Limbo on a C64

[Heaven/TQA]

 

 

Due to conservative memory usage and somewhat quick full screen updates please do not forget the popularity of mode 6 and 7 (GR.1 & 2) in Basic programs.

(Not sure why you mentioned mode 3 - does it really have any relevance? Contrary to mode F which is IMHO very important!?)[/quote

 

Sorry... me mention gr. 1 and 2.

 

My first games were done in basic and gr. 1 and 2.

[+CharlieChaplin]

Allthough not very popular, the game "Pyramidos" by AMC-Verlag makes use of all available (standard) A8 graphic modes (Gr. 0 - Gr. 15). But you need a lot of patience and good skills/reflexes to play all four disksides of this Basic game...

 

http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=4669

or

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-pyramidos_4202.html

 

 

Regarding some updates/upgrades for the A8, I would have liked to see:

 

- the 1050 being a real DD floppy drive out of the box...

- one more gfx mode: 640x200 (for 80 chars per line, maybe get rid of an existing gfx mode therefore)

- more colours for the existing resolutions (e.g. 640x200 b/w, 320x200 with min. four colours, 160x200 with min. 16 colours, etc. maybe even Gr. 7 - 160x100 with 256 colours)

- 8 or better 16 multi-colour sprites (having the same or higher pixel res. as the existing players)

Edited December 25, 2017 by CharlieChaplin

[popmilo]

Regarding some updates/upgrades for the A8, I would have liked to see:

- one more gfx mode: 640x200 (for 80 chars per line, maybe get rid of an existing gfx mode therefore)

- more colours for the existing resolutions (e.g. 640x200 b/w, 320x200 with min. four colours, 160x200 with min. 16 colours, etc. maybe even Gr. 7 - 160x100 with 256 colours)

- 8 or better 16 multi-colour sprites (having the same or higher pixel res. as the existing players)

 

You realize you're talking about vbxe ?

[Rybags]

I played through it over the last couple of days and am about 70% through a second run.

 

Most of the game is well within the realms of old computer capability. Of course with less resolution and not as good parallax.

The full screen rotation that occurs at times, I don't think so.

Zoom in and out, maybe but with compromises.

 

It's a pretty good game but not a lot of repeat value.

[Jetboot Jack]

Having completed it a few times - the "replayabity" is the perfection of the subsequent play-throughs - from a gazillion deaths to none :-)

 

sTeVE

Edited December 26, 2017 by Jetboot Jack

[Rybags]

Yeah... there's hidden eggs of which I spotted maybe 2 or 3 of about a dozen and you get a bonus for less than 5 deaths.

When restarting I was going OK but then lost 2 then a bit later had a bunch more.

 

There's parts that are just annoying and if you screw up the timing you just lose a life. Then others where you just don't remember how it was done.

[Mclaneinc]

People can sit here arguing over what / if a game should be ported because its 'tainted' as being Commodorish' (pah, stupidity) and I'l carry on playing Mario Odyssey on the Switch and the rather excellent Sams Journey from Protovision, (well worth the wonga)..

 

I'd love to have Limbo on the Atari, I'd love to have games on the Atari period, I refuse to pigeon hole myself though, our folks produce some amazing things, am I going to throw out the ports, hell no, the more the merrier, as long as the coder is enjoying doing it and is happy with the end result then who am I to name call because it may be a port....PAH...

[+CharlieChaplin]

 

You realize you're talking about vbxe ?

Not at all!

 

Read what I wrote in my post. 640x200 in b/w and 320x200 with four colours does not match VBXE specs. But maybe Lotharek will sell you such a special VBXE ?!? 8 or 16 multi-colour sprites is similar to what the C64 has, not VBXE.

 

And errm, my wishes were for the past, when the XL line of computers had been produced, it would have been nice (for me) to see such gfx updates/upgrades. A gfx update/ugrade with VBXE specs. would have been "somewhat" unrealistic in 1983. Not even the Atari ST or Amiga had these VBXE specs some years later...

[popmilo]

Ok. I understand what you mean.

Not at all!

 

Read what I wrote in my post. 640x200 in b/w and 320x200 with four colours does not match VBXE specs. But maybe Lotharek will sell you such a special VBXE ?!? 8 or 16 multi-colour sprites is similar to what the C64 has, not VBXE.

My take on it is that developing new gfx add on for A8 costs roughly the same for those specs you wrote vs something like existing vbxe. Only thing separating those two is complexity of chips on that add-on board. Lately price of those was never large percentage of the final price tag. Most of cost is doing pcb, package, assembly, shipping and most important food and beer for the designer

 

I wish there was a simple way to add something like 640 res and couple more colors. Assuming that there are a lot of capable engineers in Atari space, I think it would've been done already if it was easy.

That said, I encourage everyone to try thinking of a new or even better old-but-cheaper-now way to make those simple improvements you mention.

 

Not at all!

 

Read what I wrote in my post. 640x200 in b/w and 320x200 with four colours does not match VBXE specs. But maybe Lotharek will sell you such a special VBXE ?!? 8 or 16 multi-colour sprites is similar to what the C64 has, not VBXE.

Ok. I understand what you mean.

My take on it is that developing new gfx add on for A8 costs roughly the same for those specs you wrote vs something like existing vbxe. Only thing separating those two is complexity of chips on that add-on board. Price of those is never large percentage of the final price tag. Most of cost is doing pcb, package, assembly, shipping and most important food and beer for the designer

 

I wish there was a simple way to add something like 640 res and couple more colors. Assuming that there are a lot more capable engineers in Atari space, I think it would've been done already.