Carrier Command
Encyclopedia
Carrier Command is a landmark 1980s computer game available on Amiga
, Atari ST
, PC, ZX Spectrum
, Apple Macintosh, Commodore 64
and Amstrad CPC
computers.
Described by The Games Machine
as a "seminal game destined to change the state of gaming", Carrier Command won accolades from across the industry.
and a real-time strategy game where players control a robot
ic aircraft carrier
. The carrier is not based on any real-life aircraft carrier but has been designed specifically for the game.
The game is set in the near future, where a team of scientist
s have developed two robotic aircraft carriers to colonise an archipelago
of sixty four island
s. Unfortunately, the more advanced carrier falls into the hands of a terrorist
organization, and they plan to conquer the archipelago for their own evil ends. It is the player's job to use the less advanced carrier to colonise the islands and destroy the enemy carrier.
Across all but one format, Carrier Command uses filled-in vector graphics
to create a three-dimensional
view of the game world. The game does not use texture mapping
but uses a simple raster
pattern to shade objects. The carrier and the vehicles it carries have full 360-degree freedom of rotation. The Commodore 64 version is the exception and reproduces the same gameplay from a top down 2D viewpoint.
When previewed and finally released on Atari ST and Amiga formats, the game received substantial attention due to the level of fluidity 3D in the graphics engine that hadn't really been seen before. The game also featured a sampled theme song by Dave Lowe, which was expanded into a full, studio-recorded vocal production entitled "Just Another Mission". This was included on a tape cassette with certain releases of the game. A similar scheme was used for the later game Starglider 2
.
A game of Carrier Command can be initiated in two ways.
The player's carrier (ACC Epsilon) is a very complex system, having its own weapon
ry and automatic repair systems. The carrier has a laser
gun turret which is able to fire an unlimited number of shots, but heats up in use requiring it to be rested after firing several shots in rapid succession. The carrier can fire missiles by launching a recon drone high into the sky and then selecting targets while looking through the recon drone. The carrier is also equipped with a decoy flare launcher which works as an aerial countermeasure
, and defence buoys to protect it from missile attacks.
Damage to the carrier is repaired by the automatic repair system. The carrier is divided up into several systems. With the exception of the carrier superstructure and the automatic repair system itself it is possible to fully repair any of the carrier's systems from 100% damage. The carrier is destroyed when damage to the superstructure reaches 100%, resulting in the loss of the game. Damage to the components is done according to where the impacts are on the carrier.
For example, a hit from a missile to the rear side of the carrier will do heavy damage to both the engine and docking bay, but will do little or no damage to the other components of the ship. The player can set the repair priorities for each part of the carrier that will determined which parts will be repaired first. Any component except the automatic repair system that has over 50% damage will not work. Some components that are partially damaged will operated less efficiently.
If the engine is damaged for example, the carrier will not be able to move as fast. If damaged, the laser turret will heat up faster and cool down slower so it will not be able to fire as frequently. The repair system repairs the carrier slower if it is damaged.
The carrier carries up to eight Manta (Multirole Aircraft for Nautical Tactical Assault) remote-controlled aircraft
and up to eight Walrus (Water And Land Roving Utility Shuttle) remote-controlled amphibious vehicle
s, although only four of each may be operational at any one time. The remote control of the Mantas and the Walruses has to be linked through the carrier, so if they go too far from the carrier the cockpit
screen of them will become ghosted
. If they venture even further away from the carrier, they will lose all contact with the carrier and be destroyed; the Mantas will just simply fall out of the sky.
A Manta may be equipped with a long-range communications pod, allowing operation of it and any other nearby vehicles as far away from the carrier as desired. However, only one Manta may be fitted with a communications pod at any one time.
The Mantas are primarily for combat use, but the Walruses are primarily used to carry payloads to the islands. Depending on the current status of the island, and its intended use, the payload might be the starting kit for a colony, or a virus bomb to convert an enemy colony to the player's side. The Mantas can be equipped with missiles that can automatically lock on to enemy targets. The Walrus vehicles can be loaded with missiles that can be manually guided into targets.
Part of the appeal of the game lies in the control of these auxiliary vehicles. The player can, if desired, have all four Mantas and all four Walruses out of the carrier at once, and can pilot each personally, or program each to travel to a specific location (none of the vehicles can be programmed to perform attack or defence functions). Once arrived, a Walrus will simply wait. A Manta will adopt a circular holding pattern until it runs out of fuel, at which point it will crash into the ground or sea and be lost. Some islands have runways on which Mantas may be landed and refuelled. A Walrus which has run out of fuel may be refuelled by another Walrus carrying a spare fuel pod.
