Thomas Jentzsch #1 Posted April 26, 2009 I always wondered, if it is possible to let a "game" run from the 128 bytes of RAM. So here is my first try, a single player Pong (using paddles). Ok, there is no scoring, game over or sound, but you can play it. And after loading it into your VCS, you can remove the cart and it still runs! Working on a two player version now... RAM_Pong__1_player_.bin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nukey Shay #2 Posted April 26, 2009 ^ Handball Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PacManPlus #3 Posted April 26, 2009 (edited) @ Nukey Hey Thomas - always thinking outside the box (or 'cart', in this case) You always do such great work! Edited April 26, 2009 by PacManPlus Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas Jentzsch #4 Posted April 26, 2009 Ok, 2 player Pong now. RAM_Pong__2_player_.bin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wickeycolumbus #5 Posted April 26, 2009 Very cool Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigO #6 Posted April 26, 2009 Excellent. Now you just have to figure out something useful/cool/silly to do with the open cartridge slot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emehr #7 Posted April 26, 2009 Now you just have to figure out something useful/cool/silly to do with the open cartridge slot. How about an LED display cart showing the score? lol 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gambler172 #8 Posted April 26, 2009 Hi Thomas Great work.Do you think,this is possible for the 7800??? greetings Walter Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas Jentzsch #9 Posted April 26, 2009 Do you think,this is possible for the 7800??? I can see no reason why the ROM shouldn't work for the 7800. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaishaku #10 Posted April 26, 2009 This. Is. Awesome. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Stephen #11 Posted April 26, 2009 Very awesome. Didn't think you could do a game in 128 bytes! Stephen Anderson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LS_Dracon #12 Posted April 26, 2009 Incredible! 1 kb is too much for Mr. Jentzsch Excellent. Now you just have to figure out something useful/cool/silly to do with the open cartridge slot. I remember Ridge Racer (the first game for psx) it's uses 1,5 of 2 mb psx ram, there's only 1 load screen for entire game and after that you can remove the CD and insert a common music cd to play during the game. Later 2 mb of RAM was a hardware limitation for many psx games. Figure 128 bytes! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Stephen #13 Posted April 27, 2009 Any chance of sharing the source when done? Stephen Anderson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wickeycolumbus #14 Posted April 27, 2009 Any chance of sharing the source when done? Stephen Anderson I would also be interested Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roland p #15 Posted April 27, 2009 Maybe the copy to RAM method could also be useful to test new cartridge designs? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
potatohead #17 Posted April 27, 2009 Awesome. Seriously awesome. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zach #18 Posted April 27, 2009 You rock, Thomas! Can't wait to play this on an Atari with an empty slot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vdub_bobby #19 Posted April 27, 2009 Now add scoring. And, at least in Stella, the pic isn't completely stable; seems to jump a line or two when the ball hits the walls. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cd-w #20 Posted April 27, 2009 And, at least in Stella, the pic isn't completely stable; seems to jump a line or two when the ball hits the walls. This happened for me also until I selected the paddle controllers. Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas Jentzsch #21 Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) Another version, now with sound! Parameters are copied from Video Olympics, I hope it sounds ok. And source code... RAM_Pong__2_player_v0.2_.bin RAM_Pong_05.zip Edited April 27, 2009 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigO #22 Posted April 27, 2009 Wow. I'd suggest an Ultraminigame competition except there probably wouldn't be much competition. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ppcasm #23 Posted April 28, 2009 That is pretty impressive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas Jentzsch #24 Posted April 28, 2009 Many thanks for all the compliments. What feature do you think is missing most? And what could go for it? Remember, we are talking about a VERY few bytes here, so no title screen, sound track, not even scoring! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigO #25 Posted April 28, 2009 (edited) Many thanks for all the compliments. What feature do you think is missing most? And what could go for it? Remember, we are talking about a VERY few bytes here, so no title screen, sound track, not even scoring! Aw, c'mon, you can do scoring. You da man! Just brainstorming here, maybe you can translate into something reasonable... I realize the overhead of maintaining, interpreting for display and actually displaying the score is astronomical when you only have 128 bytes to work in, but thought I'd offer this concept anyway, cuz if anybody can make it happen, it's TJ: Any chance of doing scoring without numeric readout? Like a progress bar. If that's possible, it could progress toward the center line as a visual reference to make it easier to see who's ahead (bar has extended closer to center line). With one byte, you could store 0 to 15 for two players. Use a winning score of 7 and you'll have two entire bits left over to use for soundtrack processing! Multi-ball play? Difficulty settings? (Bigger/smaller paddle) English? (May be there. I haven't played it yet.) A silly concept: Combine a scoring indicator with difficulty setting? As a player's score increases, the size of their paddle decreases. It would be an odd twist on the game that might make for some more even matches. Edited April 28, 2009 by BigO Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites