Last Starfighter Prototype Differences Help

[Tempest]

I just noticed that I have in my possession an earlier version of The Last Starfighter for the Atari 5200 that I never reviewed.  This version is dated two weeks earlier than the final, but I can't see any differences in it.  I'm assuming they're bug fixes and whatnot, but if some expert Last Starfighter pro wants to help me with this it would be appreciated.

Last Starfighter 5-8-84.bin Last Starfighter 5-21-84.bin

[Kr0tki]

Your 5-21 prototype is an overdump, containing the same 16 KB twice. I'm attaching the correctly-sized one.

 

When compared against the 5-8 proto, the only differences are in the $0264..$0292 range. This is a routine that clears the playfield and the player/missile graphics, and it is called at every screen change, such as before displaying the title screen, at game start, when switching between the cockpit view and the map view, or when going into or out of hyperspace.

 

In the 5-8 proto this routine clears the playfield first and then the PMG, which results in a graphical glitch at the moment of switching from the cockpit view to the map view: sprites remain visible on the map view for a brief moment.

In the 5-21 proto this routine is modified to clear the PMG before the playfield, so that the glitch does not occur anymore.

 

There are no other differences between these two protos.

Last Starfighter, The (1984-05-21)(Atari)(proto).bin

[Tempest]

Wow!  Thank you so much for figuring that out.  I played through each a few times and didn't see anything.  Now I know why.  I never would have seen that.

[thegamezmaster]

Great post! Big thanks to all about this game. ?