Justin Posted June 15, 2020 Report Share Posted June 15, 2020 Astrosmash & Astroblast Double Feature! Mattel Intellivision & Atari 2600 Play on: Real Hardware / Dedicated Console / MAME / Emulation OK! ✔ Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST June 30, 2020 Astrosmash Mattel Intellivision Controller: HAND CONTROLLER / KEYBOARD / PLAYER'S CHOICE Difficulty Level: Single-Shot Firing Mode Astroblast Atari 2600 Controller: JOYSTICK / PADDLE / KEYBOARD / PLAYER'S CHOICE Difficulty Level: Right AND Left Difficulty Switches set to "B" Objective Play for the highest possible score using the difficulty settings defined in the challenge. Post a photo or YouTube video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between June 15th through June 30th, 2020. Screen captures are not allowed as they are more easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the highest score at the end of the competition is the victor! Eligibility Anyone can join in. All players are welcome! Play Rules Games may be played on real hardware, Flashback, or emulation, using any controller or keyboard, following all rules and game settings defined in the challenge. Choosing between real hardware or emulation, and choosing which controller to play on is part of formulating your strategy. Enhancements, rewinds and hacked versions of this game are not allowed. Difficulty Level INTELLIVISION Single-Shot Firing Mode (#2 on Keypad). This mode gives player control over firing. ATARI 2600 Right AND Left Difficulty Switches set to "B". Right Difficulty Switch set to "B" for Regular Skill Level. Left Difficulty Switch set to "B" for manual firing mode. Fair Play Your integrity is everything. 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 we will not allow cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, rewinds, deceitful photo manipulation, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage. Everybody hates a cheater. More To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: Message Welcome to our 81st Squad Challenge, and our second DOUBLE FEATURE! This is going to be a fun one, guys. Astrosmash and Astroblast are essentially the same game published by Mattel for two of our favorite systems: Intellivision and Atari 2600. Yes, both games differ from each other slightly, with Astroblast playing slightly faster. Scoring, however, is the same. Both games share the same scoring formula, so hitting a big rock on the first level gets you 10 points in Astrosmash, the same way it gets you 10 points in Astroblast. Do you perform better in one game and not the other? Is the 2600 joystick what you score best at, but you fumble with the Intellivision controllers? You can play either or both games. Intellivision or 2600? Choose your weapon of choice! Scores from both systems will be combined into ONE Final Standings scoreboard. Playing across two systems will make this Squad Challenge more accessible to members who want to join in, and making this challenge a Double Feature adds an interesting twist. Let's make this a fun one! Astrosmash was originally conceived when an Intellivision game in development called Meteor!, an Asteroids clone, did not fill up the ROM space of an entire cartridge. The extra space was used to create a variation of the game called Avalanche! The Meteor! game was cancelled at the last minute, due to concerns that it was too similar to Asteroids. Programmer John Sohl programmed a "branch" around the opening-screen menu, leading directly to the Avalanche! variation, retitled Astrosmash. The games were compatible, since they were designed together, and used the same sprites and sound effects. In rare instances, if the console's reset button is pressed rapidly, an error can occur, resulting in the game starting in the original Meteor! format. Games and Instruction Booklets for both versions are provided below. I hope you guys are ready for a new season of High Score Squad and good luck to everybody participating! NOTE: Another great Squad Challenge is coming up soon! Thanks for playing, and enjoy! Astrosmash.pdf Astrosmash.int Astroblast.pdf Astroblast.bin Atari Creep, TrekMD, Sabertooth and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Creep Posted June 15, 2020 Report Share Posted June 15, 2020 I am so lost on time my man. I saw this and was like there is no way its that time already. Guess what??? IT IS. LOL This is going to be a wicked fun challenge. RickR and Justin 2 Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted June 15, 2020 Report Share Posted June 15, 2020 The only Mattel game i have for the 2600 is Dark Caverns. I have tons of Intellivision games...just no Intellivision. I'll have to play with 2600 emulation. Justin and Atari Creep 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted June 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2020 2 hours ago, Atari Creep said: I am so lost on time my man. I saw this and was like there is no way its that time already. Guess what??? IT IS. LOL This is going to be a wicked fun challenge. I feel like the past few weeks just flew by. I barely got to participate in the Desert Falcon Squad Challenge myself. Good luck to everybody playing! Atari Creep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted June 15, 2020 Report Share Posted June 15, 2020 You guys are so right. Didn't the Desert Falcon challenge start last Friday? Whoops!!!! This one should be really fun...except for my thumb. No auto fire! Great choice(s), @Justin Justin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted June 15, 2020 Report Share Posted June 15, 2020 (edited) OK. Quick question. I did a run using Stella and even with both diffs set to B all I had to do was hold down the fire button. I'll post a video in a few