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Name that Game


Opry99er

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Ksarul - I'll have to upload it then. It is quite fun. You have to jump the frog over all kinds of obstacles moving on a conveyor belt. It was showcased as a type in program in an issue of Micropendium.

 

Digdugnate - I was the one that uploaded the image so I better damn sure know the name.

lol- i guess i would've seen that if i had looked back like two posts. ;)

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Ya, that's what I figured.

 

Same with the 1985 version of Space Station Pheta (the Tad Woods Forth version) only level 1 will load from a nanoPEB 1600 sector formatted volume, Too bad too, because the 1987 Jeff Bunting version (I think it's the one that was released for FR99) doesn't allow you to load or edit levels, and most importantly (on a game that one can spend several hours playing), it does not save the high score.

 

I did manage to get a copy of the 1985 version on disk, but I assume the original was protected, as it just asks me to "insert program disk and press any key"

 

Oh well, of the hundreds of programs I've got stored on CFs, I've only ever encountered problems with those two programs (Legends II and the 1985 SS Pheta), Even if there are a couple more, I'd say is a pretty good track record for a custom formatted emulated disk.

 

I stumbled across this forum today and was surprised to run across this. Sorry PeBo, I intended to add high scores, level editing and even some robots roaming around but never got it all finished.

 

I originally wrote Spacestation Pheta in Extended Basic (well, there was an awfully slow TI Basic version IIRC) and then did a Mini Memory assembly edition once I got one of those. I had all the level data contained in a BASIC program which passed it to the actual game in assembly, the 4K of RAM didn't have enough room for both. I was in high school at the time and didn't have a PEB and disk drive to be able to do the level and score saves.

 

I later did get the PEB and the Editor/Assembler package and was able to combine the levels and the game into one package with the additional RAM but didn't add any additional features that I recall. The E/A version may have had a few more levels since there was more memory to work with, I can't remember. I think there were 40 of them total. I did write some sort of level editor later, but the original ones were all done on graph paper, many of them during high school classes. :-)

 

College, women and work started consuming all my time and energy and, alas, I never completed my grand vision.

 

Jeff Bunting

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I stumbled across this forum today and was surprised to run across this. Sorry PeBo, I intended to add high scores, level editing and even some robots roaming around but never got it all finished.

 

I originally wrote Spacestation Pheta in Extended Basic (well, there was an awfully slow TI Basic version IIRC) and then did a Mini Memory assembly edition once I got one of those. I had all the level data contained in a BASIC program which passed it to the actual game in assembly, the 4K of RAM didn't have enough room for both. I was in high school at the time and didn't have a PEB and disk drive to be able to do the level and score saves.

 

I later did get the PEB and the Editor/Assembler package and was able to combine the levels and the game into one package with the additional RAM but didn't add any additional features that I recall. The E/A version may have had a few more levels since there was more memory to work with, I can't remember. I think there were 40 of them total. I did write some sort of level editor later, but the original ones were all done on graph paper, many of them during high school classes. :-)

 

College, women and work started consuming all my time and energy and, alas, I never completed my grand vision.

 

Jeff Bunting

 

Dude, you don't have to apologize for anything!!! You created a stellar port of a truly awesome platformer. Yours is without a doubt one of my all time favourite TI games (easily in the top 20)

 

I probably spend more time playing your SSP than any other game on the TI! And I've never made it past level 15...now you tell me there may be 40...holy poop!!

 

I have to ask; did you base yours on the Forth release from Tad Woods, or the original Mac game? Either way, you should be proud of a remarkable accomplishment, because it really is as much fun (and frustrating) as the original Mac version.

 

If I have one complaint, it's that I wish memory constraint would have allowed for 2 characters - one facing left and one facing right... Because the controls set-up makes the 'lil guy jump in the last direction you had the joystick pointed, not having a directional point of reference has made me inadvertently jump in the wrong direction repeatedly (fatal in that game) until I got used to pushing the joystick BEFORE jumping.

 

That being said though, I am SOOO glad you posted your message so I have the opportunity to tell you what a huge fan I am of your efforts. I have spent many a rainy afternoon trying to beat your levels. Ya, it's missing a few things that would have made it perfect, but just as is, it is easily superior to 90% of platformers for the TI (platformers being my favourite game genre).

 

Kudos sir...and HUGE thumbs up, and endless thanks!!! (seriously guys, if you like platform games, Mr Bunting's Space Station Pheta should be in everyone's TI gaming library (along with Ian J Howle's Attack of the Creepers of course))! Download it now!

 

Why are you still reading?? You should be downloading it! Here, let me help speed up the process...

...FR99 or DSK or TIFILES

Edited by PeBo
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Thanks PeBo, appreciate the kind words. Pheta wasn't intended to be a port of anything, which Mac game are you talking about? I don't think I had exposure to any of them back then to be able to steal from them.

 

I originally set out to make something along the lines of Donkey Kong but soon found that having enemies or other moving obstacles slowed things down too much to be playable so I went with making it a timed thing with some light puzzle elements (in the sense of figuring out how to get through the level).

 

Tad Woods and his father were members of the same local TI user's group that I was (Roanoke Valley 99'ers I think it was) and he created his FORTH version based on my Extended Basic version of the game I gave out to the group. Tad was several years younger than me, I think maybe 13 or so at the time.

 

So the later assembly versions I did were ports of my original basic game which I uploaded to the TI groups on CompuServe and GEnie and were pretty popular downloads from what I recall. I'm guessing I never got around to figuring out how to do disk access in assembly which is why that never made it into the game.

