First Spear Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Hey all. How many people that play Intellivision games own an ECS (hardware or emulated)? I have a game in the works (destination is a cartridge), and it would be cool to use the extra sound chip in the ECS, but I don't want to make something that will please like 6 people. 100 people, I could do.... (not actual size) Thanks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intymike Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 I already love the enhanced sound of Space Patrol! So, thumbs up from me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GroovyBee Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 but I don't want to make something that will please like 6 people. 100 people, I could do.... Just do what makes the game's development process fun for you. If you want ECS sound, then add it in. Who cares if only you get to hear it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 I suspect most of the people here already own the ECS. It is way cheaper than the Keyboard Component. If you are only using the extra sound chip on the ECS, make it optional. If your game does not detect an ECS is attached, just drop the extra channels of sound and let the user hear reduced sound quality (user's choice). Some homebrews already do this so you would not be doing anything new there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_intv Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 I've got one and I'd be interested in a new game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric7100 Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Sure... why not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Teams Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-crew Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 I've got one and I'd be interested in a new game! count me in!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KylJoy Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I'm in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cmart604 Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I'm only interested in KC games on cassettes. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 That topic title.....thought this was something else..........I'll see myself out............. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_intv Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 That topic title.....thought this was something else..........I'll see myself out.............hahaha, I wasn't quite sure what I would find in this thread when I first seen it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-crew Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 That topic title.....thought this was something else..........I'll see myself out............. a lot of in and out going on in this thread.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herkamur Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I have a couple ECSs. I'm always interested in games that take advantage of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I don't have an ECS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BBWW Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I've got a couple, they are not the expensive. I would enjoy extra pump from the ECS. I don't have an ECS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intymike Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I'm only interested in KC games on cassettes. Lol. What about a ECS game on cassette? That would be a debut! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 It could be done, but I think it would have to be written in ECS-BASIC which is very limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) I have an ECS. Would be great to have more homebrews that use it for enhanced sound. Regarding loading from tape - is it not possible to write a cassette loader that loads machine language and data from the cassette? Edited July 26, 2016 by HunterZero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Regarding loading from tape - is it not possible to write a cassette loader that loads machine language and data from the cassette? My understanding is no... unless you insert a cartridge that has code to load code from a cassette. However, at that point you might as well put to code in the cartridge itself and skip the cassette entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cmart604 Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 What about a ECS game on cassette? That would be a debut! Haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DZ-Jay Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) Just do what makes the game's development process fun for you. If you want ECS sound, then add it in. Who cares if only you get to hear it . I'll echo this. Personally, my ECS stays on it's box most of the time, since it's such a pain to bring it out and hook it up whenever I casually feel like playing Intellivision. I also currently don't have the space to leave it out and hooked up all the time. I suspect it's the same with others. However, if I ever have the ECS out, it'll be cool to get some enhancements for at least some games. In the end, like GroovyBee said, who cares? Just do what you think will be cool and fun for you. dZ. Edited July 26, 2016 by DZ-Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I have an ECS. ... Regarding loading from tape - is it not possible to write a cassette loader that loads machine language and data from the cassette? The ECS only had 2k of 8bit ram. Even if you could expand this I think programs need at least 10bit ram for executable code. The keyboard component had 16k of 10bit ram. It was designed to automatically load and run cp1610 programs from tape. At that time 16k cartridges would have been expensive but that changed quickly. ---------------------- Setup a poll to see about ECS ownership/usage. If you're not a collector I think there's little reason to have one. World Series Baseball is impressive but I dont know how many people like playing it (same goes for Super NFL Football). MindStrike looks interesting but Ive never played it. The ECS needs a killer app. Its not an issue for anyone using emulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Spear Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 Like mostly everyone else, my time is limited, so although it would be fun to add "ECS enhancement" to what I am working on, I don't want to sink unnecessary time into it if it won't be seen or appreciated by most ("guns or butter" problem). I do software stuff for a living, and although lots of things can be done, they should not necessarily all be done. I was thinking that just having a bare ECS might be OK, without needing a keyboard. The ECS does need a kind of "killer app". I played Mind Strike a lot in the 90's. I didn't play the ECS Baseball because full-boat the whole horizontal hardware contraption took over the entire entertainment center (ECS+Keyboard+Intellivoice+Intv) for something I didn't play that much. The ECS only had 2k of 8bit ram. Even if you could expand this I think programs need at least 10bit ram for executable code.The keyboard component had 16k of 10bit ram. It was designed to automatically load and run cp1610 programs from tape. At that time 16k cartridges would have been expensive but that changed quickly.----------------------Setup a poll to see about ECS ownership/usage. If you're not a collector I think there's little reason to have one. World Series Baseball is impressive but I dont know how many people like playing it (same goes for Super NFL Football). MindStrike looks interesting but Ive never played it. The ECS needs a killer app. Its not an issue for anyone using emulation. Thanks for the idea about the poll. I think I'll try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 The Ultimate FB supports ECS games, so that's how I would play. A four player ECS game would be very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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