Lendorien Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 If all goes well, who knows, I might find the missing events in WG, or get California Games going. I do have source code for what I did for CG, and it may or may not be complete, but I do remember I got at least one or two events working. As for "new" stuff, who knows. My 16-year-old son is a big retro-gamer, he and I might get together to brainstorm a new game Someone get this man a Disk drive! Man, California Games on the 7800 would be awesome as would a revised Winter Games. Still I'm sure all of us would be thrilled by getting access to your original fixed Impossible Mission too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madaracs Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 If all goes well, who knows, I might find the missing events in WG, or get California Games going. I do have source code for what I did for CG, and it may or may not be complete, but I do remember I got at least one or two events working. As for "new" stuff, who knows. My 16-year-old son is a big retro-gamer, he and I might get together to brainstorm a new game Someone get this man a Disk drive! Man, California Games on the 7800 would be awesome as would a revised Winter Games. Still I'm sure all of us would be thrilled by getting access to your original fixed Impossible Mission too. We've exchanged PMs and I'm sending him one Monday morning. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 If all goes well, who knows, I might find the missing events in WG, or get California Games going. I do have source code for what I did for CG, and it may or may not be complete, but I do remember I got at least one or two events working. As for "new" stuff, who knows. My 16-year-old son is a big retro-gamer, he and I might get together to brainstorm a new game Someone get this man a Disk drive! Man, California Games on the 7800 would be awesome as would a revised Winter Games. Still I'm sure all of us would be thrilled by getting access to your original fixed Impossible Mission too. We've exchanged PMs and I'm sending him one Monday morning. :thumbsup: Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 This is awesome news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Propane13 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Awesome! I'm glad you've got one coming your way. If you need anything else, let the forum know, and I'm sure people will dive in to support. -John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madaracs Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Awesome! I'm glad you've got one coming your way. If you need anything else, let the forum know, and I'm sure people will dive in to support. -John OK, my source for the drive has turned out to be somewhat unreliable. He thought I was looking for an Atari drive. It turns out he doesn't have what we were looking for. But now I'm on a mission to correct the problem. I felt I should own up since, I had a line on the drive and failed to hook it up. So stay tuned. I still intend on finding one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krewat Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Madaracs, don't beat yourself up over it. I am probably just going to try buying one from eBay - again. A few months back, I bought a "tested/working" drive. Not. I will be looking around for one, and if I find one I'll let you know so you can all off the search patrol ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 (edited) Madaracs, don't beat yourself up over it. I am probably just going to try buying one from eBay - again. A few months back, I bought a "tested/working" drive. Not. I will be looking around for one, and if I find one I'll let you know so you can all off the search patrol ... It's been ages since I played the game on the 7800. Was there any sort of score to it? I just watched a video of it from YouTube. It sounds like the audio effect of being zapped by the security robots came from Parker Bros's Star Wars - Jedi Arena for the 2600. Some of the other sound effects sound exactly like the blasters in Atari's Vanguard for the 2600... Is there a specific type of internal 360k 5 1/4 drive that you need? There's sometimes swap meets in town for old computer hardware... Here's a video of allegedly all versions of Impossible Mission: Who knew the game had been ported to the PSP and the DS? Not me! As for the C64 version, the sound effects don't sound like they are too complex for a Pokey chip. And with a larger ROM image, I'd imagine the digitized voice sample could be added to the 7800 version if the community were inclined to do so... Aside from the audio, I'm not too impressed with what I see in the SMS version... Edited February 3, 2011 by Lynxpro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Madaracs, don't beat yourself up over it. I am probably just going to try buying one from eBay - again. A few months back, I bought a "tested/working" drive. Not. I will be looking around for one, and if I find one I'll let you know so you can all off the search patrol ... I may still have one in a box in my parents garage somewhere. Don't know if it's working though. I'll see if I can find it this weekend. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krewat Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 It's been ages since I played the game on the 7800. Was there any sort of score to it? Is there a specific type of internal 360k 5 1/4 drive that you need? There's sometimes swap meets in town for old computer hardware... As for the C64 version, the sound effects don't sound like they are too complex for a Pokey chip. And with a larger ROM image, I'd imagine the digitized voice sample could be added to the 7800 version if the community were inclined to do so... Aside from the audio, I'm not too impressed with what I see in the SMS version... I'm not sure about the score, I think you just did the puzzle pieces and won. Or not. I need a PC 360K floppy. Anything that would have worked on the IBM-XT or AT (just not a 1.2Mb). For the audio, man, I just don't remember. I think Brian Richter who did some of the initial work converted the audio over, and did the best he could. The voice, well, that was impossible to just covert over easily. I'm thinking I could do it now though, and will try ... someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 As for the C64 version, the sound effects don't sound like they are too complex for a Pokey chip. And with a larger ROM image, I'd imagine the digitized voice sample could be added to the 7800 version if the community were inclined to do so... Yeah, after having seen this little demo (which is straight TIA, I think), I have no doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krewat Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 The main reason the voice sample didn't make it into the 7800 was time. As in, none left to even TRY making it work. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I need a PC 360K floppy. Anything that would have worked on the IBM-XT or AT (just not a 1.2Mb). This is just a standard PC floppy drive formatted with FAT-12 or FAT-16, right? Seems easy enough to get hold of: http://www.computerpartsgalore.com/drives-floppy.htm http://www.computertradeexchange.com/inventory/TEAC.html http://www.codemicro.com/store/product/sd621l/Refurbished http://www.codemicro.com/store/product/d503/Refurbished https://www.upgradebay.com/c1_itemdetail.asp?rid=22&itemid=169078657 The catch is that these things are stupidly expensive and your motherboard needs to have a floppy controller to support them. It sounds like you have the latter problem solved, though I believe there are adapter cables out there if you need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krewat Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) I definitely have my old XT controllers And I'm pretty sharp electronically/computer-wise, so I can always get something going. I used to have XT floppy drives in storage at my sister's warehouse, but somehow they freakin' DISAPPEARED. The old full-height Shugart deals with the belt (which would probably have to be replaced). You know the ones, with the lines on the pulley so you spin it under a fluorescent light and adjust the speed until the lines stand still ... Edited February 4, 2011 by krewat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madaracs Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 You know the ones, with the lines on the pulley so you spin it under a fluorescent light and adjust the speed until the lines stand still ... http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/SA400/SA400_With_Disk.jpg http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/SA400/SA400_Bottom_Rear.jpg That is a thing of beauty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I've got two of those XT drives. They're actually in an IBM PC (a genuine Model 5150!), but I believe they're 360K drives. If nobody else has one to send, I'll pull them and send them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madaracs Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I've got two of those XT drives. They're actually in an IBM PC (a genuine Model 5150!), but I believe they're 360K drives. If nobody else has one to send, I'll pull them and send them out. Sweet! At least yours isn't from a second source like mine was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I've got two of those XT drives. They're actually in an IBM PC (a genuine Model 5150!), but I believe they're 360K drives. If nobody else has one to send, I'll pull them and send them out.Sweet! At least yours isn't from a second source like mine was. It's amazing that 5.25" drive mechs of any kind are becoming so rare, isn't it? It doesn't seem all that long ago that I saw a stack of used ones on clearance at my local Computer City for something like $5 each, but now that I think back, that was in 1998. I'll try to remember to pull the drives this evening. If I can get one working with one of my Pentium motherboards and my own 360K diskettes, I'm sure it will work for krewat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madaracs Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 It's amazing that 5.25" drive mechs of any kind are becoming so rare, isn't it? It doesn't seem all that long ago that I saw a stack of used ones on clearance at my local Computer City for something like $5 each, but now that I think back, that was in 1998. I know, it's crazy. I used to have a basement full of old 386/486s, an XT, a bunch of old Mac stuff and now it's all vintage consoles. I'll try to remember to pull the drives this evening. If I can get one working with one of my Pentium motherboards and my own 360K diskettes, I'm sure it will work for krewat. Sounds great! Keep us updated in case we still need to keep the hunt on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peedenmark7 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 IM for 7800 with the C64 sounds would be killer ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 The main reason the voice sample didn't make it into the 7800 was time. As in, none left to even TRY making it work. I wonder how much time was squandered by Atari & Co. before you were contracted for your work... Impossible Mission [not to mention Sky Fox] was one of the titles that was shown the 7800's box as a "Super Game" and if I recall, it was chronically delayed. Wasn't it mid 87 or 88 when it finally was released? I ended up getting Sky Fox on my ST. And unlike with Gauntlet, Xevious was terrible on the ST, IMHO. quote name='peedenmark7' date='Fri Feb 4, 2011 4:33 PM' timestamp='1296866001' post='2201766'] IM for 7800 with the C64 sounds would be killer ! Heck, at this point, might as well just grab the digitized voices off the PSP/DS versions. Granted, that particular publisher might not be "happy" about that but as a PSP owner, I can honestly say I've never seen that game on Best Buy's shelves. And from all my experience as an owner of Atari consoles in their non-popular years, I have extensive experience searching for titles misplaced on store shelves as PSP titles commonly are treated these days... I've got two of