Glider Rider

Glider Rider
Game No.	400
Voting	5.92 points, 13 votes
Developer	Coding: Michael Delves Graphics: Peter Harrison, Ste Pickford
Company	Binary Design Ltd.
Publisher	Argus Press Software, Bug-Byte, Quicksilva
Musician	David Whittaker
HVSC-File	MUSICIANS/W/Whittaker_David/Glider_Rider.sid
Release	1986
Platform	C64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum
Genre	Arcade, Miscellaneous
Gamemode	Single player
Operation
Media
Language

Description

Dark thoughts

... there is no danger yet, this laser sensor is a fake.

... a typical arrangement of builings, reactor, laser post, laser sensor

... a bomb storage was discovered

... strange buildings ...

Excerpt from the manual:

You get a lot of time to think when you're gliding on the thermals. Mostly the feeling of flying like a bird makes them nice thoughts, but everyone gets a little melancholy at times and this mission is enough to make anyone think hard.

One subject that has taken my mind recently is the word "volunteer". I remember becoming one when I joined the "Silent But Deadly" squadron, but I thought that you had the chance to choose your missions; ie. attempt to avoid those that were likely to be suicidal. That isn't the way the army see it. Once a volunteer, always a volunteer, seems to be their assumption.

This one has to be the last - one way or the other! If I succeed then my future is assured - I'll be remembered in all the history books, rich beyond my dreams and set up for life. If I don't ... I don't want to think about that.

Mission briefing

Abraxas Corporation

HQ: EoOs island
Activity: production and sale of weapons and other military hightech equipment to all solvent potential customers, no matter which ethos or affiliation.

EoOs island

Position: Pacific Ocean
Description: unique. The whole land mass consists of a highly densed and extremely resistant synthetic material produced by Abraxas.

Recco result: The island is camouflaged by trees that are made of nylon and plastic-like material. The energy is provided by small nuclear reactors. Measures of radiation around the main buildings suggest that there are two reactors inside of these to provide an emergency supply.

Mission details

Codename: Paethon

Background: EOos is extraordinarily well supplied by the evenly distributed heavily secured reactors of the energy network. Therefore it is necessary that these reactor are destroyed one after the other before the unprotected emergency supply reactors within the main building are destroyed.

Line of action: SBD hang glider and use of a motor bike allows moving on the terrain. The glider can be used for bombing from the air.

Survival code: 1F

Equipment: Mark-5 glider and the foldable E37 motorbike unit. The power engine can be removed and mounted to the glider at the end of the mission, to get a microlight plane for the escape.

Mission target

Primary: Destroy the ten external reactors and reach the waiting submarine.
Secondary: Find more ammunition on the island and destroy as many units and buildings as possible.

Defense

Reactor: Ground-air laser. Can be switched off.
Main compund: Very heavily protected - could be impenetrable.
Sea: Peril of sharks! In no case try to swim!!

Design

... definitely, this sensor belongs to the laser at the bottom that protects the reactor between the trees ...

... laser shot at the glider ...

The display is done in single screens (3D view) which are built up anew each time and switched when leaving (no scrolling). The buildup is relatively fast and does not disturb the flow of the game. Very exact simulation of the glider (upwind close to the fold flank, etc). Fitting sounds and background music.

Hints

Controls

... another bomb storage ...

... free as a bird ... if it wasn't for this mission ...

... the first success ... reactor 1 in the main building is destroyed

... and ... reactor 2 in the main building destroyed

... reactor 3 destroyed, almost a third of the mission accomplished

Keyboard

There is the possiblity to change the keys by pressing the key "P" and then pressing the keys, that you want to define for "UP", "DOWN", "LEFT" and "RIGHT".

The basic assignment is:
Q   = left-up
P   = right-up
O   = left-down
A   = right-down
Space   = fire

Restore   = abort the game and return to the title screen

With the following key assignment you avoid getting knots in your fingers:
UP = "Q", DOWN = "L", LEFT = "A", RIGHT = "P"

Joystick

Motorbike
drive left-up
drive right-up
drive right-down
drive left-down

Glider
rise
sink
turn anti-clockwise
turn clockwise
throw grenade (Joystick does not need to be in neutral position)

• To start with the glider, first drive down a hill with the bike and pull the joystick into the opposite direction of the driving direction.

