+save2600 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 btw: the saucer spacing in the cavern and fireballs later are totally fixed, thank you thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGR Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 You're welcome! Good video - it seems to be running about 1/2 speed though. Is that because of the video or is the game that slow on your machine? ?!!??! Really? I just load the game and every time runs like this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGR Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 (edited) You are right. I just found the cause. When I run camtasia recorder, emulator runs slower I have to find another way to capture it and re-play this. Edited November 20, 2015 by VincentGR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Try Bandicam. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGR Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Try Bandicam. At first I tried fraps but I got no video. Bandicam yes! I tried this a year ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 btw: the saucer spacing in the cavern and fireballs later are totally fixed, thank you thank you! Thanks for the feedback! I think I'm pretty close to calling this done, at least as far as the game play and difficulty ramping is concerned (unless I get more feedback). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xybot67 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Thanks for the feedback! I think I'm pretty close to calling this done, at least as far as the game play and difficulty ramping is concerned (unless I get more feedback). I sincerely want to congratulate you on this super conversion! The hard work you guys put in is definitely appreciated, but while have your attention, I wanted to ask a question. It seems that you are drawn to unreleased Coleco games and I was wondering if you think that Pepper Ii could have been ported to the 2600 and if so, would it have looked like the mock up screenshot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGR Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Well here we go again :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Well here we go again :-) Appears to be capturing every-other-frame. If you turn on the phosphor effect it'll fix the problem of objects disappearing and reappearing. Hit TAB to bring up the in-game menu Click on Game Properties Click on the Display tab Change Use Phosphor to Yes Click on OK Click on Exit Menu Reload the game by pressing CONTROL-R You'll only have to do that once as Stella will remember the setting for that particular ROM. However, when John posts another update, you'll have to do those steps again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGR Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Appears to be capturing every-other-frame. If you turn on the phosphor effect it'll fix the problem of objects disappearing and reappearing. Hit TAB to bring up the in-game menu Click on Game Properties Click on the Display tab Change Use Phosphor to Yes Click on OK Click on Exit Menu Reload the game by pressing CONTROL-R You'll only have to do that once as Stella will remember the setting for that particular ROM. However, when John posts another update, you'll have to do those steps again. Thanks!!! I will but I can't play again this for now, it destroyed me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Nice Pepper II mockup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Uhm... WOW. This is absolutely amazing! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdlsa Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Finally I can post ... although to be honest I got a some spare time last Sunday, but I was busy... Yep, busy to PLAY it !!! ---[ and also to produce my own template for the cartridge box... (picture attached) ]--- ------------------------------I translate from italian my own review/first impressions of VCS Scramble I already wrote in my "VideoGames Dawn" FB group, so please forgive me for any errors... ]--------------------------------- What can I say ? ... ah, I have to say IT'S AWESOME !!! We could really define it as "arcade perfect", for both gameplay and graphics ! I also tried to do the classic "gliding raids" and other maneuvers that I used to do on the arcade and I must say it really reminds me of the many games played on the coin-op at the "downstairs cafe", in '81 / '82 (and my father "slaps" when I came home late from school because I HAD TO to play Scramble, before !!!). The development of the bases, missiles, all the other enemies and their movement patterns are virtually identical to the arcade ! As well as the sounds and music ! On the emulator we can turn on the stereo audio output on, so we could hear the effects of the game on right channel, while the left one is "dedicated" to the classic and thumping noise typical of the arcade, the noise of the enemy ufos engine and the effect of explosion of our bold spaceship. --- [Note: it is SO urgent that I decide "in time" to fix my stereo Heavy Sixer... before I'll have buy the "true" cartridge !] --- The "AtariAge" logo instead of the "Konami" one on top of the tower block just before the enemy base (which is a bit more difficult to hit of the corresponding on the coin-op ...) is