*******************************************************************************
Asteroids for Atari 8-bit Computers FAQ

by BHodges

Version  1.0
Created  12/21/13

This document Copyright © 2013 by Brian Hodges.  It may not be placed on any
web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission.

Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is
strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.

*******************************************************************************
Table of Contents

I.     Introduction
II.    Background Story
III.   Getting Started
        A.  Defense Options
        B.  Weapons Options
        C.  Game Mode
        D.  Other Options
IV.    Gameplay
        A.  Controls
        B.  Overview
        C.  Basic Strategies
        D.  Scoring
V.     Game Review
VI.    Version History
VII.   Contact Information

*******************************************************************************
I.     Introduction

This is a FAQ for the Atari 8-bit Computer game Asteroids.  It contains
information on playing the game and a mini-review.

*******************************************************************************
II.    Background Story

Here is the background story from the instruction booklet:

"Asteroids surround you.

Trapped far from home, your embattled spaceship hurls toward its doom.  You are
caught in the center of a gigantic cloud of asteroids.  You have no choice.
You must pulverize all the asteroids in your path with your photon cannon - if
you are ever to save yourself and your ship.

You have more than enough photon power to destroy all the asteroids you can
see, but you can only fire four shots into the asteroid field at one time.
Asteroids fly past your viewing screen as you reach for your target controls.
You can be hit four times before your ship is finally destroyed.  Every 10,000
points you score will earn you another ship.

Rubble from an exploding asteroid bounces off your ship's hull.  The hull rings
like a bell.  If you don't get busy, that could be your death knell.  Your hair
stands on end.  A glowing blur flashes across your viewing screen!  So that's
where the rubble came from!  The asteroid was blasted by an Alien Robot Saucer!

The asteroid cloud has trapped Alien Robot Saucers with you.  They lost their
command circuitry eons ago - now they fire at random.  But the metal in your
ship's hull always registers as a more important target than the rocky
asteroids do.  Be careful when you see an Alien Robot Saucer!

Other players also can be trapped with you.  Eighteen game variations allow you
to team with or compete against one, two, or three other players.  Let's get
ready to play."

*******************************************************************************
III.   Getting Started

There are many game modes & options to choose from while on the title screen.

..............................................................................
A.  Defense Options

While on the title screen press the OPTION key to choose a defense option:

Hyperspace

Entering hyperspace will teleport your ship to another location onscreen.  Use
it when you are about to be hit by and asteroid or enemy fire.  Unlike the
arcade game you can use hyperspace as much as you like without worrying about
destroying your ship.  In fact, you will actually remain in hyperspace until
the area you will appear in is clear.

Shields

Shields protect you from all damage.  You can keep your shields up for as long
as you wish, they never run out.  The only downside is that you are unable to
fire while your shields are up.

Flip

This defense option allows you to flip your ship 180 degrees.  This allows you
to quickly fire at targets behind you.

..............................................................................
B.  Weapons Options

There are two weapon options to choose from.  Please note that these only
modify how your shots affect other players, not the asteroids nor saucers.

PATROL PHOTONS

Patrol Photons will not damage other players, just asteroids and saucers.

COMBAT PHOTONS

Combat Photons WILL damage other players.

..............................................................................
C.  Game Mode

Press SELECT while on the title screen to change the Game Mode.  There are
18 different modes in all.  Besides the weapons options and number of players,
this also affects the game type.

There are four game types:

STANDARD

Regular asteroids.  One or two players take turns playing.

MELEE

Every player for himself.

CO-OP

All players work together.

TEAM

Players are on two teams.

..............................................................................
D.  Other Options

There are two other game modifiers available:

FAST ASTEROIDS

While on the title screen press F to activate Fast Asteroids.  In Fast
Asteroids some asteroids will move more quickly than others.  Press F again
to change back to Slow Asteroids

BOUNCE

While on the title screen press B to activate Bounce Asteroids.  In Bounce
Asteroids, instead of the asteroids moving off screen and re-appearing on
the other side of the screen, they will "bounce" off the edges of the screen.
Press B again to change back to Regular Asteroids.

*******************************************************************************
IV.    Gameplay

..............................................................................
A.  Controls

Joystick Up            Activate Thrusters
Joystick Left/Right    Rotate your ship
Joystick Down          Activate Defense Option (Hyperspace, Shields, or Flip)
Button                 Fire photon cannon
Spacebar               Pause the game

..............................................................................
B.  Overview

The object of the game is to destroy the asteroids while avoiding them.  The
asteroids will break up into smaller asteroids when shot.

..............................................................................
C.  Basic Strategies

-  Don't be afraid to use your defense options!  There is no penalty for using
  them nor limit to the number of times they can be used.

-  Unlike the arcade game, using Hyperspace will NEVER destroy your ship.

-  You can keep your Shield activated for as long as you like.

-  If your ship is slowly drifting, firing around 10 shots will bring your
  ship to a halt.

-  The instruction manual details a technique they refer to as the "WHEEL OF
  FIRE".  Have four players gather in the middle of the screen then each
  takes a quadrant to fire at.

-  According to the instruction manual the maximum number of asteroid targets
  that can appear onscreen at one time is 32.

..............................................................................
D.  Scoring

/=========================================================================\
| Target          | Shields     | Hyperspace  | Flip Over   | No Effect   |
|-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
|  Other Ships    |         500 |         500 |        1000 |        1000 |
|-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
|  Small Saucer   |         250 |         250 |         500 |         500 |
|-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
|  Large Saucer   |         100 |         100 |         200 |         200 |
|-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
|  Small Asteroid |          50 |          50 |         100 |         100 |
|-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
|  Med Asteroid   |          20 |          20 |          40 |          40 |
|-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
|  Big Asteroid   |          10 |          10 |          20 |          20 |
\=========================================================================/

*******************************************************************************
V.     Game Review

Asteroids for the Atari 8-bit computers is a decent port of the arcade classic.
It manages to capture the gameplay and fun of the original but the large
graphical difference from the arcade version may turn off some gamers.

Pros
+  Supports up to four player simultaneous play!
+  Lots of game modes to choose from.
+  Audio sounds are close to the arcade version's

Cons
-  The raster graphics look terrible compared to the original's vectors
-  Probably the easiest version of Asteroids I've ever played

*******************************************************************************
VI.    Version History

1.0   12/21/13   Completed FAQ.

*******************************************************************************
VII.   Contact Information

You can contact me at [email protected]

Please leave constructive comments.  I especially appreciate emails letting me
know if I have made a mistake, missed anything, or if you have any ideas for
improving this FAQ.

*******************************************************************************


End

You are viewing proxied material from gopher.endangeredsoft.org. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.