HSC Season 15 Round 3: "The HSSki Winter Olympics"

[+therealbountybob]

"The HSSki Winter Olympics"

oh yes I did

 

Round 3 is an extended round now ending TUESDAY 6th MARCH 10PM UK time! I'm not sure how we will score this or if anyone wants to play all the games but I'll put it on here and we can see how it goes. We will return to regular 2 week action after this round and a poll will start with a week to go.

 

We'll now have two main games:

Mogul Maniac

This has to be the best skiiing game we have!

My copy needs Start pressing after loading.

Press Option for the menu.

Press 2 for joystick. Press 3 for No disqualification for missed gates. Press 6 for Moguls on (that's the bumpy bits to non skiers )

Press Select to pick a course

Press Start to play

Push Up to start a run, tap U/D to adjust speed. Hold L/R to move (keeping held will make sharper turns)

Download Atarimania , Fandal XEX

Play on all the courses apart from Bunny Hill!. It's 2 runs on each so post total times. They are shown and remembered by the game too

 

 

The other main game is one of my pet favourites:

Olympic Skier

 

This must be played by memorising the downhill dead ends - no writing it down or anything. 3 events. A fun game for all the famiily. You'll need to wiggle the stick l/r on the ski jump and then push up to take off! Pull down to land, match the ski's angle to the terrain. Use fire to jump the logs on the downhill. Tap u/d to adjust speed.

Download atarimania or Fandal also SIO2SD version

Fandal has kindly fixed the lockup on NTSC systems - untested so please report back OlympicSkier-NTSCFIX-os.xex

 

 

Tables for this round

 

 

Optional Bonus games

The newish "Circo Bianco" (White Circus) by Andrea Cucchett.

Instructions PDF

Download English Version from zip file on atariage, also has screenshots and info.

Original Italian versions on atarimania or Fandal and checkout the Italian Atari web site

Press key on first loading screen. When you see the "flip disk" prompt, load disk 2 and press fire to continue. (Emulator users, mount the disk on the Disk Menu), post if you get stuck.

NOTE: requires Atari OS ROM, info here

 

Additionally I intend to play the three other multi-event Winter Sport games so I can compare them and write about them for Pro© Mag, so if you want to go crazy and join me and post scores and comments please do

> Winter Events (Anco) - score 6.7 Atarimania or Fandal

> Winter Olympiad '88 (Tynesoft) PAL - score 7.4 Atarimania or Fandal

or the US version "Winter Challenge" (Thunder Mountain) - score 7.5 Atarimania

> Winter Olympics (also by Tynesoft) score 3.5 !! Atarimania or Fandal

 

Have fun and join in, we might only have one other multi game round this season so please bear with me and do try not to break those joysticks

Edited March 5, 2018 by therealbountybob
Extended to Tues 6th March 10pm

[carlsson]

Great, this hopefully will be a lot of fun!

 

On top of all the other winter sports games, I will most likely play a few rounds of Mogul Maniac anyway, even if it won't count in the HSC.

[+therealbountybob]

Great, this hopefully will be a lot of fun!

 

On top of all the other winter sports games, I will most likely play a few rounds of Mogul Maniac anyway, even if it won't count in the HSC.

 

I'm happy to add Mogul Maniac in to the mix: I'm sure if you post some times then others might be tempted to play Don't tread on that Atari You can post how you wired that up (I have a secret pile of Xbox Dance mats in the cupboard)

[carlsson]

I have a PSX64 interface, originally meant to hook up a guitar from the PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero to a C64, but as it translates any PlayStation 2 peripheral to Atari compatible pinout, it can be used with hand controllers, dance mats etc. I think the PSX64 is out of production but there are other PlayStation to Atari/Commodore/MSX adapters, some more complex than others.

 

And to be honest, the lap times I'm getting by using a dance mat are far worse than the ones I'm getting by using a regular joystick. As you know, the original game was sold with the Joyboard famous for Amiga developers sitting on it to meditate (thus the Guru Meditation messages) but as I don't own a Joyboard and even if I did, I might be a little too heavy to use it anyway, I figured a dance mat is one of the closest approximations.

