New pacman for atari 2600

[Byte Knight]

Great job! This could have been the next "killer app" for the 2600 back in the day. Who knows how long this would have extended the popularity of the 2600...

[Nukey Shay]

Pac-Man WAS a killer app. Just not the game that many were expecting

[Nukey Shay]

I said just the same thing you did that it is unlikely to have intermissions in a 4k game.

I posted "And it's not unlikely that intermissions could exist in the 4k game"...which means it can be done with the existing unused space. How faithful they would be to the arcade would depend on if any more can be scrounged up.

 

 

I would say that adding intermissions is more of a challenge that NOT adding the intermissions.

And adding the intermissions while remaining 4k would be an even bigger challenge Some programmers like that sort of thing. Others may lose interest when a program grows beyond native capability

 

However, I agree that it would be impossible to create gameplay that is identical to the arcade using only native resources. Ram memory is way too limited to handle all of those specific timers and such.

[Raiu]

This is amazing. I wish I still had an Atari console to play this on.

[Shannon]

Thanks for the insight Nukey...

 

I understand the need for a challenge..

 

But I also see the opportunity for an ultimate pac-man version as well.

 

Finding a balance between the two as a programmer is the hard part.

[+Random Terrain]

I wish I still had an Atari console to play this on.

 

That's an easy fix:

 

youtube.com/watch?v=fJZMo-F5YGs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJZMo-F5YGs

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

That's an easy fix:

 

youtube.com/watch?v=fJZMo-F5YGs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJZMo-F5YGs

Somehow I seriously doubt that. Wile eBay has the best selection, the bert prises, it does nt!

[AtariBrian]

Without reading through all of the posts I have found a few (bugs) . If they have already been mentioned I apologize . Also ... is there a way to clean up the loud static / ticking noise in the background ? Easier to hear when your not moving or eating (dots) . When going across the bottom row left to right before you eat some dots they dissapear . And on the top row going right to left you go through some dots and they dont dissapear until after you go through them .

[+SpiceWare]

Also ... is there a way to clean up the loud static / ticking noise in the background ? Easier to hear when your not moving or eating (dots) .

 

I noticed that too, I was playing on real hardware.

[Andromeda Stardust]

^^Some hardware units are noisy like that. Occasionally my 4-switch Atari makes audible noise when certain colors are displayed prominently in the background. It might be due to old caps; who knows. My 2600 is noisier than my AV-modded 7800 for sure.

[AtariBrian]

^^Some hardware units are noisy like that. Occasionally my 4-switch Atari makes audible noise when certain colors are displayed prominently in the background. It might be due to old caps; who knows. My 2600 is noisier than my AV-modded 7800 for sure.

Well you can also hear it in his video he posted . There are some brews that also do it on the 7800 .

[+SpiceWare]

^^Some hardware units are noisy like that.

 

I don't notice noise like that in other games. Just fired it up in Stella and it occurs there as well. I suspect a glitch in the routine that decodes the audio data..

[AtariBrian]

 

I don't notice noise like that in other games. Just fired it up in Stella and it occurs there as well. I suspect a glitch in the routine that decodes the audio data..

The other games are also pac-man games and one other that isnt a pac-man game .

[AtariBrian]

Granted this static noise is more noticable than in the other games . Anyone else notice the bugs ?

[iesposta]

Re: Static noise.

Two things.

 

You will get a pop going from silence/volume zero to a sound (or even silence with a different volume level) because the speaker actually moves position based on the volume value. (Interesting example. My DK Arcade 2600 Kong growl at the end of each level is silence with changing volume levels!)

 

Second. There is a scratching in the Star Castle Arcade siren. I always thought it was a TIA thing.

[WildBillTX]

I thought "another version?", but this may beat PacMan4K or Hack'em for my favorite 2600 version. Excellent job! As for 4-8K size, we already have a 4K version. I'd love to see a "go for broke" 8K or even 16K version as close as the arcade version as the 2600 get it with the cutscenes and other nice player options, like a 2 player mode.

 

My only comments is the play speed doesn't ramp up as quite as fast as the original arcade game does, it starts out very slow like the old NES version did. And I think the design of the monsters could be improved, they look too blocky like PacMan4K's did.

