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ColecoVision Arkanoid...


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For the glowing, just take the blue into photoshop and increase the red on a shade of blue until you like the result then try to find the closest match with the Colecovision's palette.

 

In this specific case, there are two problems:

1) The red color glows smoothly, which the CV cannot do.

2) The TMS9928 doesn't have programmable color palettes, so the only way to change colors is to rewrite the color table, which is very CPU intensive, mainly for large objects like the Arkanoid ship.

 

From my CPU performance meter, I can see that changing the color table would require more than a single frame, reducing the smoothness of the animation. So I am considering leaving it as it is, or maybe creating a different animation to give the idea of "ship on fire". Or perhaps I could change the color table in more than a frame... But anyway, I am afraid that having less colors to work with will result on an animation that looks more like the ship is flashing on red alert than it is on fire.

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From my CPU performance meter, I can see that changing the color table would require more than a single frame, reducing the smoothness of the animation. So I am considering leaving it as it is, or maybe creating a different animation to give the idea of "ship on fire". Or perhaps I could change the color table in more than a frame... But anyway, I am afraid that having less colors to work with will result on an animation that looks more like the ship is flashing on red alert than it is on fire.

How about a "wave" of red that goes through the Arkanoid mothership, from left ot right, instead of a "completely red" color change? That way, you could update the color table only partially, making the process fit in a single frame. I don't know how you encoded the pattern tiles for the mothership, so I don't know if it would be troublesome to implement this "wave" idea. It's just a suggestion. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I posted two new videos on Youtube. It turned out that after uploading them the videos were converted and became a "choppiness" mess. They just don't make justice to the real thing, which is as smooth as the arcade.

Anyway, it is progressing, though slowly, as I have other priorities this month...

Gameplay is fast and furious, just like the arcade. Blocks are working, balls are working, Vaus is there, capsules too, though we cannot see them yet, as the sprite driver is still very preliminary. Still missing are the enemies.

I believe I still have roughly 1/3 of free CPU time per frame. Lets see what happens when the enemies are added. The enemy logic seems to be quite simple. It shouldn't be a big burden for the CPU. Then, depending on how much CPU is left, I will decide how to handle the sprite driver.

Here are the videos:

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Edit: BTW, the game is already using the MegaCart.

Edited by opcode
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I posted two new videos on Youtube. It turned out that after uploading them the videos were converted and became a "choppiness" mess. They just don't make justice to the real thing, which is as smooth as the arcade.

Anyway, it is progressing, though slowly, as I have other priorities this month...

Gameplay is fast and furious, just like the arcade. Blocks are working, balls are working, Vaus is there, capsules too, though we cannot see them yet, as the sprite driver is still very preliminary. Still missing are the enemies.

I believe I still have roughly 1/3 of free CPU time per frame. Lets see what happens when the enemies are added. The enemy logic seems to be quite simple. It shouldn't be a big burden for the CPU. Then, depending on how much CPU is left, I will decide how to handle the sprite driver.

Here are the videos:

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Edit: BTW, the game is already using the MegaCart.

Very impressive! The only thing is there seems to be a slight collision issue in the second video but seeing as you are the master at coding for the CV, that shouldn't be a problem.

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Has there been a final decision/solution for a controller for this game yet? There was talk of an adapter dongle for use with Atari paddle controllers, is still the thought?

We still have a year before this comes out. I think it will be solved by then.

Eduardo hasn't really looked seriously into it yet, but the solution will likely be a paddle adaptor that plugs into a special port on the Opgrade Module. This special port was going to be included in the design anyway, so we might as well use it for that, and getting paddle inputs through this special port will be easier to manage than trying to create a paddle adaptor that works via the regular 9-pin controller ports.

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The single biggest problem with building a proper CV paddle controller is that, unlike the Atari or Commodore systems, the CV does not have anything for actual analog input. Anyone can build a paddle controller for them: all you need is a decent potentiometer and to know where what wires go where (pins 5, 7, and 9).

 

The Turbo module and Roller Controller both need 6V power input, and all they do is "pulse;" the faster you spin them, the more pulses result, and the more quickly the whatever-it-is will move. This is NOT the same as analog, unfortunately, and the interrupt-trouble Opcode mentioned is outside my experience.

