karnov

I traveled to the future and I am releasing Gamebot on YouTube. No more technical worries. Here is Episode 4:

Here is another video of two hillbillies playing video games. Episode 4 of Gamebot:

Yes - this is the final contest for this season but all you need to do is play and post your score with a screenshot. Awesome, Thanks! I'll start practicing.

Hello! We here at Gamebot now do a classic game podcast called Gamebot Live. It is available at iTunes, you can download the episodes from gamebotonline.com or grab this feed: www.gamebotonline.com/podcast.xml. There is also a video podcast (Gamebot Episode 5) and some "Gamebot Quickies" on the same feed. Here is our last episode: Gamebot Live Episode 8 (right click and "Save As"). A couple of my cohosts are whipper-snappers but two of us are over 30 (never thought I'd be bragging about THAT!) and we cover as much Atari and everything pre 1995 as possible. Our general rule is-if it's not on cartridge, get off the subject as quickly as possible. We do touch on current sequels to older games like Contra 4 but almost every episode has a "Quarter Munchers" segment where we compare coin-ops to their ports-and many of those are Atrai 2600 versions (The last one we did was Joust). And P.S. we only do the comparison on actual hardware and actual coin-ops. We also do classic game trivia every episode. Episode 6 was an Atari 2600 30th anniversay special. Those of you who remember the Gamebot TV show know that I have an accent-it's still there ("I can't shake 'em!")-but I hope you will give it a shot. If you do listen, please give feedback here or by mailing mail@gamebotonline.com. If you know how to make it better or want to join us, mail us. Thanks! Blake

Can I still get in on this?

Thanks for answering my question, however when tinkering around with the example file that comes with the zip called ms.bas (the one with 5 movable numbers), I stuck in a: if collision(playfield,player1) then player1[a]x = player1[a]x + 1 (syntax may be wrong-writing from memory) and even when I completely cleared the playfield, the sprite moved right as if it was always touching the playfield. I cleared the playfield by using: playfield: ................ end I just started playing with the multisprite kernal so hopefully my mistake will be obvious. If I do get collision to work, can anyone point me to a good explaination of how to draw the playfield in this kernal, its not as simple as I thought, the dots and X's do not translate the way I think they will, also on an interesting note, I plugged some zeros into the playfield graphics and it compiled with strange results. Thanks and all feedback is appreciated.

Is playfield,player collision detection impossible using the multisprite kernel? Thanks!

My version of Stella runs the game I'm working on perfectly but I wanted to test it on a Supercharger. I converted the file into .wav but it will not work. I have not been able to find out if there is more to it than simply converting it to the .wav file and loading it. The game seems to load fine but then after displaying the message STOP TAPE, the screen turns to colorful zigzaggy bars. Is there something I need to do to adjust the timing that my version of Stella is doing for me? My friends version of Stella would not run the program either. These problems have made me wonder if games made in Batari can be put onto cartridges. Has anyone successfully but a Batari game onto cartridge or tested it with their Supercharger? Thanks! any help is appreciated.

There are a few options. One, you can use the multisprite kernel, which always uses a reflected PF, but it has other limitations. If using the standard kernel, you can do this by hacking std_kernel.asm. In this file you will see several places with writes to playfield registers in a row, i.e.: lda ... sta PF1 lda ... sta PF2 lda ... sta PF2 lda ... sta PF1 Perhaps the easiest way would be to change the last two writes to $3F, i.e.: lda ... sta PF1 lda ... sta PF2 lda ... sta $3F lda ... sta $3F This will prevent the kernel from writing to the right half of the screen and will reflect the left side. You can then use the right-side variables for other purposes with dim, i.e.: dim myvar1=playfield+2 dim myvar2=playfield+3 dim myvar3=playfield+6 dim myvar4=playfield+7 dim myvar5=playfield+10 dim myvar6=playfield+11 ... and so on ... dim myvar23=playfield+46 dim myvar24=playfield+47 The problem with doing the above, however, is that the drawing routines may still attempt to draw there if your X value is >=16, and pfscroll and pfclear will certainly obliterate these variables since they still expect a full width playfield. Thanks! I am not very comfortable with 6502 assembly yet. What do I need to put after the ldas (ex. lda...)? Also, I am using the first version of batari.

Can I reflect playfield graphics from the left side of the screen to the right side? I fooled around with the playfield registers, but was only able to reverse playfield graphics previously plotted onto the right side. I need to reuse playfield graphics plotted on the left side on the right side to save memory. Thanks for reading everyone, and please ask if you need clarification.

www.gamebotonline.com gamebot Hello! This is Blake with gamebot! www.gamebotonline.com is up and running. Any of you who did not purchase the Gamebot Volume 1 DVD at conventions or from the site, but wanted it, should go there before we run out. There are only 12 left and there will be no more created once they're gone. The DVD includes episodes 5, 6, and 7 for $7.00 (includes shipping) and you can get the add-on disc, which snaps into the Volume 1 case, with lost episodes 3 and 4 for $3.00 (includes shipping). There are links to view clips from the show if you want to try before you buy. If you have any questions or comments contact me at gamebot@adelphia.net. Thanks!! Blake www.gamebotonline.com

Hello, I wanted to invite everyone to see the new gamebot website. It is www.gamebotonline.com. Now you can download a new episode each month from the front page. I run out of bandwidth fast so hurry! Don't forget to go to the donations link and purchase a gamebot DVD. I would love any feedback you have for us. Post it here or email me directly from the site. We will be at the cinciclassic with new high score contests! I hope to see everyone there! Thanks for reading!

