PacManPlus

@sramirez2008 - Thanks, Steve, I'll also see if I can recreate it. @llabnip - Yep, we worked on that one. 320B mode only has two palettes with 3 colors each. Also, one of the colors in each palette can only be used in certain situations. So, I had to come up with a compromise with all enemies, players, shots, and text colors: Palette 1 - Blue (special case color - can only be used next to red or yellow), Red, and Yellow Palette 2 - Red (special case color - can only be used next to aqua or purple), Aqua, and Purple. The special case explanation is a very quick one; it's really used in pairs, next to color 2 or color 3. i.e. it can't be used next to itself or background.

Ok... up next... I have the level number up top. Also, I *think* I have the difficulty close to the arcade (normal). I was never very good at the arcade game, so it's difficult for me to tell. (Where's @negative1 when you need him?) The 'Easy' mode should be quite a bit easier, and 'Hard' mode is absolutely brutal. Let me know. So, if this is ok, I have left: - Finish Sounds - Game Demo Galaxian.A78 Galaxian.BIN

Hey Guys! It was a complete rewrite of 'DOSTARS'. I was able to remove X and Y, and the 'STARS' array I held in RAM. To answer your earlier question, there are 27 zones of 8 scanlines each: 'LOADSTARS' gets called once just after all of the initialization at the beginning, and 'DOSTARS' gets called at the end of every frame, the last thing before the interrupt at the bottom of the screen: ; LOADSTARS - INITIALIZES THE STARS ON THE SCREEN LOADSTARS LDA #$80+$1F ;MAKE EVERY OTHER ZONE A DIFFERENT COLOR FOR THE STARS STA DLIST01+$01 STA DLIST03+$01 STA DLIST05+$01 STA DLIST07+$01 STA DLIST09+$01 STA DLIST11+$01 STA DLIST13+$01 STA DLIST15+$01 STA DLIST17+$01 STA DLIST19+$01 STA DLIST21+$01 STA DLIST23+$01 STA DLIST25+$01 LDA #$05 ;EVERY TWO ZONES ARE DIFFERENT PALETTES FOR THE STARS STA DLIST02+$00 STA DLIST03+$00 STA DLIST06+$00 STA DLIST07+$00 STA DLIST10+$00 STA DLIST11+$00 STA DLIST14+$00 STA DLIST15+$00 STA DLIST18+$00 STA DLIST19+$00 STA DLIST22+$00 STA DLIST23+$00 STA DLIST26+$00 LDX #$00 ;STARTING ZONE LOSLOOP LDA DLLO,X STA TEMP0 LDA DLHI,X STA TEMP1 LDY #$02 LDA #>(STAMPS)+$00 STA (TEMP0),Y INY JSR RAND AND #$7F ;RANGE 0-127 CLC ADC #LEFTSIDE - 8 ;NOW IT'S 16-144 STA (TEMP0),Y INX CPX #LASTZONE BMI LOSLOOP RTS ; DOSTARS - PROCESS THE BACKGROUND STARS ONCE EVERY OTHER FRAME DOSTARS LDA RTLOCAL+1 AND #$01 BNE DOSTARS_VERTICAL RTS DOSTARS_VERTICAL CLC LDA DLIST00+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST00+$02 LDA DLIST01+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST01+$02 LDA DLIST02+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST02+$02 LDA DLIST03+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST03+$02 LDA DLIST04+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST04+$02 LDA DLIST05+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST05+$02 LDA DLIST06+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST06+$02 LDA DLIST07+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST07+$02 LDA DLIST08+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST08+$02 LDA DLIST09+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST09+$02 LDA DLIST10+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST10+$02 LDA DLIST11+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST11+$02 LDA DLIST12+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST12+$02 LDA DLIST13+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST13+$02 LDA DLIST14+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST14+$02 LDA DLIST15+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST15+$02 LDA DLIST16+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST16+$02 LDA DLIST17+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST17+$02 LDA DLIST18+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST18+$02 LDA DLIST19+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST19+$02 LDA DLIST20+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST20+$02 LDA DLIST21+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST21+$02 LDA DLIST22+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST22+$02 LDA DLIST23+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST23+$02 LDA DLIST24+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST24+$02 LDA DLIST25+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST25+$02 LDA DLIST26+$02 ADC #$01 AND #$F7 STA DLIST26+$02 DOSTARS_HORIZONTAL LDA DLIST00+$02 CMP #>(STAMPS)+$00 BEQ DOSTARS_MOVE RTS DOSTARS_MOVE LDA DLIST25+$03 STA DLIST26+$03 LDA DLIST24+$03 STA DLIST25+$03 LDA DLIST23+$03 STA DLIST24+$03 LDA DLIST22+$03 STA DLIST23+$03 LDA DLIST21+$03 STA DLIST22+$03 LDA DLIST20+$03 STA DLIST21+$03 LDA DLIST19+$03 STA DLIST20+$03 LDA DLIST18+$03 STA DLIST19+$03 LDA DLIST17+$03 STA DLIST18+$03 LDA DLIST16+$03 STA DLIST17+$03 LDA DLIST15+$03 STA DLIST16+$03 LDA DLIST14+$03 STA DLIST15+$03 LDA DLIST13+$03 STA DLIST14+$03 LDA DLIST12+$03 STA DLIST13+$03 LDA DLIST11+$03 STA DLIST12+$03 LDA DLIST10+$03 STA DLIST11+$03 LDA DLIST09+$03 STA DLIST10+$03 LDA DLIST08+$03 STA DLIST09+$03 LDA DLIST07+$03 STA DLIST08+$03 LDA DLIST06+$03 STA DLIST07+$03 LDA DLIST05+$03 STA DLIST06+$03 LDA DLIST04+$03 STA DLIST05+$03 LDA DLIST03+$03 STA DLIST04+$03 LDA DLIST02+$03 STA DLIST03+$03 LDA DLIST01+$03 STA DLIST02+$03 LDA DLIST00+$03 STA DLIST01+$03 JSR RAND AND #$7F ;RANGE 0-127 CLC ADC #LEFTSIDE - 8 ;NOW IT'S 16-144 STA DLIST00+$03 RTS