[McKong]

Shame we never got Horace goes skiing!

[Dope]

Awesome... First I've spent an hour trying to figure out what means what in Italian, then I've found out that there is an english version. Right now, I'm trying to make this game works in Atari800Win but all I've got is "flip disk" and then it returns to main menu...

[carlsson]

Yes, I was about to ask/mention that an English version of White Circus was posted on AtariAge previously. I'll try the Italian one first and perhaps switch if I get stuck.

 

(If I'm somewhat able to play games in Polish and German, I have good faith I'll handle Italian as well)

 

Edit: Quite peculiar! On my PAL 130XE, I get back to the main menu all the time even with BASIC disabled. In Altirra emulating a PAL 130XE, the game starts how smooth as ever. Since I've had a few games not working on my 130XE before, perhaps it has some fault after all, just that it rarely occurs. I might try a RAM test or something.

Edited February 15, 2018 by carlsson

[+therealbountybob]

Awesome... First I've spent an hour trying to figure out what means what in Italian, then I've found out that there is an english version. Right now, I'm trying to make this game works in Atari800Win but all I've got is "flip disk" and then it returns to main menu...

Sorry about that I've updated the first post!

 

The english version "White Circus" is on the Zip file on the 1st post of the atariage link that also has the info on the game.

[Dope]

I give up. I have completely no clue how to run this "circus" under Altirra or Atari800Win. Guess I have to focus on Olimpic Skier...

[carlsson]

In Altirra (emulated PAL 130XE in my case), it runs just as expected:

 

1. Mount disk #1, reset the emulator without BASIC

2. Press Return on the title screen

3. When Flip Disk appears, change to disk #2 and press fire button on joystick #1 (e.g. numpad 0)

4. Select All events, fill in your name, press Return and Fire

5. Ski jump loads automatically and is started with the fire button again.

 

It is step 5 that fails on my real Atari. I just ran the extended memory test four times without spotting any RAM errors.

 

Edit: Just because of that, I tried again and now it works on real hardware too. Perhaps I made the mistake to mount one disk image each on D1 and D2, thinking the SIO2SD will serve the active drive to the computer but apparently one needs to set up swap lists for D1 unless one manually changes the image on that particular device all the time.

Edited February 15, 2018 by carlsson

[Dope]

Perhaps I made the mistake to mount one disk image each on D1 and D2, thinking the SIO2SD will serve the active drive to the computer but apparently one needs to set up swap lists for D1 unless one manually changes the image on that particular device all the time.

 

Did the same under Altirra. Now when I use only D1, everything works. Thank you!

Still, I have no idea how to use controls in this game.

[carlsson]

There is a manual here:

http://www.santellocco.com/atari/programmi/WhiteCircus.pdf

[carlsson]

Some very early results coming up. White Circus seems much less forgiving than Epyx' Winter Games in case you played it on other formats. It also has no practise mode so even if you compete in only one event at a time, you need to go through the menu, select event, fill in contestants and load the event again.

 

[ Results removed - reposted below ]

 

The medal screen doesn't say which event is which so for screenshot purposes one needs to remember which event it was. I find that bob, downhill and slalom in particular may yield similar times, even skating.

Edited February 17, 2018 by carlsson

[Sikor]

I'm too lazy... Any chance to get it all in one big zip?

[Sikor]

Any chance to one big zip ;D I'm too lazy last time...

[carlsson]

I didn't get Olympic Skier to boot from my SIO2SD. I'll try some other version.

 

In the mean time, I played through all the other multi event games.

 

White Circus

Ski Jump 216.05 points

Bobsled 65.08 seconds

Skating 49.96 seconds

Downhill 70.60 seconds

Slalom 74.58 seconds

 

My general impression is that this would have been a rather good game with a broader distribution. The ski jumping probably would have needed some graphics redesign to avoid a copyright infringement claim from Epyx, and e.g. skating and slalom would benefit from more tries even if it is realistic to only have one try each. A couple of nations to choose from and a better working menu system that remembered number of players, names, last selected events would make it even better. When playing with three players, I'm not sure if all who make a result get any points, and a bit of a more advanced end ceremony (plus of course the missing opening ceremony) would really make it shine. In its current state, I'm willing to give it a 8/10 though.

