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12 minutes ago, iesposta said:

James,

Are you playing Stay Frosty or Stay Frosty 2 on Wednesday, December 4?

I hope it is SF2. 

 

I just reviewed the footage of me playing Stay Frosty on Dec 8, 2018 and I made it to Level 32 (the very last level) but died just before finishing it! I'll take that as a win and play Stay Frosty 2 on Dec 4! ?

 

Direct Link to me dying on Level 32 of Stay Frosty:
https://youtu.be/M_0FNBjT8rQ?t=8048

 

Edited by ZeroPage Homebrew
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2 minutes ago, iesposta said:

You’ll get lots of tips if you want them. Nathan completed the whole State Frosty 2 game. But I don’t think I’ll ever complete it. 

It is one of the most advanced carts, a real achievement in 32K. 

 

I just reviewed my footage for my best game of SF2 and I only made it to level 10 (out of 32 layouts)! It's such a tough and complex platformer!

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I've only beaten Stay Frosty 2 using Save States (it's not cheating, it's testing ;) ). However, the game has been beaten legitimately by at least one AtariAger. We tested the game a lot to make sure it was theoretically beatable. We figured someone out there would be able to do it. We just didn't expect it to happen within the first month of the game's release. :D

 

I don't recall how far I actually got without Save States. Pretty sure I got through the first 32 levels (they repeat four times, at increasing difficulties). At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :) 

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2 minutes ago, Nathan Strum said:

I've only beaten Stay Frosty 2 using Save States (it's not cheating, it's testing ;) ). However, the game has been beaten legitimately by at least one AtariAger. We tested the game a lot to make sure it was theoretically beatable. We figured someone out there would be able to do it. We just didn't expect it to happen within the first month of the game's release. :D

 

I don't recall how far I actually got without Save States. Pretty sure I got through the first 32 levels (they repeat four times, at increasing difficulties). At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :) 

Here's another full run (recorded!) of SF2 that took 2h41m !!! I would love to beat at least the first 32 levels and I'll give a good go tomorrow but I think it'll take quite a lot of practice before that's going to happen, hahah.

 

- James

 

 

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On 12/2/2019 at 11:37 PM, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

 

I just reviewed my footage for my best game of SF2 and I only made it to level 10 (out of 32 layouts)! It's such a tough and complex platformer!

 

What controller will you be using?  My sister finds it significantly easier to play with a multi-button gamepad.

 

I dragged my ladder in and set up my extra monitor, like I did for Stella-thon, so I can watch your last show of the year live.

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8 hours ago, SpiceWare said:

 

What controller will you be using?  My sister finds it significantly easier to play with a multi-button gamepad.

 

I dragged my ladder in and set up my extra monitor, like I did for Stella-thon, so I can watch your last show of the year live.

 

I didn't get to respond in time to this message before the show but thank you for the reminder to set up Stella for two button gaming for SF2! It was a huge help.

 

Thanks for tuning in and chatting away with us while we played your incredible game Stay Frosty 2! ?

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I watched the rest of the holiday show on YouTube. Very nice show - I especially appreciated the commentary between you and Aerlan at the end. It's great to have his perspective on 2600 games, especially because he's so enthusiastic towards them. Good games are good games. Generations are irrelevant. Looking forward to your return in the New Year.

 

A couple of notes on Reindeer Rescue: You had the right idea with the second level on one of your last play-throughs. The double-arrows are there for a reason. And the extra life is extra. It's not there to make up for an impassible level design. Everything is where it is for a reason. If you do it right, you can collect the sleigh parts and both reindeer. (You really should read the manual on these games... :roll: )

 

For the third level, always assume you're going to run into a house or lamppost, and try to stay in the air. Learn to jump off the high spots, even if you think you don't have to. And learn what the different ground-level objects do. Some are helpful and are meant to be used.

 

And... there's more than one bonus life available. :ponder: 

 

It was funny watching the show on YouTube without being able to engage in the chat. I kept wondering, "Why aren't they using Continue in Stay Frosty 2? And why isn't Darrell saying anything about it?" :)  Again, manuals are your friend. You did really well to get through some of those levels. The key with level 9 is patience. We called it the Tightrope level, because you can get across the gap and kill the fireballs by riding the blocks, and just tapping the joystick gently to move between them. Also, using the platform in the middle of the screen helps. But it's not a level for the impatient. Some levels require speed, others precision, others just figuring out the "trick" to them. There's no single skill that will get you through the game. (We nicknamed most of the levels. Level 13 was "$#@%! Birds!")

