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From: wirehead@oxy.edu (David J. Harr)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: OIDS: The good, the bad, the ugly.
Message-ID: <148370@tiger.oxy.edu>
Date: 25 Feb 91 14:16:24 GMT
Organization: Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA  90041
Lines: 55

Since everyone is interested in the new game OIDS, I thought I might take
some time and post a "Review" (really just my impressions of the game). OIDS
is a very smooth, very well done animated shoot-em-up arcade style game
where you are the pilot of a V-wing fighter who has dedicated his/her life
to rescuing the innocent OIDS from the evil beings who have enslaved them.
Being evil beings and having a modicum of smarts, they know you are coming
and prepare their planets accordingly. There are about a dozen (that I have
run into) different types of weapons, ships, and traps that they have
prepared. You fly around, blow up the buildings where the OIDS are being
held, gather them up, and get points. That is the background. Now, my
thoughts:

THE GOOD: This game sets new standards for smooth animation, seamless
	  graphics and good sound. On a 13" Apple RGB monitor in 256
	  color mode, there is no detectable slow-down in the game play
	  no matter what you do. The game seems to be happy running an
	  just about any configuration of Macintosh from a Mac Plus to
	  a Mac II w/ a 21" screen. The game adapts itself to the size
	  of the monitor by showing the player more of the playing field.
	  I would reccomend not playing the game on anything larger than
	  13" monitor, however. On my 21" there is a noticeable slowdown
	  in the speed of the game, and it becomes more difficult to play.

THE BAD:  While the game makes provision for use of a joystick, there is
	  no provision for play with a mouse. At certain times, it becomes
	  neccesary to thrust, use your shields, rotate your craft, and
	  fire, all at the same time. I find it impossible to remember the
	  keys for all of these maneuvers in a crunch, and so I usually die.
	  I would much prefer if the movement of the mouse would control
	  rotation of the V-Wing fighter, a press of the mouse button
	  would fire the weapons, and then you could use the keys for the
	  other controls of the craft. At the very least, this should be
	  a user-selectable option. Also, OIDS is copy protected :-(. I
	  find this objectionable enought that I am still considering
	  returning the game to the place where I bought it. I don't want
	  FTL starting a new round of copy-protection schemes among games
	  manufacturers. I'm very ambivalent about the game on this point.
	  I like it, but I feel like telling my friends to call FTL and
	  explain to them that they would buy the game, but thye object
	  to copy protection and so they won't.

The UGLY: This directory structure and buttons for the game looks like they
	  were taken from a cheap CGA clone of an inferior version of MS
	  Windows. The fonts used are blocky and ugly, and they are colored
	  an unhealthy shade of blue. When you actually select the file you
	  want to play, the unhealthy blue changes to an unhealthy green.
	  Come on folks, you had some preetty spiffy programming go into the
	  animation, is it really that hard to get someone to put up a real
	  dialog box?

Anyway, there you have some of my impressions of OIDS after having wasted
20 or so hours on it in the last week. I hope this helps some people. I'm
sure it will generate some controversy...

David