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Stargate
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Name:
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Stargate |
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| Company: |
Atari |
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Model #:
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RX-8068 |
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Programmer:
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Steve Baker |
| Year: |
1984 |
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Released?
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No
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Notes:
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Steve Baker
programmed both Defender and its sequel Stargate for the
400/800 and 5200 |
Stargate was the 1982 sequel to Williams' smash arcade hit
Defender. Stargate's name was changed to Defender II
sometime after 1984 due to some kind of copyright problem.
As with most sequels, Stargate didn't change the game
formula that helped make the original game a hit. Instead
Stargate expanded on the formula...
Stargate added a number of new features to the
Defender formula including new enemies, new abilities, and of
course stargates! Stargates allow players to instantly warp
from one area of the level to another, which can be very handy if
used right. Stargates can also be used to warp forward
levels if certain amounts of humanoids are carried into them.
The ability to score bonus points for carrying multiple
humanoids is also a new feature first introduced in this game.
Other new abilities include the Inviso power,
which is basically a super cloaking device. Using Inviso
makes your ship invisible and allows it to pass through all
enemies and their shots. However you can still shoot
while "Inviso", so make the most your Inviso time.
Stargate also includes the ability to enter Hyperspace.
Entering Hyperspace is just as dangerous as it was in
defender, and while it can save your life in an emergency it
can also blow you to smithereens. Use the Hyperspace
option sparingly!
Stargate is unique among Atari 8-bit games as
it uses the original arcade title screen, including all the
arcade colors, fonts, and options. Of course all of this
wasn't by coincidence, programmer Steve Baker had an original
Stargate arcade machine in his house so he could perfect the
8-bit version. According to Steve when he was
done you could stand back 10 feet from the screens and not be
able to tell the difference.
The options on the title screen allow the
player to affect a whole range of game variables:
| Number of Players |
Pretty self explanatory. This can
be set to 1 or 2 players |
| Number of Ships |
Another no brainer. This is the
number of lives each player has. The value can
be set from 1 to 9. |
| Inviso Time Per Ship |
This option sets the amount of time
your Inviso power lasts. The value can be set
from 4 to 20. |
| Extra Ship Every |
This option allows the player to set
the frequency at which extra lives are awarded.
This value can be set from 1,000 to 50,000. |
| Men Needed To Warp |
This option affects the number of
humanoids the player needs to carry into a stargate to
warp to the next level. This value can be set
from 2 to 9. |
| Last Wave Warp Allowed |
This option allows the player to set
the last wave number in which the wave warp (mentioned
above) can be used. This value can be set from
10 to 99 (hey you don't want to skip all the levels do
ya?). |
| Master Control Difficulty |
This option controls the overall
difficulty of the game. The value can be set
from 1 to 5. |
While Stargate may have beautiful graphics and an
arcade accurate title screen, this version has major problems
with slowdown. When too many enemies get on the screen at
once (which is often) the gameplay becomes extremely choppy.
According to Steve this is because Stargate used all the
Atari 8-bit's processor due to the variety of graphical
techniques used (Hi-Res, Bitmap, and Player Graphics).
Although Stargate never achieved the same level
of success as its predecessor, it shows that even a great game
like Defender has room for improvements. Much like the
Atari 5200 version, the Atari 8-bit version of Stargate was
never released. Atari may have been concerned about the
choppy gameplay or the graphics mode used which makes text hard
to read. What ever the reason, gamers missed out on a fun
arcade conversion.
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