Pixelboy

I see, so what you're saying is that a game like my rendition of SMB would be very graphically intensive for the poor ol' 2600 (I would understand better if I knew what "block" and "half-resolution" mean in your explanation), and sprite flicker would probably be necessary when there are more than 2 objects on the screen... It really makes one realize how good those Activision programmers were back in the day. Well, I guess that settles it: I'll stick to the ColecoVision from now on.

Oh my! That's really impressive!!

Thanks for the compliment! I certainly hope so, since there are 2600 games (like Crystal Castles) with much more detailed backgrounds... The way I picture my rendition of SMB, the screen would scroll in blocks of 16 pixels, not unlike how it's done in Gateway to Apshai on the ColecoVision. It would be choppy scrolling, but it would make collision detection far easier to implement for when Mario hits a brick from under. Also note that each column of bricks could be stored using just 4 bits of data: 3 for the suspended bricks, and the last bit would be used for the ground bricks. The rest would be just rendering logic (which is beyond my current understanding of the 2600, mind you...) I don't see what problem my character objects would pose for the 2600, aside perhaps for Mario's hands. I don't know much about the hardware, but I'm only using two colors for each object (black parts are actually transparent, which is why the background should remain black in all levels of the game), and Mario is only 8 pixels wide, just like Silver_Surfer's version, and it's also roughly the same height. Seing how Activision was able to render similar ghaphics with great detail in their games (especially Keystone Kapers), I can see no reason why the 2600 couldn't handle my rendition of SMB...

And it will also be a year of learning experiences. I know it will be for me. Sprites can be turned on or off for each panel, but you can't have independent sprites for each panel. I mean, sprites are a completely independent plane. So you can't have a sprite partly displayed off the edge of a sub-screen in a split-screen situation? That doesn't sound very useful... "Command"? What's that?

Looks pretty good, but I was thinking more along the lines of this: I made that pic myself, without being sure if the 2600 can handle it.

Site bookmarked! Can't wait!

First of all, what's so trashy about them? (I'm not being sarcastic, I've just never seen such clones in action.) Secondly, I believe the ColecoVision's hardware is documented well enough for good clones to be made from the original hardware. All the components in the CV were off-the-shelf to begin with, it uses a Z80 CPU, and it's generally not as complex as the NES. That gives me reason to believe that a CV-on-a-chip could be done correctly, without any compatibility issues. Besides, less than 200 games were made for the CV, and none of them would be that hard to test on a Portable CV like the one I'm suggesting.

Nah, that's the easy way out. Besides, if one were to go with some kind of Palm derivative, might as well make a generic one that could play games from many different consoles, like the Atari 2600 and the NES. Just put the latest emulator on the SD card together with the games you want to play, and voilà! I'd like this Portable CV unit to be a CV-on-a-chip device, nothing more, nothing less. But that's just my humble opinion. To quote Buffy in the Xbox game: "Y'know, sometimes in this job, I just have to say... Eww."

I just HAVE to see what SMB would look like on the 2600! Although if it didn't have any horizontal scrolling, my interest for the port would diminish considerably...

This might be valid for some homebrew CV games, but you'll have a problem with games like Turbo, Dukes of Hazzard and Destructor: In all three cases, you need the D-pad to shift gears (just like it was required on the actual CV console when playing with the steering wheel module). So it's better to have the steering wheel (i.e. the spinner) under one thumb, and the D-pad under the other thumb. Also, using the original steering wheel module meant that the two trigger buttons on the standard controller were unaccessible. For my handheld unit pictured above, this implies that you will never use the spinner and the B1/B2 buttons simultaneously! First of all, I don't like shoulder buttons either. Even back in the Super-NES days, I could never pick up the habit of using them even if it could make my life easier. And it didn't get better with the PS1 or PS2 (the only games that made be really enjoy having shoulder buttons were Mega Man Legends and Metroid Prime). But for this CV handheld design, shoulder buttons are not as bad, mostly because most CV games don't use the third and fourth buttons on the Super Action Controller anyway, and because using a face button for the gas pedal can be just as tiring for the thumb as it can be tiresome for an index finger to hold down a shoulder button. It's really all a question of preference, I guess...

Not a bad idea, but why place the dial on top? Wouldn't that be unconfortable? At least with the current configuration, the dial is completely out of the way if it's not needed. and if it is needed (in steering wheel mode, for example), then the player just needs to raise his thumb slightly higher to reach the dial. It's a good question, and I hope Ben will reply to you. He did reply to me, however, and here's his response: Not exactly the response I was looking for (I was more interested in the actual cost of making a prototype), but still, it's interesting. Oooh! That looks nice!

I liked the game, but I never did manage to complete a full-fledged mission. In the same vein as "Space Shuttle", "Tomcat - The F-14 Fighter Simulator" has even deeper gameplay. The level of detail in the computer displays is amazing!