 

However, there is an obvious exception to this rule: have you ever tried Turbo or Slither with the little wheel on a Super Action Controller? With Slither, try it with CV port 1, and then 2- see what happens.

 

A while back, I built a crude no-power paddle controller for the CV- it was actually like a crummy Atari VCS Indy 500 controller. It would have to be, for a CV. It was based on the SAC wheel circuitry. Would an Arkanoid paddle controller do this? It would require more contacts/spin than a SAC wheel, or it would be too slow to react.

 

The two designs used: one, a pair of relays (magnetism), and the other used brushes, like the Indy 500 paddle.

 

 

 

Opcode- is it necessary for that game to use an upgrade module? If you can cram 128K into a CV cartridge, would that not be enough? A minor compromise in graphics is no problem for a CV owner.

Edited by CV Gus
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The single biggest problem with building a proper CV paddle controller is that, unlike the Atari or Commodore systems, the CV does not have anything for actual analog input. Anyone can build a paddle controller for them: all you need is a decent potentiometer and to know where what wires go where (pins 5, 7, and 9).

 

The Turbo module and Roller Controller both need 6V power input, and all they do is "pulse;" the faster you spin them, the more pulses result, and the more quickly the whatever-it-is will move. This is NOT the same as analog, unfortunately, and the interrupt-trouble Opcode mentioned is outside my experience.

 

However, there is an obvious exception to this rule: have you ever tried Turbo or Slither with the little wheel on a Super Action Controller? With Slither, try it with CV port 1, and then 2- see what happens.

 

A while back, I built a crude no-power paddle controller for the CV- it was actually like a crummy Atari VCS Indy 500 controller. It would have to be, for a CV. It was based on the SAC wheel circuitry. Would an Arkanoid paddle controller do this? It would require more contacts/spin than a SAC wheel, or it would be too slow to react.

 

The two designs used: one, a pair of relays (magnetism), and the other used brushes, like the Indy 500 paddle.

 

 

 

Opcode- is it necessary for that game to use an upgrade module? If you can cram 128K into a CV cartridge, would that not be enough? A minor compromise in graphics is no problem for a CV owner.

Hmm if it's too slow try some gearing in there. That would be cool to try out.
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Opcode- is it necessary for that game to use an upgrade module? If you can cram 128K into a CV cartridge, would that not be enough? A minor compromise in graphics is no problem for a CV owner.

 

Graphics aren't the problem here. In order to keep gameplay as intact as possible, more RAM than the CV currently offers is necessary.

Also, as you said, the CV cannot read analog stuff. The module can solve that too, though using an adaptor.

I understand that some people don't like the idea of expansion modules, but just consider that Coleco was planning a similar solution back in the day. The Super Game Module was suppose to offer not just a tape drive, but also more RAM, otherwise how could they load the games from tape to the CV? So probably Coleco was aware that 1KB was too little, even for the time. Today cartridge size isn't an issue anymore, but more RAM is still necessary, and there isn't an simple way to add RAM to CV cartridges, at least not work RAM.

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First link is no longer available it says... looks great as always though, Eduardo!

I just tried the first link and it works fine. You may want to try again, Murph. :)

 

 

Hmmm-- still won't work here... :/ Not a big deal, just a heads up.

post-10625-1237742448_thumb.jpg

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First link is no longer available it says... looks great as always though, Eduardo!

I just tried the first link and it works fine. You may want to try again, Murph. :)

Hmmm-- still won't work here... :/ Not a big deal, just a heads up.

Weird, it still works fine on my end. Did you just click on the link in this thread, or did you copy and paste the URL in another browser window?

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Absolutamente nenhum problema aqui, funciona perfeitamente. :D

 

Tried clicking, tried cutting and pasting. Tried going to the opcode Youtube page and linking from there... nothing. Tried 2 different PCs, Firefox and IE, Vista and XP. No dice.

