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Mercenary (computer Game)
''Mercenary'' is a 3D action-adventure game written for the Atari 8-bit family and published by Novagen Software in 1985. It was converted to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga and Commodore 16, Commodore 16/116/Commodore Plus/4, Plus/4 platforms. The game uses vector graphics renderings of vast, sparse environments and has Sandbox (video games), open-ended gameplay. It was also released as ''Mercenary: Escape from Targ'' and ''Mercenary: A Flight Simulator Adventure''. ''Mercenary'' was favourably reviewed and followed by two sequels: ''Damocles'' and ''Mercenary III: The Dion Crisis''. Plot Having crash-landed on the planet Targ (''en route'' to the Gamma System of ''Damocles''), the player's main objective is to find a means of escape. There are several ways to achieve this end. A civil war between two factions, the Palyars (indigenous "good guys") and the Mechanoids (invading "bad guys"), affords the player an opportunity to earn money to buy their esc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novagen Software
Novagen Software Ltd (commonly referred to as Novagen) was a British software developer which released a number of computer games on a variety of platforms from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The company was set up by Paul Woakes and Bruce Jordan and employed approximately 18 people. In addition to running Novagen, Paul Woakes also developed and programmed the vast majority of the company's products and the first version of a custom loading scheme that worked ten times faster than Commodore's own, which became Commodore 64 peripherals, Novaload. Games * ''Encounter (video game), Encounter'' (1983) Atari 8-bit, (1984) C64 * ''Mercenary (video game)#Mercenary, Mercenary'' (1985) Atari 8-bit, C64, C16, Plus/4, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST ** ''Mercenary: The Second City'' (1986) expansion pack for ''Mercenary'' * ''Mercenary Compendium Edition'' (1987) ''Mercenary'' + ''The Second City'' * ''Backlash'' (1988) Amiga, Atari ST * ''Battle Island'' (1988) C64 * '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freeware
Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the freeware it offers. For instance, modification, redistribution by third parties, and reverse engineering are permitted by some publishers but prohibited by others. Unlike with free and open-source software, which are also often distributed free of charge, the source code for freeware is typically not made available. Freeware may be intended to benefit its producer by, for example, encouraging sales of a more capable version, as in the freemium and shareware business models. History The term ''freeware'' was coined in 1982 by Andrew Fluegelman, who wanted to sell PC-Talk, the communications application he had created, outside of commercial distribution channels. Fluegelman distributed the program via a process now termed '' shareware''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone. The first version of Windows was released on November 20, 1985, as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with 75% market share , according to StatCounter. However, Windows is not the most used operating system when including both mobile and desktop OSes, due to Android's massive growth. , the most recent version of Windows is Windows 11 for consumer PCs and tablets, Windows 11 Enterprise for corporations, and Windows Server 2022 for servers. Genealogy By marketing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porting
In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally designed for (e.g., different CPU, operating system, or third party library). The term is also used when software/hardware is changed to make them usable in different environments. Software is ''portable'' when the cost of porting it to a new platform is significantly less than the cost of writing it from scratch. The lower the cost of porting software relative to its implementation cost, the more portable it is said to be. Etymology The term "port" is derived from the Latin '' portāre'', meaning "to carry". When code is not compatible with a particular operating system or architecture, the code must be "carried" to the new system. The term is not generally applied to the process of adapting software to run with less memory on the sam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice. This differs from public transport where the pick-up and drop-off locations are decided by the service provider, not by the customers, although demand responsive transport and share taxis provide a hybrid bus/taxi mode. There are four distinct forms of taxicab, which can be identified by slightly differing terms in different countries: * Hackney carriages, also known as public hire, hailed or street taxis, licensed for hailing throughout communities * Private hire vehicles, also known as minicabs or private hire taxis, licensed for pre-booking only * Taxibuses, also come in many variations throughout the developing countries as jitneys or jeepney, operating on pre-set routes typified by multiple stops and multiple independent passenger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GamesMaster (magazine)
''GamesMaster'' was a monthly multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future plc in the United Kingdom. As of 2012, it was the biggest selling multi-format video games magazine in the United Kingdom, outselling its partner publication ''Edge''. Along with partner magazine ''GamesTM'', it ceased print in November 2018. It was originally launched to complement the television show '' GamesMaster''. History The magazine was launched in January 1993, to complement the television show of the same name. While the show later ceased broadcasting, the magazine continued, outlasting the show by 20 years. The magazine published a number of reviews and previews of games; however this covered only half of the magazine as it also included latest gaming news, posters, letters from readers and monthly competitions. The popularity of the magazine grew and game producers sought to achieve the elusive ''GamesMaster'' “Gold Award” for a reference on their package. The Gold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Your Sinclair
''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was launched in January 1984 as ''Your Spectrum'' by Sportscene Specialist Press. (Sportscene would later be renamed to Dennis Publishing in April 1987.) Initially, it was published bimonthly, changing to monthly in June 1984. With the January 1986 issue, the title was relaunched as ''Your Sinclair'', with the intention of expanding coverage of the QL into the main magazine (previously, ''QL User'' had been a pull-out section within the magazine), and any future computers produced by Sinclair. However, the magazine remained focused almost entirely on the ZX Spectrum games scene. In 1990, the magazine was sold to Bath-based Future plc, and the April 1990 issue was the first to be published by the new company. That issue's news ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antic (magazine)
''Antic'' () was a print magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and later the Atari ST. It was named after the ANTIC chip in the 8-bit line which, in concert with CTIA or GTIA, generates the display. The magazine was published from April 1982 until June/July 1990. ''Antic'' printed type-in programs (usually in BASIC), reviews, and tutorials, among other articles. Each issue contained one type-in game as "Game of the Month." In 1986, ''STart'' magazine was spun off to exclusively cover the Atari ST line. Its main rival in the United States was ''ANALOG Computing'', another long-lived magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit line. Multi-system magazines ''COMPUTE!'' and ''Family Computing'' also served Atari 8-bit owners with type-in programs. Starting in 1984, the catalog for Antic Software was bound into issues of ''Antic''. History NASA programmer Jim Capparell was an early Atari 8-bit owner. He quit his job on 15 January 1982 to found a magazine for the comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have been awarded in the arts, for example, by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, usually as a symbol of an award to give an outstanding student some financial freedom. Others offer only the prestige of the award. Many organizations now award gold medals either annually or extraordinarily, including various academic societies. While some gold medals are solid gold, others are gold-plated or silver-gilt, like those of the Olympic Games, the Lorentz Medal, the United States Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Prize medal. Nobel Prize medals consist of 18 karat green gold plated with 24 karat gold. Before 1980 they were struck in 23 karat gold. Military origins Before the establishment of standard military awards, e.g., the Medal of Honor, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Game Journalism
Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publications and blogs have grown. History Print-based The first magazine to cover the arcade game industry was the subscription-only trade periodical, ''Play Meter'' magazine, which began publication in 1974 and covered the entire coin-operated entertainment industry (including the video game industry). Consumer-oriented video game journalism began during the golden age of arcade video games, soon after the success of 1978 hit ''Space Invaders'', leading to hundreds of favourable articles and stories about the emerging video game medium being aired on television and printed in newspapers and magazines. In North America, the first regular consumer-oriented column about video games, " Arcade Alley" in ''Video'' magazine, began in 1979 and was pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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