johnnywc

I agree; for Champ Games, Nathan Strum and Dave Dries have done amazing work on all our releases. FYI, Lady Bug (and Conquest of Mars) did not have a box option back in 2006 when they were released, but AA member @Brian O took it upon himself to create a box for both (with some help from Nathan) so both are available now, and Al is planning on offering just the box for sale in the near future for those who previously purchased LB & CoM and want to add the box to their collection.

Hi Nathan! Good idea! I think the hardware guys suggested that but I'm not sure what the final consensus was. I'll post the question in the multiplexer thread and see what the experts think.

Hmm, that's strange. The auto-detection for the QuadTari is to check INPT0 and INPT1 (paddle A and paddle B), pins 5 and 9 respectively. If a regular joystick is connected, both *should* be low. If a QuadTari is connected, INPT0 should be low (it's connected to ground) and INPT1 should be high. If a Genesis controller is connected (or paddles), both INPT0 and INPT1 should be high. For some reason it looks like INPT1 (paddle B, pin 9) is registering high even though it's not connected (assuming you're using a normal CX40 joystick or compatible). The good news is that I did put in a bypass so if you hold down SELECT when you power on the game, it will disable the check for the QuadTari which should fix your issue. Please let me know if not using an extension cable fixes the issue also. Apologies for not providing an update earlier. The API for the QuadTari has been finalized, but the development has taken longer than expected. Nathan Tolbert @gauauu originally had a joystick multiplexer design that used both joystick ports to support 4 joysticks. I approached him a couple years ago and suggested a design that could support 2 joysticks using 1 port, freeing up the other port for the AtariVox. The good news is that functionally it works very well; unfortunately, there is a bit of static that is visible on the screen when using the QuadTari (most likely due to the power drawn from the QT circuits). Interestingly enough, there is no interference whatsoever when using the QuadTari with a video-modded Atari (the interference only appears when using RF video). We have gone through multiple designs to reduce the interference with a lot of help from AA members @ChildOfCv and @BigO and we are currently are trying to finalize the design while also reducing chip count/cost of the unit. Once completed, Nathan T. will be taking over the production and sale of the units. Champ Games has added QuadTari support into WoW (for 2 player/Avox with voice) and also into Galagon to support 2 player co-op with Avox plugged in for high score savings. We will be adding in QuadTari support into all of our future games if it makes sense (i.e. if the game supports 2 simultaneous players with Avox in port 2). I will post an update here once we have more info to share. Thanks, John

Hello all and Happy New Year! Now that Wizard of Wor Arcade for the 2600 has been released, the demand for the QuadTari has increased a bit so I'm going to try and focus on a solution. As I've mentioned a few times, hardware is not my strength (read: I'm learning as I go along ) but I do have the means to put together prototypes and test them if given a schematic and a list of parts. The analog solution sounds interesting; can someone expand upon it and suggest a potential design with parts/etc. that I could try to build over here? Any help is appreciated! Thanks, John

Okay, thx - it must be a weird bug that only occurs under certain uncommon circumstances. Hmm I wondering if you're causing the Worrior to be 'bumped' to a parallel dimension ... but seriously, maybe under certain circumstances when you're in the top row you may get 'bumped' to the row above which is undefined. Your Worrior would still be 'alive' but not able to re-enter the maze, but still fire. I'll take a look at the code and see if this is a possibility. I wrote that code over a year ago and have played for hundreds of hours and never saw something like that but it may be your playing style that is triggering this to happen. 😕 Yes, I have seen that happen and it is considered 'normal' although very unlikely. This, however, may be related to the issue above. Thanks for the info, you have been very helpful!

Upon closer inspection of the video, it looks like you were in the middle of a game, and then perhaps pressed select to return to the title screen and immediately started a new game? You can see right before it resets that the blue player starts to move on the title screen indicating that somehow it managed to get into 2 player mode with an Atarivox connected (which should not be possible unless you have a QuadTari connected). This is most likely a bug, but a harmless one (we'll call it an Easter Egg ) that allows you to control both players with one joystick. Can you recreate this one each time or is it a special sequence of events? I was not able to recreate it on my end.

Thanks for the info. This is the exact setup that I test with (modded 7800) but I cannot reproduce this issue. Can you tell me a bit more about what was happening at the time; i.e. was your worrior killed, were you shooting, were you bumping into the monsters, etc.? Hmmm, I'll have to pass that along to my sound guy @iesposta I just ran through a bunch of tests with and without the Atarivox (and with/without the QuadTari) and everything worked as expected. Can you reproduce this consistently? Thanks for the feedback and apologies for the issues you're having!

