21 Blue, an Atari 2600 homebrew

[+RevEng]

 

 

Welcome to Casino 21 Blue, the newest casino on the strip

 

 

Uncompromising luxury, regal accommodations, unparalleled service, countless games of chance... Casino 21 Blue has none of these things.

 

In fact, we only can afford three dealers and a single blackjack game table.

 

But we urge you to stop by. The payouts can't be beat, and we're eager to earn your business! So eager that our employees are willing to give you the shirts off their backs. Literally!

 

 

Standard blackjack rules apply, but the payouts have been adjusted to make up for the odds being in favor of the house. The easy and medium modes can be beat with regular blackjack strategy. (see the manual) You'll need to be extremely lucky to beat the hard mode if you don't know how to count cards.

 

If the graphics are a bit jumpy on your computer in stella, hit "alt-p" to turn on the phosphor effect.

 

[final release candidate]

21Blue.NTSC.20110519.bin

21Blue.PAL60.20110519.bin

 

[changes]

-when the dealer has ace-up or ten-up the hole card is now checked before the player menu is activated, so a dealer blackjack is acted on correctly.

-when the player reaches 21, the default menu choice is switched to "stand".

 

21Blue manual 20110409.pdf

 

I'm glad that people have taken this in the tongue-in-cheek spirit it was created in.

[Brian O]

This is great! I only played it on easy, though. That reminds me, I have to go give Petra her bra back...

 

-B

[+RevEng]

Yeah, she'll need that for ther next game.

 

Thanks for the kind words, Brian!

[Impaler_26]

Ah, finally Strip Poker for the 2600! This is like a wet dream come true!

 

[+RevEng]

Ah, finally Strip Poker for the 2600! This is like a wet dream come true!

 

Horny teen boys can rejoice - the Internet now has naked girls on it!

[jwierer]

No possibility to add the ability to split? The odds are really against the player without it.

 

-Jeff

[+TrekMD]

Cool.

[Brian O]

No possibility to add the ability to split? The odds are really against the player without it.

 

-Jeff

 

I hadn't noticed that. Good catch. Splits would definitely make the game truer to life, and also improve player odds.

 

-B

[+RevEng]

No possibility to add the ability to split? The odds are really against the player without it.

 

-Jeff

 

[EDIT - Splitting is now added!]

 

Yeah, I really would have liked to have included splitting. It was my goal to make the blackjack portion as realistic as possible, but I just don't have the screen real estate to pull off splitting.

 

The odds are still with the house either way, but I've adjusted the payouts to make the game winnable.

 

It's a compromise, admittedly, though I think the gameplay is overall superior to Atari's 2600 blackjack, where the dealer wins a push.

Edited January 20, 2011 by RevEng

[jwierer]

No possibility to add the ability to split? The odds are really against the player without it.

 

-Jeff

Yeah, I really would have liked to have included splitting. It was my goal to make the blackjack portion as realistic as possible, but I just don't have the screen real estate to pull off splitting.

 

The odds are still with the house either way, but I've adjusted the payouts to make the game winnable.

 

It's a compromise, admittedly, though I think the gameplay is overall superior to Atari's 2600 blackjack, where the dealer wins a push.

Definitely better than 2600 BlackJack. What if you only displayed one hand at a time and just displayed a number for the split hands. Only the last hand would be visible. True Vegas blackjack would allow splitting up to four times, except aces, and allow double after splits. Question is, even if you didn't have to display it, do you have enough memory to store it?

 

-Jeff

[+RevEng]

Definitely better than 2600 BlackJack. What if you only displayed one hand at a time and just displayed a number for the split hands. Only the last hand would be visible. True Vegas blackjack would allow splitting up to four times, except aces, and allow double after splits. Question is, even if you didn't have to display it, do you have enough memory to store it?

 

-Jeff

Not presently, but I could probably scare up the bytes for one split.

 

I'll see what I can come up with... one split would be better than none.

[ls650]

Great project.

