Review of TerraScape: Breakdown Velocity by Pieslice Productions, 2003/2004

Written by Lachie Dazdarian(August, 2005)

Introduction:

It's really difficult to make an introduction for this review. TerraScape. A 3D-flight arcade game in QBasic. Not a demo. Completely finished, polished and long game. A game that simply amazes and demands respect.

TerraScape was released in a really awkward moment for the QBasic community. At that time the community was slowly dying. Almost nobody was developing or releasing anything grand, remaining QBasic game reviewing sites were dead or disappearing and many people were giving up on QBasic for more or less justified reasons. There was one or two threads about TerraScape in the QBasicNews forum but TerraScape's quality was never properly recognized or awarded in a form of a review or some article in a QBasic magazine. But like I said, the community was in a really poor shape back then. Let's not name-blame. Anyway, Pauli Merilainen(TerraScape's developer) is known for putting almost no effort in advertising his games. If I remember correctly he didn't even take a single screenshot of TerraScape and put it on the net. People want to know what they are downloading if the package exceeds 16 MB.

At the time TerraScape was released I was unable to play it and due the rather weak response on it I've pictured TerraScape as something with amazing 3D graphics but not very playable and user-friendly. Some complex flight sim, I thought. So I was quite surprised once I finally downloaded it. TerraScape was completely different from what I imagined. From professionally designed graphics, great 3D engine to easy controls. But after several hours spent playing it that old folk wisdom popped in my mind - it's not gold all that shines. :P

Nevertheless, the final verdict and my impression of the game is highly positive. Maybe I should start with the actual review now.

Graphics

Definitely the strongest part of TerraScape and the main reason why TerraScape should be remembered and respected. TerraScape was done in a quite uncommon graphic resolution for me, ModeX 320*400. I can assume that there are benefits of working in it, especially with this type of 3D engine. TerraScape's graphics should be observed in two parts. The first one would be the 2D graphics(the title screen, the intro, the outro, the menus, the briefing screen and the status bar). The 2D graphics are done very professionally and with care for details. The intro and the outro graphics are very good, featuring a very distinctive style. The only notable flaw I see in the images featuring the main game character and those are the only places where a human character appears in the game. It is very obvious that the developer has a problem there and the drawing program he uses doesn't appear to be very convenient for drawing people. The title screen and the main menu is impeccable in style and quality. The status bar didn't sit well with me but maybe that's just a matter of taste. It looks too shiny and plastic to me. I would prefer one that is a bit more rugged. Just for the sake of atmosphere.


The 3D graphics follow the quality of the 2D graphics. The very 3D engine is state of the art in QBasic and doesn't seem to be crippled in any way. The terrain, the sky, it all looks great. Yes, the code is not pure QBasic but how much sense there is in demanding it to be pure QBasic when most of QBasic libraries use Assembler code? The 3D objects are also awesome. Very smart choice of textures and shapes. Still, the 3D graphics are not entirely even in the quality throughout the game. I can say that 3D objects and textures are the best in missions 1 and 2 while in the mission 3 you can already notice a small decline in the quality. It doesn't go terribly down but the last mission, compared with the first two missions, is evidently poorer in the quality of graphics, from the ship designs to the structures and even in the choice of texture for the terrain. One structure especially looks bad in the last mission. Also, I wish the particle effects after explosions are more visible and complex. Overall, the 3D graphics are amazing. I never saw anything better in QBasic(talking about 3D graphics). These negative remarks are just nitpicking. Nothing that should lower my final score.

5/5

Sound/Music

Unfortunately Pauli Merilainen decided to use DS4QB2 for sound support which I personally hate. It's a 32-bit library which means it's not compatible with DOS. It also doesn't work in Windows 2000 and NT and in most cases not in Windows XP too, which is the situation with TerraScape too. What is also annoying is that most QBasic programmers didn't allow users to bypass DS4QB2 routines which made their games impossible to start in the mentioned Windows versions(and in DOS too). Luckily this is not the case with TerraScape. But there is still the problem of not many people being able to enjoy in TerraScape properly. Who has Windows 95/98 these days? Maybe there wasn't a better choice because of the high requirements that Pauli had for the sound but there is BWSB and the sound routines used in QBasic games like Groov Buggies, PromZone or Monkey Blast which are way more compatible with Windows.

