Ad Astra 2420
A downloadable game
Introducing Ad Astra 2420, the evolution of my original game, Ad Astra. With extensive changes and enhancements, Ad Astra 2420 represents the game I always aspired to create but was limited by my skills.
Ad Astra 2420 boasts a myriad of improvements to enrich the gameplay: immersive new story elements, a variety of difficulty levels, a refined ship UI, and a revamped station interface that brings the universe of Ad Astra to life.
Join me on this renewed journey through the stars.
Chapter One: A Distress Call
You have grown accustomed to the silence and isolation that comes with patrolling the far reaches of space. The endless void, punctuated only by the distant twinkling of stars and the occasional asteroid field, is both your workplace and home. Your ship, a sleek vessel designed for long-range reconnaissance, glides through the void with grace and precision, a solitary sentinel in the vast expanse.
The monotony of the patrol is abruptly shattered when the ship's communicator springs to life, its screen flickering with an incoming distress call. The signal is weak, its origin barely registering on your ship's sensors, but there is no mistaking its source: the nearby planet - known for its small, resilient settlement of inhabitants, a speck of civilisation in an otherwise uninhabited sector.
The message is terse, laced with urgency. "Distress call to any ships in range. We are facing a sector-threatening crisis. Immediate assistance required. Report ASAP to planetary HQ."
Your heart races as you process the information. Sector-threatening crisis? The words echo ominously in the confined space of the cockpit. With practiced calm, you initiate the engines, setting a course for the HQ.
Gameplay
Ad Astra 2420 is a slow paced tactical space opera that you can play in solo- or in co-op mode with your friend as a gunner.
System requirements:
- Commodore 64 PAL
- (NTSC version not yet available)
- 1541 Drive
- a joystick (2 for co-op)
Works also with VICE, THE C64 (_AD flag recommended) and SD2IEC devices.
In Ad Astra 2420 you are a star ranger deployed for long range reconnaissance mission in Rimward asteroid belt where eight Verge Stations perform asteroid mining.
Your mission is to collect the missing components for Singularity Diffuser before runaway singularity destroys space-time. Mission requires you to mine asteroids, upgrade your ship, visit space stations and destroy enemy installations.
The clock is ticking, star ranger. Enter Ad Astra 2420 now and be the hero the universe needs!
Full manual is available on Github
Download
Install instructions
Download adastra_AD.d64 file transfer it to 1541 floppy:
LOAD"*",8,1
Or run the game with :
- Ultimate C64
- THE C64
- Vice
- other emulators may also work, but have not been tested
Requires PAL machine (support for NTSC is not yet implemented).
Development log
- Small update to support SD2IEC devicesFeb 23, 2024
Comments
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I had so much fun playing this precious gem! Really much more fun than with some modern games. I finished the game in easy mode, and I will play more. Congratulations!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your enjoyment of Ad Astra! Your feedback means a lot to me.
You are the first person outside of the development team that has declared to have completed the game and seen the epilogue after successfully saving the world. Congratulations, Star Ranger!
Hi, orlof, I play as Veteran now, but I cannot figure out how to get the Positronic AI. Do I have to destroy a silo for this?
Yes, missile silos turn into Positronic AI when destroyed. AI chip can then be collected.
There are several tactics to destroy a silo. I've had a lot of fun playing with my friend as a gunner - it makes it a lot easier. But still, having a decent upgrade to weapon doesn't hurt.
Hi Orlof,
A very nice version here! Thanks for supporting the C64.
If you have any new games or version updates of this game, we could launch them on the ZZAP! 64 cover disk.
My email: jazzca64@gmail.com
Kind regards,
David. (Jazzcat)
Very good game, thank you. I also added that to my New Games On C64 from February 2024 -video too.
Thank you so much for your kind words and for featuring the game in your video! It's fantastic that you took the time to learn its mechanics, such as mining. I agree, there's a bit of a learning curve.
It's incredible how awesome games continue to be released for the C64 every month. Thanks again for showcasing the game in your video!
A nearly really cool game, updated into a really cool game. Glad to see you kept working on it. My biggest problem is it can be a bit tedious repairing/upgrading shields and cargo one point at a time, but the station screen is a huge improvement over the original.
Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to provide feedback! Your comments about the repair/upgrading are valuable, and I'll consider them for future improvements. I'm still learning and growing as a developer, and I'm excited about the possibilities for using this game’s engine also in some future games.
very good
Thank you for your kind words!
Aweosme game !
Thank you for showing the game in your channel!
My pleasure.
A very cool and elaborate game 👍 You put a lot of work into it. As the editor of K&A PLUS ( https://ka-plus.pl/en/ ) I would like to talk about it. Feel free to email me.
yahwey88@gmail.com
Greetings
Retro Chlop 😎✌️
I try to run your game without any luck on my real C64 with a SD2IEC I got a drive error on loading. I wanted to run the game on my real hardware, not only on Vice or on my THE C64.
Could it be possible to support SD2IEC in a future update?
Thanks for your answer.
Thanks for reporting this. I also appreciate playing on authentic hardware, but I only have Ultimate to test with. My guess is that SD2IEC does not emulate 1541 in a way that would support fast loaders. I will investigate this to see if disabling the fast loader could resolve the issue.
I don't think fast loaders are directly supported by a SD2IEC device. This is why I own a speed loading cartridge :)
I just released a version that SHOULD support SD2IEC devices. However, as I don't have the hardware to test it, I’d be super happy if you could try it and give me feedback whether it works or not.
Here is a photo of your game loaded on my real C64 using SD2IEC.
Thank you for testing and especially for the photo - I love it! I have no idea how the fast load cartridge can work, but I am happy that it does. I implemented a simple failover mechanism. If the installation of embedded fast loader fails, then I just use kernel's LOAD and SAVE.
You're welcome about the photo. And I do not know how fast loaders works too. At least, it works, and this is the point :)
Good job! https://c64universe.wordpress.com/2024/02/16/ad-astra-2420-2024-orlof/
Thank you for adding Ad Astra to your news feed!
Very nice game!
Thank you for showing the game on your channel!