Outer Space Attack is an early Invaders game for the Atari published in SoftSide magazine. It’s noteworthy for being slightly modified and republished in ANTIC v.1, n.3, as Pac-Invaders without attribution. ANTIC issued an apology in the next issue.
SOFTSIDE #42 / MARCH 1982 / PAGE 65
Outer Space Attack is a real-time arcade game for ATARI® 400 or 800 computers. It requires 16K ROM (24K for disk), a joystick, and the BASIC cartridge.
For far too long ATARI® owners have been fed a diet of warmed-over software — programs originally developed for their microcomputer cousins and translated extremely literally for the ATARI®. Although a few Machine Language programs have appeared which take advantage of the graphics features of the ATARI®, BASIC programs which show off the brilliance of the machine are few and far between.
The program presented here is pure ATARI®. Sure, zillions of Invaders-type games have been written for microcomputers. But it is precisely because of its wide implementation that I chose this type of program to show off the power of ATARI® BASIC. On what other micro could you write any kind of a playable Invaders game in under 50 lines of BASIC? How about one that featured high-resolution graphics, seven colors on the screen at once, sound, and animation?
I don’t think we will see any takers for a BASIC translation of this program. No other computer has Player/Missile (PM) graphics, redefinable character sets, relocatable display memory, and the rest of the graphics goodies that come with the ATARI®.
Now, if I were able to do all of this with just a short BASIC program, think what you could do with a long, elaborate one. As more ATARI® owners become aware of these capabilities, we should see innovative, original software designed to utilize the full power of the machine. Until then, I hope you enjoy this newest additon to the Invaders horde.
Unless you really have been stationed on a lunar defense base, little need be said about how the game is played: You have to shoot down all of the aliens before they get past the horizon (gray surface) and wipe out your planet. To do this, you maneuver your laser base left or right with a joystick in Port 1 and fire with the trigger button.
If you let one slip by, the game will end with the current invasion wave. If you manage to wipe out one wave, a new one will start as soon as the warning siren sounds. To make things worse, the alien menace shoots back, dropping bombs more and more frequently with each successive attack wave. If your laser base is bombed, it will be replaced by one of your two spares, but when they are gone, the game is over.
In the end, your little outpost is doomed. The best you can hope for is to make the aliens pay dearly with their losses (and maximize your score).
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $ ATARI BASIC $ $ 'OUTER SPACE ATTACK' $ $ AUTHOR: Sheldon Leemon $ $ (c) 1982 SoftSide $ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
10 I=0:J=0:COUNT=0:ATTACK=0:GOSUB 280:GOTO 140
20 REM -OUTER SPACE ATTACK V.1 12/81
By SHELDON LEEMON
Oak Park, MI 48237
30 Y=PEEK(53248):IF Y>0 THEN GOSUB 210
40 IF SF=1 THEN SVP=SVP-4:M$(SVP)=SHELL$:POKE 53278,1:IF SVP-4*K<10 THEN M$(SVP,SVP+4)=BL$:SF=0 50 Y=PEEK(53248):IF Y>0 THEN GOSUB 210
60 IF BF=1 THEN BVP=BVP+3:M$(BVP)=BOMB$:IF BVP>102 THEN M$(BVP,BVP+5)=BL$:BF=0:BVP=20 70 IF PEEK(53259)=1 THEN 250
80 IF BF=0 AND COUNT>ATTACK AND K<16 THEN BF=1:POKE 53255,HP+3:BVP=14+4*K:COUNT=0
90 HP=HP+4*(STICK(0)=7)-4*(STICK(0)=11):POKE 53248,HP
100 IF STRIG(0)=0 AND SF=0 THEN SF=1:HPM=HP+2:POKE 53252,HPM:SVP=94:M$(SVP)=SHELL$:POKE 77,0 110 COUNT=COUNT+1:RETURN
