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How many want to help inspire DearHorse to make a comeback and retry doing Phoenix for 8-bit/5200???


BIGHMW

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I read the terrible news about what happened to the long-awaited project that @DearHorse wanted to do years ago when he wanted to bring Phoenix to the Atari 8-bit and somehow the files got lost, I even saw the photos of what he envisioned to be the finished project in which would've brought this arcade classic to the 8-bit computer lineup (and maybe the 5200). Currently the only Atari system that has this game is the venerable 2600 in which has a pretty decent version in its own right, but think of how much better it would look on 8-bit/5200!!! Maybe this project might even spill over into the 7800 lineup with the great @PacManPlus perhaps chiming in with technical expertise on how to do it, but before we can maybe inspire him to port Moon Cresta, UniWarS, Astro Blaster and Astro Fighter to "Big Sexy" and the 8-bit computer lineup, we need to inspire @DearHorse to get back on it with whatever memory he may have of his original program in order to make Phoenix come true, nothing says he can't get back on the "horse", so to speak. I am doing this as rapper AK47 this coming month with my first proper album in 17 YEARS (Hadlock's Most Wanted - 2004, was the last one before it), and if I can make a comeback (and at 55 years of age at that!), then so can he.

Edited by BIGHMW
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I start my recording sessions after I get my CD-Rs to burn mixloops and SD cards to use on my Zoom R8 8-track recorder, then we can start recording the tracks!!! If I can get back on the "horse", then so can @DearHorse!!! If I make MY comeback album, in which by the way, is titled "Still Ruthless", then HE can somehow come up with Phoenix, maybe @PacManPlus and/or @playsoft can help him out or inspire him or offer technical advice as well.

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17 hours ago, Rybags said:

Recent efforts like Time Pilot, Bosconian and especially the WIP Galaga prove that it can be done.

Being a similar game, the Galaga code could probably serve as a base for Phoenix.  But of course, it's somebody else's and it's not complete.

I'm wondering if the Galaga codebase might not be overkill for Phoenix.

 

It's been a long time since I looked at MAME's Phoenix driver, but IIRC Phoenix (and Pleiades) ran in a text mode without using sprites.  They did some clever stuff with manipulating the individual character locations, but I don't believe that they had particularly complex graphics hardware.

 

Not sure if this would be a hindrance or a benefit to porting the game(s) to the A8, but it could potentially also provide an engine for other early Jaleco games like Pop Flamer and Naughty Boy, both of which combined probably have a grand total of five fans :-D

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Well,  I for one have been dreaming of Phoenix on Atari 8bit for 35 years.  Astro Blaster and Astro Fighter were also faves back in the early 80s arcades. Many good homebrew arcade clones have come out in the last 20 years,  but Phoenix is my biggest wish-someone-would-make-it game. 

 

 

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On 10/5/2021 at 2:13 AM, carlsson said:

If someone ports C64 games to A8, perhaps Eagle Empire would be a worthwhile addition? Someone on Lemon64 once commented that game is the best Phoenix type game to play besides the original arcade game in MAME.

I'll take that one anybody willing to make it happen for 8-bit and 5200 owners like myself, we already have great variations of other arcade classics, like Castle Crisis (Warlords), Beef Drop (Burgertime), and Star Island (Star Castle) on both 8-bit and the 5200 so why not???

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Licking my chops right about now after seeing this clip, somebody make it happen for 8-bit/5200!!! I don't think @DearHorse is ever gonna be back in the building let alone be able to recollect his remembrance of his work so this wonderful rendition for C64 will most certainly do. An 8-bit/5200 version can certainly be in the cards IMO, just so long as it can be in NTSC as well as PAL (I believe this may be a UK download, all the USA download sites loook sketchy so I found the first one I could find, out of the UK).

 

 

 

Eagle-Empire_BBC-Micro_EN.zip Eagle Empire (1984)(Alligata Software)[a].zip EAGLEEMP_02431_02.zip

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1 hour ago, Mr Robot said:

Why don’t you take a crack at it? It seems to be something you are passionate about and for me that’s always been the biggest driver for me to learn a new skill or get much better at one I already have. 
 

 

I agree whole-heartedly.

 

You, BIGHMW, seem to come on here frequently, requesting someone do this or that, or requesting other's help in convincing someone else to do this or that, often in an almost badgering tone, sometimes a downright belligerent tone, though that  doesn't seem to be the case in this particular thread. For as much as you'd like done, and as many games as you'd like converted from or to one system or another, it really seems like you should take on the task of bettering yourself and learning to code and do these things yourself. I'm certain you'd find creating these excellent ports and providing them to your fellow Atari lovers, very rewarding. In a way, it might be a way of insuring your immortality.

 

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3 hours ago, bfollowell said:

 

I agree whole-heartedly.

 

You, BIGHMW, seem to come on here frequently, requesting someone do this or that, or requesting other's help in convincing someone else to do this or that, often in an almost badgering tone, sometimes a downright belligerent tone, though that  doesn't seem to be the case in this particular thread. For as much as you'd like done, and as many games as you'd like converted from or to one system or another, it really seems like you should take on the task of bettering yourself and learning to code and do these things yourself. I'm certain you'd find creating these excellent ports and providing them to your fellow Atari lovers, very rewarding. In a way, it might be a way of insuring your immortality.

