Intellidiscs Release Thread

[BIGHMW]

47 minutes ago, phuzaxeman said:

Ryan, this would have been insane if this released in 1982.

Agreed to that, except that Mattel owned exclusive rights (at that time) to produce the Tron series of games for whatever systems it deems are fit to, so that meant only Intellivision and 2600 (the ONLY other system they would produce games for under their M-Network brand) owners could enjoy them, but ohhh how decades have changed the complexion of the (now) classic gaming community, now with all the openness of homebrews owners and players of different systems now get to (finally) enjoy games for their systems that were never legally possible back in 1982, hence that's why Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are now available for the 5200 when back in '82 only Coleco could put them out, the same thing holds true with Burgertime (and also Intellidiscs) that only Intellivision owners could enjoy back then

[phuzaxeman]

5 minutes ago, BIGHMW said:

Agreed to that, except that Mattel owned exclusive rights (at that time) to produce the Tron series of games for whatever systems it deems are fit to, so that meant only Intellivision and 2600 (the ONLY other system they would produce games for under their M-Network brand) owners could enjoy them, but ohhh how decades have changed the complexion of the (now) classic gaming community, now with all the openness of homebrews owners and players of different systems now get to (finally) enjoy games for their systems that were never legally possible back in 1982, hence that's why Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are now available for the 5200 when back in '82 only Coleco could put them out, the same thing holds true with Burgertime (and also Intellidiscs) that only Intellivision owners could enjoy back then

Atari 8 bit Donkey Kong released in 83. 

[BIGHMW]

9 hours ago, phuzaxeman said:

Atari 8 bit Donkey Kong released in 83. 

Yes but I was strictly (and I apologize for not being specific in my last post) talking about the home video game market, not the computer market, where, yes, Donkey Kong's computer rights were indeed held by Atari.

 

Now, since you brought that up, if Coleco had obtained full (both home and computer) exclusive rights to the title on all platforms, it makes me wonder what Donkey Kong would've looked (and played) like on their ADAM computer system

[BIGHMW]

Well, here it is Tuesday morning and no sign of (perhaps) a Beta 4 of this rather brilliant port, I wonder what happened, as we haven't heard anything from @Ryan Witmer since my last post back on Friday, we're all looking forward to the next post.

[+Ryan Witmer]

On 4/18/2021 at 8:00 PM, BIGHMW said:

One question for @Ryan Witmer, since I use trigger mode, can I still use the 5 key to block/destroy an enemy disc? Or is there a different route I have to take to blocking/destroying an enemy shot while in trigger mode?

The top fire button should do it.  In twin stick mode, any keypad button (including Start, Pause, Reset) on the second controller will do it.

 

Sorry that I've been away, my PC game project has been sucking up my time lately.

Oops, did I just drop that there?  (At least it's 5200 related)

 

@Synthpopalooza sent me the last of the sound stuff, so I'm going to try to get a new release ready this weekend.  I'm hoping to have the coding done before my interview slot comes up on the ZPH thing tomorrow.  I'll probably do a round of testing on real hardware on Sunday before posting it.  There's good chance it will be the first release candidate, unless I find something crazy.

[MrTrust]

Glad to see the PC version of MFF is coming along.  The 5200 version's a big hit in our house with my daughter.  It's about the only thing she'll take over Super Mario Maker 2 at the moment.

[BIGHMW]

Yo, @Ryan Witmer where y'at? It's been since Friday night since @MrTrust had the last post, I wonder how that port of Intellidiscs is going, I would love to review it for The Atari Report. Thanks.  

 

Your neighbor from across Puget Sound and up the Hood Canal Bridge on The Olympic Peninsula here in Port Townsend,

 

Ray Jackson

[+Ryan Witmer]

Had some issues with some of the last sound effects.  Just working out a few more little sound issues, hopefully be ready soon.

[+Ryan Witmer]

On 4/30/2021 at 7:47 PM, MrTrust said:

Glad to see the PC version of MFF is coming along.  The 5200 version's a big hit in our house with my daughter.  It's about the only thing she'll take over Super Mario Maker 2 at the moment.