a" gem " !!! ... but the author of the game had already did "gems" before, precisely in the very first screen of his Lady Bug for the VCS, which I already bought about 7 years ago, that showed the typical "check" of the coin-op version just after turning on the console ! For now the only "defect", if we can call it that, is the usual "inclination" to the blinking / flickering, but we all know that is something "congenital" for the VCS... so, looking at all that objects that runs around the screen, I think it's kinda' the best that could be done ! ---[ on the emulator you can turn on the "phosphor" option and set it at 100%, and so blinking is reduced "to the bone", but of course in the scenes in which there is confusion of sprites also the phosphor can do nothing... ]--- Ok, I would say that in when we have to "dodge" the walls in the tunnel and we've to fire at the various fuel tanks placed there, the shooting of our spacecraft is a little less effective than in the coin-op. This is due to the fact that the arcade got TWO FIRE BUTTON, one for shooting the front and one for bombs, while the VCS does obviously "everything" with the only fire button of the good old CX-20... then, it's an alternate firing between missile and bomb. Those who owns a Sega Genesis / MegaDrive joypad must use it: the implemented "auto-detect" function activate the "two button mode", so you can have a control system accurately as in the coin-op (too bad the Sega joypad is horrible ... one button beside, our already mentioned CX 20 is so much better... ) ] --- ANYWAY this game is really a masterpiece and it ABSOLUTELY deserves original hardware and a CRT TV !!! The return of John "Champ" Champeau who, after several years of "inactivity" and after his incredible version of Lady Bug, has decided to give us another porting from the arcade world that no one had ever seen on our beloved VCS ! Another game, another awesome conversion from the original coin-op !!! Chapeau, Champeau ! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) Well, this is my first DPC+/ARM game, but the reason I chose to go the ARM route was to implement the scrolling (it was taking almost all of vblank in my initial proof-of-concept). After I got comfortable with the ARM and how it interacted with the 6507 code, I ended up writing all of the game logic in C using the ARM. It was very much like writing my old CHAMP games from the 90s (all written in C/assembly) so it was a welcome change. Plus the faster ARM processor means you can do more during VBLANK (and overscan). OMG.. You are the guy that did the CHAMP games? I set those up to run in dosbox earlier this year and I think they were amazing replica's! Nice to see you doing this amazing work on the 2600! Well, we homebrewers are individualists, we do not want to be 7 of 9. I dunno.... 7 of 9 was pretty hot.. Edited November 26, 2015 by Shannon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 I dunno.... 7 of 9 was pretty hot.. 7of9_season7_03.jpg I wouldn't want you to find me hot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdlsa Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 [ o.t. : yeah, Jeri is so hot... but if, I could say, I still prefer Jolene "T'Pol" Blalock ] Speaking of Lady Bug, when I bought the cart I produced a box keepin' the layout of the ColecoVision cart... [ sorry for the LCD TV... I was repairing and "fixing" it.PAL L6 + PAL 60 LadyBug ] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdlsa Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 More and more beautiful ! I mean ... it's always the same Scramble, but with a "long run" you can see all the various considerable increases of difficulty ! To tell the truth, I paused the game 5/6 times because wife and daughter got up, then we had breakfast together... then as they began to do schoolwork I continued my game [after the 8th round, counter resets] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 I sincerely want to congratulate you on this super conversion! The hard work you guys put in is definitely appreciated, You're welcome - I'm glad you're enjoying the game! but while have your attention, I wanted to ask a question. It seems that you are drawn to unreleased Coleco games and I was wondering if you think that Pepper Ii could have been ported to the 2600 and if so, would it have looked like the mock up screenshot. That's a great looking screenshot and looks very do-able for the 2600... honestly though I don't think I've ever played Pepper II, maybe once on my friend's Colecovision back in the early 80's so I'm not sure how to play or if the gameplay would translate over to the 2600. I have a few things in the pipeline, including Cosmic Avenger, that I'd like to finish first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 More and more beautiful ! I mean ... it's always the same Scramble, but with a "long run" you can see all the various considerable increases of difficulty ! To tell the truth, I paused the game 5/6 times because wife and daughter got up, then we had breakfast together... then as they began to do schoolwork I continued my game [after the 8th round, counter resets] Wow - great score! Thanks so much for the wonderful review - I'm glad you're enjoying the game so much! It certainly looks like you've spent a lot of time playing the game - any issues to report? How is the difficultly ramping? Any suggestions? Thanks! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdlsa Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Hi John and pleased to meet you! Hehe, no, actually I think I have spent a maximum of 4 or 5 dolla... HEMM... I have done more or less twenty games . Let's just say that Scramble was one of those games in which if I slipped a quarter in I soon had been kicked out of the arcade, that's all . So I had already spent some time to learn playin' on the coin-operated, and as your Scramble is one of the more beautiful and faithful porting ever seen (and I speak not only for the VCS... ) I did not take too long to get those more-than-200k, though unfortunately the reflexes are not what they were before... [speaking of coin-op, on Gyruss, another of my favorites, I can now barely reset once the score counter, while in Xevious I can not even reach the 5 'base... not to mention Defender, in which I currently can barely get a total of 300,000 points ...] For me the difficulty ramping is great, although a little bit below the coin-op, but I think if you ever wanted to make it harder then it would have been not a good thing... Yep, 'cause the "hardcore gamer" could defeat it anyhow, while a "common" player would feel a bit frustrated... In any case, I found no issues at all, only a certain "propensity" to "easy collisions" with the ground. In points like the "horseshoe" (as we lads used to call it at the "downstairs cafe") it's difficult to take the right timing to go free without colliding with the ground (and here I think it could be a scrolling matter... isn't it ?) Cheers and congratulations again, John ! [ Do you like my artwork for the cartridge box ? ... I only forgot to include the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive controller option description, but it's me, and I really have a kind of "dislike" for that machine ... ] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I sincerely want to congratulate you on this super conversion! The hard work you guys put in is definitely appreciated, but while have your attention, I wanted to ask a question. It seems that you are drawn to unreleased Coleco games and I was wondering if you think that Pepper Ii could have been ported to the 2600 and if so, would it have looked like the mock up screenshot. That's a great looking screenshot and looks very do-able for the 2600... honestly though I don't think I've ever played Pepper II, maybe once on my friend's Colecovision back in the early 80's so I'm not sure how to play or if the gameplay would translate over to the 2600. I have a few things in the pipeline, including Cosmic Avenger, that I'd like to finish first. I like Pepper II quite a bit. With DPC+ and ARM it's certainly quite doable. One change I'd make to your mock up, due to the limit of 40 PF pixels, is to draw the vertical zippers just 1 PF across. When unzipped draw alternate PF rows, when zipped draw both. The color blending will make the difference between zipped and unzipped readily apparent, as can be seen in Amidar (though it repeats a row color every so often, no need to do that), and using fewer PF pixels across to draw zippers will make the maze feel less cramped. I'd love to take it on, but have too many projects on my back burner already. Perhaps somebody will be inspired by my DPC+ ARM Development series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xybot67 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I like Pepper II quite a bit. With DPC+ and ARM it's certainly quite doable. One change I'd make to your mock up, due to the limit of 40 PF pixels, is to draw the vertical zippers just 1 PF across. When unzipped draw alternate PF rows, when zipped draw both. The color blending will make the difference between zipped and unzipped readily apparent, as can be seen in Amidar (though it repeats a row color every so often, no need to do that), and using fewer PF pixels across to draw zippers will make the maze feel less cramped. I'd love to take it on, but have too many projects on my back burner already. Perhaps somebody will be inspired by my DPC+ ARM Development series. Just for the record, the mock up I attached was not mine, it was an image I had once found on the net while trying to find information of unreleased coleco games for Atari. Glad to hear that more vapourware Coleco games will come life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr SQL Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Awesome game! Just played it back to back with Super Cobra - both are great games but this has better gameplay, feels like the arcade. Reminds me of the Whirly Bird Run port on the CoCo, that was really well done too. The TI port looks fantastic, too good to be using only the stock 16K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Wow - what a fantastic port. I couldnt imagine what people would've thought if this came out back in the day. Ever consider working on 8bit ports - the XL/XE line could use a nice Scramble release Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 On that note.. any chance this could be easily modifiable to an improved Super Cobra as well? Just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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