+atari2600land Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 Discovered and (I think) fixed a password bug in Quest of the Cranberry. If you typed in just the ninth and tenth key for, say, level 2 after the first 8 in level 3's, it would take you to level 2. I doubt this game will have more than 3 levels, as I really want to complete it at some point, but don't want to do the work because I can't think of stuff to do in levels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 5 hours ago, atari2600land said: Has anyone found the Easter egg in Trimerous yet? No, I asked others if they found it too I was hoping it was the elevator game because I really enjoyed it, but perhaps that is greedy! I'd pay for another cart with your other games on it. I have tried a few guesses at how one might get the easter egg, but no luck yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 Finally beat the CPU in Video Whizball in what felt like an hour long game. The CPU is really quite good, although I think I am getting the hang of getting the better of it. But not to get my head swoll up or nothin’, I proceeded to get utterly pasted in Schach. Behold my ignominy: The CPU made some strange moves that I thought meant it was stupid, but it seems that was a rope-a-dope gambit. The computer thinks up moves about 1000% faster and better than in NES Battle Chess, which came out 12 years later. I don’t think the CPU spends enough time thinking in this to even need the light, but in Battle Chess it would come in handy… @atari2600land how does it stack up in the chess stakes? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 @atari2600land Found it... @jgkspsx What difficulty did you set on Schach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 3 hours ago, e5frog said: What difficulty did you set on Schach? The default, which is probably the easiest, huh? I saw that you said it could take days to choose a move on higher difficulties… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 MikeBloke's post made me want to work on Elevator Events. So I tidied it up a lot and got it to a point where I am happy with it. It took a few hours to do (I woke up at 2 a.m. and it's now 6:30 a.m.) but I think I am mostly happy with how it turned out. Perhaps I'll make a Trimerous 2 cartridge with Elevator Events, Zyx, and something else to go along with it. elev21.bin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 49 minutes ago, atari2600land said: MikeBloke's post made me want to work on Elevator Events. So I tidied it up a lot and got it to a point where I am happy with it. It took a few hours to do (I woke up at 2 a.m. and it's now 6:30 a.m.) but I think I am mostly happy with how it turned out. Perhaps I'll make a Trimerous 2 cartridge with Elevator Events, Zyx, and something else to go along with it. elev21.bin 8 kB · 1 download Elevator Events not in Timerous confirmed, oh well, it was a nice thought! And yes, I would love Elevator Events on cartridge! Ok I need help, I'm trying to understand how to make something "move" I've only been trying for the last 2 or 3 years. I thought I cracked it, but it doesn't work, I'm trying to start with the most basic (single pixel) plot and I'll go from there, I'm not even trying to wipe the old location yet. I've attached what I think is about as basic as it can get. So rom loads up, it stores colour, x and y values in r1, r2 and r3. All good so far. Ok then I check for a button press, if that happens, I want the x value to increase by 1 and let it plot again. I've tried inc, ai 1 and ai %11111111 for -1 but whatever I try, the entire row gets coloured instead of the one pixel. If I do li %[number] and inc that immediately, it works (but then I'm loading a static number again, not the one I thought was saved). I'm going a bit mad - how much more complicated is it to save a number? What am I doing wrong? Expected result: a red pixel appears after pressing fire (a key in MESS) next to the first pixel. Actual result: whole row gets painted red pixelmove.asm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 I took a look at your code. It is very complex and I even didn't understand some of it. You are making stuff too complicated. There are code snippets like blit and stuff to do most of the heavy work for you. Anyway, search for THIS IS THE PROBLEM and I think you'll see what's wrong. pixelmove2.asm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 (edited) 53 minutes ago, atari2600land said: I took a look at your code. It is very complex and I even didn't understand some of it. You are making stuff too complicated. There are code snippets like blit and stuff to do most of the heavy work for you. Anyway, search for THIS IS THE PROBLEM and I think you'll see what's wrong. pixelmove2.asm 2.75 kB · 0 downloads Thanks, yes sorry the code was me trying to work out how to update a position using just plot for a single pixel before I started using blit for entire graphics. I wrongly assumed there was some issue with the increment but now I understand I simply wasn't delaying the process long enough to stop a keypress being registered as continuous. Even switching that line to li 255 shows that it is drawing a line as intended - just too quick. I've got something to work on now, thanks! I can now work on optimising/simplifying it now I know what went wrong. Edit: Yes, that did the job thanks, I finally have a moving pixel, and checked and block for out of bounds. Exciting times! Edited October 17, 2021 by Mikebloke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 Have you tried elevator events v. 21 yet? