Steve Engelhardt Adventure Hacks

[Atari Nut]

Does anyone know how many hacks Steve did of Adventure?

Edited October 26, 2018 by Atari Nut

[+Atarius Maximus]

Adventure Plus was the only one. I updated it in 2005 and made an all-invisible version as well, you can grab them on my website.

 

http://www.bjars.com/hacks.html

[Atari Nut]

Thanks for the info. I see Adventure Plus (n) on different sites where n is as high as the 90's. I wasn't sure if they were different versions or WIPs. Great job on this! What's new in the updated 2005 version?

Edited October 27, 2018 by Atari Nut

[+Atarius Maximus]

I also released a zip file with 200+ development ROMS. Yes, they were all the WIPs as I was working on the hack. There are also on my website, but you can download them directly here. I honestly don't remember exactly what changed in the 2005 version, I don't think it was very much at all though, probably just some graphical updates. I had called it "Adventure Plus Packrat Edition" as it was going to be released with Packrat Games too (hence the "PE 05' added to the title screen), but that never happened - and I just referred to it as Adventure Plus 2005.

[Living Room Arcade]

Five years later

 

Well, I found this one.  It says Adventure II, Adventure hack, 2003, Steve Engelhardt.  

Adventure_II_Adventure_Hack_2003_Steve_Engelhardt.bin

 

Some screenshots

      

It's different than Adventure Plus by Engelhardt and also different than Adventure 2 (Flashback 2 version).

I'm trying to find out more information about it.  

Edited January 21 by Living Room Arcade

[Trebor]

On 10/27/2018 at 9:26 AM, Atarius Maximus said:

I also released a zip file with 200+ development ROMS. Yes, they were all the WIPs as I was working on the hack. There are also on my website, but you can download them directly here. I honestly don't remember exactly what changed in the 2005 version, I don't think it was very much at all though, probably just some graphical updates. I had called it "Adventure Plus Packrat Edition" as it was going to be released with Packrat Games too (hence the "PE 05' added to the title screen), but that never happened - and I just referred to it as Adventure Plus 2005.

5 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

Five years later

 

Well, I found this one.  It says Adventure II, Adventure hack, 2003, Steve Engelhardt.  

Adventure_II_Adventure_Hack_2003_Steve_Engelhardt.bin 4 kB · 3 downloads

 

Some screenshots

      

It's different than Adventure Plus by Engelhardt and also different than Adventure 2 (Flashback 2 version).

I'm trying to find out more information about it.  

In the archive file that is linked, it contains 93 binary WIP files for Adventure+ that Steve worked on.

The one you posted, @Living Room Arcade, is number 38 from that archive (Adventure+38.bin).

[+Atarius Maximus]

Hey Guys,

 

Attached to this post is an archive file with a bunch of Adventure Plus related stuff.

 

The development ROMs archive is a collection of all of the binaries that I created as I was making my way to the final version.  Many will likely have errors or be unplayable/unwinnable.  They may be interesting to look at to see what other changes I may have been experimenting with along the way, but none of them are perfect.

 

These files are in the archive:

 

Adventure Plus                                     The original version released here at AA

Adventure Plus 2005                             Two versions, one is the updated 2005 version, the other has all invisible rooms.  I don't remember what changes I made to this one.
Adventure Plus Development Roms        All the ROMS Created during it's development     
Adventure Plus Map                              The map for the original ('03) version of the game     
Adventure Plus 2005 Source Code         Fully commented, compiles with DASM.     
Adventure Plus Instruction Manual         I created a manual for the original version of the hack.  

 

The following hacks are also in this archive, it's a collection of fun Adventure hacks created by Kurt Howe (Nukey Shay).  I didn't create these, but they're all pretty cool... and Kurt was creating them at the same time he was helping me out with Adventure Plus.  The brief notes for each hack are Kurt's.

 

4k_8kassemblies.zip    

 

4k build includes the signature, unshares all the screen GFX, and has 5 custom screens, but I did share the castle GFX again. The 4k version still has half a page of memory free, but more can be reclaimed by removing the signature bitmap and sharing screens (or even upper/lower lines of screens).    
        
adventure_4k_504free.zip    

 

I shared all the bitmap data as it was in the original optimized code (which had 313 bytes free)...and now it's up to 504.
            
