website/content/software/lunar-lander.md

title, tags, years, params

title	tags	years	params
Lunar Lander	gravity space	1979	image specs screenshots machines company oc_id source /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s0.png label value year of release 1979 label value companies Atari label value type game label value media arcade cabinet label value systems Arcade label value number of players 1 player label value staff Rich Moore (programing) title subtitle text image title screenthe big squares at the bottom are the different missions (levels) available /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s0.png title subtitle text image ok, first let's choose a landing site /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s1.png title subtitle text image beware of this lunar mount /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s2.png title subtitle text image this is a difficult landing site but worth 5x points /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s3.png title subtitle text image landing successful! /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s4.png title subtitle text image ok, let's try an easier landing spot /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s5.png title subtitle text image oops, landed hard... /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s6.png title subtitle text image third attempt, with not much fuel left /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s7.png title subtitle text image I went too far /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s8.png title subtitle text image yeah, did it again! /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s9.png title subtitle text image with no fuel left, the lander crashed /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s10.png title subtitle text image /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_cab_1.jpg title subtitle text image cab detail /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_cab_2.jpg title subtitle text image Service Manual /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_service-manual_1.jpg title subtitle text image Marquee /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_marquee_1.jpg title subtitle text image control panel /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_cp_1.jpg /museum/misc-arcade-video-games /companies/misc 333 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230207061326/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/software_detail.asp?id=333 2023-02-07

From the original manual:

"Lunar Lander (TM) is a one-player coin-operated electronic game that simulates landing a manned spaceship on the moon. Various video-display phrases indicate score, time elapsed during the mission, fuel units consumed, altitude above the moon, and horizontal and vertical speed. The fuel consumption and both speed readings are important for the player to determine how to land the craft. Realistic engine rumble and crash sounds accompany game play. A high beep warns of an almost-depleted fuel supply, whereupon players can add coins to automatically extend the game and "fill up" their fuel tanks. Depending on the quality of the landing or the crash, various messages are displayed on the screen."

Lunar Lander was the first Atari vector game, making use of their brand new "XY video game" technology. Vector graphics enabled impressive rotation and zoom effects not possible with raster tehcnology. This, coupled with a nice thruster control and impressive reactors sound effects made Lunar Lander a great gaming experience.

This Atari hit was in fact inspired by Moonlander, an early computer game designed by Jack Burness in 1973 that ran on the DEC GT40 graphics terminal (typically downloaded from a PDP-10 mainframe computer).