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Arkyology - New prototype discovered - Finished Game!


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No I don't think that sounds familiar. Did that come with the album? I think mine just has a black and white sheet with it with words and drawings. I think it may be the dust jacket too....it's not right in front if me right niw.

 

Do you have a pic or a link to the coloring book?

 

Thanks again!

 

It was a separate item. See if this link works. Scroll down to see ad:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1980-Bullfrogs-and-Butterflies-Coloring-Book/113215205132?hash=item1a5c26ef0c:g:HSAAAOSw9jVbLb-N

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Portable version:

 

I flickered the tubes to solve the display issue with those. The tubes on the lower left were misaligned for some odd reason (far left of the ladders they represent), so I added a cycle there. Now, those two are slightly to the right of the tubes...but at least they are close :P No idea why those are treated differently...the routine is coded the same for all of them (aside from the cycle I added to try correcting it).

 

The color change between borders and ladders is fixed, the inner ladders display properly.

 

Scanline differences (271 on the menu screen, 262 for gameplay, 261 during intermission) are all fixed to 262. Still need to fix the jump when transitioning from one to another.

 

A dotted line will appear to the far right before the first quill is dropped to clear it. Doesn't happen in Stella, so I'm at a loss here.

 

Diagonals are much more difficult to accomplish on the portable's Dpad...could use a bit of tweaking there. Maybe use a difficulty switch for an easier version which uses straight left/right to leave ladders when 0-2 steps from the bottom?

Arkology(portable_v1).bin

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Portable version:

 

I flickered the tubes to solve the display issue with those. The tubes on the lower left were misaligned for some odd reason (far left of the ladders they represent), so I added a cycle there. Now, those two are slightly to the right of the tubes...but at least they are close :P No idea why those are treated differently...the routine is coded the same for all of them (aside from the cycle I added to try correcting it).

 

The color change between borders and ladders is fixed, the inner ladders display properly.

 

Scanline differences (271 on the menu screen, 262 for gameplay, 261 during intermission) are all fixed to 262. Still need to fix the jump when transitioning from one to another.

 

A dotted line will appear to the far right before the first quill is dropped to clear it. Doesn't happen in Stella, so I'm at a loss here.

 

Diagonals are much more difficult to accomplish on the portable's Dpad...could use a bit of tweaking there. Maybe use a difficulty switch for an easier version which uses straight left/right to leave ladders when 0-2 steps from the bottom?

Awesomesauce! I’m already addicted to this game and now I can play during my travels for work.

 

Thanks Nukey.

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...so...since the programmers here are reviewing & analyzing the rom data of this game anyhow...

 

Is the Day 40 thing just a theory, (40 days & 40 nights lol), or is this truly implemented? And if so, and assuming someone makes it there (cheating with emulator save states for example) does it display day 40 again, or day 41, or day 1 again, or day 0, crashes? Etc.

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...so...since the programmers here are reviewing & analyzing the rom data of this game anyhow...

 

Is the Day 40 thing just a theory, (40 days & 40 nights lol), or is this truly implemented? And if so, and assuming someone makes it there (cheating with emulator save states for example) does it display day 40 again, or day 41, or day 1 again, or day 0, crashes? Etc.

 

 

Lets see your Sparrowed up Ark cart please :) Very interested to see it done up like that. :grin:

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...so...since the programmers here are reviewing & analyzing the rom data of this game anyhow...

 

Is the Day 40 thing just a theory, (40 days & 40 nights lol), or is this truly implemented? And if so, and assuming someone makes it there (cheating with emulator save states for example) does it display day 40 again, or day 41, or day 1 again, or day 0, crashes? Etc.

Not to be precocious pedantic, but, according to the story, it rained 40 days and 40 nights and then they floated around another 150 until the flood went away enough to land on the highest mountain in the area, so they were on the ark about 190 days.

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Yes, I know, the 40 days & 40 nights was Moses in the desert, not Noah in the Ark, I was also joking.

 

So far, Ive only gotten to day 3 and broke the 3000 point barrier. But when I did, I noticed the addition of a new green enemy on the bottom floor that reminded me of the white scorpion in the Pitfall games; even moved the same!

 

Add to that the Activision style scoring fonts, and the Pitfall Harry like Noah, and these are among the many reasons it feels like an Activision game.

 

...oh and sacrificing a Sparrow cart seems like sacrilidge...hmm...

