<s>
Epic	B-Application
(	O
or	O
Epic	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Adventure	I-Application
Begins	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
space	O
combat	O
simulation	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Digital	O
Image	O
Design	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Ocean	O
Software	O
for	O
the	O
Commdore	B-Device
Amiga	I-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
in	O
early	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
port	O
to	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
also	O
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
the	O
NEC	B-Operating_System
PC-9801	I-Operating_System
in	O
1993	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sequel	O
,	O
titled	O
Inferno	B-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1994	O
for	O
PCs	O
only	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epic	B-Application
is	O
an	O
action-based	O
space	O
flight	O
simulator	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
plot	O
borrowed	O
heavily	O
from	O
the	O
television	O
series	O
Battlestar	O
Galactica	O
,	O
Star	B-Operating_System
Trek	I-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
film	O
franchise	O
,	O
focussing	O
on	O
a	O
fleet	O
of	O
ships	O
carrying	O
the	O
human	O
inhabitants	O
of	O
a	O
planet	O
threatened	O
by	O
an	O
imminent	O
supernova	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
controls	O
the	O
fleet	O
's	O
only	O
hope	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
three	O
experimental	O
Epic	B-Application
class	O
fighters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
first	O
it	O
was	O
known	O
under	O
the	O
working	O
title	O
Goldrunner	B-Application
3D	O
and	O
was	O
initially	O
announced	O
to	O
be	O
published	O
by	O
Microdeal	O
as	O
a	O
spiritual	O
sequel	O
to	O
the	O
two	O
Uridium-like	O
Goldrunner	B-Application
top-down	O
shooting	O
games	O
,	O
before	O
a	O
publishing	O
deal	O
was	O
signed	O
with	O
Ocean	O
in	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
that	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
F29	B-Application
Retaliator	I-Application
had	O
been	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
Epic	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
action	B-Application
is	O
viewed	O
in	O
3D	O
,	O
with	O
graphics	O
being	O
a	O
mix	O
of	O
uniformly-coloured	O
polygons	O
and	O
bitmaps	O
(	O
featuring	O
16	O
colours	O
for	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
and	O
32	O
colours	O
in	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
version	O
,	O
largely	O
shades	O
of	O
grey	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cut-scenes	O
that	O
move	O
the	O
story	O
along	O
vary	O
between	O
the	O
versions	O
;	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
versions	O
are	O
largely	O
the	O
same	O
,	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
pre-rendered	O
3D	O
artwork	O
overlaid	O
with	O
dynamically	O
generated	O
ships	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
conventional	O
artwork	O
where	O
characters	O
are	O
involved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
,	O
some	O
pre-rendered	O
images	O
have	O
been	O
dropped	O
and	O
replaced	O
with	O
similar	O
,	O
animated	O
bitmap	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
scene	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	O
release	O
,	O
which	O
unlike	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
versions	O
was	O
only	O
ever	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
installed	O
and	O
run	O
from	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
has	O
enhanced	O
cut-scenes	O
reflecting	O
the	O
extra	O
resources	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
graphics	O
are	O
more	O
detailed	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Epic	B-Application
fighter	O
's	O
cockpit	O
and	O
the	O
in-game	O
3D	O
ship	O
models	O
have	O
been	O
changed	O
subtly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
game	O
music	O
for	O
both	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
and	O
PC	O
features	O
Mars	O
,	O
the	O
Bringer	O
of	O
War	O
and	O
the	O
Jupiter	O
,	O
the	O
Bringer	O
of	O
Jollity	O
from	O
The	B-Application
Planets	I-Application
by	O
Gustav	O
Holst	O
,	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
rendition	O
being	O
composed	O
of	O
samples	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Amiga	B-Device
received	O
a	O
new	O
composition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epic	B-Application
was	O
released	O
by	O
Ocean	O
in	O
the	O
Spring	O
of	O
1992	O
on	O
home	O
computer	O
formats	O
at	O
a	O
price	O
of	O
£25.99	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
releases	O
included	O
a	O
bonus	O
anaglyphic	B-Algorithm
3D	I-Algorithm
poster	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
box	O
art	O
,	O
complete	O
with	O
branded	O
glasses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Amiga	B-Device
