D.K. VCS

[tep392]

Once you get to a skill level that you can reach the kill screen, you can play forever, so setting a high score is an endurance contest. I think the kill screen is more interesting, because now you have to develop strategy's to get the most points possible in the finite number of screens available.

[KevinMos3]

I pretty much always like some sort of ending, even if it's a far off goal that is probably beyond my skill level to reach (like the DK kill screen). At least I know it's there and attainable if I work at it hard enough. So, I'd like some kind of ending, even if it's like the (impossible for me to reach) Demon Attack score limit... or River Raid. However, I'd prefer an actual intentional proper ending over an accidental one like the previous ones mentioned.

 

Knowing that the game will loop forever kills some of my ambition for playing. For those who like to keep looping, there's always the reset button once the game is over.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I pretty much always like some sort of ending, even if it's a far off goal that is probably beyond my skill level to reach (like the DK kill screen). At least I know it's there and attainable if I work at it hard enough.

Donkey Kong has an "ending"; in fact it was one of the first arcade games with an achievable objective: Save the damsel in distress! Only problem is, instead of a romantic storybook ending, Donkey Kong immediately kidnaps Pauline again and the game continues ad-infinitum. It's like saving the princess on Super Mario Brothers, only on a much smaller scale. Believe what you want, but the game officially ends at the end of stage 4. Everything after that is in the sole pursuit of a high score, or as Tep392 puts it, an "endurance test." Yes, the game must obviously have some sort of difficulty ramp, otherwise people would eventually get bored with it and stop inserting quarters. Edited March 6, 2013 by stardust4ever

[iesposta]

Donkey Kong has an "ending"; in fact it was one of the first arcade games with an achievable objective: Save the damsel in distress! Only problem is, instead of a romantic storybook ending, Donkey Kong immediately kidnaps Pauline again and the game continues ad-infinitum. It's like saving the princess on Super Mario Brothers, only on a much smaller scale. Believe what you want, but the game officially ends at the end of stage 4. Everything after that is in the sole pursuit of a high score, or as Tep392 puts it, an "endurance test." Yes, the game must obviously have some sort of difficulty ramp, otherwise people would eventually get bored with it and stop inserting quarters.

I agree! That's the ending.

But she isn't kidnapped after stage 4 (the blue rivet level)... at least "on screen."

[+darryl1970]

I have to comment again. I am REALLY impressed with this offering, as well as the Jumpman game. I can't help but think of how this would have blown my mind back in the 80's. I remember expecting more out of Donkey Kong for the VCS. However, when I turned it on for the first time, I was barely disappointed, because the reality set in that the home version would NEVER compare to the arcade. If I had turned this on, I wonder if I would have taken it for granted. In all due respect, the VCS version is impressive for 4k of cartridge space, and I imagine a 32k 2600 game would have been comparable to NEO GEO vs Super NES prices. It's important to remember there were limitations that came with the time, Memory costs being one of them.

 

WIth all that said, I just had to share that I find this game more fun in its current state than the completed VCS game. Even though the enemies are not complete, it just feels better. I missed being able to fall of the end of the floors, falling through missing rivets, and two entire screens. The extra animation, the mind-blowing graphics, and the comparible sound effects take me to that happy place. I have to laugh when I think of what Coleco did.

 

One FINAL thought, which I hope doesn't get lost: I started a post a while back, sharing that it would be awesome to see an improved version for the 8-bit computers. If the 2600 is capable of this, there is NO REASON the 8-bit couldn't be almost arcade perfect. If Mario, the fireballs, and Donkey Kong looked this close alone, it would be HUGE! Scale the levels or scroll to restore the missing level, add the arcade fonts, and tweak some animations, timing, and collision issues.. It would be a winner.

 

Now full circle: GREAT, IMPRESSIVE, and THANKS for sharing! I hope my post can spark some positive chords, and maybe even inspire some offshoots.

[+Gemintronic]

I think the interesting thing here is two different individuals came up with amazing examples of how accurate DK could be pulled of on the 2600. While the assembly version is impressive I am especially pleased with how well the batari BASIC demo looks. I hope Fred continues to work on bB as the output quality of old AND new bB users increases.

[Back2Atari]

Only a small update this time. There's not much to see, it mostly fixes some loose ends:

• Fixed scan line count fluctuation at the end of stage 4.
  
• Bonus is now correctly added after Kong stops rolling his eyes.
  
• Made the Kong ending animation a bit more accurate. Can you spot what is different to the last version?
  
• And there's now not one but two ending tunes (thanks Perry!)
  

 

This blew me away! A friend and I were playing the 2600 Atari DK the other day. Talking about how the scoring and the gingerbread man leaves a lot to be desired. That is how I ended up here. Amazing what you have already done with this. I really hope you go all the way with this fine work! Thanks for sharing!

[accousticguitar]

I'm not really a Donkey Kong fan, but this is so good I would probably buy it in completed form. :thumbsup:

[ComputerSpaceFan]

As usual it's playable but not really a game yet.

 

BRAVO!!! Controls are perfect! I know it's a WIP but even at this stage it is superior to Coleco's offering.

 

Okay maybe I'm doing something wrong here. I can load up D.K.VCS_130225.bin that Joe released on Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:19 PM onto my Harmony cart and it looks awesome, sounds amazing, and is a real treat preview of what the final product will be like.

