thegoldenband

I enjoyed the new version! I liked the webs and torches, and the faerie appears just often enough -- any more would be too much. I did notice a possible bug -- I found the area that had the Grail (at least in the previous .bin), but the Grail itself was nowhere to be found. Is there something I need to do to trigger it, or...? EDIT: Also, Excalibur has shown up on Level 1 on multiple occasions, and on one of those, I was able to pull it out of the stone after only 1-2 battles. That seems a little premature to me.

Terrific game! I enjoyed 0.28 very much but haven't tried 0.42 yet, so I'm looking forward to that. My one criticism was the perhaps-too-easy difficulty level -- I made it through the whole game on my third attempt or so, collecting all the items mentioned in the manual -- so the fact that it's been tweaked a little is good news. Very nice, intuitive, playable feel, and effective graphics. Is there any room for a screen that would appear when you're moving between levels, a la Dungeon of Doom? (Probably not.)

I've played dozens of RPGs (mostly older ones), and Quest for the Key of Nightshade on the TRS-80 Model I/III wins, hands down. Even on the easiest level, it was almost impossible to last more than a few minutes, between the constant ambushes, the overly-limited supplies of food and water, and the fact that you couldn't go more than a few tiles without needing to rest. The guy who made it must've gotten the numbers wrong somehow when he was setting the difficulty levels.

Thanks! And, well, if you liked that, then you'll love this: 449 points! Far and away my best score to date (I started on level 0, and made it to level 3 I think). Too bad I couldn't type my handle correctly...

192 points at Loony Balloon, starting on Game 0. Not all that impressive, but it's a start!

It's a pretty tough one, actually -- or at least it's tough to get an extra play -- that's part of what I like about it! I've really been enjoying the late '70s games lately, there's an elegant simplicity to them that's very appealing, plus they're consistently challenging and yet very easy for a non-hardcore gamer to get into (which is nice for larger groups). I'm pleased that others are intrigued by this idea and think it's feasible. Perhaps someone will be intrigued enough to put together a demo? It seems like the sort of thing that will need to be mostly or entirely ASM to be done right (i.e. not bB)... [EDIT: No slight intended to bB, mind you! I just figure that this project would probably exceed the technical limits of bB, particularly in terms of getting the right look and feel. I'd love to be proven wrong, though!]

I apologize for playing thread necromancer here, but I'm kind of shocked that so few people are familiar with Loony Balloon, and/or that so few people rate it. Though it's a bit buggy, it's easily among the best games I've played for the O2, IMHO, with a nice sense of humor to it. It frustrated the heck out of me until I realized that once you score a certain number of points in each level, you can just barely fit through the passage leading to the exit. There are obviously some similarities to Crazy Balloon, but it's really a different game altogether with its own distinct personality and mechanics.

Thanks for pointing out that bB game, I hadn't seen it! Definitely a similar concept.

Have many folks here played the old Atari coin-op game Fire Truck? Here are a few pages about it: http://www.retroland.com/pages/retropedia/arcade/item/1327/ http://www.answers.com/topic/fire-truck?cat=entertainment http://www.mameworld.net/maws/set/firetrk The key gimmick in this game is the two-player cooperative mode, with one player steering the front of the truck while the other steers the back. It's loads of fun and really makes the game click. When my girlfriend and I visited Funspot recently in NH, we put more tokens into Fire Truck than into any other five games, combined. Accordingly, it strikes me as an excellent candidate for a 2600 port as a two-player simultaneous paddle game. The big technical challenge would be the multi-directional scrolling, but I seem to remember that people have found viable ways of handling that. Other than that, the graphic demands are minimal and fairly non-distinctive, i.e. I'd think they could easily be adapted to the 2600's limitations. Since the original game is monochrome, a 2600 port could use color to help distinguish between objects, to make up for the inevitable loss of detail. There are no independently-moving enemy sprites or projectiles -- just a handful of obstacles in the road (oil slicks, parked cars) -- so there's lots of room to use missile and ball objects as needed. The main thing would be reproducing the (potentially) breakneck speed of the original. Sound effects are also minimal and should be readily adaptable, with some compromises. (Unfortunately, sound is the only thing I sort of know how to program for the 2600, so the odds of my helping to program this one are slim to nil.) What do you think?

Not in the NES version, but I assure you that in the VS. coin-op arcade version, there are bonus rounds (not present in the NES cart) in which you can. The dog's face turns black, and he gets quite annoyed -- it ends the bonus round. And I'm not basing this on ancient memories -- I played it just a few weeks ago! I don't follow you. EDIT: Oh, @#$#@$#@. Now I get it.

Green/black is my preference.

