Stock Car (video game)

Last updated
Stock Car
Stock Car cassette front cover (Acorn Electron).png
Acorn Electron cassette cover
Developer(s) A. W. Halse
Publisher(s) Micro Power
Platform(s) Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 64
Release1984
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, two-player

Stock Car is an overhead-view racing video game written by A. W. Halse and published in the UK by Micro Power. [1] [2] It was released in 1984 for the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, and Commodore 64 computers. [1] [2] [3] Although the cassette inlay gives the release date as 1984, some sources state the release date as 1983, and the game is also known as Stock Car Racer. [4] [5]

Contents

Stock Car is similar to Atari, Inc.'s Sprint 2 arcade game (1976) and Indy 500 for the Atari VCS (1977).

Gameplay

In-game screenshot (Acorn Electron) Stock Car in-game screenshot (Acorn Electron).png
In-game screenshot (Acorn Electron)

The game provides a top-down view of one of six user-selectable racing tracks. One or two human players in red cars compete against yellow computer-controlled cars. Oil slicks can be added which cause the cars to veer off-course, making the game more challenging. The amount of skidding can also be selected by the player. A race consists of anything between 1 and 40 laps. [1]

Players can steer their car left and right, but unlike most racing games, there are no keys for directly braking or accelerating. Instead, the player drives by selecting one of four gears (or neutral) and the car will accelerate according to the currently selected gear. [6]

Reception

Tom Bowker describes the game as "primitive", but he "loved it deeply". [6]

The game was reviewed in the August 1984 edition of Acorn User (Issue 25) [7] [8] and later briefly mentioned in issue 4.03 of Electron User as part of the ten-game Micro Power Magic [9] compilation, where it was described as "very realistic". [10]

Legacy

Another game, Grand Prix by S. Merrigan on the Triple Deckers volume 1 compilation was described by Dave Reeder as "a very poor copy of Stock Car". [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acorn Electron</span> Personal computer sold in Britain

The Acorn Electron was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a price more competitive with that of the ZX Spectrum. It had 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM included BBC BASIC II together with the operating system. Announced in 1982 for a possible release the same year, it was eventually introduced on 25 August 1983 priced at £199.

Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and utility packages – these included word processor VIEW and the spreadsheet ViewSheet supplied on ROM and cartridge for the BBC Micro/Acorn Electron and included as standard in the BBC Master and Acorn Business Computer.

Geoff Crammond is a computer game designer and programmer who specialises in motor racing games. A former defence industry systems engineer, he claims to have had little interest in motor racing before programming his first racing game (Revs) back in 1984, but he holds a physics degree, which may explain the realism of some of his programming. As a consequence of that project he became a big fan of Formula One motor racing. At the end of the 80s, this interest, plus the ever improving capabilities of home computers, inspired him to specialise in programming Formula One racing simulations.

<i>Stunt Car Racer</i> 1989 video game

Stunt Car Racer is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond. It was published in 1989 by MicroProse, under their MicroStyle and MicroPlay labels in the United Kingdom and in the United States, respectively. The game pits two racers on an elevated track on which they race in a head-to-head competition, with ramps they must correctly drive off as the main obstacle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tynesoft</span> Former software developer and publisher

Tynesoft Computer Software was a software developer and publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micro Power</span>

Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s by former accountant Bob Simpson. The company was best known as a video game publisher, originally under the name Program Power. It also sold many types of computer hardware and software through its Leeds 'showroom' or via mail order.

<i>Eddie Kidd Jump Challenge</i> 1984 video game

Eddie Kidd Jump Challenge is a stunt bike video game released for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MSX and ZX Spectrum first released in 1984, licensed by British stunt performer, Eddie Kidd.

<i>Countdown to Doom</i> 1982 video game

Countdown to Doom is a text adventure game written by Peter Killworth for the BBC Micro and published by Acornsoft in 1982. It is set on the planet Doomawangara, which is coyly shortened to "Doom". An Acorn Electron version was released in 1984 but only as a ROM cartridge for the Plus 1 expansion. This was the only game released exclusively as a ROM cart for the Electron. There are two sequels, both published by Topologika: Return to Doom and Last Days of Doom.

<i>Cosmic Camouflage</i> 1988 video game

Cosmic Camouflage is a multidirectional shooter for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. It was released in 1988 as the sequel to Acornsoft's Meteors. Both games are clones of the 1979 Atari, Inc. arcade video game Asteroids.