Good to know

• The starting point of the mission is in the upper corner of the island.
• The glider can best be started into the direction south-east or south-west.
• If you rise too high with the glider, you go into tailspin, crash and are at the ground again with the bike.
• Also when you have a too low height or if you fly against an obstacle at at least the same height, the glider turns to a bike again.
• If a laser beam hits the glider, it will get uncontrollable for a short time. It also partially collapses which has the effect that you find yourself on the ground again with the bike.
• You cannot start with the glider while being shot at with the laser.
• By touching a bomb storage with the bike the bomb supply is refilled (9 bombs).
• The two reactors inside the main complex are not secured by lasers.
• By nearing a laser sensor with the bike the laser gets confused and fires uncontrolled into the air for a short time. You can use this to see which sensor belongs to which laser. But you can also try during this time to start the glider and bomb the reactor.

Buildings, etc.

	Tree	A totally normal tree ... only made from a special plastic material which even resists a bombing ... and for a bike it is equally impenetrable.
	Bomb storage	By touching a bomb storage with the bike the bomb supply is refilled (9 bombs).
	Reactor	All 10 reactors spread on the island need to be destroyed to accomplish the mission.
	Laser post	All reactors are secured by at least one laser post. Laser posts instantly react to movements in the air and a bit slower to movements on the ground. However, a laser post needs an external laser sensor to aim.
	Laser sensor	For each laser post there is at least one laser sensor. But there are also sensors that are not connected to any laser post and by this have no function (fakes). By nearing a laser sensor with the bike the laser gets confused and fires uncontrolledly into the air for a short time. You can use this to see which sensor belongs to which laser.

Solution

Map

End screen

... the last mission should end this way ...

Voting

Voting of the C64-Wiki users (10=the best vote):
5.92 points at 13 votes (rank 836). You need to be logged in to cast a vote.
C64Games	6	7th November 2008 - "good" - 316 downs
Lemon64	5,9	7th November 2008 - 13 votes
ZZap64	71%	Issue 86/12

Reviews

H.T.W: "Surely NO game for in between. Until you master the control of the glider to some extent, the first hour has passed. Then you spend the next hours to get really annoyed, because the glider thing reacts extremely confusedly when being shot at, flies away into the opposite direction and lands in the next screen instantly in the next laser that further decimates your energy. Somewhen in the third hour there is a kind of sudden inspiration ... One could scout the terrain first with the bike, remember the exact postion of the buildings, start with the glider at a safe place and bomb the reactor from the side that is closest to the border of the screen. As the laser has a certain reaction time, you have significantly raised your chance to escape from the screen without getting hit. Some time later you realize, that if you first drive at the laser sensor with the bike and instantly leave the screen, the laser will be inoperative when returning to the screen, no matter how long you were outside this screen. You spend the next hour practicing this technique and then you have a good chance to destroy the reactors outside the main complex. At this point, the frustration tolerance of probably 99% of the players is exceeded by far. But the most difficult is still to come: The two reactors in the main complex are not secured by lasers, but you have to get into the complex first. This is protected all around and also inside with numerous tank posts and it is actually mere luck if you proceed to the generators.

All in all one can say: an interesting game, the glider simulation is very exact, you directly feel the upwash if you fly too close to a flank. Also the strategy elements appeal. However, the difficulty grade is enormously high and without cheats you will probably never see the end screen (which does not really pay for the effort)."

MrBug: "I had the game as an original, despite the manual, I have never understood what the game is about. Now I have at least understood the aim of the game. But as already said above, the "frustration limit" became also a problem for me."

Miscellaneous

Versions

Alpha Flight (AFL): +Manual +Titelpics, +Trainer (unlimited time, unlimited energy, unlimited bombs, endpic first), looks OK
West Coast Crackers + Atheist (WCC+ATH): +titelpic, +trainer (unlimited time, unlimited energy, unlimited bombs), looks OK
Commo Bam (CMM): +titelpic, +trainer (unlimited time, unlimited energy, unlimited bombs, endpic first), looks OK
The Slayers: +trainer (unlimited energy +unlimited bombs), looks OK
West Coast Crackers (WCC): no trainer, looks OK
Anubis (ABS): +titelpics, +trainer (unlimited energy, unlimited bombs, stopped time), FAULTY (water not animated, laser flashes not visible)

Cover

Highscore

• Unfortunately there is no highscore possible

Links

• C64Games.de - Game No. 3848 (+ original tape version)
• Lemon64 - Game No. 1058
• Gamebase64.com - Game No. 3169
• CSDb - Release No. 120098 (AFL +4/D/P/TL)
• ZZap64 test report

Videos