Swords and Software

Spectre VR (Velocity, 1993)

"Bombs go boom on ground"

Contents

About

Spectre VR is a 3D arena tank game released in 1993 by Velocity Inc. The game is a sequel to the 1991 Spectre, and is inspired by Battlezone. Players can play either single player games or multiplayer over a network, and can use VRchtect to create levels.

The goal of Spectre VR is to collect flags in order to proceed to higher levels. The player must face a wide range of enemies and obstacles, but can benefit from several special weapons and power-ups.

The player's tank (or Spectre) is highly customisable, and can be tuned for speed, shields and ammo capacity. It is also very versatile in that there are several views that can be used, and just as many ways to move around the arena (including hyperjumps, teleportation, etc).

More info and references:

Splash Screen
Splash Screen
Main Menu
Main Menu
About
About
Help
Help
Options
Options
Play
Play

Gameplay Screenshots

Hunter killer
Hunter killer
Flying over rovers
Flying over rovers
Top down view
Top down view
Cornered by rovers
Cornered by rovers
Flag area
Flag area
Walled in
Walled in
Slicers on the loose
Slicers on the loose

Gameplay Videos

Commands

Tank Commands

Game Commands

View Commands

Detail Commands

Special Weapons

From the game documentation:

GRENADES: It uses 10 rounds of ammo and explodes in midair, doing damage to anything near, and will destroy anything it hits directly.

SMART MISSILES: A Smart Missile will cost you two ammo points to fire. The good thing is that they lock onto and track enemies quite effectively!

SEEKERS: A Seeker will cost you two ammo points to fire. It is simply a cannon shell that has a limited aount of self-targeting logic. If a target is in your sights, the Seeker will usually lock onto it and cause a point of damage.

SCATTERSHOT: Scattershots are shotguns. They fire in a wide patteren, in about a 75 degree angle. They are especially effective against closely knit units of multiple enemies.

PROXIMITY MINES: With Proximity Mines, you can lay down a mine which can destroy anything that it touches. You are limited in the number of mines that can be placed at one time, so be careful.

SPINNERS: The Spinner is a weapon that imparts angular momentum to the target. For example, if your enemy is too strong to destroy, you might spin it for a few seconds, in order to get around it! This is the best way to beat a turret.

EM PULSEBURSTS: A pulseburst is a weapon that can only be used by a craft with flight capabilites. When used, a Pulseburst becomes an electromagnetic disturbance which propagates over the surface of the ground. A Pulseburst has a greater width than a Cannon round and may be more effective against squads of enemies.

CYBERBOMBS: A Cyberbomb is an electromagetic bomb. It's like a grenade, but it's dropped straight down by a hovercraft. It can be used to terminate any enemies intent on tracking you from behind.

Enemies

Obstacles

Static Obstacles

Moving Obstacles

Ammo Dumps

Levels

  1. Pulse burst works from the air
  2. Bombs go boom on ground
  3. Grenades have a blast radius
  4. Super tanks are earlier
  5. Spinners keep enemies busy
  6. Watch out for slicers
  7. Missiles go over obstacles
  8. Missiles are best vs hunter killers
  9. Mines blow up when hit
  10. Mines kill smart walls
  11. Scatter shot fires in an arc
  12. Cloaked tanks are not on radar
  13. Seekers track targets
  14. Invisible tanks show up on radar
  15. Cybermud can move
  16. Orbiters do not track you
  17. Now the acid is moving
  18. Turrets hang out near flags
  19. Grenades have a blast radius
  20. Watch out for slicers
  21. ?
  22. Cloaked tanks are not on radar
  23. Mines blow up when hit
  24. Watch out for slicers
  25. Seekers track targets
  26. Invisible tanks show up on radar
  27. Scatter shot fires in an arc
  28. Spinners keep enemies busy
  29. Seekers track targets
  30. Spinners keep enemies busy
  31. Orbiters do not track you
  32. Uh oh
  33. All weapons activated
  34. ...