+MrFish Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) Did this game ever get completed, or can it be downloaded as is? [YouTube Video] It was a proof of concept work for a sprite multiplexer and I don't think ever intended to go further. This and two other tech demos were made -- all using the same P/M multiplexer engine. One was of Contra and the other of Super Mario Bros. Ripper is a little flaky if you don't run on a PAL machine; the others are fine on NTSC. Here they are: Ripper PAL.xex Contra.xex Super Mario (Probe).xex Edited July 6, 2017 by MrFish 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 It was a proof of concept work for a sprite multiplexer and I don't think ever intended to go further. This and two other tech demos were made -- all using the same P/M multiplexer engine. One was of Contra and the other of Super Mario Bros. Ripper is a little flaky if you don't run on a PAL machine; the others are fine on NTSC. Here they are: Ripper PAL.xex Contra.xex Super Mario (Probe).xex Yep I will be running it on PAL (testing various things on XEL). Thank you - Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Did this game ever get completed, or can it be downloaded as is? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27HySiAjMZ4 - Michael Very impressive looking multi-plexor. The scroller looks a bit odd though - you can always see the top line "pop in", and there's a glitch at the bottom. Any details on the scroller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) Very impressive looking multi-plexor. The scroller looks a bit odd though - you can always see the top line "pop in", and there's a glitch at the bottom. Yes, I get the feeling he just swept some things under the rug in order to get on with testing his multiplexer. Any details on the scroller? If I'm not mistaken it was done by the same guy who programmed Crownland. I don't think he's great with English, so there might be more details on Polish forums. It was done way back in 2009. I think it was somewhat of a response to all the complaints about Crownland's multiplexer not looking so nice in certain situations (partial sprite flickering, etc.). He did mention some things about the multiplexer here on AA though. IIRC he used two players and their missiles per sprite to get 10 pixel width and no flicker until 3 or more sprites were on the same line. The thread is here somewhere, but I don't feel like digging it up now. The Super Mario demo was thrown together somewhat quickly as a contribution of ideas to the work Analmux was doing with converting the NES source code to run on the A8's. So it doesn't look quite as nice as the other demos he did, but shows the potential for being used in that scenario. Edited July 7, 2017 by MrFish 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Thanks - please don't take my post as complaining. It's damn impressive code, and FAR above my abilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) Thanks - please don't take my post as complaining. It's damn impressive code, and FAR above my abilities. No problem, I didn't take it that way; it's a pretty obvious thing that we're not used to seeing in an A8, smooth-scrolling context. I was just throwing out some background and a few of my thoughts on the work. It is impressive and shows great potential for future projects. Edited July 7, 2017 by MrFish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Some years ago "Ripper" could have been a milestone. After Atari Blast it's just like some "feetmark" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Some years ago "Ripper" could have been a milestone. After Atari Blast it's just like some "feetmark" The multiplexer engine might be, but in graphics style and design I prefer Ripper by far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xebec Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I'd still love to see an Elite port fully working on the Atari 800.. Just seems like a natural choice after seeing other 8-bit versions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 The multiplexer engine might be, but in graphics style and design I prefer Ripper by far. So, sometimes less is sometimes more? Small playfield, low amount of enemies, not much animations and colors... no background action.... hmmm... no music? In Atari Blast, particular the Xevious level, using those big animated "sprites" creating that " yes" this is what Xevious means ... feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 So, sometimes less is sometimes more? Small playfield, low amount of enemies, not much animations and colors... no background action.... hmmm... no music? In Atari Blast, particular the Xevious level, using those big animated "sprites" creating that " yes" this is what Xevious means ... feeling. To start, we're comparing a tech demo that took, maybe, a few months to code (if that), with a finished project that took several years. Ripper doesn't hold up against Atariblast for project depth, which is obvious, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about are the individual graphical elements that make up what Ripper does present: the planets with all their color changes, the glowing stars with lots of color changes too, the ship graphics, the different enemy graphics, the types of shots from the ship , and the upgrade graphics. These are all very well rendered, detailed, with a nice variety of color for the background that doesn't clash with all the other graphics. These are all combined in a coherent manner to create a very nice atomosphere. If they ever had put sound effects and music to it -- which wouldn't be hard at all -- you can imagine how it would enhance the atmosphere even further. Atariblast has a lot of depth, great elements, some really nice graphics, and some of the effects are fantastic, but I don't see any one level that creates an atmosphere that I like as much as what I see in Ripper. Actually, I thought Xevious was one of the best parts of Atariblast, and I even mentioned it to Harvey in a private conversation, and that they should do a remake of the whole game and it'd get a lot of attention. But he said they weren't really interested in such an undertaking, and also mentioned some shortcomings of attempting to do the complete game. But even considering how well it was done in Atariblast, do you really get the full sense of Xevious when Space Invaders and Pac-Man ghost enemies are flying at you? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 To start, we're comparing a tech demo that took, maybe, a few months to code (if that), with a finished project that took several years. Ripper doesn't hold up against Atariblast for project depth, which is obvious, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about are the individual graphical elements that make up what Ripper does present: the planets with all their color changes, the glowing stars with lots of color changes too, the ship graphics, the different enemy graphics, the types of shots from the ship , and the upgrade graphics. These are all very well rendered, detailed, with a nice variety of color for the background that doesn't clash with all the other graphics. These are all combined in a coherent manner to create a very nice atomosphere. If they ever had put sound effects and music to it -- which wouldn't be hard at all -- you can imagine how it would enhance the atmosphere even further. I agree with MrFish. What we see in this test piece, is so compelling, so detailed, with the smooth motion of the enemy ships and the background, and the multitude of colors... it is simply fantastic. If this were ever made into a complete game, it would be totally awesome! I'd like to see the doubters and the criticizers show us how they could do it one better, as in let's see the XEX of your even better creation - Michael 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poison Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I found three interesting XE games:) Silkworm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRyvf6jsKb4 Blood Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVOfHl2uagI Blood Fighter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPoUWcNCxWo are there xex or atr files here? It was uploaded 6 years ago 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) I found three interesting XE games:) Silkworm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRyvf6jsKb4 Blood Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVOfHl2uagI Blood Fighter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPoUWcNCxWo are there xex or atr files here? It was uploaded 6 years ago Link to Blood Fighter: http://a8.fandal.cz/search.php?search=Blood+Fighter&butt_details_x= I can't figure out how to play it. Pushing Start just seems to toggle through about 5 title screens. Edit: Oh its a demo - Michael Edited July 7, 2017 by mytekcontrols 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwilove Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 When designing graphics - you really have to do it the way you like to do it - rather than doing it like - you think someone else would like it to be. I, myself do not rate the Xevious level to be the best possible for that tribute to Xevious - that it needed another year or so for me to do it better? I really felt burnt out when it came to the last few levels to tidy up. I'm a big time fan of Xevious - and think it'll take a lot of programming work to get a Xevious playing game on the 8-bit - you can't do the mothership properly? But maybe I'm wrong about this - seeing the large helicopter running in Commando? Hawkquest tried to do some Xevious elements in it's primary games. [i would have released maps showing where all of the hidden targets are - were it not for someone I asked to scan them for me - to not do that - and now I don't have access to them anymore...] For those currently working on projects - I'd say - get someone on board to design the graphics for you - if you're not that way inclined in designing graphics - and if you can add the extra little touches - like more animation (and even more animation present) - making use of extra colour(s) - even if they are on screen for a short period of time - please do so. This is called making the game look really cool!!!!! (or hot stuff! etc etc) - and if you can add an extra parallax layer on screen - so much the better it'll look. Harvey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 For those currently working on projects - I'd say - get someone on board to design the graphics for you - if you're not that way inclined in designing graphics - and if you can add the extra little touches - like more animation (and even more animation present) - making use of extra colour(s) - even if they are on screen for a short period of time - please do so. This is called making the game look really cool!!!!! (or hot stuff! etc etc) - and if you can add an extra parallax layer on screen - so much the better it'll look. Those projects.... well... the 1st part was to have coders clear about the limits of the A8. Then, we need development tools for the A8. G2F and RMT were a good start.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miker Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Link to Blood Fighter: http://a8.fandal.cz/search.php?search=Blood+Fighter&butt_details_x= I can't figure out how to play it. Pushing Start just seems to toggle through about 5 title screens. Edit: Oh its a demo - Michael You can ask Eagle about it. But IIRC the game has overgrown its creators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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