I'm glad she enjoys it, I love stories like this.  Bob from the Atari 5200 Podcast loses to his daughter at RealSports Curling on a regular basis.  I guess my games are popular with people's daughters.

 

OK, I'm calling this release candidate 1.  So sayeth the build string, "Release candidate 1, 5/8/2021"

 

This has the last of the sound effects and a few other little things here and there.  I'm going to test it for about a week, and if I don't find anything crazy, I'm calling this thing done.  At that point I'll make a final release build that includes the full source code for any folks that want to try an A8 port or whatever.

 

Another round of thanks to @Synthpopalooza for doing not only the music and sound effects, but also contributing the code needed to actually play them.  Also, don't forget @vhzc for providing the Recognizer Identifier design without me even asking for it.  And of course, all the people who helped test the builds over the span of this project.  I've wanted to make this one happen for a long time and I'm glad I finally did it.

 

intellidiscs.bin

[+Cafeman]

25 minutes ago, Ryan Witmer said:

This has the last of the sound effects and a few other little things here and there.  I'm going to test it for about a week, and if I don't find anything crazy, I'm calling this thing done.

General feedback: I think it plays quite well.  I'm not familiar at all with the Inty original, to compare against that.   I like how you can quickly recall the disc and quickly shoot it again.  The Title and End-Game music is perfect.  The sound FX added a LOT. It was too quiet before. The sound FX sound apt and good.   

 

I'm not good at the game - never once defeated the big boss Identifier.  I assume you have to shoot its disappearing eye pixel.  I'd actually like to play it with a CX52 (or TWO) and try out the different control schemes and both fire buttons. But I don't have a working USB or Atarimax 5200 cart. 

 

Nobody likes further requests once the game is done in their eyes ...  but here are further requests for you to ponder over.   

 

1.  I destroyed 2 opponents with the same throw, *and* I also hit a door and opened it on that throw.   That was kind of exciting.  The thought occurred to me, it would be awesome if you raised the pitch of the enemy-destroyed sound  for a 2nd hit on the same throw. It would be very satisfying to hear.  

2. The music is of course perfect,  but it only plays at Title Screen and game over. It would be nice to hear a brief piece of it at the beginning of each round, or when a new enemy type appears.  Again, I can't get very far in the game so perhaps I just didn't hear everything the game has to offer yet. 

 

This game is great work and you got it done in under half a year , or so it seems. 

 

 

 

 

[BIGHMW]

Boy I'll tell you that this already is a HUGE improvement from Beta 3 (the previous port), and the added sound FX are perfect, and how appropriate that the same music that signals the loss of a life (in the arcade version of TRON) is perfect for the "Game Over" graphic, that and the needed disc throwing sound for both your man and the enemies is perfect and allows you to get out of the way of enemy fire a bit quicker because you now know when they threw it, you just have to pay attention to the action on your screen (as all of us gamers already know) because it could be the difference between playing on, and, "Game Over".

 

Wonderfully done @Ryan Witmer!!! Now I just have to get cleaned up (so I look good for the camera) so I can film my review for The Atari Report - 5200 Edition. I was just waiting for this port to drop, and it was well worth the 2 week wait!!!  

Edited May 8, 2021 by BIGHMW

[phuzaxeman]

1 hour ago, Ryan Witmer said:

I'm glad she enjoys it, I love stories like this.  Bob from the Atari 5200 Podcast loses to his daughter at RealSports Curling on a regular basis.  I guess my games are popular with people's daughters.

 

OK, I'm calling this release candidate 1.  So sayeth the build string, "Release candidate 1, 5/8/2021"

 

This has the last of the sound effects and a few other little things here and there.  I'm going to test it for about a week, and if I don't find anything crazy, I'm calling this thing done.  At that point I'll make a final release build that includes the full source code for any folks that want to try an A8 port or whatever.

 

Another round of thanks to @Synthpopalooza for doing not only the music and sound effects, but also contributing the code needed to actually play them.  Also, don't forget @vhzc for providing the Recognizer Identifier design without me even asking for it.  And of course, all the people who helped test the builds over the span of this project.  I've wanted to make this one happen for a long time and I'm glad I finally did it.