Hello, The new GAMEBOT site has free downloadable episodes. GAMEBOT is a classic video game show created by Blake and Scott Leftwich. We cover a lot of Atari carts and systems because WE LOVE ATARI! I would ultimately like to have all the episodes available for download for free. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

Hello, I updated WWW.GAMEBOTTV.COM with new smaller clips in .mpg format which are easier to download and watch. Thanks for all the feedback guys! BLAKE

I'm glad you watched the DVD. I am always looking for ways to improve GAMEBOT, and want future shows to be more educational. Thanks for the comments! I do have a disc of lost episodes (episodes 3 and 4) which are available for $5 including shipping that snaps into the GAMEBOT case you have. It is not on the site yet. E-mail me directly (mail@gamebottv.com) if you are interested. Episodes 1, 2, and 3 hopefully will be available on Volume 2. Thanks again!

I am working on new clips that will be easier to download for dial-up users. Thanks for the comments!

Thanks Stingray and Famicoman. Let me know how it goes so I can send you a DVD. THANKS!

Hello I really appreciate you guys checking out the GAMEBOT site and clips. Thanks for all the comments as well. I will take note of everything said, and use it to make the show better. If anyone is willing to represent GAMEBOT and get it on their local station please contact me (mail@gamebottv.com). Also if anyone was not able to download the clips, email me and I will directly send you a clip in whatever format you would like. This is why I love Atari Age, everyone here can appreciate this kind of stuff. Any responses are encouraged, Thanks again. Blake Leftwich www.gamebottv.com mail@gamebottv.com

My brother and I create a 30 minute video game TV show called GAMEBOT for our local public access station. We do not get paid and put in hours and hours per week, filming classic games, systems, peripherals, accessories, and covering game expos. Of course we cherish every second of it. We want as many people as possible to see the show to help keep the memory of these games vivid. To the point, if your station is looking for free programming, and you are willing to represent GAMEBOT in your area (since the programming for those stations usually require it to come from their community), please respond. I cannot pay the station or you to do this. The payoff would purely be that you and your friends can watch the show in your area. I will send a free DVD with three episodes to anyone who can get it on the air (nine episodes are complete at this time). It's gloriously low budget, and raw. You can see clips here: www.gamebottv.com oh well, thats it! thanks for reading!

Thanks guys, I totally understand how the Z flag, BEQ and BNE work. Mr. Davie, thats the kind of detail I appreciate, It's the closest thing to a teacher standing behind me. Thanks again! I will be posting more questions soon. THANKS.

Hi, Can someone explain what the flags are/do (such as Z,N,C)? Are these flags 6502 specific, or assembler standards? Thanks for all the help so far, and thanks, Mr. Davie, for the russian calc link. I will make a game for the VCS if it kills me. I love the VCS.

So, the comparison is done by subtracting the two values (the value in Y, and the value in YPosFromBot). And if the numbers are the same the result will be zero, which will set the Z flag to zero, which will trigger the branch. Is that correct? Thanks everyone, I will post the rest of my questions in the newbie section. THANKS!

Thanks for the help Mr. Davie, I have found your tutorials very helpful. I will post the rest of my questions in the newbie section. Thanks again!

I have a question about this code: processor 6502 include vcs.h include macro.h org $F000 YPosFromBot = $80 VisibleMissileLine = $81 Start CLEAN_START lda #$00 sta COLUBK lda #66 sta COLUP0 lda #80 sta YPosFromBot lda #$20 sta NUSIZ0 MainLoop lda #2 sta VSYNC sta WSYNC sta WSYNC sta WSYNC lda #43 sta TIM64T lda #0 sta VSYNC lda #%00010000 sta HMM0 WaitForVblankEnd lda INTIM bne WaitForVblankEnd ldy #191 sta WSYNC sta VBLANK sta WSYNC sta HMOVE ScanLoop sta WSYNC CheckActivateMissile cpy YPosFromBot ; question regarding bne SkipActivateMissile ; this area!!!! lda #8 sta VisibleMissileLine SkipActivateMissile lda #0 sta ENAM0 lda VisibleMissileLine beq FinishMissile IsMissileOn lda #2 sta ENAM0 dec VisibleMissileLine FinishMissile dey bne ScanLoop lda #2 sta WSYNC sta VBLANK ldx #30 OverScanWait sta WSYNC dex bne OverScanWait jmp MainLoop org $FFFC .word Start .word Start In the area commented as "question regarding this area", does this: bne SkipActivateMissile mean: branch to the location labelled as "SkipActivateMissile" if Y is not equal to YPosFromBot (referencing the compare statement of the previous line) because I thought bne meant branch to (label) if the result of the previous line is not equal to 0. Thanks! Any help is appreciated!

Hello, In this code: ldx #0 lda #0 Clear sta 0,x inx bne Clear Is this what is happening?: 1) load x with the number 0 (so now x=0) 2) load the accumulator with the number 0 (so now accumulator = 0) 3) assign this line in the program as the location known as "Clear" 4) store whats in the accumulator (0) into location x+0 5) increase x by 1 (so now x=1) 6) branch to the location known as "Clear" if the result of the previous line is not 0 (therefore creating a loop) First question: Is that a correct analysis of this code? (If i'm wrong please correct me.) Second question: How does this clear RAM and all TIA registers? Thanks!