Ambrosia and Bungie games were the two bright spots in what was otherwise a dark void in mac gaming. They helped me get through most of the 90s when my household was mac only.
I 100% completed this game back in the day. I had a fleet of confed/rebel cruisers, and every single planet except for earth and ruby were paying me tribute.
i did that too. i was at my grandmas house for the weekend and took my performa 630cd with me. i sat on the bed playing this game for so long i hurt my neck >.< god it was a fun game. the grandfather to Eve Online
Oh man you guys, the combat is the best part! Hunting pirates, picking a side in the civil war, working your way up to a Kestrel, fighting the aliens and getting a cruiser, just becoming the biggest badass in the galaxy and dominating systems with prototype weapons and a fleet of cruisers
Man, I played a ton of this as a kid on my Performa "Power PC" Mac. We mailed a check to Ambrosia and got a postcard back with an activation code. I was addicted to it for a bit.
Playing through EV Override for the first time and had the literal exact same thought when I saw the "Hire Escort" button for the first time, didn't know if I should have been disappointed or relieved when I clicked on it.
The original Escape Velocity and Escape Velocity Override had stories. There were a ton of scripted events in both games and a lot of it had to do with your own actions.
Every so often you guys bring up a game I've never heard of and this is one of them. I may try to find a copy and play it after this discussion! Thank you!
@@marklemmert6840 There was no internet back then so you had whatever your local store had available plus whatever your friends played. You might have a few trade magazines to look at, but if you were a kid, even those weren't available all the time. It's easy to forget how isolated people were 40 or 50 years ago now, information-wise at least.
@@davebeth2576 I remember that well! I have a couple friends I traded games with, who in turn traded with other people. Occasionally one of us would buy a game, usually from a magazine and then wait 4+ weeks for the UPS truck to arrive. There was a Software Etc. and a Best Buy 20 miles or so way. I didn't get to go there much until I was a teenager, and by then it was the 1990s so I wasn't really seeing many 8-bit titles on the walls at that point. Nonetheless, I'd guess I was exposed to over a hundred 8-bit games. It felt like a lot, until I saw how many I missed. TLS has done a great job at finding the hidden gems!
The original Escape Velocity has individual special missions and a secret Illuminati-like Artemis mission string. The main plot, though, involves supporting either Rebel or Confederate forces in the ongoing war (mutually exclusive, naturally). This is all gated behind your combat rating - you have both a system/faction reputation and a combat rating, and the latter starts out at Harmless. I believe you need to be considered Competent to open up the main storylines? The idea is to upgrade your ship from that tiny shuttlecraft and get some substantial weaponry before getting into the fight. This is intended to be done through piracy, fighting off pirates, or attacks of opportunity against the ships of the opposing force. You also need at least a certain system reputation in a Confederate or Rebel system.
you guys are talking about plots... IT HAS PLOTS!!!!! you can do rebel or confederation. you get added into trade companies and side quests. you get access to a mass driver or a partical cannon before you finally beat the game at the end. the combat is required because you need certian combat levels to be given later missions or higher access to the mission string you are on. >.
I would like to add to what Chris was saying at: 24:25 I can see what he is saying, but if this is your FIRST project, make this but WAY SCOPED BACK! Your first project should be something that you can make quickly and finish easily.
I think the key word is first "big" project. After you've done some small ones, "You're done making pong, you're done making asteroids" was also said. I recommend snake or space invaders usually as a first project. Pong isn't bad. Asteroids would be a good start for this as you can take some of the code forward if you keep the same engine.
Ambrosia and Bungie games were the two bright spots in what was otherwise a dark void in mac gaming. They helped me get through most of the 90s when my household was mac only.
I 100% completed this game back in the day. I had a fleet of confed/rebel cruisers, and every single planet except for earth and ruby were paying me tribute.
i did that too. i was at my grandmas house for the weekend and took my performa 630cd with me. i sat on the bed playing this game for so long i hurt my neck >.< god it was a fun game. the grandfather to Eve Online
"Harry the Handsome Executive" 18:38 did he hire the Space-Escort?
