1,000 Game Manuals/1000gamemanuals.iso/Atari 5200/Super Breakout.TXT

Text File | 1997-03-16 | 15KB | 391 lines

 SUPER BREAKOUT

 BY ATARI, INC.

 To insert your 5200 game cartridge, hold the cartridge so the name
 on the label faces toward you and reads right-side-up.  Then
 carefully insert the cartridge into the slot in the center of the
 console unit.  Be sure the cartridge is firmly seated. but do not
 force it.  The POWER ON/OFF switch is located on the bottom right
 side of the ATARI 5200.  Press this switch to turn the power on
 AFTER inserting your game cartridge.  See your Owner's Manual for
 further information.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

 1. Super Assignment
 2. Game Play
 3. Using The 5200 Controllers
 4. Trak-Ball Option
 5. Paddle Action
 6. Game Variations
 7. Rating Your Score
 8. Helpful Hints
 9. Your Best Game Scores

 1. SUPER ASSIGNMENT

 You're the pilot of a super-powered space shuttle and you're
 blazing a path through distant superclusters at incredible space-
 age speed.  The uncharted planet Ieris is your destination.  You
 know from preliminary briefing that Ieris is surrounded by a
 mysterious, colorful force field.  Astronomers have photographed
 the iridescent force field with high-powered telescopic cameras.
 There is much conjecture on Earth as to what the wall of colors
 around Ieris might be, but no one is certain.

 Your mission is to break up the force field.  Your space ship is
 equipped with special hardware to help you complete this important
 assignment.  As you smash out the bright-colored matter, sensors
 will analyze it, grade it and relay the results back to scientists on
 Earth.  You, too, will see the scores.

 Your computer signals that Ieris is dead ahead.  A brilliant band of
 colors flashes into view.  Wow!  This is more startling and
 impressive than any of the photos you saw back on Earth.  Your
 hands eagerly grip the controls as you prepare to blast through!

 2. GAME PLAY

 SUPER BREAKOUT contains the following game variations:
   * BREAKOUT
   * DOUBLE
   * CAVITY
   * PROGRESSIVE

 Each game may be played by one to four players.  For a detailed
 description of each game, check Section 6--GAME VARIATIONS.

 The object in all of the games is to keep the ball in play while
 scoring the highest possible number of points, or to score more
 points than your opponent.

 Points are scored by hitting the ball into the rows of bricks.  The
 bricks crumble and disappear, one at a time, when hit.  The point
 value in all games is determined by brick color, as follows:
   Gold = 1 point
   Red = 3 points
   Blue = 5 points
   Green = 7 points

   NOTE: Colors may vary slightly on different television sets.

 In DOUBLE and CAVITY it is possible to score double or triple your
 normal point value when two or three balls are in play
 simultaneously (see Section 6, GAME VARIATIONS).  Players get five
 serves or turns in all games.  The turn or ball number is displayed
 at the far, left side of the screen.  Figure 1 shows what a
 four-player BREAKOUT game looks like.

   [Screenshot with the ball number, player scores, and brick point
   values labeled.]
     Figure 1 - 4-Player Breakout

 Before each player's turn, the message:  PLAYER 1 UP (or, PLAYER
 2 UP, etc.) is displayed at the bottom of the screen.  The message
 disappears when the serve button is pressed; then the score is
 activated for the player who is up.

 Each turn ends when the ball is missed and disappears off the
 bottom of the screen.  In games with two or three balls in play, a
 turn ends when the last ball is missed.

 3.USING THE 5200 CONTROLLERS

   [Photo of a 5200 controller with the bottom side button labeled
   "Serve Button."]
     Figure 2 - 5200 Controller

 Use one, two, three, or four 5200 controllers with this ATARI game
 cartridge.  For one-player games plug the controller into controller
 jack 1 on your console.

 KEYPAD OVERLAYS

 For your convenience, two keypad overlays are included with this
 game.  Slip the tabs into the slots above and below the keypad on
 your controller.

