Aloan

Thanks! I will check it By the way, can a missile draw the tree barks like that? You can see that the bark overlaps the bushes a bit. Maybe only that part can be a missile and above it can be the playfield as usual P1 and p2 are double sized

Thanks Rainbow Cemetery for giving a working link! Yes Flojomojo, this actually works! I wonder why nobody has ever done this for the love of the Atari 2600 memory. I am not a coder either. Fusion 2.5 is a creation tool that you can create stuff drawing dragging and dropping and putting in pre-made events to make things work. So no need to know any programming language. Hence why I could do this tool. here is another image I just made using the tool (background and PF) A couple of firefighters (lloking more like red ambulances, heheh) on a sunny day. I love the Atari 2600 colors. They are colorful, yet pleasing to the eyes (not over saturated). I say this is the best Atari 2600 drawing tool as of yet, as it encompasses most all that is needed to make faithful Atari 2600 graphics (background, playfields and players). The only problem is it cannot save and load the image. When you are drawing in it, it is like doing it on a tv. If you turn it off, it is gone. So keep the link for any updates to any of the programs available in the Atari 2600 graphics teaching page... My desire is to incentivize people to start making Atari 2600 like (faithful to the hardware) games with the easy Fusion 2.5 program and perhaps help the new Atari VCS (AtariBox?) to keep the Atari 2600 classic gaming spirit alive. Atari 2600 graphics drawing for future games teaching page

Hi friends, I just made a simple Atari 2600 graphics maker (drawing) app which allows you to draw the background, the playfield and even the player without worrying about all the math, aspect ratio (double stretch effect) and limitation rules as all that is built in. instructions and executable are inside the zip file... app was made using Fusion 2.5 and only works on windows or linux pcs Features: Background drawing (coloring) mode Mirrored or repeated playfield mode Normal, 2x or 4x Player drawing mode Turbo cursor movement Turbo drawing (by holding) W,A,S,D... use arrow keys to turbo move the cursor around as well as fast delete with arrow keys after pressing Z.. scanline per scanline coloring rule limitation (when drawing the playfield and the player) press C for 128 color table GUI (pick color with the mouse) press 1 to draw the background one scanline coloring at a time press 2 to draw the playfield (mirror mode) press 3 to draw the playfield (repeated mode) press 4 to draw the player (normal size) press 5 to draw the player (double size) press 6 to draw the player (quad size) Picture above is composed of: sky, sea and grass: background clouds and palms: mirrored playfield player: double wide player Obs: I guess the ball and the missiles can be drawn using the player cursor as well, so I may not create a drawing brush just for them (no need) Soon I will also change my Atari 2600 drawing page to reflect such helpful tool. Get the Atari 2600 graphics maker tool here (scroll down) http://aloan.site90....simplified.html Att.: after you are done drawing you can then print screen, go to Paint.net, resize first to 1280 width without aspect ratio ticked, but with nearest neighbor ticked (if your monitor resolution is more than 1280 pixels) then resize again with aspect ratio ticked to 320x192 for original viewing, then resize without aspect ratio again to 160x192 to match the Atari 2600 resolution!

I had forgotten to also include turbo cursor to player drawing mode, player 2x and 4x mode. Now it is all in. Turbo cursor means, you can hold the arrow keys to auto move (fast) to any direction to choose the right position to start drawing. Soon I will also change my Atari 2600 drawing page to reflect such helpful tool. http://aloan.site90.com/atari_graphics_simplified.html

GUI for 128 color picking is IN... I am practically DONE.. hoooraaaayyyyy.... get your copy above!! let me know what you think.. have fun drawing Atari 2600 graphics!

Update: turbo drawing now possible using W,A,S,D... use arrow keys to turbo move the cursor around as well as fast delete after pressing Z.. instructions in the zip... Next update.... graphical user color palette menu for faster color picking!!!!! the last and best feature imo - press c to call the color table! use the mouse to pick the color

scanline per scanline coloring rule limitation is in!!!!! download above Now I guess the last thing to do is to find a faster and better way to visibly pick from the 128 colors palette! as for now pressing > or < shifts through the colors when drawing the playfield or player Picture above is composed of: sky, sea and grass: background clouds and palms: mirrored playfield player: double wide player