 

intellidiscs.bin 32 kB · 3 downloads

Ryan, congratulations.  You have created a new 5200 classic.  The sound effects and music are great.  I like how this game is faster paced than the original because you can actually run and throw.  And of course the battle mode is really amazing. That green enemy is so cool!  

 

I agree with Cafeman, if you could have the beginning tune play (short version) before each new game that would make it even more amazing.

 

Thank you for your work and support for the 5200 community.  8bit users will eventually be able to play this game but it won't be the same without the original controllers and keypad.  The controls are excellent and make use with all the original hardware.

 

I definitely will be purchasing this on Atariage.  I hope this game can also come with overlays with the box and instructions.  Well done!

Edited May 8, 2021 by phuzaxeman

[BIGHMW]

45 minutes ago, phuzaxeman said:

Ryan, congratulations.  You have created a new 5200 classic.  The sound effects and music are great.  I like how this game is faster paced than the original because you can actually run and throw.  And of course the battle mode is really amazing. That green enemy is so cool!  

 

I agree with Cafeman, if you could have the beginning tune play (short version) before each new game that would make it even more amazing.

 

Thank you for your work and support for the 5200 community.  8bit users will eventually be able to play this game but it won't be the same without the original controllers and keypad.  The controls are excellent and make use with all the original hardware.

 

I definitely will be purchasing this on Atariage.  I hope this game can also come with overlays with the box and instructions.  Well done!

That agreed. I know it'll be different for 8-bit owners (I also own an XEGS as well as a 5200) but I'm hoping that the trigger mode will be the primary option for them, but as for the 5200 version it is already top-notch, and indeed it HAS become a classic. It seems like every new port @Ryan Witmer puts out turns to gold, I will definitely try out Magical Fairy Force too as well as soon as I can find a YouTube tutorial video on how to play it, and you know I'll be all over that one too.

 

@Wrathchild, @playsoft, @PacManPlus, move over you've got company!!! Ryan has indeed earned his place among the elite programmers here on AA IMO..... and this is almost a wrap, but it already is a hit!!!

[+Ryan Witmer]

On 5/8/2021 at 11:56 AM, Cafeman said:

1.  I destroyed 2 opponents with the same throw, *and* I also hit a door and opened it on that throw.   That was kind of exciting.  The thought occurred to me, it would be awesome if you raised the pitch of the enemy-destroyed sound  for a 2nd hit on the same throw. It would be very satisfying to hear. 

That is a neat idea.  If I have time, maybe I'll goof around with it a little, but no promises.

 

On 5/8/2021 at 11:56 AM, Cafeman said:

2. The music is of course perfect,  but it only plays at Title Screen and game over. It would be nice to hear a brief piece of it at the beginning of each round, or when a new enemy type appears.  Again, I can't get very far in the game so perhaps I just didn't hear everything the game has to offer yet.

This idea got kicked around a little when I discussed the possibility of doing the game on the Atari 5200 Podcast.  I blame myself for not doing this, since I didn't have any sound until very late in the development process and now it would be kind of tough to wedge it in there.  Another complication is that the music uses completely different POKEY settings from the sound effects and switching back and forth is a little cumbersome.

 

On 5/8/2021 at 11:56 AM, Cafeman said:

This game is great work and you got it done in under half a year , or so it seems.

Thanks, glad you like it.  I think it was closer to a year.  I'm started working on this right after I finished Magical Fairy Force, and that was somewhere around June of last year.  I worked on it for a few months before I make it public.

On 5/8/2021 at 1:07 PM, phuzaxeman said:

I definitely will be purchasing this on Atariage.  I hope this game can also come with overlays with the box and instructions.  Well done!

Overlays would be so awesome.  I'll talk to Albert about it.

 

On 5/8/2021 at 2:00 PM, BIGHMW said:

I will definitely try out Magical Fairy Force too as well as soon as I can find a YouTube tutorial video on how to play it,

I recently posted this video of the PC version's tutorial mode:

 

 

Most of it applies to the 5200 version, as well.

