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Dionoid

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Posts posted by Dionoid

  1. Posted

    A few days ago I got myself a second 2600 Woody "Light Sixer". I noticed that the woodgrain lines/patterns are different on my two machines (see photo attached).

    Searching for pictures of other woody 2600 consoles, I didn't found a single one that matched the woodgrain patterns of one of my machines.

     

    Does every 2600 woody really has a unique woodgrain panel? Seems unlikely, right? But then why can't I find two machines with identical patterns?

     

    post-63708-0-51577500-1528567950_thumb.jpg

    • Like 6

  2. Posted · Edited by Dionoid

    Hi, I know this is an old thread, but like to know if cycle 73/74 HMOVE's are considered safe for all Atari models.

    I have successfully tested cycle 73 HMOVE's on several machines, including a PAL 2600 Jr made in China (this model is mentioned in this thread as being a machine that doesn't like late cycle HMOVE's).

  5. Posted

    Big doodle jump fan, and loving this. Just having trouble moving with the same precision as on my phone screen..

     

    I think paddle controls... Not for analog variable speeds, but rather just for left-right, to be very precise as to when you stop moving or change direction... Would help.

     

    Alternatively, maybe analog controlled speed in moving left and right would work...

     

    Or alternatively again, if you keep the movement digital, as it's a 2 switch game, maybe there could be an option to use the two paddle buttons, one in each hand, like one of the pinball games...

     

    Hi doug0909, nice to hear you like the game!

     

    I might experiment with paddle controllers, but I'll probably stick with joystick for now. The acceleration/deceleration is important in this game, and I'm not sure if paddles will do a better job than regular joystick (my hands always get tired after playing the paddles for a while)

    About the suggestion to use the paddles just for left/right (as in breakout) for this game probably doesn't do the gameplay good. But I'll give it a try anyway.

     

    That said: I'm still working on smoothing the horizontal acceleration/deceleration.

     

     

    Looks fine so far on NTSC (see below). The score background is light blue even though it looks white in the photo, and the jumper colors and res are also good despite the photo quality.

     

    Plays REALLY well . With the ability to wrap around screen, so far I have not ever been "stuck"--- there is at least one platform that is reachable regardless of your position. Whatever you have done for your platform placement I would not mess with it! The jump gravity seems just right, and so does the collision detection with platforms.

     

    A few early suggestions ( You might already be planning this):

     

    1. It would be better if when you die, the game does not automatically restart. Perhaps the background color changes , but this would allow for the score to be preserved for photo / screenshot, or just to record it mentally. The button can be used to restart.

     

    2. I think it would be cool if the background color could change at certain point milestones, this might give a sense of progression / variety ( " I made it to green level ", for example).

     

    3. Need to figure out how to handle it if someone gets max score

     

    4. I assume you are going to add in enemies at some score thresholds

     

    Nice Work!

     

    attachicon.gifIMG_0547.jpg

     

    Thanks for the excellent feedback, easmith! I didn't think of changing the background to indicate progress, that is an easy fix :-)

    Points 1, 2 and 4 will be added to the game for sure.

     

    Cheers,

    Dion

  8. Posted · Edited by Dionoid

    I love this game so far! Great work! The only thing I would consider is having better random number generating so huge gaps like this don't happen.

    attachicon.gifdoodle_jump_2600_NTSC.png

    If this ever gets released, I'd get one. What happens when you get over 999 points? Does it go to 1,000 or above?

     

    Thanks for your feedback! I do have an algorithm in place to limit the size of the 'gaps', but I'm still optimizing that.

    But looking at your screenshot: are you aware that the left and the right of the screen are connected (just as in the Doodle Jump game for your smartphone)? So it's easy to reach the platforms on the left of the screen when you jump off the right edge of the screen :-)

     

    And the score can go up to 99,999 ! (not sure what happens after that though :-)

     

    --Dion

  9. Posted

    Hi, I'm currently working on Doodle Jump for the Atari 2600 (see screenshot below). FYI: I initially planned to build this game for the Commodore 64, but after reading "Racing the Beam" a couple of months ago, I decided to buy myself an old Atari VCS and learn to program this strange, limited but wonderful machine :-)

     

    I've got the basics of the game working: i.e. bouncing Doodler, vertically scrolling platforms, score at the top and occasional springs that give your jumps a boost.

    However I'd like some feedback on playability. I've included both the PAL and NTSC rom files for you to play with.

     

    The NTSC version looks fine in Stella, but when I play it on my TV (using a Harmony cartridge) the colors look weird. I guess that makes sense as my machine is an Atari 2600 PAL version.

    Is there anyone that can test this rom on a real NTSC machine and TV?

     

    I'll be improving the game in the coming weeks (adding a high-score feature is high on my list), but first I need to do some refactoring to keep the code clean and structured.

     

    Thanks!!

     

    --Dion

     

    post-63708-0-82055500-1527720505_thumb.png

    doodle_jump_2600_PAL.bin

    doodle_jump_2600_NTSC.bin

    • Like 15

  11. Posted

    Hi all ,

    I have a couple of months off this summer . If anyone needs a game they are developing beta tested for bugs , please send me the file in the mesenger and I will be happy to test it on harmony cart if it fits , or in Stella if it does not .