Power	O
,	O
the	O
initial	O
release	O
version	O
of	O
Epic	B-Application
had	O
a	O
fatal	O
glitch	O
that	O
caused	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
crash	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
many	O
returns	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
that	O
year	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
included	O
as	O
the	O
lead	O
pack-in	O
title	O
by	O
Commodore	O
UK	O
for	O
their	O
Amiga	O
600-focused	O
Epic	B-Application
bundle	O
,	O
alongside	O
Rome	B-Application
:	I-Application
Pathway	I-Application
to	I-Application
Power	I-Application
and	O
Myth	B-Application
:	I-Application
History	I-Application
in	I-Application
the	I-Application
Making	I-Application
,	O
squarely	O
aimed	O
at	O
the	O
Christmas	O
buying	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
retail	O
release	O
,	O
this	O
version	O
could	O
only	O
be	O
run	O
from	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
600	I-Device
's	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2019	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
re-released	O
digitally	O
,	O
bundled	O
with	O
its	O
sequel	O
Inferno	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critical	O
reception	O
of	O
Epic	B-Application
was	O
mixed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
magazines	O
scored	O
the	O
game	O
highly	O
,	O
including	O
review	O
scores	O
of	O
92%	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
from	O
Mega	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
,	O
91%	O
from	O
CU	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
User	O
International	O
,	O
and	O
90%	O
from	O
Amiga	B-Device
Action	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ACE	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
,	O
gave	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
ST	O
versions	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
839	O
(	O
out	O
of	O
a	O
possible	O
1000	O
)	O
,	O
praising	O
its	O
fast	O
3D	O
graphics	O
and	O
sense	O
of	O
scale	O
,	O
but	O
disliking	O
its	O
longevity	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
depth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
title	O
fared	O
less	O
well	O
with	O
Amiga	B-Device
Power	O
which	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
34%	O
,	O
noting	O
its	O
many	O
glitches	O
and	O
gameplay	O
problems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
mission	O
time	O
limits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
magazine	O
's	O
reviewer	O
concluded	O
that	O
Epic	B-Application
felt	O
"	O
rushed	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
unfinished	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
prioritised	O
looks	O
over	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Maff	O
Evans	O
in	O
Amiga	B-Device
Format	O
delivered	O
a	O
similar	O
verdict	O
and	O
criticism	O
,	O
also	O
awarding	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
34%	O
;	O
he	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
despite	O
being	O
two	O
years	O
late	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
felt	O
rushed	O
to	O
release	O
and	O
expressed	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
too	O
short	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
CU	O
Amiga	B-Device
referred	O
to	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
version	O
's	O
music	O
being	O
from	O
The	B-Application
Planets	I-Application
,	O
although	O
in	O
the	O
final	O
release	O
this	O
was	O
not	O
the	O
case	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amiga	B-Device
Power	O
's	O
review	O
went	O
as	O
far	O
as	O
criticising	O
other	O
magazines	O
for	O
reviewing	O
an	O
incomplete	O
game	O
and	O
by	O
extension	O
,	O
misleading	O
their	O
readership	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
On	O
re-release	O
,	O
all	O
magazines	O
marked	O
the	O
game	O
down	O
,	O
with	O
Amiga	B-Device
Power	O
providing	O
a	O
renewed	O
rating	O
of	O
30%	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
had	O
not	O
improved	O
with	O
age	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CU	O
Amiga	B-Device
was	O
more	O
generous	O
in	O
its	O
scoring	O
,	O
awarding	O
the	O
title	O
70%	O
,	O
but	O
less	O
so	O
in	O
its	O
comments	O
highlighting	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
lack	O
of	O
depth	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
reviewer	O
did	O
mention	O
that	O
it	O
played	O
much	O
better	O
on	O
the	O
faster	O
Amiga	B-Application
1200	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
not	O
released	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
the	O
game	O
first	O
appeared	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
expansion	O
pack	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
Epic	B-Application
Extra	O
Missions	O
,	O
was	O
included	O
on	O
the	O
cover	O
disk	O
for	O
issue	O
47	O
of	O
The	O
One	O
which	O
was	O
only	O
issued	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
.	O
</s>
