Airline
AIRLINE
Requires: Extended BASIC.
An ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL game- best known as Scott Adams who wrote the databases for the Adventure Module.
Program by George Schwenk - CoCo version by Roger Schrag - TRS-80 version by David Simmons - Commodore and TI versions by Ann and Phillip Case
This unusual game of strategy is quite different. Never widely available- it was released after the Nov 1983 TI pull-out.
It is a sort of trading game / game of strategy in which you operate a fleet of aircraft around the United States, represented by a grid of squares on screen. Each landing point has certain trading characteristics which are to be taken into account, and each type of plane you can operate has its own costs and benefits.
The computer plays fairly well and you will need to think to beat it.
Not a shoot em up or a flight simulator.
Documentation
Introduction
When the game begins, you and your competitors will be given $100,000 each to invest in the purchase of airports and planes in 36 major US cities. A key to the city airports, available planes and their purchase prices is shown below.
The object of the game is to manipulate your initial capital to purchase airport landing rights to the largest cities. At the same time, you must leave enough cash in reserve for buying aircraft to base at your airports so that you can begin collecting flight fares. You must first purchase landing rights to a city airport before you can buy a plane to base there, and only one action per turn is permitted.
The revenues received from fares will provide the money necessary to increase your holdings by enabling you to purchase more airports and planes. When the game ends, the player with the most money is the winner.
Landing rights
You may purchase landing rights to any city airport that is not owned by another player.
Basing aircraft
After you have purchased a plane, you must base it at one of the airports you own. Only one plane can be based in a city at a time. However, if you wish to base a larger plane in a city to produce higher fare revenues you may do so. The plane that was formerly based there will then be considered "scrapped" and you will receive no credit for it.
Collection of fares
You begin to collect fares when you have purchased two adjacent airports and have at least one aircraft based in either of the two. Planes fly only between adjacent airports that you own, and not beyond. In a single turn, this could result in collecting fares for up to four routes. The larger cities (based on population) and bigger aircraft (based on cost) produce higher fare revenues. The computer will automatically calculate your fare revenues and display them after each player's turn. Fares for the final turn are 10 times the normal value.
Playing Hints
- Buy the landing rights to airports in a concentrated area surrounding your largest city.
- While you should attempt to buy landing rights to cities that your opponent needs, it's not a good idea to sacrifice one of your moves on a strictly defensive purchase that cannot increase your revenues.
- Remember that basing the largest planes in the most populated cities will result in the highest revenues.
Playing the game
After the game loads, you may select any combination of up to four Human (press H) or Computer (press C) players. Use the Skip option (press S) to bypass any player positions not used.
Making a move
A distinctive tone will call the player to attention. A cursor will appear in the Command column displayed in the far left-hand screen area. Use the up and down arrow keys to move the cursor over the letter corresponding to the command of your choice.
The command choices are:
- L Purchase landing rights to city airport
- C Check landing rights cost
- P Purchase plane
- Q Quit. Take no action this turn
Purchase Landing Rights
The center of the screen display represents a map of the city airports available for purchase throughout the United States. Use the arrow keys to select command C and press the SPACEBAR to check the price of landing rights. The number that appears in place of the city is the square root of the purchase price multiplied by $1,000. For example, the number 4 represents 4 × 4 × $1,000 or $16,000. A list of the city airports and purchase price of landing rights is below. Press any key to return to the Command column.
To purchase the landing the rights to one of the city airports. place the cursor over the L command and press the SPACEBAR. The cursor will then move to the center-screen area. Use the arrow keys to place the cursor over the city you wish to buy landing rights to and press SPACEBAR. The name of the city and the price of the landing rights will be displayed in the lower section of the information area. To confirm the purchase. press SPACEBAR. Your player number will then appear in the city airport space. If you decide against the purchase, press any key to return to the Command column. You may then choose another command. When all the players have taken their turns, the computer will calculate fare revenues for the players.
Buying a Plane
After you have purchased landing rights to at least one airport, you may buy a plane to base there during your next turn. Upon choosing the P command (Purchase a plane), the cursor will move to the right-hand screen area in the Plane column.
The types of planes to choose from anti their purchase prices are listed below.
- P Prop $ 3.000
- A Airbus $12,000
- D DC10 $27,000
- B B747 $48,000
- C Concorde $75,000
Map and purchase prices
| Seattle | Bismark | Minneapolis | Milwaukee | Buffalo | Boston |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| $4,000 | $1,000 | $9,000 | $9,000 | $4,000 | $4,000 |
| Portland | Denver | Des Moines | Detroit | Pittsburgh | New York |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| $9,000 | $9,000 | $1,000 | $16,000 | $4,000 | $64,000 |
| Sacramento | Salt Lake City | St. Louis | Chicago | Cincinnati | Philadelphia |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| $4,000 | $1,000 | $4,000 | $36,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| San Francisco | Las Vegas | Kansas City | Cleveland | Nashville | Washington |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| $16,000 | $4,000 | $4,010 | $4,000 | $4,000 | $9,000 |
| Los Angeles | Phoenix | Dallas | Memphis | Atlanta | Jacksonville |
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| $36,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 | $4,000 | $16,000 | $9,000 |
| San Diego | San Antonio | Houston | New Orleans | Birmingham | Miami |
| 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| $9,000 | $9,000 | $25,000 | $9,000 | $4,000 | $9,000 |
Planes
| P | Prop | $ 3.000 |
| A | Airbus | $12,000 |
| D | DC10 | $27,000 |
| B | B747 | $48,000 |
| C | Concorde | $75,000 |
Availability for Emulators
ftp://ftp.whtech.com/emulators/pc99/pc99%20dsk%20collection/Game01/AIRLINE.ZIP