Adventure_hell.zip    

 

So you can get an idea of how all these changes affect the game, here's a copy of it. This last little step filled in all available ROM space in the 4k image...so I'm going to have to use a new file for the examples anyway            
    7 dragons. One is orange (to make it harder to see in the catacombs), and one is grey (to make it invisible against the background).    
    7 gates...using 2 keys. The black key will only open black gates...and the flashing key opens flashing gates and secret wall panels There are 4 regular black gates, 1 flashing gate, and 2 wall panels. The gates are on castle bitmaps...so there's 5 castles in all.        
    The magnet and the dot must be used together at one of the panels to get the chalice...and when you do, the dragons will resurrect themselves (so high-tail it out of there!).            
    I'm not sure if game #3 is winnable (because I didn't test all of the random variations)...but game #2 definitely is.    
        
adventure_optimized_assemblies.zip    

 

Here's the 3 assemblies (8k, 4k w/screen data unshared, and 4k w/screen data shared). In that last one, it's up to 520 bytes free now    
        
adventure4k_timed.zip    

 

The timer idea just came to me...so I figured I'd throw it out there. It does miscount by 4/60 seconds though...so it's not perfect as written (since it's using bit 6 of the framecounter to decide when to bump up the seconds counter).
            
adventure5levels.zip    

 

Here's the binary that adds 2 more levels. Even-numbered levels feature random objects...    
        
adventure_tough_dragons.zip    

 

Other ideas for using this new hit counter would be to have it "heal" over time (by checking the HiCnt and bumping UP the hit counter if it's less than "healthy")...or having random values for the number of hits...or moving the dragon slower (it's Y delta number) if the hit counter is halfway dea
            
6dragons.zip    

 

6 dragon version:            
    - 3 additional dragons.            
    - Erratic bat behavior added.            
    - 1 additional key/gate...added key looks like glasses.            
    - The glasses also work as x-ray specs...turning all dark rooms visible.            
    - Skeleton bitmaps when player uses the x-ray specs.            
    - Additional signature screen...accessed by using an existing game object to open the LEFT panels.            
    - More added secret rooms.            
    - Up to 128 screens in regular 40x7 bitmap resolution.            
    - A title bitmap for the game select screen.            
    - All game graphics can be unique.            
    - The player can become "cursed", which destroys all castles.    
        
a8k_xray.zip    

 

4 dragon version:            
    - Additional dragon            
    - Additional bat            
    - 2 additional keys/gates (though only one currently has a castle assigned to it...you'll find it above the original Easter Egg screen on game 2/3). The second added key looks like glasses...and will open an additional gate.            
    - The glasses also work as x-ray specs...turning all dark rooms visible.            
    - Additional signature screen...this is accessed by using an existing game object to open the LEFT panels. Careful not to get stuck!    
    - More added secret rooms.            
    - Up to 64 screens using 40x14 bitmaps            
    - A title bitmap for the game select screen.            
    - All game graphics can be unique.            
    - Skeleton bitmaps when player uses the x-ray specs    
        
adbatfix.zip    

 

This version corrects the original game's quirk of allowing the bat to be "trained" to fly in a specific direction. A carried object is always carried 1 pixel below the bat's vertical coordinate, and when one is picked up the bat's flightpath is also changed (via EOR). It's a little more challenging since you can't keep the bat anywhere (unless you lock him up)     

       

addrop.zip     

 

uses this also, and in addition the bat will drop objects as soon as it's "fed up" with them and fly at least a screen before choosing another. So it will scramble up the object locations pretty effectively if you aren't tending to them. The bat can snatch your object and leave you with nothing...for example.    

Also, for anyone who might like to check them out, here's a list of all of my old Atari 2600 hacks, and the AA links to find them.

