[Star Castle RC1]

I tried to assemble the code and got "Label mismatch" errors. What DASM version are you using?

[Star Castle RC1]

How about making the screen taller? Or do you need that space for computing? In that case, if you tell me, which code is consuming most CPU time, I could have a look at it.

[Star Castle RC1]

I guess you are proposing multiple 256 byte save areas within the 4K?

Any size actually. For saving a single high score you only need ~3 bytes. This could work as an replacement for the SaveKey, which not many people have and is not available (anymore?).

 

For that, I'm stuffing the ARM code into the 512 bytes that must be kept clear at the beginning of each bank (it currently takes three 512 byte areas).

So still more than half of the available space left. Right?

 

We would need some code (e.g. using a hash to test if anything has changed in the 4K before rewriting it) which prevents killing the flash memory due to programming errors.

[Star Castle RC1]

Maybe we should open a dedicated thread for this discussion. Because I will continue throwing questions and ideas to you now!

 

I couldn't find it in the code, so I figure that currently you game somehow (accessing a hotspot?) triggers to store the 256 bytes into the upper 4K of the flash RAM. And it can also somehow (accessing another hotspot?) trigger to load it again. How about giving the Harmony more information? E.g. store from (address, bank) n bytes to (address in 4K flash). The changed 4K would have to be merged with the existing 4k (no idea how yet).

 

As long as the game you load is not larger than 28k, the storage area should be safe, no?

[Star Castle RC1]

The flash memory takes a second or two to erase and write, so the Atari must be stalled during writes (by executing a code loop in RIOT RAM).

So the write is initiated by the game itself, right?

 

The flash memory can only be erased in 4KB chunks, so I'm erasing 4KB every time even though I only use 256 bytes.

Bummer! So you have no ability to define slots which could be assigned to different games.

Hm... How about games storing the 4K in their own RAM (or ROM?) and overwriting the whole 4K themselves? Or some more logic to Harmony to handle that?

 

Harmony does not have access to RIOT RAM and registers, so these would need to be stored/restored from the 256 byte RAM area.

If you could store a defined "restart" vector, games could handle that easily.

 

This facility could certainly be used for more than just the high score table.

Definitely.

[Star Castle RC1]

High score table (will only work on Harmony cart)

What are the limitations here? How much space in total is available?

 

This would open a ton of options (e.g. dump and later reload RAM and registers)!

[Well that was no fun]

I was in hospital for 4 days last autumn. And I was under the impression that they sometimes(?) really do their best, to make you even more sick. Little sleep, bad food, non-working TVs...

[Star Castle Playable]

I like the idea of adding more options. Don't know what the kernel will support though. (I can tell you it won't support alternating ring directions. )

Would less rings work? E.g. no inner or outer ring?

[Star Castle Playable]

I have some sound effects set to one of the channels and some on the other. The engine thrust and background hum are indeed on the same channel, so you will only hear one at a time.

How about a sound priority system? So each sound can use any of the two channels if his priority is higher than the currently played sound.

[Star Castle Playable]

Great job!

 

Maybe its time to start thinking about game variations to increase replay value. E.g. different levels of enemy response and aggressiveness, auto repairing or faster rotating rings, varying frictions, deadly when touched rings, different starting levels... something like that.

 

BTW: Not sure if that's a cheat, but if you position your ship very close to the outer ring targeting the center and then start shooting as fast as you can, you quite easily get through all three rings and kill the enemy.

[Thomas Dolby]

"Aliens ate my Buick"

[Atari 2600 Homebrew/Hacks AA store rankings]

Another update:

 