those XT drives. They're actually in an IBM PC (a genuine Model 5150!), but I believe they're 360K drives. If nobody else has one to send, I'll pull them and send them out.Sweet! At least yours isn't from a second source like mine was. It's amazing that 5.25" drive mechs of any kind are becoming so rare, isn't it? It doesn't seem all that long ago that I saw a stack of used ones on clearance at my local Computer City for something like $5 each, but now that I think back, that was in 1998. I'll try to remember to pull the drives this evening. If I can get one working with one of my Pentium motherboards and my own 360K diskettes, I'm sure it will work for krewat. When I hear about community e-waste collections, it makes me wonder how much useful classic computer items are being discarded and recycled. Forgive me if I can't really shed a tear over generic PCs being recycled, but the thought of [Atari] 8-bit computers recycled doesn't make me happy. I'm sure there's a lot of Atari STe and Amiga fans who could put to use pre-1997 SIMM memory chips in some of those recycled PCs... I miss dot matrix printers. The only institution I see them still in use at is Kaiser... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I ended up getting Sky Fox on my ST. Man, that PISSED ME OFF that Sky Fox never came out. Come to think of it, the 7800 box was a bit traumatic for me! I remember looking at the back of the 7800 box and being particularly grabbed by Sky Fox, Impossible Mission, Winter Games, Desert Falcon and Karateka. Sky Fox never arrived. Grrr! Desert Falcon was a bit disappointing to me, though I liked the graphics. Impossible Mission never seemed to be in stock in Atari Canada. When I got it from the US during a trip to Florida, I couldn't actually finish it. Thankfully, Art is on the case. And Karateka (which I loved on my friend's computers) was probably my biggest disappointment in gaming history when I played it on the 7800. If I knew how to code like Bob or Mark, that would be the first game I'd fix on the 7800, with Double Dragon being second. Strangely, the one 'super game' I had about zip interest in was Ballblazer. It looked goofy on the back of the box and I'd never seen it in action on another machine. When I did, my opinion did a complete 180! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal Ghost Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Strangely, the one 'super game' I had about zip interest in was Ballblazer. It looked goofy on the back of the box and I'd never seen it in action on another machine. When I did, my opinion did a complete 180! Yea, Ballblazer and Joust were two games that my friends and I really enjoyed on my 7800. At the time I was nonetheless almost embarresed that I didn't have any SMB/Zelda type games, but looking back we had a lot of fun with those two. To this day my one buddy from back in 2nd grade that I used to game with games with me on XBLA, and we really wish they had Joust in gameroom. Ballblazer would be something else too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krewat Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 I wonder how much time was squandered by Atari & Co. before you were contracted for your work... Impossible Mission [not to mention Sky Fox] was one of the titles that was shown the 7800's box as a "Super Game" and if I recall, it was chronically delayed. Wasn't it mid 87 or 88 when it finally was released? The latest date I have on my original original IM code is July 5th, 1988. If I remember correctly, and that is doubtful, as I detailed previously either in this thread or elsewhere, there was a final release from me in April 1988, I believe (see below for some proof of that). Atari came back with "We can't have it using this much RAM" so I had to squeeze the heck out of it to fit into a 128Kbit static ram. Due to time, Atari never retested the game, and according to our contract (or at least verbal agreements) they were going to do that before release. They didn't. So they released the version with the bug. Time has a lot to do with at least the voice, but one of the biggest problems between me, Computer Magic Ltd. and Atari was money. If I recall correctly, each game was contracted at a fixed price, and I believe IM was $25K (I could be wrong, but I still might have contracts to prove that in WordPerfect somewhere). Because of expenses, my own salary ($10/hour, believe it or not, at age 23), and Computer Magic needing to pay themselves (deservedly so), we ran out of money very fast. So I went home, and worked on it for FREE until it was done. So anything they didn't 100% require didn't make it. When they came back with the 128Kb/256Kb thing, I was already doing it for absolutely nothing. I grunted and groaned all the way to the finish. After they released it, realized it was unsolvable, and came back to me, I basically said "pay me to do it" and they wouldn't, so I didn't From readme.doc in my sources (not sure it will be formatted correctly): Impossible Mission. Conversion started by Brian Richter. Finished by Arthur Krewat around 4/25/88. Brian [Richter] converted all of the room drawing, and elevator code. I converted searching, security terminals, snoozes, lift inits, all desktop areas, and score screens. The following is a list of files and what they contain, to the best of my knowledge. Some of the stuff Brian wrote, I never had to touch. Game0 - Main elevator area. Also, contains NMI's for elevator and rooms. Game1 - Elevator and desktop DLL and DL's. Game2 - Split up into game21 and game22. Game21 - Contains rock movement and other elevator specific code. Game22 - Guy stuff, used everywhere. Game3 - More desktop stuff. Hand movement, etc. Game4 - Random number generator and map code. Room - Main room stuff. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krewat Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 Oh, and as for recycling computers at the local recycling centers, yeah, I should really start visiting our local center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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