Ok, I think I have a handle on the difficulty and the other modes (easy, hard)... But let me tell you, 'hard' difficulty is going to be *INSANE* EDIT - Wow, Namco was brutal. Not only are there no difficulty dip switches, but the 'lives' dip switch allows between '2' and '3' lives! (i.e. no '5' lives setting)... Ouch! EDIT2 - Apparently the Japanese version allowed for 5 lives.

Oh absolutely, I just want to first make sure that I didn't make a mistake somewhere that is causing this to be more difficult than it's "supposed" to be.

Good Morning! Thank you all for the replies, and thank you @Pat Brady for the nice details on how to save cycles. What I ended up doing overnight was completely rewriting the 'dostars' routine. It's about as bare essentials as you can get, no loops, doesn't use X or Y. It takes up quite a bit more code space, but as long as it is more efficient, that's what I need. I also found out during this that the INC I was using, uses 3 times the cycles (6 total) as an ADC (2 total) which I now use. All this time I thought it was the other way around. Regarding the RAND routine I'm using, it's changed over the years of me doing this, can't remember where I got this one: RAND LDA NEWRAND LSR ROL NEWRAND+1 BCC RANDNOEOR EOR #$B4 RANDNOEOR ADC RTLOCAL+1 CLC STA NEWRAND EOR NEWRAND+1 LDA NEWRAND RTS Anyway, with all that, here is the next update. VERY little slowdown, if any. So after this, my 'todo' list hasn't changed: Try to free some cycle time (although not as imperative now) Finish sounds Adjust 'normal' (i.e. Arcade) difficulty Implement 'easy' and 'hard' difficulty Implement Game Demo during attract mode Somehow indicate level number (don't have space for flags, so I'll find some other option). I may actually use the flags in the middle of the top line and just switch them out per player. Thanks guys! Galaxian.A78 Galaxian.BIN

