Was Scarabaeus a true gem (excuse the pun) from 1985? 😇🕹👌 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= More from 1985: tinyurl.com/1985-C64-GAMES My Top Picks: tinyurl.com/CCGS-BEST-GAMES
I would have literally wet my pants if I loaded up this when I got my C64 in 1985. Awesome looking game especially considering how early it was developed.
I loved the futuristic Alien Egyptian styling of this one. The 3D perspective was amazing. Heck, the whole style with the little astronaut and side map, well illustrated icons and details like the hand holding the hieroglyph grid. And the tension and puzzles. I did need a guide to complete it to explain the details of the puzzles, but even with that it was fantastic.
Once again a GREAT pick Cheeky! We got this pirated as Scarabaeus over in Canada and without the instructions we had NO idea wtf was going on, but the game was so amazing looking and sounding (that theme song has been with me for 40 years!) that I'd play it anyway trying to figure it out! It really was an amazing excercise in programming and design in 1985 on the C64 and absolutely worth that big thumb even though i never came close to even reaching the 3rd floor. ;-)
I’ve always been fascinated with this game! Saw a long play of it and didn’t know what to make of it, but I knew I wanted it! Thanks for the video Cheeky!
That is some seriously impressive first person maze scrolling on the ~1mhz C64, especially for 1985! It kind of reminds me of an obscure game for the Starpath/Arcadia Supercharger* for the Atari 2600, "Escape From The Mind Master". Loved loading that one up back in the day, though my favorite one for the Supercharger was "Dragon Stomper" which is considered one of the very first RPGs. * The Arcadia/Starpath Supercharger was a device that plugged into your 2600 that had an additional 6K of RAM (the 2600 came with only 128 _BYTES_ of RAM) and connected to a cassette player. Games were loaded into the Supercharger's memory from cassette tapes. This allowed them to be multi-load and also to be far more complex due to having more memory to work with.
C64+Datasette was SUPER-Supercharger. Easily imagine 1MB game code/ data, loaded at 3800 bits/sec (turbo tape speed, 27K/min). Or lower, like say 2400 bits/sec, but allowing open screen, music playing, and some minigame "play while loading". No limits on stock C64 configuration, just... not exploited to its true potentials.
Extremely impressive for a C64, the game gives the illusion of exploring a fully rendered 3D maze, but because it uses trickery instead it keeps a smooth frame rate in a strategic dungeon crawler that's way ahead of it's time in 1985.
I really liked this game! I don't think my friends cared for it. Anytime one of my friends played, they would crash the elevator and get frustrated. LOL The intro of walking into the pyramid at 0:35 always bothered me when I was a kid. He couldn't wait for his little dog? The dog barely made it in time... and the character didn't seem to care. LOL
Haha yeah I actually thought the same as you when I played it again just recently for the video... 'what did that little dog ever do wrong?!' haha great game this one 😇🕹️👌
Er war ein Punker und er lebte in der großen Stadt Es war in Wien, war Vienna, wo er alles tat Er hatte Schulden, denn er trank, doch ihn liebten alle Frauen Und jede rief: "Yeah, Come on and rock me, Amadeus"!!! 😇🕹️👌
Me and my father used to play this when I was a kid. Every time we only got through level 1 and never finished it, since without instructions, it was difficult to figure out what to do. We were also amazed that the programmers were Hungarians (as we are as well).
My hat goes off to the wonderful people of Hungary, who were highly skilled at C64 programming! I only learnt recently that the original 'Last Ninja' started it's development in Hungary, alas... they were uncredited for their work! 😇🕹️👌
Some games you definitely need to read the manual for... otherwise, it can take longer to figure out whats going on! Haha... I used to read game manuals whilst the game was loading and then once the game had loaded I'd 'speed read' the last parts... competely forgetting what I'd just read in the first place!! Haha 😇🕹️👌
Huh! The rotation in this game, is quite impressive! I've been developing a dungeon crawler with a hand-drawn artstyle, for the last couple of years, and I reverse-engineered the technique used in Shin Megami Tensei on the SNES, for a similar smooth rotation effect.
Game used clever trick to draw those pillars. This is the reason they were all equidistant, and same rectangular shape . Nevertheless, quite an achievement on a modest 8-bit computer.
Superb! It's time to fire up those classics once again and relive those nostalgic memories. Loads of videos on the channel for any games you want to learn about etc or maybe to remind you of the ones that may have slipped your memory from all those years ago 😇🕹👌
No polygons, my fair guess: those are custom, multi color character sets, maybe 2 or 3 of them switched on screen with raster interrupts ; like 1 set supporting the necessary animations for the top part and another set holding the chars for the floor animations. They only use 3 background colors for the 3D part so they can do without having to change the static color RAM and thus prepare the next frame fully off screen while the current frame is drawn. One background color is switched +- mid screen to have a different color for ceiling and floor. Resolution is also halved so there is less variation in the required chars. That gives you the tools to do fast drawing, but then you still need an engine to calculate which char needs to go where on screen, so this is really impressive for '85. I guesstimate this game does a full redraw every 4-5 frames so 10-12 fps
Was Scarabaeus a true gem (excuse the pun) from 1985? 😇🕹👌
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
More from 1985: tinyurl.com/1985-C64-GAMES
My Top Picks: tinyurl.com/CCGS-BEST-GAMES
What a technical marvel for 1985!!! Unfortunately I had never heard of this back in the day.
