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  1. Hi all, Ti99Dir version 10.1.a is out. Added a feature to change the portion that the left/right file list occupy in the main window. Don't know what it is called in window terms (division/splitter bar) and couldn't find any code examples for this but I managed to create something. Just drag the middle bar of the left/right file list. There is also a menu option for this to quickly change it to 30-70 / 40-60 / 50-50 / 60-40 / 70-30 percent (asked for by Fabrice). Added: a feature to change the colors for the text and picture viewers (asked for by Fabrice). Added: copying the added DSKU comments in a file header when a file is copied from a DSK image to another DSK image. This file comment is also preserved if a file is extracted to a FIAD file (offset >50) so that it won't get lost (asked for by Ronald). Added: a new column (Identity) that tells you what kind of file it is (TI/Ext Basic, EA3, EA5, Forth, GIF, Text, Data, Binary). This is also used by the file Viewer end Quickview options to convert the file to a readable/viewable form. In some situations the files identity is determined at the moment the file is opened in the viewer/quick view. This is the case with Extended Basic programs (some Extended Basic token is encountered while translating the file to text), Files in archives and files in harddisk images. The Identity is then updated in the file list window. Changes: Some function keys have changed: F3: View file using the above Identity Shift-F3: View file as text or binary (program files) F4: View file binary F9: View a program file as picture, for those character definition file without the 6 byte header (asked for by Lee). Found out that this option is also handy for discovering character definitions in any program file 🙂. F8: REMOVED (View TiArtist/Myart/Gif file) this option is now obsolete. This is the last version of Ti99Dir I will release for now because working on this program consumes a lot of my free playing time. I wan't to work on some other TI related idea lying around for a long time. If somebody comes up with some quickly fixable bug that will be done anyway (maybe) otherwise it will be added to the wish list The new version can be downloaded here: My TI99/4A and Geneve Web Pages (hexbus.com) or here: ti99dir101a.zip Enjoy.
    27 points
  2. After several hours, I present you the first beta of MAFIA for Atari 8-bit. This game is more or less a classic on the C64, and i tried to port it to A8. Clearly, as an A8 beginner, I had some problems creating a 1:1 port, thus, the map looks quite different. However, the rest should be rather close to the original (given that I had the BASIC sources available). There will be still (severe) bugs. Not even sure if loading/saving will work as expected, and since I did not play it through, I even do not know if one can 'win' this game right now. However, I am grateful for any bugs reports (here or on github). The graphics are more or less a mess. Sound is even not existing. Not sure how much I will try to polish them, help is welcome. The game is localised in german and english, however, the english part was translated quickly by ChatGPT, so it might be off here and there. Also, the text is partly not very aligned (centered or otherwise). I have no idea if this thing will run on real hardware. I was able to run it in my emulator. Hope to test it soon on an A8. Full sources and ATR image can be found here: https://github.com/drunkeneye/MAFIA.A8
    25 points
  3. Hi everyone! Me and a friend have gotten into TI99 assembly recently and we just finished our first game. It's just snake but we don't think it's a terrible version at least... I've attached the binary for use on FinalGROM99, Classic99 etc. and the source code. I'd love for someone to take a look over our (very) amateurish code and give us a few tips, as we're kinda shit and we plan to do some other projects in the future with hopefully better code. The forums been pretty useful so far, so thanks! Snake.asm Snake.bin
    25 points
  4. The way the current store software works is that it takes payment at time of purchase, versus when an order is shipped. Please keep in mind that I had to spend thousands of dollars up front to buy additional cartridge shells, circuit boards, chips and other parts, box inserts, labels, manuals, boxes, carts and manual bags, and other items in order to build and ship these games. Also, these are not "normal" orders, in that I was giving the community a last chance to buy a whole bunch of games that were being removed from the store. I knew it would be a lot of work that I would need to do while keeping on top of other tasks in parallel, but I didn't expect the order and game volume to be nearly as high as it ended up being. If I had just removed those games without warning, tons of people would have been rightfully pissed off. While that would have been the easier route for me (by far), that would not have been fair to the community or to the homebrew authors. I am not twiddling my thumbs here, I am busting my hump to get these games built and shipped. I have taken very little time off since that sale ended, and this includes evenings, weekends and holidays. Even on my birthday in December I probably put ten hours of work into building games. ..Al
    25 points
  5. Hello folks, I am happy to present you our newest intro: LII intro --------- - intro for all A8 with at least 48 kB of RAM - runs on NTSC & PAL machines - supports dual POKEY output - song covered by Buddy - ZX02 decompression by DMSC used - RMT replay based on work of DMSC + VinsCool - gfx converting/repainting + rest of code by PPs Stay ATARI!____________________________March 2024 LII_intro.zip I really hope, you will like it. I really like it that much, that my 600 XL + hifi tower runs for some hours in an endless loop now So cool that we have most of the intro of this popular game on the A8 now - feels like bitd when the A500 had run for hours just to loop this intro... Now we need someone who writes the game.
