My 1st Atari 2600 game (Man Goes Down)

[Albert]

I'm attaching a binary that has a tiny little segment of music.  The data's fairly compact so maybe I could expand on it, but I'm not really sure it's the right style for MGD.

 

This demo is very cool, thanks for sharing it.

 

..Al

[birdie3]

That demo was wicked!!!

 

The tune would match MGD perfectly. I recommend making it into a I, IV, V - 12 bar blues progression (sort of like Moon Patrol) using the existing sequence as the root. Now that would be cool.

[Rob Mitchell]

Ok .. I finally got the latest demo of MGD working with the CC2. I had to change the bankswitch from F8 to F6. MGD is now a 16k BIN.

 

My gosh .. it works with the AtariVOX! And the high scores and three initials are saved despite OFF/ON ing the console! Freakin' amazing!

 

Alex, It would be cool if you made the AtariVOX pronounce MGD during every attract cycle. Maybe "HIGH SCORES" too? Other pronouncements? Currently it burps when a helipack or down arrow is picked up (as you know).

 

Other pronouncements: "Easy does it" when flapping/falling?

 

"That Stinks!" or "one for the crapper" with a low score?

 

Others?

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[+johnnywc]

Wow!!

 

I just started playing this game and it's unbelievable!!! Very addictive and has that old-school Atari game quality of being simple to play. I've managed a score of 78 and have seen the helicopter and skateboard??

 

Question: I was playing a game and doing quite well (for my standards) and saw what looked like a bubble. Unfortunately, when I tried to pick it up the game went black.

 

Any ideas? I think I'm playing the latest version. By the way - I'm playing on z26 with no parameters. Does this sound right?!?

 

Either way - it's a fantastic game and a must-buy IMO. Can't wait for it to go on sale.

 

Great job Alex!!

 

Thanks,

[salstadt]

Hehe, I love it! Very solid animation, too. Top notch job, dude.

 

- Adam

[bjk7382]

Question:  I was playing a game and doing quite well (for my standards) and saw what looked like a bubble.  Unfortunately, when I tried to pick it up the game went black.  

 

Any ideas?  I think I'm playing the latest version.  By the way - I'm playing on z26 with no parameters.  Does this sound right?!?

I already asked this question, and it went unanswered...

 

I just got the "bubble" powerup (not sure what it does) but the game crashed as soon as I touched it. (I was the using the helicopter powerup at the time.)

 

I can only imagine what the powerup does (it doesn't take a genius) but I wonder why the game completely crashes when you get it?

[Richard H.]

bjk7382 wrote:  

I just got the "bubble" powerup (not sure what it does) but the game crashed as soon as I touched it. (I was the using the helicopter powerup at the time.)

 

Alex H wrote:

Oops! I missed the "branch out of range" error when I assembled that. The CPU leaps for the bubble code, misses and plummets to it's death!  I'll post a working version shortly.

[bjk7382]

bjk7382 wrote:  

I just got the "bubble" powerup (not sure what it does) but the game crashed as soon as I touched it. (I was the using the helicopter powerup at the time.)

 

Alex H wrote:

Oops! I missed the "branch out of range" error when I assembled that. The CPU leaps for the bubble code, misses and plummets to it's death!  I'll post a working version shortly.

 

I don't remember seeing that post by him. I also just tried downloading that driver he links to, but it can't be found.. sounds kind of neat, since I can assemble the source easily and make it say whatever I want.

[uosipa llamxew]

I'm quite jealous of you guys who own Cuttle Carts. I hadn't realized the jump in filesize until I went to makewav the ROM for my Supercharger. Ah well, I have my Atarivox, now I just gotta wait for the Krokocart to be released so I can test it out! :-)

 

I also just tried downloading that driver he links to, but it can't be found..

I hope Alex doesn't mind if I attach it here in the forum. If there is a problem, I'll ask a mod to remove it.

 

BTW, does anyone know if there are plans for Atarivox emulation in Stella or z26?

[Rob Mitchell]

I also just tried downloading that driver he links to, but it can't be found.. sounds kind of neat, since I can assemble the source easily and make it say whatever I want.

 

It is neat! I still have the record for the most gregarious program which uses the VecVoice/ VecVox. Yak Yak Yak Yak Yak Yak Yak.

 

Go to www.vectrex.biz for the AtariVox driver download.

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[kisrael]

very nice demo indeed...

 

heh, I liked the music I came up with for JoustPong but it doesn't do as much interesting stuff w/ the sound...

[Richard H.]

BTW, does anyone know if there are plans for Atarivox emulation in Stella or z26?

 

The EEPROM-save is going into z26

 

Full emulation of the SpeakJet chip (in the AtariVox) will be hard, although a simple emulation with a set of fixed samples would work.

