Arkanoid A8 version on NTSC

[José Pereira]

Hi.

Anyone here remember from the past or still has it and a old NTSC tv if Arkanoid A8 version that game screen has 232scanlines are all displayed.

Technically it is possible to run beeing a static screen that I think it has cpu/cycles for that because it seems to use 32Bytes wide screen narrow mode.

And by the way anymore games names that has those a screen about those 232scanlines seen, static screen but 40Bytes wide screen and can run/played well also appreciated.

I am only asking this because of a conversation I am having with someone outside A8 and we two don't have ways to test this to see if a possible game we have in mind can be done with the same screen tall for PAL and NTSC, at least by now, on the looking side and just to start the thing...

Thanks.

Edited August 9, 2015 by José Pereira

[vitoco]

Can you post a link to the ATR for that game? I can play it in my old NTSC Sony Trinitron CRT TV set.

[José Pereira]

I am saying the original, the Imagine release, don't think it had a NTSC release.

But for me in what I want to know is how maximum of scanlines that of A8 you can see on your NTSC tv (and if you know of more and can give me examples: games with taller screens like 224 and more, Arkanoid has 232scanlines/29charlines in use, the normal A8 display is 240/30, on it only the bottom not used).

Thanks.

[José Pereira]

Can you post a link to the ATR for that game? I can play it in my old NTSC Sony Trinitron CRT TV set.

Found an .atr in Atarionline.pl, please see if you can get there using this link:

translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?client=tmpg&depth=3&hl=pl&langpair=pl%7Cen&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&u=http://atarionline.pl/v01/index.php%3Fct%3Dkatalog%26sub%3DA%26tg%3DArkanoid%26PHPSESSID%3D37aceafba926fce211b8f9949f70f42d&usg=ALkJrhhkHq0nnouF36paLS4rX3Hd22_UzA#Arkanoid

 

Thanks

[José Pereira]

Try this one:

 

www.atarionline.pl/arch/A/Arkanoid/Arkanoid%20%281987%29%28Imagine%29%28GB%29%5Ba1%5D.atr?PHPSESSID=37aceafba926fce211b8f9949f70f42d

[vitoco]

See by yourself...

Compare to emulated one:

 

[José Pereira]

From your tv picture it doesn't show the top 8scanlines but under the scores are 8 others that aren't used. If was only at the top I could have those 8 not used on top instead and was it would be O.K. for me.

But Altirra emulator in NTSC don't show the top 8 and the bottom 8 and maybe it is right.

Because Arkanoid don't use the bottom 8scanlines it doesn't give me a proof and I need 232scanlines or I have to drop to 216. My screen has that same 1charline for scores at the bottom but on the playing area the gfxs are made of tiles 2chars tall.

Thanks to your help, from your tv screen and emulator Altirra it is almost for sure that maximum on NTSC seems to be 224scanlines and I'll need to center it having 8blank on top and the same at the bottom and. For sure no way and waste more time looking for any game done for NTSC all that higher because back then all had tv and know others couldn't see (Arkanoid was a U.K./Europe PAL game).

Edited August 9, 2015 by José Pereira

[a8isa1]

See by yourself...

arkanoid-ntsc-tv.jpg

Compare to emulated one:

arkanoid-ntsc-emulator.png

 

Sorry, my camera battery is dead and the charger is long misplaced. My alternate takes several hours.

 

The image using my scan converter looks lust like your second picture. Top of the image is visible and all of the text at the bottom.

 

Things are not so good with a year 2000 TV, CRT standard definition. The top looks like yours but on my TV also the bottom is cut off, perhaps a third of the text. I think this is just an issue of overscan. I always meant to adjust the TV but since this and perhaps a couple others were the only games where I had noticed the issue I never bothered.

 

-SteveS

Edited August 9, 2015 by a8isa1

[bfollett]

If I recall, I don't think you can reliably go by a single TV/CRT. The cut offs differed from TV to TV. You might find one that showed 232 lines and 5 other TV's that didn't. A lot of old TVs had adjusters on the back to fiddle with picture size.

 

Bob

Edited August 9, 2015 by bfollett

[vitoco]

In my TV set, the bottom score line is not complete, only 4 or 5 scan lines are visible.

 

PAL games are not the only programs that runs off the screen... I have to guess which is the XEX/ATR/dir at the end of SIO2SD.XEX loader (sorry, I don't remember exactly which version). Is there a NTSC version of them? I wouldn't care for 2 less lines in the menu.

[Bryan]

For NTSC, I would say that 224 (8*28) is probably the highest I'd go.

[José Pereira]

For NTSC, I would say that 224 (8*28) is probably the highest I'd go.

Yes it seems thats why Phaeron did it on Altirra, this size is probably a safe one that will fit in all NTSC tv (one charline less at the top and another at the bottom).

[+therealbountybob]

There was a thread for a screen measure a while ago [edit: it was for overscan on PAL systems] perhaps games that push the size limits could have an adjust feature to move the display list or have it selectable at a couple of positions

Edited August 15, 2015 by therealbountybob

[Fres]

Ah, so Arkanoid was a PAL game. No wonder it's so difficult, and so quirky on my NTSC machine. Nice looking, though.

[_The Doctor__]

all of my monitors and televisions and showed the entire screen. All were adjusted to keep the aspect ratio correct. only certain tv channels would have have a little garbage at the top due to encoder by the station for data embedded in the video frame. This made me the favorite place for my friends to watch all their movies, recordings, video games and tv shows at. You would not believe the amount of wasted screen on many of the tubes back then.... They purposely ballooned the screens 'just in case' power dipped low and the screen 'might shrink'... A well adjusted.. properly converged screen was always a must! Anything that could not handle it left immediately! This rule held all the way up until we no longer had a choice with lcd, led flat screens that cut stuff off how they see fit... not cool at all... hating on my samsung hating on my samsung!