POLAR BEAR IN SPACE! (C64)
A downloadable game
Psytronik Software in association with RGCD are delighted to present an absolutely stunning debut release for the C64 from Unrolled Loop Studios LLC - POLAR BEAR IN SPACE! Take control of an extremely cute Polar Bear in his quest to run, jump and zap through various alien-infested levels whilst collecting krystals.
** STORY **
Polar Bear is stranded in space! Having found a nearby alien space station on his quest for home, he must now locate the secret underground transporter and collect the 99 krystals needed to operate it. Only then can he escape! Artful aliens, onerous obstacles, and tenacious terminals stand in his way. Will you and his trusted companion Snowball be able to turn the odds in his favor?
** FEATURES **
· Super-slick presentation
· Incredibly cute main character
· Combined platforming and space shooting action
· Superb soundtracks
· Non-respawning enemies in platform section!
· Support for keyboard and two/three-button (POTX/POTY) controllers
· Includes SD2IEC compatible version!
· TheC64 Mini/Maxi compatible
NOTE: This game is suitable for PAL systems only.
** CREDITS **
Programmed by Silvan Reinhold
Graphics and Game Design by Silvan Reinhold
Gaming Consultant Dina Smith
Music by Jon Wells
Packaging Artwork by Trevor Storey
Additional Packaging Design by Jason ‘Kenz’ Mackenzie
Tape Mastering by Richard Bayliss & Martin Piper
Please note: The physical cartridge, tape, disk & USB versions can now be ordered from the OFFICIAL SECURE PSYTRONIK ONLINE STORE
NEW BOOK NOW AVAILABLE!
The Art and Development of 8-Bit Games with POLAR BEAR IN SPACE!
Learn the art of developing an 8-bit video game with this rare, illustrated behind-the-scenes perspective on the creation of the Commodore 64 game POLAR BEAR IN SPACE!
Packed with approachable tips, tricks, and detailed explanations, this book pulls back the curtain on the game's underlying core concepts, including:
- Graphics, animations, and special effects
- Player, enemy, and object behavior and interaction
- Sound and music engine design principles
- Early designs and concept drawings
- Evolution from original idea to finished product
- Accessibility, testing, and optimization considerations
- Collateral, floppy disk, cassette tape, and cartridge creation
By the time you're finished reading this book, you'll be armed with an arsenal of powerful ideas to incorporate into your very own 8-bit video game!
The book is now available from www.amazon.co.uk in paperback, hardcover and e-book formats.
** SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS **
POLAR BEAR IN SPACE! is a game for the Commodore 64. You can play the game in a C64 emulator (we recommend VICE) or you can port the game onto real C64 hardware if you have the resources to do so. The download file features the .d64 (disk version), .tap (tape version) and .crt (c64 cartridge version).
NOTE: The cost of this purchase does NOT include VAT. The VAT will be added on during the checkout process, the amount of VAT varies depending on the VAT rates that apply to the country you are ordering from.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Comments
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What happens if you try and run a PAL only game on a NTSC C64mini? Does it just run way too fast or are there other things tied to the 50 hz that wont work at 60 hz?
@benstylus that usually depends on the game. Some will just run faster, others won't work at all. Polar Bear in Space! won't run correctly on an NTSC machine, so it would have to be run on PAL. I don't have a C64mini, but I think someone made a patch for the mini that can make the it switch between NTSC and PAL.
Very nice, varied, but hard game. Our German-language review can be found in our recorded livestream starting at 01:29:59. Subscription to our YouTube or Twitch channel is welcome. 🙂
9 1/2 hours of video - that's dedication! And definitely not an easy game - you should try the updated version from this year with Bearable Mode and other improvements!
Yeah, I remember that despite the trainer having infinite lives and using quick save points with VICE, the longplay was pretty nerve-wracking, especially at some platforms where you had to jump to another with pixel perfection . But I don't give up that easily. 😉 I will be happy to look at the current version and possibly show it once again in one of our next liveshows.
The updated version is much easier with the new cheat mode - and some of the underground levels are rearranged slightly to make them easier to walk through. Definitely worth another try :)
I bought this game after is has been released, started to play but I couldn't solve the sequence in 20 seconds, so after updated, where you wrote that now it's 60 seconds, I decided to give it second try. But it's still only 20 seconds!