   EXTRA GAMES
    --------    --------    --------
   |        |  |        |  |        |
   |        |  |        |  |        |
    --------    --------    --------

    --------    --------    --------
   |        |  |        |  |        |
   |        |  |        |  |        |
    --------    --------    --------

    --------    --------    --------
   |        |  |        |  |        |
   |        |  |        |  |        |
    --------    --------    --------

   1-4 PLAYERS             GAME SELECT
    --------    --------    --------
   |        |  |        |  |        |
   |        |  |        |  |        |
    --------    --------    --------

     Figure 3 - Keypad Overlay

 PLAYER SELECTION

 Press the * key (or, on your overlay, the square marked 1-4
 PLAYERS) to cycle through 1 to 4 players.  Stop at the number of
 players you want.

 GAME SELECTION

 Press the # key (or, on your overlay, the square marked GAME
 SELECT) to select the game of your choice.  It will cycle through
 the game names in the following order:  BREAKOUT, PROGRESSIVE,
 DOUBLE, CAVITY.

 TO START GAME

 Press the START key to begin game play.

 TO SERVE BALL

 Press either one of the bottom, red buttons on the front right and
 left sides of the controller to serve the ball (see Figure 2).  The
 top, red buttons on the front right and left sides of the controller
 do not function in this game.

 RESET

 Press the RESET key to return to the first option, which is one-
 player BREAKOUT.

 SPECIAL OPTIONS

 * PAUSE
 To suspend a turn in progress, press the PAUSE key.  The ball
 will immediately freeze in its present position on the screen and
 the game will be in a temporary state of suspension.  To continue
 play, press the PAUSE key again.

 NOTE: The PAUSE feature can only be activated when a ball is in
 play.

 * EXTRA SERVES
 If you wish to extend your current game, you may do so by
 acquiring five new balls.  To receive five extra serves, press the
 number 1 key (or, on your overlay, the square marked EXTRA
 GAMES) before the fifth ball is served in a one-player game.  In a
 multiple-player game, this must be done before player 1 serves the
 fifth ball.  Each player will then receive five new serves.

 When this feature is activated, a solid square appears on the
 screen below the ball or serve number, as shown in Figure 4.

 NOTE:  The 5-extra-serves option can only be used once per game.

   [Screenshot with the Extra Serve Indicator labeled.]
     Figure 4 - Extra Serves

 4. TRAK-BALL OPTION (Future Accessory)

 This SUPER BREAKOUT cartridge offers a TRAK-BALL option.  A
 TRAK-BALL may be purchased separately.  To play any of the game
 variations with a TRAK-BALL, plug the TRAK-BALL into the far, left
 (number 1) controller jack on your console.  To select the number
 of players and game, follow the instructions in Section 3, USING
 THE 5200 CONTROLLERS.  You do not need a separate TRAK-BALL
 for each player.  Simply pass the TRAK-BALL from player to player
 as each turn comes up.

 NOTE:  You can use only a TRAK-BALL or a 5200 controller in any
 one game.  If you switch from one type of controller to the other
 mid-game, plug in the new controller and press START.  You will
 restart the game you last played.  To serve the ball, press the fire
 button on your TRAK-BALL.  See your TRAK-BALL Owner's Manual
 for details.

 5. PADDLE ACTION

 After serving the ball, to make contact and keep the ball in play,
 push your joystick or TRAK-BALL right or left.  This will move
 your paddle horizontally back and forth across the bottom of the
 screen.

 The angle of the ball as it rebounds off the paddle depends on
 which part of the paddle it hits.  The paddle is divided into four
 sections.  For the first through fourth hits, the ball will bounce off
 the paddle as shown in Figure 5-A.  After the fifth hit, the ball
 will deflect as shown in Figure 5-B.  At this time, the ball will
 appear to speed up slightly.  Figure 5-C shows how the ball reacts
 after the ninth hit.  After the thirteenth hit, the ball will speed up
 again and bounce as shown in Figure 5-D.  The ball will also speed
 up after hitting any blue or green bricks (last four rows).

 Whenever you break through the last row of bricks and the ball
 makes contact with the boundary at the top of the playfield, the
 paddle is reduced to half its original size.  The paddle returns to
 normal size when a new turn begins.

   [Figure showing the angles the ball deflects off the paddle in the
   four cases described above.]
     Figure 5 - Paddle Deflections

 6. GAME VARIATIONS

 There are four separate games contained in this SUPER BREAKOUT
 game cartridge.  The rating system and score breakdown are
 explained in Section 7, RATING YOUR SCORE.

