165 replies to this topic

[tep392]

Well maybe not a surprise.  I finished working on this a few weeks ago and thought it was time to put it out and let people play test it.  To be honest, I haven't been able to spend much time playing it, so it might have some undiscovered bugs.  Hopefully not.

One caveat though.  I haven't made any changes to the graphics or game play and don't intend to.  I'm sure some will be disappointed, but there is still no 4th level.  It just isn't practical to do without any documented source code.

You will probably recognize the sounds if you've spent any time playing the 400/800 version.  I haven't modified any of the sounds, so I'm sure there are some differences from the arcade version.  Let me know if anything is glaringly off and I'll see what I can do.

One thing I have to point out is that this is only playable in emulation or on an XBOARD modded machine or on the Expansion Module.  It won't work on a pokey cart because the Pokey mapping overlaps the code.  I've only tested on Prosystem13, so I'm not sure if it will work on the other emulators.

Let me know what you think.  

Regards,
Perry

EDIT: I've added the latest version which has some improvements (I hope) to the walking sound

 dk7800_pokey.a78   48.13K   153 downloads

and a video.  I appologize in advance for the poor video quality.

[Corby]

you have no idea how much more enjoyable it is to play this game now!!! good work  

but i noticed the music plays before Mario finishes getting on top of the platform to end the level? When the music stops the he's standing on on top. I tried the orignal DK...painfully, he gets on top of the platform then the music plays!

Is it a timing issue??

either way nice work!!

[TrekMD]

That is awesome! Thank you for doing this!

[tep392]

Corby, on Thu Oct 28, 2010 11:48 PM, said:

you have no idea how much more enjoyable it is to play this game now!!! good work  

but i noticed the music plays before Mario finishes getting on top of the platform to end the level? When the music stops the he's standing on on top. I tried the orignal DK...painfully, he gets on top of the platform then the music plays!

Is it a timing issue??

either way nice work!!

Thanks for the compliment.  I found it unplayable with the old sound effects and music.  It just grated on my nerves.

I'll see if I can figure out why Mario doesn't make it to the top of the platform.  Thanks for pointing that out.

Edited by tep392, Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:00 AM.

[128bytes]

WOW!  I'll try this when I get some time - hopefully this weekend.  CC2 settings?

[HammR25]

128bytes, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:49 AM, said:

WOW!  I'll try this when I get some time - hopefully this weekend.  CC2 settings?

The file currently available for download won't work with a CC2.  You'd need a bin file for that. This is emulator only.

[Madaracs]

HammR25, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 8:29 AM, said:

128bytes, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:49 AM, said:

WOW!  I'll try this when I get some time - hopefully this weekend.  CC2 settings?

The file currently available for download won't work with a CC2.  You'd need a bin file for that. This is emulator only.

Oh how I wish the H2 were here! :-)

[tep392]

HammR25, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 8:29 AM, said:

128bytes, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:49 AM, said:

WOW!  I'll try this when I get some time - hopefully this weekend.  CC2 settings?

The file currently available for download won't work with a CC2.  You'd need a bin file for that. This is emulator only.

I'll post a binary later for those that have a CC2 and XBOARD mod.  Don't have time to do it now.  If someone else know how to strip the a78 header and want's to post it, feel free.

[GroovyBee]

tep392, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 9:41 AM, said:

I'll post a binary later for those that have a CC2 and XBOARD mod.  Don't have time to do it now.  If someone else know how to strip the a78 header and want's to post it, feel free.

Here ya go :-

 dk7800_pokey.bin   48K   188 downloads

I haven't tested it but it should be OK.

[HammR25]

We need Chad to make a new bankswitch file for this to work properly on the CC2.  None of the Pokey bankswitch files would work since DK is 48k.  I get it to come up with the normal 48k bankswitch but of course there's no sound. Otherwise it just comes up with a blank screen.

[GroovyBee]

HammR25, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:06 AM, said:

We need Chad to make a new bankswitch file for this to work properly on the CC2.  None of the Pokey bankswitch files would work since DK is 48k.  I get it to come up with the normal 48k bankswitch but of course there's no sound. Otherwise it just comes up with a blank screen.

As mentioned in the first post if you have XBOARD it'll play POKEY sounds fine.

[batari]

Can someone tell me how this binary is set up?  Is the 48k mapped contiguously from $4000-$FFFF or is it bankswitched?  If it's using $4000-$7FFF for ROM, where is the POKEY mapped?  I'd like to get it working on H2...

[GroovyBee]

batari, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:31 PM, said:

Can someone tell me how this binary is set up?  Is the 48k mapped contiguously from $4000-$FFFF or is it bankswitched?

Mapped from 0x4000 to 0xFFFF with no bank switching.

Quote

  If it's using $4000-$7FFF for ROM, where is the POKEY mapped?  I'd like to get it working on H2...

The POKEY is mapped at the XBOARD address 0x0450. XBOARD specification is here :-

http://www.x-game.se...ucts/xboard.htm

[batari]

GroovyBee, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:35 PM, said:

batari, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:31 PM, said:

Can someone tell me how this binary is set up?  Is the 48k mapped contiguously from $4000-$FFFF or is it bankswitched?

Mapped from 0x4000 to 0xFFFF with no bank switching.

Quote

  If it's using $4000-$7FFF for ROM, where is the POKEY mapped?  I'd like to get it working on H2...

The POKEY is mapped at the XBOARD address 0x0450. XBOARD specification is here :-

http://www.x-game.se...ucts/xboard.htm

Thanks.  Works on H2 now.

[darryl1970]

Nice Job!  The game itself is still an insult to true arcade DK enthusiasts (As I felt about the Nintendo 8-bit version too, which at least had pretty graphics), but the sound makes the half-resolution and Mario's floaty jumps of the 7800 version a little more forgivable.  