@PixiEdward you have to launch the game in "Bearable Mode" for that.
On the Photosensitive Warning screen, when pressing F1 or F7, hold down the SHIFT key at the same time (that is, press F2 or F8 instead) . This will put the game into Bearable Mode and also set all timers to 60.
you have to release this game by free.
Disappointing that the gmod2 version isn't included in the latest update. :(
The physical releases are pretty expensive for those of us in places like australia where the exchange rate to everything is terrible. haha
And it's sold out anyway. Bring back the gmod2 version please. :)
Great update though. :)
Great update for much easy play and finish to the end. Thanks for this wonderful game!
Really, really slick!! loving the sensi feel and the depth. Will be reviewed in the next Reset mag
Can’t wait. Definitely much more depth than I first anticipated. Amazing fx, too.
Great game, many classics references in a great experience on its own, really a great game! Is a sid file of the music available?
Love this game, too! Great references to older games, but very original by itself.
Not sure if there are sid files, but the Collector's Edition disk version comes with a soundtrack CD, and the limited edition USB tape version has MP3s on it.
Space, a polar bear, what more could you want! Love this.
Ha! A speed run of sorts. I'll have to see if I can go faster than this. Didn't realize trying to break speed records could be that much fun with this game.
Great game but I hate highscore tables which are not saved. ;-)
testing in sd2iec thank you!!!!
Unfortunately I must say that it does not work, I load the sd2iec program with the command load "* fb", 8.1 loads the sjload I look for the d64v I open it I load the prg and the ready of the basic immediately jumps, I give a list and the error appears " overflow in memory ". I copy the d64 from the sd2iec folder to / from the card I do load "polarbear.d64", 8 and it stays in loadning and does nothing, I try one more time with load "polarbear, d64", 8,1 now to load the assembling sentences from memory and a black box remains and does nothing at all on the screen and the sd2iec remains eternally loading the d64. I continue with the .tap that I recorded on cassette unfortunately
Hi!
The game loads and autostarts fine for me on my SD2IEC. This is how I do it:
(this loads the SD2IEC file browser, assuming this is called FB64 on your SD2IEC card as well)
(this starts the SD2IEC file browser)
(make sure NOT to select the “ POLAR BEAR .PRG” inside the D64 here after selecting the D64)
(this will now mount the disk image)
(this loads and auto-starts the game)
Because SD2IEC doesn't work with all fast loaders, loading takes a few minutes in either case, but you should see Polar Bear tap his foot while the game loads.
Hope this helps!
Thank you very much when I get home after work I test it
That way it worked a thousand thanks
Hi, I've loaded the game with no problems into my C64 using an SD2IEC and the fb64 browser that is included with it. Once the .d64 was mounted I did have to reset my C64 using my Action Replay cart and then load it the standard way with LOAD"*",8,1 (RETURN). I will see if there is a simpler way to get it to load via an SD2IEC.
Thank you
the d64 does not work in sdiec I am trying with the .tap to popder to play it in my Argentine model c64c (pal)
PD using the tap turning it to audio and recording it on a blank tape and loading it to the old one worked!
Hi, an SD2IEC friendly version of the game will be made available very soon!
Thank you very much great game and just a small report of something that I think is a bug, in the presentation after choosing f1 or f7 the presentation mode flashes badly, it comes out of colors, you see the background of other things and it seems to be something from the video ( vic) I tried it with a drean commodore 64 drean commodore 64c and it remains the same it does not affect the game that loads perfect but if the presentation is very ugly, in the vice emulator it works well, therefore I imagine it is something of incompatibility with the chip video (vic) greetings
The game in the CRT file has a problem. VICE EMULATOR, EASY FLASH 3, THE C64 MAXI emulator runs the game up to a certain point and the game crashes. Have you checked what is the cause of this error?
Hi, do you have any more details of where the game crashes so we can look into the problem?
Sadly can't get this to run on my Kung Fu Flash (latest firmware), either disk or cart :(
Did you try both cart versions? The Ocean build works on Easyflash.
Ah-HA! There was only one cartridge image in the ZIP I downloaded, now there's two. \o/ I'll slap that on my KFF & give it a go!
Amazing game!
:3 Beautiful! I'll gift this to myself in January for my birthday. So cute! I love polar bears!
Wow! this looks amazing!