bbking67 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I just listened to the Antic Podcast Chuck Peavey interview... it sounded to me like he converted Lode Runner in 1987 to the XE Cartridge from the original Apple II version. Now that just seems odd to me, since there was already an Atari 800 version of the game... wouldn't it have been easier just to port that from being a disk game to ROM? I never owned the XE cartridge... are there any substantial differences? When I heard the podcats I was thinking maybe he has fuzzy memories and it was just converted from the Atari code... (which itself is likely a direct port from the original Apple II game). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 (edited) As far as I know only Doug did any versions at the time.. I think he's having a memory fart... Edited February 6, 2015 by Mclaneinc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Well, in the XE cart version, the bricks are red, even though the screenshots on the box show blue. The original 400/800 version is blue. I think there might be a Black and white apple II port as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Chuck Peavey definitely did the XEGS cartridge conversion (he's credited on the title screen), but I was always under the impression that it was a conversion of the Atari 800 disk version. The main difference is that, by default, the cartridge version gets the level data from the cartridge; you can switch to "disk mode" to load saved levels from disk. If he did in fact convert it from the Apple version, he did a great job of duplicating the audiovisuals from the Atari version, because as I remember it, it was exactly identical. As I understand it, the differences in the colors of the bricks has more to do with the way the different Atari computers handle color artifacting. The original disk version also has different-colored bricks when played on the XL/XE machines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 There are some minor artifacting differences between XL and XE. I will try the cart on both systems and see. FYI Commando looks ( better/different ) on XE. Heck, I have a 48k 400 laying around...but I think it's 64k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snicklin Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 The man is a legend. Even as a kid I was amazed at how he got around the limitations in PMGs for the sprites in Panther. I did always wish that the spacecraft were a bit clearer (like the C64 version) but his hands were tied due to the limitations of players on the A8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 The Apple version was always blue/red/white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Chuck Peavey definitely did the XEGS cartridge conversion (he's credited on the title screen), I stand corrected..Never too old to learn something new, thanks.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Weren't there three separate versions of Lode Runner for the A8? Admittedly all very similar, but I seem to remember that one of those had three versions. Anyone remember? -Larry 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Weren't there three separate versions of Lode Runner for the A8? Admittedly all very similar, but I seem to remember that one of those had three versions. Anyone remember? -Larry Well, there was the original Lode Runner, then there was Championship Lode Runner (the same game but with brutally difficult new levels, minus the level editor), and then there was the cartridge conversion of the original Lode Runner that was published by Atari. All three seem to have been derived from the same code base, so perhaps those are the three versions you're thinking of. There was also Lode Runner's Rescue from Synapse, which I've played only briefly, but that was a totally different product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Yes, but that's not what I'm referring to. For one of those (IIRC), there was a disk version and two cartridge versions -- one non-Atari cartridge preceded the Atari XEGS cart version, then Atari made some changes itself for its "gray" cartridge. -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CharlieChaplin Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Yes, but that's not what I'm referring to. For one of those (IIRC), there was a disk version and two cartridge versions -- one non-Atari cartridge preceded the Atari XEGS cart version, then Atari made some changes itself for its "gray" cartridge. -Larry Hmmmm, I remember this from Choplifter, afaik there is a 24k/32k disk from Broderbund, a 16k cart. from Broderbund and a 32k or 64k gray XE/XEGS cart. from Atari. Not sure if that 24k/32k for the disk version was only the RAM requirements or the real length of the program, nor if the 16k Broderbund cart was shortened somehow. Afaik, Lode Runner was never available on cart. from Broderbund. But there were quite some 24k and 32k A8 disk games that were shortened to fit on a standard (non-bankswitching) 16k cartridge... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Yes, but that's not what I'm referring to. For one of those (IIRC), there was a disk version and two cartridge versions -- one non-Atari cartridge preceded the Atari XEGS cart version, then Atari made some changes itself for its "gray" cartridge. -Larry You might be right. For whatever it's worth, I found the following in an article on the Internet Archive: Most versions of Lode Runner were on disk, but the Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 also got a "lite" cartridge version with only 32 levels and no editor for users without disk drives. If true, this must have preceded Atari's re-release of Lode Runner on cartridge for the XEGS, since I'm quite certain that Atari's version included all the levels and the editor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I'll bet it was Choplifter. Thanks, Andreas! Lookinig a bit further, I came up with this link of the