Mirrored and repeated playfield possible now! 2x (double stretched) and 4x (quad stretched) player drawing possible now!!!! instructions are in the zip, but here are some: press 1 to draw the background one scanline coloring at a time press 2 to draw the playfield (mirror mode) press 3 to draw the playfield (repeated mode) press 4 to draw the player (normal size) press 5 to draw the player (double size) press 6 to draw the player (quad size) Features coming soon: scanline per scanline coloring rule limitation (when drawing the playfield and the player) player 8 color clocks width limitation (when drawing the player) Obs: I guess the ball and the missiles can be drawn using the player cursor as well, so I may not create a drawing brush just for them (no need)

Hi friends, I just made a simple Atari 2600 graphics maker (drawing) app which allows you to draw the background, the playfield and even the player without worrying about all the math and aspect ratio (double stretch effect) I wonder why nobody has ever come up with such thing... I am always open for corrections or suggestions... I could not wait another hour to share, but I do plan to have repeated playfield capability (mirrored is the only one so far) - instructions and executable are inside the zip file... app was made using Fusion 2.5 and only works on windows or linux pcs here you go scroll down to get: The Atari 2600 graphics maker

I wish I could edit and delete all my posts. Best news is I will make an atari 2600ish separate version so as to alter all graphics and sounds. If it is well applauded then I will delete the other version. I bet I will have q lot of fun working on the original sprites I would call it the super atari 2600 which is a fictional console that has more memory and so it is flicker free. Limitations such as the band coloring will continue. the only plus is you can have more sprites on the screen and no flicker. background limitation will continue. Will talk more about it on my atari page: aloan.site90.com/atari_graphics_simplified.html

Hi Zap! don't worry. It is that I don't come here very often. I know... I forget!... well, good news, the game's webpage is here now... http://aloan.site90.com/cliffall.html It is now a merged Pitfall 3 in the sense that the resolution mimics that of an Atari 2600 (double wide pixels) I know, color clocks! 160x192 (actually 320x192)... Someone recently has shown interest in Cliffall lately and has even donated. i feel inclined to continue to polish it more. So my next step will be to convert its colors to the Atari 2600 palette! How is that for great news! also, I plan to slowly bring the graphics, sprites an tiles more down to Atari 2600ish (one color per scanline) but no flickering and less sprite clutter... Songs are not mine... Someone mentioned something about a white bat that comes out of nowhere! (mmm) that happens on the Akeni game (updated 320x224 resolution commercial version) Did you buy Akeni and is wondering about the white bat? if so Because as far as I can remember, I only did the "white bat" thing in that game, not in Cliffall. The white bat comes out when you stay in one place for too long and will come suck all your blood, but if you move away it will then flee from you. It just appears so you can get moving! (the kind of thing that happened in games from Arcade cabinets) Akeni (which is a Super arcade like Cliffall but with another character) can be found here: https://aloan.itch.io/akeni

Let the Drums roll.... so years have passed and I decided to upgrade Cliffall to an M.A.M.E.-like game! yes! Coin operated Arcade-like!!!!! The game has gotten the treatment it deserved (double the resolution horizontally and arcade vertical resolution 224 pixels) and countless months of math to reposition everything + redrawing all the sprites and at the same time transforming them to a brand new game called Akeni.... This is a one-man did it all over 3 years game! It can be seen here: http://aloan.site90.com/akeni.html and you can download the demo, full playable 1st level - direct download here: http://aloan.site90.com/akeni_demo.zip By the way I also teach what I do here: http://aloan.site90.com/retrofun.html

By the way, just to let you know, that page will just sit there as I am shifting all my attention to video arcade game development and instructions on how to, as can be seen on my other page here: https://aloan.000webhostapp.com/retrofun.html

Hey all - the make Atari like games without programming in assembly has moved to here: https://aloan.000webhostapp.com/atari_graphics_simplified.html I was reading this old post again and I must say I agree with all the critics and purists! You are all right and I still wish I could change the title but I can not find any buttons to do so... All i am looking for is to get people excited to make (as faithful as possible) Atari-like games if they do not know how to program and are (let's say) artists like me who know how to draw and or make midi music which will then be eventually converted to atari 2600-like bleeps and noises by using specific software that can do such a thing!

page has moved to here: http://aloan.000webhostapp.com/atari_graphics_simplified.html

