Mechanic · movement · multidirectional shooter, shoot 'em up

Hyperspace

An escape button that removes the player's ship and puts it back at a random place, at some risk of dying.

stubAlso: hyperspace jump, panic button, teleport escapeUpdated 2026-10-22
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  2. Games
  3. References
  4. Sources

Hyperspace takes the ship out of danger and puts it back somewhere random. In Asteroids the jump can fail, and fails more often when few rocks are left1. In Defender every jump has the same chance of ending in the ship’s death2.

  • Risk by countAsteroids (1979). A random jump that fails on up to 8 of 32 values, more of them as rocks run out.1
  • Flat riskDefender (1981). A random place in the world, and death on 63 of 256 values.2

See also

Games

GameYearHowNote
Asteroids1979Risk by counta random jump that fails on up to 8 of 32 values, more of them as rocks run out
Defender1981Flat riska random place in the world, and death on 63 of 256 values
Every claim about this mechanic, by game (2)
Asteroids 1979Hyperspace works while the ship is in play (not exploding and not waiting to return): it removes the ship, zeroes the whole parts of its velocity (the fractions in $64 and $65 stay), and sets a 48-frame return timer. The new horizontal position is a random whole unit from 3 to 28. A further random number r from 0 to 31 decides the jump: it fails when r is 24 or more and 2 × (r − 24) + 4 is at least the current rock count, so with 4 or fewer rocks 8 of the 32 values fail, and with 19 or more none do (computed). The vertical position is r below 24 and 2 × (r − 24) + 4 (4 to 18) from 24, held to 3 to 20. When the timer runs out the ship returns, or, if the jump failed, explodes and costs a ship.Code
Defender 1981Hyperspace works only in normal play (status bits other than the no-terrain bit clear). It clears the screen, removes the bullets, moves the view to a random place in the world, faces the ship a random way, sets a random height, and zeroes the ship's velocity. After the ship reappears and a pause, it dies if a random byte is above 192: 63 of 256 values, about 1 jump in 4 (computed).Code

References

  1. ^ abHyperspace works while the ship is in play (not exploding and not waiting to return): it removes the ship, zeroes the whole parts of its velocity (the fractions in $64 and $65 stay), and sets a 48-frame return timer. The new horizontal position is a random whole unit from 3 to 28. A further random number r from 0 to 31 decides the jump: it fails when r is 24 or more and 2 × (r − 24) + 4 is at least the current rock count, so with 4 or fewer rocks 8 of the 32 values fail, and with 19 or more none do (computed). The vertical position is r below 24 and 2 × (r − 24) + 4 (4 to 18) from 24, held to 3 to 20. When the timer runs out the ship returns, or, if the jump failed, explodes and costs a ship.CodeComputer Archeology, Asteroidsrevised
    How we know
    LDA $021B ; {ram.statusShip} Player Flag BMI $6ED7 ; {} Branch If Currently Exploding LDA $02FA ; {ram.shipSpawnTimer} BNE $6ED7 ; {} LDA $2003 ; {hard.SWHYPER} Hyperspace Switch BPL $6ED7 ; {} Branch If NOT Pressed LDA #$00 STA $021B ; {ram.statusShip} STA $023E ; {ram.horzVelShip} STA $0261 ; {ram.vertVelShip} LDA #$30 STA $02FA ; {ram.shipSpawnTimer} …
    content/Arcade/Asteroids/Code.md#L812-L857 · upstream ↗
    LDA $02FA ; {ram.shipSpawnTimer} BEQ $7086 ; {} DEC $02FA ; {ram.shipSpawnTimer} BNE $7085 ; {} LDY $59 ; {ram.hyperSpaceFlag} Hyperspace Flag BMI $706F ; {} Gonna Die From Hyperspace, Branch BNE $7068 ; {} Successful Hyperspace, Branch … LDA #$01 ; Flag Ship OK … LDA #$A0 ; Switch To Explosion Timer … …
    content/Arcade/Asteroids/Code.md#L1022-L1052 · upstream ↗
    177| 02F6      | curAsteroidCount   | Current Amount Of Asteroids |
    content/Arcade/Asteroids/RAMUse.md line 177 at 1adc2a7 · upstream ↗

    Checked against the evidence by its author, an AI model, 2026-10-22.

    Revised after a check by a second AI model, 2026-10-22.

    In the claim ledger

  2. ^ abHyperspace works only in normal play (status bits other than the no-terrain bit clear). It clears the screen, removes the bullets, moves the view to a random place in the world, faces the ship a random way, sets a random height, and zeroes the ship's velocity. After the ship reappears and a pause, it dies if a random byte is above 192: 63 of 256 values, about 1 jump in 4 (computed).Codemwenge/defender
    How we know
    3211*HYPERSPACE
⋮
3213HYPER   LDA    STATUS
3214        BITA   #$FD
3215        LBNE   HYPX             ;NO GO
⋮
3218        JSR    SCLR1
⋮
3220HYP02   LDX    SPTR             ;KILL BULLETS
⋮
3225        LDD    SEED
3226        STD    BGL
⋮
3228*RANDOM HYPER DIRECTION
3229        LSRB 
⋮
3238        LDB    HSEED
3239        LSRB 
⋮
    src/defa7.src lines 3211–3278 at e740063 · upstream ↗
    1319STCHK   CLRB   ;  CHECK TERRAIN ACTIVE
1320STCHK0  LDA    ASTCNT
1321STCHKA  BNE    STCHK1
1322        ORB    #2
    src/defa7.src lines 1319–1323 at e740063 · upstream ↗

    Checked against the evidence by its author, an AI model, 2026-10-22.

    Checked by a second AI model, 2026-10-22.

    In the claim ledger

Sources

Code