Editing Star Raiders (section)

==Development==
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 200
 | footer_align=left
 | footer = ''Star Raiders'' was developed for the Atari 400 and 800, the first [[Atari 8-bit computers]].
 | image1 = Atari-400-Comp.jpg
 | alt1 = Colored dice with white background
 | caption1 = Atari 400
 | image2 = Atari-800-Computer-FL.jpg
 | alt2 = Atari 800
 | caption2 = Atari 800
}}
[[Doug Neubauer]] worked as an [[Electrical engineering|electrical engineer]] before creating ''Star Raiders''.{{sfn|Bevan|2010|p=64}} While working at [[National Semiconductor]], Neubauer programmed scenes with star backgrounds.{{sfn|Pappas|1986|p=90}} 

National canceled its home computer projects, leading Neubauer to move to [[Atari]], where design manager Richard Simone hired him.{{sfn|Fleming|2007|p=1}}{{sfn|Bevan|2010|p=64}} Neubauer became a key figure in the development of the [[POKEY|POKEY sound chip]], used in the [[Atari 8-bit computers|Atari 400 and 800 computers]].{{sfn|Bevan|2010|p=64}} Using the sound chip he created, Neubauer tried to emulate the sound effects from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'', such as explosions, engines, and photon torpedoes.
{{sfn|Fleming|2007|p=1}}{{sfn|Fleming|2007b}}

During a period where Atari had fewer hardware design needs, supervisor [[Jay Miner]] allowed Neubauer to work on software that eventually developed into ''Star Raiders''. Neubauer said he "just did [Star Raiders] for fun" and that "Atari was pretty laid back...I think ''Star Raiders'', along with other early games, helped in finding any bugs in the Atari 400/800 chips".{{sfn|Fleming|2007b}}{{sfn|Bevan|2010|p=65}} Development began in early 1979; Neubauer finished the game after eight to ten months.{{sfn|Pappas|1986|p=89}}{{sfn|Tomczyk|1980|p=75}}

Neubauer was inspired to make the game after discovering the text-based game ''[[Star Trek (1971 video game)|Star Trek]]'' (1971).  He said that it "just didn't look that interesting to play", but liked the idea of the galactic chart within the game.{{sfn|Bevan|2010|p=65}} Neubauer wanted to create something that resembled 3D space combat for the system, and was inspired by science-fiction films such as ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' (1968), ''[[THX 1138]]'' (1971) and ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977). He also cited the television series ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' (1978) as an influence, specifically for the name of the Zylon enemies. Other game visuals such as the 3D cockpit point of view and the hyper warp were influenced by ''Star Trek'' and ''Star Wars''.{{sfn|Bevan|2010|p=65}}

Neubauer asked fellow employees if they had algorithms for 3D motion, with no success. This led him to spend weeks figuring out the equations without using [[sine and cosine]], which he achieved using pen and paper. After figuring out an algorithm for 3D motion, Neubauer quickly developed a star field and explosions for the game. He described his code for it as "crummy 16-bit multiplier code" that slowed down the game during the explosions. Neubauer did not know how to use the graphics capabilities of the Atari 800 computer, and could only make the screen display two enemies at once. 
Neubauer initially designed the hyper warp system to involve calculations inspired by [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[The Stars, Like Dust]]'' (1951), but decided to abandon it as "a dumb idea in terms of gameplay for an action game".{{sfn|Bevan|2010|pp=67-68}} The way enemies attacked star bases was also changed during development because Neubauer's algorithm would sometimes make them adhere to the map while approaching star bases. This led him to add random variations to their paths to stop them adhering to the map. Due to the limited memory in the [[ROM cartridge]], Neubauer also abandoned a feature that would allow players to dock at star bases.{{sfn|Bevan|2010|pp=67-68}}

At the end of ''Star Raiders'', the player is ranked using humorous titles such as "Galactic Cook", "[[garbage scow|Garbage Scow]] Captain" and "Star Commander (Class 1)". Neubauer did not want a number-score system and instead applied a military ranking with humorous ratings to poorly performing players.{{sfn|Bevan|2010|p=67}} One week before the game was to be ported to ROM cartridges, Neubauer was adjusting the difficulty of the game to earn certain rankings;{{sfn|Pappas|1986|p=90}}  playing at Commander difficulty is necessary for the higher ranks.{{sfn|Harris, Jr.|1982|p=383}} He stated the game had "a lot of ugly [[spaghetti code]]" so ''Star Raiders'' could run on less-expensive Atari 400 computers and fit on an eight-kilobyte cartridge. {{sfn|Bevan|2010|p=67}}