Table of Contents: 1) Operation: Defense....................1 2) Game Play.............................3 3) Using the 5200(tm) Controllers........5 4) Trak-Ball Option......................8 5) Scoring...............................9 6) Game Strategy........................10 Operation: Defense RED ALERT! MISSILE ATTACK! • In 2203 the planet Zardon was established as Earth's outermost colony. Originally, Zardon was intended to be the front line of defense in the event of an interplanetary attack. A missile base stocked with antiballistic missiles [ABMs] was the first order of business. After its completion, the founding colonists set about building a town. • In the years that ensued, the town flourished and grew into a city. Eventuly, five other cities evolved to keep up with the burgeoning population. Today, Zardon far supercedes its inital function as front-line-defender. Back on Earth, it is known as the "Resource Planet" because precious mines and ores are mined from Zardon's rich deposits. Zardonians go about their business with a sense of pride and well-being. They have actually built a utopia for themselves. • But now this very utopia is threatened by chaos and destruction, for all is not peace and harmony in the celestial spheres. • Unlike Zardon, the planet Krytolia is undergoing a terrible upheaval. Poverty, crime, and civil unrest plague it like a contagious disease. Although Zardon has continuously give the less fortunate interplanetary aid, the latter have merely exhibited token appreciation. Secretly, they resent Zardon and covet its rich resources. Krytolia has turned many of the Zardonian supplies into warheads--missiles, satelites, and bombs. For several years, the Krytolians have bided their time, scheming and plotting to attack Zardon, to make the "Resource Planet" their own! At this very moment, the surprise attack is on its way! • At Zardon missile base, the hot line flashes wildly. • "Commander! Our radar just picked up a barrage of missiles headed straight toward us!" • "What? But that's incredible! Who...? You cut your question short, realizing this is no time to ask, rather it is time to act. • You command Zardon missile base. You are responsible for the defense of your home planet. You must employ quick thining and strategy to successfully pit Zardon's ABMs against the invaders' fierce onrush of weapons. Otherwise, the Zardonian civilization will perish. 2. Game Play • Your duty is to defend the six cities on your planet by destroying the enemy's weapons with your antiballistic missiles [ABMs]. The more enemy weapons you destroy and the longer you defend your cities, the more points you score. When the enemy annihilates all your cities, the game is over. • Missile Command can be played by one or two players. In single- player games the object is to beat your own highest score. In two -player games the object is to score more points than your opponent. • The enemy attacks your cities and missile base with IPBMs [Interplanetary Ballistic Missiles], MIRVs [Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles], smart missiles, killer satelites, and bombers (see figure 1). Attacks come in waves lasting 30-45 seconds. Each wave is more difficult than the previous one. On the sixth wave, the enemy launches smart missiles that can evade your ABMs and "home-in" on your missile base and cities. • The enemy can destroy three cities per wave and zap your missile base as often as you allow it. Each time your missile base is blasted, you lose all missiles waiting to be launched. You have a total of 30 ABMs per wave, with six in your launch pad at a time. As each set of ABMs is fired, you receive 6 more, until all 30 are gone or the wave ends. When your last six ABMs are on the launch pad, the cursor warns you by changing from (empty center) into a solid like this (center of cross full). • Sometimes, all you'll get when you press the fire button is a high-pitched "oink" sound. That's the "no launch" signal telling you that you can't fire ABMs for the following reasons: * You have no more ABMs to launch. * Your ABMs are not ready for launching. * You already have eight ABM explosions on the scree. (You may never have more than eight explosions on the screen at one time). • At the end of each wave, the cities and ABMs that you saved are displayed, as shown in Figure 2, and bonus points for them are added to your score. For more about SCORING, see Section 5. • A game ends when the enemy destroys all your cities and THE END apprears on your television screen (Figure 3). 