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Champ Games - Wizard of Wor Arcade - 2600


johnnywc

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally took some time to play this one.

 

Truly amazing job, John.

 

Keep up the good work!

Thanks RH!

 

BTW: that ZeroPage interview was great. Never knew you send in a game concept to Atari back in the day.

I'm glad you enjoyed the interview! One of these days I need to recruit someone who would be interested in helping me bring Mountain Raider to the Atari! :)

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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.

Hello there!

 

We are still working on this game and finishing it up as we speak! The manual/box/label is almost complete and we are adding in the final sounds and speech phrases. We have also updated the game to support the latest changes to Nathan Tolbert's QuadTari adapter that will support 2 joysticks in one port, leaving the 2nd port free for the Atarivox and 2 player/voice! :)

 

EDIT: I forogt to mention; while we were waiting for these things to come together, Nathan Strum and I (with sounds from Ross Keenum) started another game... ;)

Stay tuned for updates!

 

Thanks,

John

Edited by johnnywc
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  • 2 months later...

We'll be featuring the brand new UPDATED version of WIZARD OF WOR (got it today! thanks John!) from Champ Games LIVE TONIGHT (Monday) on the ZeroPage Homebrew stream on Twitch at 8PM PT | 11PM ET | 3AM GMT! Hope everyone can watch!

 

Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew/

 

Games:
- Galagon (2019 WIP Update) by John Champeau of Champ Games aka johnnywc
- Wizard of Wor (2019 WIP Update) by John Champeau of Champ Games aka johnnywc
- Boulder Dash (2012) by Andrew Davie & Thomas Jentzsch

 

UPDATE: LINK TO YOUTUBE ARCHIVE OF STREAM

(SET VIDEO TO 1080P60 FOR FULL QUALITY)

 

 

Edited by ZeroPage Homebrew
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@ZeroPage Homebrew  Last nights live stream was fun and totally unexpected.  Sorry I couldn't stay through the end of Boulder Dash.  Galagon and WoW look simply amazing.  Hat's off to all involved.

 

I can't wait to pick up a copy of each at PRGE.

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1 hour ago, sramirez2008 said:

@ZeroPage Homebrew  Last nights live stream was fun and totally unexpected.  Sorry I couldn't stay through the end of Boulder Dash.  Galagon and WoW look simply amazing.  Hat's off to all involved.

 

I can't wait to pick up a copy of each at PRGE.

1 hour ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Don't worry, I suppose there will by another show with Boulder Dash. ☺️

 

Thanks for watching @sramirez2008, sometimes I can't help but hop on Twitch if there is gaming to be done! There definitely will be another stream with Boulder Dash, we've only completed 3.5 out of the 16 levels! ;-)

 

 

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On 8/5/2019 at 9:03 PM, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

We'll be featuring the brand new UPDATED version of WIZARD OF WOR (got it today! thanks John!) from Champ Games LIVE TONIGHT (Monday) on the ZeroPage Homebrew stream on Twitch at 8PM PT | 11PM ET | 3AM GMT! Hope everyone can watch!

 

  Did you mention in the show that the Wizard Of Wor binary you were playing had been posted?  Can you direct

me to the link?

 

  BTW James, my AtariVox+ had the same behavior as yours... my friend and I found out it was because of the PIC

chip they added for the Vectrex support. we removed the chip (with no other changes) and the AtariVox+ works fine

with all the AV games I have tested it with for several months now... but then you do not have the Vectrex support

which I know you will want since you have the system. It's good to hear they are working on it again. 

 

Edited by MissCommand
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14 minutes ago, MissCommand said:

 

  Did you mention in the show that the Wizard Of Wor binary you were playing had been posted?  Can you direct

me to the link?

 

  BTW James, my AtariVox+ had the same behavior as yours... my friend and I found out it was because of the PIC

chip they added for the Vectrex support. we removed the chip (with no other changes) and the AtariVox+ works fine

with all the AV games I have tested it with for several months now... but then you do not have the Vectrex support

which I know you will want since you have the system. It's good to hear they are working on it again. 

 

 

The build played in the show has not been released publicly. The initial release is the only public ROM available. 

 

According to everything I have read there are only 2 Vox games that the Vox+ has issues with.

Wizard of Wor Arcade and 7800 Dungeon Stalker? Have you tested these two games with the PIC Chip removed? 

That is the real test I believe. No other Vox games are known to have issues other than these two?

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1 hour ago, MissCommand said:

  Did you mention in the show that the Wizard Of Wor binary you were playing had been posted?  Can you direct

me to the link?

Hi @MissCommand! The binary I was playing was a updated WIP build directly from Champ Games. I believe the latest (and only) public binary release of the game you can download from this Nov 15, 2018 comment.  Luckily we don't have to wait too long for full boxed game to be released at PRGE on October 19, 2019!!

