Saboteur 5-20-83

 

This is the earliest version of Saboteur, and it's quite a bit different from the final.  One of the biggest differences in this version is on the third board which is completely different from the final release.  

In this version you control a shape (which I guess is supposed to represent Hotot) at the top of the screen and you must shoot at the little pieces of the warhead you missed on the previous board.  However in this early version the 'shape' is represented by a pair of numbers (obviously a placeholder graphic) which counts down continuously.  You can move left and right, but it really doesn't help you avoid the pieces because they seem to hit you no matter where you are.  Every time a warhead piece hits you you will take some damage.  If enough pieces hit you, one of the numbers will disappear.  When both numbers disappear you will 'lose' this board and go back to the first level.  If you successfully fend off all the pieces you will earn some bonus points and then be returned to the first board.  

 

The flow of the game is also different in this version, as the boards do not advance sequentially.  If you succeed at the goal on the current stage, you will skip the rest.  This means if you stop the rocket on the first board you skip boards two and three.  This makes sense from a logic standpoint (if you stop the rocket you wouldn't need to dismantle the warhead on the second board), but makes the game a lot less fun since you usually only get to see the first board.  This is complicated by the fact the difficulty is very easy in this version so you almost never lose the first board.  Obviously HSW figured this out as it was changed in later versions.

 

 

Differences

There is no rocket launch at the start of the game
There is no copyright message
The game starts automatically
There are no game variations
The difficulty switches have no function
There are no sounds in the game except when the points are being added up and when the bullet bounces around the second screen
The word BONUS is not displayed as your bonus points are added up at the end of each level.
Your firing rate is slower
The Yar character from Yar's Revenge is missing
The Gorfons use the same graphics as the 'Tiny Thieves' from Raiders of the Lost Ark
Hotot is a dark blue color instead of gray
The Master Robot is colored very differently
Hotot's death sequence lasts longer
There is a bug which allows Hotot to continuously earn points by shooting the skull symbol after killing a robot.
There is a bug which will occasionally cause a row to stay yellow after shooting the Master Robot
The difficulty ramping is very slow.  The Master Robot and Blue Robots speed up only slightly each time through the first board, and the Master Robot on the second board only shoots multiple bullets after completing many levels
The Side Bullets are missing
The Master Robot's bullets never bounce back up
Hotot can shoot lightning in any direction and it will not automatically home in on the Master Robot.
The walls on second board are light beige as are Hotot's lightning shots
The timer does not count down when Hotot is doing his death sequence
There is no scaffolding around the rocket when it launches between the second and third board
The third level is completely different from the final release
The 'pulsating shape' is a pair of numbers which continuously count down in this sequence: 4-5-6-7-0-1-2-3
Upon winning the third board the numbers will count down to 0 starting with what ever number it is currently on.
After losing all your lives, the game continues to play with six new lives
The rocket is shaped slightly different
The scoring is different.  Blue Robots are worth 7 points instead of 23, The Master Robot is worth 7 points instead of 57, and letting a Gorfon (thief) successfully steal a rocket piece is not worth anything.  Shooting Gorfons is also worth 7 points instead on 0.
he random colored bars in the "score box" at the bottom of the screen extend the full length of the box and overlap the score

 

Check out the thief!

 

The rocket looks a bit different

 

The Master Robot is sporting some psychedelic colors

 

I completely missed him!

 

No scaffolding around the rocket

 

Shooting numbers?!?!

 

 

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