Evening Star is a vector graphics

Vector graphics

Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...

 Train Simulation type game for the ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...

, Commodore 64

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

, BBC Micro

BBC Micro

The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...

, Acorn Electron

Acorn Electron

The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....

 and Amstrad CPC

Amstrad CPC

The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...

. This game is the sequel

Sequel

A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

 to Southern Belle.

Gameplay

The idea of the game is to successfully get the "Evening Star" from Bath to its destination Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...

 on the old Somerset and Dorset line

Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway

The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...

. 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".

Programming errors

The most notable programming error of both this game and "Southern Belle" was that the framerate was very slow, with the graphics updating only once per second. This was particularly notable when playing the game on "Fast" mode (speeded up x5).

Also, very often the engine would run out of coal about four miles from the end of the journey, when playing either the "Long Stopper" or "Pines Express" levels. This was because you were not given sufficient coal at the beginning of the game in order to complete the full route. However, this was less of a problem when you were only driving part of the route (e.g. Short Stopper and Signalling).