Impossible Mission (New Player Sprites & Colors)

[KevinMos3]

http://youtu.be/wpzw6KIYMYE

I started with the "Fixed" version of Impossible Mission, so this rom is completable. This is a continuation/completion of what was started in this thread where I posted a very minor stance edit and some idea pics. I've reworked all the player sprites, reworked the PDA with added detail, drawn a new elevator which combines the appearance of the C64, SMS, and 7800 versions, added text to the Win Screen (There's a completion message and dialogue for Elvin), and changed colors of the player, PDA, elevator, and title screen.

 

Update 5 Sep 2016: This is long overdue, but here is an update to the Combo Pack. The main "blue" version included in this is the same as the single ROM that was uploaded in the 7800 forum a few months ago, but the rest of these never got uploaded anywhere. Changes from the previous version include a tweaked character sprite, additional shading on the rocks, and some more updates to the PDA. They are all from March 2015 except the C64 one which I just updated in July of this year.

Impossible Mission (Combo Pack v2).zip

 

Screenshots of some of the alternate versions included in the combo pack:
Original RED player color with matching PDA and title screen.

Military GREEN with matching PDA and title screen.

And a novelty version to imitate the C64 a little bit, inspired by Marco. I didn't change the robots because I didn't want to spend that much time on it.



Here is a bookmark file for Hex Workshop with a lot of the color locations. I didn't bother to bookmark the hallway/shaft color locations because I like them as they are.
Impossible Mission (a78) Bookmark.zip


Previous Versions:

Below are previous versions:

 

There are two versions of the head, one has more hair than the other.

Impossible Mission (Combo Pack).zip

Screenshots of some of the alternate versions included in the combo pack:
Original RED player color with matching PDA and title screen.

Military GREEN with matching PDA and title screen.


Here's one more version (not included in combo pack) to imitate the C64 a little bit:

Impossible Mission (C64).a78

 

Last version before final Combo Pack:
Impossible Mission (Win New).a78
Impossible Mission (Win New - Alt Head).a78

Impossible Mission (Win New).bin
Impossible Mission (Win New - Alt Head).bin


Older:
There is also a version with an eye. Some may like it, some may not, so you have a choice.

There are also 3 color variations, BLUE pants, GREEN pants, and the original RED pants (formerly shirt color).

The zip file contains all variations in both a78 and bin formats, so make sure you unzip before you play.







Impossible Mission (New Sprites).zip


Version 2:
In this one, the top of the "Launch Aborted" message is cut off because of an apparent wrong/missing pointer in the original rom.

IM New PDA.a78
IM New PDA (Alt Head).a78

 

Edited September 6, 2016 by KevinMos3

[KevinMos3]

A lot of updates to this. You can get the roms in the above post.

[DracIsBack]

Nice! If only you could make him talk like the C64 version and add the sound effects.

[KevinMos3]

Another update:

New roms in 1st post.

The original rom seems to have a wrong pointer on the Win screen. Instead of using the graphic for the top row of the screen, the 2nd row is repeated twice. This was undetectable with the original graphics, but with the changes, it became apparent, as the top of the "Launch Aborted" message is cut off and the lights are the same on the top 2 rows.

 

The updated rom does NOT actually fix the pointer (this would be the best thing to do, but I cannot do it myself). Instead, I've accommodated for the error by condensing the message so it's all below the top 2 rows. See screenshot in the 1st post for new Win screen.

[Bakasama]

That reminds me, the original programmer was trying to fix this the whole game and maybe change the graphics. That was some years ago.

[KevinMos3]

That was some years ago.

 

Actually, he last posted in October of this past year (2012), so I still have a lot of hope for this.

 

I mentioned it in the other thread in the 7800 forum. Perhaps we should share some encouragement to see it through.

 

This hack is just a hold-me-over until his release. There was talk of adding the voice, so if that were to ever happen, this win screen would become irrelevant. I'd love to see that happen. For now, I'd like to increase the delay of that win screen. It's gone too quick in my opinion. Since there's no voice, it would be nice to have a longer pause to revel in Elvin's shame.

Edited February 6, 2013 by KevinMos3

[Trebor]

I need to re-iterate my comments here as stated in the other thread...

 

Amazing, Kevin! Embarrassingly enough, I only tried this graphic enhanced version today...And WOW...I was blown away.

 

The movement and fluidness of the character resembles more of a 'Flashback' and 'Prince of Persia' hybrid than what use to be in place. Really impressed by how much more natural and detailed the character appears in motion...

 

BRAVO....Excellent job!

[DracIsBack]

Is there a BIN only version?

[KevinMos3]

BIN added. However, all that's needed for a BIN version is to strip off the header of the a78 file. This is true for all but the 144K roms. For those, you also need to move the last 16K to the beginning of the rom.

 

BTW, if anyone is interested in having the version with the eye, let me know. Right now, only the older version has the eye option.

[DracIsBack]

BIN added. However, all that's needed for a BIN version is to strip off the header of the a78 file.

