Anguna (WIP Homebrew) -- Feedback Wanted

[Anguna (WIP Homebrew) -- Feedback Wanted]

Brilliant work! Thank you

[2018 Activision Summer Patch Quest!]

Two more, especially proud of that ski time

[2018 Activision Summer Patch Quest!]

Happy 4th all!

 

On this July 4, 2018 I Raided a River, Bit the Frost, Freed the Way, and Rode the Beam

[2018 Activision Summer Patch Quest!]

PS I suck at Keystone Kapers so bad

[2018 Activision Summer Patch Quest!]

Hot off the press! Pitfall, Sky Jinks, Seaquest

 

My Mom helped me mail off my pictures, how long do you think it will take to get my patches? I don't mind waiting 4-6 weeks.................

[2018 Homebrew Tournament - Draconian - Round 2]

LOL SMARTASS:) Saving up for a copy and look forward to the manual

 

Oh yes, there was a Bosconian in an arcade at a seaside beach motel we stayed at as a kid, the voices were jarring then, now they are super hilarious and evoke nostalgia, so glad you used them

[2018 Activision Summer Patch Quest!]

OK to post older screen pics? Or need to be current as of today? I assume as of today?

[WHERE Are The Paddle Homebrews?!]

Reading a joystick is extremely simple, the equivalent of 2 PEEKs from BASIC, one returning all 4 directions and the other the state of the fire button. This is typically done once per frame.

 

Driving controller is the same, and likewise can be checked once per frame. The peek for directions returns a gray code, which tells you how far it rotated and in which direction.

 

On later systems you can do the same for paddles^*, one PEEK for a 0-255 value for the position, another peek for the fire button. On the Atari one PEEK works for the fire button, but there's no dedicated hardware to generate the 0-255 value. Instead your program must implement that in software by doing this:

• A POKE to dump the paddles to ground which empties the 4 paddle capacitors.
• a while later a second POKE to remove the dump to ground.
• after that, numerous PEEKS to see how long it takes for the capacitor(s) to fill back up.

These PEEKS occur during the drawing of the screen, and take a lot of time. So much time that Warlords only takes readings for a single paddle per frame and employs a smoothing routine so the paddle movement doesn't appear jerky. This is the routine that checks the capacitor:

       LDX    Pot2Read     ; 3  3
       LDA    INPT0,X      ; 4  7
       BMI    Skip         ; 2  9 (or 3 10 if branch is taken)
       STY    Paddle1,X    ; 4 13
Skip:  ... 

---

Pot2Read is which potentiometer(paddle) to read, 0-3. This bit of code is run multiple times while the visible screen is being drawn. It takes 10 or 13 cycles, there's only 76 cycles per scanline. This reduces the number of updates that can be done to TIA, the Atari's video chip, which means paddle games tend to have simpler graphics. You don't have to run it on every scanline, though how often does dictate the range of motion. Medieval Mayhem checks the position of 2 paddles per frame, with 75 checks done for each paddle so each player's shield can be located at 1 of 75 onscreen positions.

 

 

^* an analog joystick is equivelant to 2 paddles joined together.

Thank you for this! Lot of Greek to me but some I understand, if nothing else it shows the complexity compared to regular joystick programming, had NO idea.

 

I REALLY didnt mean for this thread to seem an attack on programmers, people who sustain the scene in a vital way, my apologies if came over that way, and I was ignorant of how many good paddle games do exist, Marble Craze alone is so impressive, not to mention balls hard, enjoying it today. I just love paddle gameplay and would love to see more.

[2018 Homebrew Tournament - Draconian - Round 2]

It's a start:) What an amazing port, thank you SpiceWare!

 

Samples - I know its supposed to be 'alert', or is it 'alive'? In my head its 'Allah' Awesome retro goodness

[WHERE Are The Paddle Homebrews?!]

Start here.

 

Once you get a handle on that, refer to this.

 

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

 

*RANT*

Point well made thank you, dont mean to be disrespectful of programmers, sincere apologies if I offended, especially someone who has brought us SO many amazing creations, thank you, glad you spoke up about difficulty of programming paddle games, had no idea, my post wasnt meant critical, what is it (for us non-code peeps) that makes it more difficult?

