Fort Apocalypse
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| Fort Apocalypse | |
|---|---|
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| DeveloperTemplate:Pluralize from text | Synapse Software |
| PublisherTemplate:Pluralize from text | Synapse Software U.S. Gold |
| DirectorTemplate:Pluralize from text | Template:If first display both |
| ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text | Template:If first display both |
| DesignerTemplate:Pluralize from text | Steve Hales |
| ProgrammerTemplate:Pluralize from text | Atari 8-bit Steve Hales Commodore 64 Joe Vierra |
| ArtistTemplate:Pluralize from text | Template:If first display both |
| WriterTemplate:Pluralize from text | Template:If first display both |
| ComposerTemplate:Pluralize from text | Template:If first display both |
| Series | Template:If first display both |
| PlatformTemplate:Pluralize from text | Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64 |
| Release | 1982 |
| GenreTemplate:Pluralize from text | Scrolling shooter |
| ModeTemplate:Pluralize from text | Single-player |
| Arcade system | Template:If first display both |
| Template:Edit on Wikidata | |
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Fort Apocalypse is a multidirectional scrolling shooter for Atari 8-bit computers created by Steve Hales and published by Synapse Software in 1982. Joe Vierra ported it to the Commodore 64 the same year. In the game, the player flies a helicopter through an underground prison, avoiding or shooting enemies and saving prisoners. A contemporary of Choplifter, it has similarities to that game as well as the arcade games Scramble and Super Cobra.
Gameplay
Fort Apocalypse is played within a multi-directional scrolling "cave", viewed from the side. Similar to Choplifter, and in contrast to Scramble, the map scrolls as the player moves in any direction.
The map is divided into four vertical sections, with the uppermost being at ground level, and the lowest containing the titular fortress. The two middle layers, Draconis and the Crystalline Caves, both contain a landing pad checkpoint. Eight hostages can be picked up on both of these middle layers. The map is further divided into sections by special walls that can be broken open by firing or dropping bombs on them.
The player's chopper is destroyed if it runs into the cavern walls, is shot down by the numerous enemies, or caught in one of the many laser or moving wall traps. The player has two weapons, a gun and bombs, but only one button on the joystick. The button usually fires the gun, but when the helicopter faces out of the screen, the button drops bombs. Enemy missiles track the player's movements for a short time before running out of fuel and dropping back to earth, and the map is populated by a number of enemy helicopters similar to the player's own.
Development
Most of the basic concepts of Synapse's games were developed by the company's president, Ihor Wolosenko. Fort Apocalypse was one of the few that was not, and traces its origin to a dream Steve Hales had about helicopters. With Wolosenko's blessing, he began working on the project in 1982. He took part of his inspiration from the movie Blue Thunder.[1]
While the programming was getting started, another programmer decided to leave the company in the midst of completing one of Wolosenko's projects, Slime. Hales was pulled off the development of Fort Apocalypse to finish Slime, but found the code too difficult to continue and had to start over from scratch.[1] The resulting delay meant Broderbund's Choplifter reached the market first, and Fort Apocalypse was often considered a me-too effort.[2] When Hales saw Choplifter, his reaction was: "Why did I stop working on Fort?"[1]
The game was publicly demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show[a] and the players complained that it was too hard. This led to changes in the map and a few other tweaks.
Reception
The game was a relative success, ultimately selling about 75,000 copies on the Atari, and more than that on the Commodore.[1]
Softline praised Fort ApocalypseTemplate:'s "game complexity and difficulty of play—just enough to keep you coming back and progressing a little further each time".[3] Antic was also pleased with the effort: "The game is fun to play and has lots of action and good sound effects" but criticized the sound of the helicopter itself, comparing it to the sound of "someone walking in wet shoes".[4] Also noting the game's difficulty, The Commodore 64 Home Companion called the graphics and sound "impressive".[5] Electronic Fun disliked it, giving the game only 1.5 joysticks out of 5. It is also one of the most direct at calling it a mix of other designs; the review starts off with this complaint:[6]
It goes on to complain that anyone playing it would have to be "deeply masochistic", especially after the players "blow up after running into something you can't even see".[6]
Legacy
In 2007 the game was relicensed to a CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 Creative Commons license and released on IgorLabs, a site founded by Steve Hales and other game developers.
In April 2015, Steve Hales released the assembler source code to Fort Apocalypse on GitHub, also under CC BY-NC-ND 2.5, for historical reasons.[7] A Twitter account for the release claimed "if enough people followed a version for iOS and Android would be made".[8]
Notes
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- ^ Hales says this was the 1983 show, which took place in January. This would appear to suggest the actual release was later, or that this led to a second version.
References
- ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hague, James (March 1997). "Steve Hales". Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers. Dadgum Games. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."AGH Atari 8-Bit Computer Review: Fort Apocalypse". AGH.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Christie, Andrew (Nov–Dec 1983). "Synapse Takes Off". Softline. p. 21. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wolford, Roy (August 1983). "Ft. Apocalypse". Antic.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beekman, George (1984). "Sirius Software". The Commodore 64 Home Companion. pp. 176–177. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
efunwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ FortApocalypse on Github.com
- ^ fortapocalypse on twitter.com
External links
- Fort Apocalypse, C64-wiki page (in German)
- GitHub source code release
- IgorLabs classic games page, with all the games Steve Hales wrote for the Atari 8-bit computers
