Your views on...Marsport

CUCHULAINN · April 2009

Marsport

Now, this is one Gargoyle release that I played very little of. I don't know why, maybe it was because it wasn't set in a magical type world. I found the levels kinda tedious when walking round. I know the previous two were simular, but the fact that they were both outdoor as opposed to being in a ship, didn't give me the same feel.
I really didn't play it enough to give a real good opinion, so I'm gonna fire this up in an emulator and see if it grabs me.

;-)

sirclive1 · April 2009

Bought it - loaded it up , tried to like it - but found it boring and way too hard , i havent played it since.

dm_boozefreek · April 2009

looks nice but that's about it, and I could never get past the whole "It's Cuchulainn, but with a fishbowl on his head" type mentality :D

Matt_B · April 2009

I'd agree with most of what's said so far. It's a huge game with often cryptic puzzles that's very difficult to get anywhere with; were it not for the magazine walkthroughs I'd never have finished it. Still, it kept my Gargoyle fix going for a while and I was a bit disappointed that the sequels never came out.

Mark R. Jones · April 2009

I loved 'Tir...' then not as much with 'Dun..' and this one I didn't really like. No atmosphere compared to the others and was WAY too hard for me.

Shadow Maker · April 2009

Failed to finish the last puzzle (as you know, in order to complete the game you have to go out from the city using the enter gates, it is impossible to run to the start before the town explodes, there is some trick, well, everyone know it, but I did not have internet & journals that time)... Anyway, great game. Interesting, near impossible to get lost (coz of that sectors written), simple orientation - love it.

Nick Elliott · April 2009

Thought it was great and found the change of setting worked after the previous two, still waiting for the sequels.....

For me TNN was the hardest of the three, I was wowed by the animation but found it lacked something, Dun Darach and Marsport were much more involving.

Each to their own.

psj3809 · April 2009

Was one of those users who just liked walking around finding a few places to go into and sitting there amazed at the graphics.

My best mate was superb at this game and got very far with it, again it was good to watch.

Very impressive games by Gargoyle, not really my cup of tea but could appreciate them

Zagreb · April 2009

I quite like what I've played of it. The only one of the Gargoyle "wander around" games that I've really put any time into is Tir Na Nog because I had a copy on a compilation (Now Games 2, I think) back in the day. Dun Darach I've always found a bit daunting but Marsport I've had a good few games of even though I don't think I've ever got particularly far.

I like the atmosphere in it; the emptiness suits the scenario (this was a bit of a problem with Dun Darach - it was a city without many people in it) and I think the graphics are great. I've no idea how it really compares to the other two games, though, because I've not put enough time in to get really "into" the game and I'm unlikely to these days. Maybe sometime soon I'll cut myself off from more modern games and "casual" speccy games and have a proper shot of Marsport...

Tom-Cat · April 2009

Never had Marsport back in the day, only got around to playing it on the emulator. Played Dun Darach to death back in the day though, thought it was one of the best games on the Speccy. Again, didn't have Tir-Na-Nog, a shame since it is a top game with even better graphics (and parallax scroll). Didn't play Marsport much on the emulator either, since it lacked the atmosphere that Dun Darach had :(

Paul van der Laan · April 2009

I was quite into Marsport and I drew my own maps but can't remember how many percent completion I reached. Some of the puzzles were way too hard to solve for me. In hindsight Dun Darach was the better game I think.

torot · April 2009

The thing is with marsport is that it is superbly structured. The map layout is really well thought out and its so frustrating being tempted by the restricted doors but you cant go through them till you finish pt 1. Then a whole new area opens up. Same with the Sept warlords, you can't get past them until deep into the game when you make the hypergun. The lifts are also very well placed to give you tantalising glimpses of areas you can't get to until further in the game. The game is planned brilliantly, and opens up like a novel, but you have to play it through and map it yourself to appreciate it properly.

deadpan666 · April 2009

This was the first Gargoyle game I got, and the one I got furthest in, but..ultimately, I didn't really have a clue what I was doing....

I never really took to Dun Darach or Tir Na Nog either....Heavy On The Magick was the one I spent the most time with...

urbanupstart · April 2009

Oh, I liked this one... I got it for Xmas one yr and I spent quite some time on it!
As a rule, I enjoyed a fantasy setting rather than a Scifi/spacey setting, but in this case the atmosphere was very bleak and involving.
I haven't touched it in ages (or any other games for that matter cos I'm weighed down with study at the mo,) but I'm gonna revisit it one day soon.

MartynC · April 2009

Nick Elliott wrote: »

Thought it was great and found the change of setting worked after the previous two, still waiting for the sequels.....

