+therealbountybob Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 THE LAST STARFIGHTER Download Fandal or Atarimania Great game, long time no play, three difficulty levels - has slight varations to Star Raiders II. Clear the aliens from the planets, shields and energy you know the sort! I'll add more later but from memory the star chart has a top left place that lets you see the 2nd more distant chart, so head out there and get blasting them. When you land on a planet it might be Select (or Option) to change direction [close, it's Option to switch weapons!]. You can recarge at the starbases or on the sun but get off there quickly - set the aim to another destination so you are ready in advance!! There are three skill levels, new players try the first one, probably the second one is best for those who know the game, then play the hardest for a bonus - don't think I managed to complete this skill. If anyone has some links to info or the film (it was not that bad!) please post Have Fun Round ends Sunday 26th May 10am UK time 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 (edited) Here's a draft copy of the manual. But for quicker reference: Space bar brings up the map. Select your destination and press fire to hyperwarp. When on an enemy planet, pressing start will switch between lasers and bombs. Escape pauses the action. Be careful not to melt at the sun! Last Starfighter 800 Manual.pdf Edited May 12, 2019 by Deteacher 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedThunder Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 2,100 Damn the Ko-Dan Empire 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Anyone ever see the Starship Enterprise fly across the screen? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Got a warmup game on level 1 finished: 161,100! Saved 49 of the 50 cities. Haven't been able to shoot down a command ship yet. Those guys are tough! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted May 13, 2019 Author Share Posted May 13, 2019 Great stuff deteacher :thumbsup: I don't think I have seen the Enterprise, how about a bonus point for the first person to spot one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Great stuff deteacher :thumbsup: I don't think I have seen the Enterprise, how about a bonus point for the first person to spot one Here's the info on the Enterprise Easter Egg, from Digital Press: EASTER EGG: Programmers Gary Stark and Bruce Poehlman admit to putting a few hidden extras in the game, but they don’t recall how to trigger them. One that’s been seen is the Starship Enterprise will sometimes make a brief appearance (by the sun) when recharging. There is a clock timer, and if this timer is $00 or $80 at the right moment of recharging, the Enterprise will appear (picture #1). Unfortunately the timer clocks rather slow (from $00 to $FF) so it's very unlikely you will see this effect without cheating (the odds are 1 in 128), as there doesn’t appear to be a method to either resetting or resetting the timer in the code. The graphics for the Enterprise are stored in the Atari 8-bit version at $3A40-$3A42 (bytes $E7, $12, $1C). It'll be tough to do, but it would be cool to see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 183,100! Level 1 completed with all 50 cities saved. Moving on to level 2. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Took me a while to find it, but here are some facts I put together on the Starship Enterprise "Easter Egg" in The Last Starfighter via email questions I had asked about it a number of years ago. I don't completely remember who these people were, but I saved the email exchange.This was asked to someone named Curt at the Atari Historical Society:On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 "Joe Blenkle" <jblenkle@******.net> writes:Hey, you've been around the Atari for a long time...can I ask you a game related question that has haunted me for years? It's about The Last Starfighter, which if I understand was never actually released as such, and was later renamed Star Raiders II. Many years ago while playing The Last Starfighter, suddenly out of nowhere, this little Starship Enterprise went sailing across the screen. I had never seen it before and I have never seen it since. I happened to mention it to a friend who was really into Atari and he absolutely freaked out. He had heard about this, but never seen it. Have you ever heard about this or know the story behind it? Sometimes I almost think I imagined it, but I'm sure I didn't. But I have never, ever, heard anyone else mention this!!!From: <myatari2@*****.com>To: <jblenkle@*******.net>; <myatari@*******.com>Subject: Re: game questionDate: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 12:36 PMIt is true. It was put in by John Skruch Director of Software development at Atari who put out over 300 games while at Atari from 1982 until it closed in 1998. I've encountered it twice while recharging/repairing the players ship while in orbit over one of the Sun's. I've never found exactly what trips the sequence to get it to occur, but I've personally seen it happen twice. -- CurtHere is a note from John Skruch about the origin.Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 05:17:19 -0800Yep, its there. It will appear randomly. My idea. The ceiling of the Non Com Club at Moffett Field was painted like the night sky. Someone painted an Enterprise in the sky and every now and then they would "move" it in the sky so it appeared to travel across the room. Loved it.Cheers,John Skruch I used to play this game endlessly back in the 80s...but I only saw the Enterprise once and it's never appeared again. Great stuff deteacher :thumbsup: I don't think I have seen the Enterprise, how about a bonus point for the first person to spot one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 So how is this going to be scored if we are allowed to play any of the three levels? I just played the first one and completed the game although halfway through I suddenly realized I was blowing up my own cities. I barely finished with one city left. This is the first time I've touched this game for probably 15 years. THE LAST STARFIGHTER Download Fandal or Atarimania Great game, long time no play, three difficulty levels - has slight varations to Star Raiders II. Clear the aliens from the planets, shields and energy you know the sort! I'll add more later but from memory the star chart has a top left place that lets you see the 2nd more distant chart, so head out there and get blasting them. When you land on a planet it might be Select (or Option) to change direction. You can recarge at the starbases or on the sun but get off there quickly - set the aim to another destination so you are ready in advance!! There are three skill levels, new players try the first one, probably the second one is best for those who know the game, then play the hardest for a bonus - don't think I managed to complete this skill. If anyone has some links to info or the film (it was not that bad!) please post Have Fun Round ends Sunday 26th May 10am UK time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) The Last Starfighter (Level 1) - 66,100 Edited May 15, 2019 by jblenkle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 The Last Starfighter - Enterprise!!! Thank god for Print Screen on the computer...I almost missed it. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 The Last Starfighter - Enterprise!!! Thank god for Print Screen on the computer...I almost missed it. You've bagged the bonus point!! Scoring possibly - score for level 1, if completed then score for level 2 (I think it is not too difficult). The 3rd skill level can be a bonus challenge perhaps. AKA I'll make it up as ususal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 The Last Starfighter (Level 1) - 159,300 The Last Starfighter (Level 2) - 77,900 The Last Starfighter (Level 3) - 88,900 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Starfighter Level 2: 85,600! I saved a whopping 2 cities! OUCH! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Finished level 3 with a score of 91,600! Saved 15 cities! Now that I have a little strategy going, I'm heading back to level 2 to see if I can improve my score there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 The Last Starfighter (Level 1) - 161,700 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Let me quote McKong: "Not really my kind of game. Probably won't play again this round." I kind of knew this on beforehand, as I have trouble finding any sort of joy about Star Raiders, and this game is very much alike. Fortunately there are many other games for the Atari and other formats for me to spend my time on. The Last Starfighter - 2100 pts, didn't save anything, not even my own ass 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 The Last Starfighter (Level 1) - 170,500 The Last Starfighter (Level 2) - 100,200 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted May 17, 2019 Author Share Posted May 17, 2019 Completed Level 1 ! 168,700 with 46 Cities left, might have lost a few at the start when I was working out what was what. Watch out for the Ko-Dan squads moving after you have lined up on them to exit from the Sun - hop to the nearest planet if in a panic. Basic Strategy: clear your own planets, (break off to defend the barrier), then get to the other map and clear their cities to stop them making more squadrons, then return and clear up any intruders, then clean up the rest. You need to have the Option Key (and the rest of the Atari) on the desk in front of you! Think I will be in for a gruelling level 2 session at the weekend (will read the manual too!) first tableTHE LAST STARFIGHTERLevel 1deteacher 183,100jblenkle 170,500trbb 168,700carlsson 2,100*RedThunder 2,100*Level 2jblenkle 100,200 deteacher 85,600Level 3deteacher 91,600jblenkle 88,900*=incomplete level scorefirst to spot the Enterprise bonus pointjblenkle 1pt Forgot to say NOMINATIONS for the next poll - 1 each please 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 The Last Starfighter (Level 3) - 104,700 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted May 18, 2019 Author Share Posted May 18, 2019 The Last Starfighter (Level 3) - 104,700 That's great going Joe We'll have to decide who will get the "win" for this round (probably between you and deteacher), perhaps total points difference on Levels 2 and 3 combined? I've completed Skill 2 156,100 (41 Cities left) not too difficult, some great game mechanics but a bit more variety would have been nice, mopping up the remaining squadrons takes a bit too long. Level 3 tomorrow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted May 18, 2019 Author Share Posted May 18, 2019 OK I coundn't wait and played Level 3, not as hard as I thought (remember I'm on a PAL system so not sure how it compares): 155,600 with 42 cities I think - I lost one planet oopsy!! If you head back on the barrier warnings I bet you can save them all The more you play the more you can get used to bombing faster so this makes it fairly easy to wipe them out in a couple of visits, did the SRII version only let you go up when bombing so it was more tricky? I'll start the next poll in the morning - I'll pick some eh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKong Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 Ok I'll nominate Jet Boot Jack again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 I'm sure this has no chance of winning, but I'll nominate Star League Baseball. When's the last time we played a sporting event (other than Summer/Winter Games) on here? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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