Rescue on Fractalus! for Atari 8-bit computers | Review

July 07, 2010 • Updated: Mar 21, 2025 - 12:37 AM

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It's the Jaggi War of '84. Fractalus is the most inhospitable planet in the Kalamar system, where space pilots called Ethercorps are bearing the brunt of the battle against the J'hagga Ri Kachatki - better known as the Jaggis - creatures from the Tepdi Vad Neroleil Rahcre star system in the darkest quadrant of our galaxy.

Originally created in1984byLucasfilm Games(later renamed LucasArts Entertainment) for the Atari 8-bit family and the Atari 5200 console,Rescue on Fractalus!puts us in charge of anavewhose mission is to rescuemissing pilotsin Fractalus, a world with an intricate and varying topography, all from a mind-blowing perspectivefirst personin 3D.

You start each rescue mission starting from amother ship, and once your quota of pilots has been filled, you must return to be promoted to the next level. To help you in the task of locating the unfortunate strays and navigating the tricky terrain, your machine is equipped with severaluseful instruments, such as a compass, radar and altimeter.

The task, however, is not as easy as it seems. Your enemies have numerous forces on this planet ready to stop you.Armed emplacements, flying saucers and the Jaggi themselvesThey are capable of destroying your ship if you don't destroy them first.

To confront them, youValkyrie Fighter-what is the name of the ship you pilot- is equipped withDirac refractive shieldsas a defense; and withAnti-Matter Bubble Torpedoes(AMB).

As if that were not enough, the atmosphere of Fractalus is made ofthick cyanitric acid, which melts allied ships and spares the lost pilots' suits even less. It also has a hyper-rotation rate that causes days to last just nine minutes near its equator.

As they say in the original game manual: "That's all. There's no time to waste.Forget the past - just go find us a future

RESCUE ON FRACTALUS!

Posted by:Lucasfilm Games, 1987.
Gender:Space shoot'em up, 3-D.
Extra:1 player, joystick and keyboard.

GAME SCREEN

Being a futuristic game, RoF!'s screen is one of the most complex.flight simulations. However, we have highlightedseven (7) elementsthose we consider must always be kept in mind.

1.Altimeter: The maroon bar represents the altitude of the ground. The light blue bar shows the altitude of your ship. Your altitude is determined by the dark blue bar in the background, so when you land, you'll see this bar fill up.
2.Target Scope: Aims at enemy emplacements, flying saucers and crashed allied ships. When there is more than one target, the crosshair points to the nearest one.
3.Power level indicator: changes color as the level varies; flashes when the critical level is reached.
4.Quota of pilots to be rescued/rescued: Shows the number of pilots that must be rescued and brought to the mothership in the current level. Each time you rescue a pilot, the number decreases. The indicator blinks when the quota is reached and counts the number of "extra" rescued pilots.
5.Distance to the pilot: shows the distance in relation to the pilot indicated on the scanner, with the value one (1) being the closest. When zero (0) is displayed, no pilot is detected.
6.Long range radar: Detects crashed allied ships. The scanner's "V" profile shows the field of view in front of your ship. Your position is at the bottom of the "V".
7.Crosshair: Appears on the main screen to target any visible enemies.

The rest of the visible elements are:

1. Score obtained so far
2. Navigation compass
3. Main game window
4. Wing spacing bars
5. Thrust level
6. Dangerous altitude indicator
7. Artificial horizon
8. Enemy attack indicator
9. Number of enemies destroyed
10. Open gate indicator
11. Mothership indicator nearby
12. Shields on indicator

GAME OPTIONS

The game's intro shows us the shipsetting offto Fractalus. Then, a second title screen appears, where we canchange the difficulty levelof the game. Usually the game starts in thelevel 4. Move the joystick up/down orPress F3(Option) to change the level. You can go up to thelevel 16. If you continue moving the joystick or pressing Option, you will return to level 1.

Pressing the shutter button or theF4 key(Start) starts the game.

If you wish, you can press theF2 key(Select) to activate the " modeDemo droid": you will see a "video" ofdemonstrationfrom an unmanned flight. By the way, Droidscraft are not programmed to rescue pilots and are only useful for destroying some Jaggis defenses.