Alligata Software Ltd. was a computer games developer and publisher based in Sheffield in the UK in the 1980s.

<i>Overdrive</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Overdrive is a racing game written by Peter Johnson for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro and published in 1984 by Superior Software.

<i>Felix and the Fruit Monsters</i> 1983 video game

Felix and the Fruit Monsters is a video game written by John Chaytor and released by Micro Power for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1983. A sequel to platformer Felix in the Factory, it is a maze game resembling Pac-Man, but with different gameplay.

<i>Killer Gorilla</i> 1983 video game

Killer Gorilla is a Donkey Kong clone written by Adrian Stephens and published by Micro Power for the BBC Micro in 1983. It was ported to the Acorn Electron and Amstrad CPC computers in 1984.

<i>Frenzy</i> (1984 video game) 1984 video game

Frenzy is an 8-bit computer game published in the UK by Micro Power in 1984. It is a version of the arcade game Qix. The game was released for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro in 1984 and for the Commodore 64 in 1985.

<i>Deathstar</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Deathstar is multidirectional shooter for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro developed by Peter Johnson and originally published in the UK by Superior Software in 1985. It is a clone of the arcade game Sinistar.

The English Software Company, later shortened to English Software, was a Manchester, UK-based video game developer and publisher that operated from 1982 until 1987. Starting with its first release, the horizontally scrolling shooter Airstrike, English Software focused on Atari 8-bit computers of home, then expanded to other platforms. The company used the slogan "The power of excitement".

<i>Galaforce</i> 1986 video game

Galaforce is a fixed shooter video game for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, written by Kevin Edwards and published by Superior Software in 1986. It spawned a sequel, Galaforce 2 (1988), and later, Galaforce Worlds (2003).

<i>Crazee Rider</i> 1987 video game

Crazee Rider is a motorbike racing video game created by Kevin Edwards and published by Superior Software in 1987. It was released for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro with an enhanced version for the BBC Master. The game was particularly well received for the Electron as it was the first 3D racing game with corners for that machine.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Stock Car - cimweb.co.uk ( The complete text from inside the tape cover )". Micro Power. 1984. Retrieved 2010-10-08. Stock Car is a car racing game for one or two players with a choice of 6 different circuits to race around
  2. 1 2 "8-BIT SOFTWARE: STOCK CAR". www.8bs.com. Retrieved 2010-10-08. Standalone Release(s)  : 1984: STOCK CAR, Micro Power, £6.95
  3. ↑ Lemon, Kim. "Stock Car Micro Power". www.lemon64.com. Retrieved 2010-10-08. Genre: Racing, Overhead Players: 1 or 2, Simultaneous
  4. ↑ "Stock Car Racer for BBC Micro". www.gamefaqs.com. Retrieved 2010-10-08. Stock Car Racer is a Racing game, developed and published by Micro Power, which was released in Europe in 1983.
  5. ↑ "Stock Car Racer for BBC Micro". GameSpot . Retrieved 2010-10-09. Stock Car Racer Tech Info
  6. 1 2 Bowker, Tom (2010-08-17). "The stuff racing dreams are made of". onlineracedriver.com. Retrieved 2010-10-08. To drive the car you didn't have an 'accelerate' and 'brake' but instead a choice of four gears which gradually increased and decreased your speed.
  7. ↑ "Acorn User - August 1984". The Centre for Computing History . Retrieved 2010-10-08. Games Stock Car from Micropower Airline from CES
  8. ↑ "Acorn User Archives: Issue 25 : August 1984". Acorn User . Retrieved 2010-10-08. Stock Car from Micropower, Airline from CES
  9. ↑ "Micro Power Magic". The Centre for Computing History . Retrieved 2010-10-08. This exhibit has a reference ID of CH5416.
  10. ↑ Riddell, James. "Best Compilation Bargain". Electron User (Issue 4.03). Retrieved 2010-10-08. Power your car round a choice of six circuits, dodge the computer controlled cars and oil slicks.
  11. ↑ Reeder, Dave. "Triple Deckers". A&B Computing Volume 5 No. 03. Retrieved 2010-10-08. Volume 1 contains a very poor copy of STOCK CAR by S. Merrigan called GRAND PRIZ
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.