Zach

If you limit the number of colors, or allow Venetian Blinds/flickering, it can most likely be done. BTW, The Marble Jumper grid is 33 squares. You are actually better describing the Marble Jumper 2 grid.

I just made an elementary mockup of blocky numerals drawn with the PF. I haven't thought about how to actually program it, but it couldn't be more difficult than my chess kernel. http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=76854

:!: I noticed this as well, as it happened in two areas of the maze. Somehow I managed to get through because I was cheating with the Stella emulator save and load states. Are you using the binary on real hardware, or an emulator? Albert, is the binary in the AtariAge database the final version? Is this a bug? Ack! I already ordered a cart! As for the apparent bug, I haven't seen it myself, but I can try to test it on hardware if you can provide details on how to make it happen. It wasn't from running out of fuel, was it?

It has been over a decade since I last played the original, but I believe the timer has never reset.

Thanks for keeping us updated. BTW, I was wondering, would it be difficult to convert Stella Doomdsday Interceptor to 4A50? I hate to see it go unpublished. Maybe it could be a minigame included with Ruby Runner?

In addition to supercat's excellent kernel, Robert M. has also made a 13 character display which would be good for Sudoku.

Just downloaded Conquest of Mars. Wow! I forgot I was playing the 2600 for a while.

veclogo.zip When you are finished trying out Conquest of Mars and the other MCG releases, check out the latest version of Four-Play with four difficulty levels. Note some changes to the controls: RESET now takes you to the title screen FIRE does not switch sides anymore, but at the end of a game, resets the game at the current level. To switch sides during a game, flip the LEFT DIFFICULTY switch. It's not effective during the thinking process. Again, you can use this feature to watch the computer play itself. The COLOR B/W SWITCH controls randomization. Set to B/W to turn it off. This feature is for testing, and useful if you want to replay a game. This version is getting close to complete. The only things left to do are tweaking the difficulty, more sound effects, bonus games, and of course, testing. I'll appreciate feedback on difficulty. If you find Level 4 to be easy, about how long are you willing to wait between moves in order to be challenged? One minute? More? Have fun!

The MCG demo was set to level 2 out of 4. Still I don't know if the VCS can ever be competitve with the TJ without taking several minutes to plan. The unbeatable programs out there use a large database of opening moves and obviously run on faster computers. Definitely. It's on the agenda. BTW, Albert and I recently decided the release date: August 19th.

Nice tune. Both the original, and Bob's version.

I noticed the bug back in December. Rather than worrying about it, I just learned not to jump in that place.

Aha, there is more than one way to look at the board. I think it was the sleeping piece that moved last. He was so sleepy, he not only missed a chance to win, he failed to block a vertical blue threat and even created a new diagonal one. By not paying attention, red literally dropped the ball. I can see a scenario where blue is taking the first chance to win. It requires red not taking a win for a couple turns.

Not yet, but soon. (I spent far too much time making the menu scroll ) Regarding the label, take a good look at the board position, and the marbles' expressions, and I'll bet you can figure out which red guy was the last to drop.

Congratulations on winning, Weston. The higher levels will anticipate the kind of trap you described. I don't believe anyone can attach to blog comments. It's not exactly a screenshot, but you can convert your winning position to text. I usually use 'X' for red, 'O' for blue and '·' (alt+250) for blank.

Bump. Added the excellent label by Nathan Strum. I also owe supercat thanks for not using the idea for the Strat-O-Gems label.

The next version I release will have multiple difficulty levels.

Don't forget newcomer A-Star. After quickly playing a Java Applet version linked from the Wikipedia page, I see there can be five colors in a row of 12 cells. This is a large number for the Atari, but not impossible. Allowing a little flicker will make it easier.

It's actually a programmer for John Payson's A450 board. ..Al Cool! I didn't expect A Ruby Runner demo.

veclogo.zip Here is the demo recently shown at the Midwest Gaming Classic. It includes substantial improvements over the last release: * Title screen * Board and marbles made taller * All winning combinations highlighted when a player wins in more than one direction. * Entire board blinks when game ends in a draw. * Barndoor effect and a stable scanline count during the thinking process. * Game responds to immediate threats and wins instantaneously. The most difficult programming is over. Now it's just a matter of finishing up some final details.

So far I've spotted A-VCS-Tec Challenge, Colony 7, and Four-Play. It looks like there is a slide for every work in progress at the show.

I meant Nathan's label. Albert posted that he won only last night.

I guess you mean Rainbow Invaders, unless there is another unannounced project out there. Anyway, congratulations on your winning label.

At least Japanaman has started working on a screenshot. Japanaman, if you can make your screenshot more Atari 2600 like, people may be more willing to at least pay attention to your idea. Here's a hint: look at screenshots of actual games that contain words, and pay attention to the width of the text. Also the bricks will be more workable if they are 21 pixels long. Always remember, homebrewing is a time-consuming process.

Voted for Parker Brothers. Of course a bonus would be if it could handle PB's bankswitching.

If it's not too late, I think it's a good idea to add a little something to the label to make it distinguishalble from a release version.