JOURNEY TO THE PLANETS FAQ v1.3
-------------------------------
by David J. Stein, Esq.
0. Foreward and Version Info
1. Getting Started
2. Gameplay and Controls
3. Planets
3.1 Home Planet
3.2 Factory
3.3 Combination Lock
3.4 Key Blocks
3.5 Space Invaders
3.6 Crab World
3.7 Prize Machine
3.8 Bowling
4. Endgame
5. Revision History
6. Credits
-------------------------------
0. INTRODUCTION
0.1 FOREWARD
Journey To The Planets is a game written in 1983 for the Atari 800XL by a
company called JV Software/Roklan Systems, and specifically by a gentleman named
Jack Verson. It features a space traveler who visits various alien worlds,
solves puzzles on them, and collects items to carry back to his ship. It's
pretty routine fare, and the gameplay is quite easy and forgiving, but what
really draws the player into the game is the minimalist environment. It has the
same appeal as the original Myst - uninhabited worlds, inexplicable objects -
though, of course, it predates Myst by a decade. To today's gaming crowd, its
blocky graphics and simplistic gameplay may not appeal, but to a nine-year-old
boy during the eight-bit computing age, this game inspired the imagination more
than a hundred Pac-Men and Donkey Kongs.
I wrote this FAQ in December 2004, while blowing off steam after a semester of
rigorous studies on artificial intelligence and database design theory. I
obtained the cartridge ROM and a copy of Atari800Win, which appears to run the
game quite well (though the current version shows an odd artefact on the title
screen.)
0.2 VERSION INFO
The game was released on a standard Atari 800XL. It does not appear to have been
released for any other platform. However, two versions were released: a
cassette/diskette-based version and a cartridge version. The versions differ
slightly in a few aspects, and some fans of this game have gone to great lengths
to document the differences. (Thanks to Anthony Ramos and Scott Stilphen for
this information!)
Version differences:
* Credits screen: On the cassette/diskette version, the opening screen reads
"JV SOFTWARE" in the status bar at lower right. On the cartridge version, this
reads "JV/ROKLAN".
* Normal/Hard Landings: The cassette/diskette version of the game allows the
player to change the difficulty of the game (slightly) by making the landings
"hard" - see below. The cartridge version offers no such change.
* Death animation: On the cassette/diskette version, When the player dies
(spaceship collision, player shot, etc.), the game draws a set of concentric
rectangles over the screen. On the cartridge version, the game draws
horizontal lines down the screen.
* Planet reentry: On the cassette/diskette version, the stratospheric view of
each planet displays a miniaturized version of the structures on the surface.
The cartridge version of the game displays only a flat plain for each planet.
* Endgame: The cassette/diskette version of the game plays "When Johnny Comes
Marching Home" during the endgame sequence, while the cartridge version
continues to play "Anchors Aweigh." Also, the cassette/diskette version of
the game makes entering the atmosphere of the final planet more difficult -
see the endgame section below for more info. Finally, the cassette/diskette
version displays the final "Game Over" victory message on a banner carried
by a small, brown man; the cartridge version simply displays "Game Over" in
the status bar.
-------------------------------
1. GETTING STARTED
Journey To The Planets features only one gameplay mode, but the diskette/
cassette version of the game offers one difficulty setting: at the opening
screen, the landing difficulty can be toggled between "Normal" and "Hard"
(toggle between this by pressing "Select" on the Atari 800XL, or by pressing
F3 in Atari800Win.) The game is started by pressing "Start" on the Atari 800XL
(F4 in Atari800Win.)
-------------------------------
2. GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS
The primary goal of the game is to collect seven treasures: the Diamond, the Bag
of Gold, the Snake Plant, the Magic Accordian, the Ruby Chain, the Eternal
Fountain, and the Candelabra. Each treasure is located on a different planet,
and you'll need to solve several puzzles to obtain each treasure and return it
to your ship. You can tackle the planets in any order you wish. At the start of
the game, you'll see "Planets: 7" in the status bar at the top of the screen.
Each treasure that you recover will reduce the "Planets" count by one, so you
can monitor your progress this way.
