Atari A8 Donkey Kong Hack

[+playsoft]

And talking of from whence things came, it was Kenfused who did the original 5200 port.

[Jinroh]

Oh very nice, I really like the AA colour, it matches the arcade quite nicely. I'll give it a go no the TV when I get home, but from the screenshot it looks near perfect!

[Tempest]

Huh, I never noticed the ladder color in the arcade. Interesting.

 

BTW when does the piece of the ledge on the springs board begin to disappear? I seem to recall that after the first time through that the ledge next to the top of the second elevator loses a piece so you can't just jump directly on it and skip half the level. I didn't see it happen when I played through last night so I'm beginning to wonder if it doesn't happen in the home version or I'm completely misremembering when it happens.

 

Also, could the firefoxes always chase you up onto DK's girder and trap you there so you had no choice but to die? It happened to me last night and I thought that was completely unfair.

[+darryl1970]

Huh, I never noticed the ladder color in the arcade. Interesting.

 

BTW when does the piece of the ledge on the springs board begin to disappear? I seem to recall that after the first time through that the ledge next to the top of the second elevator loses a piece so you can't just jump directly on it and skip half the level. I didn't see it happen when I played through last night so I'm beginning to wonder if it doesn't happen in the home version or I'm completely misremembering when it happens.

 

Also, could the firefoxes always chase you up onto DK's girder and trap you there so you had no choice but to die? It happened to me last night and I thought that was completely unfair.

Yes. I think the perfect amount of green hue would actually compliment the red and make it more arcade accurate. It is touchy to not make it gross like when I first tried it.

 

I BELIEVE I have seen that ledge disappear on one of the hack versions (like Crazy Kong). I have made it to level 5 elevators on the US arcade version, and the ledge is always there.

I know Crazy Kong Pt II has notches that disappear from the RAMP floors. I don't even think it's THAT version though, but I do remember seeing it somewhere. Just isn't the original DK.

 

HAHA! The firefoxes most definitely can follow you up to the top of any level. In fact, the arcade firefoxes like to CAMP OUT at the top. Let's say you only have the upper right rivet to clear. Good chance a firefox is just sitting still at the top of the upper, right ladder. The arcade firefoxes are about 1.5x smarter than the Atari version. They reverse more often, and they sometimes do not move.

 

Likewise, the fireballs tend to camp out at the top of the Conveyor level. They will often sit at the top of one of the collapsing ladders (ladders do not collapse on A8 version). They eventually move, but they make it really tough. While they are blocking you, another might come up from under you. Also, the fireballs can climb the collapsing ladders when Mario is not able to. (They jump the gap, just as they can climb broken ladders.)

 

On the Ramps, the fireballs will follow you all the way up to Pauline, as they do in this version.

[Tempest]

Speaking of the ladders on the conveyor level, would it be possible to make them collapse or is that way too much of a rewrite?

[+darryl1970]

Speaking of the ladders on the conveyor level, would it be possible to make them collapse or is that way too much of a rewrite?

That is more of a Playsoft question; however, I would think that would be MAJOR. It would have to be software-sprite driven, which could be messy. Then there is the code to determine if Mario is able to pass. There should be code to pull Mario back down when the ladder is collapsing. I think it would be a tall order myself.

 

I figured out the platform.. I THOUGHT you were talking about the one on the right (where I circled). I THINK there IS a version where that one gets cut off. Again, not DK, but a hack. However, I did catch that the left circled platform does get shortened in Crazy Kong II.

 

I also shared a pic of the Ramps with the holes notched out.

[Tempest]

Yeah I was talking about the right circled piece. I've never played Crazy Kong so some home version (or arcade version) must have done that. I always got annoyed with it because it took away the easy route. There's a good chance I'm thinking of that new super tough hacked version of Donkey Kong that got made a few years back. I think in addition to adding new levels it tweaked the difficulty of the original ones.

 

I love the added difficulty of the holes on the ramp screen. I wish there was a way to add that.

[Kyle22]

 

So the regular version is ok for you now? I didn't check whether the RMT version had the same issue.

