How to play Sea Battle online
Sea Battle has no one-player mode, so you need a second person at the same keyboard.
- Player 1: arrow keys to move, Space bar to fire
- Player 2: T/F/G/H (up/left/down/right) to move, A to fire
- Start a new game: F12 (the consoleās Reset switch)
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0ā9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0ā9 loads it
Gameplay
Each player commands a fleet, and the aim is to wipe out the other sideās navy in a series of battles. In the Intellivision original you move your fleets around a map of the sea and invade your opponentās home port while defending your own, and when two fleets meet the game switches to a battle where you steer the ships yourself. The 2600 version keeps this idea but is simpler. The Intellivision game used every key on its keypad controller, and the 2600 only has a one-button joystick, so some features had to go, including laying mines.
Why it was never released
According to AtariProtos, the 2600 could not match the Intellivisionās graphics, and the result looked blocky. The deciding problem was the missing one-player mode: Mattel did not want to publish any more games that needed two players. Sea Battle stayed unreleased until Intellivision Productions made a limited batch of boxed cartridges with manuals in 2000. They sold out quickly.