120 POKE 656,1:POKE 657,2:? "GAME OVER--PUSH BUTTON TO PLAY AGAIN";:SOUND 0,0,0,0:CHANCES=0:SCREENS=0 130 POKE 656,1:POKE 657,2:? " ";:POKE 704,PEEK(710):IF STRIG(0)=1 THEN 120
140 POKE 656,3:POKE 657,2:? "SCORE ";:SCORE=0:GOSUB 240:POKE 705,38:POKE 706,38:ATTACK=80:TOUGH=0:TOUGHER=0 150 POKE 704,196:M$=BL$:SF=0:BF=0:POKE 53278,1:FOR I=1 TO 3:FOR J=80 TO 150:SOUND 0,J,10,6:NEXT J:NEXT I:COUNT=80 160 POKE 77,0:ATTACK=ATTACK-SCREENS*10:IF SCREENS>1 THEN TOUGH=30:IF SCREENS>3 THEN TOUGHER=60
170 FOR K=1 TO 20:D=-D:FOR I=0 TO 8:L=PEEK(DL)-D-20*(I=8):H=PEEK(DH)-(L<0)+(L>255):L=L+256*(L<0)-256*(L>255) 180 GOSUB 30:POKE DH,H:POKE DL,L:GOSUB 30:POKE 756,RT+4+2*(PEEK(756)=RT+4):GOSUB 30+TOUGH 190 SOUND 0,255,12,15:GOSUB 30+TOUGHER:SOUND 0,0,0,0:NEXT I:NEXT K 200 GOSUB 420:M$=BL$:SF=0:BF=0:POKE 53278,1:GOTO 120
210 SOUND 0,20,10,6:X=HPM+8*I*(-D)-64*(D<0)-48:X=2*INT(X/16):Y=(Y=2)+3*(Y=1)+5*(Y=8)+7*(Y=4)-1 220 SCORE=SCORE+10*(10-Y):HITS=HITS+1:IF HITS=24 THEN POP:M$=BL$:SCREENS=SCREENS+1:GOSUB 420:GOTO 150 230 POSITION X,Y:? #6;" " 240 POKE 656,3:POKE 657,8:? SCORE;" ";:M$(SVP,SVP+2)=BL$:SF=0:POKE 53278,1:RETURN
250 POKE 706-CHANCES,0:POKE 704,PEEK(710):M$=BL$:FOR K=70 TO 0 STEP -1:SOUND 0,240,8,K/5:NEXT K:GOSUB 420 260 CHANCES=CHANCES+1:IF CHANCES=3 THEN CHANCES=0:SCORE=0:GOTO 120 270 GOTO 150
280 RT=PEEK(106):IF RT/2=INT(RT/2) THEN RT=RT-8 290 POKE 89,RT:POKE 88,0:? CHR$(125):POKE 89,RT+3:? CHR$(125):POKE 106,RT:GRAPHICS 18:POKE 756,RT+4
295 ? #6;"% OUTER %":? #6:? #6;" & space &" 300 ? #6:? #6;" ' ATTACK '":? #6:? #6:? #6:? #6;" BY s. leemon" 310 FOR I=8 TO 39:READ X:POKE (RT+4)*256+I+32,X:SOUND 0,I,10,6:NEXT I 320 FOR I=40 TO 71:READ X:POKE (RT+6)*256+I,X:SOUND 0,I,10,6:NEXT I 330 FOR I=72 TO 87:POKE (RT+6)*256+I-72,0:SOUND 0,I,10,10:NEXT I 340 FOR I=88 TO 511:J=PEEK(57344+I):POKE (RT+6)*256+I,J:POKE (RT+4)*256+I,J:SOUND 0,I,10,6:NEXT I
350 FOR I=0 TO 600:SOUND 0,0,0,0:NEXT I:GRAPHICS 1:POKE 559,0:DH=PEEK(560)+PEEK(561)*256+5:DL=DH-1 360 POKE 89,RT+2:POKE 88,128:POKE 752,1:? " ":POKE DH+25,6:POKE 708,52:POKE 709,132:POKE 710,8:POKE 711,84
370 DIM BL$(128),D$(1),F$((INT(ADR(D$)/1024)+1)*1024-ADR(D$)-1),PM$(384),M$(128),P$(128),P1$(128),P2$(128) 380 DIM BOMB$(6),SHELL$(6):BL$=CHR$(0):BL$(128)=CHR$(0):BL$(2)=BL$:M$=BL$:SVP=88 390 FOR I=1 TO 6:READ K,Y,D:P$(97+I,97+I)=CHR$(K):SHELL$(I,I)=CHR$(Y):BOMB$(I,I)=CHR$(D):NEXT I 400 P1$=BL$:P2$=BL$:P1$(12)=P$:P2$=P1$:POKE 53249,170:POKE 53250,156:POKE 704,196:POKE 707,76 410 BVP=10:POKE 53254,100:HP=128:POKE 53248,HP:POKE 54279,ADR(PM$)/256:POKE 623,1:POKE 53277,3
420 POKE DH,PEEK(89):POKE DL,128:POKE 559,46:BF=1:HITS=0:D=-1:POKE 756,RT+4 430 ? #6;CHR$(125):FOR J=0 TO 3:POSITION 0,J*2:FOR I=1 TO 6:? #6;CHR$(5+32*J+J+64*(J>1));" ";:NEXT I:NEXT J:RETURN 440 DATA 60,126,255,165,255,126,0,0 441 DATA 60,126,215,215,126,255,129,102 442 DATA 24,60,126,235,255,255,65,0 445 DATA 195,126,255,153,221,255,65,65 446 DATA 0,0,60,90,60,0,0,0 447 DATA 60,126,86,126,60,62,34,54 450 DATA 24,60,126,215,255,255,130,0 451 DATA 195,66,126,255,153,187,255,65 460 DATA 24,1,0,24,1,0,24,0,0,60,0,0,126,0,192,255,0,192
SOFTSIDE #42 / MARCH 1982 / PAGE 69
Outer Space Attack uses several of ATARI®’s exclusive graphics features. The first, character redefinition, has already been treated in an earlier Take-Apart article by Alan J. Zett which explained how to change the appearance of letters in order to create custom graphics characters. For Outer Space Attack, I used a character-generator program to create two sets of redefined characters, each portraying the Invader characters in different positions.
