Jack-Ass Tramiel
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Posts posted by Jack-Ass Tramiel
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I've had the damnedest time trying to read the DK disassembly of the ROM. Specifically, I'm not sure where the game level data is located. But my guess is that the programmer did some clever tricks in order to store the layouts.
The levels are stored by various levels of indirection. There are a lot of low-byte-only tables which point at different areas in the ROM where little parts of the graphics data is stored. And the offsets to those tables are loaded from other tables. Quite complicated...Therefore it won't be easy to hack the level layout (if possible at all). And even if you are able to change the graphics I am quite sure that the gameplay has also to be adjusted.
Yes, this is pretty much what I suspected when I examined the disassembly. I came to a same (though not as technically detailed) conclusion. In layman's terms, I figured that the layout was "scrambled" and spread throughout the code, done this way in order to save on memory usage. I'm glad you've confirmed this, putting any doubts I had to rest.
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I've had the damnedest time trying to read the DK disassembly of the ROM. Specifically, I'm not sure where the game level data is located. But my guess is that the programmer did some clever tricks in order to store the layouts.
If I could figure out where the layouts are located, then maybe I could attempt to hack the levels.
Would anybody here know how to read the disassembly? If somebody could direct me to where they think (or know for certain) where the game level layout data is located, then maybe I could do something with it and attempt to create the levels that are roughly based on the two other levels of the arcade version.
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Sorry, but there is no DK hack.
That picture of the cement factory is a proof-of-concept that I put together with a paint program. From that picture, I attempted to redo the rivet level to look like my cement factory test. But, as I detailed in my post above, I concluded that this is impossible to do.
I was also going to redo the first board to make it resemble the jumping jackhammer screen. Instead of moving elevators, the platforms would be stationary. The barrels would be changed to springs that would not bounce but, instead, rain down from random points as they move across from the left to right of the girder below Kong. Unfortunately, I concluded that the first level, too, would be impossible to modify.
I'd like to hear from somebody who has also tried to hack the level layouts of Donkey Kong, and who could either confirm or refute my conclusions. (I hope that I am wrong because, after all, then I could create my hack.) To date, I have neither come across a level hack of Donkey Kong or somebody, like me, who has tried to modify the level design.
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A year ago I attempted to hack the rivet level into an approximation of the cement factory level. (See below.)
Unfortunately, upon studying the code, I discovered that the rivet level could not be altered much. Floors #2 to #5 are the same -- the code stores the information for one floor (specifically, half of it), then simply replicates it four times -- and mirrors it -- to create the multiple floors.
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How about "Adventure Redux"?
Also, is it possible to change the player-character into something else? Like a mini-knight fig?
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David, I'm assuming that the cube's sections don't actually move, correct? It's just the colors themselves that shift.
This is kind of neat, but I never understood the point of any of these virtual versions of Rubik's Cube, other than for Atari hoping to capitalize on this sensation. A real Cube would cost less than a 2600 cartridge, after all. Perhaps if you could set the colors of the virtual cube to match the ones on a real cube, and then have the program solve the puzzle for you step-by-step. That could be cool.
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Oh, yeah, and the game sounds should be the same ones from the original Adventure.
Hope you can use my suggestions. I think this is a uber-cool mod project.
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If you intend to fully recreate Adventure in 3D with your mod...
I suggest then that the player model should be a hovering cube. And set the in-game "camera" in the third-person perspective.
Maybe you could also take the original AI code directly from the original Adventure to script out the actions of the dragons and other enemies.
All of this seems like it could be completely do-able -- using Q3 to build a version of Adventure that plays exactly like the original 2600 version but everything is in glorious 3D.
That would rock.
As for moving the bridges, would doing this as a weapon mod work? You find a "gun" which you can use to cross over from one side to another? I'm not familiar with how weapon mods work with Q3.
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Cynicism and insults are ugly message board traits that I rarely ever find here at AtariAge. It's refreshing and one reason why I enjoy coming to this site. I don't know if Alex and Albert do any major editing of these boards, but, for some reason, I doubt they have to. There's just something about the old school Atari culture, combined with the colorful design of this site, I think, which lends to the pleasant atmosphere here.
With that in mind, I'm not really sure what to think of these guys and what they are doing and or want to do. Using an analogy, it's like people coming up with ideas for novels or movies and asking others to write/produce them. (That might work in Hollywood, if you're already a super-producer, but this is another topic of discussion.)
So I have some genuinely friendly and constructive advice to give: Somebody once pointed out that ideas are like ***holes (<--my own censorship) -- everybody has them. Thus, ideas onto themselves aren't really worth much. It's whether you can execute them that matters. Do you have the ability, or access to the means, to execute your ideas? If the answer is no, then your ideas are worthless.
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So will this be released as a ROM, or is it not technically possible to play this on an emu?
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I'm curious as to how adding the voices was done technically. Can the ROM be played on an emulator, or do the carts contain a special chip to play back the audio?