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 54 minutes ago, atari2600land said: Have you tried elevator events v. 21 yet? What do you think? I had a go after posting before, I think the last version I played or remember is v14, player feels smoother to move, elevators run a bit slower which makes it easier around the top and bottom rows, death sound and life graphics look good. I think I was able to clear 3 screens when I had a go. Regarding my own progress, I managed to get started on my next game, which is Clay Pigeon Shooting, another port from the Tele-Spiel ES-2201 - If I can put what I've learnt into action it might be done tonight, but possibly not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 Version 22. I added a new level, level 4 is the fastest the game can go. I also added a little bit of wiggle room between the elevators. elev22.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 28 minutes ago, atari2600land said: Version 22. I added a new level, level 4 is the fastest the game can go. I also added a little bit of wiggle room between the elevators. elev22.bin 8 kB · 0 downloads Yeah this feels much more comfortable, got to screen 6 (faster levels is possibly 'easier' but causes more risk taking, resulting in more lives lost) - I got about 2500 points but got more in v21 (see attached). The extra wiggle room was good - 5yo was able to clear a screen and a half when he had a go and got 475 points. One thing I noticed and its really minor: sometimes the first green elevator spawns right next to start point, for eager beavers who hold left before graphics is on screen they lose a life straight away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 (edited) @Mikebloke You shouldn't increase the plot delay (if you want to use it for other things as well), add a delay inside your code instead. The delay function in "BIOS" is quite handy, set a value in register 5 and call the subroutine at $008F. When adding more elements to the program you can just shorten the delay - and when it's 0 and still too slow you need to start coding more efficient. @atari2600land Nice work on the elevator-game! Feels really good... it can probably go even faster. Edited October 17, 2021 by e5frog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Lots of other Fairchild Channel F threads about at the moment that this got pushed down to the second page of the Classic Console section! I never got round to working on that next game, but today was a good chance, so I've spent a few hours on it, and despite a 5yo dancing around me I think I've done alright. ClayPigeonShootingtest.bin This is my first test version of Clay Pigeon Shooting, another port from the Tele-Spiel ES-2201. I had to learn how to use plot properly so I actually made a basic version of pixel movement to get me going. I'll include code and compiled version for that in case anyone wants to play around with having something actually move on the screen which was one of my biggest blockers. Once you get used to using plot, blit and blitGraphic, the Channel F is much easier to play with - and that's what I've been working on for this game. The last one I only used blitGraphic, where everything was preset - but now I got a better handle of plot and blit themselves I know how to handle moving graphics a bit better. This version is incomplete for now - I need to do a few more things - first collision detection when bullet hits the target and make the target disappear. second I need to make it so second player can move the target left and right a little, finally I need to make a way of adjusting the speed of the target moving down. Other than that, I think everything else is in. Actually, I need to stop player 1 from going too far up and down, guess that's 4 things. This is currently only one player, once the above is in its technically either 1 or 2 player. Player 1 can move up or down, but not left and right. pushing the button down will fire a missile. You can only fire one missile at a time. The aim is to shoot the target on the left hand side that falls down the screen. I believe the instructions in the original game say to try and get 10 targets, but the game itself had no score tracking - you needed to record it yourself in an honesty system. For those interested in trying to get something moving on a screen for Fairchild Channel F, here is a basic moving pixel you can play with: pixelmove.asm pixelmove.bin Might get some time later today or tomorrow to finish Clay Pigeon Shooting, then the next goal will be the 'Auto Slalom' game of moving a car between swirly lines. From there, I'll either take an attempt to do Squash as well (as there isn't technically a squash program for the Channel F yet...) and then maybe add all the Tele-Spiel ES-2201 into one rom if I think I'm brave enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 This keypad thing doesn’t exist, right? Is there a known prototype or is it just a marketing idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 According to the designer, the one on the photo is the only one made - not even functional, just a mockup. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 3 hours ago, jgkspsx said: This keypad thing doesn’t exist, right? Is there a known prototype or is it just a marketing idea? As e5frog said, none actually made. Which is a big shame. Nothing stopping us making new ones I guess, could easily be mapped to the existing buttons. 