joelm

Yup, between the stuff on that site and downloading the current launcher, everything is working great. Thanks for the help.

Unless I am completely blind and have missed it, I can't find a reputable source for the o2rom.bin needed to run O2EM. I'm not sure if it's allowed to be posted in this forum but, if it is, can someone please post it up or at least link to a source which isn't also going to try to leave a virus on my computer. Thank you.

I really like the game graphically. For the AI you could use a timer which triggers a random number generator. Each number generated could correspond to a move in a given character's library (one of which would be not to move at all). That would ensure that each fight was different while maintaining a distinct fighting style for each character.

I only had a couple minutes to play this game but I really liked it. Visually speaking it is very impressive and it is reasonably difficult without being frustrating. One thing I might recommend is a sub sinking/being destroyed sequence when it gets hit, even it is just the sub flashing and falling to the bottom of the screen.

Interesting game concept. It would be nice to either reduce the volume of the background music or be able to turn it off. I would also prefer if the sprite flashed (perhaps red) instead of the backround when hit... those two items were a bit distracting for me. Overall though I found it entertaining.

I agree. I'm one of those people who has about a dozen collections going at any one time ranging from Eastern Bloc SKS carbine ammo pouches, to vintage N scale model train stuff, to things like Atari games (although I am still pretty new to buying boxed games). With just about every category of collection, even though something might seem like it should be a dud, if there is any broad interest in the item then the prices tend to rise to levels which seem very much out of line. In the case of E.T. I had been watching for a boxed copy for a while and things just never fell into place, prices were still a lot higher than I thought the game was worth, given how many always seemed to be available, but there is a lot of cross-genre interest in it from several directions. I feel I paid more than the game E.T. is worth, but I chose to justify that higher price by paying what the seller wanted (thereby becoming part of the market problem). I really do feel that the landfill dig had a permanent affect on E.T., even pretty heavily damaged examples are selling for far more than other titles in similar condition. People just want to be part of the times and I can only guess that some of those damaged E.T.'s will later be resold by dirty dealers as "from the dig".

It ended as soon as it began. I just picked up a sealed Yars Revenge and now I own the complete Warshaw collection... Now I need to fight the urge to collect another programmer.

It isn't like I'm proud of myself. I actually collect a lot of varied things and I generally only like paying very little for what I buy but, as is the case with everything, the market drives prices and sometimes those prices reflect something more than the actual value if the item... Although I do believe that Atari games were right around $40-$50 at retail if their prices are adjusted for inflation, so given the current market, it just means E.T. didnt depreciate. I now have a boxed E.T. to go with my boxed Raiders Of The Lost Ark and I suppose I am going to feel the need to pick up a boxed copy of Yars Revenge as well.

I've been looking for a boxed E.T. for a while, long before the landfill story bubbled back to the surface. Prior to the E.T. craze I could never seem to find one with a box, at a reasonable price, when I was in the buying mode, after the rush I couldn't find one for a reasonable price at all. Well, I just forked out over $40 for a NIB example still sealed, which wasn't what I was looking for (as I prefer to play my games) but it was half the cost of the other examples I could find that didn't have crushed boxes. I feel dirty for participating in the sharp price increase of what it, in my opinion, just an okay game with a complex history; these days you are paying more for the story than for the actual game. Oh well, soon I'll have one in my collection and I can rest a little more easily... hopefully I can fight off the urge to open it.

Just played it a little, its starting too look pretty good. You might try something different with the AI, the figure 8 becomes a little too predictable. The AI in my game isn't perfect either, and I had hoped to tweak it a little at some point in the future, but it is essentially a timer which triggers a random number generator and the resulting number decides what the duck's next behaivior will be. For your game using your existing AI for the first two or three ducks might be a good idea but after that have a collision with the edge of the screen trigger a random number generator and have that determine what the next direction of the duck will be. I like the hunter he adds a lot to the game. One other suggestion might be to have the ball go quad sized when the trigger is pulled, for beginners, you could toggle this with the difficulty switch.

I'll download it this afternoon and give it a try.

I made a similar game back in 2013 as a Christmas gift for my oldest daughter. My game varies a bit from Nintendo's Duck Hunt but I'll post it up here so you can try it out and maybe get some ideas. fowl_hunt_playtest25.bas.bin

This game looks and plays really well. I was pretty happy when I finally bought Pacman for the 800, I guess I thought my days of Pacman on the 2600 were over. Now this version is going to have to go on my Harmony, which is good because I find it easier to get time for a few minutes my 7800 rather than taking a bunch of time away from my family to boot up and play the 800. Great job, looking forward to any updates when you get them done.