    24 points
  6. All, Finished the game "port" of IMAGIC's ATLANTIS. a video of the game is here: and here is the cartridge binary for download (attached) ATLANTIS.bin
    24 points
  7. I wrote a proof of concept a while back. I need to get back to it and turn it into a real game, rather than just a display test, but all of the enemies use 320c. phoenix.bas.a78
    23 points
  8. Quote- I’m thrilled to share this news: Today is my first day as Creative Director at Atari. I’ll be a part of growing and managing Atari’s design & creative work, shepherding the brand, and supporting our efforts in licensing and games. It’s an amazing opportunity to join this team & help shape an iconic brand. After seeing the moves made by Wade Rosen & the team these last few years, I wanted to be part of this era. W/ new games & hardware, great licensing & care for the company’s history, it's exciting. Friends know my passion for Atari’s history and its status as pop culture icon. I want to honor the innovative spirit of the programmers, designers, artists & marketers who came before, while evolving & elevating the brand for future generations. A fantastic adventure! https://x.com/lapetino/status/1759691671929754062?s=20
    23 points
  9. Just scored some Atari gear for $25! Everything is complete and works - the seller didn't know that, but I figured for that price I wouldn't care. Even got a nifty dust cover for the 1025. The ribbon works, but is a bit light so I just ordered a replacement and in keeping with the theme, cost me $5. The only additional things I need for the printer are the rubber grommet on one side that the top piece presses into and maybe an original manual. All in all, I think I got a good deal!
    23 points
  10. Intellivision enthusiasts, rejoice! Opcode Games is thrilled to announce our forthcoming debut on your beloved platform. In a landmark collaboration with City Connection Co., LTD, we're bringing classic Jaleco titles to vintage consoles, with Intellivision leading the charge. This summer, Intellivision players will be treated to ports of two iconic Jaleco arcade titles: Naughty Boy and Exerion. PRE-ORDER NOW: http://opcodegames.com/digital/INTV_order.html First up is Naughty Boy, Jaleco's debut arcade release from 1982. Navigate forests, overcome obstacles, and battle monsters with fire in this exhilarating adventure originally released by Cinematronics in North America. Then there's Exerion, Jaleco's breakout hit from 1983. Maneuver through pseudo-3D space, wielding dual and single beam weapons to defeat enemies in this action-packed game originally brought to North America by Taito. But that's not all! Joining the lineup is The Goonies, a captivating port of the acclaimed MSX game, also available for ColecoVision from Opcode. *The Goonies for Intellivision includes support for ECS sound. Intellivision players can expect the same exceptional quality that ColecoVision owners have enjoyed for years: top-notch ports and meticulously crafted packaging. What is Included: All three games are presented in our signature deluxe packaging. If you're acquainted with our ColecoVision boxes (pictured here with The Goonies as an example), you can anticipate the same level of quality. However, for our Intellivision line, we've opted for metallic gold accents instead of silver. Each game also comes with a deluxe manual printed on super high-quality glossy paper. Additionally, since these are Intellivision titles, you can look forward to receiving high-quality controller overlays. Price and Availability: As this marks our inaugural venture into the Intellivision realm, we've opted for a pre-order phase to gauge demand accurately. Pre-orders kick off today, with games slated to begin shipping in July 2024. Naughty Boy and Exerion are priced at $65 each, while The Goonies will be available for the low price of $60. Please note that shipping costs are not included and will be invoiced separately once your games are ready to ship Please use the following to pre-order now: http://opcodegames.com/digital/INTV_order.html
    22 points
  11. Hello all, first apologies for the extreme delay in this Club package. The major delay was me getting the newsletter where it should be, originally it was going to be a budget B&W print off, now it has transformed into a high quality full colored 24 page magazine. Along with other matters such work/family. Im almost there now, it goes into full print this week. Many thanks to the team behind it. I hope this whole package it well worth the wait for you guys. If you do wish to get refunded or anything thats not an issue, no one will be ripped off. This info will be in the online newsletter soon. The actually shipping date will be updated in here soon. Thanks Here is what the Club contents look like. (Not shown are the instructions on the downloading the Roms) (New issues of the IntelliClub Magazine will be coming soon, not part of any Club, the Club will cease after this one) After this Club ships, I will have a few spares if anyone missed out. Post in here if you need one. After it sells, never reproduced!
    20 points
  12. A few days after I posted my first idea here, I came up with a way to make the hearts red. Plus I've added in some of the other graphics here. I still want to change a few colors to better reflect the arcade, and then I'll add in the hags to see how they'll look.
