EricBall
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Posts posted by EricBall
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Who is going to pay for an emulator when chances are there are several good FREE ones already avaialble. What are they doing any different then anyone else? What makes them so special that they think they can turn their back on the scene.There may be times where a good free emulator does not exist, while a good commercial product does. (Where good may mean several things including the ability to play certain games, or play them at normal speed, graphics/sound quality issues, or even simply documentation & support.)
Commercial emulators are often bundled of embedded with licensed games. Examples include the Microsoft Arcade and Activision Anthology series.
And even if a good free emulator does exist, there are many cases where a commercial product can make money if they can find customers who are not aware of the free alternatives.
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I'm one of them and I like it although no games other than Combat maybe are written with it in mind.Incorrect: Skeleton/Skeleton+ was written to take advantage of a stereo capable 2600. (And I've been told it works fairly well.)
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(From the 7800 Software Guide:)
Bit 2 ($04) of CTRL enables "Kangaroo" mode which eliminates transparency, so that any pixel of color "0" will be background color, rather than transparent.
Most games will leave this off since it would result in rectangular sprites.
However, the 7800 Software Guide also mentions Kangaroo mode in relation to the 320 modes. The 320 modes have a quirk where transparency only works if the even/odd pair of 320 pixels are both color "0". Otherwise any pixel of color "0" will be background color, rather than transparent.
Note: Kangaroo and the 320 quirk is not yet implemented correctly in MESS. I have an update to the driver, but I haven't submitted it yet.
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1 megabyte ROMs (8 Mbit ROM in NESspeak) wouldn't be out of the question.
The bankswitcher would be connected to the 4 most significant bits of the address bus, the data bus, and the read/write line. In write mode it stores the 8 bit data value into the lookup register for the address. In read mode the register is read and provided as the 8 most significant address bits to the ROM (plus the 12 least significant bits = 20 bit addressing).
LDA #$DE ; ROM page
STA $A000 ; set bankswitch register for page $A
LDA $AD78 ; load byte from ROM address $DEAD78
Heck, use the full address and data buses so the bankswitch register is 20 bits wide and have a full 32 bit address!
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With bankswitching there's no practical limit to the size of the ROM. The 7800 will only be able to access 48K of it at a time though and there are some restrictions:
$F000 -> $FFFF on startup has to map to a bank containing the digital signature and the initial RESET handler.
The NMI/DLI (and BRK/IRQ) handler should be fixed in memory along with any graphics and tile data.
What to put into the ROM is the other question.
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A quick Google search found the following at http://www.howell1964.freeserve.co.uk/part...ts/6510_CPU.htm
From a software view this (the 6510 CPU) is almost identical to the standard 6502. The differences include some memory-mapped I/O registers for an on-chip 6-bit I/O port, and a slight variation of the unofficial op-codes. Like the Atari's version of the 6502, the 6510 also had a signal (aec) to tri-state the bus which allowed video processors to take over.
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Ahh, the reactivation is under preferences for the item, and you can select up to 12 months.
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Don't know when this happened, so maybe it's old news.
Although I have purchased several items from eBay, I try to avoid browsing unless I am looking for something specific. But I do have a couple of items I'd buy if the price was right. So I set up them under favorite searches and clicked the email box.
It was nice, every so often I'd get an email list of items matching the search, I'd have a look, place watches on some of them, and check back later. But recently I hadn't received any emails, which was a little weird since I got at least one a week.
Well, eBay, in their wisdom has decided to make favorite search emails automatically expire after 90 days. (The help says you can re-activate it, but I don't see how.)
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"Homeroyals":Skeleton!
Besides the Atariage store are there other reputable dealers selling a lot of the homebrew games?
Again, thanks red for typing in the list. Skeleton+ is available from both AtariAge and Packrat Video Games, both which offer other homebrews as well.
Personally, I have not heard from Randy since before his website was taken down. I received from him SGaNBv2 and $5 cash in royalties and considered the matter closed. (Although I was happy to learn that he seemed to be continuing to sell SGaNBv2 since it is a must have for any Supercharger owner.)