Hmm, that's really strange! 😮 I have never seen that happen after hours of testing but since it happened the second game in maybe it's something that's easily reproducible? It looks like you were playing Standard difficultly, correct? I'll take a look at the code and see if I can make it happen on my end. Can you tell me what kind of system you're playing on? (4-switch, jr, 7800, etc.)? Any info is appreciated - thanks!

Thanks! I should have mentioned in the original post that you can set the LEFT DIFFICULTY switch to A to disable the vertical lines in the bricks which eliminates the flicker on the play field. Thanks in advance for you support, it's much appreciated!

Hmmm, I just tested it and Zeke moves fine around all corners. Note that, like the arcade, when you reach a corner, you can keep pressing in the same direction as you hit the corner, he'll keep going around the corner for a bit. At that point, you need to press the joystick in the direction he's moving. For example, as you approach the lower right corner going counter clockwise, you are pressing the joystick right. As you approach the corner, keep pressing right and Zeke will take the corner and start moving up for a bit. At that point, you should start moving up so Zeke continues in that direction, otherwise he will stop if you're still pressing right but he needs to move up. Hope that helps!

Hi Dennis! Thanks! This one has been a year in the making but we're pretty happy with how it's coming along. Hmmm, maybe - honestly I'm not even sure what causes the vertical lines to appear. I just happened to notice the effect while working on the MAPPY logo with Thomas Jentzsch last year and we were trying to make the 'M' larger with another sprite and I saw the vertical line down the middle that inspired me to try to use it for a brick pattern like Zoo Keeper.

Thanks Stephen! Yes, you are correct, any of the the TV effects in Stella will simulate the vertical brick pattern - thanks for the clarification!

Hello there! The demo should include 6 zoo stages, 3 platform stages and 2 escalator stages. After completing the 2nd escalator stage, it should wrap back to round 1 zoo stage.

Hello all, As promised, here are the demo ROMs for Zoo Keeper, both NTSC and PAL60. We estimate the game to be about 90% complete. This is a fully playable demo with the following restrictions: There is no Savekey support (high scores are lost when the game is powered off) the game will wrap around back to Round 1 once Round 6 has been completed. How to play: Zoo Keeper for the 2600 is a port of the 1982 arcade game from Taito. In ZK, you control Zeke the Zoo Keeper. There are 3 unique screens in ZK, each with their own objective: Zoo Stage: In this stage, use the joystick to move Zeke around the outside of the zoo, building up walls to keep in the animals. When an animal escapes, they will chase you around the perimeter. Press the button to jump over the animals. Jumping over multiple animals earns big points (up to 30,000,000 if you can jump 16!!! 😮 ). The object of this stage is to survive until the timer ends. As the timer counts down, a bonus item will appear on the perimeter of the zoo. Collect these bonus items for increasing points. If you collect the net, the screen will turn blue and you will have a few seconds to capture the escaped animals and send them back into the middle. When the timer ends, you are awarded bonus points for any animals that have not escaped. Platform Stage: In the platform stage, the object is to navigate Zeke to the top platform and rescue your girlfriend Zelda who has been captured by the monkey. Use the joystick to move Zeke left and right on the current platform, and press the button to have him jump to the next platform for points (the higher the platform, the more points your get). Along the way, collect bonus items as they appear for even more points! Avoid the coconuts being thrown by the monkey; if one hits you Zeke will fall to his death! Also keep an eye on the bottom platform; as it scrolls off to the right, if Zeke falls in the opening he will lose a life as well. Bonus Stage: In the bonus stage, use the joystick to move Zeke towards the escalators to reach Zelda. Press the button to jump over the animals charging out of the cage. If you can reach Zelda, you will earn an extra life. Note that this level is a work-in-progress and currently doesn't accurately simulate the collision between Zeke and the cage. Skill Levels: There are 3 skill levels: NOVICE, STANDARD and ADVANCED. STANDARD plays most like the arcade game. You start with 4 lives. NOVICE starts with more lives (5), plus each stage is a bit easier: On the Zoo stage, the wall starts off with more bricks and less animals start the level. On the Platform stage, there are less coconuts. On the Bonus stage, you have less escalators to navigate and less animals to avoid. ADVANCED starts with less lives (3), plus each stage is a bit harder: On the Zoo stage, there are less bricks and more animals to start. On the Platform stage, there are more coconuts to avoid. On the Bonus stage, there are more escalators to navigate and more animals to avoid. The game ends when all reserves have been lost. You can then enter in your initials if you obtain a high score. Note that Savekey support has not yet been added. We are currently aiming for a full release sometime in the summer of 2020. Nathan Strum has graciously volunteered to do the packaging for the game (and is also responsible for the amazing graphics and has helped immensely with game design - thanks Nathan! ). I would also like to thank James and the crew over at Zero Page Homebrew for debuting Zoo Keeper on their Twitch stream and providing valuable feedback on play-ability, testing, etc. In case you missed it, you can watch the entire video here. Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks, John Note: these ROMs will run in the latest version of Stella or Stellarator. Brick pattern display: Zoo Keeper uses a special technique to draw the vertical lines in the brick pattern on the first and third screens. This feature requires that the game be played on a CRT with real hardware or that S-Video video effects are enabled (in Stella). To enable S-Video video effects in Stella: Start the game in Stella. Press TAB to bring up the options menu. Click on the Video... button. Click on the TV Effects tab. Click on the TV Mode dropdown and select S-Video. There may be other ways to make the brick pattern look better; feel free to experiment and share your findings here! Happy Holidays to all from Champ Games! zookeeper_20191223_demo_PAL60.bin zookeeper_20191223_demo_NTSC.bin

