Papa

Life is not too short. There is also no proof at all that you only live once. I'm not telling anyone how to have fun or to clean up the giant swirling islands of garbage from the ocean either. This would have been such an interesting and informative topic if the second answer was "yes" and there were no other posts at all.

Here is how I feel about it... I prefer the original system the way it was intended (using a filter just makes it as good as it can get without changing the system entirely). It's like modding a Genesis/Mega Drive for RGB (I've done it, too). You may like the sharper picture. It may make some games look like an arcade!! Certain games (Sonic is one of them) may have processes that might not look right in RGB. I also prefer real hardware over emulation, CRT TV's over HD, VHS (*gasp) over DVD/Blue Ray, records over CD's or digital, and systems that use palpable media rather than DLC. I think that filtered RF on Atari looks better than modded systems. It's my personal preference, but that is how I feel. Modded systems, like what was said before, look like emulation or, and this was quite a creative way to put it, like the game was done in MS-Paint.

Using multiple screen grabs, I crafted these representations of my Street Fighter clone. Game will be ready soon!!

You can also use an RF trap or RF frequency filter to block static and give you the best possible picture without modding. These are cheap and retain the classic parts. On a side note, the Heavy Sixer we just fixed had a spoiled ribbon (old green, split, crappy one) so we used higher quality wires and soldiered directly to the board. We also replaced the voltage regulator with one from an NES. This took care of all of the problems it was having and the picture looks very good. You can also adjust the color on many systems from the bottom (a small hole is on a few models that accesses the color knob) or by opening it and this can improve color by correcting an off-color picture. Finally, by using the RF in on a VCR you can often correct fuzzy pictures or get rid of subtle lines. None of this has the punch of an AV mod (I've seen super clean pictures with filters, though. Possibly as good looking.) when modern televisions may not deliver with RF. I've also noticed that the small, brief gap of televisions with Progressive Scan (before HD) can cause artifacts, screen jumping, and jittering with games that have no problems at all on HD or older RCA jack televisions. I will be modding a 4 switcher soon (NOT my Sunnyvale one) as I need to be able to test my programs on as many variations as possible. I generally try to maintain my systems in an original state for as long as possible.

The cart label should show them all playing junkyard instruments... Also..is the goal of the game to eat everything while avoiding getting a big purple..uh..phalice..in your mouth?

Just this morning I played Ms.Pacman, Pacman 8k, Burger Time, Run Out! (flipped once), beat Titan Axe twice on hard, and played Spy Hunter!

Nice! I really like those old silver lined labels. Sometimes I wonder if Sega had put the art from the Japanese Master System games on the carts if they would have sold more. The blueprint design with eight-year-old-art-class drawings might have lead some away from the system. Atari had the opposite problem in that they seemed to excite the senses with the art on the label or box, while the game itself looked mediocre. I chose the old style font for my personal copy of Titan Axe and I really like how it turned out. I chose pink as it seemed to be underrepresented amongst all the shades of green, blue, red, and gold. I think as the summer breaks comes to a close people are hustled up a bit and the forums reflect that with an overall lack of participation.

I would recommend printing a lot of the online manuals and studying them diligently. Copy anything you type into notepad or word (notepad is what I use) and any time you make a major change, copy that into a new file. I have around twenty different notepad files for Titan Axe alone. While coding it I would run into a setback and then revert to my last successful code and start from there. Once the problem was solved I would save it as a newer file. This keeps you from getting really far in your code and then finding out something is wrong that happened early on. Check your screen updates on real hardware and, if you can, on several televisions. Progressive scan will handle things differently than HD or CRT. Even digital CRT's can have different results than older ones. Certain emulators won't work with DPC+ games, and emulators don't jitter (bounce the screen like a simulated earthquake) like real hardware on a television might. Just because your scan rate may fluctuate a bit (original Atari games can wreak havok on the scan count, but still look perfect on a television) doesn't mean it won't look okay on real hardware. ALT-L will show your scan count in Stella. I've tested many old Atari games that I know work on real hardware (obviously) that kick the scan count like a soccer ball, so it's not that it has to be perfect all the time. You just want to make sure it doesn't waver too much or too often. Have a great time learning BASIC and don't forget to post your work!

