The game used a 6502 for the main CPU, but had a custom system called "Math box" that handled the 3D computations: > The Math Box was built around the AMD 2901

The game used a 6502 for the main CPU, but had a custom system called "Math box" that handled the 3D computations: > The Math Box was built around the AMD 2901 Bit Slice which contained an Arithmetic/Logic Unit, a 16-deep dual port RAM, two registers, and a multiplexer. Each one was only 4-bits but had hooks so that it could be expanded. Four were used to produce a 16-bit machine and they were controlled by another State Machine. > Battlezone was the first game to use a new development system: the Blue Box and White Box duo. The Blue Box was programmed in Forth and controlled the emulator/analyzer in the White Box. It also had an external 8" floppy disk drive as well as a serial port for connecting to the VAX. Unfortunately, it did not have a full featured editor/assembler. Editing/assembling/linking was originally done on the department's PDP11 Model 20s which placed the output file on an 8" floppy, which could then be loaded by the Blue Box. > Later, when we got the first VAX, the Blue Box could be used as a terminal and the VAX was used to edit, assemble and link the program, and the output could be downloaded into the Blue Box/White Box.