SHIP COMMANDS

The ship is handled using thejoystick(right/left to turn it; up/down to rise or descend; and the fire button to launch your torpedoes) and also thekeyboard

L- Landing
S– Turns the ship's systems on and off
AND– Turns the ship's engines on and off (Only in "Behind Jäggi Lines!" which we will see later)
(asterisk) - Increases engine power
(less) Reduces engine power
TO– Opens and closes the ship's doors
B– Call the mothership

LEVELS OF PLAY

As we mentioned, at the beginning of the game you can choose missions from 1 to 16. Oncecompletea mission,you will continueat the next higher level. However, you canSkip up to three (3) levelsat a time. For example, if you finish level 10, you can continue to 11; but if you want, I can advance directly to 13.

Levels 1 to 3 aretraining: You will fly into a sector of Fractalus that has already been "cleared" of (almost all) enemies by the Droidscraft.From level 2You will face enemy emplacements on the tops of some mountains. Levels 4 and above have more enemies and you will encounter kamikaze flying saucers, which will launch themselves at you.

Levels 1-15 will take place at the South Pole of Fractalus, where it is summer and the sun never sets.From the 16th, they will send you closer and closer to theEcuadorof the planet, where the days last just nine (9) minutes and then thevisibilityIt's almostnullfor the same period of time. Your only option will be to be guided by theonboard systemsand avoid crashing.

THE CONTROL PANEL

At the bottom of the screen we have theship's console. On the left, we see two columns of lights: the first one shows the current speed - the more lights, the faster we are going. You can increase or decrease the speed using the * (asterisk) or - (minus) keys respectively. The second column shows the dangerous proximity to the ground - including the edges of mountains. In this case, the fewer lights, the better.

The most important thing aboutcenter panelMaybe it's thesmall radarmarked with the letters LR. Its function is to detect the warning transmitters on crashed allied ships and allows you to identify their location in relation to your ship. Each blinking dot on the scanner equals a ship in trouble.

On the right side of the console there are three lights, as well asthree rows of indicatorsdigital, the latter marked with the letters R, E, P. The first light from the left tells you if the shields are active. The second light alerts you to the presence of the mothership. The third light comes on when the hatches are open.

Below, we see the indicator with the letter R. It indicates thedistancefrom our shipeven a survivor, and can be a number between 1 (near) and 9 (far). The second indicator, with the letter E, tells us thenumber of enemies destroyed-including anti-aircraft emplacements and flying saucers. Finally, the third dial details the number ofpilotsto berescued. Every time you save a pilot, the number decreases by one. Likewise, the number flashes when more lives are saved than originally planned.

During the flight, you can focus on the radar and the distance indicator. Head to the place highlighted by the radar and try tovisually locatethe friendly ship. Slowly lower your flight altitude and reduce speed until the distance indicator shows the number 2 or less. Initiate landing (you will see the message "Now landing"). The process will not work if you are flying too high (Too high). Also, if you land at a distance greater than two, you will not be able to rescue your pilot (Pilot too far). You will have to fly a little closer, until the ship tells you that the pilot is in range (Pilot in range

GAMEPLAY DYNAMICS

Once you've selected the level, you'll set off from the mothership heading to Fractalus. You'll know you're in the action when the message "MANUAL" at the top of the screen.

The game usesfractal technology(you'll find out later how to eat that, don't worry) to create a mountainous alien planet, where visibility is drastically reduced by the dense atmosphere. Due to the varied terrain, theradarmust be used continuously to locate thepilots, whoseauxiliary lightsThey are often hidden by the edges of themountains

Along with trying to find allied ships, you have tocopewith theenemies. Theanti-aircraft emplacementsof the Jaggis appear asgreen domesin the mountains. Keep an eye on the crosshair in the main window, which appears when the enemy is close.

YourshieldsDiracwill reflectmost of the energy of an enemy shot, but your level ofenergy will falland your ship will momentarily go off course.

Although there are times when it is best to evade enemy fire, remember that ifyou fly too highMost likely one of the many will come to meet youalien saucers, with the unhealthy intention ofdashagainst you. Those impacts still consumemore energythan the Jaggi shots.

By the way, if you have the brilliant idea of pretending to spend your time destroying enemies, we remind you thateach flightconsumeenergyfrom your ship. To recharge, you will need torescueto the pilots and use the energy cells they carry with them...

