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Galaga For Atari 2600


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On 12/12/2019 at 3:28 PM, Wayne2072 said:

For anyone who has played the demo and the full cart, are there any differences between the two?    There are a few things that I noticed in the demo.   First of all, getting Galaga on to the 2600 is a monumental release.   But, there are some things that are different from the arcade version.  I am a bit of a Galaga "purist", if you will.   ?

 

1) The enemy ship wave introductions in stages 5 and 6 are reversed.  

2) The enemies go to a rapid descent in stage 4 and later all of the time, when it normally would begin in stage 8, when there are few enemies left.

3) Some of the descent patterns, particularly for the Galaga "boss" ships, are off.  They alternate side to side, instead of just keeping the same side, and the descent pattern is a bit different.  

4) If you are captured and free your ship right before a Challenging Stage, you are not lined up to get a perfect score without moving, as you normally would be in the first two challenging stages.  

Hello there!

 

Thank you for your input, you certainly sound like quite the Galaga expert! :) We did modify the rapid descent to start at stage 6 and we're pretty sure we fixed #4 (you are lined up after getting double ships to clear the challenge stages without moving) after this was suggested by another AA member a few months ago.  Although we strive to be as arcade-accurate as possible when it makes sense, we feel that the experience on the Atari is going to be unique in it's own way (other wise you could just play the game on MAME for the same experience ;)  ).  

7 hours ago, almightytodd said:

 

...and then there's that whole thing about Galaga being a portrait-orientation game...  ...can you reprogram your game with the screen turned sideways?

I'm sure this may be possible but highly unlikely as the main reason a game like Galaga with over 40 sprites can be done for the 2600 (which has 2 sprites) is using the hardware copy trick that allows 8 copies of the same sprite to be drawn on a horizontal row using just 1 of the Atari's hardware sprites with no flicker. :D   Turning the game 90 degrees would eliminate this as a possibility and greatly increase the flicker.  Also, the horizontal resolution of the Atari is 160 pixels vs 200+ for the vertical (we use 208, pushing the limits of what can be drawn by reducing the vertical blank and overscan) so although the game would 'look' vertical turned 90 degrees, it certainly wouldn't play any better (actually much worse as you would lose about 25% of your resolution).

 

Thanks again to everyone for all there suggestions!  The feedback from the community was very much appreciated and helpful in assisting us bring Galaga to the 2600! :thumbsup: 

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14 hours ago, johnnywc said:

Hello there!

 

Thank you for your input, you certainly sound like quite the Galaga expert! :) We did modify the rapid descent to start at stage 6 and we're pretty sure we fixed #4 (you are lined up after getting double ships to clear the challenge stages without moving) after this was suggested by another AA member a few months ago.  Although we strive to be as arcade-accurate as possible when it makes sense, we feel that the experience on the Atari is going to be unique in it's own way (other wise you could just play the game on MAME for the same experience ;)  ).  

I'm sure this may be possible but highly unlikely as the main reason a game like Galaga with over 40 sprites can be done for the 2600 (which has 2 sprites) is using the hardware copy trick that allows 8 copies of the same sprite to be drawn on a horizontal row using just 1 of the Atari's hardware sprites with no flicker. :D   Turning the game 90 degrees would eliminate this as a possibility and greatly increase the flicker.  Also, the horizontal resolution of the Atari is 160 pixels vs 200+ for the vertical (we use 208, pushing the limits of what can be drawn by reducing the vertical blank and overscan) so although the game would 'look' vertical turned 90 degrees, it certainly wouldn't play any better (actually much worse as you would lose about 25% of your resolution).

 

Thanks again to everyone for all there suggestions!  The feedback from the community was very much appreciated and helpful in assisting us bring Galaga to the 2600! :thumbsup: 

Thank you for responding.    :)   It's hard for me, with a game like Galaga.   It's been my favorite game for what is getting close to 40 years now.    My first memory of it was in a little convenience store in the neighborhood I lived in when I was a kid.   I spent many quarters there.   Now, Centipede comes in a close second, but that is another story for another time.   

 

I am sorry if my post came off harsh in any way.   There can be differences - it's your game, certainly - and they can be gotten used to.   I do think that it's incredible to see Galaga on the 2600!   I wanted that title to come out so badly way back when!   I do like the high score screen, as well as the faithfulness of the intro screen showing the ship values.   The enemies are drawn very well, too.   It's nice seeing the "scorpion" triplet in level 4-6, and the green triplet in level 8.   I'm guessing the fast dive triplet will be there in stages 12-14.   So much of what I have seen is a faithful reproduction of the original.  I am sorry that I focused so much on what was different.  

