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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:
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
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1-4 PLAYERS GAME SELECT
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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
for Atari Gaming Headquarters
Used with permission from Atari Gaming Headquarters
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