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International Arcade Museum® — Killer List of Videogames®

Tempest Dip Switch Settings

Below are the specific dip-switch settings users have contributed for Tempest:

            GAME OPTIONS:
(8-position switch at L12 on Analog Vector-Generator PCB)

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   Meaning
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Off Off                         2 lives per game
On  On                          3 lives per game
On  Off                         4 lives per game
Off On                          5 lives per game
        On  On  Off             Bonus life every 10000 pts
        On  On  On              Bonus life every 20000 pts
        On  Off On              Bonus life every 30000 pts
        On  Off Off             Bonus life every 40000 pts
        Off On  On              Bonus life every 50000 pts
        Off On  Off             Bonus life every 60000 pts
        Off Off On              Bonus life every 70000 pts
        Off Off Off             No bonus lives
                    On  On      English
                    On  Off     French
                    Off On      German
                    Off Off     Spanish
                            On  1-credit minimum
                            Off 2-credit minimum


GAME OPTIONS:
(4-position switch at D/E2 on Math Box PCB)

1   2   3   4                   Meaning
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Off                         Minimum rating range: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
    On                          Minimum rating range tied to high score
        Off Off                 Medium difficulty (see notes)
        Off On                  Easy difficulty (see notes)
        On  Off                 Hard difficulty (see notes)
        On  On                  Medium difficulty (see notes)


PRICING OPTIONS:
(8-position switch at N13 on Analog Vector-Generator PCB)

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   Meaning
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
On  On  On                      No bonus coins
On  On  Off                     For every 2 coins, game adds 1 more coin
On  Off On                      For every 4 coins, game adds 1 more coin
On  Off Off                     For every 4 coins, game adds 2 more coins
Off On  On                      For every 5 coins, game adds 1 more coin
Off On  Off                     For every 3 coins, game adds 1 more coin
On  Off                 Off On  Demonstration Mode (see notes)
Off Off                 Off On  Demonstration-Freeze Mode (see notes)
            On                  Left coin mech * 1
            Off                 Left coin mech * 2
                On  On          Right coin mech * 1
                On  Off         Right coin mech * 4
                Off On          Right coin mech * 5
                Off Off         Right coin mech * 6
                        Off On  Free Play
                        Off Off 1 coin 2 plays
                        On  On  1 coin 1 play
                        On  Off 2 coins 1 play


GAME SETTING NOTES:
-------------------

Demonstration Mode:
- Plays a normal game of Tempest, but pressing SUPERZAP sends you
  directly to the next level.

Demonstration-Freeze Mode:
- Just like Demonstration Mode, but with frozen screen action.

Both Demonstration Modes:
- Pressing RESET in either mode will cause the game to lock up.
  To recover, set switch 1 to On.
- You can start at any level from 1..81, so it's an easy way of
  seeing what the game can throw at you
- The score is zeroed at the end of the game, so you also don't
  have to worry about artificially high scores disrupting your
  scoring records as stored in the game's EAROM.

Easy Difficulty:
- Enemies move more slowly
- One less enemy shot on the screen at any given time

Hard Difficulty:
- Enemies move more quickly
- 1-4 more enemy shots on the screen at any given time
- One more enemy may be on the screen at any given time

High Scores:
- Changing toggles 1-5 at L12 (more/fewer lives, bonus ship levels)
  will erase the high score table.
- You should also wait 8-10 seconds after a game has been played
  before entering self-test mode or powering down; otherwise, you
  might erase or corrupt the high score table.



        

NOTE: Dip switch setting information is contributed by the community and although is believed to be correct (most of the time), has not been tested or verified.
Use this information at your own risk.

Official dip switch information may be available in the manual:

Manuals