Broderbund cartridge: https://atariage.com/software_page.html?SoftwareID=3837 -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kr0tki Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 You might be right. For whatever it's worth, I found the following in an article on the Internet Archive: Most versions of Lode Runner were on disk, but the Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 also got a "lite" cartridge version with only 32 levels and no editor for users without disk drives. That text on Internet Archive was copied from Wikipedia, and is simply incorrect (The Wikipedia article is now fixed.) The Broderbund's catalog from 1983 shows that only C-64 was getting the cartridge version. The Chuck Peavey cartridge contains all 150 levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkindig Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Hi, Guys, Chuck Peavey saw this thread but apparently doesn't have an AtariAge registration yet. Here's his reply: "So the code was Apple but I got the levels off of a disc (that was a nightmare) for the Atari. That's how I got all 150 levels. There were no sprites in the code, because the graphics were sort of character mapped so it was easy enough to convert. I am fuzzy on a few points. I remember spending hours getting the AI for the bad guys to emulate properly so play would be the same as it was on my C-64 (my personal favorite version).So in a nutshell, it was a hybrid. Atari maps, Apple code. Would Atari code have been easier? Of course! Did they give me Atari source code to work with... Of course NOT! This conversion took me 4 months, longer than any other and they paid me as if it was an easy conversion so that kinda sucked but... I got my name of Load Runner, can't ask for better than that " The reply on Facebook is here: https://www.facebook.com/SashaJoy13/posts/10157132611375315?comment_id=10157134106115315 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 No its not 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbking67 Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) Very cool to get a definitive answer! It seems that he took the more difficult path... since an Atari binary existed at the time. But he had the source code for Apple but not Atari. Edited August 16, 2016 by bbking67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 A very timely bump of this thread! I have the cartridge version of Lode Runner on order right now (I sold my previous copy years ago and have regretted it since). I still have the disk version, of course, but I like the immediacy of the cartridge version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kogden Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 For some reason I prefer the original version that used artifacting for color. I have both versions, the original as an ATR and the newer one as an XEX. They both load from my IDEPlus just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) For some reason I prefer the original version that used artifacting for color. I have both versions, the original as an ATR and the newer one as an XEX. They both load from my IDEPlus just fine. Chuck Peavey's version uses artifacting too. That one you're talking about is just a hack, where they've changed the mode lines from Antic F to Antic E. A lot of games have been hacked like that. Edited August 18, 2016 by MrFish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Indeed, just for fun I did it to Drol etc...Looks great and technical but its just the display list edited as said by MrFish....Mind you, 99.9% of you lot in here know that and a million times more..I'm jealous Wish I'd gone back to maths and bettered myself but school boy hacks, trainers and a few utils were good enough for me considering I was dumber that a box of spanners.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kogden Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Chuck Peavey's version uses artifacting too. That one you're talking about is just a hack, where they've changed the mode lines from Antic F to Antic E. A lot of games have been hacked like that. Interesting, I never realized that was a hack. I guess you'd have basically the same effective horizontal resolution as you would using artifacting for everything in hi-rez mode. I learned something today. Wish I'd gone back to maths and bettered myself but school boy hacks, trainers and a few utils were good enough for me considering I was dumber that a box of spanners.. I'm in the same boat, I've done some actual development in high-level languages on bigger machines but nothing real special. I'm a SysAdmin more than I am a programmer. I'm working on an Electronics Engineering Technology degree full-time and the math is absolutely BRUTAL, especially since I'm in my mid-30's now, have a GED and never stepped foot in college. I'm passing but it hurts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 (edited) Interesting, I never realized that was a hack. I guess you'd have basically the same effective horizontal resolution as you would using artifacting for everything in hi-rez mode. I learned something today. That's the problem with hacks like that, though. The original Atari version didn't use artifacting for everything -- which is a reason for using hi-res in the first place. So there are parts that didn't come out so well in the translation. For instance, the protagonist was designed with no artifacting. If he were redesigned, the hack would look much better. There are also some spots where the enemies' colors aren't consistent -- and the blocks aren't colored right as well. Edited August 19, 2016 by MrFish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 The hacks were mostly done for those in non NTSC countries just so we could have a bit of colour rather than an exercise in technical coding prowess to be honest We felt a little left out without the colours our friends across the pond had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.