Your player is equipped with a limited amount of Energy. You start with 9999
units, and if your reserves ever reach zero, the game immediately ends. If you
encounter anything fatal - spaceship crash, contact with something dangerous on
the planet surface - then you will lose 1,000 energy and be returned to the home
planet surface (but if you don't have 1,000 energy, it's game over.) The good
news is that you'll find an energy source on your home planet surface where you
can refill to 9999 energy, so you should monitor your energy supply and head
home to replenish your reserves whenever they fall below 3000 or so. (The energy
source takes away one point for each 1,000 energy, but you will acquire so many
points throughout the course of the game that this is never a concern.)
The game consists of three main sequences: planet surface, stratosphere, and
space.
Planet Surface: These sequences show a side view of your character, a small
fellow wearing a blue shirt and green pants, and his surroundings. You may walk
left or right by using the arrow keys (800XL joystick.) You can pick up some
objects by simply walking over them - note that you can only carry one at a time
- and you can drop it by pressing the fire button (usually a Control key or
Space on the emulator, and the joystick fire button on the 800XL.) In certain
cases, you may use two objects together, but the mechanism for doing this
changes (either walk up to one object while carrying another, drop one object
onto another, try to pick up one object while also carrying another, etc.) You
may also enter your spaceship by pressing the fire button.
Very early in the game, you will find a gun that you will carry and use during
all of the other planet exploration sequences. The gun can be fired in three
directions: straight ahead, straight up, or at a 45-degree angle. To fire in any
direction, press the fire button; push the joystick/arrow key down (to fire
ahead), left or right (to fire at a 45-degree angle), or up (to fire upward);
and release the fire button. The angle is retained, so if you'd like to fire in
the same direction again, simply tap and release the fire button. Note that your
movement is stopped while the fire button is held down - this is helpful if
you're trying to fire precisely on the run (you can pause until you want to
release the shot, and you'll immediately start running again.) Practicing aiming
will help a lot with the later action sequences.
Stratosphere: These sequences occur when you enter the atmosphere of a planet
and negotiate a landing, or when you're leaving a planet. Controls for the
sequence are quite simple - your directional controls fire the left, upward,
right, and downward thrusters - but getting the hang of this style of piloting
may be difficult. Note that pushing up fires the downward thruster, which makes
your ship move upward. Again, practice will help.
Leaving is easy - usually, you can just thrust upward until you've attained
sufficient momentum to carry your spacecraft out of the atmosphere. You may have
to avoid some obstacles. Landing is more difficult, as you have to touch down on
the landing pad at low speed (see below.) Both tasks are complicated by gravity
and obstacles (you should avoid clouds, solid objects, etc. at all costs while
traveling through the atmosphere.) Also, if you have selected Hard Landings
(only available in the diskette/cassette verion of the game), the planets may
have Light Winds (will randomly blow your spaceship left or right), Heavy Winds
(same thing, only stronger), Obstacles (moving horizontal lines in the lower
atmosphere that you must avoid), Heavy Gravity (will double the rate at which
you fall), or the rather odd Reverse Gravity (will push you away from the planet
surface rather than dragging you toward it.) Additionally, the atmosphere may
have clouds that throw off your direction of travel if you touch them.
Landing can be difficult - you have to descend through the atmosphere and land
on a landing pad (a different-colored spot on the ground) at a very low speed.
As you navigate, you'll see the color of the title bar at the top of the screen
change color: green for slow speed, yellow for medium, and purple or red for
fast. Important Note: A successful landing is only accomplished at slow (green)
speed. If you touch the landing pad while going too fast, you will crash. One
good strategy for this is to navigate (slowly) until you are near the landing
pad, then try to neutralize your speed so that your spaceship is hovering. You
can then let gravity pull you down, slowly, while using an occasional upward
thrust to reduce your falling speed. So you want to tap upward occasionally, but
not so often that you overcome the slow downward pull of gravity.
Space Travel: Between planets, you will of course find yourself in open space.
Controls are the same as before (directional keys/joystick to thrust), but
gravity is not a factor. You have at your disposal a map of known space -
pressing the fire button displays an 8x8 grid of symbols, with each character
representing one screen-full of space:
+ indicates your current position.
* indicates a sector containing a planet.
. (period) indicates an empty sector.
