Evening Star (video game)

Evening Star
Publisher(s)	Hewson Consultants Ltd.
Designer(s)	Mike Male, Bob Hillyer
Platform(s)	Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
Release	1987
Genre(s)	Vehicle simulation game
Mode(s)	Single player

Evening Star is a vector graphics Train Simulation type game for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron and Amstrad CPC. This game is the sequel to Southern Belle.

Gameplay

The idea of the game is to successfully get the "Evening Star" from Bath to its destination Bournemouth on the old Somerset and Dorset line. The objectives are keeping to the tight timetable, earning points for safety and economy, and obeying signals. Stops are made at stations along your route to pick up passengers.

Other features

Technically the game was an improvement on the sister game "Southern Belle". There were lots more curves included along the line, along with additional lineside buildings and features. Also, the steepness of the gradients was much improved, though this was only because the Somerset and Dorset line was much hillier than the Brighton line.

However, the gameplay remained pretty much identical to that of "Southern Belle", and the two games were similar enough for the casual gamer to mistake one game for the other. That said, the average railway enthusiast was able to see the improvements which were featured on "Evening Star".

The physics of the steam engine was improved and it is necessary to use the injector differently compared to "Southern Belle". Steam pressure is more sensitive to the regulator and the cutoff position.

External links

• Evening Star at SpectrumComputing.co.uk