The carrier can also be piloted directly, or programmed to travel to a specific location, which may be another island.
The enemy carrier is of a different design and colour to the player's carrier. It has superior top speed, manoeuverability, and acceleration, which makes a direct carrier-to-carrier confrontation very unusual. However, it is very vulnerable to direct assault, it lacks the weaponry of ACC Epsilon and can be easily destroyed by a few shots from the turret laser. Alternatively, a Manta has sufficient top speed to catch the enemy carrier when it is still near to an island (in the open sea, the enemy carrier can outrun even a Manta). Two Mantas equipped with missiles have the firepower to destroy the enemy carrier (the first Manta can disable the Omega's engines, allowing the second Manta to destroy it). Another approach is to ambush the enemy carrier while it's busy attacking an island, using a Walrus armed with an Avatar chemical laser. It takes roughly a dozen rounds to finish it off.
The enemy carrier's superior speed means that, in the "strategy" mode (see above), it can assimilate neutral islands much more quickly than the player. This means that the player's strategy is more important than the head-on approach.
es which erupt glowing rocks.
To assimilate a neutral island, an ACCB (automatic command-centre builder) pod must be placed by a Walrus. The player must nominate whether the island will be a resource island, a factory island, or a defence island. Resource islands mine basic raw materials from the ground, which are used to build defenses and production buildings on other islands. Factory islands automatically produce supplies for the carrier, including fuel and replacement equipment and vehicles. Both are lightly defended. Defence islands are strongly defended and difficult for the enemy carrier to capture, but produce nothing of value. The player must ensure there is a good balance of islands, otherwise the carrier will run out of fuel and supplies during the game. The ACCB builds itself into a command centre, and continues to automatically produce buildings and robots to work on or defend the island.
The islands are interconnected with a supply network. Each side can designate a stockpile island where supplies such as fuel and equipment are stored. When this network is disrupted in such a way that the stockpile island is cut off from your headquarters (the very first island you have), resupply becomes impossible.
To capture an enemy island, the command centre must be destroyed, and another rebuilt. A Walrus is not powerful enough to take on a well prepared island by itself unless skillfully piloted, although the turret laser on the carrier has sufficient power. Alternatively a Walrus may fire a virus pod at the opening on the front of the command centre, which instantly converts it to a friendly island (and leaves all the buildings intact). However, enemy islands may be defended by automated flying units which can easily destroy a Walrus or Manta, and this approach is not easy.
, where the player controls a tank
.
Hostile Waters (game)
(2001) was inspired by Carrier Command and features many similarities.
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission
is currently under development by Bohemia Interactive's Prague studio. It was originally planned to be released on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010. The game's current, planned release date is Q1 2012.
and classical history, mythology and languages
.
References to science:
References to classics:
References to Rainbird employees:
Other references:
Other Island names:
awarded the Atari ST
and Amiga
versions 98% and 97% respectively and ranked Carrier Command the #1 game of 1988. Advanced Computer Entertainment scored the PC version 965/1000 , while Zzap!64
magazine awarded the Amiga
release 92%.
The ZX Spectrum
version was a "Crash
Smash" with 97%, was awarded 94% by Your Sinclair
and was placed at number 12 in the Your Sinclair official top 100. Computer Gaming World
praised the game's blend of strategic and tactical play, recommending it as an improvement over Starglider
.
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, PC, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Apple Macintosh, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
computers.
Described by The Games Machine
The Games Machine
The Games Machine was a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published CRASH, Zzap!64, Amtix! and other magazines.-History:...
as a "seminal game destined to change the state of gaming", Carrier Command won accolades from across the industry.
Setting and gameplay
Carrier Command is a cross between a vehicle simulation gameVehicle simulation game
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a variety of other vehicles...
and a real-time strategy game where players control a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
ic aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
. The carrier is not based on any real-life aircraft carrier but has been designed specifically for the game.
The game is set in the near future, where a team of scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s have developed two robotic aircraft carriers to colonise an archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of sixty four island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s. Unfortunately, the more advanced carrier falls into the hands of a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
organization, and they plan to conquer the archipelago for their own evil ends. It is the player's job to use the less advanced carrier to colonise the islands and destroy the enemy carrier.
