Asteroids: why 8Kb and then such a bad port?

[+FujiSkunk]

Here we go. Twice in a row a medium asteroid "splits" into only one small asteroid. I assume this is due to a maximum number of rocks already on screen. If so, then it isn't just a 2600 limitation, though of course the arcade game still wins with a larger maximum.

 

Click on the image for the animation.

 

Edited June 22, 2012 by FujiSkunk

[+SpiceWare]

Thanks!

[+wood_jl]

This thread is whacked! Asteroids for the 2600 was a MASTERPIECE for the time. You must be some young kid who has no understanding of what an achievement the game is, respecful of the meager 2600 hardware. 2600 Asteroids is awesome! So are the hacks!

 

With all of the shit-ass ports of other games, I'm somewhat surprised that a great game like 2600 Asteroids is criticized.

Edited June 22, 2012 by wood_jl

[ZylonBane]

With all of the shit-ass ports of other games, I'm somewhat surprised that a great game like 2600 Asteroids is criticized.

 

In the five years that you've been here, surely you've noticed that AA's membership doesn't exactly trend toward the intellectual cream of the crop.

[SoulBlazer]

With all of the shit-ass ports of other games, I'm somewhat surprised that a great game like 2600 Asteroids is criticized.

 

In the five years that you've been here, surely you've noticed that AA's membership doesn't exactly trend toward the intellectual cream of the crop.

 

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

[Jinks]

2600 asteroids = awesome!

It was the only asteroids I knew at the time.

Way better than those vector games!!

[ZylonBane]

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

 

Unless, y'know, they don't mind breaking a few windows.

[+SpiceWare]

Screenshot showing 26 asteroids in Space Rocks

[+FujiSkunk]

Screenshot showing 26 asteroids in Space Rocks

 

Me want.

[+SpiceWare]

Me want.

Latest build is here

[+FujiSkunk]

Cool! One of these days I'll actually do something with this Harmony cart I bought.

 

Right now I'm doing a bit of "research" that's keeping my free time tied to the NES and Atari 130XE.

[Trinity]

Me want.

Latest build is here

 

Man this is a GREAT game!!!!

[Vaughan]

Well, I'm coming to this thread late, and I'm not too active posting (I do a lot of reading though).

 

I think what gets missed is a sense of time. Back in the day, we didn't expect arcade ports to be exact copies. Close was close enough. We knew the home versions were going to be pale imitations, what we wanted was for the port to be as close as possible in essence. Even though we didn't know the technicalities at the time, we just knew that arcade machines were more powerful, you didn't need to be a coder to figure that out. As such, the Asteroids port was pretty damn good.

 

There are countless examples, such as Missile Command. That's a great game, and in its essence the port does the job. On the other hand, we knew it didn't have everything the arcade game did. Again, that was expected.

 

Looking at things now, well, fair enough. But most people here have a love for Atari, for the memories, for what the consoles represent. Again, no-one is expecting arcade perfect conversions. This is ATARI. Home ATARI. For better or worse.

 

As to why we still play these old games, see above. I enjoy them because I recall playing them in yesteryear. And guess what, once I'm playing I don't care too much about the graphics. It's supposed to be fun, that's all. And this is coming from someone who owned an Asteroids arcade cab. The Atari version is different, that's all. Personally I loved the colored asteroids, who wanted a home version that was black and white? Color TV's were all the rage at the time, it was a step up from the black and white TV's that most people had (hence the black and white switch, it was there to accommodate all the people with older sets).

 

I love MAME, but it's not an Atari.

[Arkhan]

Wow I missed a fun thread.

 

 

The Atari 2600 Asteroids is ok. I like it. It's not as good as the arcade, but it is still a fun game. I never played it until the 90s (was born in 88. Got an Atari in like 1995.). I usually end up rolling the score on it.

 

Were ANY of you experts on hardware specs and such when the game came out? I'd guess the answer is no, not really, and that you all probably enjoyed 2600 Asteroids even if it isn't as great as the arcade one.

 

The criticisms of the Atari 2600 Asteroids aren't even that good. The game came out in 1981! Basically every Atari game is pretty jacked compared to the arcade. You want real complaints, look at Pac Man. Even when I was little, I could tell that game blew really hard.

 

You've got Defender being all goony and defective (but still fun), Kangaroo looks like crap, Donkey Kong is missing a level, Jungle Hunt has goofy controls... the list goes on and on. It's the Atari 2600. Except some quirks. Enjoy some games. They're all pretty good, when you really think about the hardware and what they had to do to make it happen.

