Article about the new Atari Asteroids Recharged arcade games. Has pictures and video

[Lord Mushroom]

2 minutes ago, ledzep said:

Well, guess what will toughen them up?  Having to a wait a bit to play again.  Try harder, son!

Yes, but I doubt Alan-1 wants to sacrifice themselves economically to make an insignificant contribution in that area.

[ledzep]

5 hours ago, Jimmy Wicker said:

We'd like to get the original control marquee panel for missile command that was removed before the game was shipped, for example.   The heart of our Video Arcade System allows us to have all sorts of blinking lights and virtual pinball toys that all fire off in game at different times with different triggers.   

 

We invite you to help us make these games the best that they can be.

 

 

Are you fucking serious?  Is this Christmas again so soon?!?  Dude, that marquee topper panel would be fantastic!  Especially if it accurately displayed the current state of the player's game, which missile base is firing, which ones are reloading or out of missiles, etc.  You will be remembered in song!

 

But to reiterate, get those volcano fire buttons back, the Missile Command fans will love it.  I just checked my Lunar Lander arcade cabinet (I don't own a Missile Command... yet), the Select/Start/Abort buttons (which I believe all light up) have a different feel to the Rotate Left/Right buttons so it would matter using the right ones for the missile fire buttons.

[Lord Mushroom]

How about a gas pedal for thrust?

[JPF997]

35 minutes ago, ledzep said:

 

Wow!  I'll tell you what, I can't stand the Recharged home versions of these games so when I saw that first link I was expecting to be disappointed... but the changes you made are spot-on for a conversion to a physical arcade version!  No gamepad/joystick control, thank you so so much, that was half the battle.  I like your listed modifications for the arcade experience version, they are all in line with what made the home versions suck (in terms of not having them).

 

As far as brainstorming ideas, how about an occasional comet zipping through the asteroid field, if it collides with an asteroid it comes apart in a shower of new rocks that could be very hard to avoid (only shows up on higher levels, assuming there are actual levels) since a regular asteroid that is shot normally is turned into just 2 smaller ones.  Sort of like the Zakato mines in Xevious that would fly down and if not shot quickly will shoot out an arc of 5 shots (this is the one with the glowing center, not the all-black early one), the larger one would shoot out in all directions.  So the comet flies in (with a tail), probably hits an asteroid, the asteroid splits into 2 smaller asteroids but the comet blows up into like 5 or so chunks that fly out but don't screen overlap (maybe they fade out like fireworks instead of being more rocks but will still kill you if they contact your ship).

 

Not really a game addition, but I think you would be a hero to arcade cabinet owners if, for Missile Command and/or Lunar Lander, you brought back the Cherry (volcano) fire buttons!  Not only because they have a very unique feel, but if you get them manufactured again that would mean a lot of old Atari games could get replacements.  I think the buttons that don't light up are the ones no one has anymore, but use both versions for the arcade cabinets, please!

Ha I always knew deep down you would love the recharged games if you gave them a chance. The real complaint was always that  there was no way to play them on a real arcade right? Well it's great to see that problem finally resolved 👍

[TampaBay]

5 hours ago, ledzep said:

 

 

Or if you are fully dead and no longer on the screen then the other player can shoot a saucer that provides a regeneration power-up.  Of course using that power-up negates whatever previous power-up that the player might have been using but it's worth it, right? 

 

That's a great idea.

 

There's another game we play, that in co-op if one person loses all their lives, their "useless" body remains on the screen for about five seconds.  In that five seconds, the other play can stop what they're doing and run over, and with a specific button press "revive" your body with one life.  It's actually fun because most times, the still-alive player doesn't know the first player is out (because they're busy shooting enemies) so the player with no lives is shouting "come save me! come save me!" and it's worthwhile for the other player to do so, because you really need both players to clear the board.

 

For Asteroids, you could leave the totally disabled ship floating in space for a few seconds, and the other player can stop shooting asteroids and fly over to "repair" your ship and give you an extra life.  Now that I think about, that would be pretty awesome in the arcade.

[zzip]

11 hours ago, Jimmy Wicker said:

Of course!  We'll get 3.5" or 4"  trackballs in for Missile command and real spinners for breakout.  We want to make environmental cabinets and cockpits too.  What kind of cabinets would you like to see for Yars Revenge and for Gravitar?  Should we do anything special for black widow?  What if the player felt like they were inside of a cave?  That would be cool.   How about Bezerk?  Our creativity is our only limitation. 

