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New pacman for atari 2600


DINTAR816

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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 :grin: Some programmers like that sort of thing. Others may lose interest when a program grows beyond native capability :ponder:

 

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.

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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 .

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^^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 .

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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.

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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 by WildBillTX
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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.

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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.

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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.

:ponder:

 

Whatever DINTAR816 sees fit. :)

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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 by Thomas Jentzsch
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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.

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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 by NE146
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