NostAlgae37

Hey Karl G, can you please take a photo of your CRT screen while running one of the 20200515 releases (post# 730)? I want to compare how the white pawns look in that release to the one that you are running in the photo above. Thanks!

Yeah, he does that in the arcade version, too (check out a sprite sheet sometime if you don't believe me). I consider it a sinister grin.

Oh I see, but did he mean all of the higher level pieces (which touch each other at the sides when they are next to one another), or was he pointing out how the top of the bishop's hat protrudes (or at least appears to) beyond the confines of the lined space that it occupies into the black one above? (You can see this clearly with the bottom left white bishop in the screenshot that he supplied.) Because it might be possible to shorten the bishop by 1 pixel, but I think that the result would look considerably worse. As for the new pawn design, I'd be curious to see how both colors look on a CRT before deciding whether to scrap it or not. Maybe someone here can take a photo of their TV screen while running one of the 20200515 releases? Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing or able.

The EXO Project title has me thinking just how awesome a game based on the original SDF Macross TV series (or even the DYRL movie) could be on the 7800... The Track and Field and Sonic demos are also very impressive, I wasn't sure that the 7800 was capable of pushing graphics in this manner and generating such fluid animation.

I think that Andrew's reply to your question was sufficient, but I just wanted to point out that the offending piece that was bothering you has already been redesigned to be less vexatious in the manner that you described. The screenshot that you posted was from an outdated version of the rom, the current version has the white pawns looking nearly identical in their design to the "black" pawns so that there is more uniformity in the shape of the pieces. This was intentional and I hope that you like the way that they look better now.

Yay for more speed! Now if only I could remember how to play chess like I did when I was younger, and not stink so much at it like I do now. And my kingdom for square spaces on the board instead of rounded...

Speaking of Atari 2600 charm, has there been any progress with Chaotic Grill lately?

I understand that you are trying to improve the color contrast of the "black" pieces, but honestly I think that the overall shape and appearance of the black pawns looked much better in the older screenshots (like back in post #395, for instance). I don't really see the recent changes as an improvement, actually I think that now the pawns for each color look more disparate in shape and less symmetrical. Just my 2 cents worth.

I was playing some of this cool game the other day and wondered if a decent port of this could be achieved on the 7800's hardware. Any thoughts? I also enjoy the SG-1000's port of H.E.R.O. and have to believe that the 7800 would be a great platform for an upgrade to the 2600 versions of both this title and Demon Attack.

These 2 mockups in particular make me drool over the potential of the XM.

Ack! It looks like low-res digitized graphics! I think that I'm having bad late eighties/early nineties flashbacks... j/k

Or each should be at least 1.5 times (if that is even possible) the size that they currently are, if the 2 times makes each look too long. Does everything have to be in multiples of 2 when it comes to sprite sizing (in other words, 2x, 4x, 8x or can there be a 3x, 6x, etc.)?

This gimmick is the best yet, and makes playing the game feel very natural. It also has a very "VCS-innovative" quality to it, if that makes any sense at all (it seems like a trick that the programmers of that era might have actually utilized back in the day). Oh wait Andrew, you are actually one of the programmers of that era, aren't you?

I didn't think that it was possible to make this game any better than it already was, but you went ahead and did it anyway. You are an incredible game designer and programmer, so many of your titles are top-notch.

This new version is awesome (much better than the earlier versions, which were still good but maybe a tiny bit too difficult). It seems to have just the right amount of challenge and even better graphics than before. I love it, it is so much fun to play.

But I meant that each one should be double the size that they currently are, even in the Release Candidate ROM (in other words, the shorter one should be the size that the longer one currently is and the longer one should be twice as long as it is now).

Wow, that looks amazing, Andrew. I love it, nice work with the pawn redesign.

I almost feel that since the game was still in a state of development and not finished, why should we be content with the placeholder graphics that the prototype has? I doubt that most people would feel that the music that is present is at an acceptable standard for a cartridge release, so why not update the graphics also and make the cart release something really worth acquiring (rather than just a historical curiosity)? And for all these reasons, I would prefer a released version to have completely updated sprites and backgrounds done by you, provided that you have the time for and interest in such a project.

I'm holding out for "In Sum" and "Moreover"!

On the 2600? I'd think that an idea like that would be better suited for the 7800. I'd be on board for that, and might even be willing to help out by making sprite art for it if a programmer would emerge with an interest in tackling such a project.

Hi POLARIA POYON, here's one for you to try out with the synthesizer/sound chip of your choice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KRl_pLl4vo It is one of the most beloved themes in the world and it inspires many fond nostalgic memories for those who watched the original 1986 CCTV television adaptation of Xi You Ji (Journey to the West), based upon a classic work of Chinese literature. The music has a haunting lyrical quality to it, so it might be difficult to do justice to with chip tunes but that is where the challenge lies.

I'm a bit torn about this one... I think that the new ones in the middle look better and less like barbells, but it does make the pawns have a significantly higher base than the other pieces on the board. Also, the right side of the cap of the pawn above the king blends in with the board square that it is overlaid upon.

Hmm, I wonder if that is worth trying out, just to see if it looks better or worse. I know that when I make sprites, I go through several iterations until I settle upon what I think looks most harmonious to the eyes (one pixel here or there is particularly impactful at these extremely low resolutions).

Cart and box, please! Also instructions, if possible.

I think that yours still looks better. j/k but it's not a fair comparison by any standard, what you've accomplished with the 2600's limited graphics capabilities is more impressive in my opinion.