide him back to the surface!

The game is simple: run and jump, collecting keys, avoiding everything.
The controls are just as simple: [], (), /\, X, and the up button jump. The D-pad moves. That's all you need.

There is are two sets of levels:
* Classic Manic Miner
* Tales From a Parallel Universe
You can switch between level sets via the Select button on the start screen.

Mr. Noble exclaims that he edited every level with an editor to make them different, to provide a fresh challenge to Manic Miner veterans.
If so, that gives this port an edge over other versions, which are straight ports with no extras, bells or whistles.

The music is great. Love that classical music.
You've got 'In the Hall of the Mountain King', what sounds like Franz List in the options screen, and the start screen music sounds familiar too.

Getting a game over gets you squashed by a boot Monty Python style. Nice.

Where are they now?:
Andy Nobel has done lots of art and graphics for games over the years. He has also done programming on remakes on old Speccy games.


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Ping

Genre: Action
Programmer: Matt Verran
Developed in: 100 days
Released: 15/02/2000

Ping is a Pong clone. It doesn't pong but it's as simple as it gets.

In one player mode it is you vs the wall.
Every time the ball hits the wall you get a point.
You get three balls. Get as much points you as can.

Two player mode is you vs another paddle.
Three balls, first to lose all their balls loses (just like in life).

Every time your paddle hits the ball your paddle fluctuates in size to show that you've successfully hit the ball.
Failure to hit the ball makes your paddle spin and a red square temporarily marks the spot where the ball passed you.

The sound effects that play on the main screen sound like the sort you would hear on Euro Demo disk music.

It is annoying trying to concentrate as the 'PING' text in the background rotates and goes nuts.

This game is pretty simple. It's basically babby's first game project.
Whenever you get a game engine to experiment with, prepare to see the following:
* shooter: Doom e1m1 or Doom II m1 or Duke Nukem 3D e1m1
* platformer: Super Mario Bros 1-1
* racing: Grab Turismo High Speed Ring or Test Track
* Action: Pong or Contra level or Castlevania level 1
etc.

Where are they now?:
Matt Verran has gone onto be a programmer for some retro-style games.
He has recently been a programmer for WipEout 2018.
Visit his website: https://hermitgames.com/


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PingPing

Genre: Action
Programmer: Matt Verran
Released: 18/08/2001

PingPing is twice the Ping. It's basically Pong but volleyball style.

This game is quite trippy. The graphics, the sounds... I think someone put LSD in the well.

Pressing X and [] tilts the paddle.
This can be useful for directing the ball in a curve to screw up the other person... if you can hit the ball.

A problem with this game is that the camera targets the player with the ball.
If your opponent has the ball then you can't see your paddle, thus you cannot line up to defend.
Very annoying.

The game could use some music. Something techy, something that conjures imagery of sizzling eggs, like those funny anti-drug PSAs.

Where are they now: 
Matt Verran has gone onto be a programmer for some retro-style games.
He has recrntly been a programmer for WipEout 2018.
Visit his website: https://hermitgames.com/


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Robot Ron

Genre: Shoot em up
Programmer: Matt Verran
Developed in: 6 days
Released: 17/08/2001

Robot Ron is a space shooter game inspired by the classic arcade game Robotron 2048.

The goal is get a high score. Kill everything and survive.

It is like Robotron but there is no one to save. Other than that, the concept is pretty much the same: kill all the enemies to move onto the next stage.

The enemies include a variety of coloured enemies that spawn from comets that fly about the play area.
Different colours indicate different behaviours.
The key is to multitask and prioritise your kills.

You can pick up powerups, which appear as purple blocks with yellow text on it.
These make your gun fire faster. That is a good thing, so grab them.

Passing a level without dying adds +1 to your score multiplier.

One problem/feature with this game: no pause feature!
In a game like this it would be most grateful, but nope, take care of all body and social functions before going for that high score.

This is a great game. It is a shame this was released after Sony dropped the Net Yaroze project.
Ah well. You can find it on Euro Demo 108.

Where are they now?:
Matt Verran has gone onto be a programmer for some retro-style games.
He has recrntly been a programmer for WipEout 2018.
Visit his website: https://hermitgames.com/


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Roller

Genre: Puzzle
Programmer: Matt Verran
Developed in:
Released: 2001

Roller is a ball-in-a-maze puzzle game where you must guide a marble through a maze. Slippery ball physics will make a mess. Yes...

You can play through the regular levels or special levels to unlock cheats.

Upon starting level you get a British girl go "ready.. go!"
Then you must collect the required diamonds and make it to the exit.
You can skip unnecessary diamonds; they are just for points.

You tilt the board with the direction or analogue stick. Not both.
You can jump. You have to hold down X to charge it and release it when you commit to the jump.

You would think that all you would need to do is touch the exit, but not, you must come to a stop on the exit square.
This can be challenging.

One thing that annoys me is that tilting the board doesn't adjust the camera.
I find myself missing diamonds because I can't see them well.
It's probably just as well the camera doesn't move as you move, but still.

One good thing is that falling off doesn't reset the level, like a certain franchise that involves monkeys in balls does.

Seeing the marble wink at the level complete screen reminds me of Blitter Boy winking.

This is a late great Yaroze game. It too can be found on Euro Demo 108.

Where are they now?:
Matt Verran has gone onto be a programmer for some retro-style games.
He has recrntly been a programmer for WipEout 2018.
Visit his website: https://hermitgames.com/


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Z2

Genre: Shooter
Developed by: Mobius CodeWorks
Released: 1998

Z2 is a shooter where you control a blue bot and aim to destroy the other bots in an large enclosure, like a Twisted Metal game.

This game was created for the The Edge NetYaroze Demo Competition. It came second place.

The arena looks like a cross between a field and an airport. You've got crop circles in the grass, landing pads in the concrete, it's a hybrid.

You move about by pressing the Up botton or the X button.
L1 and R1 strafe. L2 reverses. R2 does nothing.
/\ shoots your weapon. [] and () do nothing.

Your weapon is a stream of rockets that fire with a bit of spread.
You can't hold down /\, you have to spam it.

You can encounter computer terminals that you can compromise its circuitry.
Here is the hacking minigame.
You must colour circuits blue and hope that you have more chips in control than your opponent when the time ends.
A successful hack can disable bots and open doors. Hacking an enemy bot can allow you to steal its weapon. Mega Man: robot mode.

The lighting is pretty dull. There is some dynamic lighting effects going on but the game is still pretty dark.
Is this to cover up the bad draw distance?

Quitting the game with Select and selecting yes crashes the game.
Now that's one way to exit.

This is an awkward kind of game. It is full of promise and potential but the idea simply wasn't going to work so well.

Where are they now?:
Mobius Codeworks Limited dissolved in 2001.
Andrew Webb has had a long-running blog website: http://www.naquada.co.uk/


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That's about all I can handle right now.

[[link to page 3]]
Click here to go to page 3, where the games get even weirder.

Click here to return to page 1; Net Yaroze games I played as a kid.