 

My Atari 2600 Hacks
Adventure Plus	AA Forum	3/1/2003	All New Map, mazes & Sprites
Adventure Plus 2005	AA Forum	8/3/2005	My updated version of Adv +
Adventure Plus 2005 Invisible	AA Forum	8/3/2005	Adv + 2005 with all Invis. Rooms
Atlantis Trainer	AA Forum	12/3/2005	Unlimited lives in Imagic's Classic
Battlezone Trainer	AA Forum	1/21/2014	Unlimited lives, lives counter removed, score font change
Berzerk Sadistic	AA Forum	12/29/2005	Robots start Faster, only 1 life
Defender Trainer	AA Forum	6/22/2005	Unlimited lives in Defender
Defender Vector	AA Forum	12/26/2003	Defender with Vector Graphics
Donkey Kong Low Gravity	AA Forum	12/29/2005	Jump Higher & Longer
DragonFire Easy	AA Forum	3/17/2004	Dragon's Fireballs cant reach you
DragonFire Really Easy	AA Forum	3/17/2004	No Fireballs, Super Run Speed
DragonFire Sadistic	AA Forum	3/17/2004	Insanely Fast Fireballs!
DragRace	AA Forum	4/9/2003	Dragster Hack with Stock Cars
DragRace Auto-Shift [hack of Activision's Dragster]	AA Forum	3/18/2004	Dragster Hack with Auto Shift
Indy500 Alternate Tracks	AA Forum	4/23/2003	All New Tracks in Indy 500
Jawbreaker Trainer	AA Forum	12/29/2005	Unlimited Lives in Jawbreaker
Big Bucket Kaboom	AA Forum	12/29/2005	Huge Buckets in Kaboom
Marauder II	AA Forum	10/14/2004	All New Maps/Sprites for Marauder
Montezuma's Revenge Trainer	AA Forum	1/3/2006	Unlimited Lives for Panama Joe
Pitfall Trainer	AA Forum	3/6/2003	Unlimited Lives AND Time!
Seaquest Trainer	AA Forum	8/5/2005	Unlimited Lives in Seaquest
River Raid Turbo	AA Forum	1/7/2014	Push up for Turbo mode, faster jet, faster Y movement
River Raid Turbo (With Fast Shot)	AA Forum	1/7/2014	Same as previous version but with faster missile shots
River Raid (Fly over land)	AA Forum	1/7/2014	Collision detection turned off for flying over land
River Raid (Fast Shot)	AA Forum	1/7/2014	Faster missiles from your jet
River Raid (Fuel Tank Always Full)	AA Forum	1/7/2014	Your fuel tank is always full
River Raid Trainer	AA Forum	1/7/2014	Unlimited Lives and Fuel, collision detection is disabled
Solaris Trainer	AA Forum	6/21/2005	Unlimited Lives in Solaris
Space Race [hack of Activision's Freeway]	AA Forum	6/3/2005	Freeway hacked into Space Race
Space Race Sadistic [hack of Activision's Freeway]	AA Forum	6/3/2005	Faster Version of Space Race
SpyBob [hack of Activision's Kabobber]	AA Forum	12/3/2003	James Bond version of Kabobber
StarWarsTAG-RC**	AA Forum	3/17/2006	Reversed Control Scheme
Yars Revenge Sadistic (No Neutral Zone, 1 Life, Faster)	AA Forum	12/29/2005	1 Life, No Neutral Zone, Faster
Yars Revenge (Fast Missile, No Neutral Zone, 4 Lives)	AA Forum	12/29/2005	4 Lives, No Neutral Zone, Faster
Yars Revenge (Fast Missile, 4 Lives)	AA Forum	12/29/2005	Faster Missiles, 4 Lives
Yars Revenge (No Neutral Zone, 4 Lives)	AA Forum	12/29/2005	No Neutral Zone, 4 Lives
Airlock Trainer	AA Forum	3/29/2010	Unlimited Lives
Demon Attack - Small Enemies	AA Forum	3/30/2010	Enemies are always the small type
Demon Attack - Fast Shot	AA Forum	3/30/2010	Super fast shots from your ship
Demon Attack - No Fire back	AA Forum	3/30/2010	Enemies do not fire back
Demon Attack - Start w/6 lives	AA Forum	3/30/2010	Start game with 6 lives

        
          
 Edit:  I found an archive of all my hacks in one zip file, I attached it too.               
                