Theoptimal distanceto rescue a pilot does not exceed thetwo (2) R. Once on land, it is recommendedSpin the Valkyrieuntil having the allied shipin sight. Now, we have todisable the systemsof the ship, which turns off the defense shields.

You have to be careful not to activate them, because their energy literallywould incinerate the pilot. The rescued pilot will proceed to disembark from his ship, run to our Valkyrie and touch theboarding gate

The player can then open the floodgates, otherwise we will hear the pilot begin to play desperately until he simply faints in the corrosive air of Fractalus.

Once our survivor gets on the ship, the doors will close automatically. Go back toturn on the systemsand takes flight in search of more pilots. By the way, sometimes you will see the message "It´s the Ace" which tells you that you have rescued a "ace pilot". It gives you more energy and you will also receive abest scoreYou can also recognize them by thepurple helmetsthat they wear.

As a general rule, it is recommendedclear the landof enemiesbefore landingto rescue a pilot. There is nothing worse than being shot at on the ground with the defense shields disabled. Also, remember that theFractalus atmosphereIt is acidic enough todissolve slowlythe ships of the lost pilots. Thus, the time that a pilot can survive outside his ship does not exceed one minute.

To give it someadrenalinto this premise,George Lucassuggested adding a touch ofsuspenseto the game: sometimes thepilotsto rescueThey will not bewhat they seem. And sometimes, the pilot located will not immediately knock on the door, but instead we will be surprised to find that it is afurious Jaggithat will try toto burst with blowsthe windshield of our ship. The only way out isreactivate the systemsand fry the damn thing.

Likewise, the game will end in adisasterIf you accidentallywe openthe floodgates to aJaggi. In the first levels, we will be able to distinguish the aliens by thegreen toneof the helmet in contrast to the white of the human pilots. However, in themore advanced levels, the Martians will learn tohide your identityIt is unknown whether aliens can imitate "ace pilots."

Themother shipwill return to your sector to check on your progress. If you are in trouble - such as low power - the ship will try to return quickly to assist you. When it is close, the corresponding light on the panel will illuminate and at the top you will see the message "Mother ship

Activate your boostersand the ship will leave Fractalus and return to base.

What if thepilotIt appears on the radar as close butyou can't see itYou have landed on a mountain and the pilot is below. Lift up, fly over him, land and turn 180º. If the ship is in range, you will be able to see him through the window.

And what if there is aenemy emplacementin sight but no matter how much you shoot at ityou can't destroy it? The reason: your antimatter torpedoes are crashing into the edge of the mountain. The solution: fly over the site, turn 180º and finish it off.

MESSAGES ON SCREEN

STAND BY- The autopilot commands the ship during entry into Fractalus.
MANUAL- The autopilot is disabled and the ship is under the control of the player.
NOW LANDING... -The landing maneuver begins.
TOO HIGH –You are flying too high to initiate the landing maneuver.

SHIP OFF SCOPE– There are no allied ships in sight.
SYSTEM ON- Systems (including shields) are on.
SYSTEM OFF- Systems (including shields) are shut down.
ENGINE OFF- Engines shut down (in Behind Jaggi Lines).
BOOSTERS FIRE- Thrusters ignite to accelerate.
PILOT IN RANGE- The pilot to be rescued is within range of our ship.
PILOT TOO FAR- The pilot to be rescued is out of range of our ship.
IT'S THE ACE- You have saved an "ace" pilot.

AIRLOCK OPENED– The ship’s floodgates are open.
AIRLOCK CLOSED– The ship’s doors are closed.
ALIEN IN SHIP- An alien has entered the ship.

PILOT KILLED!– The pilot lost his life.
ALIEN KILLED- You killed one of the aliens.
MOTHER SHIP!– The mothership is nearby and you can return to base.
NO MOTHER SHIP- The mothership is not close enough to return to base.

SCORE

1 pointfor eachsecond flightin Fractalus.
100 pointsbyenemy basedestroyed.
250 pointsbyflying saucerdejected.
200 pointsfor eachpilot saved
1000 pointsbyextra pilot
2000 pointsfor each"ace" pilotrescued.
500 pointsby thereturn to base
200 pointsfor eachlevel completedsuccessfully.

