Tempest 2000
Developer(s)	Atari, Llamasoft
Publisher(s)	Atari, Interplay
Designer(s)	Jeff Minter
Release date(s)	1994, 1996
Genre(s)	Fixed shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Kids to Adults (K-A)
Platform(s)	PC, Atari Jaguar, Saturn, Macintosh

Tempest 2000 was a 1994 remake for the Atari Jaguar of the classic 1980 arcade game Tempest by Dave Theurer. The remake was designed and programmed by Jeff Minter. It was later converted to PC, Mac, Sega Saturn and PlayStation game consoles, the latter version with several changes to the design under the name of Tempest X3. The original PC version was for DOS; Interplay released a Microsoft Windows version later. The Mac version was based on the Sega Saturn version of the game and was published by Logicware. screenshot Atari Jaguar Tempest_2000, made myself. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Psychedelic Jeff Minter photo Jeff Minter at Assembly 2004 Jeff Yak Minter (born in Reading, April 22, 1962) is one of the most innovative and distinctive modern British computer/video game designers and programmers. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Interplay logo. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... Jeff Yak Minter (born in Reading, April 22, 1962) is a British computer/video game designer and programmer. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... A fixed shooter game, also known as a 2-D shooter or shoot-em-up (shmup for short), is a video game where the player has limited control of their character and the focus is almost entirely on annihilation of their enemies. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... It has been suggested that Multiplayer Video Games be merged into this article or section. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games and other entertainment software in the United States and Canada (officially adopted by individual provinces 2004-2005). ... A typical Personal Computer and its components. ... The Atari Jaguar was a video game console introduced to the U.S. market in November 1993 against the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a powerful next generation platform. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac The Macintosh, or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The Atari Jaguar was a video game console introduced to the U.S. market in November 1993 against the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a powerful next generation platform. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Tempest is an arcade game by Atari, originally designed and programmed by David Theurer. ... David Theurer is a game designer. ... Game design is the process of designing the content and rules of a game. ... A computer program is a collection of instructions that describe a task, or set of tasks, to be carried out by a computer. ... Jeff Yak Minter (born in Reading, April 22, 1962) is a British computer/video game designer and programmer. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... The Nintendo GameCube is an example of a popular video game console. ... One of the first PCs from IBM - the IBM PC model 5150. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Interplay Entertainment Corporation was an American video game and computer game publisher and developer. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of operating systems by Microsoft. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ...

Gameplay

Tempest 2000 modifies the gameplay of the original Tempest by adding bonus levels, collectable power-ups, more sophisticated enemy types, and wildly varying web (level) designs.

Conversions

Jeff Minter wrote only the Atari Jaguar version of the game; other, later versions were ported by other developers and are generally considered to lack the fine gameplay tuning present in the Jaguar version. All later versions, however, come as compact discs and contain in-game the tracks of a separately-released soundtrack CD instead of the original game's real-time sequenced module music. Most of the tracks are quite similar (only in higher sound quality), while others have been redone from scratch. Jeff Yak Minter (born in Reading, April 22, 1962) is a British computer/video game designer and programmer. ... The Atari Jaguar was a video game console introduced to the U.S. market in November 1993 against the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a powerful next generation platform. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... If this is not the type of module you are looking for, see Module // Modules Module files (MODs) are a class of file formats used to represent music on a computer. ...

Both PC versions have greatly-reduced graphical effects, especially evident on the bonus levels. In this light, the third type of bonus level has been completely redone. The DOS version contains optional AdLib and Roland MT-32 versions of the music. The Windows version is rendered in higher resolution, and has some unique glitches, like registering bonus level scores incorrectly. AdLib, Inc. ... The Roland MT-32 is a MIDI synthesizer module first released in 1987 by the Roland Corporation. ...

The Sega Saturn version (programmed by High Voltage Software like the PlayStation version) uses a limited amount of sound channels, causing thin sound. The game also fails to recreate the wild framebuffer effects of the original satisfactorily, and hence the third type of bonus level has been completely removed (whereas on the PC the programmers redesigned it). Identically to the PlayStation version, the Particle Laser does not work on Spikes any better than the regular weapon. A unique quirk of the Saturn version causes the game's first type of bonus level to run overspeed if the player moves too far up or down. The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... The framebuffer is a part of RAM in a computer allocated to hold the graphics information for one frame or picture. ...

