Andromeda Stardust Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Thanks. Another thin I'd like to add, is the bright vibrant colors and solid black background are perfect for this title. Playing on my CRT in a dark bedroom, I can see the afterglow in the phosphor trails from the stark white jumping man. It really is breathtaking. The colors really "pop" out onscreen too! Anyway, the death animation with the blood "splat" is cute, especially the way the body twitches it's legs after it dies. I showed my fiance and played it in front of her. She got the biggest kick out of watching the little guys go "splat" whenever I would miss. Animation is perfect IMO. Please keep it exactly the way it is. I wanted to judge Circus AtariAge against it's predecessor so I popped in the original Circus Atari cart. Somehow I can't stomach the imprecise square blocks for balloons, or the fact the guys either go strait up or diagonally sideways. What I should have done was play the original first then the homebrew would have wowed me even more. I love the fact that in your Circus AtariAge homebrew they move in perfectly parabolic arcs. The flawless physics adds so much to the gameplay. Let's see, that's 3 thumbs up so far? It ought to be 5! :thumbsup: Fixed! Your new Circus Atari homebrew is rock solid as it stands, even without the settings of the original like difficulty switches or level select. Just remove the demo icon and slap it on a cartridge already! It still baffles me how you got so many sprites lined up along a single row at once without flickering. I assume you are shifting the sprites manually throughout the duration of the H-scan, correct? I know you used both player sprites for the balloons since each row has two color pallettes, but they don't seem to flicker at all. Then that leaves at least one additional sprite for the little acrobat as well? I assume they only flicker when the little man intersects the balloon rows? I'm always too busy keeping up with the frantic action to really notice any sprite flicker if it exists. One quick question: I noticed normally when I load a ROM on my harmony, the little twirling yin yang icon, which normally disappears once the ROM loads, slides sideways to the left and then the Megamatrix logo appears beside it. No flashes of black or anything. In Stella it does not show the twirling yin yang icon at all. I'm just somewhat curious as to how you pulled off that effect. Very neat regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 One quick question: I noticed normally when I load a ROM on my harmony, the little twirling yin yang icon, which normally disappears once the ROM loads, slides sideways to the left and then the Megamatrix logo appears beside it. No flashes of black or anything. In Stella it does not show the twirling yin yang icon at all. I'm just somewhat curious as to how you pulled off that effect. Very neat regardless. . Finally, someone discovered it! It is my Harmony homage. Thank you for all the kind words. My goal for PRGE was simply: 1) Get the jumper up in the air. 2) Make the correct balloons disappear. Time didn't allow for much more. Every single balloon sprite is made out of GRP1. I am alternating between 2 frames of sprites. There is a post with the basic concepts of the kernel construction here. If you press ALT-COMMA in stella then you can see all the objects at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 This is a PAL60 build of the PRGE demo for PAL users. It was discovered that there were some issues with the seesaw bouncing around here. I am still investigating the exact cause, but I have found enough out to get CAA as stable as any other paddle game on my 2600. It should be even better once the kernel is rebuilt. CAA_PRGE_PAL60.zip Note this is a backwards branch build... I'm working on CAA slowly, but we are still far away from a new build. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 So, the ROM glitched on PAL Ataris but not NTSC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 So, the ROM glitched on PAL Ataris but not NTSC? Nope, it glitched on both. I'm not going to release a fixed version of the PRGE rom because the code has changed quite a bit since then. The glitch looks like a problem with the TIA, and I'm not sure it will affect all consoles. The fix shouldn't harm any consoles though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Nope, it glitched on both. I'm not going to release a fixed version of the PRGE rom because the code has changed quite a bit since then. The glitch looks like a problem with the TIA, and I'm not sure it will affect all consoles. The fix shouldn't harm any consoles though. Does it have anything to do with the "2 or 3" glitch? On some models, the timings can actually change slightly as the console chips warm up. I have a video capture of such a transition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maiki Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Good game. I suggest adding a "Game Over" message and some time out reading the fire button, as now you tend to start another game without even noticing because new players are always called up by pressing FIRE button - the same as starting a completely new game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 ^^ Good idea. I'd almost suggest hitting RESET intead but it's a pain to walk across the room when you're playing on a 10 foot extension cord. Also maybe you can ceate a "frantic" 2-player mode with two acrobats in midair and two seesaws? That would be sweet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 some time out reading the fire button, as now you tend to start another game without even noticing because new players are always called up by pressing FIRE button - the same as starting a completely new game. I know what you mean. It was that way simply because I didn't have a lot of time and it's a very early demo. For the PAL60 conversion I just basically changed the colors and fixed the paddle glitch. I didn't do too much more because it's old code now and I want to move forward off the newest version. Also maybe you can ceate a "frantic" 2-player mode with two acrobats in midair and two seesaws? That would be sweet... This has been in my head since the very beginning. I'm not sure if I will do it until I see how good the seesaws will look. Long story short I would have to flicker the seesaws. Since they can travel quite quickly it might not look very good... Also their colors would overlap and blend. the overlap would be brighter then the other areas. The jumpers would also have to be flickered. I