 

We'd like to get the original control marquee panel for missile command that was removed before the game was shipped, for example.   The heart of our Video Arcade System allows us to have all sorts of blinking lights and virtual pinball toys that all fire off in game at different times with different triggers.   

 

We invite you to help us make these games the best that they can be.

What do modern gamers want in an arcade game these day?   I'd worry that my ideas and others here would be what we would have liked to see in an arcade game in the 80s/90s, but might not work in a modern context.  I'm guessing modern machines that attract money offer something you cant get at home?

[TampaBay]

34 minutes ago, zzip said:

What do modern gamers want in an arcade game these day?   I'd worry that my ideas and others here would be what we would have liked to see in an arcade game in the 80s/90s, but might not work in a modern context.  I'm guessing modern machines that attract money offer something you cant get at home?

 

I agree 100%.  In a separate post I had mentioned the exact same thing.  When I go to an arcade, I graviate toward games with features I can't easily replicate at home.  For me, that frequently has to do with unique controllers, whether it's as simple as a steering wheel and pedals (though I did just recently buy that for at home), a cool or unique flight yoke, or light guns, etc.  I'm also a fan fo any kind of motion simulator / cockpit / hydraulic system that would be either difficult or expensive to replicate at home.

Edited March 21 by TampaBay

[Lord Mushroom]

1 hour ago, TampaBay said:

a cool or unique flight yoke,

I think this is a good idea. Add gas pedals and seats and then you will have something people don´t have at home. It will also be different from other sitdown cabinets, which are mostly racers.

[ledzep]

7 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

How about a gas pedal for thrust?

 

For Lunar Lander?  How dare you!

 

For Pole Position, sure, but that would be expected.

 

I do hope for Lunar Lander that the thruster control is a little smaller (especially if they're going to have a big cabinet for multiple players) that otherwise looks and operates just like the original (POT connected to a lever with a spring).  That way people who want to make the MAME Asteroids/Asteroids Deluxe/Lunar Lander cabinet can have enough room for the smaller thruster and the buttons.  Reproducing the thruster like the original would be cool but I don't see that many people (besides myself) owning an actual Lunar Lander that would want/need a replacement.

[Giles N]

2 hours ago, zzip said:

I'm guessing modern machines that attract money offer something you cant get at home?

I believe balance between paying for a audio-visual rollercoaster-ride and actual quality-playability, must be maintained.

 

Cool with special buttons, sticks and cabinets, but people won’t come back if the core gameplay isn’t fun or the game feels unfair or frustrating.

 

If you want to make money, you cannot only think short-term, you need to have the ‘why come back for more’-factor in view and to be satisfied too. 
 

[ledzep]

7 hours ago, JPF997 said:

Ha I always knew deep down you would love the recharged games if you gave them a chance. The real complaint was always that  there was no way to play them on a real arcade right? Well it's great to see that problem finally resolved 👍

 

Not this again.  I would "love" them if they didn't suck.  Which they do, playing those home versions in an arcade would change nothing.  But these announced arcade versions are being modified, apparently, to remove most of what sucks with the home versions, or didn't you read the list of shit that they are doing to Asteroids to make it truer to the original arcade look and feel?  I'm sure there will still be bits of it that I won't like so much (compared to the originals) but the changes as listed sound like what I was saying about the home Recharged version already.  Meaning this arcade version sounds playable and maybe even fun enough to play over and over, though I think the real fun will be playing with friends vs. solo.

 

Assuming these arcade versions are going to be much truer to their original ancestors, this will be your chance to finally play these games with the correct goddamn controllers.  From what has been stated, Asteroids will be all buttons (yay), Missile Command will have trak-balls (double yay), Lunar Lander will have the actual thruster control and the rotation buttons, this is a great start.  And the graphics will be toned down from the goofy home versions, at least from what Asteroids looks like, I hope the same is true for Centipede and Missile Command, less cartoony/childish and sluggish and more like the original versions.  I don't expect them to be exactly like the original versions because then what would "Recharged" even mean at that point.

 

I like that the power-ups in Asteroids aren't as frequent (from what little I could glean from the video) and they don't come towards you (too easy), you have to fly out to them at least (avoiding asteroid collisions) but that means you can also ignore them.  I also like the the feel of the game is much closer to original Asteroids and there're only 4 shots on screen at any one time, none of this constant mini-gun bullshit.  I'm sure there's a machine gun power-up or something (actually I hope not) but the idea that the base amount of firing is closer to the original is a welcome sign.

