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gorf68

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Posts posted by gorf68

  1. Posted

    I finally got all the bits together and made cartridge versions of two of my games, Circus Vectrex and Trapped, and they actually work! 

    I've also made my first attempt at making an overlay and it's passable, so making a box next.

     

    Already got a few people who say they would like to buy a boxed version of Circus Atari, so I'm looking at tweaking it a bit first to see if I can get it running just that bit better. Also trying to think up the artwork for the overlay.

     

     

    Trying to do the whole package is interesting, hopefully it will all turn out fine.

    • Like 2

  2. Posted

    On 9/1/2020 at 12:59 PM, ledzep said:

     

    ... I would also change the lines to balloons or something else ...

     

     

    Initially they were balloons, but I couldn't get the full screen drawn whilst keeping the cycles down for the screen refresh.

    So it was reduced to lines for testing, and it just stuck.

     

     

    I burnt a test of this to a cartridge and some people are now interested in a possible release, so I may now look at tightening the drift and bringing back the balloons. I think the original graphic may be still in the code. I believe it was originally a six line 'circle' with a seventh line as a string

  3. Posted

    1 hour ago, Rob Mitchell said:

    The Atari paddle requires modifications which include two resistors and a new cable.  That results in one Vectrex Paddle.  So if you offer alternating 2 player option, I suggest sharing one Vectrex paddle.

     

    https://www.playvectrex.com/
     

    Hmm, I currently have two sets of Atari paddles, one of which is broke. Broken/pulled cable I think.

    So this could be on the cards. Thanks.

  4. Posted

    10 hours ago, Rob Mitchell said:

    I like it .. you must make an analog option to use the Vectrex paddle ... and there is no see-saw flip.  Of course the Atari version does allow flip.

     

     

    Thanks, I was thinking about paddle support, but as yet, don't have Vectrex paddles. Will Atari paddles work? :)

     

    A few people didn't notice you can flip the see-saw - any button on the controller flips.

     

    10 hours ago, Rob Mitchell said:

     

     

     

  5. Posted

    3 hours ago, vectrexroli said:

    I put the link to this page on  the "Vectrex Fans Unite" Facebook group, so that you´ll get more opinions. Should you ever release this, I please would be interested. 

    The (I think) latest download of the bin should be here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3fXRo4EaQ5iSC1mQTc5OVhzRTA/view?usp=sharing

    A slightly older version is also on the Multi Cart 3.0 by Sean Kelly, if anyone has that.

     

    If I were to release this on cart I may revisit the bounce mechanic, depending on peoples views.

     

    I would also have to look at stabilising the drift.

    On some Vectrex this has been reported as ether not noticeable, or 'hardly noticed.'

    On others it's been reported as 'very noticeable and distracting' to 'making it difficult to play.'

    It would be interesting to see what results people on the Facebook group get.

     

    This was never really fine tuned, but I would do that if a cartridge release is a possibility!

     

     

    Thanks for looking.

     
     
    • Thanks 1

  8. Posted · Edited by gorf68

    So, I made a game for the Vectrex some time ago called 'Circus Vectrex' that was supposed to be just a tongue-in-cheek take on the classic 'Circus Atari' game. At one point I was thinking about polishing this game off, as it was, and releasing it as a cartridge.

    I never did get around to it as the cost was a bit high for me at the time, and the game had a bit too much drift on some of the testers Vectrex. Although it seemed fine on mine?

     

    Since then I've had a few people tell me I should make the start jump and in-game jump mechanic more like the Atari game and release it. 

    So I've come to ask for, and would appreciate, some honest answers from people who are likely to know both systems.

    Do you think this game is good enough / worth attempting to convert so it plays the same as the 'Circus Atari' game?

     

    I've added a short video (sorry no sound, my bad) and an online playable link below so you can get an idea of the game.

    https://drsnuggles.github.io/jsvecx/?rom=Circus

    Or have a look on my (old) blog: http://garrysgamingblog.blogspot.com/p/programming-projects.html

     

     

    Thing is I now have 10 spare eproms to do this with, as I've decided to use a writable chip with the full version of my 'Trapped' proof of concept game. (If it ever gets done)

     

    So do you honestly think it's a worthwhile project or not (I've more projects than time just now ;) ) and your opinion would be welcome.

    • Like 4

  9. Posted

    So I got a VecFlash around 7 years ago, and I think it's getting a bit flakey now.

     

    How much does a VecFever go for straight from the maker (if they are ever available again)?

    And is this the one that lets you push a bin directly to the Vectrex from your dev PC?

    I'm not paying around £1000 for it on ebay! I assume these are 'collectors' that will never use it rather than devs that will eventually break it! ;)

     

    Sorry if these are obvious questions, but I don't know much about the newer Vectrex hardware!

     

  10. Posted · Edited by gorf68
    Insert an example URL

    Well I got myself an UnoCart, that I'm happy with.

    And I looked at converting one of my Vectrex programs to the Atari 2600... Meh, that ain't going to happen!

    Going from writing vectors to, well, what the 2600 hasn't got! Is a step too far for me right now.

