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Seaquest 99


Tony Cruise

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I had an afternoon this weekend where I was left alone and have been playing Seaquest for the Atari 2600 a bit lately, trying to set a high score, and I couldn't stop thinking about the game and how it could be done on the TI-99xx chipset i.e. Colecovision, MSX and original Spectravideo.
I sat down and started putting together some of the graphics, and then started putting the framework of the game together.
So far I have completed the following:

  • EA Splash Screen
  • Title Screen (although it needs some more pixel level editing)
  • Main play screen tile layout
  • Oxygen Meter
  • Lives remaining display
  • Main Sub movement
  • Enemy Sub spawning and movement

I was quite surprised I got so much done in such a short period of time.
There are obviously quite a few things still to do i.e. sharks, divers, collision detection, sound effects and music, but I am confident enough that I will be able to make quite a decent port.
I posted a short video of the game before I did the title screen and enemy movement to my Facebook page here
More updates soon.
Seaquest99-1.png

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It looks very nice so far, but I hope you will keep in mind that anyone can play SeaQuest on their ColecoVision right now with the Expansion Module #1, so the ColecoVision version should offer something more, like slightly better graphics/sounds, or some exclusive gameplay features. My recommendation: Boss fights!! :D

 

Just my two cents. :)

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I'm impressed! You are right, that's a lot to get done in one day.

 

I'm curious about your development environment. What tools are you using to create your graphics/etc.? Language? Windows or Mac?

I write in Z80 ASM using Context text editor and tniasm as the assembler.

I use Paint Shop Pro for graphics and CVPaint2 to convert images, but only really use that for splash screens.

I have made myself a sprite editor, which I can also use to make tiles and then build up game screens using set tiles.

I mostly use Windows platforms, although I am typing this on a Macbook. I have found setting up everything on a Macbook is too much trouble so I have a virtual machine running windows using VMWare :)

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It looks very nice so far, but I hope you will keep in mind that anyone can play SeaQuest on their ColecoVision right now with the Expansion Module #1, so the ColecoVision version should offer something more, like slightly better graphics/sounds, or some exclusive gameplay features. My recommendation: Boss fights!! :D

 

Just my two cents. :)

Fully indeed intend to have the normal game as is, but also have an enhanced mode with more enemy variation and perhaps some form of boss mode. We shall see. Even with my new logo splash screen and a splash screen the game comes in a 6k, so plenty of room for lots of other features :) And I have only spent about 10 hours on it so far, so I think there is plenty of scope for more.

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  • 7 months later...

Just curious if there was any update on this one...

Sorry been a bit of track due to both insane levels of work and a child with a serious illness so have had to focus on other things.

Work has been sorted with the project I have been working on for the last three years going into production successfully just this last Saturday, so this should hopefully relieve the pressure on that side of things for a while.

I am working on a special home brew project at the moment, but when that is finished I will be returning to both this game and the conversion of the next of my original MSX titles from the 80's i.e. Pyxidis. It is game play complete, but I am still working on sound effects and music and it still needs some more rounds of testing.

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  • 2 years later...

I haven't had a wonderful year, both with work levels and a seriously ill child, but things are definitely on the up. I have a new job and my 2nd eldest is in remission and things seem to have settled down.

I am back doing some coding, but I have to finish off a title for Collectorvision 1st before I can come back to this one. But don't worry it is one of my favourite 2600 games and I really want to make an excellent version for the Coleco :)

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I haven't had a wonderful year, both with work levels and a seriously ill child, but things are definitely on the up. I have a new job and my 2nd eldest is in remission and things seem to have settled down.

I am back doing some coding, but I have to finish off a title for Collectorvision 1st before I can come back to this one. But don't worry it is one of my favourite 2600 games and I really want to make an excellent version for the Coleco :)

Glad to hear that things are looking up for you and the family. AND, it is great that you are getting back to the ColecoVision hobby that you apparently love.

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Great to hear you back in the saddle and that your family is on the upswing... 2017 has been a rough year for many of us but we are very close to Q4 and heres to hoping 18 is going to be a great one!!

 

I hope you allow open beta testing on your game as I am sure some of us would love to help you debug and make some refinement suggestions. Pixelboy published Frostbite for the Coleco earlier this year and its really great, with the ability to switch between 2600 mode and Coleco enhanced graphics mode.

 

I am looking forward to whatever design you come up with.

 

Good Luck!

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I had an afternoon this weekend where I was left alone and have been playing Seaquest for the Atari 2600 a bit lately, trying to set a high score, and I couldn't stop thinking about the game and how it could be done on the TI-99xx chipset i.e. Colecovision, MSX and original Spectravideo.

I sat down and started putting together some of the graphics, and then started putting the framework of the game together.

So far I have completed the following:

  • EA Splash Screen
  • Title Screen (although it needs some more pixel level editing)
  • Main play screen tile layout
  • Oxygen Meter
  • Lives remaining display
  • Main Sub movement
  • Enemy Sub spawning and movement

I was quite surprised I got so much done in such a short period of time.

There are obviously quite a few things still to do i.e. sharks, divers, collision detection, sound effects and music, but I am confident enough that I will be able to make quite a decent port.

I posted a short video of the game before I did the title screen and enemy movement to my Facebook page here

More updates soon.

Seaquest99-1.png

Very cool even if it is only a clone of 2600 version with no extras. Nice work.

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This game reminds me of a game I like for SG-1000 called N-Sub. A guy ported it to MSX. I tried to get him to port it to ColecoVision but he said with only 1k of memory it couldn't be done. Seems it could be a megacart or super game though. I'd like to see it for Colecovision. Good luck on this project though.

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This game reminds me of a game I like for SG-1000 called N-Sub. A guy ported it to MSX. I tried to get him to port it to ColecoVision but he said with only 1k of memory it couldn't be done. Seems it could be a megacart or super game though. I'd like to see it for Colecovision. Good luck on this project though.

 

I am curious to know why it couldn't be ported. From what I've seen on YouTube, it looks like straightforward redefined character graphics and simple sound effects. I wonder if that guy was displaying a bit of snobbery of that I've seen from other platforms. If a game like Sydney Hunter can be made for the unexpanded Coleco, surely this can.

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That msx port of nsub was an msx-dos program rather than a cartridge rom; it would need about 16k ram to load and execute. Maybe that's what he was thinking of. The original source sg-1000 nsub code should easily port to coleco vision. The sg-1000 has 1k ram and the same hardware as coleco vision.

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