If Randy had simply been giving away old stock, or even selling his personal collection, I might not have objected. But, to create a new catalog listing Skeleton!, I'm starting to get cranky.
It would be interesting to find out what Skeleton! is. It could be the original Skeleton (which Randy did have my permission to produce), the updated Skeleton+ (which Randy does not), or (I hate to suggest it) something completely different (e.g. an unauthorized hack).
In any case, my request/recommendation to all would be to restrict your dealings with Randy to SGaNBv2, until such time as he decides to formally reopen Hozer Video an clear the air of any confusion.
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I half remember the game. IIRC the gameplay is similar to Galaxians/Galaga/Phoenix, so a 2600 adaptation would be similar.
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Very strange. I thought it might be a problem with the TV, but you are having the same problem with different TVs too. Have you tried plugging the coax into the antenna/cable input on a VCR, and using the RCA A/V outs on the VCR?
Do you know anyone else with a 2600 or CV who you could swap with?
Also make sure you have the correct channel selected on the 2600/CV and the TV.
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The programs however are useless to anyone without a keyboard as they perform a sync-up to the keyboard to get an ack(nowledge) signal and then they will execute, so they just sit at a blank screen without a keyboard attached...I assume the keyboard attaches to the 7800 via the joystick port. Maybe if would be better / easier to modify the code to handle input via a different method like the 2600 keypads. (Same as the Monitor cartridge.)
. . . we have been trying to find a replacment for it and work something out so that the keyboard can be built and the programs released with it...Although I admire the effort, I wonder if will be worth it. Although 7800 Basic might be interesting, I just can't see the other two having any appeal outside of historical completeness.
What is 7800 Basic capable of? Text only, or does it have some kind of graphics/sprite capabilities? 10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD" on a 7800 just seems kind of boring.
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Interesting specs:
* Third-generation Motorola 68HCS12 16-bit processor @ 25 MHz.
* FPGA with graphics processing unit.
* Graphics architecture similar to Commadore 64, Atari 800 and Apple II.
* Polyphonic FM synthesis and digital sound channel.
Sounds like a 286 with VGA and a SoundBlaster :wink: Oh take me back to 1989!
It might be interesting to fiddle around with, depending on the pricetag, but that goes for a lot of other things which I don't have the time for too.
It sounds like Nurve is trying to market this as the ultimate toy for the uber-geeks, but I'm not sure how many of those are out there.
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In an ideal world Atari would have produced games to a generic single standard and the machines could have determind wether or not the game got rendered in either format, this would have also been easier on the programmers.Unfortunately, there are just too many differences between NTSC and PAL to make a universal TV standard console.
True, but it would have put everyone on a level playing field, I think it would have been cheaper to produce, just have one TIA for all regions, and just let the external components handle all the output conditions.Also remember that the TIA only knows how to draw a single line; it's up to the program to keep track of how many lines have been drawn and handle vertical synch. (Thus, it's possible for a 2600 game to contain both versions and make it selectable via the switches.)
The MARIA (7800) handles the vertical synch automatically, and it's possible to for the game to determine the number of lines and thus NTSC vs PAL. However, the game then has to also handle 50 vs 60 Hz frame rate and 240 vs 200 lines per frame.
Creating both versions of a game requires effort and is not trivial.
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In my opinion, there are simple hacks (typically changes to the graphics) and hacks where the "hacker" has made significant code changes (most of the Hacks available in the AtariAge store). Hack-O-Matic facilitates the first, Distella the second.
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I disagree totally. The only thing holding people back from developing for the 7800 is desire.
There is plenty of documentation available online at http://www.atari7800.org/manuals/Devcard.htm. a78sign is available to create the digital signature required by NTSC systems. MESS does an adequate job of emulating the system (although it is not perfect by any means). Chad has a working prototype of the Cuttle Cart II for system testing without an EPROM (or Eckhard's RAMcart). About the only thing missing are the PCBs and cases for actual sale (and the guys at www.atari7800.com may have those too). And Senso DX is a true homebrew. (Plus the demos I and other people have done.)