     

    Still want to do something on the VCS though. Just don't know what. 

    This is the game I was going to redo the original Vectrex source for: 

    Bit if I do a version of this it would probably be best to start from scratch.

     

     

    P.s.

    And I get the joke on the post above now 🙃

    The 2600 has a very, interesting, way of writing a screen 😮

    • Like 1

  11. Posted · Edited by gorf68

    Thanks for the replies.

     

    I haven't had any time to work on this so far, but still want to try.

    Just getting around to soldering the chip sockets on to the cartridge boards.

     

    I hate soldering! It's a necessary evil, not part of my hobby ;)

    • Like 1

  12. Posted · Edited by gorf68

    I decided to buy some pre-made PCBs, and have ordered a few cases from Sean Kelly.

    I've burnt my 'Trapped' game to a M27C256B EPROM and it appears to play fine.

    So next I need to solder the EPROM on to one of the cartridge PCBs and make a box.

    What I'm looking for are any links to sites that give you templates that match the original Vectrex games cartridge box?

     

    I'm not planning on selling this version of the game as it's a proof of concept game that I've already released the bin for.

    I'm doing this because I'm thinking or releasing the full version of this on cartridge, if I ever get it finished, as some people seemed to like this POC version.

    So right now I'm doing this to see if I can produce a professional standard product.

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    On 9/30/2019 at 4:59 AM, vazquezrick said:

    I can’t get the device to come up in Windows 10. Anyone have any ideas?

    I keep an off-line Windows XP machine for Vectrex programming, as I find a lot of what I want to use doesn't like Windows 10.

    Maybe you could build a VM with Windows XP or Windows 7?

  14. Posted

    On 3/2/2020 at 2:25 PM, gorf68 said:

    The binary can be downloaded from here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15La6gtLFfWDaJH9MLtBNOL_S6Dgl9tt-/view?usp=sharing

     

     

    Hello funknflow5200,

     

    Did you ever find the time to have a look at this? I've got my eproms, and my cartridge pcb's now. Just waiting for the burner and going to have a go at printing a cartridge and making a box for a one-off full build of the Trapped game.

     

    This is all test work for my bigger game. It would be nice to have an overlay as well, not sure I can pull this off on my own!

  16. Posted

    I'm ok with burning an eprom, but what I'm not sure of are the legalities of making the actual physical cartridge for a Vectrex.

     

    First off are there PCB designs already available that I can use to ether make a PCB myself, or get a bunch made from a third party?

    Secondly is it Ok to just copy the dimensions of an original Vectrex cartridge and 3D Print a case myself? If so is this generally considered to do robust enough? Or are there already 3D printer patterns made, or other options. I know somebody still owns the copyright to the original cartridge, butam not sure what am I allowed and not allowed to do?

     

    I looked at buying all this stuff a few years ago but it was going to get pretty expensive fairly quickly!

     

     

    I now have: TL866II Eprom programmer, and the chips used by the Vectrex seem fairly cheep on Ebay. I also have a 3D printer, not the best but I'm sure I can knock up a cartridge box if needed.

     

    IWhat  need: a PCB design, or because of copy-write do I have to go through the pain of designing my own? (I have designed and produced custom PCBs before. but it isn't exactly my favorite thing to do!)

     

     

  17. Posted

    Yes, I'm the author. The version you see is just a test program for the main thing.

     

    I've been working on a much larger version of this with improved mechanics and expanded game-play.

     

    How much would it be to run of one to start with, for a test copy of the game?

     

  21. Posted · Edited by gorf68
    Typo

    I have everything else that originally came in the First edition big-Box PC floppy disk version of Monkey Island, but recently discovered that I seem to have lost the Pirate wheel.

    I don't suppose anybody has one spare?

     

    Message me if you have one. No idea what the cost would be for this...

     

  23. Posted

    Thanks Andrew,

     

    I've now got a PDF of that, and it looks like a very good start. Seems like timing cycles is even more important for the VCS that it is for the Vectrex!

     

    I don't want to muck around with pre-made languages so much.

    I've wrote a few games in Assembly for the Vectrex in the past (most of which can be found on Vectrex multicart) and was really just looking for an explanation of the VCS memory and any useful ROM routines etc. (if any). As I said I'm completely new to VCS systems programming.

     

    Is there a best 'test' cartridge, or other method, that I can use to write to for testing on the actual VCS hardware?

    Writing for the Vectrex has taught me NEVER to trust emulators for anything other than simple debugging.

  24. Posted · Edited by gorf68

    So I got my sparkly new ATARI 2600 yesterday (yes it really is in very good condition, I was impressed) and wan't tto try and write something for it.

    I was thinking of converting a relatively small game (called Trapped) I wrote for the Vectrex a few years ago. I think most of the assemble commands should translate fine. The only thing I will really need to learn about is how to write to the 2600 screen memory.

     

    So I was looking for any suggestions for good reference materials, and links to any good utilities and emulators that you use.

    I don't need anything that tells me the basics of  Assembly language ect. but I'm not familiar with the structure of the VCS, so any good info on that would be much appreciated.

     

    Thanks,

     

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