Don't forget..."prepare to qualify" out in the distance.

Me too! I remember playing this game.. it was so hard.. If you hadn't shared this I wouldn't have believed this could be done! Thanks for sharing!!!

@@dcfan1107 nice touch 👍

@@dcfan1107 haha brilliant

Except leave out the hideous cancer sticks! One of mankind's worst inventions.

usually short....

Same. The Atari 2600 version is more in my league lol. Arcade = @$$ $TOMPER.

I was 15 in 1981 when I first played this when it just came out and this song had just ab entered the charts,. I could play it at this speed to, but it cost me a lot of 10p s.

I also remember Stand and Deliver a lot too. I'm UK based.

+EZ Does It What set Defender apart from all the other games back in -81 was the "unlimited" space, the freedom of movement, the complex enemy AI (no patterns - all situations are "new"). And the fact that there's no end to how good you can be at this game. I mean, it's possible to play indefiniteley with only 1 ship, in space, without Smart Bombs, and on hardest difficulty - nothing stops a player from doing that: there's always a way to deal with every situation. It took me 9 months to learn to roll Defender on its default settings back in -81. But it took me several years to manage to roll it on max difficulty. And I haven't managed to roll it on 15K bonus YET. There's always a goal, and skills will evolve if you keep playing. This game is forever.

Great point - endless space, infinite possibility.

wow - keep at it dude - hope u keep postin stuff

Good comment

Took me 2 years to master, I play about as good as this video. He’s super strong.

Addiction is right. If I had all the quarters back that I fed that damn machine back in the day, I'd have...well, a *shitload* of quarters!

I was the same, couldn’t quite get Defender, but it was great watching someone good. I could finish Rygar and last for hours on Tron. Nice play 👍

Agree!!!!!

I feel you man. Yeah I used to play like this on a stock arcade machine. But you are right that background track to set your tempo is extremely important to keep focus. And twisting one up before hand doesn't hurt either. lol

what he said - could not have put it better myself , never got past level 3 personally - that was a completely insane display of twitch reflexes. I feel u have put to shame most modern day twitch gamers- yes - u sir are the GOD OF DEFENDER !

Yep, the cat can play. I tip my hat

Hmmm it's ok.. a simple game to master...

@@johngodfrey1622 whats your highest score?

Me too!

Hi, there! And thanks a lot. 😌 Yes, March 11, 2012 - it’s been up here a while. I see that I have 60.000 views (!). I also see that I have 15 x 👎. Wtf? What’s the problem? 😁 I regret so much I didn’t pursue the 15K goal on these settings. All machines are down now: 2 x Stargates, 2 x Robotrons & 2 Defenders. It’s the monitor on all of them. Probably need to be re-capped (I hope). Still got one Defender working, playing off and on, just to keep in touch. What about you - still playing some?

@@mikeville66 Hi Mike! Yes! I am playing. I have a Defender and a Stargate, both running on JROK, which basically means I have 2 Defenders one of which can also be a Stargate. The Defender is down, it's JROK failed. And I can't goddam get a new one, they are always out of stock; I think it must be the global semiconductor shortage. But I'm glad I got the extra machine as a backup--it's really great to have it! The monitor is a tad bit glitchy, though Matt Householder comes by from time to time and does hardware fixes for me. Also, my reverse key just started acting up a little. I've been playing in, shall we say, retirement mode. I'm not playing for hard core skill acquisition or to get records, but just playing kind of recreationally when I feel like chilling out. I also find it's an interesting and/or useful way to gauge my current physiological and mental state. If I can play well then I know I'm alert. But if I haven't slept well, or something else is going on, I see it right away in my play. Also, playing in retirement mode there's certainly a lot less swearing, lol :-) Oh, and I didn't mention: I'm actually playing Stargate currently. On default settings. Weirdly I find that I'm only about equal to my skill level from back in the day. Well, I did have one game up to 1.5M where I stacked about 35 ships, so probably I'm a bit better now. Mike if I ever come to Sweden I'd like to visit you, I think that would be amazing. I think we're connected connected on email, if not maybe we can connect via Jim Bowley. You were such an inspiration to me when I found these videos. Such awesome skill, and so great to hook up with you and the other top players on Facebook, though I had to kick that spyware to the curb. I hope you can get your hardware fixed up soon! Maybe adapt one of those medical CRTs or something. Or buy an entire rig from Jim, I think his machines give a pretty authentic experience.

Yes, it’s like that with Defender: sometimes you’re just in ’The Zone’, and it’s almost like you’re hands are faster than your brain. What do you mean - you play Defender on a touch screen?

@@mikeville66 Sorry for the confusion, I was so used to how fast the game was, when I use some of the production machines at work that are interminably slow, I forget that touch screens don't need hammering like the old fire buttons. I couldn't play Defender on a touch screen, I need the old 1980's buttons and joystick for the full experience. I've only just realised how noisy the controls are.

You have a Defender, then? Or a Control panel hooked up to something?

@@mikeville66 I'm a maintenance engineer in a foundry, I can't cope with 21st century industrial furnaces, injection moulding machines and the like, that have gigabytes of processing ability but have controls that are still slower to react than a 1980's game that fits on a 1.44Mb floppy complete with the Williams emulator, from the CD rom that came out years ago. Or maybe I've got zombie fingers that don't work touch screens so well🤣. I still play Defender on a laptop with a dedicated keyboard attached to save the laptop keys from being destroyed. I can only dream about having an original arcade machine. Thanks for all the replies.

