"Atari on a Chip" project.

["Atari on a Chip" project.]

I guess it's time for you to learn VHDL, if you don't already know it.

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

On a different note, my Barrage 2021 homebrew thread: 

 

[Microvision Homebrew - Barrage 2021]

I thought about making games for the Microvision close to 10 years ago, when I was working on trying to reconstruct the Microvision (using an Arduino compatible microcontroller and color LCD screen). Somewhere I have some "screenshots" of games that I thought would work well for the Microvision, with it's 16x16 monochrome display and paddle controller. I started buying games and systems as part of both of these projects. The reconstruction was cancelled after I found out that duplicating the LCD was an easier and cheaper solution. The games programming was still in my head, though.

 

If you recall, there's an unreleased game for the Microvision, Barrage, that was advertised in the Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog for 1982. I think all that exists is this picture from the catalog:

 

 

I thought it would be fun to create a game based on this picture. I call it Barrage 2021, so it's not completely confusing compared to the unreleased game. About 3 years ago I started programming the game. It got lost in busyness, and about 2 months ago, I finally finished it off with some tweaks and an additional game mode.

 

Somewhere in there, I also made a few board layouts for the Microvision. I've got a newer one, but this is the one I used (because apparently at some point I bought a batch of boards):

 

 

The original Microvision games use old microprocessors that are difficult to find and program, so instead, I'm using relatively modern parts... an Atmega328 as well as a 9V<->5V level shifter. The '328 has some EEPROM space, which I've used to store high scores. I programmed the game in the Arduino IDE, and programmed the '328 with a TL866 programmer (without the Arduino bootloader). Programming the Microvision has some similarities to chasing the beam on the Atari 2600, as you need to refresh the screen on a regular basis. There's a few other timing/switching things to be concerned about, but mostly it involves setting up the row (or column) patterns you want to display, and sending out that data on a regular basis. To help in this, I set up a bit of a "state machine", to make it fairly easy to output the correct display, depending on the current status (for instance title screen, setup screen, gameplay screen, game over screen). Just change the mode (state) from 1 to 2, for instance, to switch the display from title screen to gameplay screen.

 

A few years ago I created the box and labels and manual layouts, but lost them when my computer died (back up your files, people!!! ). It's been a crazy year, so I can't even remember if that was one or two years ago. Anyway, over the past month, I recreated those, to match the standard design of other Microvision games. I haven't 100% duplicated everything, but it's close enough, and in some ways makes more sense for today.

 

Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to produce a batch of these for anyone who wants one (don't PM me yet... this might take a while to get everything figured out... there'll be plenty of notice). For the pictures below, all of the materials for the pictures below are printed on regular paper, using a laser printer (instead of being properly printed, with decent paper, mylar, and sticker material). The bezel was also quickly painted by hand, and is cracked - I need to figure out a good and repeatable way to do the painting better. I also just used an existing box - I'd much rather make my own boxes from scratch - so I'll need to find some material for that. Here's some pictures...

 

The box:

 

Unboxed:

 

Manual (outside) and cart with system:

 

Manual (inside):

 

There's a lame backstory in the manual, but basically you need to catch all the single-block-wide "fireballs" that are falling from the sky. However, if you see a double-wide "ship", you want to avoid that. The main mode has one ship every other wave. There's an alternate mode that has a ship much more often. There's 3 skill levels, and 99 waves (30 fireballs/ships per wave), that vary in speed and vary in amount of space between one fireball and the next. As you proceed through the waves, the speed generally (but not always) increases. You start with 8 or 16 "players" depending on skill level, and if you miss a fireball or catch a ship, you lose one player. In the main mode, if you miss the rare ship, you get an extra player, and in the alternate mode, you gain an extra player every other wave. The bottom row of the display shows the number of players.

 

Gameplay video, in the spirit of Blair Witch.  Apparently when I'm trying to play a game and hold a phone at the same time, I'm really bad at both. This is the alternate mode (and uses a slightly outdated program file):

 

Cheers!

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

I'll do my best to make sure everyone gets the PM, in order. I'm making a list, and checking it twice. 🎄

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

Update: The production run has been paid for and ordered! Hopefully parts will arrive in about 6 weeks.

