why not 48k versions of the arcade greats ?

[ataridog]

i know that they made the 16k versions so EVERYBODY could play (BUY) them but if the right programers took their time and used all of the memory available couldn't they make perfect/almost perfect translations? DOS takes up about 8k i think....that leaves quite a bit of memory for someone who's talented. couldn't this have been done?

[+FujiSkunk]

It could have, but time spent by a programmer working on a 48K game that only a few people would buy would have been time not spent on several 16K games that everybody would buy. Financially speaking, that one great 48K game probably wouldn't have made up for those two or three decent 16K games.

[Rybags]

In some cases the games could have been much better.

 

Defender is a good example. Although it's a pretty good translation, Drop Zone was done with a bigger RAM budget and turned out much better.

 

But on the other hand you have games like Donkey Kong and Pacman. Except for little things like attract modes and inter-level animations, the games couldn't really have been done much better.

 

But, RAM based games are easy to copy, plus making a game compatible with 40K+ RAM only would have limited it's market potential at the time.

[Almost Rice]

16K was expensive when the programs were made. So 32,48, or 64K were out of reach for most.

 

Also, cartridges were better against the casual pirate. They are trying to get the most customers for a platform.

[ataridog]

16K was expensive when the programs were made. So 32,48, or 64K were out of reach for most.

 

Also, cartridges were better against the casual pirate. They are trying to get the most customers for a platform.

 

i bought my 800 around '83, by then most 800's had 48k. back then it was just too easy to pirate anything we wanted. however, i would have spent money on arcade translations that took advantage of 100% of the machines abilities. if they did it in the begining little junior would have insisted he got an 800 for Christmas if ALL the games looked better than the comode 64 so there would have been a larger installed base to buy the better looking games. just wishful thinking i guess.

[Bryan]

For most people, having something that remotely resembled the arcade version was good enough. Only a few would have complained about the quality (that is, those of us hardcore enough to still be discussing a 30 year old system today).

 

Secondly, the 400 was the low-end machine for playing games. If possible, the games HAD to work on a 400.

[Velcro_SP]

But on the other hand you have games like Donkey Kong and Pacman. Except for little things like attract modes and inter-level animations, the games couldn't really have been done much better.

 

Pacman in my opinion could have been done much much better. As is the movement is not very smooth. The playfield certainly could be larger, and not sure but I think truer to the arcade mazes. The ghosts could have white eyeballs. I would like the ghosts and pacman to be larger. Did the ghosts have the characteristic "personalities" of the arcade version, did the red one (Blinky?) chase as viciously after you? Not sure but I don't think so.

[Bryan]

But on the other hand you have games like Donkey Kong and Pacman. Except for little things like attract modes and inter-level animations, the games couldn't really have been done much better.

 

Pacman in my opinion could have been done much much better. As is the movement is not very smooth. The playfield certainly could be larger, and not sure but I think truer to the arcade mazes. The ghosts could have white eyeballs. I would like the ghosts and pacman to be larger. Did the ghosts have the characteristic "personalities" of the arcade version, did the red one (Blinky?) chase as viciously after you? Not sure but I don't think so.

 

The 5200 version had distinct behaviors for each ghost, but I disassembled part of the A8 version a while back and its AI was much simpler.

[ataridog]

donkey kong jr is just horrible, looks like someone was given very little time to complete it.....or they sat a chimp down in front of a computer and he just happened to come up with something that looked like it could pass for donkey kong jr !!

[kenfused]

donkey kong jr is just horrible, looks like someone was given very little time to complete it.....or they sat a chimp down in front of a computer and he just happened to come up with something that looked like it could pass for donkey kong jr !!

I always thought it looks ok (at least when things are not moving), but things move kind of clunky since it uses character graphics for every moving object except Jr who uses all 4 players. Snapper jaws have vines in their mouth even after they leave the vine. It is also not the greatest at control IMO.

[tjb]

I would imagine different design goals and timeframes were present at the time. Take the 8-bit Asteroids for instance. It could have been done much better but being one of the earlier titles, it was designed when many machines had the bare minimum amount of RAM. For an 8K program it packs a good bit of functionality.

 

I say go for it. We have the tools and the audience today to make larger RAM versions. Either start out with the real 16K version or make a clone. That's sort of what I'm trying to do with my game Rasteroids.

 

My 2 cents.

 

tjb

[ataridog]

I would imagine different design goals and timeframes were present at the time. Take the 8-bit Asteroids for instance. It could have been done much better but being one of the earlier titles, it was designed when many machines had the bare minimum amount of RAM. For an 8K program it packs a good bit of functionality.

 

I say go for it. We have the tools and the audience today to make larger RAM versions. Either start out with the real 16K version or make a clone. That's sort of what I'm trying to do with my game Rasteroids.

 

My 2 cents.

 

tjb

 

i'm not a programmer (not even close), but it seems you could use probably half the old code. EA doesn't start from scratch every year with the Madden series, they just improve graphics, animation, and AI for the most part.

 

hey TJB, let me know when Rateroids is finished...i'll be in line to buy a copy!