Killer Satellites 7-17-82


 

This is a very early prototype for Killer Satellites.  At this point the game is nothing more than a movement/display demo.  The HUD is very different and shows a different (and larger) style radar than what is seen in the final version.  This radar seems to be more in the style of Defender with the blobs on the bottom (showing the cities) and dots for the top showing the player and satellites.  The player can launch themselves into the air and fly around the screen, but that is about all.  The movement in this version is very different and doesn't seem well suited for a Defender style game.  One has to wonder if the original idea for the game was different than what we ended up getting.

 

Differences

There is no title screen
The score continually counts upwards until it overflows
The radar screen is directly under the score instead of under the gauges
The radar shows different colored blobs slowly scrolling left to right (red, gray, dark green, orange, black, light green).  Many of these colors are not seen in the final game.
Above the radar is what appears to be a larger section of the radar not seen in the final version.  There is a white dot  in the center of this to represent the player.
The players ship looks very different
The lives counter counts from 0 to 6 ships over and over again
The laser heat gauge constantly fills up and then starts over
The fuel gauge is functional and will deplete if the player flies around.  Once empty the player will fall and be unable to move.
The fuel gauge is blue instead of green
The two gauges are in separate boxes instead of being in the same box
The blue background around the HUD is missing
There are two odd shapes in the center of the HUD where the level counter should be.  The top one is a zig zag shape that constantly moves back and forth and the bottom one is a large close up of your ship that slowly scrolls off the screen.
Above the area where the city should be is what appears to be a sunset.  The sky starts out blue and changes from red to orange.  There is a yellowish line under this where the shield is in the final version and the player cannot cross it.
The ground and cities do not exist under the shield.
The player's movement is very different.  Pressing left and right will change the angle of the ship to one of 8 directions.  Pressing up will start the player moving in the direction (thrust) while pressing down will stop the movement.  If the player is in the air, pressing down will cause them to fall to the ground.
If the player flies up into the HUD area they will disappear except for a small flashing dash.

 


Very different looking

 

Blast off!

 

The larger radar is nice

 

Here's the final version for comparison

 

 

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