Devin

I created two new versions of the SVG files. This new versions contain labels for color and luminosity. Atari_2600_Palette___SVG___Labeled.zip

I finished the SVGs for the Atari 2600 palette. Enjoy. I created a vertical and horizontal version of the file. The system would not allow me to upload them unless they were zipped. Atari_2600_Palette.zip

I can turn this output into a SVG. The file can be used in the tutorial and on Wikipedia.

Hm... but only the lowest bit is actually random, or? It's not a particularly attractive piece of code - I will admit, but it seems to do well enough for a game. I might eventually sit down and create a full linear congruential generator {(aX + C) mod M}. Thankfully, our good friend of the 6502 can do 16bit, 32bit, etc... addition. But that might be overkill. Anyway, it seems to work well enough given that it is only 8 bits. The INTIM helps break natural cycles and given that the computational time might vary depending on the game logic - it does throw a bit of chaos into what should be the definition of chaos! Actually, in hindsight, it might be better to ASL rather than LSR. If the EOR constant doesn't contain a high bit, only the INTIM could set it (which is unlikely given it usually going to just contain 43...0). If there is a better approach, I would love to steal.... um... USE it.

If you want the same effect, you could also set the playfield pixels and colors using random values. There are a number of random number generator subroutines on the boards. ****EDIT**** Removed Code. It doesn't work quite as well as hoped.

The author of Batari BASIC should write an article. Thanks for the help.

Huh? I only wrote the Atari 2600 section and added a few pictures.

Is anyone interested on working on a Wikipedia article for homebrews? I recently worked on the basic homebrew article by adding a section on the Atari 2600 and adding a picture of Zach's Four Play. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrew_%28video_games%29 Some of the other consoles have their own page. Atari should have one too. I would like the article to include a history of the Atari homebrews as well as a gallery of pictures of your projects. I would like to know who would like to have their work put on the page and if anyone would like to help me write an article.

Two years? It shows - it really does!

Wow. This game is exceptional. I especially like how the aliens can destroy your defensive guns.

Logic Levels for the Commodore 64 is a great little program - and definitely doable on the Atari 2600. However, amongst the listed games, I vote for LodeRunner!

The start screen music is incredible - it sounds like a Commodore 64! Does the author plan to play one of those songs during the game?

Ah. Thank you. That does make sense. I was completely unaware that there was that type of functionality in the system. I'll use the standard vcs.h file for my project. Thanks Michael.

The game looks great so far! I love the detail - especially the flapping arms when he is free-falling!

If you put $5000 on the table I'll do that! :-)

Even though its not on the list.... what about the Windows 3.0 classic JezzBall?

What is going to be the final name of this game? Any ideas?

I noticed that the vcs.h constants file uses "ds 1" rather than assigning the memory locations explicitly? Wouldn't it be a tad safer to declare: GRP0 = $1B Rather than ... GRP0 ds 1

Out of curiosity, where does our friend the 6502 put the stack? Page 1? How much stack space do we have on the Atari - I can't imagine much.

When you jump to a sub-routine, the processor pushes the current address on the stack. This allows multiple subroutines to be called. A JSR B .... B JSR C JSR D RTS C LDA #111 RTS D LDA #222 RTS The order of execution will be A B C D. The accumulator will contain 222. When RTS is encountered, the system will take whatever two bytes are on the stack - whether it is an address or data! Make sure that you *never* JMP to a subroutine instead of using JSR!

I know this isn't quite what you had in mind but this workshop chapter link does have a color chart for the 2600. maybe you can somehow check the RGB colors of the chart here http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=27338 edit: I was right. If you go to the chart and highlight a color, it shows the RGB values. I found that chart before - I even made a new version of it. However, I noticed that Stella displays the colors a tad different than the chart. For instance, the chart displays that $02 has a value of #404040. However, Stella shows #4a4a4a - a bit brighter. In any case, not a huge issue - though a tad confusing.

Is there a chart that could allow me to convert note values to the Atari frequencies? EDIT: Nevermind, I found the information.

Is there a table that I can download which contains the RGB color values for the Atari 2600?

It has a definite Gold Rush type feel to it.

Thanks everyone!