WANTED: Feedback for Space Duel and Rip Off for Atari 7800

[dauber]

I'm looking for feedback for the next two episodes of the Atari 7800 Homebrew Podcast (you can find it on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or use this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/homebrew78 )

What are your thoughts on Space Duel? This game will be covered on Episode 14. Deadline is 11:59pm CDT on Wednesday, June 28.

 

And while we're at it, how 'bout Rip Off? That'll be episode 15. Deadline for this one will be 11:59pm CDT on Wednesday, July 12.

You can also e-mail text or audio to homebrew78 -at- fab4it -dot- com.

Comments are welcome any time, including after the deadlines; any feedback from after the deadlines will simply be addressed during a later episode. Mind you, my summers can really make my schedule weird, so these deadlines might be a little loose.

[dauber]

Really? Nothing about Rip Off?? (Then again, I don't think it's been a huge seller in the AA store...shame because it's a fun game.)

[TrekMD]

I think I must have missed this thread and I saw you have just posted the new episode about Rip Off. Sorry about that.  Here is my feedback for Rip Off:

 

Rip-Off was released in the arcades in 1980 by Cinematronics and it has the distinction of being the first arcade game to feature cooperative gameplay and flocking behaviour.  Because the game uses vector graphics, it was only ported to the Vectrex console until Bob DeCrescenzo decided to give it a try on the Atari 7800 (given his experience with Asteroids Deluxe).  In the game you are in command of a tank-like vehicle that is charged with protecting fuel canisters from groups of pirates who use tanks to steal them.  The game is organized in waves where anywhere from two to three pirate tanks appear at a time.  Once you destroy all the tanks in a given wave, you move onto the next wave with bonus stages occurring after a certain number of waves. In the single player game, the player’s vehicle appears to the left of the screen with the second vehicle appearing on the right side in a two-player game.  Interestingly, you do not have a limited number of lives in Rip-Off as the game ends only when all the fuel tanks have been stolen.  This means that you can use your ship to ram enemies to destroy them if need be.  The 7800 version of Rip-Off captures the gameplay of the arcade well and does have nice graphics and sound. There are three levels of difficulty to select (Easy, Normal, Hard) which vary the number of canisters to protect, the number of pirate ships that appear, and their speed.  Rip-Off remains a fun game to this day and this 7800 version is well worth having.
 

Edited July 15, 2017 by TrekMD

[TrekMD]

Better late than never, here is my feedback for Space Duel!

 

Space Duel was an arcade game released by Atari in 1982 as a follow up to Asteroids Deluxe.  Unlike that title, Space Duel boasted color vector graphics but it replaced the asteroids with a variety of geometric shapes (cubes, diamonds, and spinning wheels). Other differences include additional enemies, bonus levels, and the ability to play with one or two ships tethered to each other.  The latter could be two players competing or one player controlling both ships and was rather unique.  Space Duel was never ported to any Atari system back in the 80's; however, this oversight has been corrected by Bob DeCrescenzo, who adapted the game to the Atari 7800.  Bob took Atari’s Asteroids for the 7800 and extensively hacked it so it would recreate the vector-style graphics of Space Duel.  This is done very well and not only is the title screen reproduced but also all the cubes, diamonds, and spinning wheels with a variety of colors.   I must say that this game shows the power of the Maria chip quite well because the screen can be filled with TONS of enemies and the action keeps going just fine.  The game does offer two-player cooperative and competitive modes but it does lack the tethering feature that made the arcade unique.  This is something that fans of the arcade are likely to miss.  Does it make the game less fun to enjoy?  Heck, no!  This is both a challenging and fun game to be enjoyed either by yourself or with a friend.  Though the tethering is missing, the bonus round is indeed included so that aspect of the arcade is also retained.  So, if you hated geometry and feel like crushing geometric shapes to bits, here is you chance!