''Deathstar'' (also written as ''DeathStar'') is
multidirectional shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
for the
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...
and
BBC Micro
The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...
developed by Peter Johnson and originally published in the UK by
Superior Software
Superior Software Ltd (also known as Superior Interactive) is a video game publisher. It was one of the main publishers for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in the 1980s and early 1990s. It currently releases games for Microsoft Windo ...
in 1985. It is a clone of the arcade game ''
Sinistar
''Sinistar'' is a 1983 multidirectional shooter arcade game developed and manufactured by Williams Electronics. It was created by Sam Dicker, Jack Haeger, Noah Falstein, RJ Mical, Python Anghelo, and Richard Witt. Players control a spacecraft ...
''.
Gameplay
The player uses four keys, two to rotate the ship (which is always moving forwards), one for fire and one to launch a starbomb. Firing can destroy both enemy workers and warriors, but only a starbomb can be used against the eponymous Deathstar itself. Collisions with workers, warriors or asteroids (referred to in the instructions as planetoids) do not harm the player.
The job of the workers is to build the Deathstar by transporting crystals to it, whilst the job of the warriors is to mine the crystals and also defend the Deathstar by attacking the player. The initial objective is to keep on firing at the asteroids until they start to shed crystals, which are then picked up in order to score points, but more importantly the crystals are converted into starbombs. The starbombs are ultimately used against the Deathstar, once the workers have finished constructing it. The player must successfully defeat the Deathstar to progress into the ''Worker Zone'' which has very few planetoids, with a bonus screen between each zone.
The game employs 16-way scrolling
over a multi-coloured starfield and runs at a fast rate
on both the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron hardware.
Despite the inferior hardware of the Acorn Electron, the in-game sound can be improved up to BBC Micro standards with the addition of Project Expansions' Sound Cartridge.
Development
Originally, the game was to be published by
Atarisoft
Atarisoft was a brand name used by Atari, Inc. in 1983 and 1984 to market video games the company published for home systems made by competitors. Each platform had a specific color attributed by Atarisoft for its game packages. For example, video ...
as an official port of the arcade version under its original name, ''Sinistar'',
but the Atarisoft brand was dropped in 1984 and Atari decided to pull out of the Acorn computer market altogether whilst a number of games were still under development.
The game was instead renamed ''Deathstar'' and a new title screen designed, allowing it to be released as an unofficial clone by
Superior Software
Superior Software Ltd (also known as Superior Interactive) is a video game publisher. It was one of the main publishers for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in the 1980s and early 1990s. It currently releases games for Microsoft Windo ...
in 1985. The game was released shortly after another popular game ''
Repton
Repton is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, located on the edge of the River Trent floodplain, about north of Swadlincote. The population taken at the 2001 Census was 2,707, increasing to 2,8 ...
'' and is regarded as being part of a successful run of titles from Superior Software in a short space of time.
The then-renamed ''Deathstar'' was first published solely by Superior Software in 1985 and later re-released in 1989 by Superior Software and
Blue Ribbon
The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon w ...
as a budget title. The game also appeared on the Beau Jolly compilations ''Five Star Games''
and ''10 Computer Hits 4'',
and Superior Software's own ''Superior Collection'' compilations (vol. 2 on the BBC, vol. 3 on the Electron).
A cheat loader program for the game was also published in 1988 by
Impact Software on the compilation ''Cheat it again Joe 1''.
An in-built cheat was discovered to have been left in the BBC version of the game and was published in the March 1989 edition of
Micro User magazine.
''Deathstar'' was prominently advertised with full-page dedicated ads
in various Acorn-related publications of the 1980s and was also reviewed in magazines such as
Acorn User
''Acorn User'' magazine was founded by Acorn Computers in 1982, contract-published by Addison-Wesley, to coincide with the launch of the BBC Micro. It covered the range of Acorn home computers, the BBC Micro and Atom at first and later the Elect ...
and
Electron User
''Electron User'' was a magazine targeted at owners of the Acorn Electron microcomputer. It was published by Database Publications of Stockport, starting in October 1983 and ending after 82 issues in July 1990.
Initially it was included as a 1 ...
.
In the 21st century, ''Deathstar'' was again reviewed in the 2009 book ''The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x'' by Jerry Ellis, published by ''Hiive books''.
A similar title ''
Mega Apocalypse'', also for the BBC Micro, was due to be released by ''Martech Games Ltd'', but was ultimately abandoned half-finished in 1988.
Speech chip support
The ''Sinistar'' arcade game uses sampled speech, which is beyond the abilities of standard BBC Micro and Electron hardware. The BBC Micro has a speech synthesiser chip available as an official add-on, but it has a limited vocabulary. Users who played with this hardware would hear the speech chip say "R, R, R, I an complete" (using the letter "R" repeated for the laugh, and "an" instead of "am"), though this is not a line from the arcade original. Programmer Peter Johnson said at the time: "I knew very few gamers would have that speech chip fitted, but I would have loved to see the expression of surprise on their faces the first time they heard the ''DeathStar'' speak".
Reception
Roland Waddliove, writing in ''
Electron User
''Electron User'' was a magazine targeted at owners of the Acorn Electron microcomputer. It was published by Database Publications of Stockport, starting in October 1983 and ending after 82 issues in July 1990.
Initially it was included as a 1 ...
'' magazine stated that "DEATHSTAR is a super fast, all-action arcade classic", "it's the sort of game that you can't put down" and "you've got to have just one more go".
Martin Reed also in Electron User described the game as "an excellent conversion" and "a great blast".
The Electron User Group describe the game as "furiously fast", "supremely playable" and as having "a large playing window",
whilst the Monkey's Brain website describes the game as "another top-quality arcade conversion".
Oliver Robinson on the bbcmicrogames.com website describes the game as "almost arcade perfect" and as "an example of how well the BBC could replicate fast paced, action arcade games".
Game programmer Jason Sobell stated that he "liked Peter Johnson's ''DeathStar''", pointing out the similarity to the game ''
Asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
''.
The game was given a ''BJ score'' of 92% on the ''Five Star Games'' compilation, although this rating was awarded by Beau Jolly themselves, the publisher of the compilation and therefore can not be considered to originate from a neutral source.
Since the end of the BBC Micro commercial era, some players
using emulation have expressed a preference for playing the Acorn Electron version over the BBC Micro version, because it uses keys 'Z' and 'X' to rotate the spacecraft rather than 'CAPS LOCK' and 'left-CTRL' which are vertically aligned on many modern-day keyboards.
References
External links
Game cover for original Superior Software BBC Micro release at the centre for computing history
{{Superior Software
1985 video games
BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games
BBC Micro and Acorn Electron-only games
Multidirectional shooters
Superior Software games
Video game clones
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Single-player video games
Blue Ribbon (software house) games