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Finally reached Day 6. The speed of the game really ramped up on this level. :)

 

Arkyology HS.jpg

Feels like a direct arcade port to the 2600, which has its own appeal, since you can fight your way and learn tricks. A lot of strategy in later levels. When I try to lead the alligator away before going for a latch, the latch moves to where the alligator is. It takes great timing. Im only to level four but Ive only played a few hours.

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The game just keeps increasing the day counter (which will roll, of course). Location $80. If it's even, you are opening doors. Odd values to feed the animals. This value is divided by 2 and 1 added to that for the onscreen day count.

 

However

 

The onscreen counter is only 2 digits. So upon finishing day 99 ($C5), the game fails to display day 100 ($C6)...so you will see "Day 0". Worse, The 8-bit value will roll after $FF (the second day 28 of feeding the animals)...so then it starts all over at "Day 1" ($00).

 

Looks like there's no end of this flood for poor Noah. The moon never changes it's phase, so at least he doesn't need to worry about high tides!

 

 

Updates:

I fixed some problems in the original game.

 

The patch at $FF00 can cause a visual glitch the first time you see the blob creature (whatever that is), so I corrected the vector instead of using a patch.

 

Climbing ladders the first time can also skew the display, so I added a check to make sure Noah's vertical location does not roll to #$FF.

 

Scanline corrections to all 3 screens at 262. The jitter is still present when transitioning, tho. The "ship bounce" you may see on Stella is also fixed.

 

The dotted line mentioned earlier is removed.

 

Tubes are all the same color, and I bumped the reserve life color a bit.

 

Porky's animation was a bit lacking, so I gave him moving legs.

 

(All the changes also added to the portable version)

Arkology(fix_v1).bin

Arkology(portable_v2).bin

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Wow, I'm impressed with all this creativity! I like the effort making the box.

 

When you think about it, this is a pretty elaborate game with the two stages and the four different hazards and the moving latch. Also, its interesting that I did a search and only came up with one picture of noah feeding animals, so its not a commonly seen image. Downright rare, actually. Could you tell us something about how you came up with the original idea of opening doors and then feeding the animals? I'm imagining the hazards came up one by one to increase difficulty, but maybe I'm wrong.

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Here is an initial print out.

 

The problem is that Mark made the label for the box, not the cart sticker.

So it needs more blue area on the sides and the copyright and product number text lines on the left as well as the sparrow logo on the right. etc.

I also need the end label done right. What you see here was just me rushing together what I could.

I have no artistic talent and pathetic paint shop skills.

 

post-17556-0-28885200-1536503162.jpeg

 

Also, if anyone here has an absolutely horrible condition Music Machine cart for sale, contact me!

I am ready to buy it! I just cant get myself to destroy my personal copy because it's in great condition.

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The game just keeps increasing the day counter (which will roll, of course). Location $80. If it's even, you are opening doors. Odd values to feed the animals. This value is divided by 2 and 1 added to that for the onscreen day count.

 

However

 

The onscreen counter is only 2 digits. So upon finishing day 99 ($C5), the game fails to display day 100 ($C6)...so you will see "Day 0". Worse, The 8-bit value will roll after $FF (the second day 28 of feeding the animals)...so then it starts all over at "Day 1" ($00).

 

Looks like there's no end of this flood for poor Noah. The moon never changes it's phase, so at least he doesn't need to worry about high tides!

 

 

Updates:

I fixed some problems in the original game.

 

The patch at $FF00 can cause a visual glitch the first time you see the blob creature (whatever that is), so I corrected the vector instead of using a patch.

 

Climbing ladders the first time can also skew the display, so I added a check to make sure Noah's vertical location does not roll to #$FF.

 

Scanline corrections to all 3 screens at 262. The jitter is still present when transitioning, tho. The "ship bounce" you may see on Stella is also fixed.

 

The dotted line mentioned earlier is removed.

 

Tubes are all the same color, and I bumped the reserve life color a bit.

 

Porky's animation was a bit lacking, so I gave him moving legs.

 

(All the changes also added to the portable version)

 

I've been watching with interest your work in making Arkyology better suited for platforms that didn't exist when the game was originally made.

 

I am however concerned that modern modifications, specifically that impact game appearance and functional play dynamics will cause confusion and inconsistent user experience with multiple ROMs floating around with differing game play.

 

So in the interest of preventing confusion and trying to preserve the original intents, I would ask the following.

