Champ Games - Wizard of Wor Arcade - 2600

[MissCommand]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you're enjoying the game! As Nathan mentions below, this is an issue that we *think* is related to the Atarivox+ as there have been numerous software tests done to try to eliminate the behavior but none have been successful.

 

BTW, if you need help with testing, I would be more than happy to help. I have a pretty reliable platform for the glitching.

 

I was just thinking, another one that works for me is the Speak and Spell ROM... just as long as you don't use any of the punctuation (like the ? and .)

[+sramirez2008]

 

Yeah... it is kind of hidden under a thread for adding more mazes to Berzerk, one could easily miss it. RevEng is the one who did it and he added all (I think) of the phrases in Berzerk with Atarivox... so you can hear phrases during gameplay without blanking the screen.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/108063-2600-berzerk-more-new-mazes/page-3

 

I had totally missed this thread. Love this version of the game. Thanks for mentioning it.

[+sramirez2008]

 

 

Do you have an AtariVox+? If so, it's a known issue. It will also glitch on real hardware if it's the same problem.

 

BTW, I have played many rounds of Wizard of War Arcade with my AtariVox and have not noticed any issues concerning speech. I know that mine is one of the older models, but thought I should still mention this.

 

[+Karl G]

Yeah, I believe that it has been determined that the hardware glitch is only with the "plus" version of the AtariVox, so older versions are unaffected.

[MissCommand]

Yeah, I believe that it has been determined that the hardware glitch is only with the "plus" version of the AtariVox, so older versions are unaffected.

 

Oh, if that is the case, I would think it would not be too difficult to find the differences between the firmware on each... but I know nothing about electronics!

[+SpiceWare]

 

Oh, if that is the case, I would think it would not be too difficult to find the differences between the firmware on each... but I know nothing about electronics!

 

 

Part of that difference is it now has 3 modes of operation:

• AtariVox
• VecVoice
• VecVox

[Clay B. Hammock]

Fun Demo, but a few things I would like to mention. I can't use my Sega Controller on this game.

It dos'nt go all four directions. The Sega controller works on every other game except this one.

will that be corrected in the final version ?

This version seems to do like the Coleco version. It gradually gets harder, until about 5th or 6th

level. Then the enemy goes so fast, you just lose quick. Using all your men to clear one level.

Easy mode is the same. At about the 3rd level it seems to join the same speed as normal mode.

Did'nt think any version gradually got hard untill I saw the Comodor 64 version. I saw the game

gradually getting harder on 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 level and on the 11th level, I had to turn of the Internet.

Don't have a Comodor 64, and maybe it's to big of a change in the programming, but would

be nice.

[+johnnywc]

Hi!

 

Fun Demo, but a few things I would like to mention. I can't use my Sega Controller on this game.

It dos'nt go all four directions. The Sega controller works on every other game except this one.

will that be corrected in the final version ?

The game does support Sega Genesis controllers. The issue is that it also supports the multi-tap (which allows 2 joysticks in the left joystick port) and the detection scheme is the same for each. When you plug in a Genesis controller, the game is detecting a multi-tap. An easy work around is to start the game with the Genesis gamepad button 'C' held down; the game will detect it as a normal joystick (since you don't need both buttons) and it will work fine. I may add a prompt when you power on the game that asks if you have a multi-tap to make it more intuitive.

 

This version seems to do like the Coleco version. It gradually gets harder, until about 5th or 6th

level. Then the enemy goes so fast, you just lose quick. Using all your men to clear one level.

Easy mode is the same. At about the 3rd level it seems to join the same speed as normal mode.

Did'nt think any version gradually got hard untill I saw the Comodor 64 version. I saw the game

gradually getting harder on 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 level and on the 11th level, I had to turn of the Internet.

Don't have a Comodor 64, and maybe it's to big of a change in the programming, but would

be nice.

The game is actually designed to be like the arcade, which reaches it's peak difficulty at level 6 (on standard). For NOVICE it starts off slower and hits maximum speed at the 8th level. Also with Novice there is one less monster (max 5) until level 7 (and expert has one extra monster). The game also gets harder after level 7 as the wizard will teleport more frequently and the Worlord mazes (more open spaces) appear.

 

I agree the game does get difficult pretty fast as it did in the arcade, but we would certainly be open to making NOVICE easier.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

[hermi69]

awesome! will there be a PAL Version??

[+johnnywc]

awesome! will there be a PAL Version??

Thanks! Yes, there will be a PAL60 version available when the game is released this year.

[Brian O]

Thanks! Yes, there will be a PAL60 version available when the game is released this year.

This year? You better hurry!

[+johnnywc]

This year? You better hurry!

LOL I forgot it's *still* 2018! WoW Arcade will be released sometime *next* year.

[MissCommand]

So over the break I had some time to look at the AtariVox+ and play lots of WOW! After taking taking the casing off I noticed there was some flux around the solder connections so I took some alcohol / hair dryer and cleaned it off. Low and behold everything worked! Played through a whole game of WOW with voice and tried a few other AV+ games as well. Later that evening it was back to the garbled after first level. So I took out the AV+ ICU chips and cleaned those with some alcohol and it was back working again! Later the bad behavior had returned. So one more time, I just applied some alcohol and yep... it was working again. Each time that seems to last around 30 minutes or so...

