Invasion Of The Cloud People - The Next Storm

Hot on the heals of my 1st game, Invasion of the Cloud People for the original 48k Speccy, I decided to create a new story and game for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Next computer. With all the new bells & whistles that the Next offers, even a novice like myself can make a fun game for folks to hopefully enjoy. It has been a blast creating this game and I sure hope folks enjoy it.

This is the continuing story of the plague that I call The Cloud People, unleashing all their natural elements along with legions of cruel Cloud People, on players all over the world. Will this be the last of the Cloud People? Only time will tell, but for now, let us go on an adventure together and explore the clouds!

10 Cloud Layers along with a number of Cloud Triangles (like the Bermuda Triangle but in the clouds) is what stands between you, the player, and helping save the bits and bytes of my make-believe world of the Cloud People. Tornado, lightning, hail storms, and all sorts of fun weather related phenomena will be your stage and arena for this game.

This is my 1st game created for the Next, and only the 2nd game I have ever created, but I have enjoyed learning NextBASIC along the way, and I hope my game is enjoyed by at least a few of you. If the game is well received, my plan is to finish this game and possibly sell physical copies at some point.

For now I am calling this game a “3/4 Done Demo”… 8 Levels, 2 Cloud Triangles, with a goal to test the waters to see what folks think of the game. If I get good response, the game will be re-opened and I will create 3 more levels to make a Baker’s Dozen. This way the game has a beginning and an official ending, where a possible 3rd game will come down the road. If I do make a physical copy later with more levels, I may also add a surprise or two adding more goodies to an SD card for folks to enjoy! In time we shall see!

In the spirit of the Cascade Cassette 50 Game Tapes of old, I consider this game an SD Card 50 quality game. LOL! Therefore the game is not a super big game… not super elaborate, and created by a novice like me but… it should be fun to play and piss off the player enough to where they come back from time to time to give the game another go. Hard to win but can be done in a short time too if you practice and play hard. Those are the games I like… quick in… quick out, with possibility I can beat the game in an hour or two, or less.

Hopefully my game will one day be at the top of the SD Card 50 style games created by novice programmers like myself.

So get ready… and go kick some Cloud People butt!

How to Install and Play

** Warning... this game can be randomly evil!  No patterns, expect the unexpected, and like in life, things happen at random so no logic here, just wild out frantic random crazy gaming! **

This game is only made for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Next.  Should also work on the n-GO Next Clone too.  Not intended for Next emulators but may work. 

1.) Copy the entire Next Storm directory to your Sinclair ZX Spectrum Next Computer. Preferably into your Games >> Next directory.

2.) Using the NextZXOS Browser, navigate to the Next Storm directory and select the NextStorm-Demo.bas game to launch.

3.) Enjoy!

* Recommend using a Kempston joystick connected to Joyport #1. Full movement in all directions. Fire button can shoot rockets in later layers.

** Keyboard can be used but offers no diagonal movement. I recommend the game be played with joystick for best action. Q = Up / A = Down / O = Left / P = Right / Fire = I

Goal… collect a minimum of 7 Blue Rain Drops per cloud layer to bring up the portal to the next layer. Touch the portal and teleport to the next layer. The whole time nasties will be go after you so don’t touch any of them!

DON’T let the nasties touch the portal before you do as GAME-OVER if they do. Therefore the act of killing yourself off before the nasties touch the portal can be used as a technique to keep in the game. Remember that tip!

Along the way collect a Portal Pass and Refluxenator Battery in the Cloud Triangles. The Portal Pass will allow you to squeak through a harder layer as you only need to collect 4 Blue Rain Drops and then hit the letter M on the keyboard to teleport to the next layer. Saves your bacon sometimes! Can only be used once!!! The Refluxenator Battery charges up the Refluxenator Rockets that Cellustorm can use in later levels to shoot down the Cloud People. Don’t skip picking that up in the Cloud Triangle because if you miss that and teleport to the next layer, you will not be able to power up your only weapon!

End goal is to see if you can complete all 10 levels available in this 3/4 Done Demo. If you do, job well done! If you don’t, keep trying and one day you may be considered the best captain of Cellustorm!

God Speed To You!