Across all but one format, Carrier Command uses filled-in vector graphics
Vector graphics
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
to create a three-dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
view of the game world. The game does not use texture mapping
Texture mapping
Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
but uses a simple raster
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
pattern to shade objects. The carrier and the vehicles it carries have full 360-degree freedom of rotation. The Commodore 64 version is the exception and reproduces the same gameplay from a top down 2D viewpoint.
When previewed and finally released on Atari ST and Amiga formats, the game received substantial attention due to the level of fluidity 3D in the graphics engine that hadn't really been seen before. The game also featured a sampled theme song by Dave Lowe, which was expanded into a full, studio-recorded vocal production entitled "Just Another Mission". This was included on a tape cassette with certain releases of the game. A similar scheme was used for the later game Starglider 2
Starglider 2
Starglider 2 was an early 3D space simulator/flight simulator video game released in 1988 by Argonaut Games and was the sequel to Starglider...
.
A game of Carrier Command can be initiated in two ways.
- In "Strategy" mode, the player starts with one island and the enemy starts with eight islands, while the rest are free. The two carriers each start at their respective home island, and the two home islands are chosen to be as distant as possible from one another. The enemy carrier, because of its superior speed, can assimilate islands more quickly than the player can.
- In "Action" mode, the game begins with each player already possessing a network of islands (some islands remain neutral). The enemy carrier has a greater number of islands under its control. The player's carrier begins the game near the centre of the map, where there is a much greater chance of confronting the enemy carrier.
The player's carrier (ACC Epsilon) is a very complex system, having its own weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
ry and automatic repair systems. The carrier has a laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
gun turret which is able to fire an unlimited number of shots, but heats up in use requiring it to be rested after firing several shots in rapid succession. The carrier can fire missiles by launching a recon drone high into the sky and then selecting targets while looking through the recon drone. The carrier is also equipped with a decoy flare launcher which works as an aerial countermeasure
Countermeasure
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept it implies precision, and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process...
, and defence buoys to protect it from missile attacks.
Damage to the carrier is repaired by the automatic repair system. The carrier is divided up into several systems. With the exception of the carrier superstructure and the automatic repair system itself it is possible to fully repair any of the carrier's systems from 100% damage. The carrier is destroyed when damage to the superstructure reaches 100%, resulting in the loss of the game. Damage to the components is done according to where the impacts are on the carrier.
For example, a hit from a missile to the rear side of the carrier will do heavy damage to both the engine and docking bay, but will do little or no damage to the other components of the ship. The player can set the repair priorities for each part of the carrier that will determined which parts will be repaired first. Any component except the automatic repair system that has over 50% damage will not work. Some components that are partially damaged will operated less efficiently.
If the engine is damaged for example, the carrier will not be able to move as fast. If damaged, the laser turret will heat up faster and cool down slower so it will not be able to fire as frequently. The repair system repairs the carrier slower if it is damaged.
The carrier carries up to eight Manta (Multirole Aircraft for Nautical Tactical Assault) remote-controlled aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
and up to eight Walrus (Water And Land Roving Utility Shuttle) remote-controlled amphibious vehicle
Amphibious vehicle
An amphibious vehicle , is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water – just like an amphibian....
s, although only four of each may be operational at any one time. The remote control of the Mantas and the Walruses has to be linked through the carrier, so if they go too far from the carrier the cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
screen of them will become ghosted
Ghosting (television)
In television, a ghost is a replica of the transmitted image, offset in position, that is super-imposed on top of the main image on an analogue broadcast.-Common causes:Common causes of ghosts are:...
. If they venture even further away from the carrier, they will lose all contact with the carrier and be destroyed; the Mantas will just simply fall out of the sky.
A Manta may be equipped with a long-range communications pod, allowing operation of it and any other nearby vehicles as far away from the carrier as desired. However, only one Manta may be fitted with a communications pod at any one time.
The Mantas are primarily for combat use, but the Walruses are primarily used to carry payloads to the islands. Depending on the current status of the island, and its intended use, the payload might be the starting kit for a colony, or a virus bomb to convert an enemy colony to the player's side. The Mantas can be equipped with missiles that can automatically lock on to enemy targets. The Walrus vehicles can be loaded with missiles that can be manually guided into targets.