? indicates a sector beyond sensor range, with unknown contents. Your
spaceship sensors will automatically scan and map all sectors within one screen
of your current position - beyond this range, you'll have to travel near each
sector to see what it contains.
Aside from running out of fuel, two dangers exist in space. First, this region
of space appears to be filled with comets. The tails are harmless, but contact
with the head of the comet is fatal, and will earn you a trip home (at the
expense of 1,000 energy.) Second, you should slow down while approaching
planets; entering atmosphere too quickly (while your speed indicator - the title
bar - is red or purple) is fatal. Either yellow or green are fine, so you
needn't be as careful as while landing.
Note that navigation burns up energy *very* quickly, so you should aim to
conserve energy while flying around in space. As a general rule, it's better to
travel slowly through space - faster travel requires more energy both to speed
up and to slow down again, and you're more likely to run into something
unfriendly.
-------------------------------
3. PLANETS
Each planet has a distinctive color, and will appear as such from space.
However, the locations of the planets are randomized every game, so you'll have
to explore to find them. You should remember the location of your home planet on
the star map - if you find yourself terribly low on fuel, this might be the
difference between refueling and losing the game.
-----
3.1 Home Planet
Prize: None
Color: Orange
You start on the home planet, which has a few empty buildings and odd, blank
signposts. Walking right, you'll find your spaceship on a landing pad - when
you're ready to leave, you can walk up to it and press Fire to board it. Before
you do, you should go to the right a few more screens, past some more buildings
(one of which looks like a temple), until you find your gun. You should pick it
up by walking over it, and you should also practice shooting it (see Controls
section above.) Each shot requires 1 energy unit, but this is such a minor draw
on your energy store that you shouldn't worry about it. Also, before leaving,
travel left several screens until you find the large temple. If you enter the
temple, you'll see a beam of energy that fills your energy reserves to 9999.
Once you've refueled, you can blast off into space.
You should return to this planet periodically to refuel, and when you have
secured all seven treasures (see Endgame section.)
-----
3.2 Factory
Prize: Ruby Chain
Color: Aquamarine
On descent, you'll notice that this planet has two distinctive features: a large
building off to the right, and a chasm to the left. When you land, you'll first
notice a flashing gateway to your right - simply walk through it. You'll find
yourself on one side of the chasm, with a flashing gateway on either side
(though you can only reach one of them now, both lead back to your spaceship.)
Walk up the hill to your right and over to the next screen. You'll see a small
pit in the ground, and two objects randomly appearing and disappearing up in the
sky: one black rectangle and one brown ball. If you continue to the right,
you'll see the factory - a building with a moving platform (where you can put an
object) and a mysterious, flashing object that transforms objects into other
objects.)
First, you should shoot down one of the objects in the sky - when you do, it
comes crashing down into the pit. Note that it creates a lightning effect while
falling, and that getting in the way of this lightning is fatal, so stay a few
steps away from the pit! You should first shoot down a black box, and once it's
arrived in the pit, you can pick it up and carry it over to the factory. It will
enter the transformer and be changed into... well, a brown stick-like object.
You should pick up this stick-like object and carry it two screens to the left.
Drop it at the top of the hill on the right (do not carry it down into the
flashing gateway - this causes it to disappear.) Then, go back to the screen
with the pit and shoot down the brown ball (again, stay away from the pit while
you're doing this!) Pick up the ball, and then go back to the hill where you
dropped the brown stick-like object. Now, standing on the stick, press up - this
will cause it to move over to the top of the left hill, carrying you and the
ball with it.
Pick up the ball and then go to the left. You're now on a screen with two
flashing portals - one on either side of the ruby chain. If you're not carrying
the ball, touching the first portal will take you back to the spaceship, and
you'll have to start over again. Instead, you should either carry the ball into
the portal, or drop the ball somewhere above it on the hill (where it will roll
down into the portal.) Either step causes the portal to disappear, so that you
can now reach the Ruby Chain. Pick it up, and then get back to the spaceship
(either via the portal just past the chain or the one near the chasm.) Once you
board the spaceship with the Ruby Chain, you'll be rewarded for obtaining a
Treasure, and your "Planets" count will drop by one. You'll also notice two
other changes about each planet you complete: (a) instead of being two different
colors in space, the planet will appear only one color; and (b) while you can
land your ship on that planet, the game won't let you explore it any more (you
can't get out of the ship.)