 BREAKOUT

 Each player has his own wall of bricks and corresponding score,
 which are displayed on the screen during that player's turn.
 Figure 6 shows a typical BREAKOUT playfield.

 Each wall of bricks contains eight rows with 14 bricks in a row.  If
 you knock out all the bricks within five turns, a new wall will
 appear on the screen.  Each wall of bricks is worth 448 points.
 (See Figure 1 for individual point values.)  The number of times a
 new wall of bricks can be reset during a game is infinite.

 The maximum attainable score for BREAKOUT is infinite since the
 wall of bricks will reset indefinitely.  However, since the screen
 display has room for only four digits per score, a player's score
 will reset to 0000 if it passes 9999.

   Figure 6 - BREAKOUT Playfield

 PROGRESSIVE

 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, as shown in Figure 7.  There
 are 14 bricks per row and the point value for these is defined by
 color, as explained in Section 2, GAME PLAY

 Once PROGRESSIVE game play begins, the brick walls move down or
 "scroll" toward the bottom of the screen.  As the bricks are
 knocked out and the walls progress toward your paddle, new
 bricks enter the playfield at a progressively faster rate.  Four
 rows of bricks are always separated by four rows of blank space.
 As the brick walls progress downward, their colors change, but
 point values for each color remain the same.

 The maximum score for PROGRESSIVE is infinite, although the score
 will reset to 0000 when it passes 9999, as in BREAKOUT.

   Figure 7 - Progressive Playfield

 DOUBLE

 The DOUBLE playfield 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, as shown in Figure 8.
 The point value for each brick is defined by color, as in BREAKOUT
 and PROGRESSIVE, except when two balls are in play, then each
 brick is worth twice its normal amount.  When only one ball is in
 play, point value returns to normal.

 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 two additional times after the initial
 wall is knocked out.  The maximum score possible for DOUBLE is
 2688.

   Figure 8 - Double Playfield

 CAVITY

 The CAVITY playfield contains slightly fewer bricks than other
 SUPER BREAKOUT games.  This allows room for two "cavities", each
 of which contains a ball (see Figure 9).  When the game begins, the
 balls bounce inside each cavity but are held captive.  There are
 two paddles, as in DOUBLE.

 A ball is served.  Point values of the bricks remain the same as in
 other games when only one ball is in play.  However, when enough
 bricks are broken out to release a captive ball, each brick is then
 worth twice its normal amount when hit.  If the second captive ball
 is freed and three balls are kept in play, bricks are worth triple
 their normal amount.

 If any one of the three balls is missed, the scoring returns to
 double points.  If the second ball is missed and only one ball
 remains on the playfield, the point value of the bricks returns to
 normal.

 The wall of bricks will reset two additional times, making a maximum
 score possibility of approximately 3500 points.

   Figure 9 - Cavity Playfield

 7. RATING YOUR SCORE

 At the conclusion of each game a "rating" is alternately displayed
 on the screen in the same position as your total score.  In
 multiple-player games, the ratings are alternately displayed with
 each player's total score.

 The following chart gives a point breakdown of the various ratings:

                     RATING CHART

          BREAKOUT  PROGRESSIVE  DOUBLE     CAVITY

   OOPS      0-99       0-199      0-199      0-199
   FAIR    100-199    200-399    200-399    200-399
   GOOD    200-599    400-799    400-599    400-799
   ACE     600-999    800-1399   600-999    800-1199
   PRO    1000-1599  1400-2199  1000-1399  1200-1799
   STAR   1600-2499  2200-3199  1400-1999  1800-2399
   WOW!   2500-3599  3200-4399  2000-2599  2400-2699
   BEST   3600 and   4400 and   2600 to    2700 and
            above      above    2688 max.    above

 8. HELPFUL HINTS

 When playing any of the SUPER BREAKOUT games, your best bet is
 to work your way out through the right or left corner of the
 playfield.  The corners seem to be the easiest points at which to
 establish a "groove".

 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 to
 keep the ball in play at this point is a little more concentration,
 and a finer touch on the 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
 traveling 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 in advance.

 9. YOUR BEST GAME SCORES

 Name:             Date:    Score:
 _______________   ______   ________
 _______________   ______   ________
 _______________   ______   ________
 _______________   ______   ________
 [etc.]

 END

 Typed by Jay Tilton ([e-mail])

 for Atari Gaming Headquarters