Muggins the Spaceman

[Ste Woz Ere]

Now this is a game I used to love back in the day, but always thought it to be impossible. For those who don't know, it was an arcade-puzzle game where you had to run around a crashed spaceship, repair 30 faults (using 50 puzzle items) and also fix any hull punctures to buy more time (too many holes and it's over). Link below:

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... e_Spaceman

For that very reason I didn't revisit this one like I did the others, but recently I decided to in order to prove that it really is impossible...and unfortunately I was right.

The reason? Punctures do not exist. No holes in the top wall, no vacuum, no oxygen depletion (as described in the manual). In all the time I played it as a kid, and recently when revisiting, I never saw a single one. Even if I followed the co-ordinates (all possible orientations), there was nothing (at one point I even got a puncture for a room right close to me and still nothing). I was hoping to see a poke that bypassed it, but sadly there's only infinite lives+health.

So I decided to try and speedrun it, creating a detailed map with all the important bits and working out the fastest route. I turned the cheats on so I could leave the gun behind (to have extra inventory space, ignore robots and some terminals) together with using EmuZWin's rewind feature (to ensure that I never lost any time by walking too far). But even with all this I could only just reach the forward hull (see map) with 18/30 faults repaired. (32/50 items used)

I did have fun revisiting it and mapping it all out but it's still a bit of a shame, really...especially when the other Firebird game I loved back then (Spy vs. Spy) is an absolute legend.

[Einar Saukas]

Is the map deterministic, or does the game generate a new map randomly every time you play it?

[druellan]

Interesting. I remember bumping into this title while roaming the catalog and thinking it looked interesting. A shame it is so buggy.
While it is completely possible the game just does not work (I'm sure nobody but the developer beta tested this before publication) I'm curious if might be some kind of incompatibility (Kempton present/absent, Interface 2, etc), I vaguely remember the case of a game that only worked with an interface present because was developed that way and never tested otherwise.

Have you tested other releases like the Spanish one?

[Ste Woz Ere]

Is the map deterministic, or does the game generate a new map randomly every time you play it?

Same map each time with fixed positions for everything, punctures appear in random rooms at random intervals.

Interesting. I remember bumping into this title while roaming the catalog and thinking it looked interesting. A shame it is so buggy.
While it is completely possible the game just does not work (I'm sure nobody but the developer beta tested this before publication) I'm curious if might be some kind of incompatibility (Kempton present/absent, Interface 2, etc), I vaguely remember the case of a game that only worked with an interface present because was developed that way and never tested otherwise.

Have you tested other releases like the Spanish one?

Spanish one does the same...followed the co-ordinates (both orientations, as the ship is symmetrical) but no holes.

[Einar Saukas]

Is the map deterministic, or does the game generate a new map randomly every time you play it?

Same map each time with fixed positions for everything, punctures appear in random rooms at random intervals.

Do you mind if I add your map to the archive? It's really cool!

[Ste Woz Ere]

Do you mind if I add your map to the archive? It's really cool!

Nope, not at all. Would be nice to have it saved next to the game, should anyone wish to explore it.
(398 rooms, I only know of Starquake that has more)

[jdanddiet]

I tried to get in touch with this game's author about another game he did.
Seems a rather nomadic and strange career for Michael Fox - wonder where he is these days?

[druellan]

I tested it on several emulators, I never saw a single "hole in the top wall" or anything that can be repaired, and I waited for the ship to become a Gruyère cheese to increase the chance to find one. I found another bug thought Printing a map removes any robot from the room (the sprite is still there, but does not move).

So, or the game was not properly tested, nor finished before publication, or Firebird's loader messed it up. I kind of remember another case on where Bleepload corrupted a part of the game code.

I think this worth a note on the database entry.

✓ Reviewed