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On a separate but related note, the layout of this overlay always bugged me. Why didn't they arrange the buttons in a neat cross-hair pattern, instead of the boring "first five buttons on the keypad" arrangment? For example, put Gal Map in the center, then have the button above be Fore View, the button below be Hyperwarp, the button to the left be Computer On/Off and the button to the right Shields On/Off. Then the rest of the layout should have been prettied up with some cool graphics that make the keypad look like the control panel of a star fighter cockpit.
There were many instances in the design of the Atari 2600 (from Atari, not from those like Activision) games that made me conclude that most of these programmers were not artists, did not have artistic design skills, nor had interest whatsoever in executing design sense. (Look at the graphics to Galaxian, Mario Bros. and Pac-Man.) Star Raiders' keypad layout to me is just another frustrating example of a "eh, whatever" design sensibility.
J-AT
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I was thinking about this the other day. Could Star Castle be brought to the 2600? Would it be difficult to program?
I think this would be a cool one to see brought to the 2600. Hope somebody out there who's looking for ideas for their next 2600 homebrew considers this.
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I remember Space Zap as a kid, too (playing it in the movie theater lobby after seeing "Star Wars" for the first time). To the author: Thank you for making this -- I LOVE it, and it's the perfect game to bring to the 2600. Will you be releasing a binary with sound and the improved graphics? I would love to play this with sound.
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Hmmm, all this talk about this Activision classic makes me wonder: Has anybody hacked the ROM so that you can play the game with unlimited lives and the time limit removed?
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Here's my humble suggestion:
Modify David Exton's entry (the first place winner) so that the layout and font is in the style of the old-school Atari label (the style with artwork on it which was used prior to the red-silver label design).
Modify Chris Johnson's entry (the second place winner) so that the layout and font is in the style of the Sears Tele-Games label style.
Use the above two label designs as the regular styles that people can buy (they have a choice between old-school Atari or Sears Telegames styles).
Use Cristiana Yambo's entry (third place) as the "modern-day" variant which is limited to only 50 or 100 copies.
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I like the artwork of David Exton's #1. If this artwork were combined with the Atari red silver label design and typeface, it would be perfect.
I also like the one where the letters "q" and "b" are spelled out as the playfield. Very clever.
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The guys doing the SwordQuest homebrew might want to register "SwordQuest".
Not sure if anything could be done with the variants on "Atari." That's be like registering "AOL Sucks" or "Starbuck's Blows" and starting a company under either of these names.
"Kee Games" could be interesting though. I feel that the next stage in the evolution of the 2600 homebrew programming scene is to create an open-source style community that supports the development of new 2600 games. "Kee Games" could be a good name for such a communal "open" game development company/scene.
What's the status of "Caverns of Mars"? That game is perfect for the homebrew scene.
J-AT
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Not to downplay the other contributions or to influence the final decision, but I simply LOVE Matthew Vigor's label design. It would be THE slickest looking Hozer Game label for an original game. In fact, it makes me want to buy Gunfight just so I can have the cartridge. I'm seriously thinking about buying the cart now from Hozer if his label is selected, and I had no intention originally to do so.
J-AT
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Matthew B. Vigor's is the one I think should be selected, in my humble opinion. No insult to the other entries (which are all good and retro in their own ways), but Matthew's is the slickest looking one of all. It conveys a simple and powerful impression of the game, helping to sell it as well.
http://www.atariage.com/features/Gunfight/...thewBVigor.html
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HERO and Keystone Kapers are definitely the ones which have the most possibility. I can easily see these two being translated to the PS2 or Xbox as third-person action platformers (the recently released Soul Reaver 2 would be an example of this genre). I can also see Keystone Kapers featuring multigamer where four people can play at once in a split-screen mode.
I can even see Stampede brought up to date. In fact, Sega produced an arcade game, Safari Hunt (I think it's called), that plays like a 3D graphics version of Stampede.
The problem with River Raid, Starmaster and Enduro is that there are lots of games already that play like updated versions of these three. A modern-day Enduro would probably look not much different from countless other racing titles out on the market. River Raid would probably be an updated Afterburner clone, like so many other jetfighter shooters out in the market.
However, it might work if the gameplay focuses only on flying your jet at a low altitude, sweeping side to side to avoid battleships, and racing toward a bridge to blow up.
J-AT
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Well this makes me wonder: How many other lost games are there that have been reviewed in enough detail, and which there are screenshots of, which could be recreated, too?
J-AT
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This is quite enlightening then. It makes me wonder how accurately other lost games can be recreated, depending upon the amount of information gathered (like Lord of the Rings).
J-AT
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Don't know if this has been discussed already, but how close is Christian's version of Ewok Adventure that he did for his VCS simulator to the actual game?
J-AT
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A-VCS-tec Challenge
in Atari 2600
Posted
This reminds of Level 2 of Lucky Wander Boy.