Note that you can actually walk into the transformer - it just takes you back to
the ship. You can also put the ball onto the transformer platform, but it just
disappears after entering the transformer.
-----
3.3 Combination Lock
Prize: Bag of Gold
Color: Grey
When you exit your spaceship, head to the right, where you'll see two bricks in
the sky moving back and forth. They are initially blue/purple, but if you shoot
them, they will change colors through brown, grey, and orange, and then go back
to blue/purple. If you head to the left past your ship, you'll see a screen with
a hill, and you might see one of three objects falling out of the sky: a key, a
chest, and a stick. (Or, you might see nothing at all.) If you head further
left, you'll see a flashing river with a bridge over it, and the bridge has a
section missing.
The secret to this set of objects is that the two bricks in the sky act as a
kind of combination lock. Different color combinations make different objects
fall from the sky in the room with the hill. The left brick sets the type of
object: blue/purple = nothing, brown = key, grey = chest, and orange = stick.
The right brick sets the color of the object. However, the colors are
irrelevant, except for the fact that you should use the same color for the chest
and key. In other words, you never have to mess with the right brick.
First, set the left brick to orange. Go back to the screen with the hill and
grab the stick when it falls to the ground. Then, go to the edge of the bridge,
right before the gap, and press the fire button. This will rebuild a portion of
the bridge over the gap. Do this three more times to complete the missing bridge
section. Now, if you walk across, you'll see a flashing rod. It's initially
white, but when you pick it up it cycles through all of the colors. This doesn't
help you for the moment, so don't worry about this just yet.
Go back to the room with the bricks and shoot the left one until it's grey. Go
back to the room with the hill, where you'll see a chest fall out of the sky.
Let it hit the ground, and then go back to the room with the bricks. Shoot the
left one until it's brown, then return to the hill - the chest will still be
there, but a key will fall from the sky (hopefully of the same color - if not,
go back to the room with the bricks and shoot the right one until it's the same
color as the chest, then return to the hill.) The problem is that you can't seem
to pick up the key. You can carry the chest around, and you can drop it on top
of the key, but this does nothing.
Head back to the room with the rod and pick it up. When you're carrying this,
you will be able to catch the key *before* it hits the ground (if you're too
late, you'll have to try again - just leave the screen and enter it again.) If
you then touch the chest while carrying the key, you'll unlock the chest and
find the bag of money. Pick it up (you will probably be carrying the empty
chest, so drop it first) and take it back to your spaceship to complete this
planet.
-----
3.4 Key Blocks
Prize: Eternal Fountain
Color: Purple/Lilac
Upon descending, you'll notice some random bits floating around in the lower
atmosphere - just avoid these. After landing, head right to see a large doorway
(which appears to do nothing) and a pool of some kind on the right. You'll also
see a block appear over the pool - it may look like one small square, or it may
look like a slightly larger block with two dots on it (like a "2" on a standard
die.) You can't reach these blocks, but you can shoot them with a well-placed
diagonal shot. If you do, it will fall into the pool, which will start flashing,
as will the gate. If you shoot the "1" block, the gateway will take you back to
the ship. If you shoot the "2" block, the gateway will take you to a new screen.
This new screen has a new block on the ground (this one has three pips.) You'll
also notice three ominous-looking guns pointing at the block. This is a trap -
if you pick up the block, the guns will fire and you'll probably be shot. You
can avoid this by shooting the block; this won't set off the trap, but it will
move the block a little bit out of the way. Shoot it repeatedly (about fifteen
times) to push it off to the side, then pick it up - the guns will fire but will
come nowhere near you. (Note: Another way to solve this puzzle is just to pick
up the block quickly - just keep walking to the left. The guns will barely miss
you, and you'll be fine. It's a less elegant solution, but it works.)
Once you have the "3" block, walk back to the right, where you'll emerge from
the gateway. If you drop the "3" block, it will slide down into the pool,
causing the gateway to glow again. This time, it will take you to a room with a
"4" block - and a guy who looks like you guarding it and shooting at you. This
sequence is difficult. The shots fired by your opponent are blocked by a
vertical barrier in the middle of the room with occasional gaps. As the barrier
moves downward, most of the continuous shots fired by your opponent will be
blocked by the barrier, but one will occasionally get through the gap. The only
way you can avoid this is by stepping back behind the barrier to the far right,
which will block these shots. Your goal is to get a well-timed shot through one
of the gaps and hit your opponent (without getting shot in return.) It's tricky,
and there's no secret here - you'll have to keep retrying until you succeed.