And the 7800 is actually easier to program than the 2600! No cycle counting required for precise timing. A big chunk of the coding is simple data movement to build the display lists.
And yes, I am working on an actual 7800 game myself. Lack of free time, not desire, is my roadblock.
So if you want to program a 7800 homebrew, there isn't anything hold you back. And it sounds like the market is ripe too!
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First, there is no difference in AI or mazes between Skeleton and Skeleton+.
I may have covered this before, but the Skeletons mostly just wander around the maze randomly. When they come to an intersection, they will randomly chose between paths. At a dead-end they do a 180.
The exceptions to this are when they have been shot but not killed; in which case they turn to face the player. And second they will walk forward (if possible) if the player is in front of them, even if there are walls between the Skeleton and the player.
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Both Skeleton (next to impossible) and Skeleton+ (difficult, but doable with practice & luck) are "winnable".
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Since the 2600 and the 7800 both use the TIA for sound, sharing that is easy. (Especially if it sounds halfway good.)
I was going to say that because the 2600 and 7800 are so different from a graphics point of view that nothing else could be shared. However, re-thinking this, there may be a chunk of game logic which could be common. How the sprites move & interact, player controls & enemy AI.
It wouldn't be easy, nor always possible, but it reminds me of a story about Lode Runner (I think) being ported to two other 6502 systems. One port started with a clean slate, the other took the existing code and reworked it for the new system. Guess which finished first and had fewer bugs?
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Let me ask this question. When a Homebrew is sold. Is it against the rules to update it after its been sold? Can I go back and upgrade my Haunted House now that my skills are better?I would say that's totally up to you. Eric Ball did it with Skeleton and Fabrizio did it with Space Treat. Just as a suggestion you could do a sequel to Haunted House instead of an upgrade.Just my C$0.03 worth (having not read the rest of the thread):
As Debro says, the decision is completely up to you. But, IMHO, a new release is only warranted when you can make significant improvements to the game. Otherwise creating a sequel or a completely new game will be more rewarding.
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"shitty" is "shitty" whether it is a homebrew or Slot Racers. People are going to have opinions and homebrewers especially need to hear ALL opinions on their product. Without that we would not have a retooled and much better version of Skeleton. While just out and out bashing of homebrews is unwarranted, if the box art is just "really shitty photoshopping" then let's call a spade a spade (I couldn't say, I've never seen it!). Like it or not, its an opinion.(Note: I haven't read the entire thread, but since Skeleton is mine I will respond to the above comment.)
Although there was considerable criticism made about Skeleton when it was released in cartridge form, the comments made were not the reason I created Skeleton+. No-one said "Skeleton would be ten times better if the player had a life counter". (Yes, there were several "Skeleton would be better if it had a kill counter", but that would not have improved the gameplay.)
For more information about the development of Skeleton and Skeleton+, check out the pages on my AtariAge hosted website.
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It might be possible to use C to generate code for the 7800. I'm finding coding for the 7800 to be mostly data movement work. And other than the DLL NMI, there isn't anything timing sensitive (though it's real easy to chew through the VBLANK time: building the DLL takes time).
But ASM ain't that tough to learn if you already have a decent handle on using pointers in C. And once you learn ASM, you can start to see how a C compiler generates code.
I don't know about whether it would be feasible to create a C library for the 7800. Maybe some headers. You'd probably still have to have the C compiler generate ASM files and tweak those as necessary. Maybe a 7800 specific C compiler.
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Yes the Apple II is very primative when it comes to graphics (I think it can only display 4 colors on the screen at a time), but it is capable of some fairly high resolutions.Max resolution 280 x 192 monochrome, 140 x 192 color. 6 colors available, but half of them can't coexist in the same byte.Not to mention a very bizarre frame buffer memory map. (Adjacent lines are nowhere close to each other in memory.)
I did a fair amount of Applesoft Basic programming back in the Apple ][+ days (along with playing the various games). I never did get into assembly language 'though; something about learning ASM on a 6809E which has 16 bit index registers.
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