SUPER BREAKOUT(R) ATARI(R) GAME PROGRAM(tm) INSTRUCTIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. GENERAL DESCRIPTION/GAME OBJECTIVE 3. USING THE CONTROLLERS 4. CONSOLE CONTROLLERS 5. GAME VARIATIONS AND SCORING 6. HELPFUL HINTS 7. GAME SELECT MATRIX 1. INTRODUCTION Imagine you're in a one-man space shuttle travelling through the heavens at the speed of light. you and your tiny ship are totally engulfed in darkness, except for the luminance of an occasional passing star. Suddenly, without warning, there's a brilliant flash straight ahead. You check the radar screen. Nothing. Pretty soon there's another flash, and another. Next thing you know the flashes have turned into one gigantic force field of some kind and it's dead ahead. You check the radar screen again, still nothing. The colors in this mysterious force field are so bright, they're almost blinding. And they seem to be in layers. But the stranges thing is that nothing shows up on the radar screen. What could that mean? Is it possible to travel through this mysterious force field or will you crash and be destroyed? And what about the layers? If you make it through one, can you make it through the next, and the next? It's decision time and there are only a few seconds to think about it. Turn back or blast ahead and try to make it through the layers of the brightly colored force field. It's up to you. 2. GENERAL DESCRIPTION/GAME OBJECTIVE SUPER BREAKOUT(R) contains the following game variations: BREAKOUT DOUBLE CAVITY PROGRESSIVE CHILDREN'S VERSIONS Each game variation may be played by one or two players, with the exception of PROGRESSIVE, which is for one player only. A detailed description of each game is given in Section 5--GAME VARIATIONS. The object in all of the games is to keep the ball in play (as you knock out bricks) to score the highest amount of points possible, or to score more points than your opponent. Points are scored by using the Paddle Controller to hit the ball into the rows of bricks on the screen. (See Section 3--USING THE CONTROLLERS.) The bricks disappear from the screen when hit, one at a time. The point value of the bricks in all games (except PROGRESSIVE) is defined by the eight row numbers. (See Section 5--GAME VARIATIONS AND SCORING for a specific breakdown of scoring.) There are eight exciting new game sounds programmed into SUPER BREAKOUT. One of these eight sounds is randomly selected each time you begin a new game. (When you press game reset, you will hear a sample of the sound selected for that game.) 3. USING THE CONTROLLERS Use one set of Paddle Controllers with this ATARI Game Program(tm) cartridge. Be sure to plug the controller cables firmly into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack at the back of your ATARI Video Computer System(tm) game. Hold the controller with the red button to your upper left toward the television screen. See Section 3 of your Video Computer System Owner's Manual for further details. NOTE: If unsure about which controller to use, turn the knob on each Paddle Controller to see if the paddle moves on the screen. Push the button on the controller to serve the ball. To make contact with the ball and keep it in play, turn the knob on the controller--the paddle will move horizontally back and forth across the bottom of the screen. Turn the knob clockwise to move the paddle right, turn it counterclockwise to move it left. The angle the ball rebounds off the paddle depends on which part of the paddle it hits. The paddle is divided into four sections. During the first eight hits, the ball will bounce off the paddle as shown in A, Figure 3. After the eighth hit, the ball will react as shown in B. The ball will appear to speed up slightly at this point. Diagram C in Figure 3 shows how the ball reacts after the 16th hit. After the 48th hit, the ball will speed up again and bounce the way it is shown in D, except in the Children's Versions (Games 8 and 9). The ball will also speed up after hitting any bricks in the last four rows (or the last eight rows in PROGRESSIVE). Whenever you break through the last row of bricks and the ball makes contact witht he boundary at the top of the playfield, the paddle is reduced to half its original size(except in the Children's Versions). In DOUBLE and CAVITY, both paddles are reduced in size. The paddle or paddles return to normal size when a new turn begins. Each turn ends when the ball is missed and disappears off the bottom of the playfield. In games with two or three balls in play, a turn ends when the ball is missed. 4. CONSOLE CONTROLS GAME SELECT SWITCH Use the game select switch to choose the game you wish to play. If you press and hold down this switch, the game numbers automatically change at the top, left side of the screen. (See Figure 4.) There are 9 game numbers in total. For a breakdown of the GAME VARIATIONS, see Section 5. GAME RESET SWITCH After you have selected the game number you wish to play, depress the game reset switch to start the game. This switch may also be used to reset a game at any time. When you depress the game reset switch, you will hear a sample of the scoring sound to be used during the game. DIFFICULTY SWITCHES The difficulty switches control the size of the paddle in all games. In the b or beginner position, the paddle is twice the size it is in the a position. The a position is for experienced SUPER BREAKOUT players. Use the left difficulty switch for one-player games. For two-player games, the first player uses the left difficulty switch; the second player uses the right difficulty switch. NOTE: Remember that the paddle reduces to half its original size when the ball breaks through the last row of bricks and hits the boundary at the top of the playfield. TV TYPE SWITCH On a color television, the game will appear in color; on a black-and-white television, the game will be in black-and-white. The tv type switch is not used. 5. GAME VARIATIONS AND SCORING BREAKOUT(Games 1 and 2) Games 1 and 2 are regular BREAKOUT. Game 1 is for one player, Game 2 is for two players. As in all two-player games, each player has his own wall of bricks(and corresponding score), which is displayed on the screen during