 

The original xex files I used came from Atarionline:

 

http://atarionline.pl/arch/D/Donkey%20Kong/Donkey%20Kong%20%281983%29%28Atari%29%28US%29.xex

http://atarionline.pl/arch/D/Donkey%20Kong/Donkey%20Kong%20%282010%29%28Atari%29%28US%29%5Bh%20RMT%20Fandal%20%26%20Kjmann%5D.xex

 

Ideally programs should initialise all the hardware registers... but neither of these do and I'd imagine there will be others which don't either. In this case I can "fix" them when I do the other hacks but if you encounter any other programs that don't run correctly you should try and load them differently if you can (other loaders may clear the h/w down).

The non-RMT one is fine. I'm using the SIDE Loader on Incognito.

 

Is there any down side to the RMT version (fewer CPU cycles, etc.)? I hope it's possible that RMT remains a choice on all versions.

[flashjazzcat]

Recent versions of the Incognito loader clear ANTIC and GTIA before loading an XEX.

[Aking]

That is more of a Playsoft question; however, I would think that would be MAJOR. It would have to be software-sprite driven, which could be messy. Then there is the code to determine if Mario is able to pass. There should be code to pull Mario back down when the ladder is collapsing. I think it would be a tall order myself.

 

I figured out the platform.. I THOUGHT you were talking about the one on the right (where I circled). I THINK there IS a version where that one gets cut off. Again, not DK, but a hack. However, I did catch that the left circled platform does get shortened in Crazy Kong II.

CK2.1.PNG

 

I also shared a pic of the Ramps with the holes notched out.

CK1.PNG

 

 

Hoping for Mario Bross Arcade...

[R6502A]

I played with the colors. If I make the blue light enough, and I make the Kong's face more yellow, the blue looks white on him.

 

I think this MIGHT work!!!

ColorFixRamp.PNG ColorFixConveyor.PNG

 

ColorFixElevator.PNG ColorFixRivet.PNG

 

The Rivet level is a little washed out, but I prefer the detail if it comes to that.

 

I will keep tweaking.

 

 

Awesome! You've got to love the colour tweaking possibilities of the Atari.

[Kyle22]

Recent versions of the Incognito loader clear ANTIC and GTIA before loading an XEX.

 

I just upgraded to Loader 0.43, and the Mario problem disappeared. No more double width player.

 

[Tempest]

Found a weird bug that I think might have been a one-off thing. When I cleared the rivet level and DK fell down he froze right after flipping over, but the sounds still played and the game continued as normal. This happened over and over again until I reset the game. Very odd.

 

Also, does Mario have an extra pixel on the bottom when jumping? I always jump over the last rivet when I clear the level so Mario was stuck in his jumping sprite and it looks like there's an extra pixel below his leg. It might just be me though.

[MARIO130XE]

Thanks, for another great pimping of good old classics... but ...

......is it only me????? unfortunately it looks all great only on NTSC Altirra. Mario on real PAL hardware and also in pal Altirra looks blue like a smurf.

[+darryl1970]

Donkey Kong Arcade Version 7

 

Sorry for the delay. I have been under the weather with consecutive issues, and then there was Easter weekend.

 

I made some adjustments to the collisions. This applies for ALL versions.

I played this some, but I haven't really gotten a chance to "test" it.

Mario doesn't miss with the hammer like the previous RMT version, but the collision is more forgiving, especially the overhead.

This makes the RMT version my personal favorite.

 

Improved overhead collision forgiveness does mean that Mario cannot hit barrels overhead with the hammer.

I think it is a small price to pay to not die for jumping into an overhead barrel (except toward the end of the ramp).

 

I toned Mario's blue down on the PAL settings. I can't really see a difference in Altirra, so maybe it's right.

Minor graphic tweaks.

 

Compared a lot of colors on real hardware and emulation. Came up with the best possible.

(My PAL testing is limited).

 

Emulation Actual Hardware

 

Video Comparison

 

DonkeyKong5200-v7.bin

 

DonkeyKongArcade_XL-v7.xex

 

DonkeyKongArcade_RMT-v7.xex

 

 

 

[TwiliteZoner]

Just gave this a go in Altirra. Will try it on the 800 in a bit. Thanks again for continuing work on this.

 

 

[+sramirez2008]

Can't wait to try this on my 5200 when I get home this weekend.

 

Thanks for making this available to the community.

[Jinroh]

I like the collision tweaks, feels very balanced that way and approachable even for us novice types, not to mention solid.