4 directional, 2 twists and 2 for pull and push. Not sure on the details of the port but presumably the other buttons would have to be mapped for up and right, etc to get the other numbers, unless it can handle the 4 console buttons mapped via controller port? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragmare Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 Made a Channel F thing... GB Tetris - Type-A Theme (Fairchild Channel F Chiptune Cover) https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/MnaR4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 3 hours ago, Fragmare said: Made a Channel F thing... GB Tetris - Type-A Theme (Fairchild Channel F Chiptune Cover) https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/MnaR4 I'm impressed anyone is able to make anything sound like something with a possible 3 beep noises, so congrats! On the clay pigeon shooting front, I was able to easily restrict the player movement from looping, I was also able to make what is as close as I would call collision detection without feeling it was a complete lie, I only got two more things to do. I wrote a bunch of lines for the speed alteration (which I'm making both player 2 twist option and on console keys option) which I smuggly thought I fully understood my ci from my ni and my li from my lr at this point, and of course managed to crash the whole thing. So bit of work still to be done! And then I will need to make it so player 2 can move the target left and right slightly for more difficulty for player 1 to hit it. The collision detection should compensate for this too so once this bit is done the game is finished, just a matter of when I get another couple of hours to have a good go at it. I know what I'm working on is a bit pants compared to what others have managed so far with the channel F, but doing these ports has been an interesting learning experience and has actually got me to the point where... Something works. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 Right, here we go, a "version 1" of Clay Pigeon Shooting, a port from the Tele-Spiel ES-2201. This game is now 1 or 2 player. Right player uses up and down to aim, push button to fire missile. Left player (or left to its own devices) the target on the left side automatically drops down the screen, but is able to do two things, either move left or right, or speed up/down. Left and right controls is... left and right. speed up is either twist right on left controller or button 3 on console (for those playing 1 player) and speed down is... you've guessed it, twist left on the left controller or button 2 on the console. Collision is determined if the bullet hits the target on its right most edge, meaning if you shoot too early the bullet will go through the target but not register as a hit. I've based this purely on the video that's available of the Tele-Spiel ES-2201 and its games, so I've attempted to make it "playable" while looking similar to the original. I think there could be some minor improvements to it to make it as close as possible to the original. Like Ghost Chaser, I can imagine a few alternative features to make it "better" while keeping the original idea of the game intact. My next project is to port the "autoslalom" game, which is like a poor man's night driver or a rich man's Grand Prix. ClayPigeonShootingv1.bin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted December 4, 2021 Author Share Posted December 4, 2021 If the Channel F only has one channel how are there two sounds playing at the same time? And drums? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 I have to brag a little. I got this untested unit for $200. Everything feels like new (other than a weird melt mark ???? on the top of the console). The box is pristine. I did not even realize it, but it came with FOUR controllers, and each one works perfectly. I have lived in fear of my Model I controllers breaking, so to have a Model II with four perfect controllers is a blessed relief. Now I can have a Channel F on every TV if I want! Twenty years ago when I was starting college I sold my Model II with the box for $80 with six games (nothing very rare). I have regretted it ever since. Now I feel like it came full circle, and factoring in inflation I think I came out ahead 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 Wow jgkspsx, looks great. "Melt mark" is from the plastic softeners in the cables, softening the case plastic after some years, it's common to see on old plastic hardware - probably very healthy chemicals... Box looks great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 20 hours ago, atari2600land said: If the Channel F only has one channel how are there two sounds playing at the same time? And drums? There's not, but they way they're chopped up in little parts and played back makes it seem it simultaneous. https://battleofthebits.org/lyceum/View/Channel+F+(console)/ https://battleofthebits.org/arena/Tag/channel+F/ The available converter makes it "simple" to make music on some other software and transfer it with the Sleizsa Duo/Trio. Music does get some trashy sound to it, not like the single voice PlaySong routine. On 12/1/2021 at 7:00 PM, Fragmare said: Made a Channel F thing... GB Tetris - Type-A Theme (Fairchild Channel F Chiptune Cover) https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/MnaR4 Doesn't differ much from the one in the game, that utz made/converted. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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