    20 points
  13. Ghostbusters Ultimate Edition is an all-new Intellivision port of the classic Activision game. Features include: - 6-channel ECS music (and it has more songs than the original) - Sing along lyrics - Digitized voice samples (with Intellivoice) - All vehicle and equipment choices from the original. - Cut scenes and references to the movie (enhancement over the original) - Ghostbuster account system for recording game progress. Compatible with Apple 2, C64, Atari 8-bit, MSX and PC versions. - Stay Puft attacking the city (as in the original) For more details or to order a copy of the game, please email: gb.orders2024@gmail.com
    19 points
  14. Lakeside Tree Colors: 57 plus src This is my first attempt at a Landscape . Atari8man_Lakeside_Tree.xex Atari8man-Lakeside_Tree.7z
    19 points
  15. Had a bit of time this afternoon. Enjoy! Biggest changes are in the DPAD feel even though that is constrained by the general aesthetics of the Gamepad. I tried to prevent directional pressing errors as playing with the original pad it was too easy to make a unintended directional movement. I think I acheived it without making diagonal movements too hard. Anyway I'm sure the internet will judge when it comes out in May. Untitled video - Made with Clipchamp (7).mp4
    19 points
  16. Stonehenge 22 colours drpeter_Stonehenge_Sunrise.xex
    19 points
  17. In case some of you 1020 Plotter owners have not seen, RetroHax.net posted a very nice blog post on making new pens for the Atari 1020 Plotter https://retrohax.net/atari-1020-plotter-plotting-pens-replacement/ Here is more info on how you can make your own. First you will need to 3D print the Pen cases using the RetroHax.net STL files He used a Resin Printer, but I printed them on a FDM Ender 3 printer with PLA Filament I printed them pen tip side up, on a Raft at 100% infill For pens, i was not able to get the pens RetroHax.net used as I am in the US, the best I could find were these from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F814H3X?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details For cutting the pen inserts I made a 3D printed Jig for cutting them with a razor blade. You can download the STL file for the jig here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6497069 Clean out the hole in the 3D printed pen case with a 7/64th drill bit Push the pen insert into the case with a total length of about 23.50mm The amazon pens are cheap, and are gel ink, but they are not perfect.They require a bit too mush pressure to write all that great. On the flip side, another pen I tried drawed ok, but smeared really, really bad. I am on a lookout for something better, and will post here when I do If you find a better pen, please post it here.
    18 points
  18. I get it, I dont speak for Atari in general, only for 2600+ related matters. I would say though that all the merchandise is I suspect all licensed product and because the licensees make and distribute the lines like sneakers and hats its just plugged into well oiled machines. And people buy them so hence why they get churned out. As for games I can tell you that great efforts are being make to secure re-issues, ports and new games for the 2600+, I am personally chasing down minimum of 10 releases, but its very hard and time consuming to actually do deals - they more then often fail to get anywhere. I did though sign a three 2600 game compilation today, another re-issue but pretty cool colleciton, more detail to follow on that probably next month. My bosses want me to exceed sales performance next FY, so I, along with Atari need to beat 2600+ launch sales, the only way for me to do this is to sell consoles, games and accessories that people want to buy in greater numbers. The commercial attractiveness of the 2600+ range has to grow and get better.
    18 points
  19. Since my attention was drawn to it over a joke in another thread, I ended up going back and adding graphics to my old Tarot Reader program, since it's now possible to do so. The result is a 512k ROM with more or less recognizable images for every card. https://harmlesslion.com/software/tarot/ Also I fixed the update script which wasn't running on the new server, so all the software updates over the last few weeks finally show up. Gonna go spam the Coleco guys now too tarotTI.zip
    18 points
  20. I came across this set of 30+ disks of Jim Uzzell's that I copied and consolidated (long ago!) into the attached disk images. They contain a variety of files for the /4A and some for the Geneve. I saw Geneve clock timestamps on the files as old as 1989. Be advised that these images are High Density format (1.44MB - 80 track/36 sector per track/2 side) as used with a Geneve and HFDC-connected floppy. Per the Myarc "standard", there are three subdirectories on nearly all of the images. Use TIImageTool or the tool of your choice. I checked the forum and whtech for posts and folders with Uzzell's name. I did not find any relevant matches so I'm releasing the images here for those interested in scouring the files. I seem to recall sending the original floppy disks to someone long ago to review, I don't know what happened after that. Jim left us in 2005. You can read his TI Hall of Fame entry here: TI99ers Hall of Fame - Home Page a04.dsk a05.dsk a06.dsk a07.dsk a08.dsk a09.dsk a10.dsk a11.dsk a01.dsk a02.dsk a03.dsk
    18 points
  21. Yes, now Rebounced is well along we have switched back to this and have been working on it the last few weeks and will continue until its finished.
    18 points
  22. Fancy a Jaguar cart with some bling? Every two months for the next year one random lucky member on the top tier of my patreon will get a cusom LED cart of a Reboot title!
    17 points
  23. Fallen Kingdom v1.2 has been released... updated NTSC colors + altirraOS crash fix of ending screen: http://matosimi.websupport.sk/atari/2024/03/fallen-kingdom-v1-2/
