Armor Attack

Cinematronics, 1980

A good example that the arcade game is pretty much always nicer than an already very playable, vintage console game is Armor Attack. Since the vector count is higher they could create much more complex objects – the moving tank tracks for example are just marvelous. They did this however by drawing a few things in alternate frames which flickers on the Vectrex. Might not flicker as much playing the real arcade game (depends on the phosphor of the monitor used) but for me I had to dive into the code and create a version for the Vectrex, drawing everything all frames. Also create and output a vector overlay of the city/rubble so it can be played w/o special overlay. For the same reason the output frame rate has been increased from the original 38Hz (‘Arcade’ graphics) to 50Hz (‘Vectrex’ graphics).

Input

Attract

• 2: start two player game
• 4: start one player game

In-game

• Joystick left/right – turn left/right
• 1:/2: – turn left/right
• 3: drive
• 4: fire

Options

• Graphics: Vectrex/Vectrex+Grid/Arcade/Arcade+Grid
• Grid Calibration (Expert Mode: Main Page / Extra Calibration)
• Lives: 2/3/4/5
• Reset Highscores
• Game Info: ”                           Welcome to Armor Attack, the 1980 monochrome vector arcade game by Cinematronics.                     The vintage Vectrex game is already excellent but it is always pleasant to also be able to play the original and look at the differences. I myself particularly like the very elaborate tank graphics with animated tracks. And the morse code, of course. According to the programmer:                     \”At the time I was finishing the game, the (US) government decreed that every male of draft age had to register, even though there was no draft in effect. This pissed me off (old draft resistor), especially since my buddy Scott Boden was someone who had to sign up. I wanted to use morse code sounds in Armor Attack, and I knew morse, (old boy scout) so that’s real morse code in the game beeping out ‘dontregister’. I was also assuaging my own conscience, since I had heard that Atari had sold Battle Zone to the Army. \”                                        “

Localization

//NAME="ARMORA"
//

GERMAN[] = {
    { 0, 0, 0},
    { 0, 0, "Arcade+Gitter"},
    { 0, 0, 0},
    { 0, 0, "Vectrex+Gitter"},
    { 0, 0, "Gitterkalibrierung"},
    { 0, 0, 0}
};

FRENCH[] = {
    { 0, 0, 0},
    { 0, 0, "Arcade+Contours"},
    { 0, 0, 0},
    { 0, 0, "Vectrex+Contours"},
    { 0, 0, "Calibration de la Zone de Jeu"},
    { 0, 0, "                           Bienvenue dans Armor Attack, le jeu d'arcade vectoriel monochrome de Cinematronics sorti en 1980. Le jeu porté sur le Vectrex est certes excellent, mais il est toujours intéressant de pouvoir aussi jouer à l'original et de comparer les différences. Pour ma part, j'aime particulièrement les graphismes très soignés des chars avec les chenilles animées. Et il y a le code morse, bien sûr. Selon le programmeur : \"Au moment où je terminais le jeu, le gouvernement (américain) a décrété que tout homme en âge de servir devait s'engager, même s'il n'y avait pas de service en vigueur. Cela m'a énervé (du fait d'une vieille résistance au recrutement), d'autant plus que mon pote Scott Boden était quelqu'un qui devait s'engager. Je voulais utiliser des sons de morse dans Armor Attack, et justement je connaissais le langage morse (en tant que vieux scout); il s'agit donc de vrai morse dans le jeu, avec le bip \"ne pas s'engager\". Je me soulageais également la conscience, car j'avais entendu dire qu'Atari avait vendu Battle Zone à l'armée.  \"                                       "}
};

ENGLISH[] = {
    { 0, 0, "Arcade"},
    { 0, 0, "Arcade+Grid"},
    { 0, 0, "Vectrex"},
    { 0, 0, "Vectrex+Grid"},
    { 0, 0, "Grid Calibration"},
    { 0, 0, "                           Welcome to Armor Attack, the 1980 monochrome vector arcade game by Cinematronics.                     The vintage Vectrex game is already excellent but it is always pleasant to also be able to play the original and look at the differences. I myself particularly like the very elaborate tank graphics with animated tracks. And the morse code, of course. According to the programmer:                     \"At the time I was finishing the game, the (US) government decreed that every male of draft age had to register, even though there was no draft in effect. This pissed me off (old draft resistor), especially since my buddy Scott Boden was someone who had to sign up. I wanted to use morse code sounds in Armor Attack, and I knew morse, (old boy scout) so that's real morse code in the game beeping out 'dontregister'. I was also assuaging my own conscience, since I had heard that Atari had sold Battle Zone to the Army. \"                                        "}
};