There was a guy on here a while back who claimed he was a tester for Gargoyle, and suggested that the two sequels may have been further along that first thought (maybe even playable to some extent). I chased him up several times, and he'd reveal the odd detail via email, but it was all very vague and cryptic so I think he was probably a hoaxer :(

Anyone got any additional info on these unreleased games?

grey key · April 2009

Hi, Still here and far from a Hoaxer, however I am still loyal enough to the guys to let them tell the story. I did write a long rambling reply to your post, which I printed off the first part, in case I lost the connection, and I did, so a short reply will have to do for now. I expressed in it that I personally know that you have succeeded in contacting them and admire your determination in this, they will even vouch for me ( Simon Shaw ) if you can get them to talk. There is no way to vouch for myself, to anyone heres satisfaction, apart from stacks of letters, etc. Still keep trying!

MartynC · April 2009

grey key wrote: »

Hi, Still here and far from a Hoaxer, however I am still loyal enough to the guys to let them tell the story. I did write a long rambling reply to your post, which I printed off the first part, in case I lost the connection, and I did, so a short reply will have to do for now. I expressed in it that I personally know that you have succeeded in contacting them and admire your determination in this, they will even vouch for me ( Simon Shaw ) if you can get them to talk. There is no way to vouch for myself, to anyone heres satisfaction, apart from stacks of letters, etc. Still keep trying!

Hi Simon. I actually don't think you're a hoaxer at all - I wrote that in the hope you'd challenge it and reopen dialogue, which happily you have.

As you know, I've contacted Greg Follis several times, by email and by post, but I've never heard anything back from him so can only assume he is not interested in being interviewed about his gaming past. As for Roy, I haven't even been able to find any contact details for him :(

Would you be willing to divulge any information about the unreleased sequels to Marsport and Magick? As a WoS forum poster you'll know how popular the Gargoyle games are on here, and how much fans would love you to share some details!

mister_wavey · August 2017

after 'finishing' Tir Na Nog completely via a walkthrough, then Dun Darach almost without any help at all, I just started playing this. There's an in-game game on the recreation level where you move a player on a chessboard against some 'scouts' but the keys suggested in the Infomat (q/w/a/s) are being ignored. Playing on a real toastrack via divmmc. Any ideas?

JuanF. Ramirez · August 2017

I've never played this game much, like Tir Na Nog or Dun Darach. Never had any f*cking idea about what to do. But the landscape and the map made me be more interested in TNN or DD. Wandering around Marsport was boring.

Timmy · August 2017

Marsport? Good Engine, Incredibly boring levels...

I remember I was halfway and reached the center, but the environment was so monotonous, and I gave up.

The English specific language puzzles don't help much, either.

Nick · August 2017

I think that Heavy On The Magick was easily the best of these style of arcade adventure games that Gargoyle released. I would put Marsport third behind HOTM and Dun Darach.

Nick · August 2017

Double Post, bloody smart phone.

Luny · August 2017

Timmy wrote: »

Marsport? Good Engine, Incredibly boring levels...

I remember I was halfway and reached the center, but the environment was so monotonous, and I gave up.

The English specific language puzzles don't help much, either.

Back in the day, we only ever really made games for the UK market. The world was bigger back then. Also I think it would have lost a lot if it wasn't British-centric, a lot of the puzzles are very language orientated. Of course we 'live in more enlighten times'.

Oh, hang on I'm supposed to be supportive of all things Gargoyle and need to put down the philistines. Marsport is brilliant and has no flaws. Its exciting, imaginative and is a solid adventure. There! Got that of my chest.

zx1 · August 2017

Never got into Marsport of the other titles. I did play them but i had no idea what i was supposed to be doing and gave up, perhaps if i put more time into them i would have grown to like them but they seemed like a lot of time would need to be spent playing them.

Rebelstar without a cause · August 2017

Same aimless wandering as in Tir Na Nog and Dun Durach. This time with a red hue.

Morkin · August 2017

I'm not sure if I ever even got the gun, and that was with hints...

Bedazzle · August 2017

mister_wavey wrote: »

after 'finishing' Tir Na Nog completely via a walkthrough, then Dun Darach almost without any help at all, I just started playing this.

If you have a plan to play HOTM too, then I can provide you several useful pokes to fix some glitches in original.

mister_wavey · August 2017

thanks Bedazzle. I'll certainly be playing HOTM next, once I've saved humanity from the Sept.

Luny · August 2017

Bedazzle is the man when it comes to HOTM. [Does that sound wrong now I say it out loud?]

slenkar · August 2017

I always read it as Mars Sport which was confusing

Einar Saukas · August 2017

Bedazzle wrote: »

mister_wavey wrote: »

after 'finishing' Tir Na Nog completely via a walkthrough, then Dun Darach almost without any help at all, I just started playing this.

If you have a plan to play HOTM too, then I can provide you several useful pokes to fix some glitches in original.

I tried to summarize your pokes (and my optimized version of your routine) here:

http://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=2274

If there's anything else important that I missed, please let me know!

Your views on...Marsport

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