''Star Ship'' is a
first-person space combat simulator
A space flight simulation is a genre of flight simulator video games that lets players experience space flight to varying degrees of realism. Common mechanics include space exploration, space trade and space combat.
Overview
Some games in ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...
programmed by
Bob Whitehead
Robert A. Whitehead (born November 1, 1953) is an American video game designer and programmer. While working for Atari, Inc. he wrote two of the nine Atari Video Computer System launch titles: ''Blackjack'' and ''Star Ship''. After leaving Atar ...
and published by
Atari, Inc. for its
Video Computer System (later known as the Atari 2600).
The game was one of the nine
launch titles offered when the Atari VCS was released on September 11, 1977. Based on the Atari
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade vi ...
''
Starship 1'', it was the first
space-related game developed for the Atari VCS. The re-branded Sears TeleGames version is titled ''Outer Space''.
''Star Ship'' was removed from Atari's catalog in 1980.
Gameplay
The player(s) use the
joystick
A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...
controller to achieve one of the following objectives:
* Destroying as many
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, ...
and
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...
s as possible within a time limit, all while dodging
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
s.
[https://atariage.com/manual_html_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=493]
* Alternating between avoiding enemy fire from spacecraft and firing at the opponent-controlled craft (human or computer).
* Avoiding asteroids and other varied space objects to cover the greatest distance possible.
* Landing the space module on a lunar landing pad. The moon can either be stationary or be computer- or human opponent-controlled.
Reception
''Star Ship'' was reviewed in ''
Video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...
'' magazine as part of a general review of the
Atari VCS
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...
where it was given a review score of 4 out of 10, and its individual games were described as "look
ngnice but
einghard to get a handle on".
References
External links
*
Star Ship' at Atari Mania
*
' at AtariAge
{{Atari 2600
1977 video games
Atari 2600 games
Atari 2600-only games
First-person shooters
Space combat simulators
Video games developed in the United States
Single-player video games