Once you've succeeded, pick up the "4" block and again head back (to the right)
to emerge from the gateway. Again, drop the block and watch it slide into the
pool to activate the gateway. This time, it will take you to a screen with the
eternal fountain, and some odd cloud-like structures moving overhead. No problem
getting to the fountain - just walk over and pick it up - but once you do, it
will start raining from the top of the screen, and these raindrops are deadly.
Fortunately, the clouds block the raindrops, and you can avoid most of it by
walking underneath the clouds on your trip back.
When you pass the clouds, you'll emerge from the gateway once again, and this
time you'll see the "1" and "2" blocks reappearing above the pool. Drop the
fountain for a moment and shoot the "1" block to reactivate the gateway, then
pick up the fountain and carry it back to the spaceship to end the mission.
-----
3.5 Space Invaders
Prize: Diamond
Color: Green/Olive
This planet involves a lot of action sequences, so plan on visiting here more
than once (or at least, plan on using the "save state" feature of your Atari
800XL emulator of choice.)
Upon exiting your spacecraft, head to the right to see your first encounter with
some, uh, surprisingly familiar aliens... they start at the top of the screen,
moving left and right and gradually moving downward while firing down at you.
You know what to do. You can hit them with diagonal shots as well as upward
shots, and you might find that easier. When you've destroyed all three, the
flashing barrier on the right will disappear, so walk over to the next screen.
This next area is somewhat harder - you have two aliens on the left firing at
you while randomly moving up and down. (You'll also see a cannon below them -
but just ignore this for the moment.) The trick is that you can't shoot them
dead on; you have to get underneath them and fire upward. (Although they can't
fire downward at you, they can decend to your height, and physical contact is
fatal.) There's no special strategy here - just keep trying until you manage to
maneuver right beneath them and then take them out. Again, once you destroy
them, the flashing barrier on the right will vanish, so walk to the right. Be
sure to pick up the cannon and carry it to the next screen.
On the third screen, you'll see another invader - but this one moves randomly
left and right, and fires much faster. It doesn't descend, but its firing and
movement speed make it a tough opponent. In this case, firing upward randomly
(without aiming) is a pretty good strategy. Once you've taken it out, you should
take a moment to notice the candle on the right side of the screen. Doesn't help
you much for now, so pick up the cannon again and walk right to the final
screen.
Here, you'll see a flashing block. Drop the cannon, walk back to the candle,
pick it up, and walk over the cannon. It will fire a cannonball into the
flashing block, which will turn into a diamond. Of course, you should pick this
up and return to the ship to complete youtr mission here.
-----
3.6 Crab World
Prize: Candelabra
Color: Green/Olive
While approaching, you'll notice a large hill. When you land, you should climb
it and head to the left, where you'll see that you are on the top floor of a
two-level structure. Walking left, in sequence, you'll see four screens: the
first has some kind of pump mechanism on the first floor; the second has a lift
connecting the floors and a small balloon; the third has a mean-looking crab on
the first floor; and the fourth has some strange lasers protecting the
candelabra on the first floor, and what appears to be a cage on the second.
First, pick up the cage and head back to the lift. Take the lift down, and head
left to the room with the crab, and drop the cage. (The crab moves randomly left
and right, but never comes past the red hill-like barricade, so as long as you
stay to the right of that, you're safe.) Next, walk to the right, pick up the
balloon, and carry it to the pump. The balloon will inflate, but will still be
in your possession. Go back to the crab room and walk over the cage. The balloon
will carry the cage upward and to the left until it reaches the ceiling, then
will move to the left. The trick is to use an upward-left gunshot to pop the
balloon at the right time so that the cage falls onto the crab and traps it.
This will be tricky - the crab moves randomly and quickly, and the delay between
shooting and popping the balloon makes timing tricky. You might miss, or you
might completely fail to pop the balloon. If you miss either way, just go to the
right to pick up another balloon (you'll see that another one is available in
the same spot), inflate it, and go back to the crab room (the cage is waiting
for you again - very convenient!)