 

I'm hoping the blogs get fixed so Darrell can finish recounting the development of Stay Frosty 2. We put a lot of work into designing those levels (and redesigning them). The game was actually delayed from being released more than once. That extra development time is one of the reasons the game is (intentionally) so challenging. We play tested it for so long, we got bored with the simpler levels, and kept reworking them to give better replay value. Plus, during that time, Thomas kept finding more space through optimizations, so we were able to add more levels and variations. It was a fun project to work on, but when we finished it I think we all felt it was truly done. There wasn't anything left we wanted to add to it.

Edited by Nathan Strum
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What you describe is a bit of a problem with James' approach. He always first tries to find out how the games work by himself. Also he usually doesn't play them before the show. Which obviously favors easy to learn, less complex games. And it is in the tradition of the earlier, classic Atari 2600 games.

 

Also, to really get deep into more complex games like SF2, the time of one show is too restricted. And I suppose it would be boring to watch only one game for hours and hours. Sometimes he comes back to a game if he really likes it or it fits well into the current show (SF2 there before) and plays it again. But a game like SF2 really needs many hours of training and continuous, gradual improvement. This would have to be done behind the scene and the result would have to be presented during the show. But that's not James' concept and it wouldn't work well with his guests too.

 

Some games are simply not well tailored for a 2-3 hours stream. They offer great replay value for many, many hours.

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10 hours ago, Nathan Strum said:

I especially appreciated the commentary between you and Aerlan at the end. It's great to have his perspective on 2600 games, especially because he's so enthusiastic towards them. Good games are good games. Generations are irrelevant. Looking forward to your return in the New Year.

Agreed, but I would also say Aerlan's generation and lack of background in classic games is part of of why he adds a lot to the show. Seeing a lot of these games through his fresh perspective. The show wouldn't be the same without either of them. Or the cats. :D

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2 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

What you describe is a bit of a problem with James' approach. He always first tries to find out how the games work by himself. Also he usually doesn't play them before the show. Which obviously favors easy to learn, less complex games. And it is in the tradition of the earlier, classic Atari 2600 games.

While I like his approach of discovering a game for the first time on camera, he's played SF2 before, and the SF2 manual is very short but includes the critical bit about there being a Continue option, so it would have at least reminded him of it. James hits Reset so fast, he never saw it and ended up replaying the same levels over and over for almost an hour (admittedly, he got pretty good at them ;) ). I wouldn't expect him to read through something like Haunted Adventure Trilogy's epic phonebook of a manual, but we do make those manuals for a reason. :) 

1 hour ago, Karl G said:

Agreed, but I would also say Aerlan's generation and lack of background in classic games is part of of why he adds a lot to the show. Seeing a lot of these games through his fresh perspective. The show wouldn't be the same without either of them. Or the cats. :D

His fresh perspective is definitely a huge part of the appeal of the show. Getting that sort of unfiltered feedback is incredibly valuable and insightful. I can't see 2600 games in any other light except through my own history with the console, so my opinions tend to have a heavy bias. His don't. It's simply about whether he digs the game or not.

Edited by Nathan Strum
I like editing. Editing is fun. Edit, edit, edit! Wheeeee!
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9 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

What you describe is a bit of a problem with James' approach. He always first tries to find out how the games work by himself. Also he usually doesn't play them before the show. Which obviously favors easy to learn, less complex games. And it is in the tradition of the earlier, classic Atari 2600 games.

 

Also, to really get deep into more complex games like SF2, the time of one show is too restricted. And I suppose it would be boring to watch only one game for hours and hours. Sometimes he comes back to a game if he really likes it or it fits well into the current show (SF2 there before) and plays it again. But a game like SF2 really needs many hours of training and continuous, gradual improvement. This would have to be done behind the scene and the result would have to be presented during the show. But that's not James' concept and it wouldn't work well with his guests too.

 

Some games are simply not well tailored for a 2-3 hours stream. They offer great replay value for many, many hours.

 

You've touched on the delicate balance I have to strike with the show. The only spare time I usually have to play the game is while I'm broadcasting the show. Offline, I prepare the notes, do the research, reach out to the developers, prepare the graphics and also make sure the games will run correctly during the stream. I also do like to have the sense of discovery while the show is broadcasting rather than offline when people don't see me finding the fun things as I encounter them.

