Scorched Earth (computer game)
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| Scorched Earth {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Wendell Hicken {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Platform-game |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS, Atari 2600 {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Scorched Earth was a popular shareware computer game from the PC-DOS era, originally written by Wendell Hicken, in which tanks do turn-based battle in two-dimensional terrain, with each player adjusting the angle and power of his or her tank turret before each shot. Despite the simple premise (and very simple graphics, by modern standards) the game is still playable, and some find it quite addictive.
Scorched Earth is one of many games in the loose genre of "turn-based artillery games," Such games are among the earliest computer games, with versions existing for mainframes with only teletype output. A single-player variation was released for the Atari 2600 under the title of Human Cannonball. Scorched Earth, with a plethora of weapon types and power-ups, is considered the modern archetype of its format, on which the popular Worms and GunBound games are based.
The game was released in 1991, with the last version (1.50) in 1995. Its size is about 1.2mb.
The game has a wide variety of customization options from gravity and wind to money and meteorite showers, and a similarly large pool of different payloads, allowing for a large amount of entirely different situations.
In addition to the possible in-game changes, the text messages the AI players can display before firing (e.g. "I shall smash your ugly tank!") and before dying (e.g. "Join the army, see the world they said") are read in two plain text files, TALK1.CFG and TALK2.CFG, respectively, free for creative users to change or translate.
The weapons range from small missile rounds to MIRV warheads, and several are often seen in similar on-line games as almost identical versions. All weapons can be upgraded with tracers which allow the player to more accurately adjust the trajectory on their next turn. In addition to conventional warheads, there also are such things as napalm, wildly bouncing bombs and earth weapons, allowing the player to dump dirt on other tanks or to remove ground from beneath them. A tank which is covered with dirt has to shoot itself free and may get damaged in the process; one which falls from too high a level may get destroyed. A variety of utilities, such as shields and tank parachutes, add a tactical side.
The effects of many weapons are highly unpredictable, given that the missiles bounce off the walls, can be manipulated in their flight-path by wind, shields and guidance systems, and often have partially random effects. As the player advances in the game, he can afford more and more weapons, but so can his opponents.
The game can be played against up to nine other human players and/or computer-controlled ones. A broad range of differently skilled player types is offered by the program. If the player-controlled tanks are destroyed before the others, the AI-controlled players continue to battle each other, effectively turning Scorched Earth into a zero-player game.
note: There is also a similar game from the same era on the Commodore Amiga computer system called Scorched Tanks.
See also
External links
There have been many games created as remakes, clones, or games inspired by Scorched Earth, many of which are as follows:
3D games:
- Scorched Earth 3d - 3D Scorched Earth game with authentic cloned gameplay
- Scorch an Island - 3D Scorched Earth remake with 2D gameplay
- Shelled! - 3D Scorched Earth inspired game with fresh gameplay
- Scorched Present - 3D Scorched Earth inspired game with some additions and weapons
2D games:
- Charred Dirt
- Pocket Tanks - popular 2D remake with all new weapons
- Scorched Earth 2000 - 2D remake with emphasis on online play
- Tanks - a Scorched Earth-inspired flash game
- Dome Wars - a popular clone for the Macintosh with a weapon editor
Other sources of Scorched Earth information: