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Squad Challenge - Stargate (Atari 2600)


Justin

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Stargate
Atari 2600
Controller: PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: Default (None)

Achieve high score to win challenge
Play on: Real Hardware / Dedicated Console / Emulation OK! 
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST March 14th, 2016

 

SPECIAL NOTES:

This game was also called Defender II. Only the title screen differed. Both versions are OK to play in this challenge.

This one player game is best played with TWO joysticks per instruction manual


Objective: Play for the highest possible score using the difficulty settings defined in the challenge. Post a photo or video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between March 1st through March 14th, 2016. Screen captures are not allowed as they are easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the highest score at the end of the 2-week competition is the victor.

Eligibility: Anyone can join in. All players are welcome!

Play Rules: Games may be played on real hardware, dedicated console, or emulation, using any controller or keyboard, following rules and game settings as delineated in the Squad Challenge. Enhancements and hacked versions of this game are not allowed.

Difficulty Level: There are no difficulty settings for this game.

Fair Play: Players should play fairly, be honest, and have fun! Falsified scores will result in your immediate removal from the site. It goes without saying that no use of cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, Photoshop, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage is allowed. Everybody hates a cheater.

More: To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/1219-high-score-squad-how-to-play/ 

Welcome to our 7th Squad Challenge! Stargate is a truly awesome game for the Atari 2600! It also has a complicated story. Created by Eugene Jarvis, Stargate is a direct sequel to Defender, the popular 1980 arcade game. Stargate was later sold as Defender II in home cartridge releases for legal purposes, as Williams sought to protect the Defender trademark. However, there were never any Defender II arcade units. To complicate matters even more, the Atari 2600 port was originally sold as Stargate but was renamed to Defender II for a later re-release. Both Stargate and Defender II versions of this game are acceptable to play during this Squad Challenge.

 

Stargate adds new enemy ships to the alien fleet such as firebombers, Yllabian Space Guppies (Yllabian is based on "Yllab", the word "Bally" spelled backwards, a friendly poke at Williams' competitor, Bally Midway), Dynamos and Space Hums. The Defender ship is now equipped with an Inviso cloaking device, which renders the ship invulnerable when activated, but has a limited charge. A Stargate will transport the ship to any humanoid in trouble. There are now two special stages, the Yllabian Dogfight, first appearing at wave 5 and recurring every 10 waves thereafter, and the Firebomber Showdown, first appearing at wave 10 and also recurring every 10 waves thereafter. As in the first game, if all the humans are captured the planet explodes and turns all the landers into mutants. The game is much harder than its predecessor.

 

The initial release of Stargate was developed while Atari was still owned by Warner Communications, though it saw it's original release shortly after Jack Tramiel took over the company. Stargate is one of the few Atari 2600 products to have been released during 1985.

 

I hope all of you have a good time, and remember this is for "nerd cred" and meant to be fun for all! I encourage you to share your strategies and experiences with all of us! You have until 11:59 pm PST March 14th, 2016 to complete this challenge and successfully submit your score. The ROM is readily available online, and the Instruction Book is provided for you below. GOOD LUCK, SQUAD!



Stargate.pdf

 

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Well, I have two copies, but both already got pack away in Box #12, so if I do get a chance to play it, it will be after the move.

 

I didn't realize how many 2600 games use two joysticks for a single player game (I can recall Spy Hunter and Raiders of the Lost Ark both use two).

It would've been fun to play this game with the Edladdin Super Twin 78 Joystick.

The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg

Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube

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Well, I have two copies, but both already got pack away in Box #12, so if I do get a chance to play it, it will be after the move.

 

I didn't realize how many 2600 games use two joysticks for a single player game (I can recall Spy Hunter and Raiders of the Lost Ark both use two).

It would've been fun to play this game with the Edladdin Super Twin 78 Joystick.

And Omega Race (kind of). 

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And Omega Race (kind of). 

I wish more games used the CBS Omega Race "Booster Grip" ...............I actually own one since the 80's! I love it!  :thumb:  :thumb:

Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew

author of "The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion" book series available on Amazon! www.amazon.com/author/brianmatherne

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after about 5 tries I finally beat my Highscore.com score of 6,550 http://highscore.com/game/?g=7137&enterscore=1

 

17,650

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Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew

author of "The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion" book series available on Amazon! www.amazon.com/author/brianmatherne

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19950.  Dang this game is hard.  Anyone have some tips to share?

If you pick up the stranded dudes and then fly through a stargate, the game warps you forward a few waves and gives you a healthy bonus.  I usually spend level one letting the landers grab them, then i pick off the landers and scoop up the guys.  Don't drop them back off on the planet surface, just hold onto them.  Try to leave one enemy alive so the level doesn't end, and fly through the Stargate.  Boom, instant high score.  Repeat if possible.  

Another tip - the right player controller can be used for inviso, hyperspace, and smart bombs.  It isn't super convenient to try and use 2 joysticks while playing, especially since this game doesn't let up for a second.  But the button is easy enough to hit in the heat of battle, so keep that right joystick handy and don't be shy with the smartbombs.  

Hope this helps, sorry to post it so late.

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:pole_position_blimp_big:  Congratulations MightyMattD!

 

 

AWESOME SCORES EVERYONE! Congratulations on your win Matt! MightyMattD won his THIRD consecutive Squad Challenge! Matt won with 67,200 points, and RadioPoultry placed 2nd with a score of 47,100! I encourage MightyMattD to post his winning Stargate high score on the Scoreboard! Way to go guys!

 

We invite all future Squad Challenge winners to share their winning scores on the Scoreboard and keep the game going!        :atari_2600_joystick: 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI7qpDPOnFw

 

Our next Squad Challenge is up! Chopper Command (Atari 2600)

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