Community Project:2600 Hero

[Primordial Ooze]

I have started development on 2600Hero, a 2600 port of guitar hero. I would lile your optionon on weither if i should use a miniture version with 3 frets, 4 frets like the ds version or 5 frets like the original? I think 4 is enough as it makes the screen less "crowded" and would still provide a decent challenge. Please let me know what you think!

 

2600Hero Developer

Edited January 9, 2009 by Open Source Pong

[BigO]

I don't have anything of value to contribute to the discussion, but am curious about what you plan to use as a controller.

[ginnidog]

a Keypad controller would be great..

[Primordial Ooze]

So far i plan on using a joystick. I'm not sure if batariBASIC supports the keyboard controller, but i will check.

 

2600Hero Developer

[ZylonBane]

I'm sure that the name "2600Hero" will lead to no confusion whatsoever.

[Shawn]

I don't have anything of value to contribute to the discussion, but am curious about what you plan to use as a controller.

 

Just gotta hack up a GH controller to use 4 directions for the frets and then the fire button for strumming. I think that would work perfect. Just gotta hack up a GH controller and away we go!! I'd be making myself a GH 2600 controller as soon as even a decent WIP was avalible

[Shawn]

Oh I must add, an option to use 3 or 4 frets would be great. Kinda like "Normal" and "Hard" settings

[Primordial Ooze]

I would love to use the atari keypad controller, however it's been over a year since the pending release of the keypad library and yet it still hasn't been released. Until they do release it the game's development will be in a frozen state. Sorry but playing it with a joystick takes the fun away from the game.

[Yosikuma]

I would love to use the atari keypad controller, however it's been over a year since the pending release of the keypad library and yet it still hasn't been released. Until they do release it the game's development will be in a frozen state. Sorry but playing it with a joystick takes the fun away from the game.

 

If I may:

 

Someone had made a C64 port of Guitar Hero, and with it he made a Playstation-C64 interface:

 

http://www.synthdreams.com/psx64.php

 

This should also -- logically -- allow the Atari 2600 to take advantage of Playstation controllers, right? Thus, a guitar- run Guitar Hero port on the Atari 2600 (or a Dance Dance Revolution port like one that was demoed a few years ago here) is possible!

[Primordial Ooze]

Thanks for the info and link. I will continue to work on 2600DDR meanwhile i'm waiting for the adapter to arrive. However, until the interface is made public and a batari basic library is made availiable i won't be able to program the user input part of it. Can you please post a link to the ddr demo you mentioned?

 

2600Hero

Edited January 5, 2009 by Open Source Pong

[Yosikuma]

There's various mentions of it in the forums but I can't find the exact thread. Andrew Davies, Paul Slocum, and Christopher Tumbler made the attached demo for a spinoff called DiscoTech that was pretty promising, with some excellent music. To accomodate the "scrolling arrows" he had them going across the screen horizontally instead of vertically. It was never finished but now, I think with the adapter that this kind of game can once again see the light of day!!

 

Thanks for the info and link. I will continue to work on 2600DDR meanwhile i'm waiting for the adapter to arrive. However, until the interface is made public and a batari basic library is made availiable i won't be able to program the user input part of it. Can you please post a link to the ddr demo you mentioned?

 

2600Hero

DiscoTech__12_02_2003___Andrew_Davie__Paul_Slocum_and_Christopher_Tumber_.zip

[Math You]

Three frets would be enough for me. It might be worth considering a paddle option, press the button to strum while moving the paddle left and right to select the correct note.

[Primordial Ooze]

Here is an early demo of the game. After pressing fire to start the game, you will see the first chord, but not be able to interact with it. Also you will be able to move your fret along the fret board, but as it moves too fast you will see the top and bottom fret clearly and the middle two if you look closely and quick enough. Please let me know what you think.

 

2600Hero

2600Hero.bas.bin

Edited January 8, 2009 by Open Source Pong

[ginnidog]

I like the concept...

 

how frets are being used ?

 

maybe a direction on the joystick can be used for each fret..

like the top fret is `up`, 2nd is `left`, 3rd is `right` and 4th is `down`

 

Paulie

[Primordial Ooze]

I like the concept...

 

how frets are being used ?

 

maybe a direction on the joystick can be used for each fret..

like the top fret is `up`, 2nd is `left`, 3rd is `right` and 4th is `down`

 

Paulie

Thank You, the previous build moved the fret up 1 fretbar when you pushed the joystick up, and down 1 fretbar when you pushed the joystick down. The latest build attached moves the fret based on the joysticks direction like you stated in your post above as well as making the game more playable. There's still have a lot work to be done, but as you can see there will be a guitar hero for the Atari 2600.

2600Hero.bas

Edited January 9, 2009 by Open Source Pong

[Impaler_26]

there will be a guitar hero for the Atari 2600.

There is already a guitar hero game for the 2600.

 

But i'm looking forward to see how yours will turn out.

[Primordial Ooze]

Do you think, i really need to make a new one or should i give up on this project? The only problem i am having is figuring out how i'm gonna get more then 1 chord on the screen. Any ideas on how i can achieve this?

 

2600Hero

[Impaler_26]

I didn't mean to discourage you, so please go on with your project! Your project looks like it will play a bit different than the other game...

 

I only had a quick glance at your code but maybe you could use the missiles and the ball sprites for chords?

Another possibility would be to flicker the chord sprite...

 

Or you could use the multisprite-kernel for your game...