Homebrews

1. Synthcart
   
2. Lady Bug
   
3. Medieval Mayhem
   
4. Thrust+ Platinum
   
5. Star Fire
   
6. Seawolf
   
7. Boulder Dash
   
8. 2005 Minigame Multicart -1
   
9. Fall Down -1
   
10. Skeleton+ -1
    
11. Conquest of Mars -1
    
12. Climber 5 -1
    
13. Gunfight
    
14. Marble Craze -2
    
15. Go Fish! -1
    
16. Strat-O-Gems Deluxe -1
    
17. Oystron
    
18. Dark Mage -2
    
19. Colony 7 +2
    
20. Crazy Balloon -2
    
21. SWOOPS! -2
    
22. Hunchy II thumbsdown: -1
    
23. Testcart -3
    
24. A-VCS-tec Challenge -1
    
25. Space Instigators -1
    
26. Space Treat Deluxe -1
    
27. Dungeon +7
    
28. Juno First +10
    
29. Squish 'Em -3
    
30. This Planet Sucks -3
    
31. Gingerbread Man -3
    
32. Elevators Amiss -3
    
33. Toyshop Trouble -2
    
34. Four-Play -4
    
35. Sync -3
    
36. Backfire -3
    
37. Bee-Ball -2
    
38. AStar -2
    
39. Phantom II / Pirate -2
    
40. Reindeer Rescue -1
    
41. Space Battle -1
    
42. BLiP Football -1
    
43. Jammed -1
    
44. Cave In +1
    
45. Encaved -2
    
46. Euchre -2
    
47. INV+ -1
    
48. Warring Worms: The Worm (Re)Turns +1
    
49. Lead +2
    
50. Melbourne Tatty -3
    
51. FlapPing -3
    
52. Vault Assault +1
    
53. Rainbow Invaders +1
    
54. Poker Squares -4
    
55. Ultra SCSIcide -3
    
56. Stella's Stocking
    
57. Okie Dokie -2
    
58. Duck Attack +1
    
59. K.O. Cruiser +1
    
60. Allia Quest -2
    
61. Crazy Valet -4
    
62. Incoming! +1
    
63. Amiga Boing! Demo 2.0 -2
    
64. Raster Fahndung -2
    
65. StickyNotes Cart thumbsdown: -3
    
66. Mental Kombat +1
    
67. Alfred Challenge -3
    
68. Power Off! -2
    
69. Pesco -1
    
70. Merlin's Walls -1
    
71. Chunkout
    

= new

 

Hacks

1. Pac-Man Arcade +1
   
2. Adventure Plus -1
   
3. Wolfenstein VCS: The Next Mission
   
4. Venture II: The Abysmal Abyss
   
5. Berzerk: Voice Enhanced +1
   
6. Space Invaders Arcade -1
   
7. Galaxian Arcade
   
8. Miniature Golf Plus
   
9. Return of Mario Bros.
   
10. Missile Command: Trak-Ball +1
    
11. Asteroids DC+ -1
    
12. X3V0LuX -1
    
13. Combat Redux +1
    
14. Haunted Adventure Trilogy +2
    
15. Combat Rock -2
    
16. Indy 500 XE
    

[To-doing]

That much is true... but why would I pick that city?

Something with squares...?

[Star Castle Update]

Do you know if this is the latest version: http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/archives/199706/msg00049.html

Looks so, yes.

[Destroy Walls]

I would be helpful if you wouldn't have to align with the passages 100%. Allowing to be 1 or 2 pixel of would help a lot.

[Star Castle Update]

I'm having a lot of difficulty getting anywhere close to the arcade effects for Star Castle, so if you have any spare time I could use some help?

I am using ftsfx-em.bin (Frame Timed Sound Effects-EM) from Eckhard Stolberg. A bit unusual to control, but good for creating simple effects.

[Meltdown - Atari 2600]

It works in MESS.

[Star Castle Update]

Wow, this comes along very nicely.

[Star Castle Brainstorming]

36 pixels only? Don't you have to switch off 1 pixel and switch on another one? Or do you do that in different frames?

 

No chance for updating 2 pixel/segment and frame? Then you could animate the segment instead of letting it blink.

 

Or you animate the ring while it moves. You do not enable (all) pixels for some degrees.

[Tanks!]

How do you construct the maze?

[Star Castle Brainstorming]

Instead of a dotted version of a dotted segment, you could flash (off/on) the segment when hit. That would give the player feedback that he really hit it.

 

And the already hit segment could continue to blink (e.g. ~twice a second, 66% on, 33% of).

[Tanks!]

Getting curious...

[Star Castle Brainstorming]

To make up for the double hits, you could also make the segments smaller.

 

I wouldn't limit the shots too much, since that might make the gameplay too static. Maybe you have to switch to software detection.

[WRC - MIA... again.]

I think you can buy access to EuroSport's live streams. Maybe that helps.

 

BTW: Did you watch the Dakar?

[I got the Atari 2600]

Sort the homebrew list by most popular, that should give you are first idea. Then start looking for a game you like.