D.K. VCS

[+Gemintronic]

I think this would be a good time to point out LS_Dracon and Joe Musashi mainly started these experiments as technical challenges. I wouldn't expect them to start porting every popular game on earth.

[+Random Terrain]

I think this would be a good time to point out LS_Dracon and Joe Musashi mainly started these experiments as technical challenges. I wouldn't expect them to start porting every popular game on earth.

 

But later on as an experiment, he could try to do the first level of Super Mario Bros. just to see what an assembly language version would look like.

[BrianC]

I don't kow why poor Q*Bert gets picked on so much. The 2600 version is missing ugg and wrong way, but still plays very well. Amidar isn't bad either, and has a speed up hack.

Edited August 5, 2013 by BrianC

[xybot67]

I don't kow why poor Q*Bert gets picked on so much. The 2600 version is missing ugg and wrong way, but still plays very well. Amidar isn't bad either, and has a speed up hack.

 

I agree, I always enjoyed Q*Bert. Definitely one of the better Parker Bros ports.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I don't kow why poor Q*Bert gets picked on so much. The 2600 version is missing ugg and wrong way, but still plays very well. Amidar isn't bad either, and has a speed up hack.

I found Qbert to be quite playable, although starting with the third level the mechanics start getting really complicated with the on/off tile patterns and enemies reverting back the colors. I don't think I passed the fourth stage although I haven't played in a while. It's also easy to jump off the stage if you forget to hold the joystick at a 45 degree angle. My poor Qbert cart had a badly torn label however.

[NE146]

I found Qbert to be quite playable, although starting with the third level the mechanics start getting really complicated with the on/off tile patterns and enemies reverting back the colors. I don't think I passed the fourth stage although I haven't played in a while. It's also easy to jump off the stage if you forget to hold the joystick at a 45 degree angle. My poor Qbert cart had a badly torn label however.

 

That's a part of the game. I've said this many times but in my opinion, back in the day Qbert was the ONE ATARI 2600 GAME where you could actually "practice at home" by playing the VCS port, and it would actually improve your skills for your next visit to the arcade to play the real version. This is primarily because it taught you how to deal with the color changes. It didn't matter that ugg & wrong way were missing, the primitive graphics, the smaller pyramid, etc.

 

You can't say that about the majority of VCS ports. "Practicing" Space Invaders on the VCS would get you decimated in the arcade version.

Edited August 5, 2013 by NE146

[olivil]

I've just had an idea for collision detection. What if you only checked for collision on every other frame? The one with the red on Mario happens to be the one with the smaller (details) barrel sprite. This would make it so (maybe!) you could jump over a barrel without going left or right.

 

I don't even know if that's possible, and if it is, if you're already doing it. Just an idea I'm throwing in there.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I played the latest build, and it seems the collision detection has improved. either that, or Mario must have some extra spring in his step because I'm finding it easier to clear the barrels now than with the original beta. Every revision is feeling more and more like an authentic arcade port. I actually believe it's better and more arcade-like than the 4-screen "DK Complete Edition" which Nintendo leaked as a limited edition Virtual Console title in 2010. I have said ROM burned onto an NES cart, and am definitely picking this gem up when it gets the greenlight.

 

Joe, the only thing that would make this feel more authentic, would be to use the Select switch to add "credits" prior to starting the game, provided you have any spare RAM addresses left over. That said, I always preferred the logical 100m Japanese order (1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4...) to the chaotic 150m US order (1-4-1-3-4-1-2-3-4-whatever-1-2-1-3-1-4...) but I'm glad you plan on incorporating both patterns.

[Joe Musashi]

I've just had an idea for collision detection. What if you only checked for collision on every other frame? The one with the red on Mario happens to be the one with the smaller (details) barrel sprite. This would make it so (maybe!) you could jump over a barrel without going left or right.

 

That would probably work. The inner (small) barrel graphics is exactly as wide as the arcade barrel. Though I'm optimistic that I can add a box check.

 

Joe, the only thing that would make this feel more authentic, would be to use the Select switch to add "credits" prior to starting the game, provided you have any spare RAM addresses left over. That said, I always preferred the logical 100m Japanese order (1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4...) to the chaotic 150m US order (1-4-1-3-4-1-2-3-4-whatever-1-2-1-3-1-4...) but I'm glad you plan on incorporating both patterns.

 

Credits would be fun, but ... as usual there's not enough space left. I would estimate that code for this would take at least half a page of ROM.

[RevEng]

Have you considered using 64k EF bankswitching?

[e1will]

Just happened across this thread... excellent work, Joe, this is a really well done project you've got here.

[Joe Musashi]

Have you considered using 64k EF bankswitching?

 

No, that would take it too far. I was already reluctant to go to 32KB, but otherwise there would have been no cut-scenes.

 

Just happened across this thread... excellent work, Joe, this is a really well done project you've got here.

 

Thanks!

[+Random Terrain]

No, that would take it too far. I was already reluctant to go to 32KB, but otherwise there would have been no cut-scenes.

 

Related link:

 

randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-cheating.html

[raindog]

The Atari 2600 is a permanent part of a home entertainment center.

I used to believe that. I'll believe it again when I start seeing HDMI-modded Atari 2600s.

 

Till then, it's as much a part of my "home entertainment center" as Dragon's Lair or the ZX Spectrum... to be experienced largely through emulation.

 

(And the irony of that statement having appeared in an ad promoting the 2600 version of Pac-Man is delicious.)

Edited August 13, 2013 by raindog

[boxpressed]

Has anyone tried this on a CC2? I'm trying to figure out what the bankswitching and startup codes are. Thanks for any help!

[Joe Musashi]

Related link:

 

randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-cheating.html

 

Yes, I have seen that page.

 

In the end, every programmer has to decide for oneself where to draw the line. For this project it is F4 + SARA. Going further would spoil the fun for me.

 

Has anyone tried this on a CC2? I'm trying to figure out what the bankswitching and startup codes are. Thanks for any help!

 

Bankswitching is F4SC. According to http://www.schells.com/cc2.shtml that should be supported.

[boxpressed]

Thanks, Joe. Works perfectly. Such an amazing game!

[BigO]

I used to believe that. I'll believe it again when I start seeing HDMI-modded Atari 2600s.

Since there are composite video modded 2600's, this (or one of many like it) should do the trick for you:

 

"Transform Composite or S-Video into crisp, scaled HDMI video"

http://www.gefen.com...sp?prod_id=5281

Edited August 14, 2013 by BigO

[almightytodd]

Since there are composite video modded 2600's, this (or one of many like it) should do the trick for you:

 

"Transform Composite or S-Video into crisp, scaled HDMI video"

http://www.gefen.com...sp?prod_id=5281

Yikes! It's 300 bucks!!!

[raindog]

Yeah, having already bought a $100 consumer-grade TBC to make my AV-modded 2600 (which itself was fairly expensive) work with my last CRT, I have no intention of dropping more than I spent on the PS3 to move Atari into the digital age.

 

On the other hand, a computer the size of a pack of gum that hooks up to the TV, runs Stella like a champ and even accepts my USB Atari joystick is about 40 bucks, and I have one of those already. (Haven't tried it with the Atarivox yet, admittedly, and I don't know where my USB spinner went, so paddle games are not as awesome as they were on the real thing... but I'm thinking DK VCS is.)

[BrianC]

Yikes! It's 300 bucks!!!

 

Not to mention it inputs at 480i, so it's pretty much guaranteed to have lag. These systems don't mix well with HD TVs and I rather play on a CRT with true SD video than attempt to play the games on the HDTV (which can get messy). I like Stella, but, as good as it is, playing that on an HD TV or computer screen is still not the same experience as playing the real system on a CRT TV.

[raindog]

And for those of us willing to hang on to our 70-pound vacuum tubes, that's a viable option. As for me, in another couple months the only CRT we're going to have in the house will be the Vectrex. Too bad no one ever mass-produced an all-in-one 9-inch TV with a 2600 built in, or I'd probably have one of those in the junk room office too.

[BigO]

Yikes! It's 300 bucks!!!

I spotted another one as low as $35.00. But, I suspect that even the fastest (assumedly most expensive) will likely induce visible lag as mentioned. But, I don't think we're going to see the 2600 natively output anything more friendly to the conversion process.

 

I still have one 32" and a few smaller CRT TV's hanging around for my old video game stuff.

 

In my idle musings, I've wondered if there's a way to do an A/D conversion to encode a composite video signal to X/Y coordinates to more-or-less directly drive an LCD. It's over my head, but I've wondered anyway.

Edited August 14, 2013 by BigO

[Andromeda Stardust]

I know this is getting off topic, but I wouldn't rush out to buy any device that upscales composite to HDMI.

 

#1 - For the time being, nearly all HDTVs still support composite. Such a device will surely add at least 16ms of lag in addition to that of your HDTV. If you use the internal composite scaler inside your HDTV, chances are the lag will be less with only one conversion instead of two.

 

#2 - I have said this a million times, but nearly all 8- and 16-bit consoles (including Atari) output 240p @60.01Hz video, NOT 480i @29.97. The upscaler is going to be expecting a 480i interlaced signal. Anything that sprite flickers 30Hz over composite is going to create tiny horizontal venetian blinds on a progressive display. While I would love to believe that someone will come along and produce a product that properly upscales 240p video to 480p or 720p, I'm currently skeptical that there exists a large enough market for such a product, and 480i interlaced output like DVD or VHS would likely be degraded by such a conversion.

 

#3 - Unlike NES, SNES, and Genesis, no stock Atari system is going to output composite video. If your TV set does not include an NTSC analog tuner (most HDTVs still do at this point, but I don't know for how much longer they will support analog RF), you will either have to mod the Atari for composite output or use a beat up VCR tuner as a demodulator to convert the signal to composite output. It does not matter if the tape deck is busted or not since you only need it for the analog tuner. Furthermore, the Atari NTSC signal is somehow improperly formatted. I can't explain why, but some HDTVs and capture devices (Hauppauge, I'm looking at you) do not handle the off-spec Atari signal very well, despite the fact that all my other 8- and 16-bit systems (NES, SNES, Genesis, etc) capture flawlessly. I attempted to direct record from Atari to my Hauppauge using a busted VCR as a middle man, and the results were a horrible grayscale picture with nasty thin jailbars. All my other non-Atari branded retro systems worked flawlessly using this arrangement.

 

#4 - I know it's not Atari related, but lightgun "zappers" will not work on anything more than a standard definition CRT set. If you want to play Duck hunt or Hogan's Alley on a real NES the way it was intended, you'll need a bulky CRT to play it. That alone makes it worth hanging on to at least one old CRT set.

Edited August 16, 2013 by stardust4ever

[+Random Terrain]

I know this is getting off topic, but I wouldn't rush out to buy any device that upscales composite to HDMI.

 

My Atari 2600 wouldn't work with my LCD HDTV or my Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-85 until I did what I mention below. It's adapted from a post of mine from February of 2012:

 

1

. Atari 2600 connected to broken DVD recorder using a

Coaxial (F-Type) to Female RCA Adapter

.

 

2

. S-Video cable connected from broken DVD recorder to the

RF Modulator

.

 

3

. Left and Right

RCA cables

connected from broken DVD recorder to the

RF Modulator

.

 

4

.

Coaxial cable

connected from

RF Modulator

to the coaxial input on the back of my LCD HDTV.