Absolutely, was way ahead of it's time. Never to late to get it fired up and give it a whirl 😇🕹️👌
I would have literally wet my pants if I loaded up this when I got my C64 in 1985. Awesome looking game especially considering how early it was developed.
Definitely used to scare me half to death when I was a kid 😇🕹️👌
I loved the futuristic Alien Egyptian styling of this one.
The 3D perspective was amazing.
Heck, the whole style with the little astronaut and side map, well illustrated icons and details like the hand holding the hieroglyph grid.
And the tension and puzzles.
I did need a guide to complete it to explain the details of the puzzles, but even with that it was fantastic.
Ps, I almost forgot your little space cat/ dog encouraging you in the elevator.
Haha yeah, cute little additions like that polish the game even further 😇🕹️👌
Superb game, graphically it blew my mind too back when I first played it! Also, it made me pretty scared to play haha 😇🕹️👌
This one used to scare me as a kid along with Electric Dreams Aliens. I didn't know half the content existed as I never made it out of Level 1.
Yeah another great title, also on the channel! ruclips.net/video/sCn0FCZBbAU/видео.htmlsi=emGuAtYFyYkwaBsu 😇🕹👌
The original DOOM on the Commodore 64 😹😺👍🕹️.
Yeah, thats one way of putting it! 😇🕹️👌
Once again a GREAT pick Cheeky! We got this pirated as Scarabaeus over in Canada and without the instructions we had NO idea wtf was going on, but the game was so amazing looking and sounding (that theme song has been with me for 40 years!) that I'd play it anyway trying to figure it out! It really was an amazing excercise in programming and design in 1985 on the C64 and absolutely worth that big thumb even though i never came close to even reaching the 3rd floor. ;-)
Glad you enjoyed this one - brings back a million memories from my youth, playing this again 😇🕹️👌
I remember sitting in the dark late and playing this game alot, but I didnt really have a clue what to do!
Superbly atmospheric game isn't it 😇🕹️👌
I’ve always been fascinated with this game! Saw a long play of it and didn’t know what to make of it, but I knew I wanted it! Thanks for the video Cheeky!
Superb game and still one that holds up if you played it now. A little 'clunky', sure... but still superbly atmospheric 😇🕹️👌
That is some seriously impressive first person maze scrolling on the ~1mhz C64, especially for 1985! It kind of reminds me of an obscure game for the Starpath/Arcadia Supercharger* for the Atari 2600, "Escape From The Mind Master". Loved loading that one up back in the day, though my favorite one for the Supercharger was "Dragon Stomper" which is considered one of the very first RPGs.
* The Arcadia/Starpath Supercharger was a device that plugged into your 2600 that had an additional 6K of RAM (the 2600 came with only 128 _BYTES_ of RAM) and connected to a cassette player. Games were loaded into the Supercharger's memory from cassette tapes. This allowed them to be multi-load and also to be far more complex due to having more memory to work with.
Incredibly impressive indeed... one of the greats for the Commodore 64! Still a great game to fire up even now 😇🕹️👌
C64+Datasette was SUPER-Supercharger. Easily imagine 1MB game code/ data, loaded at 3800 bits/sec (turbo tape speed, 27K/min). Or lower, like say 2400 bits/sec, but allowing open screen, music playing, and some minigame "play while loading". No limits on stock C64 configuration, just... not exploited to its true potentials.
Absolutely oozed quality. Beautiful graphics.
I completely agree, superb for it's day 😇🕹️👌
wits, courage and reflexes? Well, I guess 1 out of 3 ain't bad...
Haha - great game this 😇🕹️👌
The 3D was absolutely mind-blowing at the time. Sadly, I never figured out how to actually _play_ it.
Definitely still worth sourcing the game manual online and giving this another whirl - great game 😇🕹️👌
Extremely impressive for a C64, the game gives the illusion of exploring a fully rendered 3D maze, but because it uses trickery instead it keeps a smooth frame rate in a strategic dungeon crawler that's way ahead of it's time in 1985.
Those wizard-like developers could make the C64 do magical things, even back in 1985 😇🕹️👌
This is very impressive for a game on tape. I especially like the "elevator" screen between levels
Yeah the elevator didn't even need to have been included but the developers were really meticulous when it came to details. Great game 😇🕹️👌
Looks way ahead of its time I would have guessed a much later year. Don’t think I’ll need to play it, this video captured all I need to see 😁
You might get surprisingly addicted once you've played it once 😇🕹️👌
This game looks rather compelling... I should download a copy at some point!