But I can't play it.

 

I assumed this was all just a tech demo and was happy to assume so, but the quotes above indicate I should be able to actually play it slightly, like move Jumpman or something? It doesn't. Kong climbs up his ladder, scrolling the screen up as he goes, and once he's reached his perch that's all that happens. The counter counts down, the music plays, but nothing I do with my joystick does anything at all. Should it?

[sandmountainslim]

Okay maybe I'm doing something wrong here. I can load up D.K.VCS_130225.bin that Joe released on Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:19 PM onto my Harmony cart and it looks awesome, sounds amazing, and is a real treat preview of what the final product will be like.

But I can't play it.

 

I assumed this was all just a tech demo and was happy to assume so, but the quotes above indicate I should be able to actually play it slightly, like move Jumpman or something? It doesn't. Kong climbs up his ladder, scrolling the screen up as he goes, and once he's reached his perch that's all that happens. The counter counts down, the music plays, but nothing I do with my joystick does anything at all. Should it?

Yeah you should be able to move Jumpman around and go thru all the stages.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I hate to sound like a tool, but have you verified that the joystick works by plugging in another game?

 

There are actually two WIPs of DK VCS. One's just a demo that displays a couple of static flicker screens demonstrating playfield display techniques (Mario doesn't interact with the environment at all), and the other game has four vertically scrolling levels with interactive platforms, but certain essential game elements (barrels, enemies, etc) have not been properly implemented yet, so DK VCS is still rather boring from a gameplay perspective. Mario can still jump, climb ladders, and move left/right though.

[Joe Musashi]

The very first binary is a stand-alone version of only the title screen. All other versions are playable, and Mario can be moved around in each stage. The lastest version even has all enemy types, only that they are not doing anything. They have been placed so that you can reach the top without having to jump over them.

[Joe Musashi]

That's an interesting point. Should the game go on forever, or should it end at some point, maybe when reaching level 10? I could make a special Game Over screen with Kong upside down.

 

Thanks for all the input about this!

 

When thinking more about it, I will leave it the way it is now, i.e., one can keep playing forever (though the score counter will stop at 999999 and the level counter at 9). If the game does not end the first time you beat Kong, it makes no sense that it intentionally stops at some seemingly arbitrary point later. After all, the arcade kill screen is really a bug not a feature .

 

Still, I agree it may be fun to have an 'accurate' level 22, bonus triggered kill screen. I think I will add that to the list of potential easter eggs (which you'll have to unlock).

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

I mean, who plays through 256 levels of anything? The only time anyone will ever see it is by tampering with the debugger in Stella.

 

You've obviously never played Gauntlet in the arcade with 3 friends and a pocket full of rolls of quarters....

 

Edit: On topic, this version of DK is definitely something I would add to my collection. I look forward to having this amazing cart sometime in the future!!

Edited March 12, 2013 by [d2f]Iggy*SJB

[gorfcadet]

This is truly an achievement! The 7800 and 2600 both getting such amazing ports at roughly the same time is too cool! I look forward to seeing this on a real cart! Any ideas on a preorder? I had no idea my old VCS could do that!

[Joe Musashi]

I haven't given a cart release much thought yet. I certainly won't have time to produce and sell cartridges myself. Maybe Al would be interested in doing this, but I haven't talked to him yet.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Just bother making a good game. Everything else will come more or less automatically.

[+darryl1970]

This is truly an achievement! The 7800 and 2600 both getting such amazing ports at roughly the same time is too cool! I look forward to seeing this on a real cart! Any ideas on a preorder? I had no idea my old VCS could do that!

 

YES! Now somebody PLEASE update the 8-bit versions!!!!

[8BiTf0oL]

Is this DK cart going to be made for us to purchase?

[sandmountainslim]

Can't wait to see the next update! Love it! Im sure people will be knocking themselves over to produce it as a cartridge if you allow it to be sold. No worries there.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I haven't given a cart release much thought yet. I certainly won't have time to produce and sell cartridges myself. Maybe Al would be interested in doing this, but I haven't talked to him yet.

Don't sweat it. If the game physics and enemy behavior are half as good as the graphics and level design you've already got, then people will be lining up to buy it. Talk to Albert. When the final game (ROM + artwork) is finished, he'll put it in the AA store and sell them with brand new PCB boards, and you'll get a $5 royalty for each cart sold. Edited March 24, 2013 by stardust4ever

[xybot67]

Hey Joe, how about another sampling? I need my fix

[Joe Musashi]

Sorry, there's nothing new to see. All recent changes were under the hood and it will take some more time to have something to show. But I got the barrel ... er I mean the ball rolling.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Sorry, there's nothing new to see. All recent changes were under the hood and it will take some more time to have something to show. But I got the barrel ... er I mean the ball rolling.

Be sure to do another reveal when you get some berrels rolling!

 

I was playing Donkey Kong and Pacman on my Uzebox, and while they are both playable, there's some issues with physics, timng and collision detection. Take your time and do this one right!

[StephenJ]

Joe,

I've been following this thread since it started and kept mostly in the background.

I hoping for three things:

1. You hang in there and finish this GREAT project.
   
2. You release it in cartridge form
   
3. You make the final product available for download to play on the Harmony Cartridge
   

Many thanks for all your efforts so far,

StephenJ