would choose to flicker them constantly over drawing both on the same frame (as can be done when they are in different horizontal zones). I find it less annoying to just leave the flicker on then to selectively turn it off/on. That way the colors are always the same brightness. Still, I hate flicker most of all. With the balloons I have no choice, but I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalloonFighter Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Circus Atari has been a favorite of mine since I started collecting for the 2600, and I am glad to see that someone made the effort to make this game look nicer. No longer do the balloons look like squares, and they are also more than 3 colors. Also, I never thought that it was possible to make the clown death look any more violent, but this game shows that it is. Keep up the good work on this awesome update to a simple yet addictive game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Yes, bump for updates. The "death" animation is hilareous! My fiance got the biggest kick from watching the poor unfortunate guys hit the ground with a bloody "splat." Please keep the death animation exactly as it is and don't change a thing in the graphics department. Games need not be politically correct. Hoping for a cart release some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Please plan to continue working on Circus AtartAge! We love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) Has it really been 8 months with no updates? I have the Circus Atariage PRGE demo on my Harmony, but would really love a physical release. The paddle controls and multi-sprite animations are awesome... Oh, and keep the blood splats! :thumbsup: Edited September 22, 2014 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 How's this going? I was hoping I'd be able to buy this for myself for Christmas this year. No pressure, though. Just wondering. I'm good with "It'll be finished when/if it's finshed". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 I know it's been a while. I've only put little bits of time in it there and here. Right now the game is not in a playable state as the kernel is in a billion pieces after several rebuilds. I've actually got to the point where I had to put the kernel to the side to work on other parts of the game, as I was getting burnt out. The main delay has been finding little bits of free time to do the work, and having the proper motivation during those key times. Proper motivation involves taking a step back and remembering why I love Atari, and what things I enjoy seeing and playing my game. Basically the things that bring me joy when I think about it. Without those things it hard to push ones' self to spend the gruelling hours banging through code. Game completion still stands at 20%. I hope to have an update for PRGE next year. Thanks all for your patience and interest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 (edited) Hey, thanks for the update. And thanks for your work on this. And thanks for giving us (at least me, anyway) a new game to look forward to. I totally get the time and motivation thing. I have a homebrew game for a different platform that I've been working on for years -- off and on. Mostly off. Unlike you, I'm not brave enough to tell anybody what I'm working on until I have it completely done. If you ever scrape together the time to finish it and publish it, I'll be a buyer. Edited November 1, 2014 by BigO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Thank you for the update. I hope you do get to finish the game at some point. I know I'll be buying it if you do finish and release it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Wierd, I thought it was "almost" finished for PRGE 2013. Ah well carry on. Good things come to those who wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Wierd, I thought it was "almost" finished for PRGE 2013. Ah well carry on. Good things come to those who wait! Rebuilds/reboots sometimes happen when new things are figured out. I have a feeling Frantic will be rebooted yet again next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billkendrick Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 For those who couldn't attend PRGE this year, here is the Circus AtariAge demo. CAA_PRGE_Final.bin I was concerned when my Harmony Cart's logo started shifting to the side... hah, that was a cute touch Looking great. Is there a more recent version, out of curiosity?! Circus Atari was a frienemy game* when I was a kid (and I ended up making a clone for Linux, which Virgin Airline folks might recognize from their seatback entertainment system). * I loved it, but I hated it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloan Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) dumb question from an excited player: I pressed the arrow keys to move but nothing happens, how do we move the mechanical thing below (lol, I don't know how to call it) - or does it only work with a pedal controller?!! Edited September 22, 2015 by Aloan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 You have to tell Stella that this is a paddle game. Tab Key, then Game Properties/Controller/P0 Controller: Paddles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) dumb question from an excited player: I pressed the arrow keys to move but nothing happens, how do we move the mechanical thing below (lol, I don't know how to call it) - or does it only work with a pedal controller?!! I never got paddles to work right in emulation. I used the real thing with a Harmony cart. This is an incredibly addictive game! Edited September 22, 2015 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloan Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 LOL - I knew there was something fishy about my pedal to the medal - lovely screenshot!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 You can tell Stella the mouse is a Paddle or Trak-ball. Have it working with Missile Command Trak-Ball. (It does not work as good as real hardware because using the mouse, the pointer in the game gets stuck not all the way up or not all the way down, or not all the way left or not all the way right.) It is hard to explain. I am saying it stops in the middle before the play screen edge because reading the mouse it is at max and even if you continue moving the mouse in a direction the game sees the mouse at max limit and will not move the game pointer any more. Maybe there is an adjustment I am missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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