 

Best wishes!

Wayne

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2 hours ago, Wayne2072 said:

I am sorry if my post came off harsh in any way.   There can be differences - it's your game, certainly - and they can be gotten used to.   I do think that it's incredible to see Galaga on the 2600!   I wanted that title to come out so badly way back when!   I do like the high score screen, as well as the faithfulness of the intro screen showing the ship values.   The enemies are drawn very well, too.   It's nice seeing the "scorpion" triplet in level 4-6, and the green triplet in level 8.   I'm guessing the fast dive triplet will be there in stages 12-14.   So much of what I have seen is a faithful reproduction of the original.  I am sorry that I focused so much on what was different.  

 

No need to apologize!  We really do appreciate the feedback; it's too bad we weren't able to get your feedback before completing the game as some of your suggestions would have made the game more arcade-accurate and we certainly do strive to get things as close as possible!  :D We are currently working on Gorf Arcade and Zoo Keeper (both scheduled for release in mid to late 2020), so any feedback for those games would be much appreciated! :thumbsup: 

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No need to apologize!  We really do appreciate the feedback; it's too bad we weren't able to get your feedback before completing the game as some of your suggestions would have made the game more arcade-accurate and we certainly do strive to get things as close as possible!  [emoji3] We are currently working on Gorf Arcade and Zoo Keeper (both scheduled for release in mid to late 2020), so any feedback for those games would be much appreciated! :thumbsup: 


It’s going to be an excellent 2020! Both games for the 2600?
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26 minutes ago, adamchevy said:

It’s going to be an excellent 2020! Both games for the 2600?

Yep. The Zoo Keeper development thread is here: 

 

And the Gorf one is here:

 

 

The current WIP version of Zoo Keeper will be previewed tomorrow on ZeroPage Homebrew at 11AM PST: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew/

 

Edited by Nathan Strum
Too many tomorrows
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/30/2019 at 12:03 PM, p1FqO3 said:

Are the Galagon shirts for sale anywhere yet?

Hi there!

 

We initially ordered 12 Galagon shirts (and 12 WoW shirts) for PRGE to check interest (all the Galagon ones were sold out and there was a problem with the WoW shirts so those are being re-ordered).  We are currently trying to figure out the best way to measure interest for shirts before placing another order (to try and reduce costs).  We may just end up ordering another 12 Galagon shirts in mixed sizes (along with the previous 12 of Wizard of Wor Arcade) and offer them for sale on our Champ Games website (http://www.champ.games).  Apologies in advance as it's a bit lacking in content and needs updating. :roll:  

 

I'll be sure to post updates as the shirts become available here and on the other Galagon thread (as well as on our Facebook page).

 

Thanks for your interest!

 

John

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

I think Galagon just glitched out on me. I was playing on Novice I think, but I definitely had the two ships coupled. Then I got hit by an enemy shot and crashed the second into an enemy. After that I was suddenly in two player mode, even though only one joystick was connected. Glitch? Bug?

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 3/22/2020 at 11:37 AM, root42 said:

I think Galagon just glitched out on me. I was playing on Novice I think, but I definitely had the two ships coupled. Then I got hit by an enemy shot and crashed the second into an enemy. After that I was suddenly in two player mode, even though only one joystick was connected. Glitch? Bug?

"Feature"

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On 3/22/2020 at 11:37 AM, root42 said:

I think Galagon just glitched out on me. I was playing on Novice I think, but I definitely had the two ships coupled. Then I got hit by an enemy shot and crashed the second into an enemy. After that I was suddenly in two player mode, even though only one joystick was connected. Glitch? Bug?

Hmmm, that sounds strange... never saw that one before! ?  Sounds like an undocumented feature/Easter egg/bad magic situation... you win! :D 

 

Seriously though, I'll take a look at the code and see if something like that could occur.  

 

7 hours ago, Andrew Davie said:

Nah, time for a recall of all units.

 

:lol:  I'll give Al a heads up, I'm sure he'll be thrilled! ;)  

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  • 2 months later...
On 12/7/2019 at 12:25 AM, Albert said:

I plan to make digital purchases of homebrews available, but can't do that until I get the store moved to new software.  I'll be doing that next year.  I've wanted to move the store to a new platform for a while, and as with the forum upgrade this year, upgrading the store is going to be a huge project for me.  But should be very worthwhile in the end.  :)

 

 ..Al

Hey Al,  any update on digital purchases?  

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