 

The SPO256-AL2 emulators that use samples sound OK (ish)

[Richard H.]

I don't remember seeing that post by him

 

It's the 20th post down from the top -

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.p...r=asc&start=100

[+johnnywc]

Unbelievably addicting game. I just put this on my CC2 and played it on a real Atari (7800). Except for the fuzzy RF video (but that's for another thread ). Finally broke the 100 barrier (102) when I hit a series of (!) power-ups in the blue zone.

 

Tip of the day: Avoid the BUBBLE OF DEATH!!!

 

Thanks again Alex,

[+thegoldenband]

This game is terrific, and just as addictive as everyone's claiming! I'm looking forward very much to the next update. Here's my high score at the moment:

[+thegoldenband]

I was playing today and grabbed the bubble, and the game didn't crash! A bubble formed around my character, but unfortunately it "popped" on the edge of a platform before I got the chance to see what it would do. This was the first time I'd ever seen the bubble, so...

 

By the way, what does the exclamation mark item do? Anything yet? And is the select cheat still working in this version? It doesn't seem to do anything on my system (Mac OS 9.2.1, Stella 1.2).

[Big Player]

Here is my latest high score. It helps that in the latest version, when you get the skateboard, it never goes away.

 

Great game. I can't wait until it's finished.

[+thegoldenband]

I got the bubble! I couldn't really tell what it does, though -- it seemed to slow me down and slow down my character's descent, neither of which is that desirable (especially at later stages). But my game didn't crash or anything. Here's a screenshot of the end:

[+thegoldenband]

A new high score of 211! Dare I hope that I might be the current "Man Goes Down" World Record-Holder?

 

(I'd been looking for an excuse to bump this thread, in hopes that some new development might've taken place... So, a skateboard, a run of good luck, and voila! I think I could've taken it farther if I'd been more patient/less tired...)

[+Nathan Strum]

Wow! That's some score. I've only broken 100 twice.

 

I have an idea for another power-up: rubber walls.

 

This would help in the blue levels by bouncing you off the wall at a high speed, and help you reach those elusive gaps faster.

 

Great game - I can't stop playing it.

[bjk7382]

32 "stop signs"!!!!

[Rob Mitchell]

Dang! I'm lucky to get 74+

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[miker]

ok - here's mine:

 

73

 

Sorry for pic quality - screen taken from z26

[+thegoldenband]

This game is so much fun -- I have to make myself set it aside, lest I fail to write the paper I have to get done by Monday!

 

I haven't gotten anywhere close to my 211 score lately, though I did manage 153 just now (clocking up 16 "stop signs"). Typically, I'll get into the blue zone after the sequence helicopter -> helicopter -> skateboard, without missing any fruits. (Sometimes it's gravity -> helicopter -> skateboard, which is much trickier.) I'll collect my third fruit right before or after the blue zone, and then if luck permits, I'll grab the fourth fruit, and then about 75% of the time, the item will be a stop sign. (If it's not -- the alternative is typically a second skateboard, though I've seen a bubble come up -- you're pretty much out of luck.)

 

From that point on, it's just a matter of waiting as long as possible to commit your guy in any way, so that wherever the stop sign may appear, you give him as much opportunity as possible to grab it. No matter how skillfully you play, though, it'll eventually appear in a place that's simply impossible to reach, and you'll have to start from scratch again. After that -- unless you have a stroke of extraordinary luck with both fruit and gap placement -- it's just a matter of time before your man meets an untimely end.

 

It must be kind of a bittersweet feeling for the developer to have written such a fantastic 2600 game now, in 2004 -- in the sense that, if this had come out 20-22 years ago, I think that (given the right marketing and a little luck) it would've sold thousands upon thousands of copies. It's that good! I hope it gets completed soon.

 

Other than the blue zone fix, about the only gameplay issue right now is that the gravity item is frustratingly unhelpful, so that if you get it instead of the helicopter, it's tempting to just reset the game. One thought: what if you had an item that oscillated between two items -- say, gravity, and the bubble? If the game's early stages were prolonged, both items could become more useful.

 

I'm trying to imagine other possible items. The obvious candidates would be something that would permit the man to pass through floors (teleport, bomb/mine, jackhammer) or, maybe, to wrap around horizontally (which could add an interesting strategic twist). But the game is so delicately balanced right now, I wouldn't want to upset that!

[+thegoldenband]

One thought: what if you had an item that oscillated between two items -- say, gravity, and the bubble?

 

I should've been clearer about this -- in other words, an item that oscillates between different choices before you pick it up, so that if your timing is right, you can choose which one you'd like to have.