It's done, yup! The last changes I made (these are not on the demo that was there) were setting up the difficulty so it couldn't be changed on the fly (during the game), and some minor adjustments to the backgrounds on one level. I ordered one from the AA store with my own label that still has the difficulty switchable (like the demo at Austin), but the one for sale will not allow you to change difficulty after the game has started (you can flip the switch all you want but it will be stuck at what you set it to at the title screen for the duration of the game). This is so you have to beat it in hard all the way through to free the Faery Queen. The game is really not that hard once you figure out the warps and recharge areas.

It was a big highpoint for me, getting to see Titan Axe being played at the Texas game fest! There were a lot of people in those pics and videos. I feel like all the Star Wars cosplayers had the appearance of wedding crashers to a degree. Richard Garriott was there, so that was cool (Buttons and I agreed that he looked like a mini Hulk Hogan ). We were just playing (Buttons with me watching and helping a little) Ultima V on the Master System (We both totally love Ultima VII on the PC). Anywho, it was just fantastic seeing my game in front of tons of people. All the homebrew games got their feet wet and it looked fun. I wonder if Titan Axe will get a spot in Oregon?

In Golden Axe (and a few other games like it) you can jump in as the second player (or..GASP...HAVE A FRIEND!) right before you die and get twice as much play. This method makes it relatively easy to beat the game. I've beaten it several times with a buddy, and once or twice by myself without the 'jump-in-as-the-second-player-right-before-you-die' tactic. The hardest part of the game is having to deal with the undead at the end that constantly attack you while the end boss is trying to whack you so he can use magic. The enemy A.I. in the game is often so stupidly (or ingeniously) programmed as to be able to 'lure' them off of ledges or move to allow them to fly off of cliffs. I've always had a hard time with Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts for the SNES. Some of the hardest games I've found to be on the SNES as they seem to want to port over arcade titles, make them ridiculously choppy, and give you the equivalent of eight quarters to beat the whole game (I would easily plunk down five bucks on a game that I really liked in the arcade). R-Type III I have to second as it is frustratingly hard and way too choppy. Gradius III is another chop-fest-frustration-maker. There are too many to keep track of in the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom library. Atari games are generally hard after you're wrist goes numb and you can't figure out what the strategy is. Many old school classics you have to really like to endure the learning curve. Back in the day I would forget about even trying to play Pacman with any level of success, whereas today I can score high enough to feel like the effort was worth it. Some of them I would classify as 'funny-noise-and-I-guess-I-died' games that you may want to look up to see what they are supposed to be about or how to play them at all. Most games are hard at first and then, if there is some part of it to keep you coming back, they get easier with memory, repetition, and strategy.

I picked Pole Position II for a few reasons. I'm sure a large number of people who bought the 7800 already had some VCS/2600 games to use the backwards compatibility, so they likely already had the VCS/2600 version of Asteroids. The 2600 version of Asteroids looks almost as good as the 7800 version, whereas Pole Position II has pretty good graphics and game-play which helps to show off the new hardware you just bought. I like Asteroids for the 2600 slightly better than the 7800 version and I think it's better than the arcade version or the 7800 one (my wife flips the score over and over like it's nothing and that's cute to watch). I also had a lot of fun with Pole Position II when I first got my 7800 back in the day. It can be frustrating, but I think that has more to do with the controllers than anything else. Once I got Double Dragon that was the go to title for me and my brother to play together. Now I like Rampage a lot for the 7800. Joust would have shown the hardware off pretty well, and I enjoy that game. Especially if you already owned the 2600 version of Joust, which I like a lot and often play, too. GO 7800!!

Now I've added a punch and a crouching kick for Way and Edge. Both the punch and the standing kick can also be done while jumping, so that's good! I may make the crouching kick work in the air as well as it looks perfect as a flying side kick. I will call my Zangief clone "Borets"! Thanks Buttons. I will consider the name Pixel Fighter. There are a LOT of pixels in this game.