 

That Space Rocks game looks excellent.

[Tin_Lunchbox]

The Atari 2600 Asteroids is ok. I like it. It's not as good as the arcade, but it is still a fun game. I never played it until the 90s (was born in 88. Got an Atari in like 1995.). I usually end up rolling the score on it.

 

Were ANY of you experts on hardware specs and such when the game came out? I'd guess the answer is no, not really, and that you all probably enjoyed 2600 Asteroids even if it isn't as great as the arcade one.

 

<quoted text clipped for brevity>

 

Do you recall what variation of 2600/Video Arcade Asteroids you played? I don't think I would like variations without the diagonally-moving (as opposed to left/right drifting) small asteroids and the saucer and the drone, but at the time I had to look at the instruction booklet and sort it out to variation 4 with switches set to expert. The force shield and flip functions might've been okay for momentary diversion.

 

I actually do remember knowing that the Asteroids cartridge made use of 8K "bank-swapping" technology. It was in an article in Electronic Gaming monthly magazine. I'd suspect though, that most casual, non-EG-reading players wouldn't have known. I mean how would they have? Word of mouth, or the higher price, maybe?

[Arkhan]

I played this one

 

http://yourentertainmentnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/asteroids_atari2600-large-070209.jpg

 

I still have it.

 

I used to just sit and flick through the variations to see what they did. I had no manuals because I got all the games loose, or as hand me downs.

[Vaughan]

In honor of Asteroids I just played variant 4. I scored 72,000. So you can tell, it's pretty much as difficult as I want/need it.

[Arkhan]

To be honest, I like the retarded looking easter egg colored asteroids. I just tried the game again. It's still fun.

 

One could also argue that the solid rocks is more realistic than the arcade!

[Vaughan]

Personally, I think it's better than the 8-bit version. Drab colors, same gameplay......... maybe it's just me.

[Arkhan]

I also like the flickering.

 

My first atari experience was on this black and white TV that we still have, and the thing had such an intense white brightness that it was as good as the vector art bullets!

 

 

I should slap the thing on that again just for fun.

[Tin_Lunchbox]

In honor of Asteroids I just played variant 4. I scored 72,000. So you can tell, it's pretty much as difficult as I want/need it.

 

With expert switches in "on" position to get the saucer and the drone? Pretty good!

[Vaughan]

Yup.

 

The thing with the game is - you lose ships in clusters. Like, you can go a long time without losing a ship, but then you create a mess and lose two or three ships on the trot...... Annoying. But that's why I love it.

[Syntaxerror999]

Well if you want to talk about watered down experiences, Mame is right up there. Especially when it comes to the classic arcade titles. Note this is not a knock on Mame.. of course we all love it and use it. But it's just the known fact that even with the most basic of classic games.. e.g. Space Invaders, Asteroids, etc. even when playing on a fancy pc case.. err, mame cabinet, they for many reasons fall short of playing the original arcade cabinets. This isn't really the case when you start getting to the JAMMA era, but for games like Space Encounters, Star Wars, etc. etc. it's fine for what it is, but obviously just can't compare to the real thing.

 

That said, the 2600 versions are as pure 2600 experiences as can be.

 

Doesnt early arcade games for mame have to be recreated due to the origionals being all hardware logic and no ROM programable CPU? On that subject, wasnt Midways "dont know the name but its Outlaw on the 2600" the first arcade game to use a programable processor?

[Vaughan]

Mame is great if you want to get closer to the arcade experience. But that's simply not the same thing as being interested in consoles. Atari Asteroids is Atari Asteroids, the arcade is the arcade. To be honest I almost think of them as being totally different games. Code wise - they are.

[davyK]

As an accurate port, Asteroids does leave a lot to be desired - at least with respect to how it looks and also the difficulty due to the limited angular motion. But as a game it is marvellous - it recreates the feel of the arcade game very well and I played this to death back in the day and have really fond memories of playing it with my brother and cousins for hours at a stretch.

 

I see the OP is from Italy and therefore probably experienced the PAL version which runs noticeably slower - I'd recommend trying the NTSC version to see how it was meant to be played - it isd a lot smoother (or if you have a Harmony - try the PAL60 version I created - there's a thread about it here).

Edited June 27, 2012 by davyK