After designing the characters, the generator program then wrote the DATA statements in lines 440-450 of the program, which determine the Invaders’ shapes. The POKE 756 command in line 180 switches back and forth between the sets, creating the illusion of animation.
The second graphics feature which the program takes advantage of is graphics indirection (modifying the display list). Other microcomputers use a fixed area of memory to hold the data being displayed on the screen, so that in order to move images on the screen, you usually have to move the screen data around within this area of memory.
The ATARI® computers, however, do not use a fixed area for display memory. Instead, two bytes of memory act as a pointer to display memory. By changing this pointer, it is possible to change the data being displayed without moving around any bytes in memory. You may think of this system as keeping a “window” on memory. Instead of moving the contents within the window, the frame is moved over the contents. In another sense, each separate line on the screen is a window.
Actually, two pointers are used to change the data being displayed. One tells the computer where to store data which is entered from the keyboard or PRINT statements (the “write pointer”), and the other tells the computer which area of memory to display (the “display pointer”). While these will usually have the same value so that the display shows what is written, it is quite possible to print words or graphics into one part of memory, while displaying another part, enabling you to flip instantly between “pages” without making the user watch the second screen being set up.
The write pointer is in memory locations 88 and 89. You can verify this by calculating the address pointed to with the statement WP = PEEK(88) -1-256 *PEEK(89), and then using a POKE WP,33 command to make the letter “A” appear in the upper-left corner of the screen (screen data uses Internal Character Set values, shown on page 55 of the Reference Manual).
Outer Space Attack uses the write pointer to clear memory, by changing the pointer value to the memory address of the area used for character data, and printing CHR$(125) (Line 290). The “screen clear” character causes the computer to write 1024 zeroes to that area of memory, which it thinks contains the screen display. In Outer Space Attack, the display pointer is changed frequently to give the Invaders the illusion of horizontal motion. This technique, known as coarse scrolling, is demonstrated in the following program:
10 DH=PEEK(560)+PEEK(561)*256+5:DL=DH-1
First we find the two-byte pointer to display memory.
20 FOR I=1 TO 40:POKE DL,PEEK(DL)+1:FOR J=1 TO 50:NEXT J:NEXT I
Next we add one to the low-byte value of the pointer and then POKE the new value back in. This makes the whole display appear to move to the left. The loop which uses the J index was added to slow down the motion.
30 FOR I=1 TO 40:POKE DL,PEEK(DL)-1:FOR J=1 TO 50:NEXT J:NEXT I
This line repeats the motion, this time to the right.
These three lines show the basic logic used in the main program loop of Outer Space Attack. The only real difference is that there, provision was made to carry or borrow from the high byte when the low-byte value got above 255 or below (see Line 170 of the program).
Although this explains the motion of the Invaders, why doesn’t the base, the bombs, or the shells move at the same time? Because they are not being displayed by the regular screen graphics system, but by a completely separate system known as Player/Missile graphics. This system features up to four characters called players, each of which is eight screen dots wide, and four two-dot characters known as missiles. Each character is potentially as tall as the screen. The hardware maintains collision registers to record hits between the players, missiles, and graphics objects.
The topic of Player/Missile (PM) graphics is too broad to be dealt with easily in one short article. For those unfamiliar with this system, I would recommend that you read Chris Crawford’s article in the November, 1981, issue of Byte, or the article published by Atari in their magazine The ATARI® Connection. But for those who are familiar with PM graphics, I will explain the trick used in Outer Space Attack to make them more manageable.