Yes, this is exactly what I did and it worked like a charm. I wired a splitter so I can have 2 player paddle games too.

This is very interesting! For the wiring, on the Gemini splitter, my guess is: - The first port has wired pins 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 8. 1,2,3,4 are up/down/left/right (pin 4 is also used for paddle A button), button 5 is Paddle A, pin 6 is the joystick, pin 7 is VCC (power) and pin 8 is ground. Pin 9 is for paddle B and is most likely not wired up from the first port, and pin 3 (left) is also used for paddle B button. - the second port has wired pins 5, 7, and 8 (VCC, ground and paddle A) but most likely connects pin 5 to Atari pin 9 (to control Paddle B). This would explain why the Gemini controller works fine in the first port and controls paddle A and the Ranger connected to the second port controls paddle B. My guess is that they didn't wire up paddle's 2 button because it would interfere with the joystick's left direction. If this is true, you should be able to initiate the second paddle's button by pressing left on the joystick plugged in the first port. I was able to make my own adapter and get both Hyperkin Ranger paddles to work, including the buttons. To do this I wired pins 4,5,7 and 8 from the first port (paddle A button, paddle A, vcc and ground) to pins 4,5,7 and 8 on the Atari, and then wired pins 4,5,7 and 8 from the second port to pins 3 (paddle B button),9 (paddle B),7 (VCC) and 8 (ground) on the Atari. The only drawback is that you can't use the first controller as a joystick. Although you could hook up pins 1 and 2 from the first port, pin 3 (left) would interfere with the paddle B button connected from the second port. A simple solution would be to NAND (not AND) pin 3 from the first port and pin 4 from the second port, but this requires circuitry (although simple) that's not in the Gemini splitter. Anyway, sorry if this was too technical, but to your point, I do agree this is most likely why Hyperkin didn't include a splitter because it would require a bit more circuitry to support both paddles with both buttons AND allow the first port to support the joystick as well.

No need to apologize! We really do appreciate the feedback; it's too bad we weren't able to get your feedback before completing the game as some of your suggestions would have made the game more arcade-accurate and we certainly do strive to get things as close as possible! We are currently working on Gorf Arcade and Zoo Keeper (both scheduled for release in mid to late 2020), so any feedback for those games would be much appreciated!

Hello there! Thank you for your input, you certainly sound like quite the Galaga expert! We did modify the rapid descent to start at stage 6 and we're pretty sure we fixed #4 (you are lined up after getting double ships to clear the challenge stages without moving) after this was suggested by another AA member a few months ago. Although we strive to be as arcade-accurate as possible when it makes sense, we feel that the experience on the Atari is going to be unique in it's own way (other wise you could just play the game on MAME for the same experience ). I'm sure this may be possible but highly unlikely as the main reason a game like Galaga with over 40 sprites can be done for the 2600 (which has 2 sprites) is using the hardware copy trick that allows 8 copies of the same sprite to be drawn on a horizontal row using just 1 of the Atari's hardware sprites with no flicker. Turning the game 90 degrees would eliminate this as a possibility and greatly increase the flicker. Also, the horizontal resolution of the Atari is 160 pixels vs 200+ for the vertical (we use 208, pushing the limits of what can be drawn by reducing the vertical blank and overscan) so although the game would 'look' vertical turned 90 degrees, it certainly wouldn't play any better (actually much worse as you would lose about 25% of your resolution). Thanks again to everyone for all there suggestions! The feedback from the community was very much appreciated and helpful in assisting us bring Galaga to the 2600!