I also have a TERRIBLE memory so I'll sometimes forget things like the continue on SF2 and I should have brought the manual out while I was playing to refresh myself a bit on some of the options.

 

The other approach would be a show that would last quite a few hours for each game and I'm not sure how long people's attention spans are for that. I think the longest I've spent on a particular game in one show was either when I completed Panky the Panda in 2.5 hours straight or Draconian when we played every single level in just over 3 hours.

 

On the other side of things there are SO many Atari 2600 Homebrew that come out (or get updated) in a year that I would miss so many games if I didn't do the 3-4 a show I do right now, I'd quickly fall behind! So I try to strike a balance between showing off all the newest games and going the distance on the longer games. That's not to say I won't schedule an all Stay Frosty 2 show one day to push all the way to Level 32 as I definitely want to make it there!

 

Anyway, just thinking out loud about my approach to the episodes. The main objective of the show is to make sure the people in front of the camera have fun, the audience has fun and we get to show off all the amazing work you guys do on these incredible games! ?

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On 11/2/2019 at 1:49 AM, Thomas Jentzsch said:

I suppose you have checked the power supply already? 

Here's an update to the ongoing repairs to my RGB Light Sixer. I've ordered a replacement voltage regulator from Tim Worthington, creator of the RGB mod that I've installed in my Light Sixer. It'll be here in 2-6 weeks, it's a long way from Australia! He says that it may not fix the issue as the low voltage reading "could indicate something connected to the output is drawing excessive current".

 

Voltage from Power Adapter (13.76V) 

2028234661_01-VoltagefromPowerAdapter.thumb.jpg.6421ffb4e5a44221a2e9155d872d2f2b.jpg

 

Working RF Four Switch (Regulator Voltage)

Voltage 01 from working RF Four Switch (5.091V)
Voltage 02 from working RF Four Switch (0.0V)

Voltage 03 from working RF Four Switch (10.66V)


1867495771_02-Voltage01fromworkingRFFourSwitch.thumb.jpg.caddc7bc74a6c01d644637270c92bdd0.jpg1906508789_03-Voltage02fromworkingRFFourSwitch.thumb.jpg.a603d7a4ab5c45aa6129c6703010512d.jpg915569291_04-Voltage03fromworkingRFFourSwitch.thumb.jpg.5b7e9a0e46d80e78dca243ac66f54393.jpg

 

 

Non-Working RGB Light Sixer (Regulator Voltage)

Voltage 01 from broken RGB Light Sixer (1.215V)
Voltage 02 from broken RGB Light Sixer (0.0V
Voltage 03 from broken RGB Light Sixer (2.582V)

 

1116796703_05-Voltage01frombrokenRGBLightSixer.thumb.jpg.8b077df6ea0b126fcb759d0aa4f9f2da.jpg309350886_06-Voltage02frombrokenRGBLightSixer.thumb.jpg.4faf5f263fbd8d3c8788d25b6b9fcc59.jpg916599696_06-Voltage03frombrokenRGBLightSixer.thumb.jpg.79abfe6c27e311eb431504d8796088e0.jpg

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32 minutes ago, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

I also have a TERRIBLE memory so I'll sometimes forget things like the continue on SF2 and I should have brought the manual out while I was playing to refresh myself a bit on some of the options.

If you didn't hit reset so fast, you would've found it after the first play. ;) But I'm still surprised nobody in the chat caught it either. Anyway, I'm just bustin' your chops. :D 

 

Watching the rerun was one of those times where I wished I could've been in the chat so I could mention it there. Or, I might've just let you play through levels 1-8 a whole bunch more times. :lolblue: 

32 minutes ago, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

I think the longest I've spent on a particular game in one show was either when I completed Panky the Panda in 2.5 hours straight or Draconian when we played every single level in just over 3 hours.

 

On the other side of things there are SO many Atari 2600 Homebrew that come out (or get updated) in a year that I would miss so many games if I didn't do the 3-4 a show I do right now, I'd quickly fall behind! So I try to strike a balance between showing off all the newest games and going the distance on the longer games. That's not to say I won't schedule an all Stay Frosty 2 show one day to push all the way to Level 32 as I definitely want to make it there!

 

Anyway, just thinking out loud about my approach to the episodes. The main objective of the show is to make sure the people in front of the camera have fun, the audience has fun and we get to show off all the amazing work you guys do on these incredible games! ?

