<s>
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
is	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
published	O
in	O
1985	O
by	O
CRL	O
for	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
and	O
converted	O
to	O
the	O
Amstrad	B-Device
CPC	I-Device
,	O
Amstrad	B-Device
PCW	I-Device
,	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
,	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
and	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
world	O
,	O
set	O
on	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
III	O
orbiting	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
,	O
is	O
displayed	O
using	O
3D	O
graphics	O
with	O
shadow	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
:	O
The	O
Special	O
Edition	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
128K	O
Spectrum	O
and	O
Amstrad	B-Device
CPC	I-Device
in	O
1987	O
,	O
with	O
extra	O
coding	O
by	O
Chris	O
Newcombe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sequel	O
,	O
Academy	B-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
origins	O
of	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
and	O
its	O
game	O
engine	O
came	O
from	O
Cooke	O
attempting	O
to	O
work	O
out	O
how	O
the	O
spheres	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
Gyron	O
,	O
released	O
by	O
Firebird	O
Software	O
for	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
in	O
1985	O
,	O
had	O
been	O
created	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Cooke	O
was	O
also	O
inspired	O
when	O
writing	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
by	O
the	O
works	O
of	O
the	O
science-fiction	O
writers	O
Larry	O
Niven	O
and	O
Isaac	O
Asimov	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
space-simulator	O
Elite	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
several	O
of	O
these	O
colonies	O
have	O
been	O
successfully	O
re-inhabited	O
,	O
the	O
colony	O
on	O
the	O
planet	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
III	O
(	O
orbiting	O
the	O
star	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
)	O
has	O
been	O
uncontactable	O
since	O
a	O
meteor	B-Language
smashed	O
into	O
the	O
planet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
mission	O
sent	O
to	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
III	O
in	O
2164	O
landed	O
on	O
the	O
planet	O
but	O
broadcast	O
a	O
mayday	O
message	O
followed	O
by	O
silence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
chance	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
decided	O
,	O
of	O
successfully	O
stopping	O
the	O
defence	O
systems	O
without	O
destroying	O
the	O
cities	O
already	O
there	O
is	O
to	O
send	O
a	O
single	O
pilot	O
in	O
an	O
armoured	O
Gal-Corp	O
skimmer	O
to	O
the	O
planet	O
's	O
surface	O
with	O
the	O
task	O
of	O
shutting	O
down	O
the	O
central	O
reactor	O
in	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
III	O
's	O
capital	O
,	O
Centralis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
planet	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
III	O
consists	O
of	O
several	O
cities	O
which	O
themselves	O
consist	O
of	O
clusters	O
of	O
buildings	O
with	O
their	O
defensive	O
laser	O
towers	O
and	O
patrolling	O
robot	O
Hunter	O
ships	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
taking	O
the	O
long	O
trip	O
between	O
cities	O
,	O
a	O
bug	O
in	O
the	O
Amstrad	B-Device
CPC	I-Device
version	O
meant	O
players	O
stayed	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
city	O
when	O
next	O
using	O
a	O
jump	O
pad	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
well	O
as	O
displaying	O
these	O
3D	O
graphics	O
,	O
Cooke	O
's	O
game	O
engine	O
renders	O
them	O
with	O
simple	O
shadows	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
simulate	O
the	O
day	O
and	O
night	O
cycle	O
of	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
III	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cities	O
of	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
III	O
are	O
extremely	O
hostile	O
places	O
as	O
they	O
are	O
full	O
of	O
robot	O
defences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
cope	O
with	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
III	O
's	O
frequent	O
hours	O
of	O
darkness	O
,	O
the	O
skimmer	O
has	O
an	O
infra-red	O
display	O
mode	O
and	O
also	O
carries	O
a	O
limited	O
number	O
of	O
short-lived	O
flares	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
is	O
primarily	O
an	O
action	B-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
it	O
has	O
some	O
text-input	O
sections	O
when	O
the	O
skimmer	O
docks	O
or	O
lands	O
on	O
the	O
planet	O
's	O
surface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
assembly	O
of	O
the	O
rods	O
is	O
achieved	O
by	O
using	O
the	O
command	O
"	O
RODS	O
"	O
which	O
displays	O
a	O
screen	O
showing	O
found	O
rod-pieces	O
which	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
assembled	O
in	O
a	O
manner	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
simple	O
jigsaw	B-Application
puzzle	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
CRASH	O
,	O
a	O
Spectrum	O
gaming	O
magazine	O
,	O
summed	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
up	O
in	O
1985	O
as	O
"	O
an	O
excellent	O
game	O
,	O
combining	O
several	O
elements	O
with	O
stunning	O
graphics	O
"	O
and	O
gave	O
it	O
an	O
overall	O
rating	O
of	O
94%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
Spectrum	O
magazine	O
,	O
Sinclair	O
User	O
,	O
gave	O
it	O
a	O
5	O
star	O
rating	O
and	O
declared	O
"	O
It	O
's	O
hard	O
to	O
imagine	O
a	O
better	O
space	O
game	O
,	O
unless	O
one	O
's	O
talking	O
about	O
Elite	B-Application
,	O
with	O
its	O
intergalactic	O
scope	O
and	O
strategic	O
depth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Viewed	O
as	O
a	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
with	O
a	O
purpose	O
to	O
the	O
carnage	O
,	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
has	O
to	O
be	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
all-time	O
greats.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Commodore	O
User	O
magazine	O
provoked	O
controversy	O
in	O
their	O
tips	O
page	O
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
when	O
they	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
final	O
two	O
reactor	O
parts	O
necessary	O
could	O
never	O
be	O
made	O
to	O
fit	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
impossible	O
to	O
complete	O
the	O
game	O
which	O
is	O
contradicted	O
on	O
the	O
C64-Wiki	O
Tau	B-Application
Ceti	I-Application
page	O
.	O
</s>
