cannot get playfield to work

[cannot get playfield to work]

I won't be working on this again until monday but I'll report then on my progress.

[cannot get playfield to work]

Thanks again for all the help. I'll let you know what progress I make.

[cannot get playfield to work]

Thank you.

[cannot get playfield to work]

Here I got it.

test2.bas

[cannot get playfield to work]

I tried to upload the .bas file but I couldn't get the button to work (when I clicked, nothing happened).

[cannot get playfield to work]

It's on another computer but I'll try to get it with a thumb drive. Just a minute.

 

rem test maze game aug 4 2014
rem set smartbranching on
COLUBK = $0E
COLUPF = $00

playfield:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
end

drawscreen
end

[cannot get playfield to work]

I can set color but the playfield flickers and isn't vertically aligned properly and I can't figure out how to fix it even though i read the manual. Any help appreciated.

[You're trapped in the last 2600 game world you played, can you survive?]

Last 2600 game I played was kaboom! but i couldnt play it right because i dont have paddle controllers (yet). I would probably get blown up.

[Looping]

Looping is one of my favorite games for Colecovision because the concept of an aerial obstacle course is an interesting gameplay change for most games on the system, of course later systems would eventually do this better but this game shows they were thinking outside the box when they could in the early 1980s.

[enter colecovision]

No, not really. Even during its best years, Coleco was a small competitor compared to the juggernaut that was Atari. When Atari went under, it dragged the entire console gaming industry along with it, mostly because retailers lost confidence in the console gaming medium. So while gamers were reorienting their gaming dollars towards computers (C64, Amiga, etc.), there was a sort of vacuum in the console gaming biz that Nintendo took advantage of. The rest is history.

Ok that makes sense.

[enter colecovision]

I thought the ADAM was a significant contributor to the crash.

[enter colecovision]

That (memory chip price drop) and the Greenberg's finally getting over the Telstar fiasco that nearly bankrupted the company.

Which Coleco/Adam pretty much did anyway given the 1983 crash which I suppose nobody could have foreseen.

[enter colecovision]

My intended point was that market forces in 1981 concerning the cost of computer memory were a key factor in the bringing of the colecovision to market.

[How to learn batari]

Thanks I'll check those out. I tried to read the whole thing and it looks like I missed that part.

[What is the hardest 2600 game?]

Compared to the arcade version it's a piece of cake. Second only to Defender for ass kicking and quarter stealing.

I haven't played the arcade version in awhile but you may be right.

[enter colecovision]

I always get a kick out of reading these kinds of inaccuracies.

If I posted something inaccurate I apologize.

[enter colecovision]

Some interesting research into the cost of computer memory produced this:

 

It was market changes in the cost of memory that made the colecovision possible.

http://thedoteaters.com/?bitstory=colecovision

"Bromleys team is charged to develop a new third-generation home videogame system, one that will set the standard in graphics quality, performance and expandability. Bromley himself had done preliminary work in designing and costing a system several years earlier, but the high cost of RAM kept an advanced console out of reach.

 

By 1981, however, RAM prices have dropped dramatically, so much so that the project is now within range of the target price-point set by Coleco. Bromley and Arnold Greenberg hash out the specs of the new system, giving it the placeholder moniker of ColecoVision until the marketing types can think up a better one. They never do, so the name sticks. The new system is based around an 8-bit 3.58 MHz Z80A CPU with 8K system RAM. Also on-board is the powerful Texas Instruments TMS9918A video controller chip, giving the system 16K of video RAM and allowing a screen resolution of 256×192. It has the capability to display 32 sprites on-screen at the same time, along with a 16 colour on-screen palette out of a total of 32. Three channel sound via the TI SN76489sound generator chip is also thrown into the mix for good measure. The consoles cartridges are 32K, the most memory of any system currently on the market."

 

As for why the price of memory dropped around 1981, it looks like at least part of it was increased supply of memory chips. http://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/30/business/mostek-rides-high-on-computer-chip.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar

"A flood of new manufacturing capacity, primarily from Japanese chip makers, hit the market just as demand for RAM's dried up during the recession. That drove prices of 16K chips from $4.60 apiece in 1980 to $1.65 in 1981, Mr. Mason said"

[What is the hardest 2600 game?]

I have only played a few games so far but I think in terms of gameplay missile command is a very difficult game to play well.

[How to learn batari]

 

Have you looked at this section yet:

 

randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-batari-basic-commands.html#objects

I paged through the whole thing; I'm not clear on how to get larger sprites and multiple sprites, unless they're advanced programming effects I don't know how to do.

[How to learn batari]

I've made some progress but I've run into limitations about the number and size of sprites. How does that work?

[beginning with batari]

I decided to focus on reading and taking notes on the online materials explaining the language now that I have the compiler set up; for instance I was working with some target code but it seemed the collision detection used by the program to tell when a hit was scored was a bit wonky, only scoring a hit sometimes. I'd like to know the language better to deal with situations like that before I actually try writing a first game or test.

[What language are Colecovision games written in?]

That makes a lot of sense.

[What language are Colecovision games written in?]

Thanks, that's useful information!

[What language are Colecovision games written in?]

I assume its C or C++ but I really have no idea; I would like to know so I know what I have to learn in order to write games. I'm just getting started writing Atari 2600 games and since I assume I'll have to learn another language to do Colecovision games, it would help if you could give me some direction.

[beginning with batari]

I thought of that also I just couldn't get it to load code or compile no matter what I thought of trying!