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Scott Stilphen

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Posts posted by Scott Stilphen


  1. >>The 4K version also does not take advantage of z26's RAM randomization routine, so every time you start that version of Video Life you'll see what was in the contents of the PC's memory that dumped the cart. The 2K version we released will show random data each time in the main window before the data is cleared.

    >>

     

    I honestly don't see any difference between the two versions, other than your version auto-runs with the new Z26. Both start up with a screen full of "garbage", which is immediately wiped clear, and then the title screen appears.


  2. Just found that there's a picture of a prototype Locomotion box for the 5200 at the Atari HQ site. How is it that both Atari and Mattel were working on versions? If one of them got the console rights to do it, wouldn't that cover both the 2600 and 5200?


  3. Tod has really been 'burned at the stake' for Pac-Man over the years, which is unfortunate b/c but he did some fantastic work on the 2600 later on. I think Pac-Man was his first actual game, and to even get something like that in 4K is pretty amazing. Xevious was promising, and Ballblazer sounded interesting (from his comments on the Stella tape). Shooting Arcade and Save Mary are very good. He also had a hand in Summer Games and Winter Games.


  4. Couple other games with weird rollover problems - Big Bird (slight scoring error appears), Pele's Championship Soccer (garbled characters), Blueprint (rolls at 20,000), and Decathlon (scores of 20k only show as 10k).


  5. > Yeah, but if you notice, it is a solid background and all the bg elements are generated via sprites. The playfield isn't even being used.

     

    Although the hardware may be incapable of doing *background* diagonal scrolling, it certainly gives the illusion of it. What about games like Skiing or Laser Blast? Skiing is widely regarded as being a "scroller" but Laser Blast is not.


  6. I don't know about anyone else, but I can definitely live without another version of Tetris....for ANY system!

     

    I'm not much for puzzle games, but how about a version of the unreleased "The Impossible Game"? From Leonard Herman's description, it doesn't sound like it would be that difficult for someone to recreate.


  7. Yep, Jerome's initials in E.T. are still hidden. Two people emailed me, saying they stumbled upon it years ago, but don't remember the exact method to reveal it. One said it may have depended on the number of candies E.T. had. The other mentioned it happened on a certain screen with one of the other characters present. It could be a combination of both. At this point, it seems about the only way to uncover the method (for both E.T. and Raiders) is to disassemble the code (which I wish I knew how to do..)

     

    Anybody up to the challenge?


  8. The programmer was Charlie Heath. Tim Duarte interviewed him for the 2600 Connection (this was first mentioned in ish #34). According to Heath, the game was about 80% complete, sometime in 1984, and is best described as Joust with musical instruments. Tim has been trying to get permission from him to release the ROM for some time, as he has the only known copy (until now?).


  9. [bad news for anal-retentives, now you need to try to find end-of-production epoxy carts for a complete collection :P]

     

    LOL! - I can just see people taking their collections up to the nearest airport to have them X-ray'd.....

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