Atari Tempest - Play Mode

Tempest
TM
If
a
player
has
credits
and
spins
the
control-panel
knob,
the
attract
mode
ends
and the
words
PRESS
START
appear
in
the
center
of
the
screen.
Above
this
is
the
score
from the
last
game
and
the
highest
score
and
its
initials.
Below
the
words
PRESS
START
are
credits,
game
price
and
bonus
life
infor-
mation.
If
you
select
the
2-credit
minimum
option
and a
player
inserts
enough
money
for
one
credit,
the
messages
INSERT
COINS
and
2
CREDIT
MINIMUM
appear
in the
center
of the
screen
until
sufficient
coins
are
inserted
for
game
play.
2.
Ready-to-Play
Mode
This
mode
begins
when
sufficient
coins
are
ac-
cepted
for a
game.
Each
player
rates
himself by
ro-
tating
the
control
knob.
The
knob
moves a
square
which
frames
the
level
he
wishes
to
select.
The
sur-
face
shape
and
bonus
points
for that
level
are also
shown
on the
screen.
Bonus
point
incentive
encourages
play at a
higher
level,
once
that
level
has
been
reached.
For
exam-
ple,
starting
at
level
one
and
playing
through
level
nine
awards 34,000
points.
Starting
at
level
nine
and
playing
through
that
level
awards 59,000
points.
If
a
player
reaches
a
higher
level,
he
may
continue to
play
near
that
level by
pressing
start
before
the
at-
tract
mode
is
over.
For
example,
if a
player
ended
his
last
game
in
level
20,
he
may
choose
level
1, 3,
5,
7, 9,
11,
13, 15,
or
17.
Ail action
occurs
on
one
of sixteen
suspended
tubelike
playfields.
The
three-dimensional
tube
sur-
faces
are
viewed
from the top,
so
the
view of
the
first
playfield (a
circle)
is
like looking
into a
well.
Each
playfield
is made
of
16 rails
which
connect the
nearest to
the
farthest
rim.
The
playfield color
changes
every 16
levels:
level
1 is blue,
level
17-red,
level
33-yellow,
level
49-cyan,
65
-invisible
and
81
-green.
In
addition,
other
events
cause
playfield
color
variation. The
shooter
causes the
two
rails on
which
it sits to
change
color.
Superzap
causes
the play-
field to
flash as
enemies are
zapped.
Playfield
rails
flash
rainbow
colors
when a
player earns a
bonus
life.
Pulsar
enemies
cause
sections
of the
nearest
rim to
disappear,
and
during
the
pulse phase,
adja-
cent
rails
to
flash.
The
player’s
shooter
is
controlled
by
rotating
the
control-panel
knob.
The
shooter
moves
around on
the
nearest
rim of the
tubelike
playfield.
The ends
of
the
shooter
always
touch
two
adjacent
rails.
The
rails
on
which the
shooter
sit
change
color
(yellow
in
levels 1-16)
which
gives a
flashlight
effect and
helps
the
player see
the
enemies
in his
lane.
A
player shoots
by
pressing
the
fire
button: tap
it
for one or
two
shots
or
press it
for all
eight shots.
A
shot
is
extinguished
when it
hits an
enemy, after it
passes
the
far rim
or after it
plows
a
certain distance
into an
enemy
spike.
A shot is
renewed
after
it
is ex-
tinguished
so
there may
be a
maximum
of
eight
shots on
the
screen
at one
time.
The
ready-to-play
mode
ends
when any
push-but-
ton
is
pressed
or
10
seconds
elapse.
3.
Play
Mode
In
the
play
mode, a
player-controlled,
yellow
claw-
like
shooter
moves
around
on a
three-dimensional
tubelike
playfield.
The
shooter
rotates
on the
end
of
the
tube
that
is
nearest
to
the
player.
Enemies
land
on
the
end
of
the
tube
that
is
farthest
away
from
the
player to
climb
toward
and
attack
the
shooter.
The
shooter
fires
down the
tube at
the
approaching
ene-
mies.
When a
player
kills
all the
enemies
on a
tube, he
blasts
through
the
tube,
flies
through
space,
lands
on a
new
tubelike
playfield,
and
fights
the
enemies
on
that
playfield.
A
player
scores
points by
shooting
enemies
and by
blasting
through
the
tube to
a
new
level.
The
player
loses
a
life
when
killed by
the
enemy.
The
game
is
over
when
all the
player’s
lives
are
gone.
A
player
may
use
two
superzaps
per
level.
A
first
superzap
kills
all
enemies
on
the
playfield at
the
time
of
firing.
A second
superzap
randomly
kills one
enemy on
the
playfield. The
superzap
does
not
af-
fect
enemy
shots,
spikes or
enemies not yet
landed
on
the
playfield.
Superzap
is
recharged
when the
player
blasts to
a
new
level.
15