Can Atari 2600 games be ported to 800/XL/XE?

[+xucaen]

I've noticed some games that look and feel just like the 2600 versions.. such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Demon Attack, Midnight Magic, Seaquest.. I googled porting 2600 games to the 800/XL/XE but came up empty.. Has anyone heard of anyone converting or porting 2600 games to the 800/XL/XE?

[carlsson]

It has been discussed before. I believe generally the two are so different that one would need to reimplement the game with the same look and feel graphics, not a matter of a simple conversion.

[+Stephen]

Phaeron did a few direct ports. I think Midnight Magic was one, and another was Stampede. There are actually things the 2600 can do that the A8 cannot unfortunately. Sprite doubling, tripling, as well as mirroring. That makes some games more difficult to port.

[Grevle]

Seaquest was also ported , wasn't Adventure ported also ?

[Mr.Amiga500]

This thread has some converted games:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/266761-cool-2600-games-never-released-for-800xlxe/?do=findComment&comment=3786085

Edited December 16, 2018 by Mr.Amiga500

[+Adam+]

Phaeron ported Midnight Magic, Seaquest, Stampede, Adventure and Raiders of the Lost Ark from 2600.

[+davidcalgary29]

Activision seem to have achieved it with their 2600 ports.

[Poison]

I would like to play on A8 from A2600 Double Dragon or Kung Fu Master

[scitari]

I am in the process of porting my Atari 2600 game Gene Medic to the 800. However, it is essentially a complete rewrite of the assembly code. The two systems are VERY different despite have roughly the same chip.

[AtariLeaf]

This thread has some converted games:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/266761-cool-2600-games-never-released-for-800xlxe/?do=findComment&comment=3786085

 

I downloaded the zip file in that thread. Thanks for the heads up, I'll program those to my atarimax cart this weekend

[adam242]

Man Goes Down would be a most welcome addition to the A8 library. Doesn't appear to use mirroring or sprite tripling, so may be relatively easy... Was source code to this gem of a homebrew ever released?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiQ6pGuZLLI

[+MrFish]

Man Goes Down would be a most welcome addition to the A8 library. Doesn't appear to use mirroring or sprite tripling, so may be relatively easy... Was source code to this gem of a homebrew ever released?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiQ6pGuZLLI

 

I love that game.

 

The guy who recorded that video isn't very good at it though.

 

There was a project started to replicate the ST version called Downfall.

(Hit start to see some screens/backgrounds.)

 

Downfall (Newer).xex

 

 

 

 

There was also this Polish version of it from this year.

 

I didn't like the player sprite too well though. Maybe I can try hacking it

tonight and see if the author is ok with releasing it. Although, I'm not too

fond of the physics and backgrounds either.

 

It looks like the sprite might be something that's procedurally generated

anyway.

 

Gowno_spadajace_w_dol (downfall).xex

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by MrFish

[Gunstar]

I want Solaris ported from the 2600. Or even better, a totally updated A8 version. I'd still rather have upgraded/updated version of any 2600 games the A8 lacks, than just direct ports, but I'll take what I can get, unless a version was already done for the A8 back in the day, in which case I don't see much point.

 

Are there any games that have original 2600 and A8 versions where the 2600 version is considered better?

Edited December 19, 2018 by Gunstar

[adam242]

 

I love that game.

 

There was a project started to replicate the ST version called Downfall.

(Hit start to see some screens/backgrounds.)

 

Downfall (Newer).xex

 

downfalltitle.png

 

downfallgame.png

 

 

There was also this Polish version of it from this year.

 

I didn't like the player sprite too well though. Maybe I can try hacking it

tonight and see if the author is ok with releasing it. Although, I'm not too

fond of the physics and backgrounds either.

 

It looks like the sprite might be something that's procedurally generated

anyway.

 

Gowno_spadajace_w_dol (downfall).xex

 

gowno.png

 

Damn. Downfall has some serious potential. I've never seen parallax vertical scrolling like that on an Atari before.

