Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 12 - ICBM Attack by Spectre Systems

In episode 12 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam is joined by his good friend, and sometime-co-host, Chris++. Adam and Chris review the Bally Arcade/Astrocade game "ICBM Attack." This is one of the very rare third-party programs that was released on cartridge. This 4Kb game was released in 1982 by Brett Bilbrey, Mike Toth and Marian Nalepa (Spectre Systems). It requires a special controller called the "Spectre Handle" to play the game.

Recurring Links 

• BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website
• What's New at BallyAlley.com
• Bally Alley Blog
• Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website
• Bally Alley Discussion Group
• Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum
• Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club
• Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page
• The Classic Gaming Bookcast - By Chris Federico

"ICBM Attack" Notes

• ICBM Attack by Spectre Systems - Video overview and how to use a trackball to play the game in the Astrocade emulator included with MAME.

• "Two Astrocade Cartridges Released into the Public Domain" - By Adam Trionfo (May 10, 2001) - This article is about the public domain release of two Bally Arcade/Astrocade cartridges by Spectre Systems: "ICBM Attack" and "Treasure Cove."
• Spectre Systems Documentation Area - This area of BallyAlley.com holds documents related to Spectre System's games and products.
• Spectre ICBM Attack Handle Pictures - Analog controller used with the very rare ICBM Attack cartridge by Spectre. Notice that this plugs into two controller ports.
• Spectre Handle Instructions - This is the documentation for the special controller (joystick) used for ICBM Attack. It contains program examples so that the controller can be used from BASIC, plus a letter explaining some problems people have been having regarding the ICBM cartridge.
• Tid-Bits - This is one page of tid-bits of information from Brett Bilbrey. This information was originally included in Russ Perry Jr.'s newsletter Slap Dash.
• ICBM Attack Cassette Description by Brett Bilbrey - June 22, 1982. This is the concept of ICBM Attack as originally envisioned by Brett. This game was eventually released on cartridge.
• ICBM Attack Programming Notes - Twelve pages of handwritten programming notes by Brett Bilbrey about ICBM Attack. In the notes, the game is called "Missile Command."
• Playing ICBM Attack Using the MESS Astrocade Emulator by Paul Thacker and Adam Trionfo - Each ICBM Attack cartridge came with an analog controller that is absolutely required to play the game. In order to play the game using the MESS (or MAME) emulator, it is absolutely essential to setup the emulator correctly. This article explains how to go about doing that so that you can play ICBM Attack perfectly.
• ICBM Attack Concept Art - Original concept art for ICBM Attack as drawn on graph paper. The art includes the title screen and game screens.
• ICBM Attack (Tape) - Early version of the game that is loadable with Bally BASIC.
• ICBM Attack (Prototype Cart) on Tape - This prototype cartridge loads into an Astrocade with expansion RAM.
• ICBM Attack Disassembly - A disassembly of ICBM Attack begun November 18, 2011 by Adam Trionfo.
• ICBM Attack (Low-Res)
• ICBM Attack (Alternate Picture)
• iMissile Attack (Picture of Cart) - Mike White's modified version of ICBM Attack.
• ICBM Attack (Prototypes) for Bally BASIC - Three early versions of the cartridge game archived from tapes in Brett Bilbrey's collection. Load with :RUN, not :INPUT.
• ICBM Attack (Prototypes) for AstroBASIC - Two early versions of I.C.B.M. Attack by Spectre Systems. These should be loaded with :RUN. They're not actually playable games at this stage.

Astrocade News/Updates

• 8-Bit Workshop - Write 8-bit code, including for the Astrocade, in your browser. Ever wanted to be an old-school game programmer? Learn how classic game hardware worked. Write code and see it run instantly.
• Gorf Coin-Op: Latest Disassembly - David Turner's original posting to the Bally Alley discussion forum on Groups.io. Dave says, "I've made a little progress on the Coin-Op version of Gorf and thought I would make it available. It will assemble with zmac." Dave added comments from the GORF source code written in TERSE. BallyAlley.com hosts the Gorf Arcade Disassembly, but (as of Feb. 6, 2020) it doesn't have Dave's newest update yet.
• TERSE Documentation and Source Code - Alan McNeil programmed TERSE, which is short for either "Terse Efficient Recursive Stack Engine" or "Terse Efficient Reentrant Stack Engine." This programming langauge was used at Dave Nutting Associates to program arcade games such as The Adventures of Robby Roto!, GORF and other games from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The TERSE language is based on FORTH.

Next Episode's Coverage

• Cosmic Raiders by Astrocade, Inc. - (Cartridge Game) In deep space lies the alien sector Larkin. You are there on a mission to obtain energy sources that have been seized by the evil Larkins. Radar and a superior guidance system help you avoid attacking fighters and Kamikaze ships. The energy stars are near the Larkin command ship: you must retrieve them before you can leave the enemy sector.

• Outpost 19 by WaveMakers - (BASIC Game) You are stranded on an alien outpost with nobody to help you. While you wait and pray for a rescue party, the only hope you have of surviving is to gather the food parcels that exist in each of the 16 rooms of the outpost. While you're chasing after the food parcels, the alien is chasing after you! His advantage is that he can go through walls, so his path toward you is more of a straight line, while your escape must be around obstacles in the rooms and through doorways provided.

Feedback

• Sideswipe by WaveMaker - Mike Peace, the author of this Sideswipe, left feedback in January 2020 on this overview of this BASIC game.

• Astrocade at Magfest! - December 12, 2019 forum thread by "ubersaurus."