    17 points
  24. Congratulations @Muddyfunsteron your AA Hombrew award win for A.R.T.I.!
    17 points
  25. Hi everyone! I finally have an update on the game! There are some new features, I'll go in order: 1) The energy and mana bars are now active: contact with enemies will lower the green energy bar while staying in flight will consume the blue mana bar. Once the mana runs out, the sphere will fall to the ground. Staying on the ground will recharge the mana. 2) The graphics engine manages enemies with multiple sprites, the zombie for example has 4 sprites: 2 for primary color and 2 for secondary color 3) Completed the "Possession" power which allows you to transfer the spirit in the sphere into the body of enemies and then use them to do the dirty work and, if necessary, lose the skinon your behalf😄 The power can be activated when close to an enemy (in the future only some, now it is active for everyone). Selecting the icon again will return the spirit to the sphere. If it has free space to take off he will return to the air, otherwise he will remain on the ground. I have to say it was a lot of work to program but I expected it... the hardest part was the possession effect (and it still doesn't work very well, sometimes it doesn't behave as it should and there is still an important step to do ), it took me more than 3 months to get it working decently.. The second part of the hard work was to ensure that the patterns were loaded dynamically at each map change as well as their assignment to the enemy sprites because if, as in the video, I enter the next map as a zombie I will have to make sure to bring its pattern but not the sphere pattern, or if I go back to where I left the sphere I have to also load the sphere patterns and so on 😵‍ However the most complex part is over, now I should move forward a little faster
    17 points
  26. Got a couple of prototypes made to play around with. Two wireless CX40+ Joysticks, one identical to CX40+ internally save for an internal battery and no wire and the other with internals redesigned to have microswitches instead of the elastomer pads. Both are great. The wireless CX40+ really is super convenient for obvious reasons and the microswitched control is quite something - precise, clicky but not totally alien to the feel of the regular CX40+ (throw distance similar, same shape and elastomer fire button) This is not an announcement of anything being released, I'm just showing a bit of behind the scenes activity which usually comes to nothing.
    16 points
  27. Hi all. Today (Feb/27/2024) I started working on a BASIC compiler for Colecovision. So far I've managed to get ready a core set of statements and features with a non-optimized expression compiler. I expect to release an alpha version as soon as I develop the statements for controller handling, displaying numbers, sound, and make some example games. Also I need to write the manual. I'm patterning it after my pretty successful IntyBASIC compiler, but of course, the Z80 is a different beast. I'm so happy with the current result that I wanted to share a screenshot of the development. It was named boingBASIC for a few days, but then I decided with help of friends that CVBasic was better. Two days later (Feb/29/2024) I managed to get out CVBasic v0.1.0, currently only available for Windows. Enjoy it! 😁 Edit: Now there is CVBasic v0.2.0, available here --> https://forums.atariage.com/topic/362604-colecovision-tastic-basic-compiler-cvbasic-v020/ Edit: And now there is CVBasic v0.3.0, available here --> https://forums.atariage.com/topic/362875-colecovision-crunchytasty-basic-compiler-cvbasic-v030-now-with-tmscolor/ example.bas example.asm game.rom cvbasic_v0.1.0.zip
    16 points
  28. 1942 Ford Roadster Colors: 74 Ataari8man_1942_Ford_Roadste.xex
    16 points
  29. Reboot’s Patreon goes far beyond just supporting their own releases. The RAPTOR API inclusion with ongoing development of JagStudio has been largely beneficial for everyone. It allows myself and so many others to continue creating new and exciting things for the Jaguar. I would like to pay it forward as a token of my appreciation in hopes to provide additional support outside of just being a Patreon myself. For anyone who signs up as a Raptor Hunter ($5) tier or ROMS & Binaries + ($10) tier before the end of this weekend (midnight on Sunday, March 10th, give or take some hours), or who are current Patreon supporters, or anyone who has contributed to JagStudio in any way, I’ll gladly drop-ship a few small but cool JagSwag items your way! (previously unreleased, they are not stickers) Mark my word, you’ll want to get your claws on some of these Just shoot me a PM with a shipping address after you’ve signed up (or if already signed up) and I’ll get these goodies out in the next 2-3 weeks. Oh, and if you sign up and you’re also a Jag developer, please make a note of it in the PM. DO+THE+MATH!
    16 points
  30. I was debating answering this. I still am. We'll see if I hit "Submit Reply" at the end of it or not. Speaking (unofficially) on behalf of Champ Games, these games are made on our own time, published at our own expense – and please read this part carefully here – there's absolutely zero guarantee of selling a single copy. Nobody is paying us to develop these. Nobody is paying us to publish these. This is not a commercial enterprise. This is a hobby, paid for out-of-pocket. All of the production costs must be paid for, in-full, up front. Circuit boards, cartridge shells, and printing are all bought and paid for, before a single order is ever taken, whether we end up selling any of it or not. In the case of Champ Games, all of that cost comes out of John's own pocket, with, again zero guarantee of making a penny of it back. Once we start selling the games that we've produced, then and only then do we (and I really mean "he" – since John is Champ Games – I just help out with the art stuff) begin to earn back some of the money that's already been spent. But even reaching break-even is an iffy proposition - especially with our older titles that have been available for years, where most of the market is already tapped-out. Up until last summer, Champ Games wasn't publishing our own games – AtariAge was. Once AtariAge decided to no longer carry those games, we could have decided, "Well, so much for that" and not gotten into publishing. But the reason we make games is because we love making games. This is not a commercial enterprise. It's a hobby. And we decided to take a shot at publishing them ourselves. This was not a trivial nor inexpensive task, nor a decision that was made lightly. But we did it because we wanted people to still be able to play the games we worked so hard to make, and play them on original hardware. Also, publishing games for the 2600 is pretty-much childhood wish fulfillment. For the both of us. Any "extra" money that happens to come in from the sale of homebrews – if we break even – will go right back into publishing