One problem with using PM graphics in BASIC programs is that vertical motion is usually produced by moving the player data through memory, POKEing one byte at a time. This produces slow and jerky motion. A better method exists. Normally, the user picks out an area in memory that is otherwise unused by the program in which to store data for PM graphics. But what if that area coincides with the data storage area of a string? Then, by manipulating the string data, you also will change the PM display data, at Machine Language speed.
The only obstacle to this approach is that PM data memory has to start on a 1K boundary (i.e., the first address must be an even multiple of 1024). The way that Outer Space Attack solves the problem is to dimension a string, F$, to take up space until the boundary is reached. In this way, the player data area is occupied by the string P$, and any time you change the value of P$, you change the player data.
The short example which follows demonstrates how easily PM graphics can be used in BASIC this way:
10 DIM D$(1),F$((INT(ADR(D$)/1024)+1)*1024-ADR(D$)-1),PM$(384),M$(128),P$(128) 20 PM$=CHR$(0):PM$(384)=CHR$(0):PM$(2)=PM$:M$=PM$:P$=M$ 30 DIM BALL$(7):BALLS=P$:FOR I=2 TO 6:READ A:BALL$(I,I)=CHR$(A):NEXT I 40 DATA 24,24,24,255,24,24,24 50 POKE 704,14:POKE 54279,ADR(PM$)/256:POKE 559,46:POKE 53277,3:P$(60)=BALL$ 60 FOR J=1 TO 5:FOR I=47 TO 200:POKE 53248,1:NEXT I:FOR I=200 TO 47 STEP -1:POKE 53248,1:NEXT I:NEXT J:P$=M$ 70 POKE 53248,120 80 FOR J=1 TO 8:FOR I=16 TO 107:P$(1)=BALL$:NEXT I:FOR I=107 TO 16 STEP -1:P$(I)=BALL$:NEXT I:NEXT J:P$=M$
Line 10 takes care of setting up the strings. PMS represents a blank buffer before the start of the player memory, MS is the area of missile memory, and PS is the memory area used for Player 0. If the other three players are desired, these strings should be dimensioned right after PS. Line 20 fills PMS, MS, and PS with all-zero data.
Line 30 then dimensions BALLS, and fills it with data that represents the shape of a ball. A zero is placed in front and behind the ball shape data, so that when the data is moved, the preceding and trailing zeroes will erase the remnants of the prior character.
Line 50 takes care of normal PM housekeeping. The first POKE sets the color of the ball to white. The second one makes the string area starting with PM$ the beginning of PM graphics data memory. The third POKE enables PM memory for double-line resolution graphics, and the fourth enables the player and missile display. Finally, the statement PS(60) = BALLS sets the data at position 60 of player memory equal to the ball data, so that a ball will appear about midway down the screen.
The next two lines show how to move the ball. Line 70 demonstrates how horizontal position is changed by POKEing the horizontal position register (53248 decimal) with a value between and 255. Notice that after this demonstration is finished, the player is cleared by assigning PS the value of MS, which is all zeroes. Next, vertical motion is displayed, by sequentially changing the contents of P$. This produces smooth, fast motion without resorting to Machine Language routines.
As you can see, the techniques used in Outer Space Attack, though sophisticated, are not all that difficult to master. The small effort required to learn them will reward you with access to graphics power far beyond the reach of other micros. PM graphics alone offer effects which could not otherwise be achieved, by making four additional colors available for the screen display; allowing you to mix pictures and text on the same horizontal line; and giving you a method of creating smooth animation in BASIC, simply by defining several strings containing shape data, and alternately assigning to PS the value of each. Other PM features such as selectable priority, which allows you to choose whether the player appears to go in front of or behind other screen graphics, and collision registers, which tell you when screen objects touch one another, lend themselves to sophisticated games.
While touching on some of ATARI®’s unique features, this article in no way exhausts the possibilities. The hardware capabilities of these computers will let you go as far as you wish.
I would like to thank the Michigan ATARI® Computer Enthusiasts, and especially Marcus Watts, who described to the group the PM techniques discussed here, for their help in developing Outer Space Attack and other programs.
ANTIC v.1 n.4 / OCTOBER 1982 / PAGE 41
The game PAC-INVADERS, published in this department in Issue #3, was the original work of Sheldon Leemon and not Vince Scott as we indicated. Mr. Leemon’s version, titled, Outer Space Attack, appeared in Softside Magazine, March 1982.
Mr. Leemon is the author of INSTEDIT, a character editor program from APEX, as well as an upcoming GTIA tutorial from Educational Software.
Softside is a monthly magazine featuring information and programs for users of Apple, TRS-80 and ATARI computers.
We apologize to all concerned for any misrepresentation or confusion.