 

EDIT: There's a second public build that was released on Feb 22, 2019 build with the maze editor: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/288518-wizard-of-wor-arcade-maze-design-contest/

 

 

1 hour ago, MissCommand said:

BTW James, my AtariVox+ had the same behavior as yours... my friend and I found out it was because of the PIC

chip they added for the Vectrex support. we removed the chip (with no other changes) and the AtariVox+ works fine

with all the AV games I have tested it with for several months now... but then you do not have the Vectrex support

which I know you will want since you have the system. It's good to hear they are working on it again. 

 

 

Thanks for the info about the PIC chip! I think I'll keep mine intact for now even though I badly I want to have it working for all the amazing speech Wizard of Wor.

 

I'll definitely be re-purposing my AtariVox+ for my Vectrex once I get the new version of the AtariVox for the 2600. ?

 

Edited by ZeroPage Homebrew
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4 hours ago, groundtrooper said:

According to everything I have read there are only 2 Vox games that the Vox+ has issues with.

Wizard of Wor Arcade and 7800 Dungeon Stalker? Have you tested these two games with the PIC Chip removed? 

That is the real test I believe. No other Vox games are known to have issues other than these two?

  Mine had issues with nearly every 2600 AV game I initially tried it with... Champ's Wizard of Wor

Nukey's Wizard of Wor, Man Goes Down, and even occasionally 2-player Berzerk, (and a few others).

Since then, I keep it plugged in 24 hrs a day, and not had a single glitch for months.  BTW, is that

 physically okay... always leaving it plugged in?

 

  I do not have a 7800 so I cannot speak to that, but I offered the "solution" on the "Atarivox Oddity"

thread here at AtariAge so anyone with a 7800 could have tried it. I don't think anyone did.

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3 hours ago, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

Hi @MissCommand! The binary I was playing was a updated WIP build directly from Champ Games. I believe the latest (and only) public binary release of the game you can download from this Nov 15, 2018 comment.  Luckily we don't have to wait too long for full boxed game to be released at PRGE on October 19, 2019!!

 

EDIT: There's a second public build that was released on Feb 22, 2019 build with the maze editor: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/288518-wizard-of-wor-arcade-maze-design-contest/

 

 

 

Thanks for the info about the PIC chip! I think I'll keep mine intact for now even though I badly I want to have it working for all the amazing speech Wizard of Wor.

 

I'll definitely be re-purposing my AtariVox+ for my Vectrex once I get the new version of the AtariVox for the 2600. ?

 

 

   Okay,  I do have the initial demo.  I do hope there is a decent ROM released... or at least a way to pay for just the

finalized ROM (and a copy of the manual).  I basically just do not have the space (or money) for an entire 2600 setup

and a cartridge collection in my apt, but do not mind paying for this game, it is a fav of mine... especially with all the

great voice clips!

 

  As far as I know, the AtariVox+ works fine with the Vectrex as is. The PIC chip actually pulls all the right pins and

ground for those 2 Vectrex modes. If I remember correctly, the PIC leaves a floating ground for the 2600 mode

which causes it to glitch.  There is a fuller explanation from my friend in the thread I mentioned to GroundTrooper.

 

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Hello there!

19 hours ago, MissCommand said:

 

  Did you mention in the show that the Wizard Of Wor binary you were playing had been posted?  Can you direct

me to the link?

We have released two ROMs; the initial one last year and the updated one in February for the maze editor contest.  I do plan on releasing an updated ROM demo in the next week or so.

 

14 hours ago, MissCommand said:

 

   Okay,  I do have the initial demo.  I do hope there is a decent ROM released... or at least a way to pay for just the

finalized ROM (and a copy of the manual).  I basically just do not have the space (or money) for an entire 2600 setup

and a cartridge collection in my apt, but do not mind paying for this game, it is a fav of mine... especially with all the

great voice clips!

 

I believe Al is currently working on a Downloads section where people will be able to pay/contribute for full ROMs; I'm not sure about copies of the manual though.  I'm sure he'll be releasing more info on this in the near future.

 

Thanks!

John

 

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15 hours ago, MissCommand said:

  As far as I know, the AtariVox+ works fine with the Vectrex as is. The PIC chip actually pulls all the right pins and

ground for those 2 Vectrex modes. If I remember correctly, the PIC leaves a floating ground for the 2600 mode

which causes it to glitch.  There is a fuller explanation from my friend in the thread I mentioned to GroundTrooper.

 

I tried to mess with this a bit such as just disabling the power to the PIC to essentially disable it..etc but still had issues with it regardless. I don't use my Avox+ that much and I really don't use it much with my Vectrex, so I've been tempted more than once to remove the PIC completely from it. But I'm hoping there will either be fixed Avox units or Atari only Avox units for sale along with the game at PRGE in which case, I will pick up one.

 

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34 minutes ago, -^Cro§Bow^- said:

But I'm hoping there will either be fixed Avox units or Atari only Avox units for sale along with the game at PRGE in which case, I will pick up one.