Since I was not able to start the game with the sound turned on I can't score this section properly. Still, having in mind the rest of the game and the environmental audio mentioned in the documentation I can guess it's on the level of the rest of the game, meaning excellent. I was able to play the music tracks in Winamp and play the game in the same time so there was no problem in checking how the music works in the game. The music tracks range from good to excellent and Pauli took the trouble to compose ten of them. It is obvious that they are composed by an experienced composer. The tracks are far beyond my capabilities and since I've been trying to compose tracks lately I can appreciate Pauli's work even more. Original sound effects, environmental audio, original music tracks and ten of them. Admirable effort.

5/5

Gameplay

Pauli describes TerraScape as 3rd-person perspective flight arcade game, Raptor updated to 3D. There is probably a better comparison with another 3D game but since 3D games are not my thing I can't make one. I'm sure there is more than one game like TerraScape coded in some other language, commercial or not. The main thing you should notice is that TerraScape is a 3rd-person perspective 3D game which means you play it outside your spacecraft(called Avatar) and observe it from the back. You can rotate the camera but the game is meant to be played with the normal camera position(behind Avatar). I have quite mixed feelings about TerraScape's gameplay since some of the elements that make it are great while some other are not that great. The first aspect of the gameplay would be the controls. Avatar is terribly easy to control which is great for the gameplay. I had a fear it would be a difficult task but since this is an arcade game my fears disappeared quickly. With right hand you steer the Avatar(left and right arrow key) and change pitch(up and down arrow key) while with left hand you change the speed using A and Y key and with SPACE key(you keep your thumb on it) you fire projectiles. Very smart choice of control keys. Other keys include numbers 1-7 for weapon change, INS/DEL for adjusting the camera(HOME resets the camera to normal position) and TAB key for toggling map on/off. The controls might seem complex but believe me, TerraScape is very easy game to play(this doesn't mean it's an easy game). You'll only use arrow keys, A and Y key for changing the speed and space for firing. Other keys are used when needed and not so often. For example, I never used camera adjusting since I see no benefit in it. The easy controls make TerraScape a very enjoyable game to play on the first ball. You will enjoy in the simplicity of blasting enemy fighters and enemy buildings, pitching up and down, flying between buildings or making crazy turns. Now when you actually try to finish a mission your excitement will start to decline.

The goal of each mission is to destroy several buildings scattered around 6-7 locations if not more. Maybe the number of locations depends on the mission. Didn't count but it is definitely more than 6. Sometimes between locations you need to visit a specific checkpoint. You won't have problems in orienting yourself since you are guided with a pointer placed on the mini-map in the upper-right corner of the screen. One the very end of each mission the mission boss awaits you, which can be anything from a protected building to a huge spacecraft. This unlucky mission design damages the gameplay quite a lot. It makes finishing a mission a very tiring and repetitive procedure. One mission can last up to 20, 30 minutes(maybe even more) so when you get destroyed somewhere toward the end of a mission or when fighting the boss playing that mission all over again can be very discouraging and frustrating because the save game feature only puts you in the beginning of the current mission. Saving the game in the middle of a specific mission only saves the weapons you have accumulated. This allows "cheating" since when you load a game you get full shield. You can collect weapons, save a game, kill yourself and then load a game. Viola! You are on the beginning of the mission but now with all the weapons collected from the last attempt to finish it. Still, this doesn't help much. Who will have the patience to accumulate weapons and play a specific mission several times just to have better chances against the mission boss? And you don't feel the game is meant to be played like that. Also, you will often feel that your success depends on luck since few lucky shots from an enemy ship and your shield strength is cut in half(not in missions 1 and 2). This is especially the case with some mission bosses. What helps are shield cores you can pickup from destroyed ships(very rarely) or from destroyed storage bunkers but dragging yourself with almost no shield to the next storage bunker with hopes you will be able to find another super shield core(gives you full shield) is another frustration. One shot and you are dead while the full shield was just few meters away. But I'm starting to wander. The main problem of TerraScape is the poor save game feature. If one game was ever so ruined with one bad feature then that game is TerraScape and it's save game feature. I gave up on mission 3 and it's boss. Got destroyed by it 2 times. A person simply can't have the patience to play a mission for another 30 minutes just to try out another tactic with the mission boss; approaching from low this time, flying with another speed and if it fails repeat the procedure. See what I'm talking about? People want to be able to save their progress, especially if a game features missions/levels that last up to 30 minutes and are repetitive. If you are wondering how I am able to comment the rest of the game missions and the game ending Pauli showed me how to cheat. I should point out that not all the missions are placed on Earth. Actually, most aren't. Cool, eh? Anyway, the positive aspects of the game prevail, I think. The controls are something that can always make you return to the game and the missions are varied enough, featuring different enemies(air and ground units) with different attack patterns and characteristics.