3. Using the 5200 Controllers. • Use one or two 5200 controllers with this Atari game cartridge. For one player games, plug the controller into controller jack 1 on your console. For a two-player game, plug the second controller into the number 2 jack. In two-player games, the player using the number 1 jack controls game selection and starts the game. Keypad Overlays: • For your convenience, two keypad overlays are included with this game. Slip the tabs into the slots above and below the keypad on your controller (see Figure 5). Player Selection: • Press the left * key (on your overlay the square marked 1-2 Players) to choose a one or two-player game. THe message 1 PLAYER or 2 PLAYER is displayed at the top left of the screen (see figure 6). Start: • Press START to begin the attack. The cursor, score counters, and wave point multiplier will appear, as shown in figure 7. You can restart a game at any time by pressing this key. Reset: • Press the RESET key at any time to return to the first display. (Figure 6) Pause: • To suspend a turn in progress, press the PAUSE key. All action will instantly freeze on the screen. To continue play, press PAUSE again. Controller Action: • Move the joystick up, down, left, right, or diagonally to place the cursor where you wish your ABM to explode. To launch an ABM, press either or both of the bottom red buttons on the front right and left sides of the controller, as shown in Figure 4. Game Options: SKIP WAVE MODE • If you wish to start Missile Command at a more difficult (and higher scoring) wave level, press the 0 key on your keypad (or, the square marked SKIP MODE on your keypad overlay). When you press this key, a flashing question mark will appear on your television screen after the word SKIP (See figure 9). To skip the first wave, press the 1 key. SKIP 1 will appear at the top, center of the screen and you'll start the game at Wave 2. If you skip two waves [SKIP 2], you'll start the game at Wave 3 and so on up to 9 waves maximum. • After selecting the number of waves to be skipped, press the START key to begin the game. Game Options: Pracice Mode • If you want to practice hitting smart missiles, press the 8 key on your keypad [or the PRACTICE square on your keypad overlay]. Then press start and only smart missiles will appear (see Figure 10). Smart missile games can be started at different wave levels, the same as mixed weapons games, see SKIP WAVE MODE. To return to mixed weapons games, press the 8 or PRACTICE key again. Game Options: Bonus Cities • MISSILE COMMAND gives you a bonus city every time you score 10,000 points. If you wish to play without this feature, press the # key [or, the square marked BONUS on your overlay). The word BONUS will disappear from the top of the first display [Figure 6]. Press START to begin game play without bonus cities. To restore bonus cities, press # or BONUS again. 4. Trak-Ball [Future Accessory] • This MISSILE COMMAND cartridge offers a TRAK-BALL option. A TRAK-BALL may be purchased seperately. To play the game with a TRAK-BALL, plug the TRAK-BALL into the number 1 jack on the front of your game console. Follow the instructions in Section 3, USING THE 5200 CONTROLLERS, for player selection and game options. You do not need a seperate TRAK-BALL for each player. Simply pass the TRAK-BALL back and forth as each turn comes up. The computer switches between players and keeps score automatically. NOTE: You cannot use a TRAK-BALL with a 5200 controller in a two player game. If you switch from one type of controller to the other mid-game, plug in the new controller and press start. You will restart the game option you last played. TRAK-BALL: Action • Move your TRAK-BALL in any direction to place your cursor on a target. Press the fire button to fire ABMs. SEE your TRAK-BALL Owner's Manual for details. 5. SCORING • You score points for every enemy weapon destroyed and bonus points for every city and ABM remaining at the end of a wave. Table 1 shows the point system for the first two waves of MISSILE COMMAND: TABLE 1: Points for Weapons Destroyed: IPBM 25 Points MIRV 25 Points BOMBER 100 Points SATELLITE 100 Points SMART MISSILE 125 Points Bonus Points: ABM 5 Points City 100 Points • All cities and ABMs left at the end of a wave are displayed on the screen (as shown in figure 2), and bonus points are automatically added to your score. Display Colors and Wave Point Multlipliers • Every two waves, the display colors change and the wave multiplier increases. For example, all points are doubled in Waves 3 and 4, tripled in Waved 5 and 6, and quadrupled in Waves 7 and 8. Wave point multlipliers are displayed at the start of every wave (see figure 7). • Waves continue as long as you have cities left. After Wave 20, the colors repeat. Wave 21 and 22, for example, are the same colors as Waves 1 and 2. However, with Wave 11, points are always multiplied by 6. • Table 2 shows the display colors and the wave point multiplier for each wave. Note: Colors may vary, depending upon the color control settings of your television set. TABLE 2: Wave Point Waves Colors Multiplier 1 & 2 Blue & Red on Black 1 x points Background 3 & 4 Blue & Green on Black 2 x points 5 & 6 Yellow-Green & Red on 3 x points Black 7 & 8 Light Blue & Yellow on 4 x points Black 9 & 10 Black & Pink on Blue 5 x points 11 & 12 Blue & light Red on 6 x points Gray-Blue 13 & 14 Light Yellow & Black 6 x points on Purple 15 & 16 Light Red & Black on 6 x points Light Yellow 17 & 18 Light Purple & light 6 x points Yellow-Green on Gray 19 & 20 Light Blue & Black on 6 x points Red Bonus City Points: • Every 10,000 points you receive a bonus city and a musical salute. Your bouns city is placed at a vacant site chosen at random. If you prefer, you can play Missile Command without the bonus city feature. Check GAME OPTIONS in Section 3 for information on this. • If you have no vacant sites at 10,000 points (or multiples of 10,000 points), your bonus city is held in reserve until a city is destroyed. The bonus city is set on the vacant site at the start of the next wave. Bonus cities will be reserved untill your score reaches 1,000,000 points. At 1,000,000 points, you lose all cities in reserve. 6. GAME STRATEGY - As soon as you've launched an ABM and marked the target for detonation, move the cursor to another target. Don't wait for the explosion. - Aim just in front of missiles, satellites, and bombers, and let them travelinto your exploding ABM's - Hit bombers and killer satellites before they can drop missiles. Also, the sooner they'll reappear and the more points you can score. You may want to launch "insurance" ABM's at the left and right sides od the screen before a bomber or satellite appears, in the chance that one will travel into the ABM explosion. - Hit IPBM's before they "MIRV" (divide into multiple warheads) - Hit smart missiles dead on, since they're designed to evade your ABM detonators. If you're not good at direct hits, try surrounding smart missiles with detonations. - Hit targets before they cross radar line. The radar line is an invisible line marking the cursor's lower limit. Since you can't position the cursor below this line, any enemy missile that crosses it is beyond the range of your ABMs - Don't waste ABMs on enemy missiles that are heading for dirt (bomb craters or vacant sites). Defend your missile base and cities first. If all your cities are destroyed or are on the verge of earning a bonus city, then it is good strategy to go for the high-score targets like smart missiles, even if they are heading for dirt. - Don't let smart missiles distract you. Sometimes you can try so hard to hit smart missiles you forget to defend your planet. Remember that a smart missile can only hit one target. - As waves become more difficult, you may be forced to sacrifice some cities. Give up the outside cities first. Save the cities nearest your missile base; they're easier to defend. When waves become really tough, you may want to defend one city and go for as many high score targets as possible. - Since the enemy can destroy three cities per wave, after you've lost three cities, concentrate on destroying high-score enemy targets. Of course, you still have to defend your missile base. - Protect your cities with a missile umbrella. This is a line of ABM explosions spread across the television screen to trap and destroy oncoming enemy weapons. To setup a missile umbrella, move the cursor rapidly across the screen, just below the enemy missiles and leave a string of detonation marks. Space the marks close enough to form a chain of explosions beneath enemy targets. If possible, spread the missile umbrella in the path of a bomber or satellite MISSILE COMMAND TM ATARI (R) GAME PROGRAM TM INSTRUCTIONS MODEL CX2638 ATARI (R) A Warner Communications Company 34 GAME SPECIAL HELPFUL HINTS VARIATIONS FEATURE Section 7 SPECIAL FEATURE This Game Program TM contains additional versions for young children. NOTE: Always turn the console power switch off when inserting or removing a Game Program TM. This will protect the electronic components and prolong the life of your ATARI (R) Video Computer System TM. (c) 1981, ATARI, INC. CONTENTS 1. YOUR COMMANDING ORDERS 2 2. GAME PLAY 3 3. USING THE CONTROLLERS 4 4. CONSOLE CONTROLS 5 5. SCORING 6 6. GAME VARIATIONS 7 7. HELPFUL HINTS 8 8. GAME MATRIX 9 1. YOUR COMMANDING ORDERS Aliens from the planet of Krytol have begun an attack on the planet Zardon. The Krytolians are warriors out to destroy and seize the planet of Zardon. Zardon is the last of the peaceful planets. The Zardonians are skillful and hardworking people. Their cities are built-up and rich in resources. It is truly a planet void of crime and violence. Zardon has built a powerful defense system. Several antiballistic missile bases have been established within the cities of Zardon. The Zardonians are ready for this attack, and are prepared to fight to save their cities. As base commander it is your responsibility to protect and defend six cities on the planet of Zardon. The Krytolians have begun firing interplanetary ballistic missiles. They are aiming at your cities and missile bases. Your only defense is to fire back with antiballistic missiles. But watch out, the Krytolians are sly, they also have cruise missiles. Cruise missiles look like satellites, but they are just as deadly as the interplanetary ballistic missiles. Use your antiballistic missiles (ABMs) to stop the enemy before your happy and harmonious planet is destroyed. 