My next steps (notes for me perhaps as much as for you):

1. Wait for parts to arrive. Prepare online store in the meantime.
2. Finalize price after all fees (customs, taxes) are paid.
   • Final price will likely be $17-19 each - I'll make sure it's my "best price" for the initial orders.
   • The price will be flat per unit (because mailing a bunch of orders in one shot will save lots of time).
   • Actually, there might be some very minor savings for higher quantities, because packaging cost per unit will be lower.
   • Shipping costs will be basically the actual cost.
3. Inspection of all parts, and testing of a few of them.
4. Send mass PMs to all who have expressed interest in this thread, with info on how to order.
5. A few days later, open up orders to any/all.
6. A couple of days later, book a chunk of time to mail out all orders.
7. Raise the price a couple of dollars or so after the initial run (to account for my time processing individual orders).
8. If I ever run out of parts at any point, order another batch, and continue.

 

[Demo of my next game for you Colecovision enthusiasts]

42 minutes ago, doubledown said:

Personally, I feel that an "automatically shoot from the nearest base (assuming ammo is available)" isn't a bad idea...for children!  😁

/shakes fist

 

I still like the CX-40 and similar 3rd party controllers (such as Slik-Stik) better than pretty much any other controller around.

Personally, I like simplicity in games, so anything that needs more than 1 fire button, for me, rather than a good thing that increases game complexity, instead is often a bad thing that increases the tediousness of a game (for fast action games, at least). That's just me, though. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority.

 

[Box, Cart Label, Instruction files for Publishing]

Gimp will be efficient enough for most labels and small items, but for boxes, you might consider some desktop publishing software, or perhaps even a word processor, to put all you elements together. Possibly a drawing program to create elements, too, if that's your thing.

 

[Demo of my next game for you Colecovision enthusiasts]

I like the way Missile Domination on the Intellivision works, where you have the option to automatically fire from the closest base.

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

Update: Well, that was fast! The 5 adjusted samples have arrived. I just tried one out, and it looks good, and controls good!

 

I just put in a request for a production run. The quote is fresh, so hopefully by tomorrow I'll be able to make the payment for it, and they'll start production.

 

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

Update: the 5 samples of the adjusted screen are being shipped out today or tomorrow. It'll probably take a week or so for those to arrive. If they work (and they should), I'll purchase a production order right away, which will take ~6 weeks to arrive. I'll probably also sell some of both of the prototypes, so keep an eye out for that (but don't reply or PM until I say so).

[Driver for 24AAXXX EEPPROM mounted on karri's carts]

I'm curious... is the new chip radically different from the other chip? Or is just a longer bit stream required?

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

Update: the LCD supplier will be making 5 samples of the adjusted screen, and sending those to me in about 10 days. It's probably the right thing to do - I don't want to receive a whole batch of units that aren't a good match. The bad news is it's a delay; the good news is it's 5 free samples.

[Brainstorm an E.T. that Could've Sold 5 Million]

On 9/21/2020 at 9:06 PM, knievel1 said:

Some sort of Gorf?

I would have gone with this. A few small simple minigames, either playable one at a time, or in series like Gorf... something Pac-ish with ET collecting candies, a shooting game (not sure of the connection - maybe people trying to catch ET - gotta watch the movie again, I guess), a bit of bicycle racing, and maybe something else (depending on space available). Nothing too complicated, but hopefully still fun for wide variety of people. Kids mode for the young ones, tournament mode for the more experienced gamers.

 

Edit: having minigames allows better chance of having more people involved in the project - one for each minigame, and one or two to put it all together.

 

/I never really liked arcade Gorf, but plenty of other people did - I preferred the smooth moving Phoenix.

[Computers in grade school/high school?]

There was one electric typewriter in high school. Does that count?

[Full Set Collecting : Is it an unhealthy obsession to be a completionist? Merely the attainment of a childhood dream to "Have them all"?]

I used to collect stamps. At some point, I realized... I'm never going to get them all. The happiest people specialized... one country, or just stamps with dogs on them.

