I mapped all 30 of the levels in Fears!

[Torti-the-Smurf]

Scanning those was "fun"

The Book is very tense and stubborn
Sometimes it took a few attempts to just get one Page.

Yet; i never was really 100% satisfied with the result tho

I always thought to mayself: " It has to be better !! "

But i tried a whole afternoon and this was the best i could do.

Also i had a very bad flu&cold with fever at that time
So let´s say; it was made with a few handicaps BUT with Love

TCD did his PDF magic then

(Stupid me; if i had known that, i would have scanned it as a PDF Book to beginn with
but i thought; well JPEG is smaller and in case somebody is just searching for one site
he don´t have to download the hole PDF thing.
Sorry TCD for the extra work and to you guys, for having you wait a few more days )

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Legerdemain

Really cool! Almost 100 pages, no less.

Tell me about it

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Torti-the-Smurf

(Stupid me; if i had known that; i would have scanned it as a PDF Book to beginn with but i thought; well JPEG is smaller and in case somebody is just searching for one site he don´t have to download the hole PDF thing. Sorry TCD for the extra work and to you guys, for having you wait a few more days )

Actually you did everything right It's much easier working with the original scan images than to get a PDF that might be a bit... sub-optimal and then having to work with that. The problem was really that it was an actual book so the text towards the 'seam' always suffers.

[Torti-the-Smurf]

Originally Posted by TCD

Actually you did everything right It's much easier working with the original scan images than to get a PDF that might be a bit... sub-optimal and then having to work with that. The problem was really that it was an actual book so the text towards the 'seam' always suffers.

Thanks TCD.
;and YES, those 'seam' drove me nuts.

I had put all the weight that i could find;
and wasn´t to much for the poor scanner to handle,
on that Book, to get as much as possile from the 'seam'.

[Weasel Fierce]

Originally Posted by Legerdemain

I just had to put down my experience in words, in a review.


Here.






Really cool! Almost 100 pages, no less.

Outstanding review mate. I should note the disk version allows saving the game instead of using passwords.

[Legerdemain]

Originally Posted by Weasel Fierce

Outstanding review mate. I should note the disk version allows saving the game instead of using passwords.

Yes! And you can change the difficulty aswell.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Weasel Fierce

I should note the disk version allows saving the game instead of using passwords.

Does it save the game to the game disks or does it require a separate disk?

[Karlos]

Originally Posted by Legerdemain

Actually, this feels better balanced than Alien Breed 3D (which completely breaks the flow during the final stages with its ridicilous lack of ammo and stupid level design making it almost impossible to manage the enemies).

Sacrilege! No wait... BLASPHEMY! AB3D had superb level design. It wasn't an ego shooter, it was a survival horror shooter. Lots of luring out enemies to pick them off, not just mowing them down willy nilly. If there was a level that was sub par, it was The Pit. And yet today, it would probably just be classed a horde mode level.

[Legerdemain]

Originally Posted by Karlos

Sacrilege! No wait... BLASPHEMY! AB3D had superb level design. It wasn't an ego shooter, it was a survival horror shooter. Lots of luring out enemies to pick them off, not just mowing them down willy nilly. If there was a level that was sub par, it was The Pit. And yet today, it would probably just be classed a horde mode level.

The Pit is one of the stages completely throwing the balance off... and it is not only due to it being hard, it is not even designed to bother about the limitations of the game engine (the inner part of the room you circle around, you do not even see what you are up against in there). Also, it is a prime example of when the game pretty much locks you up from further progress if you are low on ammo or lack certain weapons.

In AB3D2 they take things even further, but at least they seem to know how to do it properly there (you simply do not kill all the enemies if you want to stay ahead of the challenge and have spare ammo).

This do not happen in Fears (if not counting the final stage) as long as you keep track of your lives.

I really like Alien Breed 3D, but it has its fair share of problems.

Not to mention the problem with height and not being able to look up and down. In Fears the game is designed with this issue in mind (and if you really do not know if you got ground beneath your feet in front of you, you can use the map), but in Alien Breed 3D you have to move blindly at times.

[whowasphone]

Originally Posted by Legerdemain

Felt immensely satisfied after having beaten the final boss without any cheats or codes used besides my own.

Wow! That is quite the achievement! Do you have any advice for the last boss? I thought my guide was a bit lacking in that department, I just wrote the classic "shoot it until it dies."

I also think the floating heads are crap but they really do give the game this surreal feeling so I wouldn't change them. I just imagine this huge dark castle full of floating angry heads lurking in the darkness forever...

I really enjoyed reading your review as well! I think you perfectly summed up how I feel about the game!

Originally Posted by TCD

Here's the strategy guide: https://hol.abime.net/512/manual

This is amazing to read! Thank you Torti and TCD! Another book is saved!