 

Hey Jesse,

 

I know @Albert has been working with Richard H. and I'm pretty sure they were able to come up with a new design that fixes the issue.  I'm not sure about availability at PRGE; I know Al is flat out getting a whole slew of games ready for release at the show. ? 

 

PS It will be good to see you at PRGE!

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2 hours ago, johnnywc said:

I believe Al is currently working on a Downloads section where people will be able to pay/contribute for full ROMs

This is a really good idea.  There are a number of games that I would like to put onto my Harmony and would also like to be able to contribute monetary to but that I have no need for a full $50 CIB treatment either.  I would very happily support a reduced cost download policy for these; support the authors but don't break my wallet either.  It's definitely a win-win idea.  

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10 hours ago, -^Cro§Bow^- said:

I tried to mess with this a bit such as just disabling the power to the PIC to essentially disable it..etc but still had issues with it regardless. I don't use my Avox+ that much and I really don't use it much with my Vectrex, so I've been tempted more than once to remove the PIC completely from it. But I'm hoping there will either be fixed Avox units or Atari only Avox units for sale along with the game at PRGE in which case, I will pick up one.

 

 

  Yes, I remember you were active in helping to debug. Removing the PIC can be daunting (and personally I would have not done with my skill level), but my friend was familiar with electronics.  If they are not ready for PRGE and you want to trust me, I can get my friend to work on yours as well. Basically, it is just turning the AVox+ into a AVox.

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11 hours ago, johnnywc said:

I believe Al is currently working on a Downloads section where people will be able to pay/contribute for full ROMs; I'm not sure about copies of the manual though.  I'm sure he'll be releasing more info on this in the near future.

 

 

  That sounds like a fantastic idea! Maybe the copy of the manual can be a PDF.

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10 minutes ago, MissCommand said:

 

  Yes, I remember you were active in helping to debug. Removing the PIC can be daunting (and personally I would have not done with my skill level), but my friend was familiar with electronics.  If they are not ready for PRGE and you want to trust me, I can get my friend to work on yours as well. Basically, it is just turning the AVox+ into a AVox.

Thank you for the offer but it's okay. I can actually remove the PIC myself if I wish. I might just wait until PRGE and see. But damn if that Wizard of Wor isn't crazy tempting me to do it LOL!

 

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Hello all,

 

With the release of Wizard of Wor Arcade approaching (October 19th @ the Portland Retro Gaming Expo), here is an updated demo ROM that is 99% complete.  

 

Note that this new demo requires Stella v6.0.1 or better (or Stellarator) to run in an emulator, or it can be run from the Harmony or Harmony Encore.

 

The demo ROM contains all the features of the full version with the following exceptions:

 

  1. The word "DEMO" is alternately displayed with the SKILL level on the title page.
  2. Savekey support for high scores and game options has been disabled (AtariVox speech is supported in the demo).
  3. The Maze Editor and ability to play with custom mazes is disabled.
  4. The game will go back to DUNGEON 1 after DUNGEON 8 is completed.  The full version contains 99 levels

Directions for playing the game can be found in this post, with these additional notes:

 

  • On NOVICE skill, the first 3 dungeons are always the same set of 3 mazes.  
  • On ADVANCED skill, starting on the 2nd dungeon, the walls of the maze may crumble during a level, making it more difficult to hide from the monsters, so finish the dungeon as quickly as possible!
  • The right joystick button can be used to change the # of players on the title screen (same as the SELECT switch)
  • Note that 2 player co-op mode is not available if there is a Savekey or Atarivox plugged in (since 2 joysticks are required).  Wizard of Wor Arcade supports Nathan Tolbert's QuadTari adapter that allows you to connect 2 joysticks up to the left joystick port, freeing up the right controller port for the Savekey/Atarivox.  This will be made available sometime after the release of the game (Nathan will be providing details).

To do:

  • Mike Haas (aka iesposta) has completed more Atarivox speech phrases that need to be added
  • A sound effect for the crumbling walls in ADVANCED mode will be added
  • Game play tweaks/difficulty ramping if needed

Thanks again to Nathan Strum for the graphics, Mike Haas for the Atarivox speech and sound fx, Ross Keenum for additional sound fx (Wizard shot, Worluk shot and Wizard escape sounds), and to all those who have provided feedback with testing, most notably James & his crew over @ ZeroPage Homebrew!  I also want to thank Nathan Tolbert for his many hours spent refining and testing the QuadTari interface and accommodating my specific requests needed to make it work with one controller port to free up the second one for the Atarivox/Savekey.  :) 

 

The box, manual and label have been finished by Dave Dries (thanks so much Dave!) and he's done an amazing job!  Al will be posting teaser shots soon!

 

Any feedback is appreciated!

 

Thanks,

John

 

 

wowarc_20190812_demo_NTSC.bin wowarc_20190812_demo_PAL60.bin

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