     

    Hi @easmith, I'll take you up on your offer!

     

    I'm working on a 2600 homebrew version of Doodle Jump, and I could use some feedback on playability.

    I'm still working on things, but I can send you a version in a week or two.

     

    Screenshot:

     

    doodlejump.png

     

    Thanks!!

     

    --Dion

    • Like 1

  14. Posted · Edited by Dionoid

    FYI: I just published a revised version of the book "Atari 2600 Programming for Newbies" on Lulu.com. It's only $4.69.

    http://www.lulu.com/shop/andrew-davie/atari-2600-programming-for-newbies-revised-edition/paperback/product-23644281.html

     

    The revised book has these improvements:

    • added page numbers
    • better formatting of text, assembly code and images (no more images are cut off)
    • contains the additional post "Session 25: Advanced Timeslicing" from 2012
    • addendum with the 6502 opcodes
    • a nice cover with Andrew's avatar on the back

    Read more in this post: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/278820-atari-2600-programming-for-newbies-the-book/

     

    Cheers!

     

    --Dion

    • Like 2

  15. Posted · Edited by Dionoid

    [edited: link to PDF added]

     

    Hot news: the book Atari 2600 Programming for Newbies - Revised Edition by Andrew Davie is now available on Lulu.com for only $4.69.

    Order your copy here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/andrew-davie/atari-2600-programming-for-newbies-revised-edition/paperback/product-23644281.html

     

    Basically this book is the printed version of the Atari 2600 programming tutorials by Andrew Davie that he originally posted on these forums between 2003 and 2004 (and one extra session posted in 2012). Editing and formatting was done by yours truly.

     

    Note that in 2011 someone already bundled these tutorials into a book and published it on Lulu.com, but IMO there are a lot of issues with that version (e.g. no page numbers, missing session no. 25, images cut off on the end of the page, outlining issues, code samples hard to read because of wrapping). That's why I decided to call my version the "Revised Edition" :-)

     

    I formatted all code samples to make them readable in print-format, fixed a few spelling errors and also did some editing where the original text was clearly assuming the reader is reading the text online.

     

    Note that I'm not making a single dollar-cent on this; you only pay for the printing of the booklet. The consequence is that Andrew Davie is also not making any money from this, but knowing that in 2011 he was OK with the other published book on Lulu.com, I hope he's also OK with this new "Revised Edition".

     

    The binding and printing of this book is really nice. The pages are black & white, but the cover is full color (see attached images). I also added Andrew's avatar on the back of the book :-)

    And Lulu.com regularly has these promotions where they offer free shipping, making this a real bargain!

     

    Here is a link to the PDF for your convenience: Atari_2600_Programming_for_Newbies_Revised_Edition.pdf

     

    Cheers,

    Dion

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    • Like 14

  16. Posted · Edited by Dionoid

    [edited: link to PDF added]

     

    Hi there! I just joined AtariAge a few months ago because I bought an old Atari VCS and now want to write my own game(s).

    I did some C64 assembly before, but programming for the Atari 2600 is a real challenge!

     

    While browsing for good technical documentation, I noticed a lot of people recommended to read the "Stella Programmer's Guide" by Steve Wright, which can be downloaded as PDF.

     

    I thought it would be nice to have this guide as an actual booklet, so I took the PDF, cropped and scaled it for printing on US Trade Size (6" x 9"), then added a nice book-cover and finally uploaded it to lulu.com (the on-demand printing company).

     

    You can order it for $2.45 here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/steve-wright/stella-programmers-guide/paperback/product-23612618.html

    (in Europe the price is somewhat higher: €3.45)

     

    Note that I'm not making a single dollar-cent on this; you only pay for the printing of the booklet. And lulu.com regularly has these promotions where they offer free shipping, making this a real bargain.

     

    The booklet has a full-color cover (showing a heavy sixer) and looks and feels really nice - if I may say so myself. Please see the attachments.

    PDF can be downloaded here: Stella_Programmers_Guide.pdf

     

    Cheers,

    Dion

     

    P.S. On the back of the booklet, I added a little photo of a bike. I think you can guess the brand :-)

     

     

     

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    • Like 8

  17. Posted

    I ordered the book from Lulu and I'm happy to read the Newbie-sessions on paper instead of staring at my screen. And for the price you pay this is an excellent deal!

    Some minor issues:

    • The images at the start of sessions 14 and 18 are cut off. I think it makes sense to rotate those 90 degrees so they fit on the page.
    • The printed color palettes in session 11 don't make much sense as the book is B/W only. Maybe better to leave them out.
    • Session 25 (Advanced time-slicing) is missing, which I found a real interesting session.

    Anyone got the source document containing the combined sessions? If so, I could make some changes and upload a v2 version to Lulu.com.

    Note: I found a link to a word document on this thread, but that doesn't contain any images.

     

    Cheers,

    Dion

    • Like 1
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