our next batch of games, and other expenses like PRGE (which itself is a giant money-suck with no guarantee of breaking even either). We do have a pretty-good idea that there's an established market for our games, and that we will likely sell some minimal number of copies of them. But how many is always a guess, and it's also not sustainable. Sales will hit a maximum threshold pretty soon after release, then fall off rapidly. Please read Al's comment above carefully, then consider this additional fact: the "when" in this case is "never". Anyone who thinks that it's possible to earn an actual living programming 2600 games in this day and age is at best ill-informed. Some homebrew developers make and sell limited-edition games like you describe. But those are intended to be limited editions, built in small numbers typically to sell to collectors. That was certainly more the norm for homebrewing 25 years ago, when technology to reproduce the games in physical form was scarce and the process much more difficult. But publishers/resellers like AtariAge, Packrat, Good Deal Games, Songbird and others are more the norm now. That said, everything is limited, because resources are always limited. Publishing games to a broader audience in a less limited manner does *not* make them any less homebrews. Atari is a corporation, with (presumably) offices, employees, payrolls, etc. So yes, they're a commercial entity. They exist to try to make money off of commercial products. They have shareholders, board members, investors, and paid employees to answer to financially. They have to prove they can be a sustainable commercial entity, in order to convince retailers they're worth the risk of carrying their products. They pay people salaries in order to keep the company producing commercial products. They are absolutely commercial. AtariAge, now owned by Atari, is a commercial entity by extension. But the developers creating the games that AtariAge publishes? Homebrewers. To my knowledge, nobody developing homebrews presently sold by AtariAge are salaried employees of Atari or AtariAge. So those are still homebrews. Nobody is quitting their day job to develop 2600 games full-time for Atari or AtariAge. (At least, none that I'm aware of. If you are... call me! ) Audacity made their singular release effectively the same way other homebrews are made. At home. In their spare time. Self-published. Assembled by hand. They chose not to call themselves homebrewers, likely because those developers did work as professional 2600 programmers back-in-the-day, and it would probably seem strange to them to adopt the "homebrewer" moniker in light of that. So it's by their own choice they aren't considered homebrewers. However, if they had decided otherwise, they certainly would've been eligible and welcomed to have their games considered as homebrews. But again - their choice. Yes, Champ Games has a website. And it has an online store. And a logo. And literally anybody can set those up themselves, to sell whatever they create. This means nothing. They're still homebrews. We can't suddenly make more games on-demand whenever we run out of something. There's no bottomless pit of money we can just draw from to re-publish games. In order to make publishing even remotely cost-effective (which is not the same thing as profitable), we have to gang-up multiple titles together and hit certain minimum quantities, otherwise the cost per game would be so high that nobody would want to buy them. And we have no interest in selling to the collectors' "limited edition" market, either. Our entire purpose in going into publishing last year was to make our games available for people to play and enjoy on cartridge again. Once we deemed that possible, only then did we go into production. And it took months for us to sort all of that out, with no promise of any financial return. For circuit boards and shells, we don't have a big warehouse full of them that we can just dip into when we need more. We have to pay third-party suppliers for them, who are also homebrewers doing this stuff on the side. That includes shipping costs, plus whatever up-front expenses are on their end that they have to try to recoup. The advantage of circuit boards and shells is: they can be used in different games (mostly), so we don't have to be so precise with quantity. We still have to buy unique boards for Elevator Agent and Turbo Arcade, but the other Champ Games use the same board that's interchangeable. That helps to spread out the costs, so if one game sells more than another, we aren't sitting on a bunch of unusable boards. But again - we still have to pay for everything we want to use up-front, and hope we guess somewhat right. Guess too low – we run out. Guess too high – we're sitting on games that we may never sell. Then there's printing. Printing is EXPENSIVE. Here's some fun homework: Take any complete-in-box game from Champ Games or AtariAge (or Audacity, or even an Atari game from back-in-the-day) into a local print shop, and ask them what it would cost to reproduce the following full-color printed materials: Box (with custom die-cut) Labels (front and end labels, with custom die-cut) Poster (10"x14", folded) Manual (5"x7" finished size, folded, collated and saddle-stitched, assume 12 pages as a starting point) Have them add a UV (glossy) coating to the box, label and manual cover for good measure. We'll skip the insert for holding the cartridge. But that would have to be custom die-cut too if you wanted one. Not an off-the-shelf item. Use your imagination for quantity. Ask them to quote for several different quantities, since that makes a huge difference in the per unit cost (most of the cost of printing is in setup). Then take into account this is per game. Champ published 12 different games last year. Ask them how much *that* would cost. And also, figure out how you're going to produce the artwork for the packaging in the first place. That's going to take someone's time and talent. You're either going to have to pay for that, do it yourself, or rely on someone doing the work for free. So no - there is no such thing as "NO LIMIT". It's all limited. Crunch all you want. But we're not Frito-Lay. Again - there is no profit motive in homebrews, because there's no guarantees enough of any game will be sold to cover the costs of publishing it. If someone enters into homebrewing expecting to make a profit, they need to find another hobby. Homebrew authors are not paid to develop their games. They do it because they want to make those games. They can put in hundreds of hours developing them, on their own time, whenever they can find the time between work, family, and everything else life throws at them. Call it a passion, obsession, curiosity, challenge... but it's still a hobby. At least among the developers I know. If, on the other hand, someone is being paid to develop a game by a commercial entity such as Atari, then that is a commercial game – not a "homebrew". They're