AgentOrange96 Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Hello, all! A few months back, I started working on my first Atari 2600 homebrew. It was quite a learning experience, and quite a challenge. I actually haven't touched my game in a few months now, but it has been sitting more or less complete for a while. The game is a re-make of a PC game I had made years ago in Game Maker. This game can be found on IndieDB. Given the patriotic undertones of this game, I figure it might be cool to release the Atari 2600 version on Tuesday (July 4th) on IndieDB. However, before I go ahead with that, I wanted to get the opinions of you all at AtariAge! I have uploaded my code if anyone wants to compile it themselves. (The two .txt files should just be .dat) I'd be very interested to hear any feedback or suggestions for this game. I'd like to make the children a little more distinguished, but I'm not sure I can realistically do that with the hardware. I definitely look forward to writing more for the Atari 2600 as it's very fun! Let me know what you think! 1v61.bas.bin 1v61.bas score_graphics.asm Music.dat.txt Rev.dat.txt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 This is some advanced level trolling right here. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentOrange96 Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 This is some advanced level trolling right here. Hey, man! Read the reviews on IndieDB! People regard it highly! XD Anyway, there is a a story to why this stunning game exists. I'd been wanting to both remake it but better as well as port it to the Atari 2600 just for fun, and finally I've at least accomplished half of that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColecoGamer Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Uh... I don't know where to begin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 So, you ramp your truck onto the children, which I assume is the little bar in the middle of the screen? Pump the gas more to get farther air time. Teddy bears turn into frowny faces when hit. Still not sure if the objective is to hit the kids or jump over their heads... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentOrange96 Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 So, you ramp your truck onto the children, which I assume is the little bar in the middle of the screen? Pump the gas more to get farther air time. Teddy bears turn into frowny faces when hit. Still not sure if the objective is to hit the kids or jump over their heads... I probably shoulda mentioned how to play. You want to clear the kids. Mash the fire button enough and you'll clear them, don't and you'll hit them. It's binary in that you either hit the kids or you don't. If I ever get around to a proper remake for PC, it'll be more dynamic that way. The bar in the middle is the kids. That's what I'd like to improve most graphically, but I'm not sure how I really can. Also, the difficulty switches toggle the sound effect and the music. (Separately) Mostly because I was tired of hearing the same song over and over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 I probably shoulda mentioned how to play. You want to clear the kids. Mash the fire button enough and you'll clear them, don't and you'll hit them. It's binary in that you either hit the kids or you don't. If I ever get around to a proper remake for PC, it'll be more dynamic that way. The bar in the middle is the kids. That's what I'd like to improve most graphically, but I'm not sure how I really can. Also, the difficulty switches toggle the sound effect and the music. (Separately) Mostly because I was tired of hearing the same song over and over. That explains why I got no sound in Stella. It still peeves me how the emulator handles the switches in a default position upon loading the ROM (and some games only read the switches on boot). I noticed if you clear the kids or miss them, the truck just drives to the end and stops. But I guess it's in prelim stage right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentOrange96 Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 That explains why I got no sound in Stella. It still peeves me how the emulator handles the switches in a default position upon loading the ROM (and some games only read the switches on boot). I noticed if you clear the kids or miss them, the truck just drives to the end and stops. But I guess it's in prelim stage right now. The truck is supposed to stop, although I suppose there's no reason for it to. The smiles or frown faces are the indication as to whether you won or not. They're actually using score with custom "digits" so I couldn't do much to write out win or lose there. I could make a win or lose screen separately though, or make it appear on screen via the background. Perhaps I should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 I actually like the teddy bears / frown faces... What would really be awesome is an excite bike style level where you have speed ramps and stuff. The game would be doable on Atari with just accelerate and one lane. And little stick figure kids to hit, or not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Have you set the switches in the properties file? Section 12 of the manual. I wonder if that'll work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 I was just about to mention this. You can set ROM properties for every aspect of console emulation, including but not limited to bankswitch scheme, position of all switches, controller, TV format, phosphor effect and blend level, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Have you set the switches in the properties file? Section 12 of the manual. I wonder if that'll work? I'll just throw it on my Harmony. Easier that way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Did I just press a joystick button repeatedly