Albert Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Blizzard Entertainment today announced its return to console gaming with the introduction of World of Warcraft: The Molten Core for the Atari 2600, a spinoff of the 40-person raid dungeon from the excessively popular World of Warcraft MMORPG. World of Warcraft: The Molten Core will include single and multiplayer versions, support nine character classes, a full-featured voice-chat system, and a fully-customizable user interface. Available first for the Atari 2600, plans for additional console systems will be announced in the near future. You can read Blizzard's complete press release, as well as a trailer video, concept art and screenshots at the Molten Core web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiliteZoner Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Blizzard Entertainment today announced its return to console gaming with the introduction of World of Warcraft: The Molten Core for the Atari 2600, a spinoff of the 40-person raid dungeon from the excessively popular World of Warcraft MMORPG. World of Warcraft: The Molten Core will include single and multiplayer versions, support nine character classes, a full-featured voice-chat system, and a fully-customizable user interface. Available first for the Atari 2600, plans for additional console systems will be announced in the near future. You can read Blizzard's complete press release, as well as a trailer video, concept art and screenshots at the Molten Core web site. OMG this is fantastic news. Albert have you gotten those 2600 ethernet cartridges back in stock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifershalo Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 "Lieve"....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboypacman Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I thought "WoW" was already on the 2600(Wizard of Wor). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 "Lieve"....? Sweet! Yeh the companies are trying to lure retro gamers into the online world. There was rumors of the EverQuest/wifi cartridge in competion with the World of Worcraft release, and though Linage is smaller, they at least announced it was considering a solution to reach the retro market. No comment from Lord British on his Ultima On-line world except to say "Atari? Conquerored that realm long ago." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_Larson Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 The scary thing is that all of their 'screenshots' look doable on actual Atari 2600 hardware. They must have actually done their homework for this prank. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchysuperman Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 "has sound" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Yeah... the trailer was funny. 192i resolution... etc etc. Funny stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I love April Fools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 OK, I admit, I totally fell for this. That is until someone said "Prank." This would be an awesome thing to happen. Too bad it's not happening. C'est la Vie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bones Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Best part is the last piece with "Concept" and "Screenshots" ...love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 The scary thing is that all of their 'screenshots' look doable on actual Atari 2600 hardware. They must have actually done their homework for this prank. No comment.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveD Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I love it when corporations display a sense of humor. I love the "concept" vs "screenshot" comparisons. They look remarkably similar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressureCooker2600 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I'm still waiting for the 2600 port of Doom. WoW...........shoulda picked Starcraft....that's where the fun is at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espire8 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 (edited) The scary thing is that all of their 'screenshots' look doable on actual Atari 2600 hardware. They must have actually done their homework for this prank. Ben The trailer looks riged and laughable the way they try to push it as if it were an xbox title or something; not much to write home about really. Nice prank if that's what it is...Today is April fool's you know. The big animated balls of fire seem to be the only nicely rendered graphics in the game, if they're really in there that is. The maze looks pretty good and expansive and the heroes being reduced to colored dots is livable but the creatures to fight look so blocky and undefined as compared to the hand drawn artwork and they dont animate (yet?). Even the choice of color is poor. The visuals look very prelimnary and i'm not impressed if this is the final look for the sprites. I think they feel the game play will overrule those quibbles but I try to see everything as a total package and I feel the game's graphical look is a poor presentation. Blizzard says they're hiring, maybe they desparately need sprite artists who can do wonders on the 2600. Edited April 1, 2008 by espire8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdub_bobby Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Oh man... Too funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
128bytes Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 (edited) In a related development, in Federal district court in Nashville. Warren Robinett just filed a complaint against Blizzard Entertainment, stating that his prior art in Adventure, where he introduced the idea of movable objects (represented by visible icons) that could be picked up by the player (using a joystick) and moved from place to place in the game world, prevents Blizzard from claiming patent protection over Molten Core's self-described "Revolutionary AI". Edited April 1, 2008 by 128bytes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrogeek Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 In a related development, in Federal district court in Nashville. Warren Robinett just filed a complaint against Blizzard Entertainment, stating that his prior art in Adventure, where he introduced the idea of movable objects (represented by visible icons) that could be picked up by the player (using a joystick) and moved from place to place in the game world, prevents Blizzard from claiming patent protection over Molten Core's self-described "Revolutionary AI". I love April fools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorbytheRobot Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 (edited) Quick technical analysis: The splash screen seems to have been done using a standard 6-sprite-wide technique with color changes between each item. Looks ok, but it must take up a ton of ROM. This must be a bankswitched game. Also, the flames under "Molten Core" kind of look like a dead chicken with 6 legs. I think Sulfuras, the Hand of Ragnaros is at least recognizable on the bottom there. Playfield from top to bottom: Names: Looks like the sprites were put into x2 mode, positioned next to one another and then updated during the scan lines to draw the names. The fade effect from top to bottom is decent. Stat Bars: Looks like it uses the same setup as the the names, as they are suspiciously the same width as the name. Again, a fade effect with different base colors Big Gold Bar: Not sure what that monstrosity is about. Could be used to hide artifacts from the sprite repositioning, and an attempt to make it look nice during a bunch of burned scan lines. Playfield: Clearly using a mirrored playfield. If you look closely at the screenshots, you can see that the center playfield part (PF2) is the same on the left and right. This probably makes it so you don't have to updated PF2 twice during the scan line and gives you a little more time to work out if the players and/or monster is enabled. It should also save memory. These rooms must be memory hogs as well. Players: Must be using the ball graphics. Monsters: Using one of the sprite graphics, note it is the same color as one of the ball/player graphic. This means you could easily add pairs of monsters. Shouldn't the Majordomo and Garr have minions? XP/Rep bars: Looks like playfield graphics with overlaid sprites the same color as the background to give it a separated appearance. Flame Graphics: Don't know how those were done, really nice looking animations though, it must be hella-flickery on a real machine, though appropriate for gflames. Bears: Wow, 7 bears, with graphics in a different color appearing over them to indicate aggro. Must be really flickery as well on a real machine. Looks like there is a playable game in there. I wonder how far along the game logic really is. Can't wait to see the Beta. -Billy Edited April 1, 2008 by NorbytheRobot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missioncontrol Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 very funny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sincity Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Haha....Ijust realized it is April Fools. Good one. "Lush 2D enviroment" LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjb Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hey Al, Do you happen to work for Blizzard??? tjb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hey Al, Do you happen to work for Blizzard??? No, I do not work at Blizzard. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hey Al, Do you happen to work for Blizzard??? No, I do not work at Blizzard. ..Al But you did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjb Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hey Al, Do you happen to work for Blizzard??? No, I do not work at Blizzard. ..Al Sorry if that was an insult I am assuming you are still in the Gaming industry. Might I ask who you do work for now? You undoubtly had some hand in this. I sure before the day's out you'll spill the beans. tjb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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