 

People have said that a few times, though no one has ever shown me how to do that. :-)

 

THanks for the bIN

[KevinMos3]

...no one has ever shown me how to do that.

 

Here's how to do it. Use any hex editor (I like Hex Workshop, but any will do), and just delete the header.

 

 

 

I thought about uploading a bin before, but didn't know if there would be interest in it. Now you know how, so you won't have to wait on anyone to upload one.

[KevinMos3]

Impossible Mission updated in the 1st post. A couple of the jump sprites have been improved and there are now multiple variations combined in the Combo Pack zip file.

• Blue - the default rom that I consider final. This is the version seen in the youtube video, except the video was before the jump sprite edit.
  
• Red - same sprites as blue, but the pants are the original red that the shirt used to be. The title screen and PDA have been changed to match.
  
• Green - same sprites as blue, but the pants are army green and the shirt, hair, & boots are dark brown. Title screen and PDA changed to match.
  

• (more hair) - blue version with more hair.
  
• (small chest) - blue version with smaller chest (for Marco).
  
• (more hair - small chest) - blue version with both more hair and smaller chest.
  

• Finally, bin files of each are included as well as a78.
  

I will upload pictures of the variations later.

[+Defender_2600]

• (small chest) - blue version with smaller chest (for Marco).
  

 

 

Thank you for your kindness.

 

Kevin, again, excellent work.

 

Mission Impossible is one of my favorite games and I love the version 7800 (the animation of the robots is beautiful), but I was a bit disappointed with a some things.

 

The updates that you have made are really great. I am too happy, almost does not seem real.

[KevinMos3]

Thanks Marco. I've added some sample pics to the first post.

 

Also, I added a version that imitates the C64 a little bit more. It's been on my mind since you mentioned that you were nostalgic for C64 colors. I didn't plan on actually doing this, which is partly why I shared the bookmark file, (so you and others could edit the colors however they choose), but I couldn't help myself. I'd like to note however, that the C64 has a far more limited color palette than the 7800, so the 7800 version can (and should) be much more colorful. This is just an attempt to satisfy that nostalgia a little bit.

[+Defender_2600]

Also, I added a version that imitates the C64 a little bit more. It's been on my mind since you mentioned that you were nostalgic for C64 colors.

 

 

 

This is a blow to the heart. Thank you!

 

 

 

I'd like to note however, that the C64 has a far more limited color palette than the 7800, so the 7800 version can (and should) be much more colorful. This is just an attempt to satisfy that nostalgia a little bit.

 

 

Totally agree!

 

Maybe still a last version: C64 colors and player of the blue version (with smaller chest? ).

But forgive me for this, I'm not courteous to ask again.

 

And with the Combo Pack is still Christmas!

 

 

P.S.

GREEN Military version is very nice

 

 

 

 

[KevinMos3]

Maybe still a last version: C64 colors and player of the blue version (with smaller chest? ).

But forgive me for this, I'm not courteous to ask again.

 

Actually, I think I'll take this opportunity to challenge you... because I'd like to see more people hacking 7800 games. It's not as easy as the 2600 because we don't have the simple tools like bithacker and hackomatic (although you can still use them to some extent), but with a little patience, a hex editor can do wonders.

 

You said before that you have Hex Workshop. So, you can take my blue small chest rom and open it with Hex Workshop along with the bookmark file. From there, you can change all the colors to what you see in the C64 version. That will be a very simple task to get your feet wet. In fact, I went ahead and cleaned up the bookmark a little bit. The elevator colors are all together now and I marked the hallway/shaft outline colors as well, but I just made a mass bookmark of them. They follow the same sequential order as the elevator colors. There are other colors in this area of the rom too. I didn't mark the hallway backgrounds, but you can find them easily and they'll be together as well.

Impossible Mission HW bk (a78).zip

 

If you want to take it further, you can do a "compare" of the rom variations to see where I changed the graphics. For example, you can search for where I changed that one pixel above the shoulders (there are several sprites that were changed for that), and then you can do the same change to the rom you're working on. Looking at the patterns will show you what does what with the sprites and before you know it, you'll be hacking away at other games as well. However, as for the chest, be aware that the emulators don't display the same pixel ratio as a real 7800. They look wider than the real thing. When you view the game on a real 7800, the character is more narrow so the chest does not appear as wide.

 

Happy hacking!

[+Defender_2600]

Actually, I think I'll take this opportunity to challenge you... because I'd like to see more people hacking 7800 games. It's not as easy as the 2600 because we don't have the simple tools like bithacker and hackomatic (although you can still use them to some extent), but with a little patience, a hex editor can do wonders.

 

Happy hacking!

 

 

 

Kevin, thanks for the valuable advice.

In truth, when you have shared the locations of colors for the player, immediately I tried a few variations.

 

Now I'm thinking of an alternative version, therefore I accept this simple challenge, but I can not do this right away because at the moment I am focusing on a few things.

 

About hackomatic, this is incredible. A similar tool for the 7800 would be my downfall.

 

 

 

 

P.S.

 

I made another makeup, I could not resist.

I replicated the C64 graphics of the hallway and of the elevator shaft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[YANDMAN]

Kevin this is simply awesome, i dont care for the original much but i would consider a cart of your incredible work

[Lynxpro]

Don't get me wrong here because I think hacking this game - and other 7800 games - is just awesome [and the work in here does look awesome]. But here's some ideas.

 

*Add your name/handle/version number of the hacks to the title screens in order to not only give proper credit but also as a means of distinguishing between all of the various versions without resorting to naming conventions of the files themselves.

 

*Don't ape the C64 version. The 7800 has a larger color palette so if you can, surpass the C64's graphics. It'll not only show off your skills more but it'll also bring more attention to the 7800 - and the scene itself - on YouTube and around the net.

 

*XM Support. Using the Pokey** or the YM would vastly improve the audio. There's also the 128K RAM that could be taken advantage of. I guess some of the existing TIA sfx would still be used but that's a taste preference.

 

 

**Pokey could also come in handy if anyone wishes to try to convert this over to A8/5200. Granted, I realize the graphics are much much different and a difficult process but if the audio's already there, that's one less thing to have to deal with.

[KevinMos3]

*Add your name/handle/version number of the hacks to the title screens in order to not only give proper credit but also as a means of distinguishing between all of the various versions without resorting to naming conventions of the files themselves.

 

I appreciate the idea, but I don't like adding my name to hacks. It's a hack / modification of an existing work, so I don't deserve to take credit. In fact, I feel like it would be an insult to the original programmer(s) if I were to do so. They went through the months of painstaking labor to develop a game from the ground up and then if I come along and plaster my name on it just because I changed a few things, that seems really offensive to me.

 

 

*Don't ape the C64 version. The 7800 has a larger color palette so if you can, surpass the C64's graphics. It'll not only show off your skills more but it'll also bring more attention to the 7800 - and the scene itself - on YouTube and around the net.

 

I totally agree with you here. I actually made a comment about this above in post #14.

 

 

*XM Support. Using the Pokey** or the YM would vastly improve the audio. There's also the 128K RAM that could be taken advantage of. I guess some of the existing TIA sfx would still be used but that's a taste preference.

 

The game already uses extra RAM on the cart (although not 128K). It would be cool to have updated pokey sound from the XM, but that's not a skill I have at this time. Some people really dislike the sound in this game. I think it's fine, but I'm sure a more pleasing sound could be achieved with a pokey (or YM). The coolest addition to this game IMO would be to add Elvin's voice to the start & finish. The original programmer has posted on here a couple of years ago about making a fixed rom and possibly even doing an updated version with extra features such as voice. I'm hoping he will see that through, but this hack is intended to hold me over until that happens.

[+Defender_2600]

 

The coolest addition to this game IMO would be to add Elvin's voice to the start & finish.

 

Absolutely agree, Elvin's voice would be a great addition.

There is also the player's voice when he falls down.

 

I saw that Schmutzpuppe has done an incredible work with the voices in Frenzy for 7800.

It would be really fantastic if he would be interested to add the voices in this version of Mission Impossible.

[Lynxpro]

 

Absolutely agree, Elvin's voice would be a great addition.

There is also the player's voice when he falls down.

 

I saw that Schmutzpuppe has done an incredible work with the voices in Frenzy for 7800.

It would be really fantastic if he would be interested to add the voices in this version of Mission Impossible.

 

 

It would just take extra RAM to sample the voices from the C64 version. That could still be run through the TIA. Actually, if the C64 sound effects - or even the SMS version - were desired, they could also be sampled as well, but again, that would take more RAM.

 

The current audio SFX sounds like they were taken from other Atari 2600 titles. I totally hear the Force blast audio from Jedi Arena present.

 

The originally programmer discussed fixing the ROM but supposedly the PAL version was corrected during the original release. I would hope that means a simple copy/pasting of code would fix it.

 

As for the villain's original voice, forget that…how about sampling some of Davros's lines from Doctor Who? He's the ultimate evil mad scientist.

 

One other thing, as a means of making the hacked 7800 versions different than the other platforms. Could scoring be added somehow? Say generated based upon the time it takes to complete the game. If so, then the HSC could be implemented. What about keypad action? Then the 2600 Star Raiders Keypad, the 2600 Kids Controller, or the original 2600 Keypads could be supported.

[TrekMD]

Very cool. I just downloaded these to try them out. Thanks!

[KevinMos3]

Long overdue... the ROM combo pack has been updated in the first post. Changes from the last version include a tweaked player sprite, more shading on the rocks, more edits to the PDA, and an updated C64 imitation added to the pack just for fun (thanks Marco, for that inspiration).

 

Edited September 6, 2016 by KevinMos3

[+sramirez2008]

This looks awesome. One of my favorite games. Would it possible to make a cart for those of us that don't have emulation or a Cuttle Cart?