Part of the appeal of the game lies in the control of these auxiliary vehicles. The player can, if desired, have all four Mantas and all four Walruses out of the carrier at once, and can pilot each personally, or program each to travel to a specific location (none of the vehicles can be programmed to perform attack or defence functions). Once arrived, a Walrus will simply wait. A Manta will adopt a circular holding pattern until it runs out of fuel, at which point it will crash into the ground or sea and be lost. Some islands have runways on which Mantas may be landed and refuelled. A Walrus which has run out of fuel may be refuelled by another Walrus carrying a spare fuel pod.
The carrier can also be piloted directly, or programmed to travel to a specific location, which may be another island.
Enemy carrier
The enemy carrier (the ACC Omega) is also constantly sailing the archipelago, but instead of Mantas and Walruses it uses a stronger variant of the island defence fighter to capture friendly islands, and actually floats onto neutral islands to capture them. If the player manages to destroy the enemy carrier, the game is considered to be won. However, the player is then offered the opportunity to recapture all of the remaining enemy islands in the absence of the enemy carrier.The enemy carrier is of a different design and colour to the player's carrier. It has superior top speed, manoeuverability, and acceleration, which makes a direct carrier-to-carrier confrontation very unusual. However, it is very vulnerable to direct assault, it lacks the weaponry of ACC Epsilon and can be easily destroyed by a few shots from the turret laser. Alternatively, a Manta has sufficient top speed to catch the enemy carrier when it is still near to an island (in the open sea, the enemy carrier can outrun even a Manta). Two Mantas equipped with missiles have the firepower to destroy the enemy carrier (the first Manta can disable the Omega's engines, allowing the second Manta to destroy it). Another approach is to ambush the enemy carrier while it's busy attacking an island, using a Walrus armed with an Avatar chemical laser. It takes roughly a dozen rounds to finish it off.
The enemy carrier's superior speed means that, in the "strategy" mode (see above), it can assimilate neutral islands much more quickly than the player. This means that the player's strategy is more important than the head-on approach.
Island network
All islands in the game are flat and rectangular, and surrounded by sloping beaches. Neutral islands are covered in trees. Some islands have active volcanoVolcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es which erupt glowing rocks.
To assimilate a neutral island, an ACCB (automatic command-centre builder) pod must be placed by a Walrus. The player must nominate whether the island will be a resource island, a factory island, or a defence island. Resource islands mine basic raw materials from the ground, which are used to build defenses and production buildings on other islands. Factory islands automatically produce supplies for the carrier, including fuel and replacement equipment and vehicles. Both are lightly defended. Defence islands are strongly defended and difficult for the enemy carrier to capture, but produce nothing of value. The player must ensure there is a good balance of islands, otherwise the carrier will run out of fuel and supplies during the game. The ACCB builds itself into a command centre, and continues to automatically produce buildings and robots to work on or defend the island.
The islands are interconnected with a supply network. Each side can designate a stockpile island where supplies such as fuel and equipment are stored. When this network is disrupted in such a way that the stockpile island is cut off from your headquarters (the very first island you have), resupply becomes impossible.
To capture an enemy island, the command centre must be destroyed, and another rebuilt. A Walrus is not powerful enough to take on a well prepared island by itself unless skillfully piloted, although the turret laser on the carrier has sufficient power. Alternatively a Walrus may fire a virus pod at the opening on the front of the command centre, which instantly converts it to a friendly island (and leaves all the buildings intact). However, enemy islands may be defended by automated flying units which can easily destroy a Walrus or Manta, and this approach is not easy.
Sequels
Carrier Command was followed by Battle CommandBattle Command (video game)
Battle Command is a futuristic 3D tank simulation game released by Ocean in . It was written by Realtime Games and is a development of their successful title Carrier Command.- Plot :...
, where the player controls a tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
.
Hostile Waters (game)
Hostile Waters (game)
Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising is a hybrid vehicle and strategy game released on the PC in 2001 by the British company Rage Games Limited. It was inspired by an earlier game known as Carrier Command .-Plot:...
(2001) was inspired by Carrier Command and features many similarities.
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission is a modern, Next-Gen remake of the original Carrier Command by Bohemia Interactive.-Technical:The game uses Bohemia's newly developed, in-house engine featuring Next-Gen rendering techniques and physics, and contains 2 main modes of play - Strategy and Campaign...
is currently under development by Bohemia Interactive's Prague studio. It was originally planned to be released on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010. The game's current, planned release date is Q1 2012.