 

 

Hey thank you, I appreciate the idea of maybe challenging myself to try something new, in fact, if you read my blockbuster announcement on my official BIGHMW Facebook page of my intended comeback as rapper AK47, with starting recording sessions of my first new proper album IN NEARLY 18 YEARS, "Still Ruthless", I already have my hands full with just that but at least I have uploaded a couple of tutorial videos onto an SD card that I downloaded off of YouTube, to step me through learning the ropes of my Zoom R8 recorder, in which will be used for this new recording. Maybe if you one of you guys can post up a couple of tutorial videos on how to convert programs from one system-to-another, whether it be 5200-to-8-bit, 8-bit-to-5200, or C64-to-8-bit (and maybe perhaps C64-to-5200 as well) then that would help. Thanks! :)  I may not have the brain matter I used to back in the early 80s when I was learning TRS-80 programming just for fun down at a local Radio Shack during my old days in L.A. but maybe this would certainly be worth a try. All I need are some vids on how to do it, I could always download those off of the web and onto SD cards to study on my MP4 player on my 39" Insignia TV in HD (or somewhat)!!!

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13 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

Hey thank you, I appreciate the idea of maybe challenging myself to try something new, in fact, if you read my blockbuster announcement on my official BIGHMW Facebook page of my intended comeback as rapper AK47, with starting recording sessions of my first new proper album IN NEARLY 18 YEARS, "Still Ruthless", I already have my hands full with just that but at least I have uploaded a couple of tutorial videos onto an SD card that I downloaded off of YouTube, to step me through learning the ropes of my Zoom R8 recorder, in which will be used for this new recording. Maybe if you one of you guys can post up a couple of tutorial videos on how to convert programs from one system-to-another, whether it be 5200-to-8-bit, 8-bit-to-5200, or C64-to-8-bit (and maybe perhaps C64-to-5200 as well) then that would help. Thanks! :)  I may not have the brain matter I used to back in the early 80s when I was learning TRS-80 programming just for fun down at a local Radio Shack during my old days in L.A. but maybe this would certainly be worth a try. All I need are some vids on how to do it, I could always download those off of the web and onto SD cards to study on my MP4 player on my 39" Insignia TV in HD (or somewhat)!!!

 

 

I'm sure you could do it. I'd be glad to help you if I could, but like you, I never acquired that particular set of skills. Also like you, I have some projects I'd love to see on our beloved 8-bits. I'd love to see one of the more modern z-code (Infocom) interpreters ported to the A8, but no one seems ready to undertake it. I've thought about trying to teach myself enough to take it on myself, maybe make it a retirement project, if I ever retire, but I haven't started yet. Too bad we're too far away or maybe we could both take it on and challenge and help each other. Remember, you're never too old to learn new things. Good luck with your rapping resurgence. Definitely not my type of thing, but I wish you well with it.

 

For what it's worth, I'd love to see Phoenix and other great arcade ports on our A8s, 5200 and computer versions.

 

Edited by bfollowell
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On 10/10/2021 at 9:44 AM, bfollowell said:

 

I'm sure you could do it. I'd be glad to help you if I could, but like you, I never acquired that particular set of skills. Also like you, I have some projects I'd love to see on our beloved 8-bits. I'd love to see one of the more modern z-code (Infocom) interpreters ported to the A8, but no one seems ready to undertake it. I've thought about trying to teach myself enough to take it on myself, maybe make it a retirement project, if I ever retire, but I haven't started yet. Too bad we're too far away or maybe we could both take it on and challenge and help each other. Remember, you're never too old to learn new things. Good luck with your rapping resurgence. Definitely not my type of thing, but I wish you well with it.

 

For what it's worth, I'd love to see Phoenix and other great arcade ports on our A8s, 5200 and computer versions.

 

Maybe once I smarten up and learn the skills (first) of converting from 8-bit-to-5200 (and the reverse), maybe Big Sexy owners will finally be able to play Space Eggs (Moon Cresta) and Threshold (Astro Blaster, the arcade game NOT the pinball simulation of that name), then we'll start talking about C64-to-8-bit for Eagle Empire (Phoenix) after that.

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5 minutes ago, BIGHMW said:

Maybe once I smarten up and learn the skills (first) of converting from 8-bit-to-5200 (and the reverse), maybe Big Sexy owners will finally be able to play Space Eggs (Moon Cresta) and Threshold (Astro Blaster, the arcade game NOT the pinball simulation of that name), then we'll start talking about C64-to-8-bit for Eagle Empire (Phoenix) after that.

Go for it! ?

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15 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Go for it! ?

Maybe this thread might help me out, in my quest to convert 5200-to-A8 so I can play everything 5200 on my XEGS!!! What do you guys think, would it make it easier for me to (eventually) cruise through it and finally play all those 5200-only titles on my XEGS???

 

 

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1 hour ago, Mr Robot said:

Do you have a list of 5200 only titles? I thought they had all been converted to XL/XE now 

 

 

Yes I do.

 

Here they are, including all of the homebrews:

 

Asteroids - @playsoft's most recent 8-bit conversion with improved defense he did for all of us this past July so we have an original Atari Asteroids port that actually works perfectly

Castle Blast (2002)

Combat 2: Advanced

Haunted House II 3-D

Gauntlet

Klax

Atari Tris

Irata's Quest

Tempest (AtariAge 2012 fully-finished version not the 1984 prototype)

Xari Arena (AtariAge fully-finished version not the 1984 prototype)

Hangly-Man

Pac-Man Plus

Yar's Strike @playsoft's new and improved 5200 conversion that he made for us last year (NOT the version Homesoft "transferred" back to 8-bit as that one does not have the moving galaxy of stars, and, it still has the bugs in the even numbered waves, the ones with the rotating shields that playsoft ironed out on his great 5200 version).

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1 hour ago, Mr Robot said:

OK let me rephrase that. Do you have a list of 5200 only titles where the file is available for someone to convert.

Publicly or anyway they got it? I DO have the files, I acquired and paid for them a few years ago (2018).

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