High-res 7800 games?

[High-res 7800 games?]

I've read that the 7800 was supposed to support a 320x200 graphics mode, but all the games I've ever seen on it seem to be in the lower-res mode (160x200 I think). Anybody know of any games that take advantage of this mythical higher-res mode?

[7800 & 3D]

I haven't programmed for the 7800, I have programmed for the 2600 and I've also done some rudimentary 3-d stuff on the PC without the aid of any 3-d libraries.

 

There's two problems with doing 3-d graphics on the 7800 that I can see. First, the 6502 processor doesn't support multiplication or division, and second, it doesn't support floating point (i.e. non-whole-number) numbers either. Both of these things are more-or-less prerequisites to doing 3-d graphics. However, floating point numbers can probably be simulated in software, and it's possible to do multiplication and division in software too using logarithmic lookup tables (like a slide-rule sort of), although that has it's limits.

 

It's probably possible, but it would almost certainly be limited to just simple polygon graphics or wire-frame...think 'old-school microsoft flight simulator'...

[Incoming! Updates and Demo]

Guys,

 

Since I am rather busy these days, it's difficult to say when exactly the game will be done. I will say this, though: The game is not going to be a CGE-exclusive or anything. I'm not even sure I'll be going to CGE this summer, actually (I live in Ohio ). When I'm done I'll probably just sell it on Hozer Videogames. I really don't care too much about making money, so if I do go the Hozer route, it'll probably be royalty-free to keep the cost down.

 

Later,

Ben

[What would it look like on Atari 2600? 2]

Since I'm a part-time Atari 2600 programmer, maybe I can help you guys out with the general Atari 2600 hardware 'rules'.

 

As stated before, the low-resolution graphics (the playfield) can span the whole screen. With that you have a maximum resolution of 40x192 pixels. This 'playfield', generally speaking, has to be the same color all the way across the screen on a given horizontal line, but can change colors from one line to the next.

 

There's also a 'background'. It covers the whole TV screen, and can be seen through any 'holes' in the playfield. Generally speaking, the background also has to be the same color all the way across the screen on a given horizontal line, but can change colors from one line to the next.

 

Finally, you got your high resolution sprites. Generally speaking, only two of these can be on the same horizontal line together at a time, but you can have multiple copies of each one on the same line (like in Frogger). These sprites have a horizontal resolution of 8 pixels, and a vertical resolution of up to 192 (the whole screen). 4 horizontal pixels in these high-res sprites are equivalent to 1 horizontal playfield pixel. These high resolution sprites also have to be the same color all the way across on a given horizontal line (generally speaking).

 

Finally, you have 128 possible colors to choose from, which can all be on screen at the same time.

 

Anyway that's the 'basic' rundown, but it's really a lot more complex than that...

[5 Million Copies of ET]

Personally, I think if anyone knew exactly where the carts were at, it would be pretty sweet to go on a Goonies-esque quest across the country to try to excavate them. Of course what would you tell your loved ones?..."Guys I'm going to the desert to find buried video game treasure. All I have is a map and a jackhammer, and I'm not sure when I'll be back."...They'd have you committed.

[New 2600 Homebrew: Incoming!]

Wow I didn't expect this many people to be interested...

 

Anyway, first things first...I plan to just use the joystick for control. I'm thinking up-down will control elevation and left-right will control power. Then the button will fire, of course.

 

As it stands right now, I don't think I'm going to support power ups like in Scorched Earth, mainly because I don't think there will be enough space in a 4K game. There will definately be terrain damage, like in Scorched Earth, though, and tank damage from near-misses.

 

As far as the physics go...the math itself isn't too bad. I did a lunar lander game not too long ago for my website in Javascript that uses the same principles. The fact that the Atari 2600 doesn't support floating-point (decimal) numbers or harware multiplication makes it more difficult though.

 

Anyway when I'm done, I'll definately be releasing the game in ROM format...I don't even know how to make a cartridge.

 

Later,

Ben