Omega-TI Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Anyone up for some competition? Entry is easy: Just post a photo or screen shot of your best score. (Multiple entries ARE allowed and encouraged to foster competition) Real Iron or Emulator play is okay. The only restriction, play must be on the TI-99/4A version of Pole Position. Additional restriction: Photoshopping of entries VERBOTEN! GOOD LUCK... PREPARE TO RACE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) Hmm. I think I need the instruction manual. I pushed forward all the time. Is there a gearshift ? Eventually I passed one car. And then my car lost speed just before the finishing line. And then it said, game over. Score 10,040. Is that good ? The dynamics of the track disappointed me. Edit: Shifting gear and meeting more cars made it more enjoyable. At least less attention to the choppiness of the road. Center line works better. The graphics of my car looked great at first, but then I turned and it looked awful (they should have dropped the sideway view completely). The other car also looked - strange. Edited August 10, 2014 by sometimes99er Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hmm. I think I need the instruction manual. I pushed forward all the time. Is there a gearshift ? Yep, the fire button will switch you between High & Low gear. Attached is the manual you asked for... Here is my first attempt.... Pole Position.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMole Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) I was too late to take the screenshot at the end of the race, so I don't have one. I did manage to complete the full 8 laps though, and had a score of around 101000. I'll try again later when I feel like it a bit more... 'cause man, this is not a fun game... . All the while playing this I couldn't shake stop thinking that the TI should be capable of sooo much better when it comes to pseudo-3d racing games. If have very fond memories of playing Pit Stop II on the C64, and that game is buttery smooth on the system: (kick ass narration on this video, by the way ).It's also an immensely fun game to play, I've wasted hours and hours on this, up to the point where the monotonous engine sounds kept on droning in my skull for hours after I'd stopped playing. The mechanics of having to mind your tire wear and fuel consumption adds a lot of depth to the gameplay. The biggest problem with TI Pole Position is obviously the choppiness of the road rendering, given that it renders at a whopping 1 fps... I'm wondering how easy it would be to implement a pseudo-3d road renderer that gets at least 15fps, and I think it should be possible if you make the road take up less screen real estate (less screen to update). Pole Position's roads are a whopping 96 pixels high, or half the screen, while in Pit Stop II it's only 72 pixels. Hell, in Grand Prix Circuit on the c64 the road is only 38 pixels high! Suppose we take a road that is 64 pixels high (1/3 of the screen), that would mean we'd need to render 64*15 horizontal lines per second to get 15fps, or 960 horizontal lines per second (a pseudo 3d racing game is basically a pre-rendered set of horizontal lines that depict a straight road. Then, when doing turns, the lines are simply drawn with an offset distance from the side of the screen that gets smaller the closer you get to the bottom of the screen). I know Tursi measured a max speed of 92 lines per second for arbitrary bresenham lines, but maybe we can get a 10-fold speed increase if we just need horizontal lines. Of course, if you make the road as small as 38 lines, it's only a four-fold speed increase and I'm sure that is possible. Edited August 10, 2014 by TheMole 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) Ah Grand Prix Circuit... My favorite racing game of all time. I first played it on the C64 and I still think that version was the best. Just look at the amount of detail crammed in it, not to mention the double rear view mirrors. A true masterpiece. The intro music was a killer! As for Pole Position, I never really liked it, even in the arcades. And I agree that the TI version is absolutely horrific. Edited August 10, 2014 by Vorticon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 The biggest problem with TI Pole Position is obviously the choppiness of the road rendering, given that it renders at a whopping 1 fps... I'm wondering how easy it would be to implement a pseudo-3d road renderer that gets at least 15fps, and I think it should be possible if you make the road take up less screen real estate (less screen to update). Pole Position's roads are a whopping 96 pixels high, or half the screen, while in Pit Stop II it's only 72 pixels. Hell, in Grand Prix Circuit on the c64 the road is only 38 pixels high! Suppose we take a road that is 64 pixels high (1/3 of the screen), that would mean we'd need to render 64*15 horizontal lines per second to get 15fps, or 960 horizontal lines per second (a pseudo 3d racing game is basically a pre-rendered set of horizontal lines that depict a straight road. Then, when doing turns, the lines are simply drawn with an offset distance from the side of the screen that gets smaller the closer you get to the bottom of the screen). I know Tursi measured a max speed of 92 lines per second for arbitrary bresenham lines, but maybe we can get a 10-fold speed increase if we just need horizontal lines. Of course, if you make the road as small as 38 lines, it's