Paradroid 202x: welcome aboard

The title screen has had some attention. Alongside Start Game, there are now buttons for Instructions, Statistics, Credits, and High Scores. It gives the game a place to introduce the mission, explain the controls, and acknowledge the people helping bring this version together.

Keeping the original briefing, updating the details

The instructions span five pages and draw on the original Paradroid briefing. The Robo-freighters, Beta Ceti, and the prototype Influence Device are all there. I’ve updated the practical details to match the Swift version: movement and Fire controls, transfer preparation, and the discovery-based droid archive. The high-resolution 001 artwork sits alongside the text.

Finding the right menu

The first pass used a vertical list, which took too much space away from the title artwork. A single row of rounded icon buttons made a better fit. I tried the HUD artwork on the buttons and then behind them, but the simpler approach worked best: the original button style on a panel using the screen palette’s darker colour. Softer corners and a thin border in the lightest tileset colour finish it off.

A record of the journey

The Statistics screen uses the existing saved lifetime totals, showing shots, hits, destroyed droids, transfers, cleared decks, lift journeys, and terminal visits. It complements the current-mission statistics available from the ship’s consoles.

The High Scores screen is ready as an empty board. Score entry and recording are deliberately left for the game-entry and game-over sequencing work; this update does not yet save high scores.

The people behind it

The credits retain “Written by Andrew Braybrook” for the original game and the original sound advice credit for Steve Turner. This version credits Aaron K. Thorne, Tony Brice for QA and Testing, and Michael Pin for music.

Development checkpoint — 9 September 2026

The title-screen work is committed as 9e34d0c: “Add title menus, mission briefing, statistics and credits”. The isolated commit built successfully and passed its seven existing tests. The new screens and menu navigation were also checked in the running Mac app during development.