Yeah, because they're mass-produced. But when you're buying only one or two for the purpose of building a prototype, the price goes up considerably, from what I've been told. Also, I'm wondering if a small trackball would be easier to include in the unit, instead of the spinner... Such a trackball could be used as a speed-spinner, a steering wheel AND the trackball on the Roller Controller... The more I think about it, the more I like the idea... I sent an e-mail to Ben Heckendorn, just to see what he has to say about it, theoretically. If he replies, I'll post his input here.

Definitely! Duh! I think the real question is what are the odds of such a device ever existing, so that you could actually buy it? 990358[/snapback] Or more to the point, how much would it cost to manufacture the unit, as a prototype, and also in a mass-production situation? I know LCD screens are very costly, but considering the Nintendo DS uses 256x192 screens, maybe it would be slightly less expensive to get one for a prototype. I think the real problem would be the spinner, since it's not a typical input device, like a button or a D-Pad. And since it can work in two modes (Super Controller Spinner, which is speed-based, or Steering Wheel, which is position-based), it would be a bit more complicated to implement than the one on the original Super Controller. I also wonder if Eduardo's SEM could fit in there...

I believe a picture is worth a thousand words: Some specs to complement the pic above: - The unit uses SD cards, plugged in at the top of the screen (like the first-generation GBA). This means that homebrew games could readily be played on the unit. - The headphone jack is located on the bottom left, next to the volume control. - The white buttons under the screen are the CV keypad buttons (as if it wasn't obvious enough). - Screen resolution is 256x192 (as it was with the old CV console). - Shoulder buttons are used as Button 3 and 4 on Super Controller. - The spinner (above the B1/B2 buttons) is the same as the one on the Super Controller, but it can be put in "Steering Wheel" mode with the switch at the bottom right of the unit (when in "Steering Wheel" mode, button #3 becomes the gas pedal). This makes it possible to play Turbo, Destructor, and Dukes of Hazzard on the unit! So, would you buy such a portable game system?

I'd like that, and I sent e-mails and PMs to the AtariAge webmasters about it, but I never got any reply. I don't know why.

Ah, then it's definately different. The Vectrex game is a simplistic football game, if I remember correctly.

I haven't seen the C64 game, but I seem to recall a game called "Blitz" on the Vectrex. Is it essentially the same game?

Oh, I don't know... It depends what kind of movie they end up making. If they use Pac-Man as a central character of a movie that pokes fun at video game icons, just like "Hoodwinked" pokes fun at the story of Little Red Riding Hood, or "The Incredibles" pokes fun at super heroes, it might actually be enjoyable to watch. I mean, there's a huge amount of pop-culture tied into video games, and as we've seen with "Shrek" and "Toy Story" (to name just a few), computer-rendered cartoon movies that make fun of pop-culture references usually do well at the box office, mostly because the movie trailers shown in theaters are hilarious and inviting to children, teens and even adults. Pac-Man being an instantly recognizable character, following the same recipee might actually work! The real challenge is to make the entire movie as hilarious as the trailer...

Thanks!

Karnov, but I think I like the name you gave it better: "Fat Guy Spits Fireballs" 988345[/snapback] I actually finished that game once on the NES, which was rather difficult, and all I got for my trouble was "CONGRATULATIONS! THE END." I didn't hate the actual game, mind you, but getting such an abruptly cynical ending was something I'll never forget... EDIT: The worst game I ever played was "Sword of Sodan" on the Genesis. If I ever get caught playing that game again, I'll have to shoot myself!

Hello all! Just in case anyone here is interested, the high-quality version of my PDF document, Pixelboy's Unofficial Guide to Activision Anthology for Game Boy Advance is now available online. You can download it from my web site linked below: http://www.colba.net/~lucm/pix_aa_guide Beware: The high-quality PDF file is 5.3 megs!

Hello all! Just in case anyone here is interested, the high-quality version of my PDF document, Pixelboy's Unofficial Guide to Activision Anthology for Game Boy Advance is now available online. You can download it from my web site linked below: http://www.colba.net/~lucm/pix_aa_guide Beware: The high-quality PDF file is 5.3 megs!

I've looked around the net for scans of ColecoVision manuals, and they're harder to find than I expected. Then I look at AtariAge.com, with its rarity guides, manuals scans and forums, and I can't help thinking that someone should start a similar site for the ColecoVision. I'd do it myself if I wasn't so busy with different projects... Reactions? Comments? Ideas? Pie?

Such RPGs are called "old-school" for a reason, you know. Also, isn't Dragon Warrior an overly ambitious project? The end product on the Atari 2600 could end up being so far removed from the NES version that you might as well rename it into something else. The ColecoVision would be a better candidate, even with its limited ROM space. Just my two cents. (EDIT: Also, didn't Dragon Warrior have a battery save feature?)