That was the very first thing I thought when I saw this thread title! FWIW, in the arcade version, you can shoot the dog in the bonus rounds.

Are the bullets I fire supposed to re-instantiate every time I change direction? Or is that a bug? (In other words: I'm moving right, I shoot, then if I press down before the shot completes, it moves below me instead.)

This is based on the board game "Match II", right? I have fond memories of playing that as a kid, and it taught me a few things. Somalia's flag was always easy to remember!

This topic died on the vine! But it's an interesting topic. What are the ethics involved in finishing someone else's incomplete homebrew game? Also, it gives me an excuse to mention that I'd love to someday see a completed Shadow Keep for the 2600.

I forgot, I have the Missile Command 12" LP. It's awful to listen to but looks great in a frame on my wall. I have Missile Command, Yar's Revenge, and Asteroids. Are there others? Tempest Do you mean other 12-inches, or other 7-inches? I can't speak to what 12" releases may be out there, but there's definitely a Breakout 7": http://www.roundflat.com/web/product_info....roducts_id/3432 I have it, sealed. Doesn't look to be too rare if it's going for $10/each. EDIT: There's also a Star Raiders: http://www.roundflat.com/web/product_info....ceb5119a746619f Also looks like you can read that one here. That site apparently used to have MP3s, but the links are broken.

I have a couple of 7-inch vinyl records that are based on Atari games -- one is Missile Command, I think, and the other might be Space Invaders or Asteroids. (EDIT: Actually, I believe it's Breakout.) One's sealed, the other's been played once. As I recall, both were published by Atari, and are basically little radio-dramas for kids, based on the games. Are these at all rare?

Great find! These games represent a major addition to the 7800 library. As a side note, I'm kind of bemused that everyone is characterizing Sirius as absurdly difficult. I got to Level 2 on my first try, and didn't have much difficulty at all making it to Level 4. I don't think I'm an unusually skilled player...?

Fun little game! It just crashed Stella 2.4.2 (OS X) on the ninth screen or so, the one with the horizontally-flying pigs. Not sure whether that was Stella's fault or something in the code, but thought I'd send up a flare, since Stella almost never crashes on me (it just froze and hung). However, I was able to get past it fine the next time, so maybe it was a fluke. Also, I really found myself wishing for a variable jump height. I think the game needs it.

Just tossing this idea out: One of the things that's really missing on the Atari 2600 is a game -- I don't know the generic name for these -- where you have a set of three or four characters from which to choose, each of whom has their own distinctive ability. Think Lost Vikings, Legacy of the Wizard, Little Samson, and other games that don't start with L. (Each of those games has its own multi-character paradigm, too -- all at once vs. switching at a home base vs. switching on the fly.) Obviously none of those particular games could be adapted, and they're all closer to arcade games than puzzle games. But I'd really like to see a game with that "multiple tools that interact in complex ways to solve a problem" feel, and there must be an early example of something like that out there. Given what your engine can do, I'm imagining something with an expansive playfield, comparatively simple building blocks...hmmm... By the way: I love finding out about games like these. What a funny little tune it has, repeating ad lib through three different keys! It sounds like the kind of thing I'd do when I was first learning how to write music -- you get stuck in a pattern and can't find your way out...

It sounds like being the same game as the arcade. I just gave it another 5 coins and thought it is somewhat entertaining, but also a bit limited in depth. I guess it has the usual "multiplayer effect" and probably would be a real blast with 4 real people playing simultaneous The "multiplayer effect", exactly! I think it could be a great four-player simultaneous paddle game, perfect for parties. Does the 2600 have any really good demolition-derby style games? Dodge 'Em is fun, but obviously a very different sort of beast. I do agree that Car Jamboree is a bit limited in depth. Then again, there have been some ports that have improved on the original arcade games, and there's certainly no reason that an ambitious developer couldn't add a few bells and whistles, whether it be more varied terrain, bonus items, or whatever else. (Hint, hint! I can't develop the game myself, but I'd be happy to write the music...)

I couldn't find the arcade original of Car Jamboree, but I just tried the MSX port -- an arena-style, demolition derby game -- and it actually seems like it could be a great fit for the 2600, if the arcade version is along the same lines.

I think it's Spanish, actually -- the word "videojuegos" shows up at the end, which is Spanish for "video games". The Italian would be something more like "videogiochi".

Did I read correctly that this project is on permanent hold because it needs a Superchip? That's a shame if so. Could the game be retooled so as not to need a Superchip?

I was just thinking about this game -- I pull it up in Stella every so often and roam around. It's a real shame that it was never finished, as it's exactly the kind of game -- big, roaming platform adventure with lots of screens -- that the Atari 2600 needs more of.