paid under contract to develop that game. It's a job. If someone develops a game as a homebrew, independently, without pay or promise of publishing it, and later on they're paid by a commercial entity to publish it, then the line becomes a little blurrier. I'd say in that case it's still a homebrew, because that was the intent behind it when it was developed. It may gain some measure of "official" status if licensing is involved, but if the original author still defines it as a homebrew, then that's what it is. If they'd rather redefine it as a commercial game, then that's their call. (I'd also amend that to say that if they're paid to substantially re-work the game, the end product is a commercial game.) For some, developing homebrews is about the technical challenge. For others, it's to see their favorite arcade (or other) game playable on another platform it never existed on. Everyone has their own reasons. I've yet to work with someone where profit was the motive. This is a spare-time, "I think I'll sit down and work on this for awhile this evening because I had a real cool idea today" hobby. Even Audacity has stated their goal wasn't profitability. They knew the market going into it. They wanted to make their game because they could. As for "AtariAge-licensed homebrews", to my knowledge that would be Boulder Dash and Lode Runner. I'm unaware of AtariAge having officially licensed any other properties (although some ports have been developed with the permission of the original games' authors, and some games based on Atari IP have remained in the AA store, but that's not licensing as such). And while AtariAge has published original homebrews on behalf of developers, I don't believe AtariAge is licensing those properties from any of them. The homebrew authors still retain the rights to those games, and can do with them what they please, provided they haven't signed their rights away. As for "commercial releases" - that would be Atari, because presumably, Atari is paying for the development of those games. Also included would be Audacity, because that's how they choose to define themselves. The costs financially are significant, but the costs in time are effectively incalculable. Not just for publishing, but developing. I don't know of any homebrew developer who tracks the time they spend on a given project. It would probably be depressing. I certainly don't track my hours, since it's a hobby and I work on it at my leisure and for my own enjoyment. There are no billable hours. Just hours. A little encouragement goes a long way. A little discouragement can also go a long way, the wrong way. It was nice to win the award for best graphics for Turbo this year. John and I put insane amounts of work into that game, and it's nice to be recognized for it. We enjoy that recognition as much as anyones else does who wins - and we do not take it for granted. But when I start reading comments implying that somehow it's unfair Champ Games keeps winning, or we're cheating by using the ARM, or maybe we should be marginalized to some other category, or whatever, it just sucks the fun right out of it. This is a hobby. It's supposed to be fun. We do this for fun. The Homebrew Awards are given out by hobbyists to other hobbyists as a means of appreciation. These aren't industry awards. They aren't "official" since there's no official homebrew governing body. James does this because he loves homebrew games and because it's a really nice thing to do. It draws attention to the games and gives recognition to those who work on them. As far as the whole ARM thing - nothing is preventing anyone else from using the ARM chip for their games. Some do. Others choose not to. If winning an award is someone's end goal, maybe they should re-think their approach. If it's about making the game, then whether someone else uses an ARM or not should be irrelevant. Our end goal is to always make the best game we can. And if we can use the ARM chip to do that, that's what we do. It's not about awards. It's not about sales. It's about moments like this: The ARM chip doesn't magically make games better or easier to program. Champ Games are excellent games because of John's obsessive commitment to make every game the absolute best it can be, and fully applying his insane talent as a programmer. Go back and look at the original Lady Bug or Conquest of Mars for proof of that - and those were just his first two games. The possibilities of developing using the Melody board and its ARM are what enticed John to return after a 10-year hiatus. It made 2600 development interesting to him again. The fact that Champ Games have won a lot of awards is because of John's ability to program, and also that he's so prolific that he manages to knock out two games in a year at times. It's not the technology in the cart that makes a game great. It can make a great game better. But it all starts with the programmer. As for the "easier" aspect, I've created graphics for dozens of homebrew games, and Turbo Arcade was – by far – the most difficult game graphically that I've ever worked on, and I believe John would echo that. We had to develop an entirely new means of working together to get the graphics into the game, including John having to write (and re-write) custom tools for importing the animation. I probably put more time into Turbo Arcade than every other game that I've worked on combined. Nothing easy about that. If anything, the capabilities we were able to tap into due to the ARM made the graphics harder. It might be if there were any. It's already fair. It's fair because James has decided it's fair. If he chooses to change it further, it will still be fair. Programmers are free to use whatever chips, bankswitching schemes, tools, extra ROM or RAM they want. They could even program multi-load SuperCharger games on cassettes if they wanted. But to accommodate all of the variables to fully level the playing field – how much would the categories get fractured to the point where there's just one or two nominees in each? At that point, you risk giving everyone an award just because they made something that didn't fit into an easily-definable category... From my standpoint, I'd love to see the Packaging awards split to cover "Special Editions" and standard editions, since it's really hard to compete with games in custom wooden boxes or that include fancy extras. But there are already enough categories, enough awards, and if I really wanted to compete that badly, I would've put a free Hot Wheels in with each copy of Turbo Arcade, and maybe an autographed greasy spark plug. But I won one for Mappy, and given the level of talent that's creating homebrew packaging, I'm happy with that. (And David Exton should get a Lifetime Achievement, BTW. Just sayin'. Hint hint.) John still owes me a cheeseburger. - Nathan (Oh, what the heck... I spent this much time writing it, might as well hit Submit Reply. Apologies if this is too off-topic James. Feel free to delete it.)
