Starmaster
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Starmaster is a video game produced for the Atari 2600 video game console. It was created by Alan Miller, and released in 1982 by Activision. The game is similar in some respects to Atari's 8-bit computer game Star Raiders, and is often held to be a better adaptation for the 2600 than Atari's own 1982 port of Star Raiders.
In the game the player pilots a starfighter, with the purpose of destroying a number of enemy ships before they in turn destroy four friendly starbases. Gameplay is presented mostly in first person cockpit view, which is achieved with surprisingly good effect given the 2600's primitive graphics capabilities.
The starfighter carries laser weapons, shields, and a faster-than-light drive. The fighter also carries a limited energy supply, which is drained by firing the lasers, being hit by enemy fire, warping, or simply flying around. If the ship's energy drops to zero it is destroyed, and the game ends. Enemy fire can knock out the fighter's subsystems (such as weapons) on top of draining energy.
The game "universe" is a square-shaped galaxy mapped into a grid of 16 sectors. Each sector can be home to some enemy ships, a starbase, both, or nothing. The player "warps" the fighter to a sector to engage enemy ships; once they are all destroyed, the player moves on to another. The player can also warp to a sector with a starbase, and dock with it (a rather tricky process) to replenish energy and repair damaged subsystems. Enemy ships in turn maneuver through the galaxy as they home in to destroy the starbases.
The game is won when all enemy ships are destroyed, or lost if either the player's fighter or all four starbases are destroyed. In this way a game can last only a certain time, in contrast to games like Space Invaders which can go on forever.
[edit] Feedback, sounds, and controls
The game displayed a tactical readout of your ship's status. A radar screen displayed the relative position of enemies and other object. The following symbols signified damage to your ship's systems, which could have any or all of the following effects: L: Laser cannons destroyed. You cannot fire at the enemy or meteors. S: Shields destroyed. You ship is defenseless. One more hit from enemy fire or collision with a meteor during warp travel will destroy your ship and end the game. W: Warp engines are damaged. Your ship will use twice as much energy during warp travel. Watch energy reserves. R: Radar destroyed. You can no longer spot enemy fighters on the Galactic Chart. Your starbases will continue to appear.
The game used color in an innovative way to inform the player of the game's action: a red explosion occurs when an enemy ship is destroyed. A blue explosion occurs when you destroy incoming enemy fire. A yellow explosion results when your ship is hit by enemy fire.
Starmaster is limited to single player only. Interestingly the "BW/Color" control on the console is used to switch between the "sector map" and the "cockpit" views, instead of its usual function. The "Select" switch simply adjusts the number of enemy ships at the start of the game. The "Skill" switches have no function. Creator Alan Miller packed into the game some rather realistic effects given the low-end graphics capabilities of the Atari 2600, such as the depiction of stars whizzing by the cockpit, and the use of perspective when firing the lasers. Sound effects complement the graphics well.
The opening jingle of Starmaster features "Thus Spake Zarathrusta," the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
[edit] Patches
As in many Activision games, players could earn embroidered patches by photographing their television screen with a certain score and mailing the picture to the company. To join the "Order of the Starmaster," players would need to reach the following levels:
Ensign 3800 Leader 5700 Wing Commander 7600 StarMaster 9000
These thresholds are emulated in the re-releases of the game, such as Activision Anthology for more recent game systems.
