Space 1999 : INVASION

I created this game way back in 1990, at a time when the ZX SPECTRUM was becoming a thing of the past. It was one of those projects I never intended to release. Back then, the Internet was something that wasn’t even in our wildest imagination, and for someone like me, writing a game in Portugal, there was no way to publish it widely, let alone promote it.

SPACE 1999 was an experiment for me, as I was trying to learn how to create adventures using GAC at the time. That’s when I got the idea of adapting my favorite sci-fi series from childhood.

My English back then wasn’t exactly perfect, so I’m sure you’ll still find some language glitches in the game. This game remained forgotten for about 30 years, tucked away in a drawer on one of my old tapes, but I always dreamed of bringing it back to life.

Recently, I came across André Luna Leão here in Portugal, who runs the blog Planeta Sinclair. I contacted him about restoring my old GAC games, and somehow André performed a miracle, bringing my old SPACE 1999 game back to life.

We decided not to update it too much and to publish it as it was originally made. André simply ensured that the "bad English" of my 20-year-old self in 1990 didn’t ruin the gameplay, particularly when it came to the commands needed to solve the game, but we left everything else as it was back then.

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Referring to the famous series Space: 1999, which aired on Portuguese TV in the late 1970s, around 1983, and later sporadically in the late 1980s, everything begins at Moonbase Alpha, staying true to the original series. An alien invasion is underway, with monstrous and lethal creatures having taken over much of the base. Most of the crew is occupied with fighting off the invaders, leaving it up to us to save humanity. I based the story in a mix between the atmosphere of Year One and  Year Two, therefore Maya and Tony also appear in this adventure, despite being set on Year One. At least in my mind. :) 

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The game is quite extensive, featuring about six dozen locations spread across the three levels of the base, the caves, and even the lunar surface itself (you’ll need to figure out how to access it, which requires completing several preliminary actions).

There are also close to two dozen objects, and nearly all of them have a purpose. Since the 'drop' command doesn’t exist, our advice is to pick up everything you find, as there is no weight limit to what you can carry. The purpose of each object is fairly intuitive, so you’ll quickly figure out where (or how) to use them. However, it’s less straightforward to understand how to use the crew members to your advantage. Some of them are essential for progressing at certain points in the adventure, whether to unlock a door blocked by a metallic object or to eliminate a particularly stubborn alien.

Mapping the base is also critical. Not all locations have an associated image (due to memory limitations), especially the corridors, making it easy to get lost or accidentally enter a place where you are immediately killed.

The main issue with the game was the lack of memory. With so many locations and graphics, as well as numerous actions to perform, the available capacity provided by the GAC was quickly exhausted. There were undoubtedly areas for improvement, particularly in the descriptions of locations or commands, but it was no longer possible to add more text or graphics.

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Neverthess if you like the old ZX SPECTRUM text adventures, and you were a fan of  SPACE 1999, you may enjoy my little adventure game created in 1990 when I was 20 years old and ressurected in 2023 when I was 53 years old. And now published in 2024 when I am 54 , going on 55 , hahah ! -- Stay tuned for more adventures and don´t forget to check out my other ZX adventure games here at the site.

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ps: if you can understand Portuguese, check out my interview on this podcast:

https://www.zxspectrumpodcast.com/espaco-1999/

https://planetasinclair.blogspot.com/2023/12/zx-spectrum-podcast-episodio-7.html

https://planetasinclair.blogspot.com/2023/12/space-1999-invasion.html

https://planetasinclair.blogspot.com/2023/12/eclipsia.html

https://planetasinclair.blogspot.com/2023/12/shangri-la.html