Modifications

Modified Atari Games

A complete list of all modifications and their corresponding arguments.

This is the list of games we have created new versions and modifications for during the “HackAtari” project. Each file, when started without additional parameters, starts the original game played by the DQN agent. All modes/hacks/changes can be activated individually or in any combination via the command line.

Use -hu to start the game in Human Mode and play the game yourself.

Use -m to select the mode you want to play in. All modes/hacks/changes can be activated individually or in any combination by separating with whitespace between them.

Example: python run.py -g Freeway -hu -m stop_all_cars will run Freeway with all cars being red (c3) and stopped (sm3) in Human (playable) Mode (-hu).

The modes are:

Alien:

Command	Effect
last_egg	Removes all eggs but one
unlimited_fuel	Provides unlimited fuel to the players flamethrower
unlimited_lives	The player never loses any lives
no_enemies	No alien appears in the maze and all aliens in the second phase are frozen
no_alien	No alien appears in the maze
one_alien	One alien appears in the maze
two_alien	Two alien appear in the maze

Amidar:

Command	Effect
pig_enemies	Changes enemies into pigs
paint_roller_player	Changes player into paint roller
unlimited_lives	The player never loses any lives

Asterix:

Command	Effect
obelix	Changes playmode to obelix (more difficult)
set_consumable_1	Changes consumable into pink objects (100points)
set_consumable_2	Changes consumable into shields (200points)
unlimited_lives	Do not decrease lives
even_lines_free	Even lines are free
odd_lines_free	Odd lines are free

Atlantis:

Command	Effect
no_last_line	Remove enemies from the last (lowest) line
jets_only	Replace all enemies with Bandit Bombers
random_enemies	Randomly assign enemy types
speed_mode_slow	Set speed to 2
speed_mode_medium	Set speed to 4
speed_mode_fast	Set speed to 6
speed_mode_ultrafast	Set speed to 8

Bankheist:

Command	Effect
unlimited_gas	Do not decrease the gas
no_police	Do not spawn police
only_police	Directly spawn police
two_police_cars	Replaces 2 banks with police cars, robbed banks give 50 points
random_city	Start in a random city
revisit_city	Allows player to revisit previous cities

Bowling:

Command	Effect
top_pins	Removes all but the top two pins
middle_pins	Removes all but the two middle pins
bottom_pins	Removes all but the bottom two pins
top_bottom_pins	Removes all but the top and bottom two pins
horizontal_pins	Draws the pins horizontally instead of vertically
small_pins	Decreases pin size to 1 pixel
moving_pins	Moves all pins up and down
shift_player	Slightly shifts the player to the right

Boxing:

Command	Effect
gravity	Enables Gravity pull on the player character
drunken_boxing	Enables drunken boxing mode where the player character staggers in a circular motion
one_armed	Enables one armed mode where the player character only uses the right arm
switch_position	Set player position to the lower right corner
classic_colors	Changes the player to red and enemy to blue
color_player_black	Set player color to black (also works with white, red, blue and green)
color_enemy_black	Set enemy color to black (also works with white, red, blue and green)

Breakout:

Command	Effect
left_drift	Set the drift direction “right”
right_drift	Set the drift direction “right”
gravity	Set drift direction downwards
inverse_gravity	Set drift dirtection upwards
color_player_and_ball_black	Set color of player and ball (also works with white, red, blue and green)
color_all_blocks_black	Set color of all blocks (also works with white, red, blue and green)
strobo_mode_player_and_ball	Player and ball change color randomly every step (also available with the random colors not including black)
strobo_mode_blocks	All blocks change color randomly every step (also available with the random colors not including black)
sample_new_player_and_ball_color	Sample a new color for the player and ball for every game
sample_new_block_color	Sample a new color for the blocks for every game

Carnival:

Command	Effect
no_flying_ducks	Ducks in the last row disappear instead of turning into flying ducks
unlimited_ammo	Ammunition doesn’t decrease
missile_speed_small_increase	The projectiles fired from the players are faster (slow increase)
missile_speed_medium_increase	The projectiles fired from the players are faster (medium increase)
missile_speed_large_increase	The projectiles fired from the players are faster (large increase)

ChopperCommand:

Command	Effect
no_enemies	Removes all enemies from the game
no_radar	Removes the radar content
invisible_player	Makes the player invisible
color_black	Changes the background and enemies’ color to black. (also works with white, red, blue and green)

Defender:

Command	Effect
more_bombs	Increases the amount of smart bombs to 8
quick_start	Reduces the game start time to 5 frames
no_flickering	Uses ALE inpainting to add the missing sprites in the frame