 

As I mentioned in a few other threads, I have another port I want to do, and I'm already putting together some of the plans for it.  Once I have something to show, I'll start a thread for it.  I think this one will be simpler than Tron, but I've been wrong about these kinds of things before.

[phattyboombatty]

This is incredible. @Ryan Witmer does it again! 

 

A couple of observations and suggestions:

• I would start off the game menu with "Trigger" as the default (and I'll tell you why). Because I (and I presume many of us) have neigh but an old 5200 controller floating about, which I use paired with my Makopad PC via my bohoki adapter. Them number pad key membranes dry out after a while! Yes, eventually I'll get the rev 9s and all that.
• After I plugged in my TrakBall (and using its functioning keypad), I noticed my TB provided very slow character movement on the playfield. Could just be me, admittedly.
• I had to take my MakoPad off of "turbo" mode, then the trigger worked phenomenally well
• The MakoPad does kick butt for this game!

Thank you Ryan for your awesome contributions to this community! This game is phenomenal, and I believe the first idiosyncratic title that's seen a port between the two systems. I'm diggin it!

[+Ryan Witmer]

13 hours ago, phattyboombatty said:

• I would start off the game menu with "Trigger" as the default (and I'll tell you why). Because I (and I presume many of us) have neigh but an old 5200 controller floating about, which I use paired with my Makopad PC via my bohoki adapter. Them number pad key membranes dry out after a while! Yes, eventually I'll get the rev 9s and all that.

Since the keypad controls are what the original Intellivison game used I think it's the only sensible default.  It's the way the game is meant to be played.  I always use the keypad controls unless I'm testing one of the other modes.  The game does remember your controller mode between games, so at least you only need to change it once.

 

13 hours ago, phattyboombatty said:

• After I plugged in my TrakBall (and using its functioning keypad), I noticed my TB provided very slow character movement on the playfield. Could just be me, admittedly.

The trakball is not supported, and based on what I learned doing trakball control for my last game what you describe is about what I would expect.

 

13 hours ago, phattyboombatty said:

• I had to take my MakoPad off of "turbo" mode, then the trigger worked phenomenally well
• The MakoPad does kick butt for this game!

Yeah, turbo would not work at all, it would just immediately recall your disc.  I'm glad to hear that some of these other controllers work well.  I only have the stock joysticks so I wasn't really sure.  The trigger mode was at least partially intended for people with alternate controller setups.

 

13 hours ago, phattyboombatty said:

Thank you Ryan for your awesome contributions to this community! This game is phenomenal, and I believe the first idiosyncratic title that's seen a port between the two systems. I'm diggin it!

Thanks, it was a lot of fun making it.  I've made a few sound adjustments over the week and my testing is looking good.  I'm expecting to release the final version on Saturday.

[BIGHMW]

9 hours ago, Ryan Witmer said:

Thanks, it was a lot of fun making it.  I've made a few sound adjustments over the week and my testing is looking good.  I'm expecting to release the final version on Saturday.

 

....and The Atari Report will be ALL OVER IT!!! I will hold off on filming the review for it until the final version comes out.

 

BTW, any plans for an 8-bit version as I also own an XEGS and a 65XE and I know that 8-bit owners (especially all the folks on the 8-bit forums) CAN'T WAIT to get a hold of it.

[phuzaxeman]

21 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

 

....and The Atari Report will be ALL OVER IT!!! I will hold off on filming the review for it until the final version comes out.

 

BTW, any plans for an 8-bit version as I also own an XEGS and a 65XE and I know that 8-bit owners (especially all the folks on the 8-bit forums) CAN'T WAIT to get a hold of it.

Ryan already mentioned that he will release the game so 8bit programmers are free to work on a conversion. 

[+Ryan Witmer]

Alright, here she is.

