The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

THRUST

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

Game Type          : Arcade

Author             : Peter Irwin and J. C. Smith

Standalone Release(s)  : 1984: THRUST, Superior, £9.95

                    1990: THRUST, Superior/Blue Ribbon, £2.99

Compilation Release(s) : 1987: FIVE STAR GAMES 2, Beau Jolly, £9.95

                    1987: PLAY IT AGAIN SAM, Superior/Acornsoft, £9.95

Stated compatibility    : Electron

Actual compatibility    : Electron

Supplier            : SUPERIOR/ACORNSOFT

Disc compatibility     : ADFS 1D00, CDFS 1D00, DFS 1D00

Instructions

The Mission

The Resistance is about to launch a major offensive against the Empire. In preparation for this, they have captured several starships, but they lack the essential power sources for these formidable craft, Klyston Pods.

You have been commissioned by the Resistance to steal these pods from the Empire's storage panels. To do so you must locate the pod, hover just above it, activate your starships's tractor beam and thrust away from the pod. Once the beam has locked onto the pod, you can deactivate the tractor beam. You must then carry the pod away from the planet. You receive a bonus at the end of each successful mission.

Automatic Limpet Guns

These guns are the planets' defence system. Accurate shooting from your spaceship will destroy the limpet guns.

Fuel Tanks

To collect fuel, hover just above a fuel tank and activate the tractor beam.

The Planet's Reactor

Each planet has a reactor providing power for the limpet guns. Shooting the reactor will damage it, and the guns will cease firing until power can be restored. The more damage done, the longer this will take. If you shoot the reactor repeatedly, it will become critically damaged. You will then have a limited amount of time to escape before the reactor explodes and the planet is destroyed. If this happens, and you have not collected the pod, then the mission has failed. If you retrieve the pod, send the reactor into its critical phase and leave the planet safely, you receive an extra bonus of 2000 points.

Scoring

Destroying a limpet gun ......................... 750 points

Destroying a fuel tank .......................... 150 points

Collecting a fuel tank .......................... 300 points

An extra spaceship is awarded for every 10,000 points scored.

Game Controls

<CTRL> - Rotate Left,   A - Rotate Right,   <RETURN> - Fire,   <SHIFT> - Thrust

<SPACE> - Sheilds/Tractor Beam,   <COPY>/<DELETE> - Pause On/Off, S/Q - Sound On/Off

<ESCAPE> - Quit Game

Instructions' Source   : PLAY IT AGAIN SAM (Superior/Acornsoft) Inner Inlay

Review (Electron User)

Remember the days when Space Invaders were king, and the buzz which went round the arcades when Galaxians appeared? If you do then you must buy yourself a copy of THRUST from Superior Software. Loading up THRUST was like discovering an old master in the attic.

Your spacecraft and all buildings and gun emplacements are displayed as high resolution line drawings. The game is played as a series of missions of increasing complexity. In the first one the drive unit is on the planet's surface, along with a fuel dump, gun emplacement and nuclear reactor. In subsequent missions, the drive will be located in underground caverns.

Fuel can be taken on board by hovering over the dump and activating the tractor beam. Hovering is achieved by pointing the ship away from the planet and using short bursts of thrust to counter the effects of gravity.

The gun emplacements are deadly accurate but can be taken out by a single shot. Firing at the nuclear reactor will halt the operation of the guns for a short while.

Having located the drive unit, the tractor beam can be used to tow it behind your ship, and this is where the fun really begins. The programmer must be either an ace physicist or an articulated lorry driver, because the drive unit hangs beneath the ship like a pendulum attached to a fixed point on the ship by a solid bar.

Each movement of your craft will cause a realistic movement of the pendulum. As a pilot you must fly as smoothly as possible, counteracting every swing of the drive unit. Should the swing become uncontrollable you will surely be dragged into a cavern wall.

The mission is completed by towing the drive unit into space and jumping into hyperspace. As with every good arcade game, there is an opportunity for the arcade aces among you to earn big bonus points. Having emerged from the cavern with drive unit in tow you can fire on the reactor until it goes critical, at which point you have five seconds to make your hyper-space jump. This feat of bravado will earn you an additional 2000 points.

THRUST is a classic game, a game at which the natural games player will excel. This is a definite contender for my game of 1986.

Sound ........................... 8
Graphics ........................ 9
Playability .................... 10
Value for money ................ 10
Overall ........................ 10

John Revis, ELECTRON USER 3.11