Mine storm
Minestorm is a computer game for the Vectrex - game console . The game was released in 1982. It is a modified version of the Asteroids game.
The game was published by General Consumer Electric (GCE), which had also brought the Vectrex game console onto the market. The game Mine Storm is built into the console, all other Vectrex games are available as a module (cartridge).
Game flow
The aim of the game is to shoot down mines that move around the game screen. The game is structured like a round, each game round (minefield) must always be played from the beginning. If you lose a ship (mine collision or fireball hit), you start the same minefield all over again. The game cannot be paused, and jumping to a desired minefield is not possible at the factory (sequential process). Each game round basically follows the same pattern, the "mine-layer" (a parallelogram-like spaceship) moves from top to bottom and distributes points on the screen in an irregular order. The mines are created from these points in the course of the game, in three different sizes. First four big ones. If a large mine is hit, two middle ones emerge from the "sown" points; if a middle mine is destroyed, two small ones are activated. It is therefore advisable not to park the mine clearance ship on one point. You can see the progress in the game round from the remaining points on the screen. It should be noted that small mines move slightly faster than the larger ones.
There are four different types of mines:
- Drifting mines (Y-shaped, only drifting in one direction)
- Magnetic mines (X-shaped, move towards the mine clearance ship)
- Fireball mines (square with indented sides and a central point, move like drifting mines, shoot a very fast fireball when hit)
- Fireball Magnetic Mines (similar in appearance to fireball mines, but standing upside down. Moving towards the mine clearance ship, shoots a very fast fireball when hit)
If all large and medium-sized mines have been hit, the miner returns and fills the minefield with a maximum of one complete “family” (one large, two medium-sized, four small ones) of the type that was last activated at the beginning of the minefield .
If all mines and also the mine-layer have been removed, the “winner screen” appears, i. H. the mine clearance ship is pulled into a halo. Shortly afterwards, the next minefield is set up.
Versions
Mine Storm (I)
The first version of the game contains numerous errors in the programming, which lead to a complete crash of the game at the latest after the minefield 13 has been successfully closed. Other errors are also known, e.g. B. Ending the minefield is not possible or the “winner screen” that appears after each minefield (mine clearance ship is pulled into a halo) appears prematurely. Occasionally there are also addition errors when counting points, which were not fixed in the following version either. The score is reset to 0 when it exceeds 3,333,333. The errors affecting the course of the game were corrected by GCE and made available as a module to existing customers on request. This version shows "Mine Storm II" as a cartridge at start-up, whereas MINE STORM remains unchanged in European Vectrex devices with the version that has already been corrected for errors.
Mine Storm (II)
The main difference between Mine Storm (I) and Mine Storm (II) is the unlimited number of minefields. In principle, minefields 1 to 256 can be distinguished by their composition (see above) but also by the sequence in which the respective mine type appears. From minefield 256, only the same type of mine appears (magnetic fireball mine). Minefield 1 (4 floating mines, simplest variant), however, only appears once at the beginning of the game. Some bugs in the program, which do not particularly hinder the course of the game, were not fixed in this version either, there are still addition errors in the score or a different "extra life" rule. The points reset to 0 also takes place in Mine Storm II when 3,333,333 points are exceeded. Game crashes are not known with Mine Storm II (or the version of MineStorm preinstalled in European consoles).
3D Mine Storm
3D Mine Storm or Mine Storm 3-D is a 3D variant of the game: With the help of a kind of mask (Vectrex 3D imager), the player sees a three-dimensional image. The game runs according to the pattern already described, but on up to four levels.
Trivia
- As long as not all 4 major mines have appeared, you can safely drive through the mines that have already been indicated without losing a ship.
- If you have cleared all the mines and then press button 2 shortly before the winner screen appears (jump into hyperspace, you reappear at another place), the ship hops to some point in the next minefield. (Program bug)
- Basically, after four successfully cleared minefields, you get another ship, but an error has been made in the programming, i. H. you get the first extra ship to minefield 4, the second to minefield 6, then to minefield 10, minefield 14, minefield 18 and minefield 20. This "counting error" continues throughout the game and may lead to internal addition errors ( only 7 ships shown at the bottom right).
- The cartridges with the cleaned up Mine Storm version (referred to on the label as Mine Storm II), which are given out free to customers, are sought-after collector's items and regularly fetch high prices.
- In some minefields, especially at the beginning, the highest possible number of vectors is reached and the game only starts to run jerkily.
- There are unofficial Mine Storm versions with volleys or continuous fire, but also with an infinite number of ships, which, however, removes any difficulty from the game.