 

I've made a few small changes over the last week, all related to sound.  No gameplay changes have been made since the release candidate.  Here's what has changed:

• Made some changes to the sound effect priorities.  There were a few experimental sound effects that never got released and I messed around with some of this stuff while testing those and never changed it back.  After playing for a bit I decided I needed to fix it.  You probably won't even notice this change, you would have to know exactly what to listen for, but it's there.
• When you pause the game, all sound effects stop.  This is fine, but for really long sound effects like the recognizer's entry/exit sounds this is weird because the sounds didn't start up again when you unpaused.  This has been fixed, and the recognizer sounds will pick up again like they should.
• I put in a slight delay before the game over music starts playing.  I did this because there's a sound effect that plays when the guard enemies catch you with their death sticks and this sound was being immediately clobbered by the music.  Seemed silly to have a sound effect that you would never hear, so I adjusted the timing.

Like I said up top, other than those changes this is identical to the release candidate.  The (hopefully) final build string is Release 1.0, 5/15/2021, 256 bytes from the end of the file as always.

 

I also made this release trailer:

 

And with that, we have a finished game.  Download includes the final ROM and the complete source code, GPL3 licensed.  I'm sure somebody will get cracking on an A8 port soon.  I'm always willing to help out and answer any questions about the source code.

 

I'm hoping to get a cartridge release in with Albert's next wave of games, so anyone who wants a sweet Intellidiscs cartridge should be able to get one by the end of the year.  I've also started work on my next project, which I'll post about once I have something to show.

 

Thanks again to everyone who helped me get to this point, and have fun!

intellidiscs.zip

[BIGHMW]

I'll be the first to chime in on this INSTANT 5200 CLASSIC, wonderfully done, the sound FX are right where they should be!!! My first game with this final build I was using trigger mode (with my CX24 ProLine stick through Redemption 5200 7800 Edition) was over 6500, My gameplay will get there as I focus more and get myself more involved with the game itself rather then have outside thoughts get in the way, that is how I USED TO excel on my gameplay back in the 80s and even at 55 (I will be turning 55, or is it 25 lol, it's actually 55!) I want to prove that I can still get it done.

 

I will be filming the episodes of all 4 editions of The Atari Report this weekend and this will be the featured game on the 5200 Edition. the episodes should be up either tonight or tomorrow morning but it'll be up there.

 

Wonderful job @Ryan Witmer, from one Washingtonian stuck up here on the Olympic Peninsula to another down the Hood Canal and across SR3 through SR16 and I-5 down in Burien, GREAT JOB DONE!!! Now if only our Mariners can start winning for a change!!! But until then at least we still have The Sounders!!! BEAT LAFC tomorrow!!!

[wolfy62]

Hi Ryan,

Thank you for making this.

I havent fired up my 5200 for about ten years,but I will now for this game when the cart is available as Deadly Discs was and is my favorite Intellivision game.

Well done,I can see everyone will love this version.

Much appreciated,Wolfy ??

[Synthpopalooza]

It was a pleasure to do the music and sounds on this.  Can't wait to see it released... and ported to A8

[+Ryan Witmer]

4 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

Now if only our Mariners can start winning for a change!!! But until then at least we still have The Sounders!!! BEAT LAFC tomorrow!!!

They started off so good, I don't know what happened!

 

2 hours ago, wolfy62 said:

Hi Ryan,

Thank you for making this.

I havent fired up my 5200 for about ten years,but I will now for this game when the cart is available as Deadly Discs was and is my favorite Intellivision game.

Well done,I can see everyone will love this version.

Much appreciated,Wolfy ??

I don't know if it's my favorite Intellivision game, but it's definitely top 5.  A lot of Intellivision people seemed to be really interested in this project, which was pretty cool to see.  I don't know if this version is better than the Intellivision one, it's a tough game to beat, but I think it's at least a fun variation on it.  Hope you enjoy it.

 

1 hour ago, Synthpopalooza said:

It was a pleasure to do the music and sounds on this.  Can't wait to see it released... and ported to A8

Thanks again for the help on this.  I'm so terrible with sound, and it was great to have someone on board who actually knew what they were doing.  I'm already kicking around some box designs for the cartridge release, and I'm sure an A8 port will show up pretty quickly.

[+sramirez2008]

28 minutes ago, Ryan Witmer said:

I'm already kicking around some box designs for the cartridge release,

Looking forward to the CIB?

[Synthpopalooza]

Should definitely go with the M Network box design here.