Does HOL work with Gaming Alexandria? It's a game history project to preserve books and manuals.

https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/

Originally Posted by Karlos

Sacrilege! No wait... BLASPHEMY! AB3D had superb level design. It wasn't an ego shooter, it was a survival horror shooter. Lots of luring out enemies to pick them off, not just mowing them down willy nilly. If there was a level that was sub par, it was The Pit. And yet today, it would probably just be classed a horde mode level.

The pit is actually my favourite level in AB3D, because it's such a change of pace from the other levels. I like the idea of slowly descending into hell that it gives you. It reminds me of some areas in Hexen. I think you could also call Fears a survival horror shooter, it is a very slow paced game, and conserving ammo is just as vital as in AB3D. Honestly playing AB3D for long periods of time gave me quite the headache, I don't want to knock the graphics but it made me feel quite ill in a way that Fears did not. Fears made me feel depressed lol

[TCD]

Originally Posted by whowasphone

Does HOL work with Gaming Alexandria? It's a game history project to preserve books and manuals.

https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/

First time I hear about that site They currently don't have an Amiga category. I'm rather busy right now with cleaning Turran's file server, but if anybody wants to get in contact with them regarding the scans available on HOL feel free.

[Weasel Fierce]

The Pit in AB3D is brutal. The Project Osiris version is a bit more forgiving.

The feeling when you reach the bottom and realize you have to hike back to the top, fighting all the way again is pretty merciless.

[Legerdemain]

Originally Posted by whowasphone

Wow! That is quite the achievement! Do you have any advice for the last boss? I thought my guide was a bit lacking in that department, I just wrote the classic "shoot it until it dies."

Well, what I did was to use the fact that the doors to the different sections of the map opens up after having dealt a certain amount of damage to the boss. I might be wrong, maybe they open after a specific amount of time has passed... but I think it is related to the damage you do to the boss.

I just shot at it until the door to the right opened up... and then I took out the blue floating heads i side by luring them out. As soon as you clear out the room to the right of the boss the rest of the enemies are actually rather easy to kill since you can lure them out and take them out from a distance (or make them float out from behind a wall).

As long as you have a couple of lives you will not really run out of ammo since it restocks after each death... and I also noticed that the circular saw was really good to use when luring out enemies from behind a wall... they die before they get a chance of shooting and you use no ammo whatsoever.

But the wheel was cut from your particular version of the game, no?

Finally, I backtracked to shoot the boss again until the two remaining doors opened (whereas only the final door to the area behind the boss held a couple of remaning enemies). There is even a secret room back there with goodies and a plasma weapon if one have missed it on the earlier stages).

And finally I just killed the boss.

I like the final stage... it is simple in its design but different enough from the rest of the stages to feel like a true final confrontation.

Compared to the final stage in Breathless... a button you press that says "End", or whatever it says, was a true anticlimatic conclusion... this ending of Fears was great.

[whowasphone]

Originally Posted by TCD

First time I hear about that site They currently don't have an Amiga category. I'm rather busy right now with cleaning Turran's file server, but if anybody wants to get in contact with them regarding the scans available on HOL feel free.

I have a friend who is heavily involved with the project. I can talk to him. Do you mean it is ok for them to keep and put the files on HOL on their site too? That would be amazing because HOL is a treasure trove of Amiga history!

Originally Posted by Legerdemain

I just shot at it until the door to the right opened up... and then I took out the blue floating heads i side by luring them out. As soon as you clear out the room to the right of the boss the rest of the enemies are actually rather easy to kill since you can lure them out and take them out from a distance (or make them float out from behind a wall).

Thanks for sharing your strategy! That's pretty much what I did as well, but without the saw.

I agree that the doors open after Bloodheart takes a certain amount of damage.

What level did you find the saw on? Can you remember? Was it in a secret area or was it just laying in the open?
I explored the whole game for the maps so unless it was in a secret area it must have been cut
Thats a shame if it's so useful!

[TCD]

Originally Posted by whowasphone

I have a friend who is heavily involved with the project. I can talk to him. Do you mean it is ok for them to keep and put the files on HOL on their site too? That would be amazing because HOL is a treasure trove of Amiga history!

At least the manual section is pretty much 'open source' anyway, so of course they can use them Would be nice if a note could be added where it came from. If they are interested in other scans that have watermarks let me know and I'll ask what can be arranged.

[NeoHippie2016]

@Torti-the-Smurf: i have the hint book, too! :-) beside a big poster... Thank you for scanning it, smurfie!

[Legerdemain]

Originally Posted by whowasphone

What level did you find the saw on? Can you remember? Was it in a secret area or was it just laying in the open?
I explored the whole game for the maps so unless it was in a secret area it must have been cut Thats a shame if it's so useful!

Sorry, I do not remember. I think I found it in two different stages, one of them possibly being on stage 5 or 6 (looking at the screenshots on HoL it seems to be 5, but the coresponding map in the Strategy Guide lacks the section with the saw). It was not particularly hidden, just in a squareish room behind a door, lying on a raised floor square.