 

So I am wondering if this may be a hardware type issue and not firmware. Any of you electronic guys out there know why it would work after these alcohol / hair dryer sessions and last for 30 minutes or so?

[+Nathan Strum]

Sounds like something could be overheating.

[ZeroPage Homebrew]

Maze level editor added to Wizard of Wor!! Amazing work John! :-)

 

Does anyone know if this is the first instance of being able to save user created information (other than high scores) in an Atari 2600 game? I can't think of another instance off the top of my head.

 

 

 

[+johnnywc]

So over the break I had some time to look at the AtariVox+ and play lots of WOW! After taking taking the casing off I noticed there was some flux around the solder connections so I took some alcohol / hair dryer and cleaned it off. Low and behold everything worked! Played through a whole game of WOW with voice and tried a few other AV+ games as well. Later that evening it was back to the garbled after first level. So I took out the AV+ ICU chips and cleaned those with some alcohol and it was back working again! Later the bad behavior had returned. So one more time, I just applied some alcohol and yep... it was working again. Each time that seems to last around 30 minutes or so...

 

So I am wondering if this may be a hardware type issue and not firmware. Any of you electronic guys out there know why it would work after these alcohol / hair dryer sessions and last for 30 minutes or so?

This is very interesting - thanks for sharing! If you have the time, you should post your findings in this thread where this issue is discussed extensively with people with much more knowledge about the Atarivox than myself, including Richard H. who designed it.

 

Thanks!

[ZeroPage Homebrew]

This is a great discovery and I hope I'll be able to replicate your success. I'll give it a try in the next day or so and report back what happened!

 

So over the break I had some time to look at the AtariVox+ and play lots of WOW! After taking taking the casing off I noticed there was some flux around the solder connections so I took some alcohol / hair dryer and cleaned it off. Low and behold everything worked! Played through a whole game of WOW with voice and tried a few other AV+ games as well. Later that evening it was back to the garbled after first level. So I took out the AV+ ICU chips and cleaned those with some alcohol and it was back working again! Later the bad behavior had returned. So one more time, I just applied some alcohol and yep... it was working again. Each time that seems to last around 30 minutes or so...

 

So I am wondering if this may be a hardware type issue and not firmware. Any of you electronic guys out there know why it would work after these alcohol / hair dryer sessions and last for 30 minutes or so?

[+johnnywc]

Hi James!

 

Maze level editor added to Wizard of Wor!! Amazing work John! :-)

Thanks James! I'm glad I was able to squeeze it in. I think it will add replayability to the game.

 

Does anyone know if this is the first instance of being able to save user created information (other than high scores) in an Atari 2600 game? I can't think of another instance off the top of my head.

This is the first I know of, although I know Duck Attack will actually save your inventory, etc. so you can continue a game at a later time. But I do believe this is the first to save user created data.

[MissCommand]

This is a great discovery and I hope I'll be able to replicate your success. I'll give it a try in the next day or so and report back what happened!

 

Let us know... unfortunately it is just a quick fix and only last for 30 minutes or so... at least for me.

[MissCommand]

This is very interesting - thanks for sharing! If you have the time, you should post your findings in this thread where this issue is discussed extensively with people with much more knowledge about the Atarivox than myself, including Richard H. who designed it.

 

Thanks!

Thanks for the link... I am definitely interested in going through and reading that thread!

 

I'll move the rest of my posts/testing regarding AVox+ to that thread to keep from muddying the waters further... sorry for hijacking this thread.

Edited January 6, 2019 by MissCommand

[Clay B. Hammock]

Thanks for your reply. On the second try of holding down the C button of my sega controller, it worked.

And thanks for your consideration to make the easy mode easier for more levels. If you did I could enjoy all or most of

the levels you put in the game. Other people might play easy mode - come up with more game strategies and then play

the Arcade mode. The C button thing was a big help because my joystick broke and I repaired it, But it's not as good

before it broke. Thanks again, till later on the Retro Side.

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

This looks & sounds great! Tremendous work so far.. Hard to believe it's an Atari 2600! A must buy for me. Guess I'll keep playing my ColecoVision version in the meantime though but I'll stay tuned to this thread.

[+johnnywc]

This looks & sounds great! Tremendous work so far.. Hard to believe it's an Atari 2600! A must buy for me. Guess I'll keep playing my ColecoVision version in the meantime though but I'll stay tuned to this thread.

Thanks! I've taken a small break from WoW to work on Avalanche, but I'm 99% done and will be getting back to this soon!

[+johnnywc]

As we get closer to finishing up Wizard of Wor Arcade (2600), Champ Games has announced a contest where you get a chance to design the custom mazes that will be included in the final version! Check out the official announcement in the Contests forum!

 

Good luck!

[insertclevernamehere]

I recall this was to be released in April. That's come and gone. I know pretty much every game gets delayed but was wondering if there's any updated news.