Most "Total Conversion" Pirate Games?

[+Gemintronic]

Although most pirate Atari 2600 games just rip off the Activision logo some must have actually tried to make the game different, right?

 

What are the most altered comercial hacks of existing games and who made them?

[Rom Hunter]

Suntek:

http://www.atarimani...her=70&step=200

 

Panda's Harbor Escape:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-harbor-escape_8372.html

 

Edited March 28, 2013 by Rom Hunter

[+Gemintronic]

Suntek:

http://www.atarimani...her=70&step=200

 

Panda's Harbor Escape:

http://www.atarimani...scape_8372.html

 

 

I consider you one of the foremost experts on this subject. Is that as altered is these things get?

[Rom Hunter]

Well, eventually you'll cross the line where it's no longer a hack, but a 'used code' situation.

 

Like Zoo Fun (based on Panda Chase):

http://www.atarimani...-fun_20556.html

 

Music Machine (using code of Kaboom!):

http://www.atarimani...ine-_11725.html

 

And last but not least Air Raid (based on code of Space Jockey):

http://www.atarimani...raid_16186.html

 

I wouldn't call these hacks anymore.

 

Suntek was most famous for hacking existing games, though.

 

Most probably in a period where pirate companies were still afraid of hacking too obviously (although a child could see that Tom Boy was a hack of Pitfall!).

 

Gotta love these Suntek hacks.

 

Home Vision, on the other hand, is often seen by beginning collectors as a pirate company, which is not the case.

 

Most of their titles are Taiwanese originals, which IMO makes this company extremely interesting.

 

Even their few hacks are interesting.

 

Take a look at their Tennis hack, for example, which includes a score board screen (!):

http://www.atarimani...nnis_14245.html

http://www.atarimani...me_vision_3.gif

 

Fascinating company and highly collectible titles.

 

Edited March 28, 2013 by Rom Hunter

[BassGuitari]

Did anyone ever find out what the deal was with Porky's and Tax Avoiders? There is definitely shared code, but I don't know if we ever found out who "borrowed" from whom.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Frisco aka Peter Penguin

 

Now guess what was hacked!

[Rom Hunter]

Ah, yes.

 

Forgot that one.

 

Based on Pac-Man.

 

[toymailman]

I finally found a TV with a vertical hold adjustment. I can now play PAL games with my US console (minus a few lines at the top and bottom). This gets me to the question of the OP. After playing Motocross by suntek it seems to be a hack of Enduro with elements of River Raid thrown in. I actually like the added dimension of needing to refuel along with passing other motorcycles. To me it blurs the line of what is called a hack. Maybe an enhanced hack?

[+Gemintronic]

I think it's getting close to what the DOOM comunity would call a "total conversion"

http://doom.wikia.co...otal_conversion

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I finally found a TV with a vertical hold adjustment. I can now play PAL games with my US console (minus a few lines at the top and bottom). This gets me to the question of the OP. After playing Motocross by suntek it seems to be a hack of Enduro with elements of River Raid thrown in. I actually like the added dimension of needing to refuel along with passing other motorcycles. To me it blurs the line of what is called a hack. Maybe an enhanced hack?

It is programmed from scratch. Stealing ideas from other games doesn't make it a hack. Motocross is no hack at all.

[toymailman]

It is programmed from scratch. Stealing ideas from other games doesn't make it a hack. Motocross is no hack at all.

Ah ha, I did not know this. Thanks Thomas!

 

I like how they blended the gameplay on this one. Mototcross was a PAL exclusive, correct? Has it been converted to NTSC?

[Nukey Shay]

Porky's (bank2):

LF058: 
      cpy    $8C     ;3
      bne    LF03E   ;2 valid destination

 

Tax Avoiders (bank1):

L19C3:
      cpy    $8C     ;3
      bne    L1990   ;2 invalid destination

 

It's obvious that Tax Avoiders copied Porky's a little too closely. The matching routine in both games is much longer...but this is the problem in the latter. It points to a destination that IS present in Porkys' code but not in it's own. Of course, the guys at 20th could have been psychic if you want an explaination for how Porky's could have been based off Tax Avoiders

 

 

Fairly conclusive evidence that Tax Avoiders is hacked from a slightly earlier version of Porky's.

 

Reason: it would be pretty difficult for a hacker (back in the day) to be responsible for all the display code that shifts between the 2 banks. Given how slow assembling was back then, he could have spent weeks at it and still ended up with a broken game.