    16 points
  31. Dear all! I decided to make the Time Wizard source code repository public. You can review the source codes of the game if you whish. If anyone had any questions about the source codes, I can try to explain. The project is located there: https://gitlab.com/amarok8bit/time-wizard Also, I haven't announced here yet but there is an updated version of level editor for Time Wizard. The list of changes in v1.3 and v1.4 is below: modified and simplified gui for states, added support for clipbard operations like Cut, Copy, Paste added support for keyboard operations when object is selected: arrow keys to moves the object in the specified direction Shift + arrow keys to resize the object in the specified direction Delete to remove the selected object Home / End to change the drawing order of the object to the beginning or the end PageUp / PageDown to change the drawing order of the object earlier or later. added Spanish translation, thank you @Yautja binaries for MacOS (previously were for Windows and Linux only) Level editor is available there: https://gitlab.com/amarok8bit/time-wizard-level-editor/
    16 points
  32. Mushroom House 1 Colores: 87 Plus source No Dithering was used Atari8man_Mushroom_House1.xex
    16 points
  33. For any who may not frequent it, @RevEng has posted a Phoenix proof of concept under the 7800 Programming forum. The POC shows so much promise to be an incredible port. Hopefully, he will be able to find the resources and motivation to turn it into something more.
    15 points
  34. Here's a little present for everyone... A few years ago, I was trying to locate the instructions for Snoopy Vs The Red Baron. Turns out the instructions are actually a poster. There didn't exist any good scans of it in it's entirety, so I rounded up the best images I could find and started to make a composite of the front and the back. It took a long time getting the creases out and fixing the typewriter text. I was planning to reproduce it. (Meantime, I found the original on eBay for a reasonable price, so I stopped the project) Anyways, since I was almost done, I completed it. Attached are the files. They are pretty big, so I had to compress them into JPEGs, but they should be high enough resolution to print if you wanted to. Enjoy. This is one of the best games for the 2600. -I wish it the Red Baron had a little better AI, because once you totally figure him out he's easy. But it's fun getting to that point for sure.
    15 points
  35. Another new ABBUC Magazine is ready, so here's the intro for you. The whole magazine disk is available to download for all ABBUC members from ABBUC website. ABBUCintro #156 --------------- - intro for all A8 with at least 48 kB of RAM - runs on NTSC & PAL machines - supports dual POKEY output - music + Anubis picture by Buddy - logo + gfx convert (Anubis, AI generated Egypt mask) + rest of code by PPs __________________________________released on ABBUC Magazin #156 March, 2024 ABBUCintro156.zip Hope you like our little intro.
    15 points
  36. I was taking a final look at Gazoo's (Tony's) files today. There are a few more folders that I added to the raw hard drive image compilation. Remember, use TI Image Tool or another tool of your choosing to access the files. The folder names I added: gfils - Geneve-programs and misc. gprogs - geneve programs and docs xb25, xb26 - Tony's earlier releases w/docs !Gazoo compilation1 F800 AU 3-2-2024.zip I also attached some files that he had sent me, though many could be copies of works he released. I am sharing them regardless, as there could be something of interest that isn't apparent to me. The file "images.zip" contains quite a few cartridge binaries. I found no 'new' source related to his build processes, so updating programs in his images would require a bit of brute force and programing elbow grease. Edit: FYI. the boot eprom work disks are for tony's Geneve boot EPROM 1.00. Tonys boot eprom work disks.zip XBv27 060315.zip XBN v27 suite 061315.zip XB27 suite doc preliminary.zip SNF1.dsk SNF2.dsk SNF3.dsk MIDIFILES.dsk MIDIMASTER.dsk Images.zip
    15 points
  37. 15 points
  38. Announcing 3 previously unreleased (to my knowledge) games for Atari 2600 by UA, rounding out the sextuplet of games created by that company back in the day but never sold at retail. Details about the three new games at AtariProtos.com, or just experience them yourself. http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/r2dtank/r2dtank.htm http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/hobo/hobo.htm http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/spiders/spiders.htm Attached is the full set of six, with the three discovered games (Cat Trax, Funky Fish and Pleiades) being the same as previous. Cat Trax 4K.bin Funky Fish 8K.bin Hobo 8K.bin Pleiades 8K.bin R2D Tank 4K.bin Spiders 4K.bin