for a solid minute so I could watch a truck move from the left side of the screen to the right side of the screen over a stack of primary color bars? Did I do it wrong? Is there more to it? This is like really, really, really slow Dragster. Not my cup of tea. And that is some title screen you've got there too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Did I just press a joystick button repeatedly for a solid minute so I could watch a truck move from the left side of the screen to the right side of the screen over a stack of primary color bars? Did I do it wrong? Is there more to it? This is like really, really, really slow Dragster. Not my cup of tea. And that is some title screen you've got there too. The tears and cries and screams will be added later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyspectrum Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Hello, all! A few months back, I started working on my first Atari 2600 homebrew. It was quite a learning experience, and quite a challenge. I actually haven't touched my game in a few months now, but it has been sitting more or less complete for a while. The game is a re-make of a PC game I had made years ago in Game Maker. This game can be found on IndieDB. Given the patriotic undertones of this game, I figure it might be cool to release the Atari 2600 version on Tuesday (July 4th) on IndieDB. However, before I go ahead with that, I wanted to get the opinions of you all at AtariAge! I have uploaded my code if anyone wants to compile it themselves. (The two .txt files should just be .dat) I'd be very interested to hear any feedback or suggestions for this game. I'd like to make the children a little more distinguished, but I'm not sure I can realistically do that with the hardware. I definitely look forward to writing more for the Atari 2600 as it's very fun! Let me know what you think! Hello mate ! WOW ! What a game ! I simply had to do a review of this and the original. You've really done something amazing here mate it's so addictive i cannot stop playing it and i urge others to do the same. 10/10 ! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentOrange96 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 The tears and cries and screams will be added later! | The tears, cries and screams come from the player's dispair! You're welcome, @StanJr! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentOrange96 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) Hello mate ! WOW ! What a game ! I simply had to do a review of this and the original. You've really done something amazing here mate it's so addictive i cannot stop playing it and i urge others to do the same. 10/10 ! Oh dear, that is a stunning review of an absolutely stunning game! Thanks! Edited July 4, 2017 by AgentOrange96 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyspectrum Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 no problem at all mate i couldn't sit by and let these game drift past an unaware community. this is incredible and needs shouted from the rooftops ! well done mate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyspectrum Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 with regards to making the kids look more "kid like", how about just stick men and then we could use our imaginations to imagine they're several deep rather than just a line of 10 or so ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyspectrum Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 have you thought of making a laserdisc version ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentOrange96 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 with regards to making the kids look more "kid like", how about just stick men and then we could use our imaginations to imagine they're several deep rather than just a line of 10 or so ? The biggest issue is the limitations of the console itself. If I remember correctly, to add another Sprite on that level would cause the monster truck to flicker as it is already made out of two sprites on its own. The kids are right now built into the playing field, which is why the ramp has a brown line (hair) instead of a red line. I tried to make it somewhere between red and brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Hello mate ! WOW ! What a game ! I simply had to do a review of this and the original. You've really done something amazing here mate it's so addictive i cannot stop playing it and i urge others to do the same. 10/10 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyspectrum Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 The biggest issue is the limitations of the console itself. If I remember correctly, to add another Sprite on that level would cause the monster truck to flicker as it is already made out of two sprites on its own. The kids are right now built into the playing field, which is why the ramp has a brown line (hair) instead of a red line. I tried to make it somewhere between red and brown. it's amazing, mate. i can see them clearly - in my mind ! sometimes i imagine that the truck is the size of a giant shopping mall and that there are thousands of kids composing that line ! i've been playing it for about 7 hours now - it's extremely addictive ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentOrange96 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 My news has officially been approved on IndieDB and ModDB for this. Unfortunately it has been archived so not to show on the front page. They always seem to archive any news I post. :/ Anyway, link for anyone who wants a read. And thank you everyone for your support! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Were you guys planning on fleshing this out with more gameplay elements? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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