Tempest
TM
F.
Game
Flay
^
Atari’s
Tempest™
game
is a
one-
or
two-player
game
with a
color
X-Y or
vector-generator
monitor.
This
new
monitor,
with
its
3-color
guns and
higher
voltage,
has the
same
technology
that
was
used in
Atari’s
black-and-white
X-Y monitors.
However,
this
new
monitor
displays
dazzling
color and
unique
vis-
ual
effects
in a
spectacular
three-dimensional
video
display.
Tempest™
introduces
additional new features:
•
Skill-Step™
with
99
skill
levels of play
•
Operator-information
display
• Demonstration mode
with freeze
Skill-Step™
allows a
player to
start a
game at the
same
level as
was
previously
achieved (he must
start
the
next game
within 30
seconds),
without
hav-
ing
to
start over at
the
beginning
levels.
Therefore,
skillful
players
continue
to
be
challenged while less
experienced
players try to
master higher
levels. The
99
skill
levels of
play include
16
different playfields
and 6
different
targets.
The
Operator-
Information
Display is a special
se-
quence
in the
self-test
mode displaying
game-time
information:
number of seconds
the game has been
on
and
been played
and the
average
game time. This
display lists
the
number
of one- and two-player
games
played, option
switch settings,
number of
lives,
level
of
difficulty,
bonus
levels, credits, and
game
pricing
information.
In this mode, you may
clear the
special
“permanent”
memory by erasing
the
high-score
table or
game-time
information. The
word
ERASING
appears
on the screen
during either
of these
processes.
The
Demonstration
Mode allows you to
accele-
rate
through
98 tubes by
blasting down the
tube
toward
the
far rim without
having to
kill the enemies.
Also,
you
can freeze
game
action
so
you
can enjoy
the
dazzling
effects
of your journey
through the
tubes.
In
addition
to
these
new
features, Tempest™
has
five
possible modes
of
operation: attract,
ready-to-
play,
play,
high score
initial and
self-test. Self-test
is
a
special mode
for
checking the
game switches
and
computer
functions. You may
enter self-test at any
time
(if you
enter Part
1 all credits
are retained;
enter
Part 2
and all
credits are
cancelled).
Wait
at
least
eight
seconds
after a game
has been
played
before
entering
self-test
or turning
off the power.
Other-
wise, you
may
erase the
high score
table.
1. Attract Mode
The attract
mode
begins when power is applied
to
the game,
after
a play or high score initial mode, or
after self-test. This mode is continuous and is only
interrupted
when
a
game
is
paid for and
accepted, or
when in self-test. In the attract mode, the monitor
displays one
of three possible pictures.
One of the pictures is the high score display
which lasts for 12 seconds. The score(s) from the
last game is at the top
of
the
screen. Following is
the highest score and player’s
initials. The
top
eight
scores and
their matching initials appear in the cen-
ter of the
screen. The ranking (from 1
to
99)
for the
last player(s) appears under the
high score table.
©
MCMLXXX ATARI appears
three lines from
the
bottom of the
screen. Next, if the 2-game option is
selected,
BONUS EVERY
20,000
alternates with 2
CREDIT
MINIMUM.
Credits and
game price appear
on
the bottom line of the screen.
Finally,
at
the
top
of the screen, the words IN-
SERT
COINS and GAME
OVER alternate if
there
are
no
game credits.
The words PRESS
START
and
GAME
OVER alternate if there
are game
credits.
A second
picture, lasting
for 12
seconds, is
the
TEMPEST
logo. In
this
sequence,
a
multicolored
square
shrinks
toward
the center of the screen
where a
very small TEMPEST logo appears. The
word
TEMPEST enlarges
in multiple
images
and
changes color.
In
addition,
©
MCMLXXX ATARI
ap-
pears on the lower
half
of
the
screen.
The
next picture, lasting from
5
to 60 seconds,
shows the last game score, the
highest
score
and
its
initials, and the words PRESS
START
or
INSERT
COINS alternating with
GAME
OVER at the top of
the screen. Credits, game
price, and bonus-life
information are at the bottom of the screen.
In the
center
of
the
screen, the picture duplicates a
typical
game-play sequence with the
computer controlling
the
shooter.
The shooter
rotates
on the
end of
the
tubelike
sur-
face that is nearest
to
the player. Enemies land on
the end
of
the tube that is
farthest
away
from
the
player and climb toward the shooter. The shooter
fires down the tube at the
approaching
enemies.
This scene ends when either the shooter
gets
shot
or spiked or
when
the shooter
kills
all the enemies
and blasts through the tube into space, and lands on
the next
playfield.
14
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