Many of the sounds seemed identical to the Atari 8-bit version, which I think may have been missing the music after dk falls on the rivet screen.  In either case, I noticed that music was a little better than the standard 8-bit.  Nice touch!  I played it in Good7800 emulator, as it locked up on my MESS emu.

tep392, on Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:59 PM, said:

Well maybe not a surprise.  I finished working on this a few weeks ago and thought it was time to put it out and let people play test it.  To be honest, I haven't been able to spend much time playing it, so it might have some undiscovered bugs.  Hopefully not.

One caveat though.  I haven't made any changes to the graphics or game play and don't intend to.  I'm sure some will be disappointed, but there is still no 4th level.  It just isn't practical to do without any documented source code.

You will probably recognize the sounds if you've spent any time playing the 400/800 version.  I haven't modified any of the sounds, so I'm sure there are some differences from the arcade version.  Let me know if anything is glaringly off and I'll see what I can do.

One thing I have to point out is that this is only playable in emulation or on an XBOARD modded machine or on the Expansion Module.  It won't work on a pokey cart because the Pokey mapping overlaps the code.  I’ve only tested on Prosystem13, so I’m not sure if it will work on the other emulators.

Let me know what you think.  

Regards,
Perry

Edited by darryl1970, Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:04 PM.

[tep392]

darryl1970, on Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:01 PM, said:

Nice Job!  The game itself is still an insult to true arcade DK enthusiasts (As I felt about the Nintendo 8-bit version too, which at least had pretty graphics), but the sound makes the half-resolution and Mario's floaty jumps of the 7800 version a little more forgivable.  

Many of the sounds seemed identical to the Atari 8-bit version, which I think may have been missing the music after dk falls on the rivet screen.  In either case, I noticed that music was a little better than the standard 8-bit.  Nice touch!  I played it in Good7800 emulator, as it locked up on my MESS emu.

Thanks! I did create the music after the rivet screen but I can't take credit for the rest of it sounding any better.  Might just be a difference between the various emulators.  The notes, sustain, decay, etc. are identical.  I also tweaked Kongs grunt a little bit and made his stomp audible.  It's nice having 4 sound channels to work with.

Edited by tep392, Sat Oct 30, 2010 7:31 AM.

[tep392]

Here's an update.  I've corrected the issue with Mario not getting to the top of the girder before the tune starts at the end of level's 1 and 2.  I also adjusted the tempo of the tune at the end of level 3 to match with the arcade version.  I had to speed it up because the animation was finishing too fast and I didn't know how to slow it down.  Spent some time digging through the code and figure out how to modify the animation speed.  Now everything is in sync.

Regards,
Perry

Attached Files

•  dk7800_pokey.zip   39.89K   176 downloads

[TrekMD]

Awesome! Thank you!

[R.Cade]

Unfortunately this doesn't run on a7800x (original XBOX 7800 emulator).  The screen turns green and it makes an awful racket.  If I run the bin and turn off POKEY support, it runs, but silently.  

Edited by R.Cade, Thu Nov 4, 2010 8:56 PM.

[GroovyBee]

R.Cade, on Thu Nov 4, 2010 8:55 PM, said:

Unfortunately this doesn't run on a7800x (original XBOX 7800 emulator).  The screen turns green and it makes an awful racket.  If I run the bin and turn off POKEY support, it runs, but silently.  

If the game works on real hardware then its an emulator bug.

[Corby]

[Shannon]

R.Cade, on Thu Nov 4, 2010 8:55 PM, said:

Unfortunately this doesn't run on a7800x (original XBOX 7800 emulator).  The screen turns green and it makes an awful racket.  If I run the bin and turn off POKEY support, it runs, but silently.  

A7800x is based on the mess a7800 emulation and as was pointed out earlier it does not work under mess.

[R.Cade]

Shannon, on Fri Nov 5, 2010 5:44 AM, said:

R.Cade, on Thu Nov 4, 2010 8:55 PM, said:

Unfortunately this doesn't run on a7800x (original XBOX 7800 emulator).  The screen turns green and it makes an awful racket.  If I run the bin and turn off POKEY support, it runs, but silently.  

A7800x is based on the mess a7800 emulation and as was pointed out earlier it does not work under mess.

Is it because it's accessing the POKEY at a non-standard address instead of like a real POKEY cart?

[tep392]

R.Cade, on Fri Nov 5, 2010 8:24 AM, said:

Shannon, on Fri Nov 5, 2010 5:44 AM, said:

R.Cade, on Thu Nov 4, 2010 8:55 PM, said:

Unfortunately this doesn't run on a7800x (original XBOX 7800 emulator).  The screen turns green and it makes an awful racket.  If I run the bin and turn off POKEY support, it runs, but silently.  

A7800x is based on the mess a7800 emulation and as was pointed out earlier it does not work under mess.

Is it because it's accessing the POKEY at a non-standard address instead of like a real POKEY cart?

Your close.  I write to the standard address for the pokey.  The problem is that the 48k cart wasn't designed for the pokey and they have overlaping address spaces.    In prosystem 1.3, any reads from that address space come from the ROM, not the pokey.  It's possible that MESS emulates the pokey more accurately so when the program reads from that address space, it's reading the pokey and not the program data that's stored there.  It's the inaccuracy in Prosystem that allows my hack to work correctly.  

I also write to the XBOARD location of the pokey chip, which allows it to work on real hardware.  But this shoudn't cause any problem with the emulators.

Perry

[Shannon]

Probably the way to fix it in mess and a7800x would be to create a new bankswitch setup.  But probably the more "correct" way would be to modify the original cartridge code to conform to something a real 7800 can handle.