freshbrood

Hi everyone. I was unclear on how to use dim. So, if I'm clear; it's only real purpose is to let us keep track of variables easier- instead of remember what "a" or "e" was keeping track of.. Is that right? And, if so.. wouldn't excessive use of dim commands actually INCREASE code size slightly? I mean "a" obviously uses less characters/bytes than "something". Yes?

Thanks. I think I'm going to do a port (I know) in Bbasic (I know I know) because I am such a noob, and I want to accelerate the process of learning. Output the best playable >8k game that way, then work on making the same game in assembly. It seems like the easiest way to learn. I wish there were more tutorials. Assembly still seems a bit steep to me right now.

Whoa Spice, it's very well written, thank you! I might just start from scratch there!

I will look into it, thanks Spice!

Where did these tutorials ever go?

Hrm. So I can consider a banked 8k rom. Thank you.

Ok ok I stand corrected. Still, a standard ROM in the late 70's/early 80's for an Atari 2600 was under 4k, am I correct? Yeah I don't know crap about programming. So a noob like me needs bbasic, I appreciate it. Does using it add much extra to the code memory than programming from pure assembly? I would ultimately like to put what I make on an actual (Harmony?) physical cartridge, that would have the same amount of memory as an original would- basically, whatever I make in 2015 to be something that -could have been made- in 1980.

Thank you guys for your tips. I'm trying to make the best looking, most playable game possible, but it must be under 4k. No superchip, just a standard cart. I really don't understand why you would want 32k+ games on the vcs/2600. The entire appeal to me is trying to squeeze the most you can out of the meager limitations of the 2600 4k cart. Anything more is cheating, and you might as well program for a new console. That said, is it possible to only stretch *part* of a sprite with the nusize command? For example, I don't want the entire sprite to become twice as wide when I press the button, only 2 lines of it that would represent the arm extending.. How would I do that?

I say keep Zangief, but as his teen son, "Borets". Keep him 8 pixels wide- much smaller than his dad, but similar moves. Maybe he takes off a bit less power, but is a bit faster, to compensate for the size difference.. Also, I really like the boat backgrounds and the temple backgrounds. Finally, I would suggest widen the jump distance a bit. It looks great! How large is the compiled .bin so far?

RT, thank you for your gracious advice. Now I would like to know, when using the playercolors and player1colors multicolored sprites kernel, I understand it disables both missiles. It is possible to toggle it on and off? For example, if I wanted to fire a missile, write the entire sprite as a solid color while the missile is enabled? Once missile is disabled, re enable multi sprite colors again? *Caveat. Rom must stay under 4k.

I will definitely check that rom and your posting out. Thanks again! Between you and RandomTerrain and the great advice and tutorials you give, I'm really excited to try and create something. Thank you! I grew up on the 2600, and the nostalgia is just amazing. I also like the challenge of trying to squeeze gold from lead, so to speak.

Wow thanks Spice! I don't see many examples of restretching sprites on the fly. It seems like it would make for some excellent graphics, and wider than 8p sprites easily, if drawn well. Also, I'd like to volunteer my artistic talents for anyone who might need some help there. I can't code yet, but I'd like to think I'm fairly skilled at drawing. Andrew Davie's page no longer exists. I can't find the download link for the DASM.

Please tell me how you guys are able to modify the code of an existing Atari .bin. So far I can only modify .bas files. Thanks. Also, if someone could point me to a good SPRITE STRETCHING demo. Is it possible to stretch only P0 sprites while leaving P1 sprites normal shaped? And does stretching P0's sprites also affect collision detection? Thanks for any help.

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Yeah I saw that Random, thank you. So far so good. The only thing I can't figure out right now is how to get a missile to keep flying across the screen after I've stopped pressing fire. Or to not have the first missile disappear as soon as I hit the fire button again. I want the missile to keep traveling until it collides with the edge of the screen. Is this possible? I can't find any good missile tutorials. They are all very basic. No pun intended.

+Bump ..How can I hack a .bin an see the code?

@Quad, Random, thank you! Hopefully I'll make something decent soon. One final question.. Does it matter if the source code is compatible with bB or dasm for putting it onto a physical cartridge? For making a 2600 game that actually plays in a real Atari console on a cartridge, does it matter which program I use? I don't want it ONLY playable in an emulator. Sorry to inundate you guys with questions. I appreciate your advice.

Random thank you very much for your tips, I really appreciate it. It is really hard to believe that a 30+ year old code doesn't have ANY way to decompile it. Is there ANY program that would allow me to at least READ the code in a .bin file? Even if I can't edit it, just to see it?

Thank you! So far, I can successfully create a new project from scratch, and it seems to compile it properly.. or I can modify their existing sample projects.. But how can I open an existing .bin file, edit it, and re-complie it? So far, I can't figure out how to open and edit a .bin file, I can only play it in an emulator. I'm trying to learn by deconstructing and reverse engineering code. I'm not interested in any 3rd party game hackers. Thanks.

Please tell me exactly what editors and compliers I can use on a Windows 8.1, 64bit machine. It's driving me crazy. VisualbB.exe v1.0 will not compile anything for me. I cannot save edits. 2600bas.bat - no clue Jedit- encoding error every damned time. Please, links to the programs and a step by step how to get them working in a 64bit machine is sorely needed Please. I have them all in the same folder.

I would like to know of -ANY- NES console emulator that has, 1) -any type of- TV out, and 2) -any type of- sd or external flash memory card reader built into it. Essentially, just like the way I play NES on my laptop emulator by downloading roms, I'd like to play NES roms on my TV, without having to get a computer to TV cable.. Just any type of NES console that reads some type of external card with roms. Thanks, [email protected] (It does not have to be a dedicated NES console clone- It could be an old Windows Mobile Smartphone with a TV output (if an older pds/phone like that exists..) or something weird like that.. my only point is that I want to leave the device on my tv as a permanent NES player, and never move it.. and I dont want to pay close to $100 for that flashpak cartridge..)