Why can't the 7800 handle a StreetFighter 2 style game?

[Bruce Tomlin]

For a 1-on-1 fighter, I think the best cartridge layout might be a 16KB ROM window (no fixed bank) and 32KB RAM. That gives you a significant amount of memory to hold graphics for the 2 selected characters. You might also be able to break up the sprites into components which can be reused for multiple frames (like the head, for example). The ROM data can be more compressed since you aren't rendering directly from there.

You have to have a fixed bank to reliabily start the game.

 

And there's probably not much that an extra 16K of RAM will get you, given the scan line DMA limitations as an upper limit of how much graphics you can use.

 

But the real reason why the 7800 can't have such a game is that nobody who understands how to program the 7800 cares enough about the genre to actually start writing code. (Feel free to prove me wrong.)

[Bakasama]

If one really wants a fighting game for the 7800, hack or remake Karateka to have better controls and graphics. At least, we'll might be able to kill that damn bird.

[gdement]

You have to have a fixed bank to reliabily start the game.

You'd just have to generate a signature and startup vectors for each bank. If the bankswitched address lines are stable (at least for a few seconds) at startup then each signature could be independent. If those lines aren't stable, then you'd have to clone the same 4KB of data in each bank, which is a sad waste of space but not catastrophic.

 

But the real reason why the 7800 can't have such a game is that nobody who understands how to program the 7800 cares enough about the genre to actually start writing code. (Feel free to prove me wrong.)

I don't take much interest in these kinds of games, so I won't be able to disprove that. But there's probably somebody who's dabbled in the 7800 that might want to write a game like "Karate Champ" or something on that level. SF2 would be pretty pointless IMO.

Edited June 15, 2007 by gdement

[supercat]

If those lines aren't stable, then you'd have to clone the same 4KB of data in each bank, which is a sad waste of space but not catastrophic.

 

Alternatively, the cartridge could 'lock' the bank for the top 4K until after a certain magic sequence was executed.

[Bruce Tomlin]

You have to have a fixed bank to reliabily start the game.

You'd just have to generate a signature and startup vectors for each bank. If the bankswitched address lines are stable (at least for a few seconds) at startup then each signature could be independent. If those lines aren't stable, then you'd have to clone the same 4KB of data in each bank, which is a sad waste of space but not catastrophic.

Actually, GAL chips are designed to clear all their flip-flops on power-up. And since the 7800 doesn't have a hard reset button, you can't get out of sync as long as the console stays powered up. (I know this because I made a hard reset button once and found out that the CC2 has no way to see it.)

[Trip_Cannon]

Karate Champ would be great. And maybe someday somebody could hack Kung Fu Master into something playable...

[JimmydelaKopin]

Granted, I'm a gamer and not a programmer...

 

...but I remember AbsoluteEntertainment's Pro Wrestling and Atari's later Realsports Boxing for the 2600.

 

Given that the 7800 has greater capabilities than the 2600, I'd say that those games would make a great starting point for an SFII port to the 7800: limited number of fighters; one background; 4 attacks: punch, kick, melee special, missile special; and replace the type of 2D movement from virtual side-to-side with actual up-and-down (and capable of arcing with the jumps).

I'd say totally doable as a modified port. As for graphics...well, come on. We got along with a black square in Adventure and a pair of eyes in Haunted House. Do we really need to gild this lily? I'd sacrifice matching graphics to get more gameplay.

After all, this is about old-school gaming, where the fun factor and gameplay counts more than pretty pictures.

Again, totally doable, I say, and totally worth the effort. I know I'd buy one.

[thomasholzer]

On the C-64 we were blessed with IK+ (up to 3 players), poops on the C-64 version of SF II from a great hight, this could have been done on 7800 surely.

[jpfalcon2003]

I would love to see SF2 on the 7800 and I do think could be done. The graphics of course would be downgraded, but as long as the game controls were good and the game was fun, I'd buy a copy. Atari did start to attempt Pit Fighter for the 7800. I have the demo version of that game. Who knows how that would have came out when they did finish the game?