Island names
Each of the 64 islands in Carrier Command is named individually, with frequent references to scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and classical history, mythology and languages
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
.
References to science:
- Fulcrum, the island in the centre of the map, and at the originOrigin (mathematics)In mathematics, the origin of a Euclidean space is a special point, usually denoted by the letter O, used as a fixed point of reference for the geometry of the surrounding space. In a Cartesian coordinate system, the origin is the point where the axes of the system intersect...
. A fulcrum is a mechanical pivot. - Genetix, a reference to geneticsGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, the biologicalBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
study of inheritance. - Cherenkov, a reference to Cherenkov radiationCherenkov radiationCherenkov radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle passes through a dielectric medium at a speed greater than the phase velocity of light in that medium...
in physicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, the radiationRadiationIn physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
emitted by an electric chargeElectric chargeElectric charge is a physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force when near other electrically charged matter. Electric charge comes in two types, called positive and negative. Two positively charged substances, or objects, experience a mutual repulsive force, as do two...
moving faster than the speed of lightPhotonIn physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
in a medium (not vacuum of course). - Tokamak, referring to the TokamakTokamakA tokamak is a device using a magnetic field to confine a plasma in the shape of a torus . Achieving a stable plasma equilibrium requires magnetic field lines that move around the torus in a helical shape...
design of fusion reactor. - Magma; magmaMagmaMagma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
is the molten rock inside a volcano. - Igneous, referring to the category of rock formed through volcanic activity.
- Granite, an igneous rockIgneous rockIgneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
. - Obsidian, a glassGlassGlass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
formed by volcanoes. - Bedrock, Outcrop; more geologicalGeologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
terms. - Arachnid, referring to the class Arachnidae, the taxonomic group which includes spiders and scorpions.
- Evergreen, can be interpreted to refer to plants which do not shed their leaves in winter, such as conifers.
References to classics:
- Vulcan, the start point, main base and only friendly island at the beginning of the game. Refers to volcanoVolcano2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es and vulcanology. VulcanVulcan (mythology)Vulcan , aka Mulciber, is the god of beneficial and hindering fire, including the fire of volcanoes in ancient Roman religion and Roman Neopaganism. Vulcan is usually depicted with a thunderbolt. He is known as Sethlans in Etruscan mythology...
was the Roman god of craftsmanship. - Socrates; referring to SocratesSocratesSocrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
, the ancient Greek philosopher. - Thermopylae refers to a battle at a pass in 480 B. C.480 BCYear 480 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vibulanus and Cincinnatus...
in the second Persian warGreco-Persian WarsThe Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and city-states of the Hellenic world that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus...
. The island is a supply bottleneck in the game. - Avernus, a crater believed by the ancient Romans to be the entrance to the underworld.
- Styx; in Greek mythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, StyxStyx (mythology)The Styx is a river in Greek mythology that formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld . It circles the Underworld nine times...
is one of the five rivers separating the world of the living from the kingdom of the dead. - Acheron, another of the five rivers surrounding the ancient Greek underworld.
- Hades, the ancient Greek name for the underworld.
- Inferno, referring to the Roman name for the underworld.
- Somnus, the Latin word for dreamDreamDreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
. - Bacchus, the ancient Greek god of wineWineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and revelry. - Naiades, river spirits of Greek mythology.
- Medusa, in Greek mythology, a snake-headed woman with the power to turn to stone anyone who gazed at her directly.
- Fornax, the Latin word for a furnace.
- Charibdis, referring to CharybdisCharybdisCharybdis or Kharybdis was a sea monster, later rationalised as a whirlpool and considered a shipping hazard in the Strait of Messina.-The mythological background:...
, a sea-monster from Greek mythology associated with a whirlpoolWhirlpoolA whirlpool is a swirling body of water usually produced by ocean tides. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful. More powerful ones are more properly termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft...
. - Terminus, the Latin word for the end.
- Nemesis, a destiny-related concept in Greek mythology.
- Dionysius, a Greek God associated with wine making and festivals.
- Ursula is a Latin given name. There is a Christian saintSaint UrsulaSaint Ursula is a British Christian saint. Her feast day in the extraordinary form calendar of the Catholic Church is October 21...
by that name, and a crater called Ursula on TitaniaTitania (moon)Titania is the largest of the moons of Uranus and the eighth largest moon in the Solar System at a diameter of 1578 km. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, Titania is named after the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream...
which was itself named after a Shakespearean character. - Mnemonic is a method for memorisation.