Yeahyou come backto themother shipbeforerescue the quotafull of pilots, you mustcontinuein itsame level, but you will not receive extra points for completing it. If you continue at a lower level, you will lose your previous score.

INTERESTING FACTS

- The maximum number of pilots to rescue in a single mission is 20.
- Your ship's window can withstand enemy hits for about 5 seconds before breaking.

- A rescued pilot will knock on the door six to 10 times before dying. This is about 50 seconds from the time he leaves his ship (at a distance of 01).
- Once the alert goes out "Mother ship"You can return to base at any time.
- After landing and shutting down the systems, you can clear directly by pressing * (asterisk).
- "Ace pilots" appear from level 9; the same goes for impostor aliens.
- If the enemy takes the ship, there is no game over. You just drive the ship and it never ends. Your only option is to reset the game.
- If the alien takes over the ship, you can try to return to base. Obviously, you must have received the alert beforehand.Mother ship"This trick, however, is not 100% effective.
- Enemy fire can destroy you even when you return to the mothership.

- Wait for the hatch to close completely before taking off or you'll fry the rescued pilot.
- You will also kill your pilot if you activate the boosters before picking him up.
- Enemy saucers usually attack from high altitudes. However, in advanced levels, they descend into the canyons and you just have to evade them by landing.

- If you land and there is enemy fire, take off again and destroy the alien bases. Remember that to rescue the pilot you will have to shut down your systems and, therefore, your Dirac shields. In this way, each enemy shot will take a huge amount of energy from you.

- When the pilot runs to board the ship, keep your fingers ready on the keysSandTOIf it's an enemy, press S; if it's an allied pilot, press A. Be careful not to get confused, as both keys are next to each other...
- In night missions, you can try to locate a clear spot and land until the light returns. In the meantime, use your instruments, especially your ground clearance and wingspan indicators.
- Learn to recognize the sounds of the game, such as the alarms of crashed ships, your energy gauge, the call of the mothership, the crash on the mountain edges and the sound the Martian makes when he jumps to attack your ship (if you can't stand the tension of looking at the screen at that moment).
- After losing, you cannot start a new game until the last note of the game over song has finished playing.

GAME CREATION

Let's look at some etymology. According toWikipedia, afractalis "a fragmented geometric shape that can be broken into several parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced copy of the whole." While the roots of the term date back to the late 19th century, the word was formally coined by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975, using as its base the Latin "fractus" meaning "broken or fractured."

Rescue on Fractalus!It is one of those endearing games for itstechnical achievements(a three-dimensional environment and fractal landscapes generated on a 1.79 Mhz Atari); for being perhaps thefirst gamethatterrified people(with the suspense and subsequent surprise of an alien jumping into the cockpit); and why the game's release was not only postponed for several years, butdifferent pirated versionsof the game were released at least a year before it was available in stores.

The history of RoF! dates back to1982, when the talented programmerDavid FoxHe enlisted in theLucasfilm Games Group, an area of Lucasfilm's Computer Division (and which, with the exception of the Games department, was later sold to Steve Jobs and renamedPixar). It was there that Fox metLoren Carpenter, then known as the person responsible for the fractal mountains exhibited in the "Genesis Effect" ofStar Trek 2, and in 2001 he took aOscarby the softwareRenderMan, used to produce animations.

At Fox's suggestion, Carpenter experienced thecreation of fractalsin oneAtari 800. Weeks later, he showed him a simulated flight over a mountain-ridden planet. As a great admirer ofStar Wars, Fox came up with the concept of a ship that went to the frozenplanet Hoth-of theEpisode V- forrescueto therebelsshot down by Imperial fighters. Ironically, given that therightsto use Star Wars characters in home and arcade video games had been granted toParker Brothers and Atariin a juicy deal for Lucasfilm, it was not financially positive to use its patents in games made by the Games Group itself. So Fox had no choice but touse original conceptsHowever, as he himself acknowledges, theentry sequencea Fractalous was a tribute to the first scene in theEpisode IV, when the camera pansTatooine

Pictured here are Rescue on Fractalus! parents from left: David Levine (seated), Charlie Kellner, Peter Langston, David Fox, Loren Carpenter, Gary Winnick.