Eventually, you'll succeed in trapping the crab. You can then walk past it and
head over to the room with the lasers. No trick here - the lasers rotate in
sequence, so just step past each one, pick up the candelabra, and work your way
back. Return to the ship to complete the planet.
Shortcut: For some reason, the game engine confuses the balloon with the
candelabra! If you just pick up the uninflated balloon and head back to the
ship, the game will register you as having completed the planet. :shrug:
-----
3.7 Prize Machine
Prize: Magic Accordion
Color: Orange
This planet features a difficult orbital descent, involving a zigzag set of
obstacles. If you have something like Reverse Gravity or Heavy Gravity to deal
with, it's especially hard. Ease your way past these obstacles and land. When
you head to the right, you'll see a ball blocking your path, and you can't get
past it. If you return to the screen with your ship, you'll see something new -
a long stick has appeared. Pick it up, then walk to the right and use the stick
to push the ball out of the way. You can then drop the stick before proceeding.
On the next screen, you'll find yourself on the top level of a two-story
structure. Below, you can see the accordion; there are also two thin patches on
each side of the second story, and a hole in the ground near the accordion on
the first floor. Together, these features comprise a game like a prize machine:
the trick is to maneuver the accordion to get it to drop into the hole. But how
do you manipulate it?
If you head to the right, you'll see a tall set of stairs; in the middle will be
a black brick that appears to be holding a ball in place. If you head to the
right again, you'll see an identical screen with a brick and ball (but you can't
go right a third time.) If you pick up the brick (either one), you'll notice
that the ball falls down and rolls away and off the screen. However, you're
still carrying the brick. The trick is to use this brick as a backstop to
retrieve the ball on the other screen. Go to the other room and drop the brick a
little past the foot of the stairs. When you pull out the second brick, the ball
will hit the first brick and stop. You can then go back to the bottom of the
stairs and pick up the ball.
Once you have the ball, walk back to the screen with the accordion. If you drop
the ball through either one of the thin patches on the second level, it will
drop down to the first floor and knock the accordion to the side. This doesn't
appear to help much - you've only moved the candelabra a few inches, and you
still can't reach it. But if you repeat this process two more times, the
accordion will fall through the hole in the bottom of the floor. (You can use
either patch for the repetition, but use the same one for all three ball drops
so that you consistently knock the accordion in the same direction. Note that
the first floor of this screen wraps around - knocking the accordion off the
screen to the left makes it reappear on the right side, and vice versa.) Once
this is done, return to the screen with your ship - the accordion will drop out
of the sky, and you can retrieve it before boarding your ship to complete the
planet.
-----
3.8 Bowling
Prize: Snake Plant
Color: Blue
While descending, you'll see a snow-capped mountain. After you land and exit the
ship, you can go right to see two aliens - one big and one small - moving up and
down and firing at you. You can try shooting them, but this doesn't help.
If you go to the left past your ship, you'll see two screens with balls floating
in the air. The ball on the second screen will be slightly larger than the one
on the first screen. You can shoot each of these down, and when they hit the
ground, you can pick it up. When you drop it, it will roll away (and another
floating ball will appear.)
If you return to the screen with the two aliens, you'll notice that the ground
is sloped toward them - you're standing on the top of a small hill. If you drop
the ball you're carrying, it will roll toward them. If you miss, the ball will
vanish, and you'll have to go back and get another one. If the big ball hits the
big alien, the big alien will disappear; if the small ball hits the small alien,
the small alien will disappear. You have to drop each ball at just the right
time, at the top of the hill, to contact the correct alien. (Note that the big
alien is in front of the little alien - if the small ball hits the big alien, it
will disappear. So you should start with the big ball and take out the big
alien.)
Once you've taken out both aliens, head right to the next screen to find the
snake plant, protected by a few lasers. Just like the ones protecting the
candelabra, these lasers rotate through three cycles, so just step past them,
pick up the plant, and work your way back. Return to your ship and board it with
the plant to complete this planet. (For some reason, the plant will slide back
down the hill - like the balls did - if you drop it in that screen.)