[Primordial Ooze]

That's ok, i know you didn't mean to discourage me. The only problem with missiles and the ball is they share the same color as the player so there's no way to set the missiles/balls color based on which chord it is "running" on. That leaves me with using the multisprite kernel which has it's own problems that come with using it and flickering the chord as you stated above. Any idea on how to flicker the chord and any repercussions it may bring?

 

2600Hero

[jrok]

That's ok, i know you didn't mean to discourage me. The only problem with missiles and the ball is they share the same color as the player so there's no way to set the missiles/balls color based on which chord it is "running" on.

 

That's not exactly correct. The ball share's the playfield's color (COLUPF). Missile0 share's player0's color(COLUP0), and missile1 shares player1's color(COLUP1).

 

That leaves me with using the multisprite kernel which has it's own problems that come with using it and flickering the chord as you stated above. Any idea on how to flicker the chord and any repercussions it may bring?

2600Hero

 

Personally, I wouldn't use the sprites or the missiles or the ball for chords. I would use the playfield pixels for the chords and the ball or a missile for the guitar pick. That way you'd still have four free objects to use for other purposes or for polish.

 

Just my $0.02

Jarod.

[Primordial Ooze]

That's ok, i know you didn't mean to discourage me. The only problem with missiles and the ball is they share the same color as the player so there's no way to set the missiles/balls color based on which chord it is "running" on.

 

That's not exactly correct. The ball share's the playfield's color (COLUPF). Missile0 share's player0's color(COLUP0), and missile1 shares player1's color(COLUP1).

 

That leaves me with using the multisprite kernel which has it's own problems that come with using it and flickering the chord as you stated above. Any idea on how to flicker the chord and any repercussions it may bring?

2600Hero

 

Personally, I wouldn't use the sprites or the missiles or the ball for chords. I would use the playfield pixels for the chords and the ball or a missile for the guitar pick. That way you'd still have four free objects to use for other purposes or for polish.

 

Just my $0.02

Jarod.

The problem with that is:

1.how do i represent the fret bars then?

2.the fret bars will be "colorless"

3.the chords will be "colorless" as well

 

2600Hero

Edited January 9, 2009 by Open Source Pong

[jrok]

Actually, after re-reading this thread I have to confess I'm a little confused. Why are we even talking about graphics for Guitar Hero? If anything, games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band and a whole host of Wii titles have proven what all us AA geeks already knew: games should be about fun not graphics.

 

In some ways, Guitar Hero seems like the perfect Atari port. Even though it runs on monster hardware, the graphics are minimal - really almost an afterthought. The enjoyment in the game is all about the interaction: with the music, with the instruments, with your friends. The commerical game actually could be a 2600 display and not lose one ounce of fun. In fact, depending on taste, an Atari port could actually be even more fun in a kitschy, Karaoke way, even for non-Atari fans.

 

Open Source Pong : I'm not trying to be rude or discouraging or anything like that, but I personally think you might be approaching this port backwards. You might want to consider starting by composing a couple of songs, rather than concerning yourself with the display or interface or how you are going to make the fret boards. The music is what would drive the programming effort here. Atari music is an art all unto itself (and one I'm pretty terrible at, as some recent experiments have proven. )

 

It might be helpful to read some of what Paul Slocum has written about Atari music. Also, you should play around with Random Terrain's excellent Music Starter, since you want to approach this with Batari Basic. Try your hand at just one song first, even if its a simple one. Once you've programmed a song, you'll probably have also learned more about the way that sequential data arrays function in the Atari framework. After all, a successful port of this game will ultimately have to work like one of those old fashioned Player Pianos, with the data in the music array directly governing what's happening on the screen. In other words, the song should control the game, rather than coding the song as an isolated element and than hard-coding the movement of the chords themselves to try to match up to a song.

 

Again, none of this is meant to be discouraging. I really do think Guitar Hero would be an excellent port, but it is a deceptively simple game and might not be a good choice for a first time programmer. It absolutely worth exploring though, perhaps by using the team approach. Not only would it be a fun game, but if its well-constructed it could be a great community project, giving some of the great Atari composers an ongoing workspace to showcase their amazing work. And if anyone else is up for it, I wouldn't mind participating and helping out in any way I can.

 

Except for writing the actual music... I'm as tone-deaf as a cactus in a parking lot.

 

Okay, that was my $0.03. Cheers!

Jarod.

Edited January 9, 2009 by jrok

[Primordial Ooze]

I think that is a great idea. In a few days, i will setup a wiki where developers can contribute code to make the game better, and artists can contrubute music for the game. I think this would make a great community project as well. I decided to make the notes the playfield pixels and changed the layout to reflect the guitar hero game Implaer_26 linked to. I have created a simple song of random noises and added it to my game. The only problem is how do i attach it to the actual game chords?

[Primordial Ooze]

UPDATE: I have created the wiki where developers can contribute code and artists can contribute music, which can be reached at http://2600hero.110mb.com. As soon as i'm finished with the interface updates, i will add it to the wiki.

 

2600 Hero

[Primordial Ooze]

Update:I have fixed the interface so you can now add your own music to try it out, there is no gameplay at the moment but i just wanted to show everyone i have made progress. If you haven't visited the wiki yet, i enouage you to register and start posting your songs. With that in mind could someone please post the theme song to E.T on this thread so i can try it out in my game?

 

2600 Hero

2600Hero.bas