What's interesting is that the next routine that uses the most cycles is the background star movement. I'm using a single-byte sprite for the star (one per zone) and adjusting the high address and horizontal position of each one in each zone every frame. I tried *not* calling the star movement routine, and there is no slowdown. I don't really want to get rid of the starfield, so if anyone knows some tricks for this I'm all ears: ; DOSTARS - PROCESS THE BACKGROUND STARS ONCE EVERY OTHER FRAME ; INPUT: NONE ; USES: A, X (GETS SAVED), Y (GETS SAVED), TEMP0, TEMP1, TEMP2 DOSTARS LDA RTLOCAL+1 AND #$01 BNE DOSSTART RTS DOSSTART TXA ;SAVE REGISTERS PHA TYA PHA LDX #$00 ;START FROM THE TOP ZONE LDA #OFFSCRN STA TEMP2 ;THIS FLAGS TO PUT THE STAR IN THE NEXT LOWER ZONE DOSLOOP LDA DLLO,X ;GET THE ADDRESS OF THE FIRST DISPLAY LIST IN THAT ZONE STA TEMP0 LDA DLHI,X ;(THAT IS THE ONE FOR THE STARS) STA TEMP1 LDA TEMP2 ;SEE IF WE ARE CARRYING DOWN A STAR FROM THE ABOVE ZONE CMP #OFFSCRN BEQ DOSLNORMAL ;NOPE, JUST MOVE THIS STAR LDY #$03 STA (TEMP0),Y ;HORIZONTAL POSITION OF STAR ON LOWER ZONE LDA #OFFSCRN STA TEMP2 ;TURN OFF FLAG LDA #$00 STA STARS,X ;START AT THE TOP OF THE ZONE JMP DOSLWRITESTAR DOSLNORMAL LDY #$03 LDA (TEMP0),Y ;SEE IF IT'S ACTIVE CMP #OFFSCRN BEQ DOSNEXT ;NOPE - GO ON TO THE NEXT ONE LDA STARS,X ;GET THE CURRENT SCANLINE WITHIN THE CURRENT ZONE CLC ADC #$01 ;ADD ONE TO THE CURRENT SCANLINE AND #$07 ;MAKE SURE IT'S BETWEEN $00 AND $07 STA STARS,X BNE DOSLWRITESTAR DOSLDOWNZONE LDA (TEMP0),Y ;WRAPPED AROUND TO ZERO - MOVE THE STAR DOWN ONE ZONE STA TEMP2 LDA #OFFSCRN STA (TEMP0),Y LDA #$00 DOSLWRITESTAR CLC ADC #>(STAMPS+$0000) LDY #$02 STA (TEMP0),Y DOSNEXT INX CPX #LASTZONE BMI DOSLOOP ;NOW CHECK TO SEE IF THE FIRST ZONE NEEDS A NEW STAR LDA DLLO STA TEMP0 LDA DLHI STA TEMP1 LDY #$03 LDA (TEMP0),Y CMP #OFFSCRN ;DO WE NEED A NEW STAR? BNE DOSEXIT ;NO, JUST EXIT INC STARS ;YES, BUT WE NEED TO DELAY FOR 1 FRAME LDA STARS CMP #$01 BEQ DOSEXIT JSR RAND ;YES! AND #$7F ;RANGE 0-127 ;CMP #$70 ;OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF THE PLAYFIELD? ;BCS DOSEXIT CLC ADC #LEFTSIDE - 8 ;NOW IT'S 16-144 STA (TEMP0),Y LDA #$00 STA STARS DOSEXIT PLA TAY PLA TAX RTS Thanks, guys

