Asteroids Deluxe
| Asteroids Deluxe | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Atari Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Atari Inc. |
| Designer(s) | Dave Shepperd |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date(s) |
Arcade
|
| Genre(s) | Multi-directional shooter |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Cabinet | Upright and cocktail |
| CPU | MOS Technology 6502 |
| Sound | POKEY and discrete circuits |
| Display | Vector monitor |
Asteroids Deluxe is an arcade game released in May 1981 by Atari Inc. and is the sequel to Asteroids. It was followed by Space Duel in 1982 and Blasteroids in 1987. Key changes in Asteroids Deluxe were designed to combat the saucer-hunting strategy of Asteroids, which allowed experts to play for extended periods. The game is significantly more difficult than the original.
Asteroids Deluxe was ported to two 8-bit systems, the BBC Micro in 1984, and the Atari 7800 in 1986. It was also released for the Atari ST in 1987.
Like in the original Asteroids the objective is to score as many points as possible by destroying asteroids and flying saucers. The asteroids come in three different sizes. If the player fires at and hits a large asteroid, it breaks into medium size asteroids. If the player fires at and hits a medium asteroid, it breaks into small asteroids. If a player fires at and hits a small asteroid, it disappears. Different points are awarded for hitting each size of asteroid, and for hitting flying saucers. The player controls a ship that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward. Asteroids Deluxe replaces the hyperspace feature with shields which deplete with use. Other differences include asteroids which rotate and a new enemy which is dubbed a "killer satellite" which would, when shot, break apart into three smaller ships that homed in on the player's position. The screen of the game is wrapped both vertically and horizontally so that if any object moves past the top edge of the screen it reappears on the bottom edge at the same lateral location, and if it moves past the left side of the screen, it reappears on the right side of the screen in the same vertical location. Topologically, the screen is a torus.
The Asteroids Deluxe arcade machine is a vector game. This means that the game graphics are composed entirely of lines which are drawn on a vector monitor. The key hardware consists of a MOS 6502 CPU, which executes the game program, and the Digital Vector Generator (DVG), vector processing circuitry developed by Atari themselves.
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