Rendezvous with Rama

RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY

ARTHUR C. CLARKE

By now, the year 2130, all of the largest asteroids in the solar system have long since been discovered. Smaller ones are being found at the rate of a dozen a day. So when a huge new asteroid appears the only surprise is that it was overlooked for so long. It is duly assigned the next available name, Rama, and is promptly forgotten about--but not for long.

As Rama approaches Earth, every question about it seems to have an answer that raises more questions. And as observations continue, the most impossible explanation becomes the only one: Rama is actually a spaceship.

The next step is obvious: mankind must attempt a rendezvous. But only one of our spaceships is close enough. As fate has it, that ship is the Endeavor--the ship that you command.

Without even reading them, you know what your orders will be: to rendezvous with the giant ship, to explore it, to meet with its inhabitants, and to return home before it speeds on its orbit away from the solar system.

Yet even in your excitement, you realize it is not an easy mission. You will have to make difficult decisions--many of them. And you will have to work very fast--because if you stay on Rama too long, returning home will be impossible.

From the first moment it has been clear: this is the mission of your lifetime. Thousands would gladly sacrifice anything for the chance to be in y our shoes. But only you have that chance. Only you can explore Rama.

Rendezvous With Rama is the first computer adventure game to be produced in collaboration with Arthur C. Clarke. The program allows you to talk with three other crew members, and comes complete with detailed maps of Rama and the Endeavor. Multiple disks offer extended play--and the game may be played with or without graphics.

ARTHUR C. CLARKE, world-famous author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, continues to be a major force in science fiction; over twenty million copies of his books have been printed world-wide. The novel Rendezvous With Rama has won the three highest science fiction awards: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Awards.

The adventure game Rendezvous With Rama was developed and produced by Byron Preiss Video Productions, Inc., leading designer of entertainment and educational software. Their technical director is Lee Jacknow.

"When you entered a saga, you were not merely a passive observer, as in the crude entertainments of the primitive times. ... You could go into these phantom worlds with your friends seeking excitement and as long as the game lasted there was no way it could be distinguished from reality."

-Arthur C. Clarke, The City and the Stars, 1953

"When I wrote those words in The City and the Stars over three decades ago, I certainly never dreamed that this sort of thing would happen during my lifetime--still less that I would be involved! Rendezvous With Rama is a splendid interactive adventure based on my novel. The exploration of its subject, an alien starship, is a fitting context for this exciting and ambitious computer software. It is the shape of things to come."

Arthur C. Clarke, 1984

Source:

Back Cover - C64 (US)

"When you entered a saga, you were not merely a passive observer, as in the crude entertainments of the primitive times.

...You could go into these phantom worlds with your friends seeking excitement and as long as the game lasted there was no way it could be distinguished from reality."

-Arthur C. Clarke,

The City and the Stars, 1953

By now, the year 2130, all of the largest asteroids in the solar system have long since been discovered. Smaller ones are being found at the rate of a dozen a day. So when a huge new asteroid appears the only surprise is that it was overlooked for so long. It is duly assigned the next available name, Rama, and is promptly forgotten about - but not for long.

As Rama approaches Earth, every question about it seems to have an answer that raises more questions. And as observations continue, the most impossible explanation becomes the only one: Rama is actually a spaceship.

The next step is obvious: mankind must attempt a rendezvous. But only one of our spaceships is close enough. As fate has it, that ship is the Endeavor - the ship that you command.

Without even reading them, you know what your orders will be: to rendezvous with the giant ship, to explore it, to meet its inhabitants, and to return home before it speeds on its orbit away from the solar system.

Yet even in your excitement, you realize it is not an easy mission. You will have to make difficult decisions - many of them. And you will have to work very fast - because if you stay on Rama too long, returning home will be impossible.

From the first moment it has been clear: this is the mission of your lifetime. Thousands would gladly sacrifice anything for the chance to be in your shoes. But only you have that chance. Only you can explore Rama.

Rendezvous With Rama is the first computer adventure game to be produced in collaboration with Arthur C. Clarke. The program allows you to talk with three other crew members, and comes complete with detailed maps of Rama and the Endeavor. Multiple disks offer extended play - and the game may be played with or without graphics.

ARTHUR C. CLARKE, world-famous author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, continues to be a major force in science fiction; over twenty million copies of his books have been printed world-wide. The novel Rendezvous With Rama has won the three highest science fiction awards: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Awards.

The adventure game Rendezvous With Rama was developed and produced by Byron Preiss Video Productions, Inc., leading designers of entertainment and educational software. Their technical director is Lee Jacknow.

"When I wrote those words in The City and the Stars over three decades ago, I certainly never dreamed that this sort of thing would happen during my lifetime - still less that I would be involved! Rendezvous With Rama is a splendid interactive adventure based on my novel. The exploration of its subject, an alien starship, is a fitting context for this exciting and ambitious computer software. It is the shape of things to come."

-Arthur C. Clarke, 1984

Source:

Back Cover - C64

RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA — Arthur C. Clarke

The year is 2130, and a huge new asteroid has been discovered and named: Rama. As it approaches Earth, routine questions are answered by bigger ones—until finally, the impossible becomes the obvious. Rama is actually a mammoth spaceship.

As fate has it, only once of our ships is close enough with Rama to meet it—and it is the ship you command. Without even reading them, you know your orders: to rendezvous with the ship, to explore it, to find its creators, and to return home—if you can.

Rendezvous With Rama is the first software to be produced with the collaboration of Arthur C. Clarke. World-famous author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke continues to be a major figure in science fiction writing.

Source:

Trillium Newsletter, Volume 1 No 1, Fall/Winter 1984