    15 points
  39. It started with "I read some forum posts and this is what I discovered" so I stopped watching.
    15 points
  40. Somehow one of the Atari Homebrew Award nominees never got a thread of its own, and it really deserves one. If you somehow haven't yet played it it's a must-play. One of the many creative uses of the tileset chosen for LynxJam 2023, Grogger casts the set of fantasy type characters as patrons at a bar. You are the titular Grogger, dispensing flagons of grog to the ceaseless hordes of snails, pumpkinheads, adventurers, knights, and so on. It's free to play in the browser and to download, and Ganksoft (@peekb) continues to work on it, recently adding high score saving! https://ganksoft.com/products/grogger/ My only constructive criticism is that the difficulty seems to plateau after a while and then it's just a test of how long you don't make a stupid mistake. I think either the terminal speed should be faster or maybe some other element could be added to add challenge later in the game. I'm really looking forward to the finished product. The jam version is available on the anthology cart from @Igor: https://k-retro.com/homebrew-games/382-198-lynxjam-2023-same-but-different.html
    14 points
  41. Thank you Clint for doing this, and to the others for the comments. There are some tiered benefit awards currently running that I would like to make you aware of. - Anyone who signs up as a Raptor Hunter ($5) tier or ROMS & Binaries + ($10) tier before the end of this weekend (midnight on Sunday, March 10th, give or take some hours) will get some Jaguar swag from MindThreat. (see above) - For the next 12 months, every 2 months, I will randomly select a member from the "ROMs, binaries and more!" tier to receive a custom made LED cart (see first post) Members on the top tier can also download binaries for the following: - Kobayashi Maru: Caravan Edition - Rebooteroids: Caravan Edition - Rocketeer: Rebounced (Patreon Edition, with an extra 2 levels) - Raiding Rivers - Jumping at Shadows PRGE 2023 Demo - R2 Demo - Upcoming Patreon only benefits. Thank you all for your continued support, in whatever way you decide.
    14 points
  42. Hi Team, I bought this magazine on eBay, wasn't cheap but I scanned the relevant article for everyone. Enjoy. KB Consumer_Reports_Sept_83_Home_Computer_Article.pdf.zip
    14 points
  43. Once again, I would like to thank you very much for all the votes in the competition for the best game of 2023. ❤️❤️❤️ I am immensely pleased that you like the game so much. Your feedback is extremely important. It encourages me even more to prepare a cartridge release, as I have already mentioned. As you can see, Time Wizard is also very happy: I would also like to congratulate the other finalists of the competition, as their works are amazing. Also, I would like to thank the organizers of the competition for their initiative and engagement!
    14 points
  44. Cosmic Shootout Joystick.zip < Joystick Version. EA5 and XB dsk images COSMIC SHOOTOUT.zip < Contains EA5 version, XB version, Instructions Cosmic Shootout is a tricky little shoot 'em 'up involving enemies that fire back at the player. They can head towards the player, make random moves, camp out, and sneakily fire at the player whilst he's busy firing at other enemies. When all enemies have been killed on one screen, the game goes to the end of level Boss. This is a bouncing smiley face equipped with a deadly arrow. The player, in this stage, can no longer move in 4 directions. Only left and right and fire are permitted here. Once the bouncing boss has been killed it's onto another level. The enemy missiles get faster per level (up to a point) as does the bouncing boss. Control is with keyboard , Use TI arrow keys to move and Enter to fire. js99er-20240219195201.webm
    14 points
  45. I have to say at least for the NTSC side of things, with the speed boost in the latest experimental firmware, this thing finally feels like a worthy competition for a real 2600/7800 video modded through a good HDMI scaler like the Retrotink. Now to just work out those pesky dumper issues for known incompatible games and it's near perfect.
    14 points
  46. Hello all. I've finally started on a User's Guide for the ATARI FujiNet. It's being written in DocBook, which is a standard for publishing technical books, articles, etc. Its big advantages are that it separates content from style, but it also has a good deal of tags to provide semantic context (such as marking up commands, screen shots, call-outs, etc.) The current style-sheet is being based on the type setting used by Atari for its more technical software products, such as "Telelink I" and "Music Composer" where the Optima font face is used as the primary font, and the highlight color is a light blue. The documentation, like everything else in FujiNet is being developed publicly, and is available in GitHub: https://github.com/FujiNetWIFI/fujinet-manuals in the fujinet_for_atari_users folder. The main DocBook file is: https://github.com/FujiNetWIFI/fujinet-manuals/blob/main/fujinet_for_atari_users/fujinet_for_atari_users.dbk I am using a combination of emacs, and XMLMind DocBook Editor to compose the material: http://www.xmlmind.com/xmleditor/docbook_editor.html While there is preliminary styling in place, this isn't being actively changed at the moment, as content floods in. Once content is stable, we can start thinking about refining the style sheets, not just for PDF, but for HTML and EPUB as well. I will periodically attach a render of content, as a PDF, as we go along. Any and all help would be appreciated, as this is a very important undertaking. Some snips of pages: I also recorded a video showing the process, here: -Thom fujinet_for_atari_users.pdf
    13 points
  47. Bump! I went back to Shoot'em up 3D. There are now 4 levels, new enemies and new tunes. I tested it on actual hardware with a Skunkboard and under BigPEmu. Enjoy! shootemup3D_1_1.zip
    13 points
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