Tempest X3, the PlayStation version has graphics and sound updated for the newer platforms on which it runs, and of all the conversions it has the most of the original content intact. However, the following gameplay differences from the original version were identified by Jeff Minter himself in a Usenet post: The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... Jeff Yak Minter (born in Reading, April 22, 1962) is a British computer/video game designer and programmer. ... Usenet (USEr NETwork) is a global, distributed bulletin board system (BBS). ...

• The "AI Droid" only follows the player, instead of acting autonomously. A new, "Super AI Droid" powerup rectifies this somewhat, but it takes very long in a level to acquire it.
• Pulsars now move slowly around the top of the Web if they reach it (rather than electrifying the whole top edge the moment they arrive).
• The Particle Laser is no more effective than the normal laser against Spikes (in the original, it destroys them very quickly).
• Some of the harder, "sticking point" webs have been removed from the game entirely.

Entering the name "YIFF!" on the highscore table will activate a secret mode, allowing the user to choose to play the original Tempest 2000 game; however, any high scores made in this mode are not saved, the music (wave-captured from the original modules) is muffled and the effectiveness of the Particle Laser against Spikes is not restored even in this original mode. A suggestive yiff picture Yiff is a term widely used by the furry fandom as a slang term in various sexual contexts. ...

Jeff Minter himself returned to the genre with Tempest 3000. Jeff Yak Minter (born in Reading, April 22, 1962) is a British computer/video game designer and programmer. ... Tempest 3000 is a remake of the Tempest game, and a sequel to Tempest 2000, written by Jeff Minter for Nuon. ...

Critical Acclaim

Tempest 2000 is generally regarded as one of the best video games for the Atari Jaguar. The game received critical acclaim from such video game magazines such as GamePro, Electronic Gaming Monthly (won EGM's Game Of The Month award), and Diehard GameFan. Most critical acclaim comes from its intense techno music soundtrack (although the technology used for the original techno music comes from the MOD audio format that originated on the Commodore Amiga home computer). A separate soundtrack CD with newly-done versions was also released; this was the basis for the audio for all conversions to come. Cover of one of the many GamePro issues. ... Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is an American video game magazine. ... Diehard GameFan magazine (later known simply as GameFan magazine) was a publication started by Dave Halverson in 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. ... Techno is a form of electronic dance music that became prominent in Detroit, Michigan during the mid-1980s with influences from electro, New Wave, Funk and futuristic fiction themes that were prevalent and relative to modern culture during the end of the Cold War in industrial America at that time. ... MOD is a format for storing music on computers and is the first and original type of module file. ... Amiga is the name of a range of home/personal computers using the Motorola 68000 processor family, whose development started in 1982. ...

Jaguar Rotary Controller

There is an option to use a rotary controller (similar to the controller on the Tempest arcade machine) with Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar, however there are two obstacles :

• The option must be unlocked by holding Pause on Controller 1 and Controller 2 at the same time on the Options menu.

• Atari never made a Jaguar rotary controller, such a controller was planned for development and release by Atari, but not even any prototypes still exist.

However, several people have constructed their own Jaguar rotary controllers by using parts from a Jaguar controller and either an Atari 2600 Driving Controller or new higher precision rotary encoders (the Driving Controller was similar to the Paddle Controller, but the Driving Controller rotated a full 360 degrees, while the Paddle Controller rotated only 270 degrees, it is not very responsive). A paddle is a game controller with a round wheel and one or more fire buttons, where the wheel is typically used to control movement of the player object along one axis of the video screen. ...

A number of these controllers were made available for sale, originally by JediJeff (who used optical encoders and a custom case) and then later by Tyrant, and Jonathan Ascough, whos designs both use mechanical encoders, but manage to fit them into the case of a standard Jaguar Controller, replacing the D-Pad with a small knob. The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...

Interestingly, the one used by Jeff Minter during testing was made from a hacked up 2600 driving controller, and until about 2004, he had never actually played with a more suitable controller.

External links

• Jeff Minter's review of Tempest X3
• Tsunami 2010, a freeware Tempest "remake remake" (PC/Windows)
• Typhoon 2001, a freeware game inspired by both the Atari Jaguar hit game Tempest 2000 and the arcade hit Tempest (PC/Windows)