[+MrFish]

Damn. Downfall has some serious potential. I've never seen parallax vertical scrolling like that on an Atari before.

 

It's a cool effect and nice enhancement for the game. The important thing is that the key gameplay

elements are kept in tact, rather than traded off. It's a fairly simple game concept, but the bonus items

(jetpack, skateboard, etc.) are a big part of what makes it fun.

 

It looks like Downfall is a Jaguar game, not ST; and there were two versions of it, Downfall and Downfall+.

 

Jaguar: Downfall

 

Jaguar: Downfall+

 

I'm not sure how many bonus items are in the Jaguar game. The only one I noticed in the 2 videos was

the "balloons".

Edited December 19, 2018 by MrFish

[Gunstar]

I have Downfall on the Jaguar. It's a free version. Downfall+ was the commercial version. I'd thought about if it would be possible to do A8 Downfall like is being done. Very cool.

Edited December 19, 2018 by Gunstar

[+MrFish]

Here's the development thread: Jaguar game with parallax scrolling

 

It looks like things stopped in 2011. Not sure if things continued underground or not.

 

Last word from AA user simonl (developer) was:

"It's in progress, I'll post an update when it's completed."

[peteym5]

Phaeron did a few direct ports. I think Midnight Magic was one, and another was Stampede. There are actually things the 2600 can do that the A8 cannot unfortunately. Sprite doubling, tripling, as well as mirroring. That makes some games more difficult to port.

Doubling is possible because Atari has 4 players, Mirroring you need a copy of the sprite data that is flipped horizontally. 2600 games cannot be directly emulated, but may can be converted and made into a new executable. As for tripling, the only way I see it possible is to do that trick with writing to the horizontal player position twice on each scan line. Have PLAYER0 or PLAYER2 be the first and third, while PLAYER 1 and PLAYER 3 be the second. It could eat up a lot of CPU. I am not sure why Atari removed these functions when going from TIA to CTIA/GTIA. Probably felt it was not necessary because 4 player sprites were available with individual positioning.

Edited December 19, 2018 by peteym5

[ggn]

It looks like Downfall is a Jaguar game, not ST; and there were two versions of it, Downfall and Downfall+.

And Falcon

 

 

Chronologically, first Downfall on Jaguar was released, then the Falcon version, then Downfall+ on Jaguar again.

 

As for Simon's version for the a8 - yes, the development did continue in more privacy, I was invited to test as I wrote the Falcon version and had atari 800 gear to test his binaries. It's quite complete - main sprite is there with inertia and all, can walk on platforms and can pick up bonuses. The only apparent thing that's missing is the game over check (i.e. if you fall off the screen you just stay there), also possibly the power up handling.

Edited December 20, 2018 by ggn

[+MrFish]

And Falcon

 

Chronologically, first Downfall on Jaguar was released, then the Falcon version, then Downfall+ on Jaguar again

 

OK, I thought I'd heard/seen there was an ST version. I just didn't see it one YouTube when I was searching.

 

Only the Jaguar version of Downfall (without the "+") uses the type of parallax they were going for on the

8-bits. Obviously the other two versions (Downfall+ and Downfall for the Falcon) are too advanced

graphically.

[ggn]

OK, I thought I'd heard/seen there was an ST version. I just didn't see it one YouTube when I was searching.

 

Only the Jaguar version of Downfall (without the "+") uses the type of parallax they were going for on the

8-bits. Obviously the other two versions (Downfall+ and Downfall for the Falcon) are too advanced

graphically.

Actually the Falcon version also contains a background identical to the first Jaguar Downfall, among many others.

 

As for ST version, I've been contacted by two people who wanted to make a ST and STE version respectively. One got the full source code and assets for the Falcon version but I never heard of him since the initial handover. The other person did a tech demo that contained the background, scrolling platforms and sample playback (on STF) which he showed me at a demo party. He wasn't very pleased with it so he stopped working on it for now.