sqoon Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 With the excellent recent releases for all the classic consoles, I got to thinking about the various DK arcade releases for INTV, CV, and 7800, but no one has attempted it for the VCS. Looking at games like Pac Man 4K makes me think a 4K or even 8K DK could be achieved. All four arcade levels (maybe more ala INTV D2K?), Intro screen, intermissions. The sky might be the limit. Is anyone working on this or even planning to do DK justice on the good old VCS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I'd love to see it, I have some crusty ol mockups lurking around here somewhere, wonder what. MR space rocks could do with dk.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Good idea. Here is my start in batari basic. .BIN files below. Once again bit off more than I could chew at my experience level. If someone wants to collaborate with me, I'm game. Of course without learning assembly, and loving flicker, this would flicker. To get the red girders and blue ladders it flickers 30hz And the extra sprites 1 thru 9 will flicker when they get horizontally close. Problems: Mario is too tall. The bin was my last attempt before shelving it. JumpmanRED12262011.bas.bin TitleHowhigh_Title.bas.bin 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian O Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I was never a fan of DK on the Atari. I would love to see a better version, even if means updating the existing two boards. -B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Nice detail in the girders and Mario. Just a thought: what if you simplified the girders, maybe even making them solid instead of split? Might that help with the flicker issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 (edited) Couldn't the girders be made with playfield graphics? One problem with the screen shot is there's no sprite tables left over for the barrels. I'm all for a new VCS Donkey Kong. The existing game is playable, especially the barrel stage, but the brown graphics look like roach poop. DK Jr is even worse. It will take more than a few gameplay tweaks though. A massive overhaul is necessary, and it will require expanding to 4 or possibly even 8k. I know it's not Atari, but currently, this NES repro of "Donkey Kong: Complete Edition" is the best home console version of Donkey Kong out there: http://www.retrousb....products_id=103 Obviously, the VCS can't handle true tile-based sprites like the original arcade and NES, but couldn't the mechanics at least be improved? Multicolor red/blue/cream Mario sprite? The cement buckets (aka "pies") on the second level could definitely utilize the hardware sprite multipliers. Barrels would be trickier since they have to roll down a slope. A nice stack of 4 DKs like in the arcade original's "how high can you go" screen would also be cool. That could probably be pulled off with double-wide sprites for Donkey Kong. Edited October 23, 2012 by stardust4ever 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Run the .BIN files attached to post 2. They are playfield. I like the colored ladders. 2 playfields red/blue mean flickering. The girders would not flicker if the ladders were the same color as the girders detailed or not. 1 playfield. That is the playfield you can get with batari basic DPC+ and the look of batari basic games to come with 10 sprites! The monkey How High Can You Try? test is also a title screen flicker. This was 2 days mockup at Christmas 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I dream of a DK Arcade for the 2600. Wonder if we/somebody could get this off the ground post haste in Kickstarter type fashion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 That 'How high can you get?' graphic looks amazing for the VCS! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 I will guess that the elevator stage would be the trickiest on VCS, due to the sheer number of moving objects on screen at any given time. That screen alone may require 8K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian O Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This type of thread often appears and then quickly disappears. I think the reason is because people get delusions of grandeur right off the bat, only to come to the realization that the elevator board and cement factory may be too complex to fit into 8K. I, personally, would rather see the first two levels recreated in a fashion truer to the original than for someone to try and cram all four levels into 8K and get discouraged and give up... Just my two cents. -B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Why limit it to 4K or 8K? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) Heck, with a 32kb ROM, you could have a full 4k bank dedicated to every screen, plus intermissions! The DK image could be created without flicker by layering sprites... Edited October 23, 2012 by stardust4ever 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 heres the old beast http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/51052-seen-my-ol-donkey-kong-major-havoc-2600-mockups/page__hl__donkey+kong I'd be happy to draw everything beyond just the mockups if anyone wants 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 ^ Nice artwork, but obviously the issue is how do you program those screens, complete with full movement and collision detection, all within the confines of 4k, 8k, whatever storage space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 You program them with batari Basic 1.1d. Godzilla, your mockups and Andrew Davies chronocolor were my inspiration for this bin mockup JumpmanRED20121023.bas.bin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 (edited) It would be really cool to see a new DK for the 2600. But, i am pretty fond of the old 2600 Coleco Dk. The graphics may not be so hot, Kong could look better, but still fun to play. Part of the reason is also, it brings back fond memories of the time when i was playing it back in the early 80's. Edited October 24, 2012 by Rik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 One of the big problems with DK is the screen is very tall. Here was my attempt before a long while back before I lost interest. It is just a static mock-up without hammers, Mario, barrels, or fireballs. Use ALT-P in Stella to stop the flickering. DonkeyKong(Omega).bin The top part where DK stands is very busy. I think my next step was going to be switch over to drawing one half of DK with a GRPx register, and the other half with missiles. Then I would flicker the other GRPx register between a possible Mario or barrel on that girder. For the barrels standing up I was going to try and construct them with the playfield while masking parts of it with the other missile register. That would mean doing color changes between the barrels and the ladder as well. I haven't thought too much about it in a long time though. I think I stopped because I didn't like the looks of the barrels with PF gfx or had lack of time. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 That looks great! Kong even looks like an ape! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Hopeully, this comes to fruition at some point. After all, we've got a new 2600 Pacman, Tetris (Chietry) in the shop, and Mario (Princess Rescue) is on the way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8th lutz Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 While I am a 7800 owner, Atari 2600 is deserving of a new DK. I own the 2600 version of Donkey Kong for 22 or 23 years. I am hoping a new DK would happen for the 2600. I have to agree that a new DK should be in a 32k rom cartridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwalla Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Looks excellent. If we can get a great updated DK for the 2600 i'm in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Here was my attempt before a long while back before I lost interest. Nice, very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 You program them with batari Basic 1.1d. Godzilla, your mockups and Andrew Davies chronocolor were my inspiration for this bin mockup Thanks! It's nice to see more movement on DK Great work here in this thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brojamfootball Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 This is a really great idea. The 7800 XM Kong will be fabulous I'm sure, but I doubt I'll ever play it since it's not likely I'll get an XM. Back in the day, we never really expected arcade ports to be perfect. That was an impossible dream. Graphics and features always had to be sacrificed somewhat. But something akin to the recent Intellivision versions of DK done for 2600 would be nice. Not all the special features, just a better version. Nuff said... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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