 

I am looking forward to huge fans of the home Recharged versions stumbling through having to use correct controllers and the games not being as easy and cartoon-based.

[ledzep]

3 hours ago, TampaBay said:

 

That's a great idea.

 

There's another game we play, that in co-op if one person loses all their lives, their "useless" body remains on the screen for about five seconds.  In that five seconds, the other play can stop what they're doing and run over, and with a specific button press "revive" your body with one life.  It's actually fun because most times, the still-alive player doesn't know the first player is out (because they're busy shooting enemies) so the player with no lives is shouting "come save me! come save me!" and it's worthwhile for the other player to do so, because you really need both players to clear the board.

 

For Asteroids, you could leave the totally disabled ship floating in space for a few seconds, and the other player can stop shooting asteroids and fly over to "repair" your ship and give you an extra life.  Now that I think about, that would be pretty awesome in the arcade.

 

That's a solid idea, except I can see the younger sibling screaming to be let back in and the older sibling still alive saying "What?  Aww, I didn't see that you were disabled... too bad!" and fights breaking out, hahaahaa.  If the ship is disabled it should also be blinking or something so the other player can see that it's useless and needs reviving?  I think the reviving should cost a power-up (whatever the rescuing player was using) or an extra life/ship (if there are any stored up).

[ledzep]

On 3/19/2024 at 1:18 PM, Jimmy Wicker said:

What other ideas do you have?  Let's brainstorm here.  Help us make this a successful venture by making the best version of Asteroids Recharged that works for this medium (a physical arcade cabinet.)

 

Another idea, I assume that in higher levels or whatever that more than one saucer could appear at the same time, yes?  Maybe 2-4 max (more at once depending on how many players are competing), different types with different abilities, who knows.  But my thinking is that in those circumstances if a player shoots a saucer and it turns into a power-up, a saucer can scoop the power-up... up first and use it against the players!  So, if there is a smart bomb power-up or shields or whatever (because another saucer was killed) then a surviving saucer could grab it and use it on the players themselves, hahaaha.  It would be cool if in higher levels the saucers are a bit smarter and try to grab the power-ups immediately, I'm thinking about how those mines in Star Castle get pretty quick after a lot of levels.  This way it's a harder challenge for the good players to want to beat while cutting down on the 40 minutes of play on one quarter problem that arcade owners would like to avoid because these arcade games are supposed to make money.

[TampaBay]

8 minutes ago, ledzep said:

 

That's a solid idea, except I can see the younger sibling screaming to be let back in and the older sibling still alive saying "What?  Aww, I didn't see that you were disabled... too bad!" and fights breaking out, hahaahaa.  If the ship is disabled it should also be blinking or something so the other player can see that it's useless and needs reviving?  I think the reviving should cost a power-up (whatever the rescuing player was using) or an extra life/ship (if there are any stored up).

 

Ha, that's true!  In the game I was originally referring to, you kind of *need* to go revive the other player.  It's nearly impossible to clear a board solo. 

 

To your point about the ship blinking, in that other game, the disabled guy becomes a semi-transparent "ghost / angel" with a halo over his head, so you know he's done unless you revive him!

[Lord Mushroom]

39 minutes ago, ledzep said:

For Lunar Lander?

That too, but I was talking about Asteroids Recharged.

[Lord Mushroom]

I think the screen should be bigger. World´s Largest Pac-Man was a success because of the size of the screen.

[ledzep]

4 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

That too, but I was talking about Asteroids Recharged.

 

Ugh, no thanks, keep the controls the same as the originals, that's part of the experience.  A thrust pedal would make the game easier to play, I would hope that the game gets harder since usually there will be multiple players clearing out the asteroids.  Buttons, as the Atari gods intended!  A thruster is analog, anyway, variable thrust, the buttons are digital, on/off, so it would change the gameplay too much from the original.

[ledzep]

3 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I think the screen should be bigger. World´s Largest Pac-Man was a success because of the size of the screen.

 

Not a bad idea.  Maybe make special super-size ones for bigger arcades?  3-4 player?  But make it a bigger playfield, meaning the resolution is the same as the regular recharged game (the ships and asteroids are the same size as the regular Recharged game), just the area is bigger.  Many more asteroids, more space to move around in.  More saucers, too.

