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
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ATARI, INC., Consumer Division
P.O. Box 427
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
-------------------Atari 2600 Instructions Archive-------------------
This document obtained from the History of Home Video Games Homepage,
�1997-1998 by Greg Chance