References to Rainbird employees:
- Bardland, named after Paul Hibbard, an employee at Rainbird.
- Byrne, named after Paula Byrne, an employee at Rainbird.
- Edgeley, named after Clare Edgeley, the Rainbird employee who conceived the original idea of creating a game based upon aircraft carriers.
- Odracir, a backwards spelling of the name Ricardo, referring to Ricardo PintoRicardo PintoRicardo Pinto is a computer game programmer and fantasy author.His family moved to London when he was six and then to Dundee in Scotland. In 1979, he commenced a degree in Mathematics at the University of Dundee. In 1983, he moved to London to work as a programmer writing computer games...
, a developer. - Serrano, named after Herman Serrano, the artist who painted the box cover for the game and created many of the user interfaceUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
icons.
Other references:
- Taksaven, a pun on tax havenTax havenA tax haven is a state or a country or territory where certain taxes are levied at a low rate or not at all while offering due process, good governance and a low corruption rate....
; tax havens are areas with especially lenient tax regulations. They are often islands; an example is the Isle of ManIsle of ManThe Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. - Vattland, the opposite of Taksaven; a reference to VATVatVat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...
, BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sales taxSales taxA sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
. - Bountybar, referring to the BountyBounty (chocolate bar)Bounty is a chocolate bar manufactured by Mars Incorporated and sold internationally. It is not marketed in the United States , where a similar product, Mounds, is marketed by Hershey's...
chocolate bar manufactured by MarsMars, IncorporatedMars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...
. - Beltempest, a reference to a character in Dave Greenslade's album Pentateuch of the Cosmogony.
- Elwood, named after the fictional character Elwood Blues from the movie The Blues BrothersThe Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...
. - Kouyate, named after the song by the band Level 42Level 42Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
from their album True Colours. - Stavros, named after the character created and performed by comedian Harry EnfieldHarry EnfieldHenry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
. - Endymion, named after an epic poem by John KeatsJohn KeatsJohn Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
. - Traffic, referring to a traffic islandTraffic islandA traffic island is a solid or painted object in a road that channelises traffic. It can also be a narrow strip of island between roads that intersect at an acute angle. If the island uses road markings only, without raised kerbs or other physical obstructions, it is called a painted island...
, a road design feature. - Treasure, referring to the treasure island motif which frequently occurs in stories about the sea or pirates, significantly in the novel Treasure IslandTreasure IslandTreasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
by Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
. - Cerebus, Cerebus the AardvarkCerebus the AardvarkCerebus the Aardvark, or simply Cerebus , is an independent comic book, written and illustrated by Canadian artist Dave Sim, with backgrounds by fellow Canadian Gerhard. Cerebus ran for 300 issues from December 1977 to 2004, and was over 6000 pages long, the longest-running original...
is the protagonist of the eponymous comic series.
Other Island names:
- Beacon
- Charissa
- Deadlock
- Duessa
- Fears Edge
- Frontier
- Hytac
- Isolus
- Judgement
- Lingard
- Milestone
- Outpost
- Sanctuary
- Splinter
- Steadfast
- Storm
- Twilight
Critical response
The Games MachineThe Games Machine
The Games Machine was a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published CRASH, Zzap!64, Amtix! and other magazines.-History:...
awarded the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
versions 98% and 97% respectively and ranked Carrier Command the #1 game of 1988. Advanced Computer Entertainment scored the PC version 965/1000 , while Zzap!64
Zzap!64
Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 . It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact....
magazine awarded the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
release 92%.
The ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
version was a "Crash
CRASH (magazine)
Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.-Development:...
Smash" with 97%, was awarded 94% by Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
and was placed at number 12 in the Your Sinclair official top 100. Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
praised the game's blend of strategic and tactical play, recommending it as an improvement over Starglider
Starglider
Starglider is a 3D video game released in 1986 by Rainbird. It was developed by Argonaut Software, led by programmer Jez San. The game was inspired by Jez San's love of the 1983 Atari coin-op Star Wars, It was a fast-moving, first-person combat flight simulator, rendered with colourful wireframe...
.
External links
- Carrier Command at The Bird Sanctuary
- An OpenGLOpenGLOpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
remake of the game (abandoned): Author's Project Site - Official site of Carrier Command: Gaea Mission