Adventure_Plus_Stuff.zip

Atari2600Hacks_complete.zip

[+Atarius Maximus]

I just searched through my PM's and found my original correspondence with Jarrett from Packrat regarding Adventure Plus 2005.  He was originally going to package it and sell it at CGE2K5 but it ended up not happening.

 

While I can't specifically remember what I changed, this is the note I originally sent to Jarrett about it on 7/8/2005 regarding the changes:

 

"Good News! I'm finished, or at least I think I am. I still need to playtest, if you could help me with that it would be great. I completely rewrote the source code from scratch, and matched the original Adventure Plus about 80%, just refreshing the maze designs, a few screens, some sprites, and of course the title screen. The layout and object placement of the game remains the same, it's a cosmetic makeover.

 

I added a second version of the game that makes all of the game screens invisible, except for the castles (it would be impossible to see the color of the castles if they were invisible!  ). Both bins are in the zip attachment on this message."

[Living Room Arcade]

@Atarius Maximus The world should keep a copy of what you just said, I think.

Steve Engelhardt - Hacks.pdf

 

What a priceless gift for the whole Atari community!  Thank you SO MUCH!

 

Well, already, I think Space Race is fun!

And also, Adventure with a timer is fun, too!

Game 1, Diff. B, 108 (Seconds, I think).  

Do Adventure "speed runs," what a cool idea!

 

I like Adventure Plus development ROM #59, the last one before you changed from green to blue below the orange castle.

Adventure+59.bin

Dev ROM 59, Game 1, Diff B

 

I don't know how to thank you for all of this, what a priceless and unexpected tomb of treasures!

I'm sure it will be cherished by all!  

Edited January 21 by Living Room Arcade

[+Atarius Maximus]

Thank you for the kind words.  I'm happy to share this old stuff and I'm glad you're having fun with it.

 

I've done some homebrews too.  Some of the older ones really aren't very good as as I was just starting to learn and figure out what I was doing.

 

My Atari 2600 Homebrews	Date
Warship	1/16/2024
Bomb Barrage	1/10/2024
Gate Racer Revisited	1/10/2024
Monkey Drop	1/10/2024
Cave Raider	1/3/2024
Space Chaos	6/21/2022
Asteroid Escape	10/24/2016
Diamond Drop	3/10/2015
Touchdown Challenge	5/30/2014
Spy Dive Demo	1/13/2014
Space Dungeon Demo	8/17/2013
Jungle Adventure Demo	3/27/2013
Gate Racer II 4k	3/12/2013
Gate Racer 2k	2/15/2013
Cave Run	7/26/2012
OS2600	11/16/2011
Grand Theft Atari Demo	10/29/2010
Inferno	5/13/2010
Bombs Away!	3/2/2010
Cave-In	6/15/2007
Primate Plunge	5/8/2007
Drag Racing 2600	4/23/2007
Turbo	4/11/2007
Rollerball	3/22/2007
Jumper	4/10/2006
RoadBlaster	1/23/2006

 

My Atari 7800 Homebrews	Date
Drone Patrol	7/6/2023
Dungeon Stalker	4/1/2015
Boom!	5/26/2015
AtariVox Speech Test Utility	10/21/2015
Adventurer	12/30/2014
Smasteroids Demo	7/12/2014
Legend of Silverpeak RPG	7/14/2022
Death Merchant	7/9/2022
Touchdown Challenge	8/25/2022
10 Print Maze Demo	8/26/2017
Maze Generator Demo	8/31/2017
Jacks or Better	8/7/2022
Space Junk	9/27/2017

[Living Room Arcade]

@Atarius Maximus  I think everybody needs a copy of that, too!

Steve Engelhardt - Homebrews.pdf

 

Monkey Drop looks fun!  And so does Jacks or Better on the 7800 side.

What a tomb of homebrew treasures!  I hope everybody will check these out!