 

Maybe you guys can clear you cache and cookies and try again? I'm thinking you've got the file saved offline and don't know it. :)

Edited by Murph74
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Absolutamente nenhum problema aqui, funciona perfeitamente. :D

 

Tried clicking, tried cutting and pasting. Tried going to the opcode Youtube page and linking from there... nothing. Tried 2 different PCs, Firefox and IE, Vista and XP. No dice.

 

Maybe you guys can clear you cache and cookies and try again? I'm thinking you've got the file saved offline and don't know it. :)

I cleared everything under IE7 (temp files, cookies, etc.), and I can still access both videos without any problem. Does your ISP block certain "controversial" contents? Eduardo did associate the word "orgie" with Arkanoid in the PMC thread... :grin:

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Something weird going on. Like I said, 2 different systems, 2 different OS's... nothing on video 2. Even the embedded gives me the "sorry" message.

 

BUT... if I add "&fmt" to the end, it plays fine. No clue. The only difference I see is the one that works is available in HD on the player window, and the one that one play isn't for me.

 

Cest la vie...

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The single biggest problem with building a proper CV paddle controller is that, unlike the Atari or Commodore systems, the CV does not have anything for actual analog input. Anyone can build a paddle controller for them: all you need is a decent potentiometer and to know where what wires go where (pins 5, 7, and 9).

 

The Turbo module and Roller Controller both need 6V power input, and all they do is "pulse;" the faster you spin them, the more pulses result, and the more quickly the whatever-it-is will move. This is NOT the same as analog, unfortunately, and the interrupt-trouble Opcode mentioned is outside my experience.

 

However, there is an obvious exception to this rule: have you ever tried Turbo or Slither with the little wheel on a Super Action Controller? With Slither, try it with CV port 1, and then 2- see what happens.

 

A while back, I built a crude no-power paddle controller for the CV- it was actually like a crummy Atari VCS Indy 500 controller. It would have to be, for a CV. It was based on the SAC wheel circuitry. Would an Arkanoid paddle controller do this? It would require more contacts/spin than a SAC wheel, or it would be too slow to react.

 

The two designs used: one, a pair of relays (magnetism), and the other used brushes, like the Indy 500 paddle.

 

 

 

Opcode- is it necessary for that game to use an upgrade module? If you can cram 128K into a CV cartridge, would that not be enough? A minor compromise in graphics is no problem for a CV owner.

Hmm if it's too slow try some gearing in there. That would be cool to try out.

 

 

Actually, that is what it used, albeit indirectly. A small center point was what the "dial" was turning; the magnets or contact points were along the edges. In the case of the magnets, you cannot put them TOO close together.

 

Within my budget (for the keypad on my latest module...a thrown-out portable phone), the best I could do is to have the dial, a larger center point, for the wheel, and a smaller part you'd hold. Again, it would work as the wheel in a SAC, only quicker. The bigger the wheel, the more "clicks" you can have per turn.

 

 

 

How much "K" is needed for Arkanoid? Isn't there an MSX version; how much does it use?

Edited by CV Gus
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Opcode- is it necessary for that game to use an upgrade module? If you can cram 128K into a CV cartridge, would that not be enough? A minor compromise in graphics is no problem for a CV owner.

 

Graphics aren't the problem here. In order to keep gameplay as intact as possible, more RAM than the CV currently offers is necessary.

Also, as you said, the CV cannot read analog stuff. The module can solve that too, though using an adaptor.

I understand that some people don't like the idea of expansion modules, but just consider that Coleco was planning a similar solution back in the day. The Super Game Module was suppose to offer not just a tape drive, but also more RAM, otherwise how could they load the games from tape to the CV? So probably Coleco was aware that 1KB was too little, even for the time. Today cartridge size isn't an issue anymore, but more RAM is still necessary, and there isn't an simple way to add RAM to CV cartridges, at least not work RAM.

 

 

Part of it may be that "upward" expansion modules, traditionally, have rarely, if ever, done well. The Sega 32X and Sega CD are examples, and even the Starpath Supercharger for the 2600, while good, didn't exactly set the video world ablaze. The Supergame Module was supposed to have expanded the memory (but nothing else), up to 256K. It was also supposed to have used a sort of "wafer" staorage system.

 

It's a crying shame that the CV did not allow for analog control. This is a real hassle.

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