I ordered 2 and likewise was disappointed that no adapter was included. I did set out to make my own, thinking it would be straightforward (I have 2 female 9 pin breakout ports for the joysticks and 1 male one to connect to the Atari thru an extension cable). I started by connecting all 9 wires for a test but for some reason the paddle doesn't work (paddle button, joystick directions and joystick button all work fine). It does work if I hook it up directly to the extension cable. I was a bit surprised since it's essentially just an extension cable at that point, unless I'm missing something obvious. Anyway, my original thought was to hook up the first joystick as normal (pin 9 from joystick to pin 9 (paddle A) on the Atari and pin 4 on the joystick (Paddle A button) to Pin 4 on the Atari, plus VCC and Ground (Pin 7 and 8, respectively) and then connect pin 9 (paddle A) from the second joystick to pin 5 on the Atari (Paddle B) and pin 4 from the second joystick (Paddle A button) to pin 3 on the Atari (Left, Paddle B button). Perhaps I should post this in the hardware forum. As for the controller, I really like it! The joystick is very good, the left/right option is awesome! I played for an hour - Mappy, Super Cobra Arcade, Zoo Keeper, Galagon and Wizard of Wor, and they all played very well! The paddle has not jitter which is awesome, and is fine for games like Super Breakout and early levels of Avalanche. I did find it difficult for the higher levels in Kaboom and higher levels in Avalanche because the knob is stiff moving and the range of motion is very small. Overall, it is worth it for the joystick alone IMO and will be even better once I can play 2 player Super Breakout with my girlfriend (it's her favorite game ).

FYI, I have just uploaded updated ROMs (NTSC and PAL60) for Avalanche in this post. This is the first publicly available update to Avalanche in more than 12 years! 😮 A huge thanks to Thomas for all his work helping squeeze in as many features as we could while keeping it 4K. Thanks TJ!

