#technical showcase

Zero Tolerance

The Sega Genesis wasn’t exactly known for its ability to handle first-person shooters, but that didn’t stop four different efforts from getting a commercial release. Zero Tolerance was released by Technopop in 1994, so it wasn’t the first attempt on the console (that honor belongs to Core Design’s Cyber-Cop), nor was it the last (Brazil’s exclusive Duke Nukem 3D port gets that distinction), but it remains the most creative effort of them all and has garnered a cult following as a result. Nowadays, it’s far too archaic and tiresome for most to stomach, but its sheer ambition alone deserves special credit. 

The ME1 salarian head preset had been used by the developers to create quite a wide and diverse cast of background and side characters you can spot while exploring the many fun locations of the environment.

The way these were created involved alterations to the existing mesh, and a shuffling between a variety of textures and normal maps that generated scales, colours, tattoos and more. Again its all based on that one default preset, but its amazing to see how much that can be done with it.

CSEC OFFICER SALARIAN.

CIVILIAN 1

THE ENTHUSIASTIC DANCING SALARIAN!

FLUX BARTENDER.

CIVILIAN 2.

CAR SALESMAN.

CONSORT CHAMBERS WORKER.

CIVILIAN 3.

CONSORT CHAMBERS CLIENT.

CIVILIAN 4.

Tetra Star: The Fighter

Tetra Star is a 3D shooter, developed by Home Data / Disco and published by Taito, but it seems to have been made by the same staff as Cosmic Epsilon, since it plays a lot like it. It no longer supports 3D, though, and the pacing is faster. There are a handful of supplementary weapons with limited ammo, unlocked over the course of the game, including the Wide Blaster bombs, Homing missiles, Napalm bombs, and the chargeable Bio cannon. It all should seem familiar, but the main difference lies with its storytelling.In the future year 2089, Earth makes contact with the Baal Empire and sets up a warp gate between the two home planets as a sign of peace. Things seem to be going well until the Empire suddenly launches an attack on New York City. As the pilot of the experimental Tetra Star fighter, you lead a small squadron through the warp gate to strike back against the bad guys.