Talk:Missile Command

Politics

Someone needs to talk about how this game is a political statement reflecting the climate of the time! And how it included morse code on the title screen saying 'dodge the draft'! and all that jazz!

I assume that's a joke, but the political background to this game is definitely an interesting topic. 2fort5r (talk) 16:58, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Influence

Wasn't this game also referenced in "War Games?" (The book, at least . . . although I believe it was on screen as well)?

If so, this is a key reference, as the theme mirrors that of the movie. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 155.35.248.111 (talk • contribs) 05:46, 6 October 2005 (UTC).

At least Galaga was on War Games (the movie). :) I do not remember Missile Command.

Pinpoint barrier of SDF-1 Macross can also been influenced by this game, but this info would need some reference.

-- Talamus 00:09, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

VCS?

An anon user added this information:

There are several differences between the arcade version and the VCS-version. The arcade version included also random attacks by single satellites and bombers, both featuring MIRV-weapons, which were not included in the VCS-version. Another interesting difference between the arcade game and the VCS-version is the impact of the missiles. In the arcade game the warhead goes up above the target in a fireball (an airburst) obliterating the city below. In the VCS-version the warhead impacts (groundburst) and creates a typical atomic mushroom cloud with a crater.

While the information may be accurate, I have no idea what a "VCS" is and the user included no wikilink or--better--the expanded term from which the acronym was derived. This is beside the point, however. The information, if it is even encyclopedic, should go in the ports section, not the main body of the article as it was. I have no objection if the information is re-added to the article, as long as it is in the correct section and the term "VCS" is explained or, at the very least, wikilinked. — Frecklefoot | Talk 16:07, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

For the record, VCS :: Atari VCS :: Atari 2600. D. Brodale (talk) 08:54, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Computer Version

A while ago, Atari released a computer version of Missile Command, with better graphics (not as nice as the Xbox 360 graphics though). It contains Missile Command Classic, Missile Command Utimate, and a multilplayer version. There is no mention here however. Why am I the only person who's mentioned it? ~The Little Green Man from Mars^{(My Page)}_{(Where do I live?)} 14:45, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

You're not, its already listed in the ports area. --Marty Goldberg 16:46, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Oops, didn't notice that. Sorry to cause trouble. ~The Little Green Man from Mars^{(My Page)}_{(Where do I live?)} 18:13, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Okay, now what?

Why remove "The message seems clear"? Denimadept 02:14, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

In Popular Culture

This seems like a straight-forward "trivia" section. Shall we just delete the whole thing? - Denimadept (talk) 19:05, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

No, we have guidelines for the Pop culture sections in video game articles. The Terminator one doesn't meet standards, but the other two do and just need citations. --Marty Goldberg (talk) 02:17, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Why doesn't the Terminator reference meet the requirements? Terminator is about Skynet launching nuclear missiles to destroy the earth, Missile Command is about protecting the earth from said missiles, John Connor, the lead character in terminator is playing Missle Command. It's relevant. Ludeking (talk) 09:32, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Missile Command features in the 2016 novel The Nix by Nathan Hill but the author incorrectly says the game says “Game Over” instead of “The End”. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Booklung (talk • contribs) 21:33, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

Abbreviation

I see there's a dispute about the abbreviation Atari, Inc.. Given that it repeats the title of the article, that talk page, Talk:Atari, Inc., would be the place to object to it, and at whichever MoS page governs that kind of thing. But in any event, the reverting without discussion isn't a good idea. :) Cheers, SlimVirgin ^{talk|contribs} 19:24, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Commercial

Guys I remember a television commercial for the arcade version where a hotel doorman was waiting for a chance to take a break so he could play it. He sneaks away, gets on the machine, and proceeds to play it on an almost inhuman skill level. It just blew me away because I had never seen anyone play it like that before, it's hard to remember but I think he just threw the trackball with one deft motion and littered the sky with targets. If I can find a link to the commercial I'll link it at the bottom, unless someone beats me to it. Hanz ofbyotch (talk) 19:05, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Massive coverage in April 2011 issue of Retro Gamer

Just to let everyone know that Missile Command received massive coverage in the April 2011 issue of Retro Gamer, including a retrospective, a "making of", coverage on clones, and stuff from the current Twin Galaxies-certified world record holder. –MuZemike 17:10, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Yes, I helped out with it. The feature is great because it's the first time in a long time that Dave Theurer acquiesced to an interview. Also have an article in there on the Fairchild Channel F. --Marty Goldberg (talk) 19:42, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Background

Wnt just added a section titled Background, but there is no evidence that the creators of Missile Command were influenced by the program mentioned there or not. There's not even any evidence that it garnered significant media attention so the creators would have plausibly heard about it. A simple {{cn}} couldn't convey the need for relevance. Any verifiable reference for the connection between the two? — Frεcklεfσσt | Talk 19:55, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

I agree. I've removed it, but would not object to it being added if there is text, supported by a reference, that indicates the connection to the game. TJRC (talk) 23:41, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Background?

A "Background" section was removed as original (uncited) research. I am posting it here in case there is a source linking it to this game?

"The 1962 Starfish Prime and Operation Dominic missile tests illustrated the possibility of intercepting ballistic missiles by setting off nuclear explosions in space. The Safeguard Program was developed with the intention of using missiles such as the LIM-49 Spartan in the United States national missile defense to intercept incoming nuclear weapons, with brief deployment in 1975-1976." Candleabracadabra (talk) 04:53, 20 March 2014 (UTC)

Source for identity of six cities

I went to the page looking for the source for the fact that the six cities were supposed to be the six major cities on the California coast, and I discovered the citation given is a Wiki article on a strategy wiki. Google turns up this news story from Polygon which I think would be much better.

- Robin Z (talk) 14:41, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

You are correct, Wikis are never considered valid references here. Replaced with the reference you provided. --Marty Goldberg (talk) 15:15, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Guy Schultz

This was added by User:Guy Schultz. I removed it for two reasons: there is a WP:COI with the user who broke the score adding his own record to the page; and the record is not verifiable, the given source "KATU CHANNEL 2 NEWS" is not sufficient information for any kind of verification. -- GreenC 17:42, 6 July 2016 (UTC)

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For the "In popular culture" or "Ports" section perhaps

A version of Missile Command was made some time in the 1980s for and on the Xerox Alto "WYSIWYG" computer by the later very prominent Apple Inc programmer and finally even senior vice president of software engineering at Apple (from 1997 to 2003) - Avadis Tevanian. Video of this game in working use on a modern day restored Alto with on screen in game programmed credits to Avadis Tevanian can be found in a video called "Xerox Alto Restoration Part 17 - Xerox Alto Demo"

(The Xerox Alto was the main predecessor to all modern PC's which featured almost all the modern-day software and hardware implementations (ethernet, mouse, more graphics, wysiwyg interaction with windows and buttons).

A few details

I added a link to the disassembly and analysis page (https://6502disassembly.com/va-missile-command/). A few related notes:

• The various gameplay bugs were fixed in the 3rd ROM release. It's unclear to me how far this release propagated, since all of the world-record games rely on them, but it's the default configuration in MAME.
• The mid-game speedup happens on wave 102.
• The original source code is now available here: https://github.com/historicalsource/missile-command

Fadden0 (talk) 18:42, 2 December 2021 (UTC)