LS_Dracon Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) This is the game I was working, my first Odyssey 2 homebrew (pictures : Left = emulator, Right = running on tv): Death Race is an Exidy arcade game released in 1977. The objective is drive you car and kill most people gremlins as you can in 99 seconds. This game works fine on O2Emu emulator as well on real hardware. Controls : Player 1 is the blue car and player 2 is the red car. Press left to rotate the car counter-clock wise or right to rotate clock wise Press action (fire) button to move the car (gas pedal) Hold down to reverse gear. Press up to start a new round or restart after time over Every time you collide with a gremlin, a new crosses will appear. Dodge the crosses and playfield boundaries to avoid an hit pause. You can push back (reverse) to disable the hit pause and quick return. Basically I tried to port the game most perfect as possible, I hope you enjoy. My high score so far : 41 kills. EDIT : ROM UPDATED - 08/26/2014 - Gremlins walks more randomly - Bug fixes - Volume equalized for real hardware (some sound fx was too low) - Others small stuffs I don't remember right now. DRace_RC04_NTSC.rom DRace_RC04_PAL.rom Edited August 28, 2014 by LS_Dracon 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariTexas Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Very cool!! Love seeing games done for the O2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I hope Glenn sees that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryStar Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Nice work I have a version for Vectrex but I haven't released it yet. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Very cool!! Love seeing games done for the O2! Thanks! I hope Glenn sees that. He's fan of this game? Or was he working in a similar project? Nice work I have a version for Vectrex but I haven't released it yet. Wow, neat! I'm envy the vetorial rotation you're using for the car. That was a pain fit 16 directions in a 8x8 pixel square. Btw only 7 crosses per screen? I know, more vector lines means more flicker, but how about make the crosses with 2 lines only (or 4), and double the number of crosses on screen? Also, my tip (if you want one) is download the game CarPolo for mame, it have the original car sprites and even the gremlin appear as an easter egg, serving a new ball, if you want to know how the original sprites looks like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryStar Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Thanks for your feedback. I used '2 line' crosses when I first knocked Death Chase up but they looked a little weedy next to the player sprites so I swapped them for the larger ones. I may try to add an extra couple crosses or do some further optimization but I'm pretty happy with it as-is, especially in 2 player mode. I'd rather keep things moving fast rather than have a slower paced game with more crosses. My avatar here is also used as a title screen graphic in the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50TBRD Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Chris has done a great job on Death Chase for the Vectrex. A fantastic version and I'm sure that it will be considered a favorite once its released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) He's fan of this game? Or was he working in a similar project? He wanted to do it for the 2600 for more than 10 years. Check his blog. Edited July 29, 2014 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) Thanks for your feedback. I used '2 line' crosses when I first knocked Death Chase up but they looked a little weedy next to the player sprites so I swapped them for the larger ones. I may try to add an extra couple crosses or do some further optimization but I'm pretty happy with it as-is, especially in 2 player mode. I'd rather keep things moving fast rather than have a slower paced game with more crosses. My avatar here is also used as a title screen graphic in the game. Yes, cool avatar! I have plans to create a title screen for my version too. I liked the vertical screen wrap in your game, that was a good idea. He wanted to do it for the 2600 for more than 10 years. Check his blog. Ok. EDIT : ROM UPDATED (08/06/2014) - DOWLOAD ON FIRST POST Edited August 6, 2014 by LS_Dracon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Another update, check the first post. I bought an Odyssey 2 weeks ago and am testing the game on real hardware by myself. I've post a picture of the game running on my tv, as you can see, the crosses flicker is almost no perceptible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nognir Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 nice! have to try that later on. Keep it going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 There was a small bug on PAL version, please download DRace_RC04_PAL again. The blue car collision was stopping red car and the round time was too long. Thanks to Marc who tested on PAL machine. Odyssey 2 / Videopac followers are few, but very supportive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGC1612 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Nice work I have a version for Vectrex but I haven't released it yet. Do you talk to CollectorVision for a physical release? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryStar Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Myself and a friend will be releasing the Vectrex version of Death Race (Death Chase) in due course. It will come on cartridge along with NOX (a version of Atari Sprint) and overlay. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koanex Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 hi" will you release this game in a physically card? do you still code on this project or is it already final? many thanks maybe you can answer to qwertzu@gmx.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 (edited) The game is done. Edited October 5, 2014 by LS_Dracon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timdu Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I am happy to report that DEATH RACE ( on cartridge, NTSC version, Odyssey2 style ) is now available for sale!I am now taking orders.100 numbered cartridges are being made ( 1 of 100, 2 of 100, 3 of 100)I am also happy to report that the game will be packaged in a new VHS-style box. An instruction manual is also included. Please visit the web site for more info @ : http://www.2600connection.com/features/death_race/features_death_race.html thank you! Tim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhcocker Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Payment Sent. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperboy Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Pmt sent, Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 (edited) My game got a nice video review : http://youtu.be/mY4DbR1AvDE Thank you very much. The art used for the package comes from original arcade artwork (marquee and kick plate) I've edited the images to fit better the odyssey 2 style. The manual text was adapted from original arcade manual I found, and thanks to Tim Duarte for short it and makes less "technical". So yes, everything was make with lot of respect to the original source. And don't worry you spelled my name correctly Also the game got a review in the current issue of RetroGame magazine : http://www.retrogamer.net/ (with Sega Saturn cover) I'm going to buy the digital copy, it seems a really well made magazine for reto game stuff. I want to say thanks to everyone who spread the word in many sites about this game during development, it's something never happens in my previous games. I really appreciate. I not did this game because the controversial history behind it, it's because the game fits perfectly the Odyssey 2 hardware (4 sprites on screen and so on) and is a really fun game to play. Trivia : This game uses only 32 bytes of internal RAM, because I found frustrating to use the extra 128 bytes of external RAM. Edited October 18, 2014 by LS_Dracon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperboy Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I received my copy and it is super badass! Thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I received my copy of Death Race yesterday and fired it up on my Odyssey2. Great little game; okay for one person, great for two people! The artwork and the 'newspaper clipping' are really nice touches - I give it an _A_ for presentation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Thanks. My high score so far is 43, but I rarely score more than 34 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug0909 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I really enjoyed playing this 2 player with a friend. Obviously time was put into fine tuning this. And as others have said, great presentation. Thanks! But I really hope someone hacks the ROM so we can have crunching and crashing sounds and screams coming out of the Voice unit. Also would've enjoyed an option to have player 2 control one of the guys trying to avoid such a terrible death... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Thanks. You're not the first to talk me about digitized scream from voice module. I don't know exactly how the voice module works, I don't own one and really don't have interest on it. The little I know, it plays pieces of digitized sounds internally, so you must mix these pieces to have a full word. It not plays any sound, that is, you can't load a sound you wish it to play (as far I know). Make it scream would be like set a robotic voice like "ah-ah-ah..." Originally my plans was recreate digitized sounds using Odyssey 2 sound chip, alternating the frequency every 4 or 5 scanlines, but I ran out of ROM for this. Not to mention this is my first Odyssey 2 game, push the machine to it's limit as first project is difficult. Here's the proof I was working on it, the original arcade scream in all it's glory (compressed as mp3): deathracescream.mp3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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