[the.golden.ax]

Will there be a "full" adult cartridge

 

AX

[+RevEng]

Thanks for the encouragement, TrekMD and ls650!

 

 

Will there be a "full" adult cartridge

 

AX

If there's enough interest for a cart run, then it will definitely feature the full goods!

[potatohead]

Excellent work! This is not something expected on VCS.

[Nukey Shay]

Why not aim to create Strip Poker instead? No more than 5 cards need ever be displayed at any time...and the AI and rules aren't very complex (you can even LIST Artworx' own program).

[Devin]

Wow. This is truly exceptional work. After seeing the "games" put out by Mystique, I am amazed to see a great 2600 adult game.

[the.golden.ax]

For some reason I love the 2600 when it makes photos. I don't care what they are. This should be implemented more often adult or not.

 

AX

[Brian O]

Does this mean we can expect a reworked Custer's RevEnge in 2011?

 

-B

[+RevEng]

Excellent work! This is not something expected on VCS.

Thanks potatohead! I'm still not sure if I'm fighting the VCS or working with it, or if the two are the same thing.

 

 

Why not aim to create Strip Poker instead? No more than 5 cards need ever be displayed at any time...and the AI and rules aren't very complex (you can even LIST Artworx' own program).

I hear you Nukey. When I first came up with the girl display kernel, I seriously considered Strip Poker. I decided to go with blackjack partly because the Atari Blackjack was deficient, and partly due to a desire to create something new rather than port.

 

Still, what you say about LISTing intrigues me. I had completely forgotten that Strip Poker was done in basic.

 

While I don't relish the label of "the 2600 porn guy", I wouldn't rule out a Strip Poker sequel at some point.

 

 

Wow. This is truly exceptional work. After seeing the "games" put out by Mystique, I am amazed to see a great 2600 adult game.

Thanks Devin... that wow means a whole lot to me!

 

 

For some reason I love the 2600 when it makes photos. I don't care what they are. This should be implemented more often adult or not.

 

AX

I'm with you AX. I think it would be cool to have a rogue-alike where you would see a "close-up" greyscale image of the creature or item you're dealing with.

 

 

Does this mean we can expect a reworked Custer's RevEnge in 2011?

 

-B

/me groans. Should I get the "2600 porn guy" shirt printed now?

[Cebus Capucinis]

Should I get the "2600 porn guy" shirt printed now?

 

That sounds like a custom above-avatar status for the forum if ever I've heard one....

 

This is amazing work! As ax pointed out, I think the implications for non-NE146-style implementations such as rogue-likes and adventure games are quite exciting! Or if you just want to make more NE146-style games, I'm sure you'll have at least one buyer....

 

If this were released on a cart I'd sure buy it.

[+RevEng]

Should I get the "2600 porn guy" shirt printed now?

 

That sounds like a custom above-avatar status for the forum if ever I've heard one....

sigh. No point in fighting it anymore.

 

 

This is amazing work! As ax pointed out, I think the implications for non-NE146-style implementations such as rogue-likes and adventure games are quite exciting! Or if you just want to make more NE146-style games, I'm sure you'll have at least one buyer....

 

If this were released on a cart I'd sure buy it.

Thanks Cebus! Like I wrote in the first post, I wasn't sure what people would make of this, and the positive feedback I've received from you and others has been really motivating!

[the.golden.ax]

 

That sounds like a custom above-avatar status for the forum if ever I've heard one....

 

 

sigh. No point in fighting it anymore.

 

 

"If you've got a dream don't ever let it go!"

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa6zSh_TqOM

 

Son, making games with nude people is really important to you, isn't it?

 

Yes, Sir.

 

AX

[+RevEng]

"If you've got a dream don't ever let it go!"

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa6zSh_TqOM

 

Son, making games with nude people is really important to you, isn't it?

 

Yes, Sir.

 

AX

 

Living the dream sir, living the dream!

[Atari_afternoon]

What a great project please keep up with it. Works great in Stella (and I hope in Stella DS later on the train, too...)