Telesys Star Gunner Stargunner Atari 2600 Video Game System Instructions
- June 3, 2024
- Telesys
Table of Contents
Telesys Star Gunner Stargunner Atari 2600 Video Game System
The Legend of StarGunner
Your footsteps echo quietly down the hallway and you notice, as you always do,
the worn green linoleum beneath your feet.
The linoleum of the Planetary Defense Command. You allow yourself a smile at
that, because you are the first person from Earth, man or woman, to attain the
rank of StarGunner.
You turn the corner, push open the door. The first of the operators notices you, makes the customary salute with its signaling tentacle, adds a gesture of greeting.
“Good evening, Gunner.”
StorGunner. A person charged with guarding Yorthoe, the hub of the galactic
empire, the 25th Century Constantinople. If Yorthoe
were to be attacked, destroyed, the emp,re would be shattered.
You are there co see that that does not hoppen. Ever. Once, more than 200 years ago, the outlaw Sphyzygi attempted such an attack. That attack was beaten bock-barely.
You nod so the controller as you make your way to the landing bay shuttle.
“Evening, Quoxatcl. Clean board?”
The signaling cenacle gives the half-shrug.
“Is it ever anything else?”
“No,” you reply, as you climb into the shuttle pod. With a whoosh! of compressed air you are shot ouc to your ship. You climb into the cockpit. powering on the engines, sensors, and guns, even as the hatch lowers itself snugly over you. The fleet of ScarGunner ships around you do che same. You press a series of buttons, see the uninterrupted banks of green lights celling you everything is functioning as it should.
No one was ever sure 1f the Sphyzyg1 were destroyed, or merely driven off. But the Galactic council decided to set up the fantastic (and fantastically costly) defenses anyway. No one was w1//1ng to toke any chances . Yet 200 years is o long time-more ..than long enough for the threat of destruction and devastation to fade from memo(): to become merely on of t·repeoted tole,
You guide your ship to the takeoff shaft; the launch sequence takes over. You feel the mass accelerator push you back into the cushions as the magnetic rings flash by you, faster and faster until-space! Stars twinkling around you, the green hills of Yarthae below, rolling peacefully under your ship. You handle the controls lightly, surely, the ship responding to your every touch. You press the fire button once, to test the P·laser guns. Immediately the night 1s shattered by a brilliant green pulse of pure energy, streaking away from your ship with a thunderclap, fading in the distance. You glance at the shield Indicators-all S. green. Then you hear the voice of control in your ears.
“How’s your status, Gunner?”
“Looks good. Everything functioning perfectly. Another smooth night, guys.”
You flip a switch and a radar display is projected in front of you. Glowing
eerily, it seems to hang in midair just inside the cockpit window. A rapidly
moving Hight breaks the screen’s stillness.
“Wups. I’ve got something here. See it, control?”
“Yeah, Gunner, we’ve got it. Probably just some kid joys ticking around. We’ll get his frequency, and tell him to get out of here. Give him an escort, would you?”
“Sure, and you better tell him to watch it. This high up is restricted air space.”
“Yeah.” Your ship streaks toward an interception point, and you feel the hairs
on the back of your neck scare co rise.
Just routine stuff, you think. Nothing to worry about. Control crackles in
your ears.
“Gunner, craft is not answering any signals, repeat, craft ,s not answering any signals. This is not a drill, repeat, this Is not a drill Instantly you reach over and fl1Ck your defense screens on, switching your attack computer from standby to armed .
Use the Joystick Controller to move the StarGunner ship up. down, right and
left. On “B” difficulty, your ship will point right or left when you move the
Joystick. Use the red button on your controller to fire your P-laser gun in
whatever d1rect1on your ship 1s facing. On “A” difficulty your ship only
points and shoots right.
NOTE: The button must be pressed and released for each 1ndiv1dual shot.
There is no rapid fire!
