Epic (video game)

Epic is a space combat simulation game developed by Digital Image Design and published by Ocean Software for the Commdore Amiga and Atari ST in early 1992. A port to MS-DOS also appeared in the same year, followed by a version for the NEC PC-9801 in 1993. A sequel, titled Inferno, was released in 1994 for PCs only.

Epic
Developer(s)Digital Image Design
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Martin Kenwright
Programmer(s)Colin Bell
Russell Payne
Artist(s)Martin Kenwright
Paul Hollywood
Composer(s)David Whittaker
Øisten Eide
Platform(s)
Release
  • EU/NA: 1992
  • JP: 10 December 1993 (PC-98)
Genre(s)Space combat simulator
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Epic is an action-based space flight simulator game. It features eight completely different levels (including two in two phases), which take place either in space or over the surface of a planet. Each has a tight time limit to complete the mission (destroying the assigned targets), with failure not being an option.

Plot

The plot borrowed heavily from the television series Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek and the Star Wars film franchise,[1] focusing on a fleet of ships carrying the human inhabitants of a planet threatened by an imminent supernova. The escape route leads through the Rexxon Empire's territory which results in war, when with no other option, the fleet attempts to cross despite permission being refused by the Rexxons. The player controls the fleet's only hope, one of three experimental Epic class fighters. In the final mission, the fighter is also used to deploy a cobalt bomb.

Development

The game had been in development for about three years and had been repeatedly delayed. At first it was known under the working title Goldrunner 3D and was initially announced to be published by Microdeal as a spiritual sequel to the two Uridium-like Goldrunner top-down shooting games,[2][3] before a publishing deal was signed with Ocean in 1989.

Much of the technology that was used to create F29 Retaliator had been used to create Epic.[4] The action is viewed in 3D, with graphics being a mix of uniformly-coloured polygons and bitmaps (featuring 16 colours for Atari ST and 32 colours in the Amiga version, largely shades of grey). The music featured in the game on the Atari ST and PC is from the "Mars Suite" and the "Jupiter Suite" from The Planets by Gustav Holst, while the Amiga received a new composition.

Release

Epic was released by Ocean in the Spring of 1992 on home computer formats at a price of £29.99 in the UK. Later that year, it was included as the lead pack-in title by Commodore UK for their Amiga 600 focussed Epic bundle, alongside Rome: Pathway to Power and Myth: History in the Making, squarely aimed at the Christmas buying market.[5]

Subsequently, the game received a budget re-release in 1994 on Ocean's Hit Squad label. In December 2019 the PC version of the game was released digitally in a bundle with its sequel Inferno[6].

Reception

Critical reception of Epic was mixed. A number of magazines scored the game highly including the review scores of 92% from Mega Zone,[7] 91% from CU Amiga and Amiga User International,[8][9] and 90% from Amiga Action.[10] ACE, for instance, gave the Amiga and ST versions a score of 839 (out of a possible 1000), praising its fast 3D graphics and sense of scale, but disliking its longevity and lack of depth.[11] In ST Format, the game received a score of 91% and was described as "the best blaster that the ST has seen in some time".[12]

The title fared less well with Amiga Power scoring the game at 34%, criticising the game for it's depth and playability.[13] Maff Evans in Amiga Format delivered a similar verdict and criticism, also awarding a score of just 34%[14], noting that the despite being two years late, the game felt rushed to release and bemoaning that he completed the game in two hours. The magazine also published feedback from players in the review, many of whom also completed the game shortly after purchase, complaining that the cheat mode for the game was included in the instructions.

On re-release, all magazines marked the game down, with Amiga Power providing a renewed rating of 30%, commenting that the game had not improved with age.[15] CU Amiga was more generous awarding the title 70% and commenting that it played much better on the faster Amiga 1200.[16]

Expansion pack

An expansion pack for the game, Epic Extra Missions, was included on the cover disk for issue 47 of The One[17] which was only issued for the game on the Amiga. There was no commercial release.

gollark: As a programmer who wants future jobs, I fear this.
gollark: I eagerly await the first GPT-something-based lawyers.
gollark: Spreadsheets probably did a lot for slightly-financey office work.
gollark: That seems implausible, what are you defining as office work?
gollark: IIRC old AI research did that, but it didn't work very well and the "throw tons of compute at it" approach is much more effective.

References
  1. Advanced Computer Entertainment 37 (October 1990), p.22-23
  2. "Goldrunner 3D preview from Zero 2 (Dec 1989) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net.
  3. "Goldrunner 3D preview from CU Amiga-64 (Nov 1989) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net.
  4. Computer Gaming World 72, p.28
  5. "Amiga Format Magazine Issue 040 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  6. "6 newly-released classic games that deserve your attention". GOG.com. CD Projekt. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  7. "Epic review from MegaZone 23 (Aug - Sep 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net.
  8. "Epic review from CU Amiga (Dec 1991) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net.
  9. "Epic review from AUI Vol 6 No 11 (Nov 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net.
  10. "Epic review from Amiga Action 35 (Aug 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net.
  11. Upchurch, David (January 1992). Mike Carter Epic VICE. ACE 13122 (UK magazine published by EMAP), p. 56–61
  12. "Atari ST Epic at Atari Mania". www.atarimania.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  13. "Epic review from Amiga Power 15 (Jul 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net.
  14. "Epic review from Amiga Format 37 (Aug 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  15. "Epic review from Amiga Power 42 (Oct 1994) - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net.
  16. "CU Amiga (November 1994) Page scans - Amiga Magazine Rack". amr.abime.net. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  17. "Epic Extra Missions : Hall Of Light". hol.abime.net.
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