 

I did think about doing right and left facing versions of the spaceman as you mentioned but I think I couldn't come up with something that looked satisfactory to me using the redefinable characters. I'm guessing I'd used up the available ones on other graphics and didn't have enough left for an animation. But you're right, even an arrow to point left or right would have been better than nothing. I rationalized it by imagining you were wearing a bulky spacesuit that required room to turn around. :-)

 

I think I tried adding sprites later too but couldn't get them to interact with the character graphics like I wanted. It was a lot of trial and error (and error and error and error).

 

Thanks for the file links, I'll see if my old man self can keep up with my teenage self.

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Thanks PeBo, appreciate the kind words. Pheta wasn't intended to be a port of anything, which Mac game are you talking about? I don't think I had exposure to any of them back then to be able to steal from them.

It wasn't until I read your reply that I realized that neither you nor Tad Woods could have based your versions on the Mac game, since the Mac version wasn't released until 1988!

 

You should look it up (it too is called "Space Station Pheta"). I only ever played the monochrome version, which is pretty much graphically identical to yours - within the context of having 68k of memory to work with (allowing a fully animated Space Dude, 100 levels, along with editing and hints!), and the luxurious 512x324 resolution making the graphics far more "crisp". (Monochrome games on both the Mac and the ST always looked cleaner than any colour equivalents of the time)

 

There are several youtube videos of it.

 

Not sure if you'll be flattered by the imitation, or annoyed by the lack of credit, but you WILL be interested to know that it is still being sold today! Can only imagine what you could do with modern niceties like F18A's or 2Mb SAMS cards at your disposal.

 

I'd say the old fart might want to dust off his boxed TI (it WILL still work), and revisit the younger self's code.

 

And IMHO, adding robots or other arcade features wouldn't have improved the game...what makes a great platform game is not fast reflect arcade elements, but good puzzles! Lara Croft may face a myriad of beasties, but what makes her fun to play with (besides her exaggerated physical proportions) is figuring out the puzzles that allow her to advance. Valve recognized and monopolized on this when they created Portal (the best platform game of all time?) from the FPS Half-Life2 engine)

 

And when it comes to fun puzzles, you knocked it out of the park - adding something new every level (not an easy feat)!

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T&T Software is Tad and his father Ted; guess he did a Mac version later on. There was both annoyance and flattery, having poured so many hours into making it and not having the resources at the time to polish it up a little more. But I'm glad some folks enjoyed it, I had fun making it.

 

I always liked having a mixture of action and puzzle elements, Lode Runner being a later favorite, and I share your love for Portal too.

 

My TI gear is currently in storage 3 hours away, having relocated recently so I tried grabbing the classic99 emulator but I couldn't get the BIN file you linked to load. Should it load through E/A option 5? I'll confess I had to read the docs to remember that.

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I'm just pleased to have touched bases with you to say thanks.

 

As a portal fan, you may be interested to know that it has been ported to the 4A (seriously, no joke).

 

It's called "Aperture" (of course it is), and is a mighty faithful variant (within context of a 256x192x16 resolution and a 3 MHz processor)

 

p

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Oh, and I posted 3 files....one of the BINs was specifically for the FlashROM99, the other was in TIFILES format. (the 3rd was in DSK format)

 

Not sure what emulator you're using so have no suggestion to get it working

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T&T Software is Tad and his father Ted; guess he did a Mac version later on. There was both annoyance and flattery, having poured so many hours into making it and not having the resources at the time to polish it up a little more. But I'm glad some folks enjoyed it, I had fun making it.

 

I always liked having a mixture of action and puzzle elements, Lode Runner being a later favorite, and I share your love for Portal too.

 

My TI gear is currently in storage 3 hours away, having relocated recently so I tried grabbing the classic99 emulator but I couldn't get the BIN file you linked to load. Should it load through E/A option 5? I'll confess I had to read the docs to remember that.

 

if you are using classic99 you should be able to put the TIFILES file in DSK1 to run it.. or use the flashrom99 cart bin as a cartridge with user cart

Edited by arcadeshopper
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  • 2 weeks later...

This, and Ambulance, are the only (released) Funware games I am still missing!

 

'twould be Video Vegas

 

Don't ask me how I got all the rest of the Funware collection, while still not having Ambulance (which, after Rabbit Trail, is the most common and easily found), but somehow that's how it turned out. Two years ago there was an Ambulance with box and manual on Ebay for several months. It was dirt cheap (I think $20 or somewhere thereabouts) and I kept saying "next pay, next pay". I kept saying it until the ad was gone.

 

Pretty confident, I'll have a complete set someday though. Then I'll just need to get the Schnozola, Lobster Bay and Shanghai eproms burned ('burnt'?), to satisfy my never ending thirst for more 3rd party carts!

Edited by PeBo
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OK...a fast selection before the movie (a quick pick before the flick?)

 

I think this one will be easy. At the very least it's good enough that everyone with a disk drive should have a copy!

 

Sorry for taking liberties with the screen cap, but not doing so would have defeated the point of the thread.

post-40994-0-12746500-1498862519_thumb.jpg

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I see what you did there.

 

I love Xevious, but have yet to play War Zone 2. I will have to give it a go one of these days.

 

oops, I'm a little slow this morning, yes that is correct (and yes it easily rivals Xevious - so get it!)

 

But before you do, it's your turn.

Edited by PeBo
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