4/5

Story

Very good. The game does start with a rather worn out story of the future controlled by evil corporations, in this game fascist corporate armies knows at The Corporates. After an attempt to police The Corporates by The Initiative(global military concordance), The Corporates launch a nuclear attack and destroy seven world's largest cities, killing 2.3 billion people in the process. The Initiative launches a counter attack. You play the role of Shara O'Neal(yes, a female person) The Initiative's best pilot and fly the Avatar, most powerful fighter in the fleet of The Initiative. The plot unfolds quite interesting with each new mission. The end is quite rewarding delivering a very original and well written epilogue. Something that is worth being seen/read. If you manage to finish TerraScape without cheating your effort will be more than awarded. Trust me.

4/5

Replay value

Maybe a bit too high score having in mind the terrible save game feature and what it does to the experience of playing the game but I wish to ignore that in this section. The nature of the gameplay(3D-flight game) makes the experience of playing one mission never the same. And because of the length of the game and all the content in it the replay value is quite high.

4/5

Challenge

I'm still unsure in which of these two sections(Replay value and Challenge) the game should get 3 but I know it has to in one for sure. Since I was unable to finish the game or just didn't had the patience for it I can't tell how much nerves it takes to finish TerraScape and how much the difficulty is reasonable. TerraScape features 4 levels of difficulty but the game is already too difficult on the easy level. At least to me. Anyway, I have to return to the save game feature again since Pauli wrote in the documentation that it increases the challenge. Yes, it sure does but for a too high price. Challenge shouldn't be a test of patience. I'm not willing to sacrifice so much of my free time and I doubt many people are. I think Pauli didn't though on that when working(or deciding not to) on the save game routine.

3/5

Fun factor

What has been said in the gameplay section applies to this section too. TerraScape is a game that is both fun to play and not in the same time. One single game feature ruins it all, the save game feature. All else can pass. The mission design is not that bad but in conjunction with the poor save game option results in something frustrating and unrewarding. Despite all of that I kept returning to this game several times. Once I gave up on mission 2. Tried it again a month later and reached mission 3. The elements for a great game are there. The game works but demands too much patience and time. If it was just one of these two things(patience or time) I would give TerraScape 5/5 in this section but since that is not the case I can't.

4/5

Total Score

29/35

Good: The graphics and the sound/music. The 3D engine. The simplicity of the controls. Large number of missions(8) with varied graphics and enemies. The overall professional approach.

Bad: Terrible save game feature that puts you in the beginning of a mission - lowers the quality of the gameplay a lot. Repetitive mission objective design.


Last thoughts:

You might get the wrong impression about TerraScape from the review since I like to point out the bad things. So to be clear, this game is a fundamental part of the QBasic game design history. It is one of the best QBasic games ever made. In the top 5, by my opinion. If you ever belonged to the QBasic community or are interested in it you must have TerraScape in your collection. Even if that collection is consisted out of 3-4 games. This is one of those game. Get it!

You can download the game from www.phatcode.net