DemonAttack:

Command	Effect
static_enemies	Makes the enemies horizontally static (i.e. constant x position)
one_missile	Reduces the number of missiles an enemy can shoot to one

DonkeyKong:

Command	Effect
no_barrel	Removes barrels from the game
unlimited_time	Provides unlimited time for the player
random_start	Randomly choose between 10 possible starting positions

DoubleDunk:

Command	Effect
player_color_white	Set player teams color to white. (also works with green, red, yellow, purple and blue)
enemy_color_white	Set enemy teams color to white. (also works with green, red, yellow, purple and blue)

Fishing Derby:

Command	Effect
shark_no_movement_easy	Shark stays in place, right below opponents fishing stop
shark_no_movement_middle	Shark stays in place, at the center of the pond
shark_teleport	Teleports the shark in the line
shark_speed_mode	Increses the shark speed
fish_on_player_side	All fish are on the player’s side
fish_in_middle	All fish are in the middle
swap_fish_sides	Swap fish sides, the fish that were on the player side are now on the enemy’s one and vice versa

Freeway:

Command	Effect
align_all_cars	Align all cars so they move in a line
stop_random_car	Stops a random car with a biased probability for a certain time
stop_all_cars_edge	Stops all cars on the side of the board
stop_all_cars_tunnel	Stops all cars on the street, building a tunnel for the player
stop_top_2	Stops the top 2 cars
stop_bottom_2	Stops the bottom 2 cars
stop_top_4	Stops the top 4 cars
stop_bottom_4	Stops the bottom 4 cars
stop_nearest_5	Stops the 4 cars nearest to the player
invisible_mode	Makes the cars invisible
strobo_mode	Each car changes color randomly every timestep
phantom_mode	Each car changes color from black to invisible approximately every second
blinking_mode	Each car changes color randomly approximately every second
speed_mode	Increases the speed of all cars
reverse_car_speed_bottom	Reverses the speed order of the cars on the bottom road (the fastest becomes the slowest and vice versa)
reverse_car_speed_top	Reverses the speed order of the cars on the top road (the fastest becomes the slowest and vice versa)
all_black_cars	All cars are black. (also works with white, red, blue and green)
disable_cars	Hide and disable all cars
vary_car_speeds	Randomly interchange car speeds

Frostbite:

Command	Effect
reposition_floes_easy	Make ice shelves static (easy mode)
reposition_floes_medium	Make ice shelves static (medium mode)
reposition_floes_hard	Make ice shelves static (hard mode)
no_birds	Removes all birds (and fishes?)
few_enemies	Increase enemies slightly
many_enemies	Increase enemies to a maximum
half_igloo	Igloo is halfway built at the start of the game
full_igloo	Igloo is fully built at the start of the game
one_remaining_igloo	Igloo has all but one block at the start of the game
ui_color_black	Sets ui color to black. (also works with red)
ice_inactive	Ice floes will not give points or contribute to the igloo building progress

Jamesbond:

Command	Effect
constant_jump	Makes the player character jump constantly
straight_shots	The player shots go straight up, instead of diagonal
fast_backward	Increases the reversing speed
mobile_player	Makes the player character jump constantly and increases the reversing speed
unlimited_lives	Player has an unlimited amounts of lives

Kangaroo:

Command	Effect
set_kangaroo_position_floor1	Set the starting floor (also works with 2)
randomize_kangaroo_position	Random starting floor
disable_monkeys	Disable monkeys in the game
disable_coconut	Disable the falling coconut in the game
disable_thrown_coconut	Disable the throwing coconut in the game
no_danger	Disables all hazards in the game (monkeys and coconuts)
quick_start	Skips the waiting time at the start of the game
no_flickering	Uses ALE inpainting to add the missing sprites in the frame
change_level_0	Set starting level (0, 1, or 2)
unlimited_time	Provides unlimited time to clear the level

KungFuMaster:

Command	Effect
no_damage	Player does not take damage
unlimited_time	Provides unlimited time to clear the level
unlimited_lives	Player has an unlimited amounts of lives

MontezumaRevenge:

Command	Effect
random_position_start	Sets a random starting position for the player
set_level_0	Sets the game to a specified level. (0, 1 or 2)
randomize_items	Randomizes which items are found in which rooms
full_inventory	Adds all items to the player’s inventory

