Atari Centipede - Ready-To-Play Mode

Centipede
Operators
may
choose
one-
or
two-credit
mini-
mums
by
selecting
one
of the
option
switch set-
tings
on the
game
PCB (see
Figure
7,
Game
Option
Settings).
If the
game
is set
for a
2-credit
minimum,
that
message
will be
displayed
on the
screen.
(No spe-
cial
message
appears
if Centipede
is set
to
the
op-
posite
setting,
namely
1-credit
minimum.)
The
other
picture
surrounds
the
high score
table,
game
price
and
bonus-life
achievement
level mes-
sages.
That
picture
displays
a
typical
game-play se-
quence,
with a
field of
colorful
mushrooms
through
which a
centipede
crawls.
The
spiders
bounce
in
from
the
sides
of the
screen,
and
fleas
occasionally
drop
down
from the top.
In
addition,
scorpions
will
cross
the
screen
at
almost
any
point.
In
this mode,
the
action
exactly
duplicates a
typi-
cal
game
played by
a
moderately
skilled player:
the
player’s
shooter
moves
freely
within the
limits of
motion,
shooting
at
spiders,
centipedes,
fleas and
scorpions.
Periodically
the
player
is
“destroyed”
when a
flea,
spider
or
centipede
head
or
body col-
lides
with
the
player’s
shooter.
All
the
colors
on
the
screen change
with each
wave.
A new
wave
occurs
when
the
player shoots
all
centipede
parts
remaining
on
the screen. At
this
point, a
new
centipede
starts
snaking
its way down
from
the top
of the
screen.
The
attract
mode
differs
from
real game
play in
that no
head
figures are
shown at
the
top
of the
screen
to
represent
the
number
of lives remaining,
no
sounds
are
produced,
no scores
are
incre-
mented,
and
none
of the
four
player controls
work.
At
any
time
when
the game
is
powered up,
if the
coin-door
slam
switch is
closed, you
will
hear a spe-
cial
alarm
sound.
This
sound
alerts
location
person-
nel that
the
game
has
been
abused.
2.
Ready-to-Play
Mode
This mode
begins
when sufficient
coins are ac-
cepted for a
one- or
two-player game.
It
ends
when
the
1-player start
or 2-player
start pushbutton
is
pressed. When
this mode
begins, the message
CRE-
DITS is displayed
in the
middle of the
screen. The
pictures
are
otherwise the same as
those shown
in
the attract
mode.
If you
select the
two-credit
minimum and a
player
inserts
enough money
for only one
credit, the mes-
sage
2
CREDIT
MINIMUM flashes on
the screen un-
til
enough coins
for the second
credit are inserted.
in addition,
CREDITS OV2
is displayed
if
you
have
selected
the option
of two coins per
credit, and the
player has inserted
only one
coin. A “credit”
is
de-
fined as
the
cost
for
each player to
play one game.
In
other
words, two
credits will pay
for:
•
one
player playing two games, or
•
two players
playing one
game.
3. Play Mode
The play
mode
begins when any
flashing
start
pushbutton is
pressed.
The
mode
ends when
the
player’s
last life is lost.
A
player’s
shooter
is
enabled at
the beginning of
the play
mode,
and the audio
starts. The appropriate
LED
start
switch will then stay
lighted
until
the end
of
the
game. At this point it
will flash if any credit re-
mains.
The
game
begins
with
a
playfield of
randomly
placed
mushrooms.
A centipede
starts snaking its
way
across
from the center top
of
the screen. The
centipede
changes
direction
when it
runs
into a
mushroom or
either the
left or
right boundaries of
the
playfield.
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