Arkyology - New prototype discovered - Finished Game!

[+sramirez2008]

8 hours ago, KevKelley said:

 

I had thought that while the game was done the original programmer was working on the ROM that was released earlier but was busy. I may be wrong but I I saw they had commented late last year that things were hectic and things haven't really calmed down since.

 

Thanks. Btw, I’m not trying to rush anyone, just interested in the progress of a possible CIB, as I really like this game too.

[pwalters]

The long and winding road to release almost seems appropriate for a game that sat in my storage room for nearly 40 years.

 

I've submitted the Arkyology manual to Al. We agreed some time ago that Atari age would do the official release. It's been sitting for some time now, but perhaps it'll get moving forward.

 

It might help if you could let Al know of your interest?

[Albert]

I'm here and reading the thread.  I'll review the manual this weekend, thank you! 

 

 ..Al

[+sramirez2008]

Thank you both. Again, not trying to force things. Appreciate the update.😊

[hizzy]

I will second the above post. Thanks for the update and for all of your efforts!

[pwalters]

Thanks Al!

Let me know when/if you need anything from me to help this effort move forward?

 

And to everyone in this forum, thank you for your continued interest and help in getting this game released!

 

 

 

[KevKelley]

I have been following this since the beginning. It is such an amazing story and exciting to see something see the light of day 40 years after it should have! I look forward to an official release. This game had quickly risen to my favorites for a variety of reasons - graphics, innovative game play, enjoyability, etc.

[NostAlgae37]

9 hours ago, pwalters said:

Thanks Al!

Let me know when/if you need anything from me to help this effort move forward?

 

And to everyone in this forum, thank you for your continued interest and help in getting this game released!

 

Have you given any thought to adding a bit of polish here and there like a difficulty select, maybe a tweaked scoring system, some minor additions/ improvements to animation/sprite graphics, etc. or are you looking to release this as is?  Something like a title screen would be a really nice addition, but I don't know if it would be possible to find enough space in the rom for it (although I do remember Nukey mentioning that a fair amount of space might be recovered by cleaning up the code).

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by NostAlgae37
formatting

[+sramirez2008]

On 5/23/2020 at 11:17 AM, pwalters said:

 

And to everyone in this forum, thank you for your continued interest and help in getting this game released!

 

 

 

The Video Game Critic reviewed Arkyology. Any new updates concerning the games release?

[chas10e]

I keep checking the Store to see if Arkyology is available. It's good to see the eyecandy and updates to the other areas of the hobby that keeps this place rolling along.

[brad112]

Found this topic a week ago and just finished reading the entire thing. This game looks incredibly fun and I like the idea of seeing your progression through the "days". I see it's been about 5 years of hoping this would develop into its own cartridge. I don't know anything about programming or technicals of 2600 or carts, but I'm very comfortable using a computer. I'm considering buying a Harmony cart mostly just to play this game...and eventually some others. My question is how easy is it to use the harmony cart? and is the harmony cart the best option for what I want to do?
 

Thanks!

[Mountain King]

Yes. It's very easy to use the harmony cart. I use for almost every 2600 game I have a bin for, including Arkeology. I'm not sure if its the best option. But I can't think of a better option than the harmony cart other than a real cart.

[chas10e]

7 hours ago, brad112 said:

Found this topic a week ago and just finished reading the entire thing. This game looks incredibly fun and I like the idea of seeing your progression through the "days". I see it's been about 5 years of hoping this would develop into its own cartridge. I don't know anything about programming or technicals of 2600 or carts, but I'm very comfortable using a computer. I'm considering buying a Harmony cart mostly just to play this game...and eventually some others. My question is how easy is it to use the harmony cart? and is the harmony cart the best option for what I want to do?
 

Thanks!

https://stella-emu.github.io/

Emulation on a PC is another alternative. but using a keyboard for controls is a downside , some adapters for Atari sticks are easy to come by but most all don't work for paddle controls (Arkyology uses a stick so that's good )

 

A Harmony cart is the way to go and still being produced https://harmony.atariage.com/Site/Order.html

 

I have both the above options but still looking forward to a stand-alone fully packaged product.

[brad112]

Thanks for the info guys. I definitely want to play it on original hardware. Are there any other games, not homebrew, but original to the time games that were not released like Arkyology that are still very playable?

[+KaeruYojimbo]

16 hours ago, brad112 said:

Thanks for the info guys. I definitely want to play it on original hardware. Are there any other games, not homebrew, but original to the time games that were not released like Arkyology that are still very playable?

There are quite a few. atariprotos.com is a good place to find info on unreleased games. If you're not as concerned with playing homebrews, the UnoCart and the PlusCart are other options for playing on original hardware. They'll play all of the original games, but aren't as compatible with homebrews as the Harmony Cart (they work fine with many homebrews, just not the ones that use extra hardware like DPC+). The PlusCart lets you connect to wifi and download games directly without having to copy them to an sd card.

[Mountain King]

15 hours ago, brad112 said:

Thanks for the info guys. I definitely want to play it on original hardware. Are there any other games, not homebrew, but original to the time games that were not released like Arkyology that are still very playable?

Power lords and the pink panther come to mind. I'm not positive that the pink panther will work.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

Pink Panther works on the UnoCart. There's a special ROM that works with the Harmony Cart, but I'm not sure if the original ROM works. 

[chas10e]

Bump

 

I am aware a large batch of other games are being assembled and shipped and a well earned vacation is in order. any news on this Arkyology game would be welcomed.

I still think it's a fantastic story

[+sramirez2008]

8 minutes ago, chas10e said:

I still think it's a fantastic story

👍

[Arenafoot]

On 7/15/2021 at 7:45 PM, chas10e said:

Bump

 

any news on this Arkyology game would be welcomed.

as far as its release? or what other news are you talking about?

[chas10e]

1 hour ago, Arenafoot said:

as far as its release? or what other news are you talking about?

Yes news of a proper release is my hopes. perhaps at a show or something.

 

I know the *.Bin is available and I'm able to play it on my Harmony or in Stella but I like geeking out on the physical product. similar to the 5200 Tempest

[Arenafoot]

14 hours ago, chas10e said:

Yes news of a proper release is my hopes. perhaps at a show or something.

 

I know the *.Bin is available and I'm able to play it on my Harmony or in Stella but I like geeking out on the physical product. similar to the 5200 Tempest

oh, because its been released on cartridge since October 2019 (page 11 in The Atari 2600 HB & Hacks Checklist book),

I'm not sure if @Albert is planning an AtariAge release though.

 

[chas10e]

Arkyology is similar to 5200 Tempest in the respect that it was a "lost prototype" discovered by the sleuthing of Atari hobbiests and those questions being discovered by the original programmers who pulled it out of a desk or a closet and finished the programming aspect of the game.

 

From what I recall reading this thread the Arkyology game was finished but never packaged for sale to any consumers ...it would be interesting to discover some original art to accompany the game. be kinda neat to discover who Sparrow Records hired to do their Art

[KevKelley]

On 7/17/2021 at 2:29 PM, Arenafoot said:

oh, because its been released on cartridge since October 2019 (page 11 in The Atari 2600 HB & Hacks Checklist book),

I'm not sure if @Albert is planning an AtariAge release though.

 

I thought that while it was found and released to the public and some have made carts, I thought there were discussions of an Atari Age release or adding to the game. I may be mistaken. Maybe it was just folks musing out loud. I for one would love to see an Atari Age release, as I thought this game to be really polished and both fun and challenging. I thought the programmer did an amazing job and made what could be one of the best looking games from it's life.

[Albert]

This is still on my radar. 

 

 ..Al