MsPacman

Command	Effect
caged_ghosts	Caged ghosts, ghosts will not leave the middle
disable_orange	Disable the orange ghost (also works with red, cyan, pink)
set_level_0	Set level to 0. (0, 1 or 2)
end_game	Simulates an almost done game, with 15 pills remaining in the level
maze_man	Changes the game to a maze solving task. Only one pill will spawn at a time. After the player collects it, a new pill will spawn. The game is won when the player has collected 20 pills

NameThisGame

Command	Effect
unlimited_oxygen	Provides the player with an unlimited supply of oxygen
unlimited_lives	Player has an unlimited amounts of lives
double_wave_length	Doubles the amount of time it takes to get into the next phase
quick_start	Skips the intro

Pong

Command	Effect
lazy_enemy	Enemy does not move after returning the shot
up_drift	Makes the ball drift upwards. (Also works with down, left and right)
hidden_enemy	Makes the enemy invisible for the player (does not work in dqn_default since it is a object detection modification)
random_perturbation_enemy	Add random perturbations to enemy movement
parallel_ememy	The enemy always moves in parallel with the player
parallel_enemy_after_hit	In the period where the ball is moving towards the player, the enemy moves in parallel with the player

Riverraid

Command	Effect
no_fuel	Removes the fuel deposits from the game
red_river	Turns the river red
linear_river	Makes the river straight, however objects still spwan at their normal position making them unreachable in the worst case
game_color_change01	Turns all elements of the game to another colorset (also works with 02, 03)
object_color_change01	Turns all objects in the game to another colorset (also works with 02, 03)
exploding_fuels	Shooting the fuel deposits will now provides -80 points (instead of 20)
restricted_firing	The player is only able to shoot in critical situation, facing a bridge or in a corridor
unlimited_lives	Player has an unlimited amounts of lives

RoadRunner

Command	Effect
default_coyote	Prohibits the coyote from using the rocket rollerblades or rocket ship
change_coyote	Activates rocket rollerblades if coyote falls back too far

Robotank

Command	Effect
fog	Weather condition is always set to fog
snow	Weather condition is always set to snow
rain	Weather condition is always set to rain
no_radar	Disables the radar
tread_damage	Tread sensor is damaged
canon_damage	Canon is damaged
vision_damage	Vision sensor is damaged

Seaquest

Command	Effect
unlimited_oxygen	Set the oxygen to unlimited mode
disable_enemies	Disables all enemies
random_color_enemies	The enemies have new random colors each time they go across the screen.
gravity	Enable graxity mode.

Note: If all enemies are disabled, stray projectiles can occure in certain situations which will still kill the player. We haven’t found a fix for this.

Skiing

Command	Effect
invert_flags	Change flag color to red (last flag will be blue)
moguls_to_trees	Replaces all moguls with trees
moving_flags	Flags move to the left and right
random_flags	Randomizes the horizontal position of the flags
flag_flurry	Flags appear in quick succession. The number of flags per run doubles

SpaceInvaders:

Command	Effect
disable_shield_left	Disables the left shield. (Also works with middle and right)
relocate_shields_slight_left	Set the shields to a position left of their original
relocate_shields_off_by_one	Set shields off by one pixel
relocate_shields_right	Set shields to new position right of the original
controlable_missile	The missible trajectory follows the user control of the ship
no_danger	Stops enemies from fireing missiles. Also removes the shields

StarGunner:

Command	Effect
static_bomber	Stops the bomber at the top from moving.
static_flyers	Stops the flying enemies in place.
remove_mountains	Removes the mountains from the game
static_mountains	The mountains stay the same, even if the player moves

Tennis

Command	Effect
wind_effect	Enables wind drift
always_upper_pitches	The upper player always pitches
always_lower_pitches	The lower player always pitches
always_upper_player	The player is always the upper player
always_lower_player	The player is always the lower player

TimePilot

Command	Effect
level_1	Changes the level to level 1 (also works with 2, 3, 4, 5)
random_orientation	Randomizes orientation of enemies. They are no longer aligned

UpNDown

Command	Effect
no_trucks	Removes all opposing trucks from the game
reduced_trucks	Reduces amount of opposing trucks on screen to one
more_trucks	All collectables (not the flags) are turned into trucks
short_game	Halves the amount of flags required to clear a level
level_1	Sets the level to 1. (also works with 2 or 3)

Venture

Command	Effect
random_enemy_colors	Changes the color of all enemies to a random color
enemy_color_black	Changes the color of all enemies to black (also works with white, red, blue, green)

YarsRevenge

Command	Effect
disable_enemy_movement	Disables enemy movement
disable_block_movement	Stops blocks in place
static	Disables enemy movement and stops blocks in place