Voice synthesis hack/port ideas

[CloakandDagger]

Quite impressed with the voice synthesis Bob has achieved in Astroblaster and Frenzy. Great job!

 

A few ideas for games that could be hacked or ported to use this technique:

 

* Hack the existing 7800 version of pole position 2. Just add the "prepare to qualify" and "prepare to race". Would be so much cooler!

 

* Hack the existing 7800 version of Real Sports Baseball. Create the umpire voice by sampling the superior atari 5200 version.

 

* Port some atari 8-bit computer games that have simple gameplay but a lot of speech:

1) Kennedy Approach (Air Traffic Control simulator)

2) Castle Wolfenstien (Could run on the Frenzy/Berzerk 320 codebase with not too much modification)

 

Thoughts? Other suggestions?

Edited February 3, 2015 by CloakandDagger

[Trebor]

* Hack the existing 7800 version of pole position 2. Just add the "prepare to qualify" and "prepare to race". Would be so much cooler!

 

* Hack the existing 7800 version of Real Sports Baseball. Create the umpire voice by sampling the superior atari 5200 version.

RE: PP II

We do have the start of the graphics being updated/hacked for Pole Position II. Although it seems the original's space constraints (I.E. Code for only one road sign) has lend to any additional hacking as difficult. Without source code like we have for several other titles, it would be quite an undertaking to add speech.

 

RE: RealSports Baseball

It would make a pretty subpar baseball game now contain speech - *gag*.

 

The 7800 can do so much better than what that baseball game demonstrates. Pete Rose Baseball is a better (decent/fair) game and therefore a better option, but again, no source code makes it difficult. Honestly though, speech is the least needed update for improving those games. It's not going to make a subpar or decent (at best) baseball game significantly better.

[8th lutz]

RE: RealSports Baseball

It would make a pretty subpar baseball game now contain speech - *gag*.

 

The 7800 can do so much better than what that baseball game demonstrates. Pete Rose Baseball is a better (decent/fair) game and therefore a better option, but again, no source code makes it difficult. Honestly though, speech is the least needed update for improving those games. It's not going to make a subpar or decent (at best) baseball game significantly better.

I agree on RealSports Baseball since that game is better off programing it from scratch. Out of anything, I would've expected RealSports Baseball to be just as good or better than the 5200 version since the 7800 version has a bigger rom cartridge a first place. Why Atari screwed up on RealSports Baseball for the Atari 7800 is one that reason not here the answer to.

Edited February 3, 2015 by 8th lutz

[Trebor]

Out of anything, I would've expected RealSports Baseball to be just as good or better than the 5200 version since the 7800 version has a bigger rom cartridge a first place.

It's a good example of not only what hardware resources are available to the game, but the software development/developers too, in determining how it turns out.

 

While Pete Rose Baseball still leaves a lot to be desired, it was done within 32K. RealSports Baseball is 64K in size. RealSports Baseball is double the size and not even half the game that is Pete Rose Baseball. 'Kilo-for-kilo' if what was done in development within 32K was doubled to 64K, the 7800 may have actually had a good baseball game. Instead, we have one with potential (Pete Rose), and one that stinks (RealSports).

[CloakandDagger]

I totally agree the graphics stink on Realsports, but the gameplay is actually pretty good, at least in 2-player mode, and the timing is realistic. They say a baseball diamond is the perfect invention, and realsports captures that aspect adequately. Pete Rose: nice graphics, but I can't get past the "crowd noise." And the gameplay has issues too.

[8th lutz]

Space Fury and Bosconain.