# Combat: an annotated Atari 2600 disassembly

> A commented 6502 assembly listing reconstructs Combat, the Atari 2600 tank, biplane and jet game, aiming to explain every instruction, memory location and table. Assembled with DASM it yields an image that differs from the cartridge ROM only in the unwritten padding bytes before the startup vectors. The header maps all 27 game variations to their missile, maze and cloud options, and main-loop routines carry Atari's original names, taken from presentation notes.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-09
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-10
- Original resource: <https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/dicombat.asm>
- Primary source: <https://web.archive.org/web/20250715155012/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/dicombat.asm>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/combat-atari-2600-disassembly-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/combat-atari-2600-disassembly-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/combat-atari-2600-disassembly-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** DASM and the vcs.h header that the listing includes.
- **Testing evidence:** The assembled image matches the cartridge ROM except for a few unwritten bytes before the startup vectors, which DASM sets to zero and the cartridge holds as $FF.
- **Scope:** Some introductory VCS programming and historical comments were removed; the listing assumes basic familiarity with VCS programming.
- **License:** No licence stated on the project page.

## Primary sources

1. <https://web.archive.org/web/20250715155012/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/dicombat.asm>
2. <https://web.archive.org/web/20260714091141/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/>

## More in Games

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- [Cosmic Ark: a commented Atari 2600 disassembly with PAL conversion](https://awesomerea.org/resources/cosmic-ark-atari-2600-disassembly-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Costume Quest: Windows x86 functional decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/costume-quest-decomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex: an early PS2 decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/crash-ps2-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Crash Bash: a PSX decompilation with function comparison](https://awesomerea.org/resources/crash-bash-decomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Crash Tag Team Racing: GameCube decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/crash-tag-team-racing-decomp-case/index.md) · Case study

## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.