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Star Raiders
Star Raiders is a space combat simulator video game created by Doug Neubauer and published in 1980 by Atari, Inc. Originally released for the Atari 400/800 computers, Star Raiders was later ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari ST. The player assumes the role of a starship fighter pilot, who must protect starbases from invading forces called Zylons. Piloting and combat are shown in the 3D cockpit view, while a 2D galactic map shows the state of the Zylon invasion. Neubauer made the game in his spare time at Atari, inspired by contemporary media such as Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars, as well as the 1971 mainframe game Star Trek.
Star Raiders became one of the most successful games on Atari's 400 and 800 computers, and their first killer app. It influenced space combat games such as Elite (1984) and Wing Commander (1990), as well as spawning an official sequel and a 2011 remake. Star Raiders was included in a list of ten games that were submitted as a game canon to the Library of Congress in 2007.
Star Raiders is a space combat simulator set during a galactic war between the Atarian Federation and the Zylon Empire. The player assumes the role of the captain of the Elite Atarian Starship fleet, fighting the Zylons before they eliminate humanity. To win, the player must destroy the Zylon ships before they destroy the Atarian ship and before their own ship runs out of energy.
Star Raiders is controlled using both a keyboard and a joystick. It is primarily experienced from a first-person, 3D cockpit view and larger, 2D map overviews for long-distance travel. The player can control the speed of travel in space, and the angle of display (rear and front-views), and engage a mini-display called the Attack Computer Display that displays the coordinates of enemy ships and other targets. In action sequences, the player will sometimes avoid or destroy asteroids before they damage their starship, while battling enemy ships using photon torpedoes. In this mode, the control panel displays the player's velocity, energy, number of kills, and remaining targets; Energy is consumed by traversing space, using shields, and firing photon torpedoes; energy can be restored by matching coordinates with a friendly starbase.
The player can activate a long-range scanner, which displays a top-down view of their ship and nearby targets. When the long-range scan is damaged, the player will see the objects in the area and false reflections of them. The player can also view a galactic chart, indicating the player's location, enemy ships, and friendly star bases. The player engages the hyper-warp to visit new sectors. A subspace radio delivers messages through the galactic chart when star bases are surrounded or destroyed. Six types of equipment can be damaged in action, which is tracked using the acronym PESCLR (for photon torpedoes, engines, shields, computer, long-range scan, and radio). Damaged equipment will affect gameplay, engine damage, for example, slows ship's movement.
Star Raiders' skill levels are Novice, Pilot, Warrior, and Commander. On high-difficulty levels, during hyperwarp moments, players must manually navigate their ship using crosshairs while warping. Zylon ships will move faster and strike more deliberately, with less randomness in their attack algorithm.
Doug Neubauer worked as an electrical engineer before creating Star Raiders. While working at National Semiconductor, Neubauer programmed scenes with star backgrounds.
National canceled its home computer projects, leading Neubauer to move to Atari, where design manager Richard Simone hired him. Neubauer became a key figure in the development of the POKEY sound chip, used in the Atari 400 and 800 computers. Using the sound chip he created, Neubauer tried to emulate the sound effects from Star Trek, such as explosions, engines, and photon torpedoes.
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Star Raiders AI simulator
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Star Raiders
Star Raiders is a space combat simulator video game created by Doug Neubauer and published in 1980 by Atari, Inc. Originally released for the Atari 400/800 computers, Star Raiders was later ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari ST. The player assumes the role of a starship fighter pilot, who must protect starbases from invading forces called Zylons. Piloting and combat are shown in the 3D cockpit view, while a 2D galactic map shows the state of the Zylon invasion. Neubauer made the game in his spare time at Atari, inspired by contemporary media such as Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars, as well as the 1971 mainframe game Star Trek.
Star Raiders became one of the most successful games on Atari's 400 and 800 computers, and their first killer app. It influenced space combat games such as Elite (1984) and Wing Commander (1990), as well as spawning an official sequel and a 2011 remake. Star Raiders was included in a list of ten games that were submitted as a game canon to the Library of Congress in 2007.
Star Raiders is a space combat simulator set during a galactic war between the Atarian Federation and the Zylon Empire. The player assumes the role of the captain of the Elite Atarian Starship fleet, fighting the Zylons before they eliminate humanity. To win, the player must destroy the Zylon ships before they destroy the Atarian ship and before their own ship runs out of energy.
Star Raiders is controlled using both a keyboard and a joystick. It is primarily experienced from a first-person, 3D cockpit view and larger, 2D map overviews for long-distance travel. The player can control the speed of travel in space, and the angle of display (rear and front-views), and engage a mini-display called the Attack Computer Display that displays the coordinates of enemy ships and other targets. In action sequences, the player will sometimes avoid or destroy asteroids before they damage their starship, while battling enemy ships using photon torpedoes. In this mode, the control panel displays the player's velocity, energy, number of kills, and remaining targets; Energy is consumed by traversing space, using shields, and firing photon torpedoes; energy can be restored by matching coordinates with a friendly starbase.
The player can activate a long-range scanner, which displays a top-down view of their ship and nearby targets. When the long-range scan is damaged, the player will see the objects in the area and false reflections of them. The player can also view a galactic chart, indicating the player's location, enemy ships, and friendly star bases. The player engages the hyper-warp to visit new sectors. A subspace radio delivers messages through the galactic chart when star bases are surrounded or destroyed. Six types of equipment can be damaged in action, which is tracked using the acronym PESCLR (for photon torpedoes, engines, shields, computer, long-range scan, and radio). Damaged equipment will affect gameplay, engine damage, for example, slows ship's movement.
Star Raiders' skill levels are Novice, Pilot, Warrior, and Commander. On high-difficulty levels, during hyperwarp moments, players must manually navigate their ship using crosshairs while warping. Zylon ships will move faster and strike more deliberately, with less randomness in their attack algorithm.
Doug Neubauer worked as an electrical engineer before creating Star Raiders. While working at National Semiconductor, Neubauer programmed scenes with star backgrounds.
National canceled its home computer projects, leading Neubauer to move to Atari, where design manager Richard Simone hired him. Neubauer became a key figure in the development of the POKEY sound chip, used in the Atari 400 and 800 computers. Using the sound chip he created, Neubauer tried to emulate the sound effects from Star Trek, such as explosions, engines, and photon torpedoes.