MINECRAFT ATARI DEMAKE - TOPDOWN

[MiranDaniel129]

Hi everyone, is anyone interested in to try recreate Minecraft in Atari as an topdown game?

[Sprybug]

On 4/5/2021 at 9:36 PM, MiranDaniel129 said:

Hi everyone, is anyone interested in to try recreate Minecraft in Atari as an topdown game?

Interesting idea.  How would you work out the 3 dimensionality of the game being that it'll be top down?  Would you only be able to dig once in a spot since you wouldn't be able to see the depths that you are going into?

[Garak]

24 minutes ago, Sprybug said:

Interesting idea.  How would you work out the 3 dimensionality of the game being that it'll be top down?  Would you only be able to dig once in a spot since you wouldn't be able to see the depths that you are going into?

Notch actually made a top-down version called Minicraft for one of the Ludum Dare contests a few years back. Could use that as a basis for ideas perhaps.

 

Garak

[+Karl G]

I would think that the amount of ram needed to keep track of all of the changes to the world would make such a project infeasible.

[+Gemintronic]

On 4/5/2021 at 9:36 PM, MiranDaniel129 said:

Hi everyone, is anyone interested in to try recreate Minecraft in Atari as an topdown game?

 

Best way to answer that is try it yourself using batari BASIC.  Ask questions when you get stuck.  The more effort you put in the more people will get excited for it.

 

As mentioned memory is a big issue.  You have 26 8-bit variables for the entire game.  You could build and destroy playfield blocks BUT there's not enough memory to store those changes when you move to a new screen.  Also, the kernels that allow you to turn off and on playfield blocks only allow 2 sprites - one of which is your player.  So, how to represent additional enemies, loose ores, etc.. becomes a challenge.  Physics is an interesting challenge too.  You'd have to think about how falling blocks would work.  There is very limited CPU time on the 2600.  Your game engine would have to simulate gravity for every block while not slowing down the game or causing the screen to roll.

 

I have made a list of BASIC or BASIC-like languages for various systems that would be easier to deal with including the 7800, Intellivision, Sega Genesis and Atari Jaguar.  Maybe starting with a more compatible platform and working your way "down" to the 2600 would be the way to go.

 

 

[MiranDaniel129]

7 hours ago, Gemintronic said:

 

Best way to answer that is try it yourself using batari BASIC.  TI

 

As mentioned memory is a big issue.  You have 26 8-bit variables for the entire game.  You could build and destroy playfield blocks BUT there's not enough memory to store those changes when you move to a new screen.  Also, the kernels that allow you to turn off and on playfield blocks only allow 2 sprites - one of which is your player.  So, how to represent additional enemies, loose ores, etc.. becomes a challenge.  Physics is an interesting challenge too.  You'd have to think about how falling blocks would work.  There is very limited CPU time on the 2600.  Your game engine would have to simulate gravity for every block while not slowing down the game or causing the screen to roll.

 

I have made a list of BASIC or BASIC-like languages for various systems that would be easier to deal with including the 7800, Intellivision, Sega Genesis and Atari Jaguar.  Maybe starting with a more compatible platform and working your way "down" to the 2600 would be the way to go.

 

 

Hi! Thanks for answering my topic :)). Yes, I'm trying to make it, but it's being a great challenge to me XD The quantity of entities in the same screen is a great problem, but I was thinking about to do the system of the game adventure, which uses the system of flickering for to apparently to have a lot of objects rendering in same time. About back ground, I was thinking about to use the same system, but not flickering, but moving to the "block" in right for example, after that to other block, and when u break the block, he stops appearing on this place. And I'm thinking about to use the animation system for to use diferent enemies. The greatest problem is the quantity of possible variables, untill I know, i just can create variables with just one letter, for example: a = 20. I'm yet studying how to do that, and old games that made miracles in atari, like Pitfall or Adventure. I will need to cut a lot of functions, but I think its possible, the ram memory is a great problem yes, I will need to learn how to handle this. The greatest level is my extremally low level of basic, Im yet learning and I'm having problems to find tutorials with more than an episode XD.

Edited April 7, 2021 by MiranDaniel129

[+Gemintronic]

Yep.  The 2600 is a strange beast and some things don't make immediate sense even in BASIC.  I'd suggest making small games that let you get familiar with what the 2600 can do.  If you tackle Minecraft right away then the project may seem impossible.

 

Probably best to check out the examples in this forum sub-section:

 

 

[MiranDaniel129]

9 hours ago, Karl G said:

I would think that the amount of ram needed to keep track of all of the changes to the world would make such a project infeasible.

Yes, Im studying the possibility of to use technics used in other famous games from Atari for to see what would be possible to do.

[MiranDaniel129]

18 hours ago, Sprybug said:

Interesting idea.  How would you work out the 3 dimensionality of the game being that it'll be top down?  Would you only be able to dig once in a spot since you wouldn't be able to see the depths that you are going into?

I'm thinking about the system of layers, with the system of block movement in the game. Adventure had a system of layers, simulating a dark labirinth.

Edited April 7, 2021 by MiranDaniel129