Nostalgic

The version of vcs.h that comes with DASM has constants representing various memory locations in the Atari 2600. I noticed that it doesn't have constants representing the values that you can store in those locations. For instance, vcs.h defines what CTRLPF is, but doesn't have a constant with a value of 1 for setting the playfield to reflected. I found an old version of a vcs.h by Nick Bensema at https://web.archive.org/web/20110423060216/http://www.io.com/~nickb/atari/doc/vcs.h. This has constants in it, such as PF_Reflect for reflected playfield, P_ThreeClose for three copies of a sprite close together, and J0_Right for first joystick moved to the right. I'm curious as to why these, or something similar, hasn't been adopted in the files that come with DASM. Or if there are constants that are widely used, what are they?

Thanks for the suggestions! I ended up creating a batch file named "d2600.bat" and am having the command in the batch file include the various command line parameters that I want. dasm "%1.asm" -o"%1.bin" -f3 -I"C:\Program Files\Dasm\machines\atari2600" So if I type d2600 foo to compile foo.asm I'll get an output of foo.bin in the proper format and using the include files packaged with DASM.

Does DASM have any support for environment variables? For instance, it would be nice to create an INCLUDE_PATH environment variable to point to where vcs.h resides, rather than having to put it in the same directory as the source or use the INCDIR directive, which might point to a different directory depending on the installation.

I made two separate orders. The first was Baby Pac-Man, Pac-Man Collection 40th Anniversarity, rubyQ, Wizard of Wor, and Ixion. I am a big Pac-Man fan and Pac-Man Plus' ports have been excellent, so those were easy choices. I also really enjoy Q*bert, so rubyQ with its enhancements and two-player option appealed to me. I like Wizard of Wor and wanted the additional mazes. I've played Ixion quite a bit and thought the reproduction, with its enhancements, would be a good addition. Then I made another order of Gorf Arcade, Lady Bug Arcade, and Qyx. I have the first Champ Games version of Lady Bug, but it appeared that Arcade was different enough to merit a double-dip. Having a full version of Gorf and an "impossible" port of Qyx felt like good choices.

The canonical six-digit player-based score routine has been around for a very long time. Is there an equivalent for a playfield-based score? Different games had different PF score implementations. Many early games like Combat only required two-digit scores for each player. Canyon Bomber and Space Invaders supported two four-digit scores through leaving every other line blank. Asteroids has a five-digit score and a life counter. Video Pinball has an impressive six-digit score with a ball counter and player number. Has a canonical or common playfield-based score routine been developed in the homebrew age? I suspect having to deal with reversed bits in the playfield and combining two digits together info a PFx register would make it a challenge to do efficiently.

Is there a list of books written by developers and programmers about their experiences? I'm aware of a few such books but am wondering if there is more out there. Once Upon Atari - Howard Scott Warshaw Explore/Create - Richard Garriott Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games - Warren Davis The Making of Karateka - Jordan Mechner The Making of Prince of Persia - Jordan Mechner Sid Meier's Memoir! A Life in Computer Games - Sid Meier Doom Guy: Life in First Person - John Romero Are there more that I'm missing?

Thank you to @Albert for the explanation and support over the years. It's unfortunate that the excellent work done by the developers in pushing the envelope to make these ports will no longer be available in physical form, but it's understandable as well. I appreciate that the games going away have been put on sale. That makes it a little easier to snag whatever games we've been waiting to pick up! I did notice that Asteroids Deluxe and Space Duel aren't on the Last Chance list. Are ports of Atari games being spared?

My concern is that even if the vendor evaporates and does remove or deactivate any DRM, what will I do if the hardware the game is stored on fails? Or what will I do to install it on a future machine? I know even physical media isn't forever, but I'd like to have a backup in place that doesn't rely on cloud storage or the vendor staying in business. I figured dropping the files onto a card or flash drive or external HD should do - but is there a best option among these? (In the CD-ROM era, I would have just burned a CD.)

I would love to see Gee Bee and its brethren on the 2600 as well. It does very well with paddle games and brick-breakers. Unfortunately programming a paddle game is non-trivial even compared to other 2600 games because of needing to read the paddle as the screen it being drawn. This removes some of the precious cycles needed to do tricks such as changing colors in mid-line. That's not to say it's impossible. Far from it! Just not all that easy. 🙂 But if someone were to do it, I'd be all over it.

I usually buy physical games, but on occasion there isn't a physical release for a game that I pick up, or there isn't one specific to the system that I have. For instance, there are physical floppy disks for the Apple ][ version of Nox Archaist; I bought the physical collection without the floppies because I don't have an Apple. Another example is the GOG releases of the Ultima series, not just with the games, but digital versions of the manuals and hint books. What is your preferred way to preserve these for play on current and future systems? For a PC I could choose a flash drive, a micro SD card, or even an external hard drive. Some of these could last longer than others. Some could be easier to use on future computers than others.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll have to poke my head into our local used video game stores and see if they have some Game Boy / Pocket / Light carrying cases to explore.

That's interesting. I'm not surprised that they play differently. I am surprised that one would feel better in Museum and another would feel better in Arcade Archives. Maybe it's a difference between Japanese and U.S. ROMs? It wasn't uncommon for games to have different difficulties and level order. (I think one version of Pac-Mania had more stages than the other.) Perhaps one of them also controls better. I agree about Ms. Pac-Man. I would love to see an Arcade Archives version of it, or DLC for Museum.