to show what I mean...but only for that reason. It's not a score submission. But did I miss a setting somewhere? Edited June 15, 2020 by kamakazi20012 Atari Creep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 Nice double feature! Justin 1 🖖 Going to the final frontier, gaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 I've got a sealed copy. Should I open it? Justin, Sabertooth and Atari Creep 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 Of course I opened it! 21,630 Justin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 20 minutes ago, RickR said: I've got a sealed copy. Should I open it? A sealed game leads a boring life. Let it out to play!! 1 minute ago, RickR said: Of course I opened it! 21,630 Oh thank goodness you let that poor cart out for some air! Nice score, too. What happens when you just hold down the fire button? Atari Creep and Justin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 You know, I didn't like the controllers on the first model INTV units. I wonder if they are any better on the smaller unit? The INTV did have some games I enjoyed playing on it...I just had issues comfortably using the controllers. They should have done something a bit different with those fire buttons. Justin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 32,615. If you hold down the button, it auto fires. So you're good there on emulation. I can assure you, the side buttons on the smaller INTV are no better. That one will HURT. I'm not sure I want to try it on INTV. Atari Creep and Justin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 No where near RickR's score. 4,120 😛 RickR and Justin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Creep Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 2 hours ago, RickR said: I've got a sealed copy. Should I open it? If its your only copy, YES! Justin 1 Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Creep Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 This post was recognized by Justin! "Winning a High Score Squad Challenge!" Atari Creep was awarded the badge '1st Time Squad Champ' and 5 points. Astrosmash using OpenEmu and USB game pad. Peak was 112985 Final 111845 Might jump over to the Atari port though. Thats the one I grew up playing for hours. We will see. Sabertooth, Atari 5200 Guy, Justin and 1 other 4 Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 I need to try the Intellivision version. I remember it being a lot slower to ramp up the difficulty. Those two scores I posted were the first and second attempts. My kids scoffed, tried the game themselves, had trouble cracking 1000, and then seemed slightly impressed with my ability. I'll take that very small victory. Sabertooth, Justin and Atari Creep 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 2 hours ago, RickR said: I need to try the Intellivision version. I remember it being a lot slower to ramp up the difficulty. Those two scores I posted were the first and second attempts. My kids scoffed, tried the game themselves, had trouble cracking 1000, and then seemed slightly impressed with my ability. I'll take that very small victory. Are you drinking or eating something "special" to give you those playing abilities? 😄 RickR, Justin and Atari Creep 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 Just reliving my youth. I told them "I'm tired from working all day. If I could play first thing in the morning, I'd do better". Justin and Atari Creep 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 Just now, RickR said: Just reliving my youth. I told them "I'm tired from working all day. If I could play first thing in the morning, I'd do better". You found an unopened box of Pac-Man cereal and ate all the power pellets out of it, didn't you? Sabertooth, Atari Creep, TrekMD and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 Yes, and now all movements look like rainbows. Sabertooth, Atari 5200 Guy, Justin and 2 others 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted June 16, 2020 Report Share Posted June 16, 2020 I love you guys. This is my family. I gotta pick on you guys now and then. Awesome score RickR. But you do need to give up your secret LOL Atari Creep, Sabertooth and Justin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabertooth Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 80,860 final on an Intellivision Flashback console. (81,410 Peak Score) Damn my wrist is sore using the Inty controller. Atari Creep and Justin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabertooth Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 4415. Took a stab at Astroblast on my modded Sears Video Arcade. Wow, this is objectively more difficult than Astrosmash on the Inty! The starting speed feels like 4x on the Intellivision. Justin, Atari Creep and RickR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabertooth Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 (edited) Not an entry, but if you really like this game I recommend Meteor Shower for the 7800 by Bob Decrescenzo. Its personally my favorite version of the game and is nicely updated in terms of graphics and sound. Check it out over on AtariAge. Edited June 18, 2020 by atarilbc RickR, Atari Creep and Justin 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Creep Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 25 minutes ago, atarilbc said: 4415. Took a stab at Astroblast on my modded Sears Video Arcade. Wow, this is objectively more difficult than Astrosmash on the Inty! The starting speed feels like 4x on the Intellivision. How is it using the Ranger on OG hardware? I might try it tomorrow. Justin and Sabertooth 2 Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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