I feel like he'd have to.
Oh man you guys, the combat is the best part! Hunting pirates, picking a side in the civil war, working your way up to a Kestrel, fighting the aliens and getting a cruiser, just becoming the biggest badass in the galaxy and dominating systems with prototype weapons and a fleet of cruisers
Thanks guys! Always appreciate your discussions and informative videos!
And we love your stuff! Often there, silently, watching......
Hey, Dfortae, nice to see you here!
Man, I played a ton of this as a kid on my Performa "Power PC" Mac. We mailed a check to Ambrosia and got a postcard back with an activation code. I was addicted to it for a bit.
Playing through EV Override for the first time and had the literal exact same thought when I saw the "Hire Escort" button for the first time, didn't know if I should have been disappointed or relieved when I clicked on it.
The original Escape Velocity and Escape Velocity Override had stories. There were a ton of scripted events in both games and a lot of it had to do with your own actions.
Every so often you guys bring up a game I've never heard of and this is one of them. I may try to find a copy and play it after this discussion! Thank you!
It's worth finding and playing. I don't know how long you'll keep the interest, but push passed the initial dryness and it shows what it can do.
I'm amazed at how many games even from the 8-bit era that I had not heard of until they came up on TLS!
@@marklemmert6840 There was no internet back then so you had whatever your local store had available plus whatever your friends played. You might have a few trade magazines to look at, but if you were a kid, even those weren't available all the time. It's easy to forget how isolated people were 40 or 50 years ago now, information-wise at least.
@@davebeth2576 I remember that well! I have a couple friends I traded games with, who in turn traded with other people. Occasionally one of us would buy a game, usually from a magazine and then wait 4+ weeks for the UPS truck to arrive.
There was a Software Etc. and a Best Buy 20 miles or so way. I didn't get to go there much until I was a teenager, and by then it was the 1990s so I wasn't really seeing many 8-bit titles on the walls at that point. Nonetheless, I'd guess I was exposed to over a hundred 8-bit games. It felt like a lot, until I saw how many I missed. TLS has done a great job at finding the hidden gems!
The original Escape Velocity has individual special missions and a secret Illuminati-like Artemis mission string. The main plot, though, involves supporting either Rebel or Confederate forces in the ongoing war (mutually exclusive, naturally). This is all gated behind your combat rating - you have both a system/faction reputation and a combat rating, and the latter starts out at Harmless. I believe you need to be considered Competent to open up the main storylines? The idea is to upgrade your ship from that tiny shuttlecraft and get some substantial weaponry before getting into the fight. This is intended to be done through piracy, fighting off pirates, or attacks of opportunity against the ships of the opposing force. You also need at least a certain system reputation in a Confederate or Rebel system.
Love this game, good memories. Was very pleased to be able to play it again after all these years. It's a little gem for sure
I played the HELL out of this game when I was a kid!
Many modern live service games are simply vanishing to. These older games are a part of history.
you guys are talking about plots... IT HAS PLOTS!!!!! you can do rebel or confederation. you get added into trade companies and side quests. you get access to a mass driver or a partical cannon before you finally beat the game at the end. the combat is required because you need certian combat levels to be given later missions or higher access to the mission string you are on. >.
41:32 - +1 on doing more role playing games. I realize it may be awhile before it's feasible for you though
I would like to add to what Chris was saying at: 24:25
I can see what he is saying, but if this is your FIRST project, make this but WAY SCOPED BACK! Your first project should be something that you can make quickly and finish easily.
I think the key word is first "big" project. After you've done some small ones, "You're done making pong, you're done making asteroids" was also said. I recommend snake or space invaders usually as a first project. Pong isn't bad. Asteroids would be a good start for this as you can take some of the code forward if you keep the same engine.
A remake of Escape Velocity Override is in the works by the original developer under the name Cosmic Frontier.