As much as I like Pac-Man and the related games, I've been wondering if it would be worth double-dipping on the Arcade Archives versions. Is the emulation better in AA and are there more options for customizing the game? I have some Arcade Archives games, but none of the Pac-Man series, because I have Museum.

The Analogue Pocket is certainly a nice piece of kit, and on those rare occasions that it leaves its dock, I'd like to have a case that it will fit in and protect it well. I do have the case that Analogue offers, but that feels more like a display case; it's a plastic shell with no padding. Can any Analogue Pocket owners recommend a good case for taking it on the go?

Nice to see the arcade Pac-Man Arrangement as part of this. I enjoyed the tweaks it made to the classic gameplay while keeping the core intact. The music was also guite good. I hope Pac-Man 256 won't rely on swipe controls, but it's good to see it included. It's a fun little diversion.

Thank you! I pulled down and set up Dev Studio. It looks like it will indeed come in handy. From what I saw of the headaches regarding image color indexes with most editors I'm hoping Dev Studio will make dealing with that easier. (A small part of me wishes I could hand-draw images directly in the source code!) I also came across the third part of those tutorials and a full PDF version, which I now have in hard copy so I can scribble down notes and read it offline. ?

Thanks for the recommendation! I picked them both up and immediately tried Pac-Man CE and Gaplus. Both are really amazing ports. Gaplus in particular just felt right, despite the landscape orientation, sounded good, moved smoothly, and was just as brick-hard as I remembered.

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the grass was green, I learned a lot about programming by typing in, reviewing, and tweaking program listings from Antic, A.N.A.L.O.G., and Compute! magazines. I see a lot of fun and interesting games being developed for the Atari 7800 - and it looks like 7800basic is a powerful tool for making development accessible. There are quite a few games with 7800basic source code posted here, so there's definitely an opportunity to analyze and learn from that code. It's almost an embarrassment of riches! So where to start? Which games out there now would be best for somebody to learn 7800basic from? (I know there are some samples that come with 7800basic.) I don't have a particular genre in mind and I'm a professional programmer, so this is about learning 7800 game programming in particular rather than Basic in general (though my Basic is definitely very rusty!). Or put more simply, when you started programming in 7800basic, which other games did you study to learn from?

I noticed that the Namco Museum Archives volume 1 and 2 are on a deep sale this weekend ($7.49 instead of $24.99, if memory serves). While I have no attachment to the NES versions of the games in the collection, I am intrigued by the new NES ports of Pac-Man Championship Edition and Gaplus/Galaga 3. I really enjoyed Pac-Man CE on the 360 and Galaga 3 in arcade and other Namco Museum collections. Are these worth the price of admission, especially discounted?

One challenge that comes to mind is saving your progress. RPGs by nature need a lot of save data, especially with multiple party members that you can switch in and out. There are character names, classes, HP/MP, equipment held by characters, equipment held by the party, spells learned, and a whole lot of flags for events you've triggered, switches you've pushed, and chests you've opened. Would it be better to set this up on an on-cartridge battery or use something like a SaveKey? And if the SaveKey, could the developer claim enough slots to fit all the save data? (That said, it would be fantastic to see a full-fledged RPG on the 7800!)

Is anyone out there playing Pokemon Legends: Arceus? I've really been enjoying it so far. It's nice to settle back and wander the map to pick up ingredients for crafting and to see if I can get somewhere. It's also nice to be able to catch Pokemon both by stealth and by battling. I've been liking the tweaks to the battle system - though dealing with three or more angry opponents is tough! And I am now forever spoiled at being able to equip moves rather than relying on TMs and TRs. Yes, there are some technical troubles here and there, but I've been able to just chuckle and move on to the next bit of wonder that comes along. This is probably the most I've been hooked on playing a Pokemon game since the Black/White era. It's been that much fun.

I would actually love to see a Pac n Pal port to the Atari 7800. It looks close enough to Super Pac-Man that it would be viable. I first encountered it on Namco Museum Megamix for the Wii. I ended up playing it quite a bit. While it may not have quite the sense of accomplishment that clearing a maze full of dots has, it's still fun to try to keep Miru from carrying off your goodies so you can get more points and to try to stun a lot of ghosts with a single powerup. It's a nice diversion from the more "traditional" Pac-Man games.

It is so hard to lose a furry and beloved family member. My condolences to you all. I'm glad that you were able to say goodbye. Thank you for sharing Pixel with us on stream. It was always good to see him. Please take whatever time and rest you need.

This is sad news. I am sorry, James, Tanya, and Atari. I am hoping that spicy Pixel will surprise us all and recover. Please take care of yourselves.

I recently picked up a Sonic Blast cartridge from a local used video game store. I had the worker there demonstrate that the cartridge works by playing it in a Game Gear at the store. I tried it in my Game Gear at home. I just get a blank screen. I've tried cleaning the cartridge with rubbing alcohol a couple of times with no change. My Game Gear plays the other games that I have with no trouble. So I have a Sonic Blast that plays in Game Gears besides mine and my Game Gear plays other games fine. Is Sonic Blast incompatible with some Game Gears? Do I need to try more cleaning? Does anyone have tips for getting this game to work? Your help is appreciated. Thank you!