only a four-fold speed increase and I'm sure that is possible. Could that 'smooth scrolling technique' invented by one of our resident Uber Programmer's also into play here? I doubt it would be all that difficult for one of the advanced programmers here to get that code to work under joystick control, but then again, they are all busy with projects of their own. Now, being that it's the TI and all, I've always been very happy to have it, even if it's a scaled down version of the original. Besides, it's not like anyone is ever going to make an exclusive F18A version. And I'll tell you, it's sure a hell of a lot better than that old black & white TRS-80 racing game...all one had to drive between were some square dots! Now that game REALLY sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 NFS III was my favorite racing game of all time. I think my son had my copy, heck I don't know if it'll even run under WIN 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNBLeMFqCzg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Slightly better showing than Moon Patrol. I guess I could have scored higher by increasing the number of laps. 59100. While I was very disappointed by it, I did play TI Pole Position a lot back in the day, and gained a little respect for it. It's hard to do a real time road engine on the TI (I've tried a couple of times, though not with modern knowledge). http://www.twitch.tv/tursilion/b/556819914# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Oh... looked back and realized I didn't even place with that showing, so I gave it a second run 100,550 It's up on Twitch, too, but no URL yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dphirschler Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 NFS III was my favorite racing game of all time. I think my son had my copy, heck I don't know if it'll even run under WIN 7. I freakin' love that game! Worth buying a Playstation for. And NFS HP2 is damn good too. Darryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 Oh... looked back and realized I didn't even place with that showing, so I gave it a second run 100,550 pp2.jpg It's up on Twitch, too, but no URL yet. Awwwwwww Maaaaan! You're not gonna make it easy on me are ya? Well, it's something to shoot for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 OK I bit. Here's my entry: Hint: naughty naughty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am1933 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 OK I bit. Here's my entry: Hint: naughty naughty I don't know what's worse-playing TI Pole Position or playing it long enough to get 584880. Would this not induce jerky scrolling sickness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I don't know what's worse-playing TI Pole Position or playing it long enough to get 584880. Would this not induce jerky scrolling sickness? Ah, but there are shortcuts my friend 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 OK I bit. Here's my entry: DAMN DUDE!! Seriously? I didn't know the game even went that high, at least I've never even come close. I feel so inadequate! 584550... #% $% (@ @!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 Ah, but there are shortcuts my friend It did not appear photoshopped... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneMultitasker Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I don't know what's worse-playing TI Pole Position or playing it long enough to get 584880. Would this not induce jerky scrolling sickness? I think we need a MunchMobile contest next. You'll all be begging for Pole Position... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 It did not appear photoshopped... Compare to my end screen - amazing coincidences! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Compare to my end screen - amazing coincidences! I'm innocent until proven guilty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I'm innocent until proven guilty | You're good—but, not that good. Challenge accepted! It is, indeed, Tursi's screen with the following modifications: Both instances of '584' are identical. The '5' is from the 2nd '5' of Tursi's '100550'. The '8' is from Tursi's 'LAP 8'. The '4' is from Tursi's '54"80'. So. there! ...lee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 Message #1 in the thread has been altered accordingly! Excellent Effort! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneMultitasker Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 The graphics of my car looked great at first, but then I turned and it looked awful (they should have dropped the sideway view completely). The other car also looked - strange. My brother thought the turning car looked more like a dog's nose or an anteater than the front of a car.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am1933 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Ah, but there are shortcuts my friend My mother warned me about people like you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am1933 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I think we need a MunchMobile contest next. You'll all be begging for Pole Position... Followed by the Grand tournament of Zero Zap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am1933 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Message #1 in the thread has been altered accordingly! Excellent Effort! I guess Vorticon does not believe in the no win scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.