It was a lot of hard work to test... spending all those hours playing video games. I was reminded how frustrating platformers can be.

I'll look into the SIO2PC cable then. Thank you all for your replies.

I guess I will just deal with it for the time being, I really don't have the resources to invest in the system anymore for a month or so. I would have assumed, since it said in the manual that the purchaser was allowed to copy the program, that it would not have any form of copy protection. Perhaps a sector is bad on the disk somewhere and that is affecting it. Was there a cartridge or disk based program available like a disk utilities which could properly copy a disk but also inspect the disk for damage or bad sectors. I remember in the late 80s or early 90s being able to use Norton Disk Doctor on my PC to make "bad" disks and data usable again, was anything like that available for the Atari?

Combat Leader. I would like to stick with disks if possible but I guess I may need to start looking into more modern data storage solutions.

Thanks for the fast reply, the thing is that the manual states "The program accompanying this Rule Book may be copied, by the original purchaser only, as necessary for use on the computer for which it was purchased". That makes it seem like there wouldn't be copy protection, or am I missing something? The game loads and works just fine so I don't suspect a bad track on the disk or anything, but maybe I am too optimistic. I didn't get my start in computers until the mid-1980s with Microsoft DOS on PCs and I only have very limited experience with C64s and Apple IIs (mostly just running software) so I am really behind the curve on these late 1970s-early 1980s computers and how they function.

First off, for those who aren't familiar with me, I am new to the Atari 800 but not to Atari consoles. I am a relative noob with these computers and so it is possible I am not understanding something with how DOS 2.5 works. At any rate, I am trying to make a copy of a commercial SSI game disk, so I don't have to risk the original. I use the "Duplicate Disk" command, I believe option "J", and I go through identifying the source and destination drive (I only have one drive so I use "1,1") and then it prompts me to insert the source disk. When I do this it hums along for about a minute then generates Error 144 and prompts me to return to the DOD menu. I looked Error 144 up and it seems it can mean that I am trying to write to a protected disk, etc., or there is an issue with drive speed. I'm not sure what to think about the error becuase I have copied other disks (included DOS) without issue. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Perhaps a trick or two to get around it? Or should I just plan on using the original disk for gameplay and not worry about a backup copy? Thank you ahead of time for any help you can provide.

I think the overwhelming majority of people are going to be very impressed with this game. Sprybug has really knocked it out of the park.

I was looking for an open example with the box and manual... I will probably have to wait a year or so to buy one at a decent price now.

Awesome, please add me to the list then. Thank you.

Is it too late to get on the band wagon for a CIB copy?

As I have understood everything I have read online, the city owns everything in the dump except what they have agreed to give to the production company. One would assume the remaining cartridges, and other electronics, will be sold as souvenirs and on eBay to raise money for the city. I also wouldn't expect things to end with this hole. If these things turn out to have any value I bet the city excavates further and removes as much Atari material as possible for sale to the highest bidders. After all, the hard work of locating the stash is done, it is now simply a matter of removing as much overburden as possible and breaking up the concrete layer in any areas it exists. They could be pulling Atari stuff out for the next several months, especially given the overall condition of some of the carts. I enjoy seeing the free market work, too bad government will be the major benefactor of the artifacts and not all the people who did the ground work to make this whole project happen.

The ground in the desert is normally really dry and the landfill might have been above whatever water table exists in that area. So, with all that sand wicking moisture away from the burried Atari items, it basically works to preserve whatever might be in that hole. Any concrete cap poured over the items would also help to prevent rain water from leaching down onto what was underneath, basically a giant time capsule. It would be neat to own something from the hole, if offered with an official certificate proving it was in the hole. I am happy this was done, sure we had proof that the burial actually occured so that wasn't a shock, but it is neat to see old-school Atari in the news. Although, I imagine this will also spark nostaligia and result in elevated interest, demand, and prices for Atari stuff... that kind of stinks for those of us already in the hobby. It will probably be short lived though. BTW: I finally beat ET for the first time a few days ago and it turned out to be a pretty good game... not perfect, not simple, and not without bugs, but it was fun to get all of the way through. I think modern day players, who are so down on ET, should read up on tips and tricks available on the internet (mainly avoiding the wells and using the zone symbols)... they might find the game enjoyable.