Anyone think Ballblazer is possible on the 2600?

[Albert]

I feel that ZylonBane's rendering from this post was closest:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1607800

 

If that could be tweaked a bit, it's the one that reminds me most of the 8-bit version of the game..

 

OK, then how about this?

 

 

 

I've tweaked ZylonBane's version a bit, and while it's not perfectly in tune, it seems like a happy medium.

Unfortunately it doesn't start for me properly in Stella..

 

By the way, I mainly know the 7800 version. Is the 8-bit melody different?

Here it is, complete with the intro.

 

 

..Al

[+Nathan Strum]

Awww man... we never got all of that extra cool intro-stuff on the 7800.

 

The music sounds identical though.

[Albert]

Awww man... we never got all of that extra cool intro-stuff on the 7800.

 

The music sounds identical though.

The music goes on for a while--need to find a recording where someone doesn't start a game.

 

..Al

[+thegoldenband]

Thanks for the Youtube link, that was very helpful, especially as my (outdated) copy of MacSDLMess is suffering from all kinds of crazy sound glitches.

 

OK, I think I've gotten it:

 

ballblazer_start_zylon_alt3.bas.bin

 

What does everyone think of this?

 

(BTW Albert I think the problem w/ the previous attachment was a mistake on my end; this one should work.)

Edited November 3, 2008 by thegoldenband

[Albert]

What does everyone think of this?

 

(BTW Albert I think the problem w/ the previous attachment was a mistake on my end; this one should work.)

That sounds quite good--can you turn it into an entire tune that would repeat on the title screen?

 

..Al

[+thegoldenband]

That sounds quite good--can you turn it into an entire tune that would repeat on the title screen?

Thanks! Here's a slightly updated version with a few tweaks, plus source:

ballblazer_start_zylon_alt4.basballblazer_start_zylon_alt4.bas.bin

Though I'm not sure that I can do it right now, the extra bar that makes it loop shouldn't be a problem to add -- it's just a couple extra notes which are readily available (26 and 29 in distortion setting 1, plus 15 in setting 7). It's just a matter of adding a tiny bit of extra data, and then modifying the loop routines appropriately.

 

EDIT: And here you go!

ballblazer_start_zylon_alt5.basballblazer_start_zylon_alt5.bas.bin

Edited November 3, 2008 by thegoldenband

[mos6507]

That's it. Maybe a tad too slow, but it's real close.

[Albert]

That sounds fantastic! It's great to hear that coming out of the 2600! I do agree, it seems a touch slow, would have to try it on real hardware to see how it sounds. Much better than what I was expecting.

 

..Al

[+Nathan Strum]

Nice!

 

I agree, it seems a little on the slow side.

[+MrFish]

Here's a "SAP" of the 8-bit version:

Ballblazer.zipSpeed is for 50hz/PAL, so slow for all those used to hearing on NTSC.

 

I believe there was also at least one other distinct version out there somewhere. Although it's been too long since I last compared versions to point you to it.

[+thegoldenband]

I found a couple small rhythmic errors in the file (a couple notes/pauses were longer than they should have been). I have corrected them, as well as tweaking one or two other things:

 

ballblazer_start_zylon_alt6.basballblazer_start_zylon_alt6.bas.bin

I think the rhythmic glitches made the overall tempo seem slower than it actually was. Does it seem quick enough now to folks, or does it need to be even faster? I checked against the Youtube file, and it seemed pretty much the same to me.

Edited November 4, 2008 by thegoldenband

[+Random Terrain]

That one boop in the background that comes around once in a while should be changed a bit or at least have its volume turned down, but the whole thing is much better than it was.

[TrekMD]

Wow, amazing how well that sounds!

[Albert]

That one boop in the background that comes around once in a while should be changed a bit or at least have its volume turned down, but the whole thing is much better than it was.

I agree, that one does stand out a bit..

 

..Al

[+thegoldenband]

That one boop in the background that comes around once in a while should be changed a bit or at least have its volume turned down, but the whole thing is much better than it was.

Good catch, that helped me find one more small thing that needed to be tweaked:

ballblazer_start_zylon_alt7.basballblazer_start_zylon_alt7.bas.bin

The lower note in the "boop" was an octave too low, compared to the way it sounds on the 8-bit.

