Centaurian
By: Dave Dobson
"**** (Highest rating)" --
The Mac Game Gate
"Extremely addictive..." --
Shareware Junkies
"****1/2" --
Mac Net Journal, August 1996
"This is a great space game." --
The Mac Games Headquarters
Version 1.2.1!
68K crashes fixed
Credit card registrations accepted
New ways to register Centaurian!
You can now register Centaurian via credit card or over the World Wide
Web! Version 1.2.1 has information about how to register via credit card
or in non-US currency.
Or, check out the
Registration Page!
Minimum requirements:
- 68030 Mac (68040 or PPC recommended)
- System 7
- 640x480 256-color monitor
Centaurian
is an arcade-style space game reminiscent of Bosconian, a
Midway arcade game from the early 1980's. Players battle through
Centaurian-controlled zones, destroying Centaurian bases and confronting a
variety of enemy ships and mines to reach the Centaurus colony. There are
a number of ship enhancements which can be found or purchased to assist in
the mission, and there are nine different bonus screens (Admiral Zorg's
Challenges) modeled after classic arcade games.
The game is shareware ($18). The unregistered game is fully functional
but limited to eight zones per game (selected from among the first 30 or so
zones). If you register the game, I'll send you a code which gives you:
- Unlimited game length
- Access to all 60 zones (including the final
confrontation with the Centaurian leader)
- The ability to Load and Save games
- Secret cheat codes
- Access to the level editor.
View an annotated screen shot of
Centaurian.
Centaurian Questions and Answers
Is there a version for non-PPC macs?
Centaurian v. 1.2.1 is FAT and supports both PPC and 68K macs. Download it
from the link below!
Do I need to pick up the money after defeating a formation attack?
No, it's for show only. The 500 credits are
automatically added to your account.
Centaurian Trivia Fact: My playtesters have dubbed the formation attacks
"posses."
I'm having trouble with the controls! What gives?
The controls can be a little tricky at first. The things to remember
are:
-
Your ship is always moving at the same speed
-
You don't change directions instantly; instead, you travel through a
turning arc
-
Your turning radius is approximately half the width of your ship
Given these parameters, here are some tips. Remember, all you have to do
is steer and fire, so there aren't actually that many tasks to keep track
of. Don't think of your ship as you do for games like Asteroids or
Maelstrom. In Centaurian, your ship has no inertia and always travels
in the direction you're pointing. It's more like driving a car with no
brakes. You need to think ahead a bit and turn away from obstacles early.
For absolute (eight-key) steering or joysticks: If you need to
turn 180 degrees, it's often a good idea to start the turn as a 90 degree
turn to make sure you start turning the right way (clockwise vs.
counterclockwise).
Click here to submit a
Centaurian question.
CENTAURIAN STRATEGY TIPS
From David Kibrick:
1) For most zones, it is a good idea to shoot constantly, as you will get
rid of asteroids and attacking fighters. However, this is not an
advisable tactic in zones with many exploding mines.
2) When encountering fleets [formation attacks or posses - ed.], let them
get close, then have them follow you. Fire your guns constantly and
swerve around. The fighters should be knocked off as they try to follow
your turns.
3) When attacking bases, keep your guns firing and swerve around a lot.
This spreads your shots out to hit more gun turrets and can also help you
avoid the shots.
4) The extra guns can help some, but they have a lot of drawbacks. My
advice is to just collect weapons from spy ships and save up for shield
zorchers so you can buy them when they are needed most.
Chris Shieh dissents:
The other guns are very helpful. The death ray is perfect for wiping out
posses and the indestructo gun destroys the red station gun turrets with
only one shot.
Centaurian 1.2.1 should be available from any
Info-Mac site.
You can also download a binhexed compressed version from here:
Click
here
to download Centaurian version 1.2.1 (FAT binary, 1.1 Mb)
Click
here
to download the level editor (FAT binary, 99 Kb)
NOTE! THE EDITOR WILL ONLY WORK IF
YOU HAVE REGISTERED CENTAURIAN!
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