Edited September 8, 2014 by WildBillTX

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Regarding the speed ramp up:

 

The arcade games where designed to limit playtime (to make more money). So the speed ramped up quite fast. IMO a game for home usage should not replicate this. The difficulty should start a bit lower and increase slower (maybe allow an option where to start). Else there is a risk that the game becomes frustrating too fast.

 

Star Castle is a very extreme example. The game alone is not easy, but the fast difficulty ramp up makes it impossible for the normal player after just 3 or 4 rounds in the arcade version. For my homebrew, I reduced that massively too allow longer playtimes and give the player more positive feedback.

[Nukey Shay]

But it's possible to pattern your gameplay in this (just as you can in most versions). So it becomes less necessary to reduce overall speed in order to build a game that people feel at ease playing (i.e. as you implied, at home vs. a machine stealing your cash). The fact that it's virtually impossible to pattern gameplay in something as fluid as Star Castle makes that an unfair comparison.

[Trebor]

Regarding the speed ramp up:

 

The arcade games where designed to limit playtime (to make more money). So the speed ramped up quite fast. IMO a game for home usage should not replicate this. The difficulty should start a bit lower and increase slower (maybe allow an option where to start). Else there is a risk that the game becomes frustrating too fast.

 

It is up to DINTAR816, nonetheless, I respectfully disagree with some of the above points - especially if the goal is to replicate the Arcade experience as close as possible.

 

Regarding the Arcade version, I personally find the lower levels (especially the first board) if anything, to be/start too slow, and it takes several levels to get up to challenging speeds.

 

Indeed, the opposing point could be made that if the difficulty starts a bit lower and increases slower, there is a risk of the game being boring and slow.

 

On the other hand, I do like the notion of having a choice...

Perhaps utilizing the difficulty switches: Beginner/slower speeds. [A] Advance/Arcade speeds.

 

Whatever DINTAR816 sees fit.

[+Random Terrain]

And I think the design of the monsters could be improved, they look too blocky like PacMan4K's did.

I thought these were the best looking ghosts/monsters that I've seen on the Atari 2600.

[Shannon]

For me the arcade pac-man never gets interesting until the apple level. And that just happens to be the level this conversion speeded up on.

 

In favor of the speed ramps up to quickly crowd there is always the infamous atari teddy bear mode.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

On the other hand, I do like the notion of having a choice...

Perhaps utilizing the difficulty switches: Beginner/slower speeds. [A] Advance/Arcade speeds.

That's what I suggested with "option".

 

If the game goes to 8k, there will be a title screen. And then there could be some difficulty options, one could be called "arcade".

Edited September 8, 2014 by Thomas Jentzsch

[Thomas Jentzsch]

But it's possible to pattern your gameplay in this (just as you can in most versions). So it becomes less necessary to reduce overall speed in order to build a game that people feel at ease playing (i.e. as you implied, at home vs. a machine stealing your cash). The fact that it's virtually impossible to pattern gameplay in something as fluid as Star Castle makes that an unfair comparison.

Fair point. I just wanted to give an example of stealing cash requirement vs. home different requirements.

 

Anyway, even executing patterned paths becomes more difficult at higher speed. And the same patterns as in the arcade won't work on a 2600 anyway (due too many parameters being different). Also, casual players (like me ) start playing the game without patterns. So they need some instant gratifications while playing. An option for a slower start/ramp up will help those.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I thought these were the best looking ghosts/monsters that I've seen on the Atari 2600.

I like them too.

 

However they are a bit wider than e.g. in Dennis' version. So maybe for some (not me) they may look too big compared to the maze.

[NE146]

So wait.. is there any chance for "patterns" to work in this? No big deal if not.. (some people don't like to have them). But the original arcade version of course had patterns and figuring them out, copying others, reading about them, etc. was part of the Pacman scene of course. Would be cool! But again, no biggie if not.. I dig it as it is so far.

 

<edit> obviously I'm talking about patterns that would be inherent to the 2600 version (if possible).. lest anyone think I'm talking about the actual original arcade ones.

Edited September 8, 2014 by NE146