''Asteroids Deluxe'' is a

multidirectional shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character mo ...

arcade video game with monochrome

vector graphics Vector graphics are a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector displ ...

released in April 1981 by Atari, Inc. It is the sequel to ''

Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

'' and was designed to combat the saucer-hunting strategy of the original allowing experts to play for extended periods. These modifications made it significantly more difficult and less accessible to players. Ports of ''Asteroids Deluxe'' were released for the

BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...

in 1984 and the

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

in 1987. The game was followed-up with ''

Space Duel ''Space Duel'' is an arcade game released in 1982 by Atari, Inc. It is a direct descendant of the original ''Asteroids'', with asteroids replaced by colorful geometric shapes like cubes, diamonds, and spinning pinwheels. ''Space Duel'' is the fi ...

'' in 1982 and the more direct sequel '' Blasteroids'' in 1987.

Gameplay

Like in the original ''Asteroids'', the objective is to score points by destroying

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

s and

flying saucer A flying saucer, or flying disc, is a purported type of disc-shaped unidentified flying object (UFO). The term was coined in 1947 by the United States (US) news media for the objects pilot Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, Kenneth Arnold claimed fl ...

s. The player controls a

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward. When shot, larger asteroids break apart into smaller pieces and fly in random directions, while the smallest asteroids are destroyed when hit. ''Deluxe'' replaces the hyperspace feature with shields which deplete with use. This game also introduces the "Killer

Satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

", a cluster of ships that break apart and chase the player's ship when hit. Objects "wrap" from each edge of the screen to the opposite edge (e.g. from the right edge to the left, or the top edge to the bottom), as in the original. In addition to the shield feature and the Killer Satellite, the most significant change in this version of the game is that the flying saucers can now target the player's ship across the screen boundary - meaning that if the saucer is close to the left edge and the player is at the right edge, the saucer may shoot toward the left edge and across the boundary to hit the player since their ship is closer that direction. In ''Asteroids'', the saucers could only fire directly at the player's location on screen without considering the boundary, which led to the popular "lurking" exploit that enabled players to play for very long periods of time on a single credit. This updated strategy was in direct response to that exploit.

Development

The ''Asteroids Deluxe'' arcade machine is a

vector game A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...

, with graphics consisting entirely of lines drawn on a

vector monitor A vector monitor, vector display, or calligraphic display is a display device used for computer graphics up through the 1970s. It is a type of CRT, similar to that of an early oscilloscope. In a vector display, the image is composed of drawn ...

, which Atari described as "QuadraScan". The key hardware consists of a 1.5 MHz MOS 6502A

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary processor in a given computer. Its electronic circuitry executes instructions of a computer program, such as arithmetic, log ...

, which executes the game program, and the Digital Vector Generator (DVG), the first vector processing

circuitry An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. It is a type of electric ...

developed by

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

. The DVG used for ''Asteroids Deluxe'' was designed by Wendi Allen (then known as Howard Delman), and used earlier in ''

Lunar Lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a Lander (spacecraft), spacecraft designed to Moon landing, land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing s ...

'' and ''Asteroids''. Most of the sound effects are implemented by custom circuitry, but some are generated via the

POKEY POKEY, an acronym for Pot Keyboard Integrated Circuit, is a digital I/O chip designed by Doug Neubauer at Atari, Inc. for the Atari 8-bit computers. It was first released with the Atari 400 and Atari 800 in 1979 and is included in all later ...

sound chip.

References

External links

* * {{Asteroids series 1981 video games Arcade video games Atari arcade games Atari ST games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Multidirectional shooters Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games Vector arcade video games Video games developed in the United States Video game sequels