 

1. Modifications to the game that change any of the object's appearances or game play dynamics (such as climbing on and off the ladders, animal's animations, etc) SHOULD be released with a different name. Specifically should not use Arkyology, or the Arkology from your post.

 

2. Changes that stabilize the screen, or help it be more reliable on other platforms should also be noted as modifications, and not use the original name.

 

I would very much like feedback from the AtariAge community on this.... I'm not sure if other games have faced this type of an issue before, but I do feel strongly, after holding this for 35 years, that the original should be the only version out there that uses the original name - Arkyology.

 

Please post your thoughts on this, as it is an important point when it comes to preserving the history.... Perhaps we could even come up with a naming convention to follow in a situation like this?

 

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to seeing your comments..

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Nukey Shay's version plays perfect, and the original was kind of wonky on stella. The ship bounce was a problem. I'd love to see a definitive version created with your input, one that plays with no errors. From there, a cart could be made. There are some great programmers here. I'm sure they could help you get Arkyology to play perfectly :)

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Nukey Shay's version plays perfect, and the original was kind of wonky on stella. The ship bounce was a problem. I'd love to see a definitive version created with your input, one that plays with no errors. From there, a cart could be made. There are some great programmers here. I'm sure they could help you get Arkyology to play perfectly :)

Hey Hizzy,

 

I agree that any and all issues that make it more stable should be implemented.

 

What I'm concerned about are changes to the graphics (Porcupine leg animation), and Noah's movement on and off the ladders -- if changed should be issued with a different name. Maybe something like M-Arky, or Arky-Mod or something just to indicate it's been changed from the original intent.

 

Edit: Specifically I feel that this piece of history should be preserved as it was intended without confusion as to what version floating around is an aesthetic or game play mod. However, I'm very interested in the viewpoints of the community on this.

 

Thanks!

Edited by pwalters
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Hey Hizzy,

 

I agree that any and all issues that make it more stable should be implemented.

 

What I'm concerned about are changes to the graphics (Porcupine leg animation), and Noah's movement on and off the ladders -- if changed should be issued with a different name. Maybe something like M-Arky, or Arky-Mod or something just to indicate it's been changed from the original intent.

 

Edit: Specifically I feel that this piece of history should be preserved as it was intended without confusion as to what version floating around is an aesthetic or game play mod. However, I'm very interested in the viewpoints of the community on this.

 

Thanks!

 

I fully agree with this and to be honest: I think it's a bit disrespectful to change and alter the original ROM (all well meant intentions aside) without letting the programmer know first.

 

Paul, your original ROM is archived in the Atarimania database and in my latest ROM collection that will be available online coming Christmas.

 

8)

 

 

Edited by Rom Hunter
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Paul,

 

The original & unmodified Arkyology rom data is officially documented & safeguarded. And the purists like myself, have used that original file that you uploaded on here to build our own personal cartridges.

 

Any & all modifications that may be done to it over the years will never replace it as such.

 

And even if you would have released it officially through a small production cartridge run, the rom data would still eventually become public & would still be hacked & disected & modified a thousand times over.

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I’d like to be able to purchase the original ROM on cart with a simple text label. Could be as simple as Title and Version (in keeping with the spirit of prototype carts). I’m enjoying the game as-is and would like to support an “Official” cart release.

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I think we should give the original game and its author the respect they deserve and follow his wishes. We may not be able to control what everyone does everywhere, but we can do what we can to retain the original's obviousness and not have a lot of versions with the same name floating around creating unneeded confusion. Possibly noting it is a different version on the start screen would be helpful, also.

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Paul,

 

The original & unmodified Arkyology rom data is officially documented & safeguarded. And the purists like myself, have used that original file that you uploaded on here to build our own personal cartridges.

 

Any & all modifications that may be done to it over the years will never replace it as such.

 

And even if you would have released it officially through a small production cartridge run, the rom data would still eventually become public & would still be hacked & disected & modified a thousand times over.

 

Hey,

 

Thank you for you comments, I appreciate seeing them -- and this goes to all the others who have commented as well.

 

Honestly I think the mods are pretty cool. I'm not against them at all. Also, I knew it was inevitable that there would be hacks, mods, and what have you out there.

 

I just think that releasing them with the same name really could cause confusion and muddy the waters so to speak.

 

So my train of thought is to ask those who do release mods to change the name of their release in a way that notes it's a mod. And yes, there is no way to enforce it and anything could happen and this would merely be a request.

 

 

Thanks!

Edited by pwalters
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