 

ALSO agree with the inclusion of more driving controller games

 

I still hold to my desire for more paddle game innovations though:)

[WHERE Are The Paddle Homebrews?!]

Its great their there, kudos, but that's FOUR:) I just feel theres so much room for innovation here, the paddle controllers are iconic

[DK Arcade 2600 - Playable Demo!]

HOLY CRAP this game is one amazing achievement, thank you SO much, such a long time DK fan, and this could NOT be better, all the gameplay mechanics, challenge/difficulty are there, nice homage to the original DK 2600 in ways mixed with genuine arcade gameplay, sorry but LIGHT years better than DKVCS, save maybe for animation quality, BUT I suspect programming sacrificed overall presentation and gameplay for graphics, would love to hear from experienced programmers.

 

SO cant wait for full release and hope Nintendo doesn't block it

 

Thanks again for your work

 

Lee

 

pic - hard demo

[WHERE Are The Paddle Homebrews?!]

The paddle controller is SO iconic, so different and fun a gaming experience, and so UNDER supported after ALL these years

 

Why are there not good Homebrews yet?

 

SO many design options, Gyrus and Tempest variants come to mind, ARKANOID!

 

GRAVITY centered games

 

AND why not more paddle support for newer games, was playing LEM and wondering this (LOVE that homebrew)

 

*RANT*

 

Lee

[Finished Homebrews You Want Released]

Pac Man 8K

DK VCS

I have changed my tune, DK Arcade is SO much more advanced IMO, the animation on VCS is impressive, but DK Arcade just nails it

[First Review of RetroN 77]

Will it play Night Rider?................................................................

[First Review of RetroN 77]

Thank you MJ!

 

Your pal John Hancock has posted his review

[2018 Homebrew Tournament - Super Cobra Arcade - Round 1]

bit better

[2018 Homebrew Tournament - Super Cobra Arcade - Round 1]

aaaaand again

[2018 Homebrew Tournament - Super Cobra Arcade - Round 1]

A little better:)

[A trophy IS a patch!]

Hey, good job on that one! I tried to earn that patch too, but got frustrated and gave up. That was a while ago though, maybe I should try again

Thanks:) Not too difficult, a DEFINITE pattern, ease up on the 3 blue cars, after 3rd blue car passes, advance into median, cant remember from there, good luck

[Top 100 2600 games of all time]

Updating again

 

My OLD top 10

 

1. Super Breakout

2. Beamrider

3. Phoenix

4. Moonsweeper

5. Dragonfire

6. Ms Pac Man

7. Pitfall!

8. Yars Revenge

9. Q Bert

10. Space Invaders

 

homebrews

 

1. Lady Bug

2. Chetiry

3. Thrust+

4. Toyshop Trouble

5. Lead

 

My NEW Top 10

 

1. Super Breakout

2. Beamrider

3. Frostbite

4. Phoenix

5. Dragonfire

6. Gravitar

7. Pitfall

8. Yars Revenge

9. Space Invaders

10. Kung Fu

 

TOP 5 Homebrew

 

1. Lady Bug

2. Thrust+

3. Seawolf

4. Donkey Kong VCS

5. LEM

[2018 Homebrew Tournament - Super Cobra Arcade - Round 1]

Hat in the ring:) Gonna try and improve, what an AMAZING programming job, wow, wasn't expecting to be this impressed

[A trophy IS a patch!]

MAN this took a lot of work, and I'm not even sure I can instruct anyone how to do it, just keeps those skis straight as possible, hug the flags in a few key areas, shift left and right as LITTLE as possible

 

Patch #7!

[D.K. VCS]

Just played 2 hours straight for the first time ever, AMAZING work Joe Musashi, THANK YOU!

 

Question - on 1st screen, are barrels supposed to disappear at end of 3rd platform up?

[L.E.M. Lunar Excursion Module]

Finally played this, AMAZING work and a joy for this gravity game fiend, SO wish I'd rodered boxed with patch when I had a chance, thank you! Ordering a cart soon budget permitting:)