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Arkyology - New prototype discovered - Finished Game!


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darn it, stop making awesome games! lol

 

i'm more than happy to give my money to the AA store when it's ready. kinda lame that folks are doing this on ebay.

 

The game was posted publicly without any strings attached so it was only a matter of time before this happened. I'm personally surprised it took this long before they started showing up for sale in public to the masses. A lot of people just don't care.

The light sixer Crossbow sent me was key to success here. Game works perfect as expected. Lesson to be learned here is that Arkyology will not run on 7800's that are known for issues with other games. You can add this title to the running list of 2600 games that work perfect on all other systems but don't work on bitchy 7800s.

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  • 2 months later...

Can't seem to track down the cause of that "death rattle"...but it only happens when the framecount reaches 60 in Stella (?)

 

By death rattle, do you mean how the screen slowly scrolls upward when it's game over? 'Cause that's what happens when playing the Arky_mod (not Paul's original rom) games with Harmony on a 7800 that plays all the known problem games.

 

Had some fun *finally* giving this game a try today! Was hoping the modded versions tweaked certain play mechanics, but doesn't seem to be the case. I'll have to give all 20+ pages a good read to see if I'm missing something, but getting on/off ladders is a bit tricky as is jumping to reach the keys/door handles and animals.

 

Also, what's up with the intermittent pulsating hole that sweeps the floor? Guess I have some reading to do. :lol:

My 7800 actually didn't exhibit any issues with the game at all and I've played it quite a bit. But I've only managed to get to day 4 as my higest. As for the Pulsating hole..that is actually a turtle...a really fast turtle.

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By death rattle, do you mean how the screen slowly scrolls upward when it's game over? 'Cause that's what happens when playing the Arky_mod (not Paul's original rom) games, Harmony on a 7800 that plays all the known problem games.

 

Had some fun *finally* giving this game a try today! Was hoping the modded versions tweaked certain play mechanics, but doesn't seem to be the case. I'll have to give all 20+ pages a good read to see if I'm missing something, but getting on/off ladders is a bit tricky as is jumping to reach the keys/door handles and animals.

 

Also, what's up with the intermittent pulsating hole that sweeps the floor? Guess I have some reading to do. :lol:

 

You can't jump on and off ladders, you have to be on the floor beneath the ladder (in the small rectangle on the floor) to get on or off. For the handles/latches/hammers/crosses/whatever and animals, you have to touch them with your out-stretched hand, not your head, so, it takes more precision than it first seems. Mechanics were not touched, as the difficulties were all intended. The programmers considered the game completed. By the last revision by Nukey, changes included graphical stability and other program stability issues due to transfer from 1984 "computer" to SD cart or modern emulator, minor graphical changes (water under ark, legs on porcupine), plus options where earning extra lives can go beyond three total and changes in the alligators (alligators/no alligators?). These options were set with the difficulty switched, last I remember). Someone else might remember something more, but I think those are the main revisions from the original. A turtle hack would be another nice addition to the Arky-Mod.

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Yes, that list of implemented changes sounds about right. But for the record, the only version I ever play, when I play, is the original untouched rom file as it was from the day the programmer posted it here. And on real hardware, (untouched stock 2600 with a CRT tv), it plays just fine. Difficult, and at times unforgiving? Yes. But you quickly get used to the control & gameplay. Not to mention, its the only way that your score counts towards our small group of competitors here!

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Not trying to rush anything or anyone, but was wondering when we could expect the official AA release of this cart? :)

Also, I would like to see the newest Xevious Prototype (fixed) released with and without Box. That was found and shared in 2015.

Was it forgotten, or is there just no demand?

 

The official Atari box can be seen in the background of an Atari commercial. Those 1984 games were really pushing the system.

 

I just wish the Xevious tune was as good as the 7800 Xevious, because it’s using the same sound chip.

Edited by iesposta
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  • 2 weeks later...

Pedantic: Alligators are only found in the Americas. Everywhere else in the world where one finds creatures of approximately similar size, shape and habitat, they are crocodiles. Alligators (real ones) are easy to distinguish by their broad jaws with nearly parallel sides, said to be "U"-shaped, in contrast with crocodiles' narrower, "V"-shaped jaws. Hmm, this description sounds a bit like something else we see a lot around here...

 

Regardless of whether they're alligators or crocodiles: since they are aquatic, why do they even need to be on the Ark?

 

One of the animal types that Noah feeds looks like a duck or goose -- a waterfowl. Same question!

Edited by A.J. Franzman
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I'm still hoping for an official release for this one, in collaboration with the original programmer (where he tunes it up and adds a bit of polish here and there like a difficulty select, maybe a tweaked scoring system, some minor additions/improvements to animation/sprite graphics, etc.).  This is one of my favorite 2600 games of all time, and to think that it nearly never saw the light of day at all (that would have been a tragic loss, IMO).  :sad:

9 minutes ago, NostAlgae37 said:

I'm still hoping for an official release for this one, in collaboration with the original programmer...to think that it nearly never saw the light of day at all (that would have been a tragic loss, IMO).  :sad:

Couldn’t agree more.  I’ll support an official release.  IMO, this game plays well as is, and deserves a proper CIB release.  

  • Like 1
8 hours ago, NostAlgae37 said:

I'm still hoping for an official release for this one, in collaboration with the original programmer (where he tunes it up and adds a bit of polish here and there like a difficulty select, maybe a tweaked scoring system, some minor additions/improvements to animation/sprite graphics, etc.).  This is one of my favorite 2600 games of all time, and to think that it nearly never saw the light of day at all (that would have been a tragic loss, IMO).  :sad:

Yes! And I have to say I am glad he released the rom in the meantime cause its been another year with no news of cart release except something like "very soon" a year ago. I am sad he lost the David and Goliath one that was also finished, or almost so.

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I see that the programmer has been active on the forums are recently as August 15. If you are reading this, I hope you revisit your game soon! It's a great game and deserves to be finished with your vision.

Yes, I visit the forum every now and then. I've spent the past year working most waking hours developing a new company and its products, so haven't had time to do much else.

 

I very much want this to be released as a cartridge. It would be nice to see the final chapter of this game that was developed 36 years ago.

 

My attempts to make that happen with others have failed - which is why I released the ROM a year ago. I've contacted Albert again to see if he is willing to move forward. If not, in a few months I might have the time to put into it.

 

I'll try to post more frequent updates.

 

Thanks for your enthusiasm! One of the things I liked about developing games was the thrill I got when I'd see the game being played and enjoyed by others.

 

 

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