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PacManPlus

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Posts posted by PacManPlus

  2. Posted

    Thanks :)

     

    Actually, since then, I've changed things around again (I do that every once in a while when I feel the itch to make something new)

     

    That joystick is now back to a 5200 connection, but I did the digital joystick mod so I have a 4-way controller ... I'll post pics when I get back home (I'm at a client in Lebanon, PA right now)

     

    As far as the PC-in-a-5200 case, I've changed that too. I purchased a small black mini-ITX case (much smaller than the 5200 casing) and was able to fit an I-PAC inside, and I got the DVD-CDWR drive for it - so I have a multimedia machine! you can plug 2600 joysticks in the back and play the emulators, or just watch a movie :-D Again, I'll post pics when I get home...

     

    I love this hobby :)

     

    (P.S. I also have three 9" VGA monitors waiting to be put into another 'MiniMame' cabinet, complete with console emulators. I'll get around to that eventually)

  5. Posted

    Well, you would think they learned from the first 'games-in-a-joystick' garbage they released (the Atari 2600 games)... They just released an arcade equivalent which I decided to pick up, thinking they must have improved on the idea... The box even boasts 'original arcade versions!' on the back. It contains Pac-Man, Galaxian, Rally-X, Dig-Dug, and Bosconian.

     

    In short, I don't even think it's worth the $25 price tag. Save your money, use MAME. Use the mini-ITX motherboard and build a small portable game machine with TV-out (like I did) and have MAME running in it.

     

    First off, the sound is not even close to the original arcade. Secondly, these cannot be the original roms to the games. Pac-Man, for instance, has Clyde chasing me around like Blinky. The first few seconds Blinky travels around the monster pen, instead of going to his corner. Their behavior is different; anyone who has played the game for a long period of time will know exactly what I'm talking about. Also, in the original, there is a little space just above where you start where the monsters cannot go 'up' on either side of the 'T' (not only above the monster's pen, just above your starting point as well). In this version, they can go up... At least the kept the area just above the pen in tact... Also, the energizers last *much* longer in this than in the original.

     

    This is only using Pac-Man as an example - I am not as intimately familiar with the other games as I am about this one, but I can only guess at what has changed. I do know that Galaxian, and Dig-Dug is a bit easier than I remember in the arcades...

     

    The only thing I like about this is the 4-way joystick they give you...

     

    Doesn't anyone care enough to do it the right way? It seems like they just through it together and put it out thinking that nobody knows the difference...

  7. Posted

    I have just received one a few weeks ago - I am very happy with it, although I am waiting for a faster Atari 2600 emulator - neither one (GP2600 or VCS32) runs at full speed, and has issues when using frameskipping... (Mostly collision problems, and some graphical issues) :(

    I would love to see a 7800 emulator for this :-D

     

    I have to say, the a800 emulator for it is Awesome! It is so close to full speed it is barely noticable! I actually use it to play the 5200 ports

     

    I also have NesterGP which is also great...

     

    I'm waiting for a MAME port (which I hear should be soon), and hopefully the Atari 2600 emulators will be updated and optimized...

     

    Al: If anyone has specific questions about this excellent little portable gaming unit (or anything I should try) let me know! and Yes, I picked up the one with the FLU (Front Light Unit). I highly suggest getting one!

  9. Posted

    Yes, you need special emulators for this (it's not an Intel or Mac hardware platform), but the popular ones are being ported to this wonderful device. There are two 2600 emulators for it (though niether of them are full speed w/ 0 frameskipping yet), 'Nester' was just ported to it, and it's great! I don't know about SMS or GENS (never had those two systems, so I didn't care about the emulators too much), but I know MAME is currently being worked on...

  10. Posted

    @Eric: Thanks for the utility, but when I used mspac.a78, I saw nothing recognizable. :( thanks anyway...

     

    @Inky: I also would love to see *any* port of PacManPlus (as you might have guessed) - but small steps first... :-P

  11. Posted

    Eric: Ya'know - I had a feeling I was up against something major when I couldn't even find where the graphics were held :( Your explanation makes me think that this is a little beyond me (at least at this point in my life - back when I was 16 I figured out how to program the Apple IIc in Assembly and knew what every memory location did; I *used* to be smart) :ponder:

     

    This is probably why the Ms.Pac-Man -> Pac-Man conversion wasn't done already... :(

     

    Maybe (if you're willing) sometime in the future we could work on it together? If you are familiar with where things are laid out in the cart, I will do whatever work it takes to get it there...

  19. Posted

    Ron:

     

    Gotcha - thanks for taking my misunderstanding as just that - a misunderstanding :)

     

    Maybe I can submit my game to Twin Galaxies (if I start playing again) :-/ I was lucky enough to win Silver in the MARP Ms. Pac-Man tournament two years ago... (Fast, 1 life, no bonus lives, around 400K) :-D

     

    oops - got off track of the topic again, sorry :(

  20. Posted

    Just curious here...

     

    How can you execute a pattern on a machine where the monsters move somewhat randomly for the first 6 seconds? What happens if one is right in your path? Wouldn't the fact that you would have to vary your movement depending on where the monsters are (instead of the other way around) theoretically mean you are not using a pattern? Please understand; I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but someone is using a pattern on Ms.Pac-Man, I would have to see that to believe it.

     

    My highest score on turbo Ms.Pac-Man is also around 600K, and normal Ms.Pac-Man is around 250K (most of the time my mistakes are getting too greedy with the blue monsters) and I have yet to use any kind of pattern. I play by knowing how the monsters 'react' to my movements.

  21. Posted

    The arcade games:

     

    1) Pac-Man - the first 6 or 7 seconds (before the first reversal) finds all four monsters heading for their respective corners, regardless of where the player is going. Two or three more times during the board you'll get a reversal, and the monsters will again head back to their respective corners for another 6 or 7 seconds (except in the later rounds where blinky, the red one, kind of 'ignores' the command to go to his corner and chases you relentlessly). This '6 or 7 second' repreive gets shorter at the apple stage where it's now 4 or 5 seconds.

     

    2) Ms.Pac-Man - You get the same first 6 or 7 seconds as Pac-Man, BUT, the pink and red monsters move 'randomly' regardless of your direction. The gold and teal monsters still move to their corners. The major difference between Ms.Pac and Pac from this point forward is that when a reverals occurs, the mosters still chase you, and there is no 'second reversal' 6 or 7 seconds later. (This still happens 2-3 times per board).

     

    3) Pac-Man Plus - The first board is the same difficulty as the 'Peach' board on Pac-Man, but with the speed of the 'Apple' board. After the first board, it is pretty much 'Apple' type boards until the '9th key' equivalent (I don't remember off-hand which board that is)...

     

    Hope this helps...

  25. Posted

    ok - so I got my copy of Miature Golf+ today (thanks AA!) :D and so far I was able to get 41. I think someone said the par was 34

     

    I remember a while back also someone mentioning that an emulator plays a little differently than the actual cart - I think they are right... There was a spot (on the level I designed) where in an emulator I can get a hole in one 90% of the time (and the other 10% leaves me very close to the hole). On playing the actual cart, however, the ball has some other angles in mind :ponder:

     

    Scores, anyone? (I know my '41' is not great by any stretch of the imagination - but remember I only got it an hour ago!) :)

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