Very good game, especially when it first appeared... I'd never seen anything like it before 😇🕹️👌
I really liked this game! I don't think my friends cared for it. Anytime one of my friends played, they would crash the elevator and get frustrated. LOL
The intro of walking into the pyramid at 0:35 always bothered me when I was a kid. He couldn't wait for his little dog? The dog barely made it in time... and the character didn't seem to care. LOL
Haha yeah I actually thought the same as you when I played it again just recently for the video... 'what did that little dog ever do wrong?!' haha great game this one 😇🕹️👌
You've missed the best and most memorable feature of this game. Turn the mundane in-game music off and the sound effects on. Bloody terrifying!!
I definitely think that anyone who fires this game up will appreciate those superb sound effects 😇🕹️👌
scarabaeus,scarabaeus, scarabaeus,scarabaeus, scarabaeus,scarabaeus, rock me scarabaeus!
Er war ein Punker und er lebte in der großen Stadt
Es war in Wien, war Vienna, wo er alles tat
Er hatte Schulden, denn er trank, doch ihn liebten alle Frauen
Und jede rief: "Yeah, Come on and rock me, Amadeus"!!! 😇🕹️👌
I used to play that game a lot when I was a teen.
Same here - a game I'd play quite a bit in my youth. Good times 😇🕹️👌
Me and my father used to play this when I was a kid. Every time we only got through level 1 and never finished it, since without instructions, it was difficult to figure out what to do. We were also amazed that the programmers were Hungarians (as we are as well).
My hat goes off to the wonderful people of Hungary, who were highly skilled at C64 programming! I only learnt recently that the original 'Last Ninja' started it's development in Hungary, alas... they were uncredited for their work! 😇🕹️👌
When I got that game I wasn't big on reading game manuals so I had no idea what was going on with it, but it did always creep me out.
Some games you definitely need to read the manual for... otherwise, it can take longer to figure out whats going on! Haha... I used to read game manuals whilst the game was loading and then once the game had loaded I'd 'speed read' the last parts... competely forgetting what I'd just read in the first place!! Haha 😇🕹️👌
Technically impressive game
Absolutely, way ahead of it's time 😇🕹️👌
Huh! The rotation in this game, is quite impressive!
I've been developing a dungeon crawler with a hand-drawn artstyle, for the last couple of years, and I reverse-engineered the technique used in Shin Megami Tensei on the SNES, for a similar smooth rotation effect.
I love dungeon crawler games - be sure to come back and link it when you're ready for playtesters! 😇🕹️👌
And not to forget the music is awesome :)
I did mention this near end of video but yeah... the music is superb 😇🕹️👌
Crazy they did a 3D maze full screen in 1985.
Amazing for it's day this isn't it... such a smooth scrolling game 😇🕹️👌
Game used clever trick to draw those pillars. This is the reason they were all equidistant, and same rectangular shape . Nevertheless, quite an achievement on a modest 8-bit computer.
Some superb programming, I wouldnt even know where to begin 😇🕹️👌
Just got a C64 Maxi for my 50th. Now to find an old USB stick hidden in a drawer somewhere to get some games on it.
Superb! It's time to fire up those classics once again and relive those nostalgic memories. Loads of videos on the channel for any games you want to learn about etc or maybe to remind you of the ones that may have slipped your memory from all those years ago 😇🕹👌
I always loved the game intro and the atmosphere was top notch. But the gameplay didn't grip me even though the presentation was good.
Some games are like that for me too... but I can definitely appreciate this games 'cult' status for being revolutionary at the time 😇🕹️👌
impressive, not seen this
Really is an impressive title indeed.. Worth a play, that's for sure 😇🕹👌
What sorcery is this! They can't be polygons surly?
Haha no, just some very nice trickery used from the developers at Andromeda Software 😇🕹️👌
No polygons, my fair guess: those are custom, multi color character sets, maybe 2 or 3 of them switched on screen with raster interrupts ; like 1 set supporting the necessary animations for the top part and another set holding the chars for the floor animations. They only use 3 background colors for the 3D part so they can do without having to change the static color RAM and thus prepare the next frame fully off screen while the current frame is drawn. One background color is switched +- mid screen to have a different color for ceiling and floor. Resolution is also halved so there is less variation in the required chars. That gives you the tools to do fast drawing, but then you still need an engine to calculate which char needs to go where on screen, so this is really impressive for '85. I guesstimate this game does a full redraw every 4-5 frames so 10-12 fps
Never understood why someone didn't pinch the game engine for this
Yeah, would have been nice to see this in other games. The layout somehow always reminds me of the game 'Xybots'! 😇🕹️👌
@CheekyCommodoreGamer and the C64 version of Xybots was completely ass