2. GAME PLAY The object of the game is to defend your cities and missile bases. the enemy fires interplanetary ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, both of which are aimed to destroy your cities and missile base. There are only two types of cruise missiles; smart cruise missiles, which try to evade your anti- ballistic missiles (ABMs), and dumb cruise missiles, which fall in a straight path. The enemy attacks in a series of waves that may vary in the number of attacking interplanetary ballistic missiles. Each consecutive wave moves faster. The faster the wave, the more difficult it is to defend the cities. So, the faster the wave, the higher the scoring. See Section 5 for details about waves and scoring. With each wave you have 30 ABMs for defense (see Figure 1). Your launching missile base, (bottom, centre of playfield) contains only 10 ABMs at a time. As each set of 10 ABMs is fired, you automatically receive 10 more from you underground missile dump (bottom, left corner). Once you have fired all 30 ABMs, you are defenseless until a new wave begins. [Figure 1] You must protect your launching missile base from enemy fire. Once it is hit, all of its contents are destroyed. However, you still have the remaining missiles in the underground dump. The game ends when all of the cities are destroyed. 3. USING THE CONTROLLERS MOVE UP ^ \ | / \|/ MOVE LEFT <---------> MOVE RIGHT /|\ MOVE / | \ DIAGONALLY v MOVE DOWN Figure 2 Use your Joystick Controllers with this ATARI (R) Game Program TM. Be sure to plug the controller cables firmly into the jacks at the back of your Video Computer System TM. Hold the controller with the red button to your upper left toward the television screen. Use the LEFT CONTROLLER jack for one-player games. See Section 3 of your owner's manual for further details. Use the Joystick Controller as a target control for your ABMs. Move the Joystick up, down, right, left, or diagonally to move the cursor (blinking light) to the target where you wish your antiballistic missile to explode. Push the controller button to launch you ABM's. (See Figure 2.) Consider the Joystick as a target control for your missiles. Wherever the target control is on the screen when the button is pressed will be the exact location that your ABM explodes. Once you have launched an ABM, you can move to a new target and launch again while the first ABM is in flight. The best way to destroy the enemy is to place the target control directly in the path of the interplanetary ballistic missiles. The ABM must make contact with the tip of the enemy's interplanetary ballistic missile. Some game variations have a fast target control and some have a slow target control. The faster the target control moves, the harder it is to position below the enemy missiles. (See the GAME SELECT MATRIX for games which feature a fast target control or slow target control). 4. CONSOLE CONTROLS To select a MISSILE COMMAND game, press down the game select switch. To quickly change the game number, hold down the game select and the game reset switches at the same time. The game number and the number of players appear in the middle of the screen. The game number is to the left of the number of players. (See Figure 3.) When you have selected the game you wish to play, press down the game reset switch to start the action. Each time game reset is pressed down the game starts over. When game play starts the score appears at the top of the screen. Difficulty Switches MISSILE COMMAND has two difficulty levels -a and b. The b level is for normal game play. Level a is for the skilled MISSILE COMMAND player. When the difficulty switch is in the a position, your ABMs move at a slower pace, making it more difficult to defend your cities and missile base. Each player may choose his or her own difficulty level. In a one-player game use the left difficulty switch. For two- player games, the left player uses the left difficulty switch; the right player uses the right difficulty switch. When you become skilled at MISSILE COMMAND, try GAME 16 with difficulty level a for a real challenge. 