-------------------------------
4. ENDGAME
Once you've completed all seven planets, head back to your home world (an easy
shortcut is just to crash into something! - though of course you lose 1,000
energy when you reappear.) If you walk all the way to the right, where you first
found your gun, you'll now see a candle. Pick this up and take it to the temple
(your energy recharge spot) - but notice that your spaceship is no longer on the
landing pad. When you get to the temple and fully recharge, your spaceship will
appear above you, and you will be drawn up into it. Suddenly, you will find
yourself in your spaceship in space, but something has changed - your map has
all +'s, and your current position is not shown on the map. If you're playing
the cassette/diskette version of the game, the music changes from the normal
"Anchors Aweigh" to "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." You'll also notice that
there don't appear to be any planets (or comets) - it's just empty space.
Well, not quite empty. First, even though you can't find your current position,
you can get your bearings by finding an edge of the map. You'll notice that when
you move from one sector of space to the next, the stars behind you change
position - unless you're flying off the edge of the 8x8 grid. This just wraps
around, so that you stay in the same sector - and the stars don't change
position. If you can find an edge, or better yet a corner, you can determine
your position.
Second, there is one planet in this 8x8 grid. It's tough to find, but your
scanners will pick it up if you travel through an adjacent sector of space. Now,
what happens when you touch it depends on which version of the game you're
playing. On the cartridge version, when you touch it, you enter its atmosphere
as you'd expect. The cassette version is much trickier. When you touch the
planet, it disappears. It will reappear in an adjacent sector, though your
scanners won't pick it up until you move to a different sector (and, of course,
you must move to a sector adjacent to the new location of the planet.) The
secret here is that the planet moves in the direction opposite how you
approached it. If you touch the planet from the top, it will move up one sector.
If you touch the planet from the left side, it will move one sector to the left.
The trick is to maneuver the planet into a corner sector of the galaxy, and then
to approach it in that sector from that corner. In essence, you want to trap the
planet in a corner, and then approach it in such a way that it can't move. Thus,
you could maneuver it into the top-right sector of the galaxy, enter that
sector, and touch the planet on its top-right edge.
Once you have done this, you will be allowed to enter the atmosphere of the
planet. Once you descend through the upper stratosphere, you will see a set of
four landing pads; three pads are occupied by ships exactly like yours, and the
fourth is empty. When you land on the pad, the game will give you some points.
If you're playing the cassette version of the game, you'll see a small brown
man walk onto the screen with a "Game Over" banner; but if you're playing the
cartridge version of the game, you'll just see the words "Game Over" in the
status bar at the top of the screen.
-------------------------------
5. REVISION HISTORY
Version 1.0 - First release.
Version 1.1 - Added endgame information, courtesy of David Sussman.
Version 1.2 - This is pretty cool - I received email from a gentleman named Jack
Verson, who appears to have authored the game. He provided some info about the
correct engame sequence, and also about the different versions of the game.
Version 1.3 - Fixed some glitches in the new endgame info, and added a section
with info on the different versions - thanks to Anthony Ramos and Scott Stilphen
for the help with this.
-------------------------------
6. CREDITS
This FAQ was written by David J. Stein, Esq. on December 20, 2004 during a break
from classes in the Masters in Computer and Information Sciences program. This
program has been both a boon and a curse: I have learned much about programming
- both tools (technologies, techniques, programming languages) and targets (uses
and applications) - but I'm also too busy to do anything useful with it (except
during semester breaks.) I anticipate picking up the game programming habit
after graduation in May 2005, and I may end up creating a spiritual successor to
this small gem of a game.
Special thanks to:
JV Software and Jack Verson - For creating this cool game.
David Firth and the Atari800 Development Team - For writing a great and
exceptionally compatible emulator.
Darren Hanson - My childhood friend who introduced me to the game on his Atari
800XL.
Anonymous - Whichever kind soul dumped this game from Atari to PC.
Starbucks - the sine qua non of this FAQ.
Anthony Ramos and Scott Stilphen - for the encyclopedia-quality help with info
on the different versions of the game.
Contact Info: Please feel free to contact me at
[email protected] with
information about this game. Be sure to include "Journey to the Planets" in the
subject line - otherwise, your message will probably get eaten by my spam
filters.
-------------------------------