I'd even shit in my hands and throw it about my flat

Thanks. :-) It sounds like you should join our fb group 'Williams Defender Players Unite'. 1000 members, everyones there: players, collectors, techies, old Williams staff ... They'll hook you up with a dedicated Defender/Stargate panel so you play the game like it should be played.

Yes - there was a diagnosis, even: 'Defender wrist'. 😂 Join our facebook group: 'Williams Defender Players Unite' - 800+ members.

Yes - it was actually banned for watchers in Europe for like 2-3 years because of those old Motörhead tracks in the background. 😁

Yes, the early ’80s Williams sounds are iconic. Originally by Eugene Jarvis for the ’Firepower’ pinball (March -80), then expanded upon for Defender (Nov/Dec -80).

Well, thank you very much, Sir. 🙏 Sad I never got around to pursuing & recording a 15K bonus ship game (i.e. rolling it). I even had a 15K Max Diff track made at Twin Galaxies, but I never posted any video. ☹️

What do you have done is an achievement itself. Very impressive records. Back at time I was able to get to 700 on the regular setting.Your gameplay is at at another level.

Yes, do that - you won’t regret it. Beat that B-in-law! 😁 Join our Williams group on fb: ‘Williams Defender Players Unite’, since 2012. 900+ members. We’re all there: the players, the collectors, the techies & all the folks from Williams bitd.

+TNT Amusements Inc Thanks! Well, I've been playing "for a while" ... Started playing when it came out, and played through the whole 80's (bought my own machine in -85). Then not a single game for 20 years, till I brought my games (Defender, Stargate, Robotron) down from the attic, like 5 years ago.

+mikeville66 Watching you play was sort of like watching a movie...and was fascinating watch you catch the humanoids in the "splitest" of seconds and setting them down and flying right back up... Really neat stuff!

These days: This game is fkd

Thank you. 🙏 Yes, 999.975 pts can be a real problem sometimes - easy to roll it by mistake. You know about the extra ship bug 990.000 - 999.975 pts? How it works?

Thank you very much! When was the last time you played? There are a number of ’Retro Arcades’ you could visit. You won’t be disappointed - it’s as fun as it was bitd. Fantastic game.

Just to add - the guys who invented and programmed this game (and Robotron/Stargate) said they wanted to develop a game that would kick your arse. So you keep coming back to try and beat it.

It was actually 990k-1m, and then ships were awarded again depending on exactly how many extra ships you got between 990k-1m: so for example, if you got 30 extra ships then ships would start to be awarded again at 1.3m :)

@@andthereisntone3454 Ah, never knew it was based on ships awarded. Cool. There's something to be said about the old Arcades where we all congregated. A social scene for sure. Unlike modern games where everyone plays at home!!

@@pentachronic Indeed. They were a lot of fun :)

At one arcade that I used to go to, there was a Star Castle geek that would walk into the arcade with a knee pad, when they opened in the morning, and would put one quarter in the machine, kneel on the pad, and play all day long on that one quarter until the arcade closed for the night, I think about 10-12 hours later.

Yeah, that was stupid. I’ve never counted the bombs, but there must’ve been plenty. Could probably have used like 4/wave up to 990K. Right hand pinkie has a huge callous since 1981. 😁

You play well, reminded me of myself. The shopkeeper hated us because with 10p we played for hours double clocking it until we got tired. I have not come across the game again since the 80's, I do miss it. 👍

Not come across a Defender since the 80’s? That’s sad. What about Arcade Club in Bury? Never heard of it? I know the UK lot in our Williams arcade group on facebook frequent it. They have even had the creators of Defender, Stargate & Robotron - Eugene Jarvis & Larry DeMar - over 2 times. You should join our group, ’Williams Defender Players Unite’. Since 2012 and 900+ members. If you can’t find it - let me know.

I didn't know there was a club, never thought of looking. Thanks.

Yes, Defender was seriously addictive. Looking back, it was almost a ’sickness’ there for a while. It was that freedom of movement, the room for a personal style, the fact that you could always improve your skills, that also made it very interesting to watch other players’ games. Good times. 😊

I agree. 💥🥊

I had to watch wave 7. I agree. 😓

Well, thank you. 🙂 Coding? What?

Yeah - I think the the most massive bombings will happen in ’space’. If you get all 4 Pods + the 19 Swarmers inside them + a bunch of Mutants, it’s even possible reach 10.000 pts.

Thank you. 🙏 After taking up Defender again, after an 18 year hiatus, it took me 1,5 years of playing regularly to get back to where I left off. Regret I didn’t pursue doing it with bonus ships at 15K. Don’t think I will muster that energy/will again. Wonderful game - will never get tired of it. ☺️

@@mikeville66 I'm very tempted to seek out an old cab or get something setup with MAME after seeing that. There's no other game that's as much being in the zone as it is skill and tactics. One of the best games ever imo

I think the best way would be for you to join our Williams group on fb: ‘Williams Defender Players Unite’. Since 2012, 900+ members. We’re all there: the players, the collectors, the techies & all the folks from Williams bitd. Being able to really p l a y Defender is so much about the original control panel, the layout of the buttons, how responsive they are & the way they feel. We have people there who manufacture plug-in panels for MAME & JROK, and could advice you on different Defender riggs to set up.

@@mikeville66 That sounds amazing. Thanks for the advice!

Thanks! ☺️

You can play Defender on MAME. But the original control panel layout is so crucial to the game that you need to get a separate plug-in panel. Jim Bowley ('jbgaming') in our Williams group on fb custom makes beautiful high-quality control panels. Check it out here: www.jbgaming.co.uk/control-panels/