The show is fun - I wouldn't change a thing. But I do like the special long-play episodes. So throwing one of those in now and then makes for good variety.

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24 minutes ago, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

Here's an update to the ongoing repairs to my RGB Light Sixer. I've ordered a replacement voltage regulator from Tim Worthington, creator of the RGB mod that I've installed in my Light Sixer. It'll be here in 2-6 weeks, it's a long way from Australia! He says that it may not fix the issue as the low voltage reading "could indicate something connected to the output is drawing excessive current".

While you're waiting for it to arrive - you might go ahead and socket the rest of your chips, and test them one at a time in another 2600. Just to make sure they aren't the problem. And also do the cap kit, if you haven't already. Then you've just got one thing to replace when it arrives. Instant gratification!

 

You can get away with using one of these, if you don't want a really expensive desoldering iron. It's what I've used for all my modding. They get really hot though, so you don't need to leave them in contact with the board very long at all. As soon as you feel the solder "give", you can let go of the bulb and it makes for a very clean result.

 

Just point it away from everything when squeezing the bulb again, so you don't shoot molten solder all over the place.

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7 minutes ago, Nathan Strum said:

If you didn't hit reset so fast, you would've found it after the first play. ;) But I'm still surprised nobody in the chat caught it either. Anyway, I'm just bustin' your chops. :D 

 

Watching the rerun was one of those times where I wished I could've been in the chat so I could mention it there. Or, I might've just let you play through levels 1-8 a whole bunch more times. :lolblue: 

The show is fun - I wouldn't change a thing. But I do like the special long-play episodes. So throwing one of those in now and then makes for good variety.

 

Hahah, thanks so much Nathan!! I didn't know if people would want to watch the longer single game shows, I'll definitely do another one soon. It might even be Stay Frosty 2!

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22 hours ago, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

I didn't know if people would want to watch the longer single game shows

 

I think you could play Combat for 3 hours and we'd still watch. A big part of your show is the personality you put into it (and the personalities of your guests.) There is nothing else like it.

 

I like shows that mix things up. Themed shows and segments make it more like a magazine. So far you've had these segments: general news and updates, new homebrews, homebrew replays, game hacks, Activision patch attempts, holiday themes, awards, and a few ad-hoc broadcasts. Single game long plays would be another segment. I usually put on the show when I work, so I'm not bored by long plays. You usually do news and updates on the first 20 minutes. You could expand on news for single game shows to balance things out. If the long play is too much for some, they can just watch the first half and then bounce.

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On 12/6/2019 at 10:16 PM, Nathan Strum said:

While you're waiting for it to arrive - you might go ahead and socket the rest of your chips, and test them one at a time in another 2600. Just to make sure they aren't the problem. And also do the cap kit, if you haven't already. Then you've just got one thing to replace when it arrives. Instant gratification!

 

You can get away with using one of these, if you don't want a really expensive desoldering iron. It's what I've used for all my modding. They get really hot though, so you don't need to leave them in contact with the board very long at all. As soon as you feel the solder "give", you can let go of the bulb and it makes for a very clean result.

 

Just point it away from everything when squeezing the bulb again, so you don't shoot molten solder all over the place.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely do all the recapping chip testing once the part comes in. If I was confident in my soldering skills I would definitely do it all myself but my ability is well below competent. I'll probably have Darcy come over and help me with everything when I get the voltage regulator. ?

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On 12/7/2019 at 9:43 PM, azure said:

 

I think you could play Combat for 3 hours and we'd still watch. A big part of your show is the personality you put into it (and the personalities of your guests.) There is nothing else like it.

 

I like shows that mix things up. Themed shows and segments make it more like a magazine. So far you've had these segments: general news and updates, new homebrews, homebrew replays, game hacks, Activision patch attempts, holiday themes, awards, and a few ad-hoc broadcasts. Single game long plays would be another segment. I usually put on the show when I work, so I'm not bored by long plays. You usually do news and updates on the first 20 minutes. You could expand on news for single game shows to balance things out. If the long play is too much for some, they can just watch the first half and then bounce.

 

Three hour combat it is!! One three hour show for every variation of combat on the cart. ;-)

 

It's reassuring that people out there are enjoying the show no matter what type of gameplay we're doing. That will be encouraging going forward if there are any adjustments to the variety of games and lengths we play them on the show. THANKS! ? 

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