 

Winter Events (Anco)

Speed Skating 1:09:xx

Slalom 1:04:36

Ski Jump 79.6

Bobsled falure

Biathlon 3:15:14

 

I'll admit I haven't downloaded the instructions so I might be playing this one the wrong way. Generally it is very uneven in graphics and playability. Speed Skating and Slalom nice, although Slalom reminds me more about Space Harrier than a traditional slalom game. The Biathlon looks like Anco tried really hard to copy what Epyx achieved three years earlier, but gave up halfways. You select a country, but frankly I can't remember if it plays the national anthem after each event? Also it doesn't show the winning score at the end of the event, which is a big minus! This game seems to exist for at least the Atari 8-bit, Commodore 16 and MSX, though not the C64 where it probably didn't have a market. I'll be a bit harsh here and rate it 5/10.

 

Winter Olympiad '88 (Tynesoft/Thunder Mountain)

Downhill failure

Ski Jump 202 points

Biathlon 5:18:42

Slalom 69:12

Bobsled 3:15:70 (for one race, as the game combines times for 3-4 races)

 

Somewhere I own this on original disk for C64, but I have never booted it. More even in graphics style than the Anco game. Downhill has a harsh viewport where you barely can see trees before they're too close to you. The Ski Jump has a fresh view at the slope, but rather dull compared to other games. Biathlon lacks everything that made Epyx' version great - this is a Decathlon style game with some weird aiming once you get to shooting. Slalom again has an interesting perspective which reminds me of Return of the Jedi on the C64. Bobsled goes on forever and it is surprising that so many manufacturer of multi event winter sports included similar but usually boring bobsled events. This game lets you select a country, but has no anthems. It does display the final scores to some extent though. Perhaps if I read the instructions, I would enjoy it more. Thanks to the interesting graphics, I'll rate it a full 7/10.

 

Winter Olympics (also Tynesoft)

Speed Skating 00:28.90

Ski-Slalom 01:39:30

Ski-Jump failure

Downhill failure

Cresta Run (Bobsled) 2 minutes something

 

This one has a copyright date one year before Winter Olympiad '88 but looks more like it was made 1985. I would say it is the natural sequel to Olympic Skier (which I noticed came out for the Atari as late as 1986, unlike the C64 version which came 1984). I'm getting a bit of martial arts feeling about this one. The guys in speed skating look like they escaped from International Karate, the guy in the slalom has a certain Ninja feel to him. The bobsled is more boring than any of the others. I didn't notice a way to select a single event. No countries etc. My verdict is after all 4/10 because it is not entirely unplayable, just pale in comparison.

 

So yes, if White Circus had been released internationally in 1987 with a bit of polish, it really would have wiped the competition on the Atari side...

 

It should be noted though that not even Epyx were immortal. For 1988, they released The Games: Winter Edition and The Games: Summer Edition (though not for the Atari 8-bit). In my opinion, those two games stink compared to the previous editions of Summer and Winter Games. Everything is overdone, too complex. National anthems sound worse than before, longer loading times. For some reason though, the people on Lemon64 seem to not agree with me, as both games are rather rather high. In some respect, the Anco and in particular Tynesoft games quite well match these two later Epyx games in a crop where I don't cater much for any.

 

Well... an usually long post for being a HSC score report but I felt like writing a wall of text for once in a while.

Edited February 17, 2018 by carlsson

[RedThunder]

I played them all :-)

 

Not gelled with any of them yet :-(

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by RedThunder

[Stefan Both]

O. K. first result in "Circo Bianco", english version.

Fourty seven jump attempts before first save

landing.

-> how many points is it?

 

 

Stefan

Edited February 16, 2018 by Stefan Both

[carlsson]

I'm playing through Winter Events (Anco) again and noticed that in the slalom event, the same player may win multiple medals because there are two runs and every result seems to be counted separately!