5. SCORING You score points when you destroy interplanetary ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. You also score points for unused antiballistic missiles and saved cities. Because each wave of interplanetary ballistic missiles moves faster, the points for the higher numbered waves are multiplied. For example, waves 9 and 10 are worth 5 times their original point value. (See Table 1 for SCORING MULTIPLIER.) Points are scored as follows: Interplanetary Ballistic Missiles 25 points Enemy Cruise Missiles 125 points Unused Antiballistic Missiles 5 points Saved Cities 100 points Table 1 SCORING MULTIPLIER WAVES 1-2 Single Scoring WAVES 3-4 Double Scoring WAVES 5-6 Triple Scoring WAVES 7-8 Four Times Scoring WAVES 9-10 Five Times Scoring WAVES 11 and ABOVE Six Times Scoring Wave 13 is the most difficult wave in this Game Program TM Cartridge. Unused ABM's and saved cities are tallied at the end of each wave. Between each consecutive wave, the cities fall and rise again when the next wave starts (see Figure 4). A bonus city is awarded every 10,000 points. If your score reaches 10,000 points at the end of a wave and all six of your cities are destroyed, you still receive a bonus city and another wave of interplanetary ballistic missiles will attack. [Figure 4] Bonus cities are saved if none of you cities are destroyed. A musical tune is played each time a bonus city is used. 6. GAME VARIATIONS MISSILE COMMAND has 34 game variations. Games 1 through 17 are one-player, and games 18 through 34 are two-player games. this ATARI Game Program includes game variations for young children, games 17 and 34. The game play is slower in the children's versions (see CHILDREN'S GAMES). SLOW/FAST TARGET CONTROL Some game variations have fast target control and some have slow target control. This means that your may move the cursor fast or slow around the screen. Because you use the Joystick to move the target control, the slower it moves, the more control you will have; but the fewer amount of targets you'll be able to hit. The faster the target control moves, the more difficult it is to control; but the more targets you will be able to hit. SMART ENEMY CRUISE MISSILE/DUMB ENEMY CRUISE MISSILE After the 6th wave of interplanetary ballistic missiles, the enemy may attack with cruise missiles. The dumb cruise missiles travel in a straight line and are fairly easy to destroy. The smart cruise missiles can detect and evade your ABM explosions, making them more difficult to destroy. STARTING WAVE The higher the wave number, the faster the enemy missiles attack. Some game variations start at a low wave number and progress to a higher and faster wave number. The games that start at a high wave number are fast in the beginning and progress even faster with each wave. The faster waves score more points. CHILDREN'S GAMES Games 17 and 34 play at a slower and easier speed for young children. They have dumb enemy cruise missiles, slow target control, and the enemy attacks at a slower rate with less missiles. As children become skilled at this level, they should try the more difficult game variations, starting at Game 1. TWO-PLAYER GAMES Games 18 through 34 are two-player games. In two-player games each player alternates as base commander, one wave at a time. The left controller player begins the game. Each player's score appears at the top of the screen with each turn. At the end of the game both players' scores are alternately displayed on the screen. 7. HELPFUL HINTS 1) You may fire up to three defense missiles simultaneously. After pressing the controller (fire) button, move to the next enemy site and fire again. Do not wait for the explosion before moving. 2) Once a city is destroyed you no longer can defend it, so concentrate only on your missile base and saved cities. Ignore enemy fire aimed at cities already destroyed. 3) Smart enemy cruise missiles are easiest to destroy if your target control is directly on them. When it is directly on them, the enemy cannot detect your ABMs. 8. GAME SELECT MATRIX ONE-PLAYER GAME NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 FAST TARGET CONTROL - X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X C SLOW TARGET CONTROL X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X - H DUMB CRUISE MISSILE X X - - X X - - X X - - X X - - I SMART CRUISE MISSILE - - X X - - X X - - X X - - X X L FIRST WAVE 1 1 1 1 7 7 7 7 11 11 11 11 15 15 15 15 D TWO-PLAYER GAME NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 FAST TARGET CONTROL - X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X C SLOW TARGET CONTROL X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X - H DUMB CRUISE MISSILE X X - - X X - - X X - - X X - - I SMART CRUISE MISSILE - - X X - - X X - - X X - - X X L FIRST WAVE 1 1 1 1 7 7 7 7 11 11 11 11 15 15 15 15 D ATARI A Warner Communications Company ATARI, INC., Consumer Division P.O.Box 427, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 C016943-38 REV. 1 Printed in U.S.A.