At the beginning, the game was conceived as aentirely rescue mission(hence one of its first tentative titles was "Rebel Rescue"), without the player having to do any shooting (inspired by a remnant of non-violent hippie ideals). This was supposed toforce enemy saucersto crash into the mountains through risky and sudden maneuvers. However, the first timeGeorge Lucastried the game, in mid-1983, he wondered how to shoot at enemy ships. So,at your request, was addedtorpedoesto the Valkyrie, in addition to theenemy basesin the mountains. As we already mentioned, theJaggi monsterjumping against the ship was also a stroke of genius from Lucas.

During the "beta" stage, in theWinter 1983, the creators of the game sent somedisketteswithRescue on Fractalus!andBallblazerto Atari, so that itsmarketing departmentcould know them. Despite not having protected them against copying, the creators were confident that they would be 100% safe. Nearlya week later, they learned thatboth gameshad been distributed inall pirate forumsfrom the United States.AtariHEdeniedto assume anyresponsibilitybecause of the leak and there was no way to prove who was responsible. The games had tentative titles like "Rescue Mission" and "BallBlaster", as well as "Rebel Rescue", "Star Mission" and "Behind Jaggi Lines".

The programmers tried to spread the idea thatThose were just a previewof the final games and that, therefore, there would be many changes and improvements in the final versions; however, there is no doubt that the distribution of those pirated versions caused a great impact on sales. The only thingpositiveIt was that these versions -although included- werewell receivedby specialized critics.

Although both Rescue on Fractalus! and Ballblazerwere readyfor sale at the Consumer Electronics Showin early 1984, Atari executives decided to postpone the launch for half a year, to bring them closer to theChristmasThey even gave priority to the launch of the game incartridgesfor theAtari 5200, first, and the new 7800, later.

Before arrivingat the end of 1984Warner CommunicationsHe sold the company toJack Tramiel, henceLucasfilmshad torenegotiate everythingfrom the beginning, without success. Instead,Epyxbecame thedistributorof the 8-bit computer version; however, they required that the games beon diskettesand not on cartridges as was the initial deal with Atari. Negotiations for the new contract and conversion to protected disks, plus the takeoff sequence from the mothership as the game loader, added another nine months to thefinal release, which took place recentlyin mid-1985

BEHIND JAGGI LINES

Thepirated versionfrom the game titled "Behind Jaggi Lines"lacksof variousdetailsof Rescue on Fractalus!. For example, it does not have theLucasfilm title screenGames; thetakeoff sequencefrom the mother ship; thespecial typography; nor the possibility of rescuing "ace pilots

At the beginning, the screen is displayed.level selectioninstead of the takeoff gates, and you have the option to start inany level(from 1 to 99!); while RoF! only allows you to start at level 16 at most. However, once you get into the game,You can't skip levelsAfter completing a mission; RoF! allows you to skip up to three levels.

Behind Jaggi Lines refers to the systems assimple engines; thedemo droidsarenumberedstarting from 1 and each time you activate the demo, the number increases; instead, RoF! gives them random names.

The name "Jaggi" comes from thefailed attemptsof the Computer Division for applying the (then new)anti-smoothing technology; this softened thetrimmed edgesin thecomputer graphicsthrough the use ofextra colorsin the pixels. That's why these "cut lines" (jaggie lines) were the "enemies": and that isThere was no wayto eradicate them by thelow resolutionand lack of sufficient colors on the Atari 800. Hence the programmers named the game's enemies Jaggis and proposed the name "Behind Jaggi Lines" (Behind the cut lines) -a clear example are thewindow frame linesin the cockpit. However, Atari's marketing department was not amused by the joke and changed the name to Rescue on Fractalus!

EVALUATION

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Rescue on Fractalus!

ATARI XL/XE

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Sound 100%

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Gameplay 100%

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EASTER EGGS

- Thesymbolsin italien costumeare theinitialsfrom those responsible for the game, written on the side: “LC DF CK PL” by Loren Carpenter, David Fox, Charlie Kellner and Peter Langston, respectively.

- Additionally, you can read this other post where we explained howsee the additional credits of the game.

Finally, it should be added that thetechniquedeveloped by Carpenter served toother gameswhich, although they did not have the same commercial success asRoF!, they also entertained us for long hours. We refer toThe EidolonandKoronis Rift(both ofEpyx, 1985), which will be the subject of subsequent articles.