[Giles N]

31 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

1 hour ago, ledzep said:

For Lunar Lander?

That too, but I was talking about Asteroids Recharged.

Here is much more realistic take on the forthcoming Lunar Lander Beyond Arcade.

It has of course a sligth disadvantage as to visibility of playfield (to right and left of the center panel), albeit scoring high on cabinet-realism:

game                                       game

play                                           play

field                                           field

(left)                                      (right)

 

😁😃

- - -

 Control instructions hangs by the side of arcade cabinet: a Flight manual of about 1700 pages,

Edited March 21 by Giles N

[Lord Mushroom]

17 minutes ago, ledzep said:

Ugh, no thanks, keep the controls the same as the originals, that's part of the experience.  A thrust pedal would make the game easier to play, I would hope that the game gets harder since usually there will be multiple players clearing out the asteroids.  Buttons, as the Atari gods intended!

I think younger people would greatly prefer more exotic controls over 5 buttons. As would a lot of older people. I certainly would. I understand hardcore old school players would want things to be like they used to, but they are a small group.

 

I see the easier controls as a bonus. A game´s difficulty should come from difficult gameplay, not awkward controls. People might be turned off if they don´t immediately master the controls. "Easy to learn, difficult to master."

 

17 minutes ago, ledzep said:

A thruster is analog, anyway, variable thrust, the buttons are digital, on/off, so it would change the gameplay too much from the original.

I see an analog thruster as progress, a new element to the game. But it could be set to just be on/off if that is undesirable.

Edited March 21 by Lord Mushroom

[Giles N]

6 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I think younger people would greatly prefer more exotic controls over 5 buttons.

             ^
             ^

Precisely ^ 😂

[TampaBay]

The ultimate reimagined Asteroids would be you sitting in a cockpit that physically rotates 360 degrees, facing a screen that wrapped entirely around you with asteroids hurtling toward you.  You would shoot them with a light gun from a 1st person perspective.  Of course 95% of players would throw up within 2 mins of playing, so there's that.  😀  I'd try it though!

[ledzep]

17 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I think younger people would greatly prefer more exotic controls over 5 buttons. As would a lot of older people. I certainly would. I understand hardcore old school players would want things to be like they used to, but they are a small group.

 

I see the easier controls as a bonus. A game´s difficulty should come from difficult gameplay, not awkward controls. People might be turned off if they don´t immediately master the controls. "Easy to learn, difficult to master."

 

I see an analog thruster as progress, a new element to the game. But it could be set to just be on/off if that is undesirable.

 

Ok, now you're describing a separate, different game.  Which could/should be made, but it's not Asteroids, right?  Asteroids "Recharged" better adhere closely to the original.  Space Rocks or Belter can have whatever rules and controls you want, like the many Pac-Man inspired games changing what the mazes looked like or what bonuses were available.  "Oooh, let's do an update/homage to this classic arcade game, but we'll change everything that made it unique!"  No thanks.  The home Recharged versions went way too far, I much more like the sound of these arcade specific versions already.  Apparently the prototype cabinet is a hit?  Buttons, my friend.  Buttons.  Odin, at least make some part of the game difficult.  Why do modern gamers want everything to be easier?  Where's the fun in that?  "Aw, how come I can't get to a million points within the first minute of playing?  I died?  That's not cool!"

 

"Younger people" can't be bothered to play video games at home with anything other than a gamepad, what are you talking about them preferring more exotic controls.  Have you not seen those bars that have the 60-in-1 type arcade cabinets?  Joysticks with like 4 buttons, that's it.  You throw something exotic or specific at them, you get blank stares.  Don't worry, the trak-ball Missile Command will be more than enough for the yout's.  The Lunar Lander thruster will positively baffle their gamepad-centric minds.  A Recharged Defender (if that's in the future) control panel would terrify them.

[Giles N]

2 hours ago, ledzep said:

10 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

How about a gas pedal for thrust?

 

For Lunar Lander?  How dare you!

…. why not?

 

Here is a picture from a real-life space-landing…

 

 

[+GoldLeader]

I'd definitely keep the controls the same...Though a spinner (like in Omega Race or Blasteroids) to me would also be acceptable.  The Thrust Pedal idea, while interesting doesn't seem like it would work except for an environmental sit-down cabinet;  Otherwise you're standing on one leg trying to play the game.