ADAM to Colecovision game conversion question

[65Gamerguy]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed.

 

I am sure everyone here knows that the ADAM computer is getting old and the super games were released on high speed digital data cassettes, and they aren't going to last forever. On the Colecovision, originally, cartridges could hold only 32K of data while the ADAM DDP's could hold up to 256K of data. These days it is now possible with the mega cart for a cartridge to hold more than 32K.

 

I have seen some versions of sort of a combined Colecovision/ADAM hybrid super game, but I haven't seen an actual fully functional rom of a full ADAM version of any super games that were originally released.

 

Using a mega cart is it possible now to create a full version of the ADAM super games with all the screens and intermissions?

 

Can a fully functional rom be created from an ADAM DDP super game? Or are there subtle differences in how the ADAM games were programmed that a Colecovision can't handle?

 

I only ask this because some of the ADAM versions of these games looked pretty good, IMO, and I would like to see them preserved in some format because the digital data packs are going to wear out eventually.

 

I don't mean to disrespect or upset the fine people here that make new games, I honestly respect and appreciate everything you all do, and have done. I will always try to support you all in any way I can.

 

I think it would be nice to preserve the games we had from the past. In my view anything we can see and show of Colecovision games, old or new, just makes the system that much more valuable and interesting to others.

 

Many Thanks for any information you might have.

[Pixelboy]

This has indeed been discussed before in the past few years. The short answer is that with Opcode's MegaCart and Super Game Module (for extra RAM), having the Super Games on regular CV cartridges falls into the realm of the possible... but unlikely.

 

While the hardware to make it happen may exist, the amount of work required to convert a datapack/floppy ADAM game to run on a plain ColecoVision console (with SGM, understatedly) is downright staggering.

 

The ADAM and CV BIOSes are different, and the coder (a Z80 expert, of course) would have to be intimately familiar with both of them. Then the disk image of a Super Game would need to be disassembled and studied. 32K of machine code/data is already a pain to decode and understand, imagine 160K! Whoever undertakes such a project would need to have a level of determination that borders on obsessiveness, like going into a cave for something like 6 months and only coming out when it's done.

 

I'd love to see Dragon's Lair and Zaxxon Super Game released in cart form as much as the next guy, but you have to face reality: No one on Earth has the knowledge, dedication and free time necessary to make it a reality.