123 replies to this topic

[maiki]

I don't see a point why in 2011 would someone release a retail 2600 game... even with this "blockbuster" title.

[GroovyBee]

maiki, on Fri Jul 15, 2011 4:33 AM, said:

I don't see a point why in 2011 would someone release a retail 2600 game... even with this "blockbuster" title.

Its because some people want to do it right even though its a legacy system. If you are a professional programmer e.g. it's your day job, then you really don't want a C&D on your CV.

[Andrew Davie]

Although the demo contains the "hardest" two caves -- Funnel (O) and Apocalypse (M), all of the caves have been implemented.
Here is a short video clip briefly showing each of the 16 caves... with a few bonus bugs   The first 10 seconds of the video is corrupt because YouTube doesn't like my file format. But the rest is OK. I'm working on a few last-minute speed improvements, colour changes, and bug-fixes. Not long now...

[BrianC]

Very impressive! Looks as close to the 800 version as the 2600 can get!

[maiki]

I remember when I first played Boulder Dash - it was on ZX Spectrum - the main hero would always run away from the screen since the scrolling was too slow. Here it seems to be fast as hell!

[c_t_f]

Whoo!       Awesome!!! I can't wait!!

[roland p]

Looks like it's faster than the previous versions?

Kudos for finishing it!

[Amstari]

This is amazing! Great work. If a cart is released I will buy it immediately!

I have played countless hours of Boulder Dash on the Amstrad CPC. I wasn't expecting the 2600 version to be so close to the original version. I'm blown away by how good it looks and the scrolling is perfect.

[toymailman]

Amazing!  Looking forward to it.  

[Christophero Sly]

Can't wait!

[Fr0st]

This looks absolutely amazing! It's a shame it's a finished game, and isn't being released. BD 2600 would be an honourable port of one of my favourite ever games.


Put me down for a PAL copy if FirstStar ever pull the silver spoon from their asses.

[Andrew Davie]

The Atari 2600 Boulder Dash ® demo is now available. The binary is attached to the first post of this thread. If you find a bug, please report it here. But first, RTFM! Let me know how it works for you. Finally... it's done!
Cheers
A

[Christophero Sly]

Amazing!

[roland p]

It's alive!

I am doing some test-playing right now, it works really nice. The movement feels really good.

Just a question (I did rtfm). I can't move the block to the right on the following screenshot, is that right?

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Amstari]

Awesome! Just tried the demo.

It worked fine in Stella but wont work with the Harmony Cart.

[SpiceWare]

Harmony only supports up to 4K of RAM with the 3E bank switching format.  As I recall Boulder Dash uses much more RAM than that.

I tried it on my Krok Cart and it's flakey.  Sometimes hitting fire starts a round, other times it goes back to the initial splash screen.  When I die, it either crashes or goes back to the splash screen.

[maiki]

It's running pretty good. Perhaps a little foo fast, but no complaints. Sadly you have not that original music, that was composed years ago here:

http://www.atariage....ost__p__1462523

I mean the first one, not the second one which is out of tune.

[LS_Dracon]

The graphics are amazing

[Omegamatrix]

Hi Andrew, Hi Thomas!

Great work here, and it's good to see the project on the homestretch. I loved the effects on the title screen. I played the demo a little today and found it FUN!!!

Now I'll have to get my Krok cart mailed to me from my old place, but it will take quite a while due to Canada Post's mail backlog.

Great job, brilliant conversion!!!!


Cheers,
Jeff

[sermajic]

Why does it not work with harmony cart?

[bfstats]

Gentlemen, this is SO well done! Another feather in your respective caps.

Demo or not, I'm sure you'll understand when I say IT NEEDS A BOX!!

If this demo is the end of the story, so be it. But I am curious to know if, in your dealings with First Star, they ever told you what else they would intend to do with the game other than release it, whether it be through retail (unlikely, I know) or through "hobby channels" (namely, this community we are all enthusiastic participants in).

Back in the day, I was able to acquire Boing! directly from First Star simply by writing a letter. The response I received was friendly and helpful, and it gave me the impression the company was just as eager to share it's game as I was to play it. In fact, included with Boing! was a "reward" card from Fernando Herrera, head of the company, encouraging the recruitment of game and educational software programmers. I suspect I speak for the whole community when I say it is fair to hope that the people or person the two of you have dealt with (Fernando himself perhaps?) have the same willingness to share as those I corresponded with in June of 1984.

In the mean time, THANKS for yet another awesome contribution!

[Random Terrain]

sermajic, on Sat Jul 16, 2011 4:14 PM, said:

Why does it not work with harmony cart?

I think that was answered 4 posts above yours:

http://www.atariage....93#entry2325993

SpiceWare, on Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:47 AM, said:

Harmony only supports up to 4K of RAM with the 3E bank switching format.  As I recall Boulder Dash uses much more RAM than that.

[batari]

maiki, on Sat Jul 16, 2011 1:12 PM, said:

It's running pretty good. Perhaps a little foo fast, but no complaints. Sadly you have not that original music, that was composed years ago here:

http://www.atariage....ost__p__1462523

I mean the first one, not the second one which is out of tune.

The second is out of tune but the first one too blippy and IMO there are too many "creative changes" for what should be an authentic recreation.  BD music has a strict formula, as mentioned here: http://www.elmerprod...erb/sounds.html

I followed this formula using DPC+ and this is the result. Sounds a bit better on Harmony than Stella.

Attached Files

•  BD_DPC+.bin   32K   127 downloads

[Amstari]

SpiceWare, on Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:47 AM, said:

Harmony only supports up to 4K of RAM with the 3E bank switching format.  As I recall Boulder Dash uses much more RAM than that.

Thanks for the explanation.

It works with Stella on the Wii so I have been able to play it on a TV with a console, even if it's not a 2600.

[Andrew Davie]

batari, on Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:59 PM, said:

I followed this formula using DPC+ and this is the result. Sounds a bit better on Harmony than Stella.

I would love to use original music. However, it must be stock-standard '2600 with no hardware support.
Can anyone help me with this?
Cheers
A