To be honest, here is what I believe (and I could be wrong) BUT, for example: Atari (I guess Atari) released or allowed the release of the flashback... ok great! awesome! But.... why the hell did they not allow the little console to accept incoming homebrew or new developments? it was supposed to be Atari 2600 reborn! In my opinion it should be an alternative in this future day and age! an alternative to anyone who would like to play an Atari 2600... Let it be alive.. let it have new games let it continue to survive, just let it be the eternal Atari 2600... but no, they limit it... Same thing should have happened to Intellivision, Colecovision, NES, SNES, GENESIS and the mighty NEO GEO! anyway: I like to leave this link: http://aloan.site90.net/atari_graphics_simplified.html

hehe I guess I forgot to say; and it is one of the few systems that makes some of us remember colored LEGO builds! what other system now does that? A montage made by me...

wow this post is close to 6 years old... but hey, all things Atari 2600 never get old I say.. I went on Google and entered this on the search: I love atari 2600 graphics (which is true to my case) and this post came right up at number one! I read a couple of pages and noticed no one said what I'd like to say here (even though it is not aimed at the poster, just my own thought) With that said: I guess I'm forever in love with Atari 2600 graphics and sound (in a way many don't?) well I think it is iconic (yes) but even in a more literal form! sprites are more like icons that represent. And that's an appeal (imo) that a few systems had (specially the Atari 2600) back in the day! I even like the blocky 48 color clocks by 192 scan lines playfield! it's just unique in its art form! try making something out of it and you have my respect! I like the blocky graphics because each block can be distinguished and even counted! The colors are awesome too... I also like its unique way to color things by scan line! I like its limitations on sound, I like its flicker when more than its intended 2 players are on the same horizontal level... you see.. I love the Atari 2600 for what it is and so I appreciate all it showcases its own way.. So yeah I am happy to see some folks squeeze into it to get a bit more "high res"? heheheh! the only thing I frown upon is the flat Square player in Adventure... I mean, a square as the player? well.. I will accept it as unique too... to finish up... see my support to the Atari 2600 way of graphics and easy (no programming) game making here: http://aloan.site90.net

SpiceWare! the green escalator (ladder) in keystone kapers (on the 1st screen) is a (close to) 48 (color clocks) in widht!!! how could this be? (at least stella is saying so) Also on Donkey Kong.. wow the playfield is like an art drawing! it is not repeated nor mirrored! how did they do that? is that the asymmetrical one?

oh wow! I'll check it all out!

Thanks for the response! now: in the Atari 2600 M.A.S.H. game it is the first time ever that I was in disbelief as I (using stella's Alt+B) discovered that the trees in the playfield were made using a ball!!!! I noticed that the trees were single color... But what is intriguing is how the ball made those pine trees! My thought is it made a trail of paint! but then again I have to ask, so the ball can also be used to make another player sprite (at least stationary) and maybe it can even have varying colors per scan line as is the case with colorful stars like in Moon Patrol!

Sorry if this is a bit off topic and I understand this topic itself is from 2015?! but my question is in regards to succeeding players (6 total) trick to make a title! Well, how is it that the title has 2 players0 and 2 players1, each different from each other on the same scanline? I thought they had to be duplicates?! (like space invaders) Does this mean that I can have this set up going on even in game play? meaning I can have a sort of "high resolution" game as long as I keep the 6 players limit going down the top to the bottom of the screen! that's a lot of player sprites! a similar multiplying thing, I saw done with balls and missiles! which can be used for colorful stars! as always I am more of a mock up guy! http://aloan.site90.net/atari_graphics_simplified.html

I understand now, thank you all for responding! I thought that just turning off the beam would save some memory! (which I guess does! but you will have a fake black color aka dark grey as shown in Stay Frosty 2)

(very noobie question alert) So I have a curiosity question that I guess only in here will I find the answer! Is the black color necessary on the Atari 2600? if there is no color then isn't the screen black in itself without the need for color? I have read somewhere that when the tv beam is off (no code entered), it does not produce a color (why that is obvious) so why is there a black color (on its NTSC palette), if black is not even writing a color (or turning on a color)?

I'm sorry to say that this is just an excited me playing Atari 2600 love/respect and nostalgia mixed together with a game maker called Multimedia Fusion which makes games without the need for writing a single line of code. it is a drag and drop + event driven software (I know how to draw and make music, but don't know how to code). So there can be no bin for Stella. It only outputs exe files and (if I had bought the exporter from the company "Clickteam" who makes it) flash files to play on a browser... more on this thing here on my page: http://aloan.site90.net/atari_graphics_simplified.html Believe me, I love the graphics of the Atari 2600 - The blocky pixels (the blockier the merrier) and its retro colors + mono noise sounds just put a smile on my face (nostalgia trip)! So this litle "game" is a very faithful homage! (but no flicker, to make the gameplay smooth and solid)