Hi Guys - Ok, I found and fixed the 'end of wave' issue... It turns out a routine wasn't being called that updated the stats on the alien swarm. This means I'm adding cycles to something already maxed out. I've made the call to the routine, but now you can see moments of noticeable slowdown, especially when the flagship with two escorts are attacking. I will try to work on that, but I might need help from someone who is good at reducing cycles to give this a look-see. Also, the stray bullet that appeared stationary at the top left of the screen has been removed. Finally, I have removed all Pokey calls from the game. So now what I have left is: Try to free some cycle time Finish sounds Adjust 'normal' (i.e. Arcade) difficulty Implement 'easy' and 'hard' difficulty Implement Game Demo during attract mode Somehow indicate level number (don't have space for flags, so I'll find some other option) This one should work better... EDIT - 9:15 PM Replaced binaries, got a compiler error. Galaxian.A78 Galaxian.BIN

Ok... Here is what I have so far! I have finished 'porting' over the Z80 code to 6502, and while I had to make adjustments to fit with the way I lay out my games, I think it turned out pretty good! However, it seems VERY difficult, so there may be some 'adjusting' I may need to do. So, what I think I have left: - Possibly adjust 'normal' (i.e. arcade) difficulty - Implement 'easy' and 'hard' difficulty - Fix up sounds - Implement 'game demo' mode during attract mode Once I fix up the sounds, I think I may actually remove the Pokey section, (please forgive me @Synthpopalooza - I will need you for other things I plan on working on, if it's ok) ... I don't think this game needs it too much and I believe I can get closer with the shot, drone, and dive sounds. Also I can use the few cycles that check every time it plays a sound. Here you go, please enjoy and let me know what you think: Galaxian.A78 Galaxian.BIN

Yeah... I need to work on that one.

AWESOME! Thanks! No problem with the time, as I'm still working on Galaxian anyway. But I may make room for this... as well as a new 8K game to fit in here.

You know what? That sounds like a great idea! Start with the PAL BIOS check, display the screen for a few seconds (or maybe add a check for the PAUSE button to skip for people who don't want to wait). Include a 'default' game when nothing is in the cart port. I think the max was a 16K game? I LIKE THIS!

Is the source code available for the BIOS? If it is, and whomever did that non-interactive screen is willing to share their source code, I'd take a crack a trying to do that.

So nobody wants a free cart and an AA GC for taking on the manual?

I would love to have that title screen in the BIOS, instead of:

Hi guys: Ok, bad news: The '2 player simultaneous' selection has to go. I am at the max cycles, and even using a 7800heat utility (made by @RevEng) I can't seem to reduce the number of cycles needed per frame. Something has to go, so the extra code that handles 2 player simultaneous selection is on the chopping block. I understand that there may be some bloat due to this being my first time converting Z80 to 6502, but I cant help that.

Hi guys! Ok, thanks to @tep392 and @RevEng, I have used their detection code and made one version of PMC-40th. It detects the Yamaha in A7800, the XM, and the Dragonfly, but correctly does not in ProSystem and the CCII (no Yamaha) - it defaults to TIA. However, during the detection routine just before the initial main screen, there are 1-2 frames of garbage that I can't seem to get rid of, even by turning off the screen. It bugs me, but between having two versions of the cart and having a quick glitch just before the first time the title screen comes up, I'll take the latter. Last (Hopefully) version. PMC_XM.A78 PMC_XM.BIN

I need to pick one of these up and download this. One curiosity question: if this is FPGA, could you theoretically (eventually) wire in a cartridge port?

Is there an example of this somewhere?

I'd like a new mind when someone changes theirs

@offbase - Just checking, Did you plan on handling the manual? Hope to have new artwork soon, so between the two of those we can have the cart in the store soon... Please let me know, and thank you.

Yes.

Gently pinging @Atariboy2600 Dying to see what you come up with

This is true. There never was a Pokey in this version. It was always TIA or Yamaha.