Here is the latest on my SFII clone. Now fireballs are in! Blossom (Sakura) has a cool fireball pose and pink projectile! Edge (Ken) has a distinctly 'retro' fireball (spirit ball is a better term for it I guess.) Way (Ryu) has a classic SFII projectile, with the ghosted hands and blue flash. Two kicks for the twinsies has been added and certain glitches have been worked out. The size can still be selected with the left difficulty switch. I turned the Ryu and Ken clones into a simple color variant of one sprite set to save memory and their fireball poses are quad zoomed, 8 pixel wide sprites to save memory and prevent any second sprite glitches (certain halves of characters would vanish when throwing fireballs). With Blossom a workaround had to be implemented and a second set of speed regulating variables so a slight flicker happens on the second player when she throws a spirit-ball. Dragon uppercuts are still in, but not usable until I program the controllers. Lotus (Chun-Li) has her winner stance still mushed in there waiting to be implemented (or removed if absolutely necessary). When all is squeezed in there should be three or four basic attacks per character, two to three special moves per character (fireballs, dragon uppercuts, and tornado kicks for the three Sheng-Long students. A rapid kick and spinning-star-kick for Lotus. Electrocution and the flying-furry-sonic-spinball attack for White (Blanka), and a spinning-vodka-induced-helicopter-punch and 69-in-your-face-Final-Fight-Mayor piledriver for our Zangief clone), at least one squatting attack, at least one jumping attack, and some throws!! ..Yes, I'm pretty sure this is all possible! WorldFight.bin I'm also thinking of changing the name to 'World Fighter'. Any ideas on what I should call this game or what Zangief's non-lawsuit-inducing clone moniker should be?

Isn't the Sega pad code currently only for one controller? I was going to implement it but then was like, waaaiiiit a minuuuuute!! (*brakes screetching). I guess if you use INPT3{7} it's the second paddle button. I don't know if anyone ever got that tested. Right now I'm using direction and button combinations, but may make a second version that uses Sega pads if I can get two to work at the same time. Nice colors, btw!

Very cute start. I love the music!

It's a Testarossa with ejection seats, an advanced experimental braking system, a nitro booster (as of the last update), faux camel hair trunk, a cassette player with Blaupunkt sound system, and the fuzzy dice from the Millennium Falcon.

Okay! Here is the latest version of RunOut! The music is set to "1" on the volume control (AUDV0=1), it was "2" before and I can't go any lower than "1" or it's MUTE! Holding down on the title screen before pressing fire to begin the game halts the in game music for the duration of the game (game over music is still there, also "1"). I haven't noticed any problems with the volume and I like the tunes so that's just me. I don't crank my TV or PC up very loud. There is an additional background near the beginning of the game. The other cars come at you at a faster pace when in high gear. I would recommend using the brakes to avoid flying off the road when they come during turns. I found that the game was slightly less difficult as the cars seemed to rip past you just before entering curves when traveling at top speed. I beat the game on my second try. Remember B/W-Color pauses and unpauses the game. Car colors are available with the difficulty switches (blue, yellow, and red)! This game uses more color, more animation, and more sprites than any other VCS racing game! It is non-violent (no explosions, even), and my kids can play it with little to no trouble. My wife (who doesn't even like Out Run) said she likes to play this game (that was the slower version)! I am very happy with it and will likely not make any more changes as I can play it and beat it over and over and over again and see the cool Atari fireworks that pop up each time I make a complete circuit. Tell me what you think of the Space Needle and please enjoy the latest update to RunOut!. RunOut.bin

The latest version of the game has the ability to turn off the music ('cept the game over song). This song imitates a popular song from Out Run!. I would recommend turning down your volume if you can hear it across your apartment. I can't fit any smaller sprites into the game as most of the space is taken up. The reason the cars are the size that they are is to be realistic in comparison with the car being imitated (the convertible Ferrari is a slightly smallish car when compared to many other popular sports cars). It's not a Miata, but it's thin. I beat the game nearly every time I play it, so I don't have a problem getting around the traffic. The cars mulling towards you is to give the feeling that they are very fast like other sports cars should be. There is a difference in speed, based on your gear, although subtle. I may be able to make them come at you slightly faster in high gear. That is not out of the realm of possibility.

I would rather classify Fatal Run as the home gamers (of the time) answer to their arcade game Road Blasters. There are no machine guns, explosions, or cars intentionally bashing into you or cutting you off in Out Run! (or Run Out!). There can be several answers to one question, though.

...Here's the download of that, by the way... Jumps have extra animation. All walking animation is done. Lotus has a punch and two kicks. White has the spin attack (no glitches now). Edge, Way, and Blossom have Dragon Uppercuts (down, down-right, right...yes, I know that's the fireball, but I'm working on it.)! Left difficulty "A" is small characters, "B" is large characters.. SFW.bin ..still not quite a game, but it's almost there. (also, I've muted the music until I write it as that was just the Run Out music with a different instrument to act as as placeholder.)

Now I've made it so the right difficulty switch changes the size of the characters. The "B" switch makes the characters large and the "A" switch makes them small (like the first demo.)!!