 

Roland, I think this version is ready for inclusion, if you'd like to add it to your WIP!

Edited November 4, 2008 by thegoldenband

[+Random Terrain]

That's better. Now if you could get that "doo doo doodit doo" near the end of the loop to sound a little less off key, it would sound even better. Since you're posting the bas file, I could try to hunt down notes that are closer by hand with Tone Toy 2008, but I don't understand which numbers are the notes in your program. Where should I be looking?

[+thegoldenband]

That's better. Now if you could get that "doo doo doodit doo" near the end of the loop to sound a little less off key, it would sound even better. Since you're posting the bas file, I could try to hunt down notes that are closer by hand with Tone Toy 2008, but I don't understand which numbers are the notes in your program. Where should I be looking?

ZylonBane's code* processes the data in blocks of seven numbers, as in the comments:

 

rem voice 0 frequency, volume, distortion

rem voice 1 frequency, volume, distortion

rem duration

 

One beat is equal to 24 duration-units. The "doo doo doodit doo" section you're wanting to tweak falls right after the loop point I've set, and begins with:

 

14,6,12

29,6,1

18

 

That's the first "doo", which is more in tune than the rest of it.

 

That being said, I don't know that you'll have a lot of luck finding more in-tune notes -- there really isn't anything else available in the lower octave, which is where the problem is. Eckhard's guide calls those two notes h1 and e1, following German notation; they correspond to notes 15 and 23 on distortion setting 7. Distortion setting 1 doesn't go that low, and setting 14 is just as out-of-tune (for the e1).

 

*(which is, I believe, a refinement of the code by Kisrael that I've used for all my previous tunes)

Edited November 4, 2008 by thegoldenband

[+Random Terrain]

Thanks for the explanation. And thanks for posting the .bas file so we can at least try. Even if I can't find better notes, I'll have fun trying. It will also give me some practice for doing tunes for my own games.

 

[i also see that the code looks different than the last one I downloaded and there's an explanation right in the code. I assumed the code was going to look similar. ]

Edited November 4, 2008 by Random Terrain

[Rybags]

I've tried the Alt5 thru Alt7 files in Stella 1.12 and they just play a continuous note with nothing else.

 

What's wrong here?

[+thegoldenband]

I've tried the Alt5 thru Alt7 files in Stella 1.12 and they just play a continuous note with nothing else.

 

What's wrong here?

I assume you're not trying to load up the .bas, rather than the .bin? Otherwise I've no idea...

 

(Also, Stella 1.12 is a pretty old version, isn't it? Are you on an older Mac or something similar?)

Edited November 4, 2008 by thegoldenband

[mos6507]

That's better. Now if you could get that "doo doo doodit doo" near the end of the loop to sound a little less off key, it would sound even better. Since you're posting the bas file, I could try to hunt down notes that are closer by hand with Tone Toy 2008, but I don't understand which numbers are the notes in your program. Where should I be looking?

 

It sounds in tune enough to me. The line is kind of chromatic anyway, so they are like passing notes. It works.

[Rybags]

Sorted... I didn't realize I was running such an ancient version, so updated to Stella 2.6.1

 

Well done on the music. I reckon if all this comes together, you won't exactly clone the original, but should be able to come pretty close.

[+Random Terrain]

I hunted and hunted with Tone Toy 2008, but couldn't find any better notes. I did edit the music data so it would sound a little better to my ears. Still sounds off to me, but I guess that's the best that can be done without spending weeks or months messing with it. To make it easier for me, I edited the bB code to match the volume, audio control, and frequency order that Tone Toy 2008 has, so the data is now v c f instead of f v c.

 

Here's the .bin file to use with your favorite emulator:

ballblazer_start_zylon_alt_2008y_11m_04d_0426t.bin

 

Here's the .bas file if you want to look at the code:

ballblazer_start_zylon_alt_2008y_11m_04d_0426t.bas

[Godzilla]

that is damn amazing.

[+atari2600land]

Is this still being worked on? I'd like an update, please, this looks like the best homebrew graphics on the 2600 so far.