When you shoot an alien it disintegrates into four pieces which fly off the screen at various angles. Be careful! As soon as you destroy one, another materializes so take ,its place, rapidly coming together from four different angles in a reverse of the alien ·s explosion. If you ‘re occupying the space where the alien comes together … ZAP!! … you’ve had it! The game is played 1n a series of levels, each faster and more frantic than the last. Each level consists of these three waves.
- Wave One-10 aliens. one at a time
- Wave Two-20 aliens, two at a time
- Wave Three-30 aliens, three at a time
When you complete the third wave, destroying 60 aliens, a new level begins, starting with Wave One again but much faster. There is no limit to the number of levels.
LOSING AND GAINING SHIPS
You begin the game with five ships. These can be destroyed in three ways:
By crashing head-on into an alien (grazing the top is a “near miss,” your ship
won’t be destroyed) Having an alien form inside your ship
Having your ship hit by one of Bobo’s bombs
You earn an extra ship for every 10,000 points. You may accumulate as many as
255 ships.(No one ever has!)
SCORING
You earn 100 points for every alien you destroy tn Wave One, 200 points·per
alien in Wave Two and 300 points each in Wave Three.
At the end of each wave you also earn bonus points which increase with each
level you complete.
(increases continue ,n
same manner through rest of game)
GAME VARIATIONS
Three starting speeds can be selected.
There are also two games for smaller children. In these, the aliens and bombs
move very slowly.
THE INVASION BEGINS
The invasion 1s upon us!
A deadly alien squadron launches its attack and only you can stop it. You11
need split-second reflexes to keep the Yarthae Empire from total destruction.
Take quick aim at the enemy. Fire! Fire! Fire!
But beware, this 1s no ordinary adversary!
As quickly as you destroy the Sphyzygi, new ones materialize. And even as you
fire on them, their droid Bobo aims a fusillade of bombs your way. Dodge them
and blast the invaders from the sky.
The empire depends on your fast reactions and your keen eye.
OBJECT OF THE GAME
Stop the 1nvas1on of the Sphyzyg1 and score as many points as you can. You11
do chis by avo1d1ng bombs, and gunning down the alien saucers and creatures:
the space buu1es and squeezers. But don’t collide with them, or lee them
rematerialize ac your location or you ‘II lose a ship.
GETTING READY TO PLAY
Play with one or two players using the Joystick Controllers. Always be sure
the power 1s off before inserting or removing the ScarGunner cartridge from
your video game system. For
a one-person game use the controller plugged into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack.
Hold the controller so the red button 1s co your upper left.
DIFFICULTY SWITCH
Sec the difficulty switch 1n the “B” position and the ScarGunner’s ship can
fly and shoot both left and right. For a more difficult game, set the switch
co “A.” Now the ship can only point and shoot co the right (it still flies
both left and right).
TO BEGIN PLAY
There are a total of eight ScarGunner • games (see game variations for
details). Game number 1s indicated 1n lower
middle of screen. Push game select button or push Joystick forward to choose
the game you wish to play. Press game reset or push red button on Joystick to
begin game. To start a new game, simply push red Joystick button.
PLAYING THE GAME
Your mission is co destroy as many aliens as possible w1chouc losing your own
ships. To destroy an alien you muse score a direct hit. A hie co the cop is
futile.
You can’t shoot Bobo or his bombs!
“Control, this is Gunner 171-4 2,” you say. your voice becomes precise and formal. “Request E.T.A. and code reference check on incoming craft.”
“Roger, Gunner. Incoming craft has no bounce back frequency. Patterns seems similar to that of. . :·
A tremendous blast lights half the sky. and your ship rolls in the shock wave. Suddenly there 1s no voice in your ear. Quickly you check the other frequencies-nothing. And then you realize on the entire radar screen there is only one StarGunner ship. Yours.
And now you know what that craft is. A Sphyzygi ship. They have come back. And
all that lies between them and total conquest of Yarthae are you and your
ship. You,
and you alone, will repel the invasion force. You MUST.
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