 

The Ski Jump also seems like an entirely random event, and honestly more boring than Tynesoft's version. A million light years away from Epyx.

 

In Bobsled, you get a medal even if you failed to get a score, another difference both from Epyx' Winter Games and the real world. It really is like the programmer(s) at Anco never used their brains, just kept coding away and also no alpha or beta testing. Sometimes nobody wins as well, and on the final screen, the same player is listed four times which makes me wonder if this is a bad crack or if the original game is as buggy.

 

Also, Winter Events doesn't play any national anthems or displays any flags at each event. As noted before, it doesn't even display the winning score. Previously I rated it 5/10, on a replay I'm willing to lower my score to 4/10 due to all the bugs.

 

Winter Events

Speed Skating 1:09:38

Slalom 1:04:36

Ski Jump 130.5

Bobsled 1:04:48

Biathlon 2:32:90

Edit: I found a different XEX version of Olympic Skier which loads on my machine so I'm playing that one instead.

Olympic Skier - 291 pts 299 pts

Edited February 17, 2018 by carlsson

[Deteacher]

I've followed all the directions for White Circus, but I cannot get it to load in Altirra. I get to where I'm supposed to put in my name, but it freezes up. Cannot press fire to continue, or ESC to go back. I'm using Altirra 3.0.

 

I'll keep at it, though.

 

Update: No luck. I've tried the English and Italian versions. It locks up at the "Choose Name" screen. Cannot type my name, press fire, or esc. Tried using keyboard controls. Tried setting up 2 and 3 player games, but each time I get to the name screen, it freezes.

 

Also tried with Atari800Win. No luck. Unless I can figure out how to play this with my AtariMAX flash cart, I may have to sit this one out.

Edited February 17, 2018 by Deteacher

[carlsson]

Is your Altirra set up for PAL or NTSC emulation? Perhaps you want to flip that bit, in case the game doesn't work properly on NTSC hardware.

 

IMPORTANT EDIT

Ok, I think I've found a source of problems. Altirra comes with its own built-in, legal Altirra OS. This seems to not work with White Circus. If you download/use Atari's own ROM set (use Google to find it) and manually set the emulator to use it, the game will work. You can see this already on the Flip Disk screen. If it is full of arrows, you have the wrong OS. If it only has text that says "Flip Disk" scrolling to the left and right, you have the right OS.

 

Atari XL or XE doesn't matter, neither seems NTSC or PAL matter except that you get weird colours if you run it as NTSC.

 

Obviously using the right OS version won't be a matter on real hardware as it is built into the computer and you don't have to worry about circumventing Atari's copyrights.

Edited February 18, 2018 by carlsson

[Deteacher]

The Atari OS files did the trick! Thank you so much.

 

Now, to stop sucking at the events! LOL!

[RedThunder]

Circo Blanco

Ski Jump 152.4 171.30

Bob 69.08

Skater 99.99

Downhill 99.99

Slalom 99.99

 

Olympic Skier

Only loaded and played a few games.

Edited February 19, 2018 by RedThunder

[+therealbountybob]

OK Guys, sorry I've not been posting for a few days.

I've played all the games I should have played them before the round.

 

PROPOSAL TO RE-SKI-BOOT THIS ROUND:

White Circus is clearly not up to much, and the others aren't that great either so do you want to make Mogul Maniac (which is very good) the main game along with Olympic Skier (which is good fun)? With the other multi event games as an optional side show.

 

Mogul Maniac

On Menu Screen

Press 3 for No Disqualification for missed gates (you get a time penalty instead)

Press 6 for Moguls

 

We could do 4 of the runs:

Mammoth - 25 gates, 36 Max speed

Powder Horn - 25 gates, 38 Max speed

Taos - 25 gates, 40 Max speed

Stowe - 63 gates, 40 Max speed

 

Let me know what you think ?

[carlsson]

Olympic Skier should definitely be the main game, as it has a clear scoring mechanism. As posted before, I'm up for playing the four slopes in Mogul Maniac too.

 

However I think everyone should at least try to score in White Circus. I think it has potential and will replay it again. The other games by Anco and Tynesoft, I think I'm done with.