Zeppelin

Zeppelin

Game No.	60
Voting	6.64 points, 22 votes
Developer	David Barbour
Company	Synapse Software
Publisher	Synapse Software
HVSC-File	GAMES/ S-Z/ Zeppelin.sid
Release	1984
Platform	Atari 800/2600/5200/7800/XE/XL, C64
Genre	Shoot'em Up
Gamemode	Single player 2 players (simultaneous)
Operation
Media
Language

Description[edit | edit source]

Zeppelin is an arcade game where you have to fly with an airship through a cave system. There you have to avoid hostile zeppelins or shoot them. Hamburger creatures block the way and touching the walls is deadly. Keys need to be picked up and keyholes need to be touched with them to open further caves. Defensive fortifications can be switched off by shooting at the switches. To make the game even more interesting, earthquakes are released randomly. This makes it a bit more difficult not to collide with the walls.

Design[edit | edit source]

... an animation from the game

... another animation from the game

For a game from 1984 it looks quite successful and corresponds to those of its time.

Hints[edit | edit source]

On the title screen you have to change the settings with the function keys:

F3 Number of players (1/2)

F5 Level of difficulty (novice/intermediate/advanced/expert)

F7 Starts the game

To pause the game, you have to press the key Space . The next time the joystick is moved, you can go on playing.

Points[edit | edit source]

-	Boulders need to be avoided
10	Laser gate
20	Barrier - per block
20	Buildings/towers
20	Debris from earthquake - per piece
30	Balloon
30	Hostile zeppelin
Extra life	at 10.000 points

Special objects[edit | edit source]

Switch	If you shoot at a switch to change their position, some defenses of the enemy will be deactivated (zeppelins, balloons, earthquakes etc.). Every switch has a different function in the labyrinth.
Key	You pick up keys, when you touch them with the zeppelin.
Keyholes	If you touch a keyhole and have a key, more caves will open.
Hamburgers	You can pick up giant hamburgers to feed the hamburger creature.
Hamburger creature	The hamburger creatures guards some places in the labyrinth. They can be bribed with giant hamburgers, whereafter they leave their place. To feed a hamburger creature with a hamburger, you need to touch it with the giant hamburger. The hamburger creature will then scoff the hamburger and maybe leave its place.
Life symbol	They give the player a new life when you touch it.
TNT	The TNT needs to be picked up by touching it with the zeppelin. It needs to be brought to the room, where the piston is.
Piston	First you have to shoot at the piston to get it into the right position. Then you have to put the TNT into the box. Now you can destroy the piston by shooting at the TNT. Through this, the piston will slide downwards and free the way to the next level.

Two player mode[edit | edit source]

In the two player mode, two players play at the same time with two joysticks. One player steers the zeppelin, while the second player acts as shooter.

Solution[edit | edit source]

Cheats[edit | edit source]

The version that is offered for download at Gamebase64 was cracked by Wanderer & Crypt and expanded by two trainer functions.
For an unlimited number of ships you can enter the following POKE after loading the game:

POKE 18546,173

The start the game as usual with RUN.

Voting[edit | edit source]

Voting of the C64-Wiki users (10=the best vote):
6.64 points at 22 votes (rank 584). You need to be logged in to cast a vote.
C64Games	6	29th November 2007 - "good" - 3229 downs
Lemon64	7,3	29th November 2007 - 29 votes

Reviews[edit | edit source]

Robotron2084: "In this game the player is heavily limited in his mobility and has to fly several tours through every cave system to pick up hamburgers as well as TNT, which is rather repetitive. Also it is not always clear what function is done by which of the switches in the walls. One feels domineered and thus frustration quickly arises. A rather monotonous shooter in the long run. 6 out of 10 points."

Shakermaker303: "It was quite interesting to wobble with the airship through the cave system, even though I didn't have a clue, where I should get to."