solidcorp Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Don't be so hard on yourself. Some of you guys are just ruthless. I believe that it is physically impossible for RT to ignore a "straight line". He would probably explode like the fat guy in "Meaning of Life". Solidcorp, I do have to say that you have dealt with the whole thing (the difference of opinion, the reponse, and the guys who just want to get a laugh) pretty calmy and respectfully. Thanks man, I really appreciate your saying so. This particular forum [programming] is really not the venue for any launch announcement, let alone one like this. I come here out of habit, it's a good group, and the best Atari site in the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) Unless I'm mistaken, he posted that it is a standard F8 game. So no, it is not using a unique scheme...and (would) run on anything that can load 8k. His comment was in reference to what he used during development. One can only imagine what HSW could have done with a modern dev system and Harmony to test on-the-fly back in 1981 Chances are, it would blow anything that is being done today completely out of the water. Edited July 21, 2011 by Nukey Shay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 It's your game . . . Because it's based on an existing property he has to surrender it to the public domain? The original concept belonged to Cinematronics but the code was 100% Williamson's. Everybody wants freebies (the internet has conditioned them to expect it) but the fact is that a lot of work was put into this game. He deserves compensation for that, and if he's wise he'll ignore the self-entitled whiners and make sure he gets it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidcorp Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Hey wait... I just caught this... so you used Harmony in developing this game? I thought your had written a proprietary bank switching scheme for Star Castle. Harmony happened to have support for that built in? And now I understand the price. Deep inside the text of terms of use that hardly anybody bothers to read, the authors and developers of Stella and Harmony, respectively, have a clause that includes them in any proceeds when people sell their wares commercially. So there. D. Scott isn't the only one that stands to make out here. Share the wealth 'yo! Star Castles does use a proprietary bank switching scheme and recent development has all been EEPROM burning. (which is a total friggin' pain, and if I could ever get my LoadBoy working again I wouldn't have to do it ) I have read the entire EULA for both products, they say a lot of stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 . . . and the guys who just want to get a laugh . . . Oops, You made a little mistake. You don't get a laugh, you give a laugh. I try not to give a laugh, though. I try to give a snort or a chuckle, with a little squirt of puke coming up in the mouth whenever possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I was just curious, I haven't seen any with LED's, but I haven't exactly been looking, and didn't know what capacities you had made either. Your PCBs are available, no? Yea, perhaps a better question is do you have a link to your online store, or many different PCB's? They are to select individuals who ask nicely, I took my store offline a few years ago. I program videogames for a living all day, every day. I just don't have the time and the hassle with overseas shipping got on my nerves. Largest capacity is 32K + SARA, for the 2600, didn't have the need for 64K, yet! In fact, I need to get back to work, so be civil people. Or else... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck D. Head Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Oops, You made a little mistake. Don't be so hard on yourself. (KABLAMM!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Sorry...I misunderstood post #27's mention of an F8 scheme for Stella To clairify tho...does that mean that the game is not dependant on your chosen scheme (aside from the necessity of 8k)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevEng Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Solidcorp, speaking of the capacity, I noticed on your image of the cart test that you comment "It is the first working 64k cartridge that I am aware of." Stella's Stocking was 64k, and Joe Grand has given away the gerbers for his 64k cart design for a while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Everybody wants freebies (the internet has conditioned them to expect it) but the fact is that a lot of work was put into this game. He deserves compensation for that, and if he's wise he'll ignore the self-entitled whiners and make sure he gets it. You kind of took it the wrong way, but since when does hard work mean you deserve anything? You aren't guaranteed a penny when it comes to homebrew work like this. You get what people are willing to pay. If no one buys, you get nothing. If the economy keeps getting worse and our civilization collapses into some kind of nightmare world where gangs with guns turn the rest of us into slaves, he'll deserve to shut the hell up and do what he's told. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectorGamer Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Thanks, the version exhibited last year did not have difficulty like the coin op, it started too hard but never got harder. Now as the levels progress, the cannon in the center increases it's rotation speed, the three sparks turn and move faster to track you. As far as controls are concerned, there was an overflow branch bug in my thrust code that caused the trajectory to straighten out unnaturally at max speed which has been fixed. All of these improvements made the game more like the original coin op. With my personal best @ 27,260 and my current average per game at 21K, I am better than most and not as good at some at Star Castle. I'd have to play this 2600 version myself, but I just can't see how using a joystick and one button is able to get close in replicating the precision that is required to perform the double attack which for most players is a requirement once you hit 18,000. Guess I'll never know. For those that are not familiar with the double attack, I recorded a video a few months ago. You can see this method starting around the 4:30 mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn4FPd2KV_A 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emehr Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I just came here to say... 1. Roadblasters and STUN Runner are two of my favorite Lynx games. Excellent work on those! 2. I would buy a Star Castle cart if it were available and reasonably priced (not $80, I won't do that again). It would go well with all of the other homebrews I've purchased after being able to play the binary. 3. May I suggest starting a tentative list of all persons interested in purchasing a cart? You might then get an idea of what you stand to make off your work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I'd have to play this 2600 version myself, but I just can't see how using a joystick and one button is able to get close in replicating the precision that is required to perform the double attack which for most players is a requirement once you hit 18,000.Use a controller built with Asteroids in mind? IIRC, there was a couple of types made back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickeycolumbus Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I really hope this gets released some day. That said, do what ever you want with it (as foolish as it may seem to the general public). Solidcorp, speaking of the capacity, I noticed on your image of the cart test that you comment "It is the first working 64k cartridge that I am aware of." Stella's Stocking was 64k, and Joe Grand has given away the gerbers for his 64k cart design for a while now. There are several 64K and larger schemes, one was even used in the Dynacom MegaBoy cartridge back in the day. They aren't utilized by many games, unfortunately. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I'd have to play this 2600 version myself, but I just can't see how using a joystick and one button is able to get close in replicating the precision that is required to perform the double attack which for most players is a requirement once you hit 18,000.Use a controller built with Asteroids in mind? IIRC, there was a couple of types made back in the day. Mmm, yes... love my Starplex controller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Everybody wants freebies (the internet has conditioned them to expect it) but the fact is that a lot of work was put into this game. He deserves compensation for that, and if he's wise he'll ignore the self-entitled whiners and make sure he gets it. You kind of took it the wrong way, but since when does hard work mean you deserve anything? You aren't guaranteed a penny when it comes to homebrew work like this. You get what people are willing to pay. If no one buys, you get nothing. Oh come on, people will pay for this. They paid thirty thousand dollars for Space Jockey turned on its side. They'll definitely pay for this. The problem is that so many people THINK they should get it for free. Let me ask you this... what entitles them to gifts from strangers? (Hint: nothing.) Williamson will get his payday, if he's got the guts to hold his ground. If he's a chump like me, he'll say "Oh, it's for the good of the community," then bend over for the meat train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 The trouble is we still don't know whether or not 2600 Star Castle sucks. Howard Scott Warshaw could still be right. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck D. Head Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) The trouble is we still don't know whether or not 2600 Star Castle sucks. Howard Scott Warshaw could still be right. I think it would be hard to say it sucked, even if the controls were bad. What I remember of the video was pretty amazing, so at the VERY least that part was quite an achievment. I sooooo want to play some kind of Star Castle now. Edited July 22, 2011 by Chuck D. Head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eshu Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Everybody wants freebies (the internet has conditioned them to expect it) but the fact is that a lot of work was put into this game. He deserves compensation for that, and if he's wise he'll ignore the self-entitled whiners and make sure he gets it. You kind of took it the wrong way, but since when does hard work mean you deserve anything? You aren't guaranteed a penny when it comes to homebrew work like this. You get what people are willing to pay. If no one buys, you get nothing. Oh come on, people will pay for this. They paid thirty thousand dollars for Space Jockey turned on its side. They'll definitely pay for this. The problem is that so many people THINK they should get it for free. Let me ask you this... what entitles them to gifts from strangers? (Hint: nothing.) Williamson will get his payday, if he's got the guts to hold his ground. If he's a chump like me, he'll say "Oh, it's for the good of the community," then bend over for the meat train. I don't think anyone thinks they should get it for free, sure some would like to - I would be absolutely astounded if anyone pays $32k for a modern 2600 game. I honestly don't think this game will be sold or released, and solidcorp is absolutely within his rights to set any price he wants. In a public forum everyone else is absolutely within their rights to express their views on the absurdity of such a price especially with solidcorp saying the game is for sale only to later state that it is for a price that I think you'll struggle to find anyone else who doesn't think is absurd. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Let me ask you this... what entitles them to gifts from strangers? (Hint: nothing.) Strange-looking men in windowless vans have trained us since childhood that we are entitled to gifts from strangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh3-rg Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I'll give you $65,536.00... ...double the price, that's why they call me Terry Tibbs. Much love xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Reminds me a bit of those Jaguar weirdos, like Gorf. Gahhhh! <shudders> 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 The trouble is we still don't know whether or not 2600 Star Castle sucks. Howard Scott Warshaw could still be right. I think it would be hard to say it sucked, even if the controls were bad. What I remember of the video was pretty amazing, so at the VERY least that part was quite an achievment. I sooooo want to play some kind of Star Castle now. A video doesn't really cut it. I won't know it doesn't suck until I play it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+5-11under Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 With my personal best @ 27,260 and my current average per game at 21K, I am better than most and not as good at some at Star Castle. I'd have to play this 2600 version myself, but I just can't see how using a joystick and one button is able to get close in replicating the precision that is required to perform the double attack which for most players is a requirement once you hit 18,000. Guess I'll never know. For those that are not familiar with the double attack, I recorded a video a few months ago. You can see this method starting around the 4:30 mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn4FPd2KV_A I see you're running on a ~45 degree angle once the enemies become very fast and follow steadfastly past the edges of the screen. I used to play quite a bit... although not much in the last 25 years... I used to run vertically in similar fashion. I never thought of running at an angle, but running vertically works fairly well. Is there an advantage to running on an angle later in the game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectorGamer Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I see you're running on a ~45 degree angle once the enemies become very fast and follow steadfastly past the edges of the screen. I used to play quite a bit... although not much in the last 25 years... I used to run vertically in similar fashion. I never thought of running at an angle, but running vertically works fairly well. Is there an advantage to running on an angle later in the game? You'll see a lot of players that will go north/south and bounce off of the rings. That's fine for the earlier stages, but is certain death in the latter stages of the game. So, by exiting at 3 o'clock, entering at 9 o'clock flying up to 12 o'clock and entering at 6 o'clock you maintain full speed ahead of the sparks. If you choose to bounce off the rings you're too slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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