[TheNameOfTheGame]

Thanks for the new release! Not sure what else you have in mind, but this feels very complete! Awesome!

[R.Cade]

Darryl,

 

This is a really, really nice hack. Thanks very much for spending the time. The RMT version is of course my favorite because of the other updates.

 

I only have one suggestion. The one big "problem" with the original Atari DK is Mario runs MUCH too fast. Some other parts of the game may be sped up as well (barrells? fireballs?) Is it possible to slow him down to arcade speed, even if it's just an option, since you are calling it DK Arcade?

Edited March 30, 2016 by R.Cade

[+darryl1970]

Darryl,

 

This is a really, really nice hack. Thanks very much for spending the time. The RMT version is of course my favorite because of the other updates.

 

I only have one suggestion. The one big "problem" with the original Atari DK is Mario runs MUCH too fast. Some other parts of the game may be sped up as well (barrells? fireballs?) Is it possible to slow him down to arcade speed, even if it's just an option, since you are calling it DK Arcade?

Thanks. I think that would be a little more than a hack, because everything would have to balance out. With the collision fixed, I think it has a little more balance. It is fast. I was going to for relative to Atari arcade.

[+darryl1970]

Thanks, for another great pimping of good old classics... but ...

......is it only me????? unfortunately it looks all great only on NTSC Altirra. Mario on real PAL hardware and also in pal Altirra looks blue like a smurf.

Do you have a screenshot to share? I adjusted the PAL colors separately, but I can't seem to reproduce that in Altirra.

 

Mario is a tad blue in the face, because the "and color" inherits some of the blue.

 

I had a lighter blue version, where the face inherits some red; however, looking at it for a long time, Mario starts to looks weird, especially in his steps. The lighter blue make the pixels in his hair too "wide" looking.

 

Darker Blue

Edited March 31, 2016 by darryl1970

[MARIO130XE]

Do you have a screenshot to share? I adjusted the PAL colors separately, but I can't seem to reproduce that in Altirra.

 

Mario is a tad blue in the face, because the "and color" inherits some of the blue.

 

I had a lighter blue version, where the face inherits some red; however, looking at it for a long time, Mario starts to looks weird, especially in his steps. The lighter blue make the pixels in his hair too "wide" looking.

AltColorMario.PNG AltColorMario2.PNG

 

Darker Blue

ActualColor.png

 

Sure... here are 2 screenshots. One from V7RMT Version and one from the original version of 1983.

 

 

In the original version Mario face is blue and flesh-colored and in the V7 version Marios face is light and dark blue.

Don't know if it is possible but it would be great to have the face more flesh-colored than blue like a smurf.

 

away from the blue face.... AWESOME WORK!!!!! Big big thank you.

 

cheers, Mario

[+darryl1970]

It's true that the original version had more of a flesh color, because Mario was originally made up of 3 players.

The Atari Player/Missiles have a mode where P1 and P2 produce a 3rd color by overlapping pixels the players.

The downside is that the third color is not select-able, but is a result of the two main colors.

Red and Blue just happen to overlap to make a white color, but only at specific brightness levels.

 

This was necessary to make the mult-colored "prizes" that Pauline dropped. I think that really adds to the polish.

 

Here are some examples of the limitations. Keep in mind, just because it looks good on here, doesn't mean it looks good in the actual game.

Some colors make a better flesh, but wash Mario out.

 

I have gone through so many combinations, and I keep finding my way back to the same one.

Here is a rough example. Keep in mind that a combination might look good on here, but may clash in the context of the full game.

 

Some of the "other alt" versions remind me of the NES SMB Mario.

They look good for a minute, but then when I change back to blue and red, I find myself saying, "Ahh.. Much better", in my head.

 

Sure... here are 2 screenshots. One from V7RMT Version and one from the original version of 1983.

 

mario-blue.png mario-original.png

 

In the original version Mario face is blue and flesh-colored and in the V7 version Marios face is light and dark blue.

Don't know if it is possible but it would be great to have the face more flesh-colored than blue like a smurf.

 

away from the blue face.... AWESOME WORK!!!!! Big big thank you.

 

cheers, Mario

 

[Tempest]

Actually the 1st and 3rd alternates don't look bad at all IMHO