Article- Caspian Software
Caspian had quite a lot to say about Zero 5!
Photo of Chas Dillon, MD of Caspian.
Zero-5 for STE upwards with 1Mb of RAM.
In June 1994, the STE version of "Zero-5" (due to be published for the Jaguar
64 by Telegames in June 1997), was described as being still some way from
release, but expected in the middle of 1994. This article should be of interest
to Jaguar owners waiting for the Jaguar version which will come on cartridge.
"Zero-5 as a 3D polygon-based space shoot-'em-up in the mould of Epic and
Wing Commander, and was programmed by Andrew Gisby. Taking on the role of
a pilot, you must defend the earth from alien attack with dozens of missions
needed to succeed. Your tour of duty includes travelling through deep space
to meet enemy convoys head on and shooting across asteroid and planet surfaces
taking out installations. At first glance, the graphics are might impressive
with smooth frame update and digitised sound to match. On one mission, you're
thrust into a firing frenzy with enemy cargo ships. Shooting away at one
section of the large craft results in a bitmapped explosion- shoot the ship's
reactor to pieces and the whole lot goes up in smoke."
Caspian's first software title to be released was "Rock 'n' Roll Clams" for
the Atari ST family, released in summer 1994. Dillon started Caspian in August
1993, by 'tapping in to the talent', hunting out and sifting through programmers
who could become part of Caspian's software base. Dillon believed that the
ground breaking coders of yesteryear are part of a dying breed that, thanks
to the blandness and conformity of most console games have been ushered back
into their bedrooms and told to put a plug in their creativity. He was adamant
about using these people to create fresh, imaginative and interesting software.
Caspian then became a registered UK developer for Jaguar.
Ironically, Chris Dillon said in June 1994 "If the Atari market is going
to die, let it go out with Zero-5." It seems that that may still be true
in 1997.
Some quotes from ST-Action, June 1994.