that player's turn. Each wall of bricks contains eight rows. Bricks in the first two rows are worth one point each. The third and fourth row bricks are worth three points each. The fifth and sixth row bricks are worth five points each, and the seventh and eighth row bricks are worth seven points each. (See Figure 5.) If you knock out all the bricks(within five turns), a new wall of bricks will appear on the screen. Each wall of bricks is worth 416 points. There is no limit to the number of times a new wall of bricks can be reset during a game. If a tie occurs in a two-player game, the player reaching that score in the fewest turns is the winner. The maximum score for BREAKOUT is infinite since the wall of bricks will reset indefinitely. However, since the screen display has room for only four digits, a player's score will reset to 0000 if it exceeds 9999. DOUBLE(Games 3 and 4) Game 3 is DOUBLE BREAKOUT for one player. Game 4 is DOUBLE BREAKOUT for two players. The playfield in DOUBLE is the same as the BREAKOUT playfield, except that there are two paddles and two balls served. The paddles are stacked one on top of the other. The point value of the bricks is essentially the same as BREAKOUT except when there are two balls in play. When this occurs, each brick is worth twice its normal amount. If you miss the first ball served, it counts as a miss and goes against your allotted serves(turns) per game. Otherwise, the second ball is served. If you miss the second ball(after hitting the first ball), play continues until you miss the first ball. After both balls are in play(have been hit at least once), one may be missed while the other remains in play. The wall of bricks will reset an infinite number of times after the firtt wall is knocked out. The maximum score for DOUBLE BREAKOUT is infinite. CAVITY(Games 5 and 6) Game 5 is CAVITY BREAKOUT for one player. Game 6 is CAVITY BRAKOUT for two players. The CAVITY playfield contains slightly fewer bricks to make room for two "cavities", each of which contains a ball. When the game begins, the balls bounce inside each cavity but are held captive for the time being while a third ball is served. There are two paddles, the same as in DOUBLE. Point values of the bricks are the same as the other games(defined by rows) when one ball is in play. When enough bricks are removed to release a captive ball, each brick is then worth twice its normal amount when hit. If the third ball is freed, bricks are worth triple their normal amount when hit. If any one of the balls is missed, the scoring returns to double points. If the second ball is missed and only one ball remains in the playfield, the point value of the bricks returns to normal. The wall of bricks will reset an infinite number of times, therefore the maximum score possibility for CAVITY BREAKOUT is infinite. PROGRESSIVE(Game 7) Game 7 is PROGRESSIVE BREAKOUT for one player only. The playfield in PROGRESSIVE is set up somewhat differently than BREAKOUT. When the game begins, the playfield contains four rows of bricks at the top of the screen, followed by four blank rows, and then four more rows of bricks. The point value of the bricks is defined by row numbers, the same as in BREAKOUT. After game play begins, the brick walls "progress" toward the bottom of the screen. As the bricks are knocked out and the walls progressively move down toward your paddle, new bricks enter the playfield at a progressively faster rate. Four rows of bricks are always separated by four rows of blanks. As the brick walls progress downward, their colors change, which gives them a new point value. The maximum score for PROGRESSIVE is infinite. Special PROGRESSIVE bonus: When a brick progresses to the last row at the bottom of the screen(which places it very close to your paddle), it will stay there for a specified amount of time and then disappear. If you hit such a brick squarely(in the center), before it disappears, you may receive special bonus points. CHILDREN'S VERSIONS(Games 8 and 9) Game 8 is a one-player Children's Version. Game 9 is a two-player Children's Version. Both games are regular BREAKOUT. The game play in these versions is programmed at a slower rate. The ball does not speed up after hitting bricks in the last four rows. Also, the paddle does not reduce to half its original size when the ball reaches the top boundary of the playfield. Scoring and other game play characteristics are the same as normal BREAKOUT. 6. HELPFUL HINTS When playing any of the SUPER BRAKOUT games, your best bet is to break out through the right or left corner of the playfield. The corners seem to be the easiesst points at which to establish a "groove". Beginners should use the larger paddle size. (Set the appropriate difficulty switch to the b position.) Be prepared for the ball to return at a faster speed when it hits the bricks in the last four rows(or the upper rows of bricks in PROGRESSIVE). You can miss a lot of shots simply by not being prepared. Don't panic when the ball reaches the top boundary of the playfield and your paddle reduces to half its original size. All it takes at this point to keep the ball in play is a little more concentration, and a finer touch on the Paddle Controller. In time you'll have no trouble at all keeping the ball in play when your paddle is reduced in size. Learn to anticipate where the ball is going to be. Anticipation can be a key factor, particularly when the ball bounces off one of the side boundaries near the bottom of the playfield. When the ball is travelling at high speed, you won't always have time to react and move your paddle to the right position. Your paddle will have to be in the correct position to advance. The only way to accomplish this is to anticipate where the ball will be. 7. GAME SELECT MATRIX GAME NUMBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ---------------------------------------------- One-Player X X X X X Two-Player X X X X Breakout X X Double X X Cavity X X Progressive X Children's Versions X X ---------------------------------------------- ATARI, INC., Consumer Division P.O. Box 427 Sunnyvale, CA 94086 -------------------Atari 2600 Instructions Archive-------------------