Hello all, Last February, TJ (Thomas Jentzsch) and I spent a few weeks polishing up Avalanche for it's eventual release in Spring of 2020. Here are a list of the changes: (while still keeping the game 4K), most of which would not have been possible without the wizardry of TJ and his uncanny knack of finding 'one more byte'. Thanks so much Thomas! Aesthetic changes: added Atari Age splash screen with start up tune. SAVEKEY FOUND will be displayed if a Savekey/Atarivox is detected. updated copyright (2019) and added proper CHAMP GAMES logo (removed ATARI copyright) updated AVALANCHE logo on title screen added 3 skill levels (NOVICE, STANDARD and ADVANCED) press select to change skill level and # of players (1 - 2) paddle(s) displayed on title screen to show players and their colors. left/right difficulty set the starting size of the paddle for each player (visibly displayed on the title screen with the size of the paddles). A = small B = large slight modifications to the score font modified the GAME OVER and 1/2 PLAYER font and color (now white, was blue). Also, GAME OVER will flash per the arcade. bottom bar color matches the current skill level (GREEN = novice, YELLOW = standard, RED = advanced) player 2 paddle is now orange (was green) rock graphics have been modified to be more arcade-like removed color/bw option (the arcade was never b/w - it always had a color overlay) created a PAL60 version (not included below) Functional changes: Removed joystick support (the game was not fun with a joystick, so we use that saved ROM for other features ) added Savekey support. This will save the top score for each skill level (displayed in the proper skill color on the top of the title page). It also will save the last # of players and skill level. Hold down reset on startup to reset all scores. press SELECT to cycle through skill levels and # of players on title screen, press paddle button or reset to start. pressing RESET will cycle through up to 4 types of sound fx (similar to Super Breakout). A short tune is played at the start so the player can hear what type of sound fx will be used. player can pause during a game by pressing the paddle button. press it again to continue added the correct paddle size progression per the arcade. Paddles for the first two rows are 16 pixels wide; 12 for the second two rows and 8 for the last 2 rows. In the B position, the sizes are 12, 10 and 8 respectively. added the correct # of paddle progression during a level, per the arcade. For standard, level 1 - 4+ start with 6, 3, 2 and 1 paddle. For NOVICE, it's 6, 5, 4 and 3. For Advanced, it's 5, 2, 1, 1. A paddle is removed after a row is cleared. max 3 rocks on screen for novice, 4 for standard, 5 for advanced rock delay (delay between rocks being dropped) changed to match the arcade. Novice drop delay is slower, advanced faster rock speed starts slower for novice, faster for advanced. Rock speed increases each time 2 rows are cleared. added a DEMO mode that will start after 16 seconds have passed on the title screen. If a game was previously played, the game will display the GAME OVER screen after DEMO to show the previous score before returning to the title screen. # of misses to start are 5, 4, and 3 for NOVICE, STANDARD and ADVANCED, respectively first bonus is awarded at 250 points, 450 and 750 for NOVICE, STANDARD and ADVANCED additional bonus awarded at +1000 from previous bonus (i.e. 1250 for novice, 1450 for standard, 1750 for expert, ...) rolling score (9999) displays a special message and ends game for current player end of game GAME OVER screen alternates between scores (if two player) and displays HI plus score if new hi score has been reached Best of all, we managed to fit all of this in 4K! A HUGE thank you to Thomas and all of his help and suggestions. Most of these updates would not have been possible in 4K without the technical wizardry of TJ and his uncanny knack of finding 'one more byte'. Thanks so much Thomas! Here are the updated demo ROMs (NTSC and PAL60). These are fully functional with the following restrictions: Two player support has been disabled (one player only) Savekey support has been disabled The game ends when 2 levels have been cleared. NOTE: If you are using an emulator, please be sure to enable Paddles for controller 1 As stated above, we are planning a release sometime in early 2020. We are also considering a label contest for any artists that may be interested (details to follow). Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks, John avalanche_demo_PAL60.bin avalanche_demo_NTSC.bin

Thanks! @Nathan Strum did an amazing job with that!

For those of you who missed the announcement in the other Galaga thread, Galagon is now available in the Atari Age store!

Wow, when you list them all one after the other, it does sound like a lot! 😮 Galagon, WoW and Avalanche are code complete. Galagon/WoW to be released this week sometime, and Avalanche released sometime in the Spring (pending a label contest). Zoo Keeper is about 90% done, release planned for summer of 2020. Lunar Lander is 100% playable, but we plan on adding in a few bells & whistles before release. Release probably not until 2021. Elevator Action is about 30% done but requires BUS technology so for now it's on hold until the issues are resolved. Gorf Arcade is about 40% done, release planned for late 2020. Champ Sports Hockey is about 5% (just POC with the scrolling rink). Archon is not officially planned, although a display kernel was worked on for a few weeks back in 2014 with Thomas J. A few that you missed: Rip Off! is about 40% done; no official release planned. Moon Cresta was started in 2007, no plans as of yet to complete it. Cosmic Avenger was started in 2015 (which turned into Scramble), although we hope to complete it someday. LOL we do keep ourselves busy, that's for sure! Of course none of these games would be completed without the help of a lot other people like Nathan Strum, Mike Haas, Dave Dries, Ross Keenum, Thomas J, Darrell Spice, Bob D., all the game testers like Steve Ramirez, James @ ZPH, Glenn AKA GRay Defender, and everyone else here on Atari Age! And of course we can't forget Al for all his work coordinating with everyone to get these games put together and in the Atari Age store!

*** EDIT: the NTSC and PAL60 ROMs for the first Gorf Arcade demo are available here! *** Hello all, As we finish up Zoo Keeper, Champ Games has started on a new project: Gorf Arcade for the Atari 2600! Although a version of Gorf was released for the 2600 by CBS, the Champ version will follow the same treatment given to Wizard of Wor by adding the following: All 5 arcade levels Updated graphics (by Nathan Strum) All 30 speech phrases using the AtariVox (by Mike Haas) Updated sounds (*) Improved game play High score support using the AtariVox/Savekey Cut scenes, ranking badges, etc. We estimate that the game is about 40% done. Here are some teaser screen shots showing the current progress: We are currently looking for a volunteer to help with the sounds (TIA). If you are interested in helping bring an updated Gorf to the 2600, please send me a PM!