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

It took a bit of time and back and forth discussion, but the LCD supplier was able to complete the formulation change, to allow for drop-in LCD replacement without any circuit changes required. They sent these pictures. I've requested a refresh of the quote, and I'm hoping to get payment and ordering completed within a week. As always, the current status is in the first post.

 

   

 

[LTO FLASH MULTI-CART for CANADIANS]

13 hours ago, Lathe26 said:

I know an ex-Canadian names Gord!

He lived in the igloo next to us. Good guy. We used to drink beer from stubbies while the kids drank maple syrup and eating Timbits.

I'll have to see if I have enough Loonies and Toonies to make the trip around the Hammer to TO.

[Arcadia 2001 Multicart - 2011 version - any interest?]

Anyone who has paid recently, you should have received a PM that the package has been sent. Also, if you've sent me a PM over the past number of months expressing interest, you should have received a PM. Send me a PM if you've been missed for some reason.

 

I have 4 longs and 2 shorts ready to go, and I have shells for ~20 more (still need to prepare the shells and populate the boards), so if you're interested, please send me a PM.

 

[Troubleshooting a homemade AY-3-8500 pong board]

I'm not sure what frequency range the output, to the TV, can tolerate. I'd order the crystal, but in the meantime, you could try some other capacitor/inductor values, to try to zone in on the correct frequency.

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

Non-update update: I have been in communication with the supplier, and I think we're close to being ready to order. We'll see what the next week brings... .

 

Block Buster is a very unforgiving game. So far I can only get about halfway through the second round:

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

2 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Put me down for one of these!

The pics look great.

This game is a bit scratched, but it shows that with a new screen, you at least have a chance of getting a perfect game of bowling in:

[Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A]

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Oh wow!  Holy crap!  You are into Microvision!!  Making your own screens!

 

Count me in.

 

And Arcadia 2001 multicart as well!!?!?!

You sir... ROCK!!!

Was there anyone crazy enough to do a Microvision home brew?

 

Also... what the heck is this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MB-ELECTRONICS-CASETTE-INTERCHANGEABLE-MICROVISION3-SHOOTING-STAR-1979/132546899990?hash=item1edc693016:g:EEMAAOSwAQBasNtv

 

 

Whenever I spent time with Jay Smith (for those who don't know... the creator of Microvision) I always talked to him about Vectrex and never Microvision.

(For those who don't know... yes... same guy who created Vectrex too!).

 

Was just reading the Wiki page and found this passage to be extremely interesting and something I wasn't aware of...

"According to Satoru Okada, the former head of Nintendo's R&D1 Department, the Microvision gave birth to the Game & Watch after Nintendo designed around Microvision's limitations.^[7]"

 

All quirky systems, it seems... . Probably the Intellivision is a bit quirky, too (compared to the competition at the time).

That eBay link is for one of the European games. They're the same as the NA games (with different names) except there's a Super Blockbuster not released in NA.

There's a few homebrews, at least in ROM format. None in physical form (at least in qty. > 1) that I'm aware of... yet... .

 

[Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A]

8 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

I see that you are a big Microvision collector!  So cool!!  One of my favorites growing up.  My original one got lost somewhere between all my moves in the mid to late 80's. 

 

I bought one off Ebay a few years back with some of the big ass carts but the screens were barely readable so I haven't really played in 40 years.



Any tips on where to find a good one?

 

UPDATE:  I just saw this on Ebay!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-Milton-Bradley-Microvision-Game-New-Replacement-LCD-Display-PREORDER/224090610358?hash=item342cd75ab6:g:YGgAAOSwLndfu-xk

 

How easy is it to change the screen?

 

 

MY version of the LCD replacement screen is a couple of months away. If you can wait, you'll save yourself $10. Long story; not for this thread.

Figure on 20 minutes to replace.

[Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A]

3 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Oh trust me... I'm well aware and agree.

 

I focus and work about 16 hours a day and I spend about 5 minutes a week humiliating their nonsense which in turn triggers them to continue spending hours and hours of their lives every day following me around like lost puppies.

 

I win.

 

 

 

That's gold.

 

[Notes from installing Best Electronics' Proline Joystick Upgrade Kit]

Good job on the second one.