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Moon Patrol redux


TIX

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@TIXI haven't tried it, yet, the screen shots alone and your description are enough to know it looks like and probably is everything I could wish for in an A8 Moon Patrol. 8&16K cartridges of classic arcade games was just never quite enough for the original developers to get the most out of the Atari and games closer to the arcades back in the day, and later on with larger formats just a lack of market penetration kept games at a minimal, if made at all, due to budget and time restrictions. Thank you and all others who improve the old games or make entirely new versions or ports that surpass the originals, if we got the game at all.

 

Do you have any thoughts, if much more improvement is possible, to revisiting and reduxing Pole Position? If not as much could be done as was with Moon Patrol, at least adding previous improvements to one of the Pole Position hack that have multiple tracks to choose from? I can still settle for what you've already done with it, if I could get more tracks to choose. Currently I'm desperately torn between playing your hack with the improved sprites, and the Pole Position X hack with all it's new tracks.

Edited by Gunstar
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2 hours ago, www.atarimania.com said:

Now this is really a cut above all the other hacks, great work!

 

I wish something could be done about the font, though. Keeping the original feels lazy and really out of place compared to the rest.

For the first 20 years of owning and using my Atari 8-bit, I felt this way, but since then, in my nostalgia for the A8, I have come to admire the classic 8-bit default font.  I now find it more out of place not to have the classic Atari font for playing an Atari version of a classic arcade game, especially since I consider the original port to the A8 a classic in it's own rite now (maybe even more so to those who may have only ever played the Atari home version-not me! Just saying!). It's the way a game on the Atari 8-bit "should" be now, if you get my drift. Especially if it's the original core code, as an homage to the original Atari 8-bit port, of the arcade game, that @TIX (and others) are using and striving to improve and reach closer to the arcade version, because the port wasn't quite up to par of what the A8 computer can do given every advantage, vs. the arcade, originally.  For what ever reasons: memory, time, budget or even lack of professional artists, all of the above, back in the day. I guess it's a sort of "full circle" concept. Of course when all is said and done, this version is out there now, so TIX can do the arcade font and put that out there too, if he wants and we can all be happy with our favorite.

Edited by Gunstar
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@www.atarimania.com Just so you know I've taken it to heart and put my money where my mouth is, so-to-speak, I own the Xenophobe cartridge from Video61 that has not yet been released as an image, and though I have the means, and it's relatively easy, I still have not used the arcade font made available to those who could prove ownership to splice with the image of my original cartridge. Though I might one day, if the rom image is released to the community and someone does an incredible hack of it like this one. 

Edited by Gunstar
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If someone could provide a video showing the levels and graphic changes - that would be nice to view.

 

If games could easily be hacked to change/improve upon the graphics thereof.  I think there would be a certain hit list - we all like to see done.

Something like -

Sea Dragon - this really could do with a change to a higher res mode - Antic4. So I can imagine this is far too much work - but - maybe - it'll take a real fan of this game to make available a level designer (for new levels) - then making the change to Antic4 a possibility then?

Blue Max, 

Basically games that are still very playable - that could do with some kind of upgrade to it's graphics.

 

I think Paul can make changes to Snokie easily?  That it's graphics (and level layout?) can be changed - if someone was keen enough to get involved with that?  That improvements can be made to it - if you're willing to put the time and effort into doing that.  Maybe this game could serve as a test case - for the start of a series?  Next candidate could be Super Cobra - which could be revamped in so many ways to be a vast improvement.

 

With 2020 soon upon us - it'll be nice to see some kind of Miner 2020'er or 2019'er if it can be retweaked into a fun version.

The graphics would have to be done well so that it's not an awful change but some kind of positive upgrade?

 

Harvey

 

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Don't take my comment too seriously, I really like this new version. The thing is, though I love the Atari font, I don't think it has its place in modern productions or updates of arcade games such as this one. If you want to go the extra mile and have all the resources, why stop halfway through? 

 

This is just me rumbling anyway, don't pay too much attention...

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Not exactly what I was hoping for as far as a starting base, but I still have an imagination to fill in the gap. ;) I do love the title screen though, the higher res moon buggy image, makes it look like a shot from a distance, compared to the in-game buggy, and it definitely helps my imagination see the lower-res buggy in a better light, it very recognizable, especially once it's moving and you get the illusion of three tires. My VGA converter/scaler also makes it ALL look wonderful with upscaling to 1024x768, 3D comb filtering, anti-aliasing and adaptive real-time de-interlacing so nt "jaggies" while things are on the move horizontally, with no lag! With the new background graphics and other new touches, I think the Atari has achieved "best 8-bit version" again, even though it's a "redux" and not a from scratch remake or improved port from another 8-bit. I saw most of it as I made it to point L, the second time around on champion mode.

 

Congratulations @TIX and all who helped you!

Edited by Gunstar
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Thanks for all the encouragement guys  ?:D

7 hours ago, kiwilove said:

If games could easily be hacked to change/improve upon the graphics thereof.  I think there would be a certain hit list - we all like to see done.

Basically games that are still very playable - that could do with some kind of upgrade to it's graphics.

 

That is exactly the type of games I'm targeting !

I'm getting (admittedly not a lot) negative reactions of the type 'don't mess with the classics' .. but who cares !!

I just love the games and all that good vibe I get from them,

 

I have so much energy and so little time to dedicate to this hobby that it hurts :lolblue:

 

Edited by TIX
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Excellent job! The music is definitely a lot slower in this version that in the original arcade and the 8-bit versions, but there may be a good reason for it. Still, with the exception of the slow music, the gameplay and the game is much improved by your changes. Thanks for all your hard work!

 

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1 hour ago, www.atarimania.com said:

TIX, I'm sure a number of people would love to know how you ended up getting an Atari computer in Greece. Was it a big seller there? Was any Greek software produced on the Atari?

Well it was an import from Germany, my father brought it home from a trip !

The VCS 2600 was very popular in Greece, but the 8-bit series was eclipsed by the Commodore and Spectrum machines..

I'm sure it was sold in Greece too but I didn't know anyone owning one at the time :P

Also I'm not aware of any Greek software produced for any of the classic machines..

 

Sadly my Atari has died a couple of years back, and I gave it away (also my C64 and Spectrum) :(

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, bfollowell said:

The music is definitely a lot slower in this version that in the original arcade and the 8-bit versions, but there may be a good reason for it.

The video was recorded on a PAL machine. I played it last night on my real hardware NTSC machine, and the music plays as fast as I always remember. So it's just the normal 16.7% slowdown any game will exhibit on a PAL machine that is synced to VBLANK.

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