Nukey Shay Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 Edit: *lol*, being curious I just copied & pasted the concept into Textpad. It is with 8880 Bytes already too big for an 8K cartridge!!! I raise my cup of koolaid in honour of "planning". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggystar Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 Lets try to not be too discouraging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 'Kay...but that was pretty funny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggystar Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 Yes, it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggystar Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Don't forget though that the Combat Source code is over 34K! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricBall Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Great ideas, Perhaps Eric, you could also elaborate on what tools and resources are availble to a beginner in 2600 programming. Such as which assembler to use, so basic "hello world" examples to go by etc... Start with the Links for Programmers topic over on the Programming forum. One major advantage of the programming for the 2600 is the wealth of documentation, examples, and community. (fixed link) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggystar Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Strange that link doesn't work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 It's got a double http in the link...trim it off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 It's got a double http in the link...trim it off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 That design seem VERY complicated considering 2600, n'est-ce pas? It would take much effort to fit that into a 32K or 48K Atari 8bit computer game, me thinks. Good luck! [/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 There's always a first time Some recent homebrews and demos have proven that. ... ...though they did have the advantage of being made by seasoned programmers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Hi there! Lets try to not be too discouraging! I'd really love to see a VCS Knight Rider game! Really. I love the Knight Rider theme tune and I'd love to hear Stella humming it. (Heck, the only Rap Single I own is where Busta Rhymes does it over the Knight Rider sample ) Greetings, Manuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Wake me up when a proven 2600 programmer has something to announce. Wake up! IMO the concept is probably a "bit" too ambitious for a newbie programmer, but it doesn't look impossible. The game will become probably very large (32K) and it will take quite a long time to code (maybe 1 to 3 years, even with the help of [stella]) and test (here everybody can help) it. Well, let's wait and see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 I do have half a dozen other game concepts, one of them Knight Rider 5200..... I'm sure the other five concepts are: Knight Rider 7800 Knight Rider Jaguar Knight Rider Lynx Knight Rider X-Box And the last being Knight Rider for play on the original KITT-display. Only one copy of this game is planned to be produced! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Now that Thomas Jentzsch, if he announced a Knight Rider game we'd all be believing it. Thrust is absolutely mind-blowing, one of the best 2600 games period. Does anyone really think this is a reasonable project for someone who's never programmed for the 2600? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Now that Thomas Jentzsch, if he announced a Knight Rider game we'd all be believing it. Thrust is absolutely mind-blowing, one of the best 2600 games period. Thanks for the compliments, but you will NEVER see a Knight Rider game from me. I really hated the serial and I still hate the "actor"/"singer" DH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 I have no use for Knight Rider either, I thought it was lowbrow and lame. I did watch Battlestar Galactica though, so there's no accounting for taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 I have no use for Knight Rider either, I thought it was lowbrow and lame. I did watch Battlestar Galactica though, so there's no accounting for taste. Yup, I remember I watched BG too. I must have been quite stupid then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 hey! I loved battlestar galactica when I was a kid! TURBOS! BY YOUR COMMAND! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricBall Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Regarding the design document, I agree with other posters that what you have described will not fit into 4K. (Skeleton+ PAL just fits in 4K, though a 1.8K of that is data tables.) My recommendation would be to start to develop a complete game around the DRIVING MODE. As mentioned previously, the 2600 has no built in text mode. See Dark Mage for what is possible, although you may be able to simply create 48 pixel text sprites for menus etc. 2600 has a 1-D GPU (the TIA) - no bitmapped display. Thus the MAP SCREEN and PLOT COURSE will be difficult to accomplish. The GOON/BOSS/PURSUIT modes all seem very challenging. I would also recommend creating a version which does not require any special controllers (or have it selectable via the difficulty switches). Consider also people tend to hold the joystick with both hands, so when using the touchpad they will not be able to use the joystick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggystar Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Yes, he should start on the driving mode, since it would stand out the most on its own as a complete game. Then work on other "modules" to the game if he has time/desire/patience If it all got done, then it could be combined into a 16 or 32k bankswitching cart without too much trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardWork Posted May 21, 2003 Author Share Posted May 21, 2003 Most everything produced by Glen Larson circa 1980 was great, as seen thru seven-year old eyes. (BattleStar, Buck Rogers, KR) Also, I didn't follow Knight Rider for Mr. Hasslehoff's 2-D talents, everyone knows that the KITT car is what fired our imagination, and what glued me to the TV every week. We would like to produce this franchise on the 5200 & Jaguar as well. Two reasons: a.) The first (complete) build of the KR code is to be hacked on the Atari 800, so it may skip the 2600 altogether and be published for the 800 friendly, KeyPad equipped 5200. The Jaguar iteration is a far-off whim, but is attractive for its KeyPad, memory, and 3-D possibilities. But anyway, back to work.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanguard Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Man, I haven't done assembly for years, but I've looked at programming for the Atari 2600 more than once, and just sighed every time. Just seems to be this wee bit shy of totally masochistic. I guess I'm spoiled for making games on the PC for so long - as well as drawing sprites for my own ditties in Paint Shop Pro. But, the idea of a 'Spy Hunter' type of game, where you can use the 'turbo boost' button to speed past obstacles and 'ram' criminal cars to catch them is a bit intriguing. So, a question for those who have and do program for the 2600 now. Would a 'Spy Hunter' style game, with the scrolling street, some 'traps' in the road (such as cones, spikes, bombs, whatever), 'pedestrian' cars, and then 'bad guy' cars, along with a few stanzas from the Knight Rider theme bleeping away, be more realistic to create in a 4K or 8K cart? (I could do similar for the MC-10 way back when, at about 4K, but it was much much easier to program for.) And, lastly, I'll tell the author of this thread that Fox Entertainment, Inc has about zero interest in licensing Knight Rider for the 2600 these days. It just ain't gonna happen. They're going to look at 'maximum 200 sales at $25 a piece?' and just laugh at you. Forget it. Sorries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardWork Posted May 21, 2003 Author Share Posted May 21, 2003 A few quick notes about the project, please note that the KR2600 design doc I posted is over 90 days old: 1.) The Team (we're tentativley called "Savage") has settled on an optical illusion for DRIVING MODE: to avoid the headache of a "scrolling background", we're opting for code that just moves objects on the Highway itself, with only color (green or brown) beyond that. We're digging into it. 2.) The other large environ, the HIDEOUT, originally started out with a couple of Henchmen on each tier, to be crept up on and silenced. We settled that "camera beams" would be a bit more tidy to code, and keeps the stealth element intact. If the player is "caught" he will be rushed by (-two- tentative) henchmen, after the GOON escapes (the sprite vanishes) 3.) We're also digging for examples that will make the "text" areas less of a burden. The finished hack will hopefully feature 3 Episode "titles", 3 BOSS data elements per Episode, and the 3 KITT ICON options. The Congratulatory and Game Over messages my be cut. 4.) The 6 MAP SCREEN portions will likely feature 3 unique portions, switching color shemes for the other 3. The MAP may later be reduced to 4 portions. 5.) Yes, it should be OK to play KR2600 with a seperate Joystick and TouchPad, but it would feel clumsy and take a lot of practice. That is one reason why the custom JoyPad is bieng pushed as a "must have" item, as it combines the two devices. The other reason is that it looks and feels darn cool, and fulfills a desire for all us KR geeks to grip the KITT wheel and press buttons on the instrument pod. More later, James "HardWork" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanguard Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Edit: I suppose I should be nice, but this project really feels like a pipe-dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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