Pro Bowling ( 2600 early W.I.P)

[+Karl G]

2 minutes ago, easmith said:

I can do a skirt and longer hair for female. I am a little concerned that it will appear sexist but I don’t know of any other way to obviously distinguished ?

I doubt very much that anyone would take that as a statement by you saying how all women, everywhere, should look and dress.  ?

 

There aren't very many Atari games where you get to pick the appearance of the player in any way, so I think it would be a nice touch, too.

[carlsson]

Here's a sewing pattern if you need inspiration.

 

[easmith]

On 9/26/2019 at 12:10 PM, carlsson said:

Here's a sewing pattern if you need inspiration.

 

Nice !

 

Ok I have taken a stab at it :

 

COLOR = male

B&W = female

 

I went the pigtail approach vs. the Mary Tyler Moore ( as in the above photo) . 

 

Edited October 3, 2019 by easmith

[+sramirez2008]

Wow.  Just tried this game (earlier ROM that I had downloaded).  Very fun game. Need to try the latest ROM.

 

Here’s my current high score.

 

[easmith]

gonna put a bow on this one and call it done .  Could make cosmetic improvements but I am burned out. 4 games this year . 

TV Type B&W = female player

TV type Color= male player

 

If spare in frame 10, then 1 bonus shot awarded

If strike in frame 10, then 2 bonus shots awarded .

 

Shot mechanics again :

1. move left or right to position bowler

 

2. push up on joystick to start approach

3. Push button to release ball .   Where the meter is when the ball is pressed determines shot .  Note the red notches on the shotmeter.

 

For now there are 5 possibilities:

                                     red notch                                              red  notch

           YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY   |  YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY | YYYYYYYYYYYYY    meter outside notches and YELLOW = strong spin right

 

 

                                      |        YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY  |                                  meter inside notches and YELLOW   = weak spin right

 

 

                                       |                                                           |                                   meter at 0    ---  straight shot

 

                                       |    GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG  |                                 meter inside notches and GREEN  = weak spin left 

 

          GGGGGGGGGGGG |    GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG  |   GGGGGGGGGG    meter outside notches and GREEN = strong spin left     

 

 

SPLITS:

 

 

hitting pin 2 with weak spin left    can knock down pins 6 and 10 

   

                                         x      x    x    10

                                            x    x    6 

                                               2   x

                  

hitting pin 3 with  weak spin right can knock down pins 4 and 7 

                                              7  x     x    x

                                                4   x     x

                                                     x  3

hitting pin 4 with strong spin left can knock down pin 10

                                             x     x     x    10

                                                4   x    x

                                  

hitting pin 6 with strong spin right can knock down pin 7 

                                                 7  x    x     x

                                                       x   x   6

 

7-10 split can be picked up ( rarely ) by hitting pin 7 or 10 .

                                              7     x    x   10

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by easmith

[+cjherr]

Thank you very much. The game is great fun!

[MissCommand]

13 hours ago, easmith said:

gonna put a bow on this one and call it done .  Could make cosmetic improvements but I am burned out. 4 games this year . 

 

 

  Thank you very much... great additions to the 2600 sports line... a category that has been sorely lacking.

[Arenafoot]

16 hours ago, easmith said:

gonna put a bow on this one and call it done

Thank you sir! Awesome job!

[TrekMD]

Thank you!  I'd been hoping for a RealSports Bowling for the 2600. This fits the bill quite nicely. 

[+sramirez2008]

Great bowling game...well done.  

 

Thank you.

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

We'll be featuring Pro Bowling LIVE on tomorrow's (Wednesday) ZeroPage Homebrew stream on Twitch at 11AM PT | 2PM ET | 6PM GMT! Hope everyone can watch!

 

Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew/

 

Games:
- Aardvark (2019 Exclusive Full Retail Release) by Oscar Toledo G. aka nanochess, Thomas Jentzsch and Nathan Strum
- Panic on Pug Farm (2019 WIP Exclusive Premiere) by Jeff Kenney and Dan LeRoy
- Pro Bowling (2019) by Edward Smith aka easmith

 

EDIT: Archive Video of Stream

(SET VIDEO TO 1080P60 FOR FULL QUALITY)

 

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by ZeroPage Homebrew

[easmith]

 

 

 

contact Michael Thomasson for info on cart availability 

http://www.gooddealgames.com/inventory/Atari 2600.html

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2019 by easmith

[easmith]

My highest score so far ....

[easmith]

cartridge is now available ( $24.75 ) 

 

http://gooddealgames.com/inventory/Atari%202600.html

[+sramirez2008]

23 hours ago, easmith said:

cartridge is now available ( $24.75 ) 

 

http://gooddealgames.com/inventory/Atari%202600.html

Ordered!  Love this game.?

[+sramirez2008]

Received!

 

[CrazyChris]

Does this game have a two player option?

[easmith]

No ,sorry . Combination of burnout and real life getting busier ,  I stopped when the game was playable  so those who wanted cart ( including me !) could have one .  Maybe someday I’ll pick it up again and add “head to head “ option but not sure . 

[CrazyChris]

Thanks for the reply.

 

Just purchased a copy.

[+cvga]

Ordered this game awhile ago but just found time to play it today. I'm not very good but I like it. I had written a bowling game about 10 years ago but couldn't get the scoring routine to keep track of scores accurately in BatariBasic. Just wondering if you had any issues calculating the score. This makes me want to dig my version out but it was a couple of computers ago! Nice job!

[easmith]

1 hour ago, cvga said:

Ordered this game awhile ago but just found time to play it today. I'm not very good but I like it. I had written a bowling game about 10 years ago but couldn't get the scoring routine to keep track of scores accurately in BatariBasic. Just wondering if you had any issues calculating the score. This makes me want to dig my version out but it was a couple of computers ago! Nice job!

Thanks !  The key to  getting better is learning how to pick up spares , and getting the feel for aim/ spin.!  Practice !!!

 

Funny you should ask about score.  That was the hardest part for sure , but mainly just because I did not understand the scoring system well ( hadn't kept score by hand for a long time ).  Actually, I recently discovered a bug in the game's scoring :   If you get a strike in both frames 9 and 10, the first bonus ball was  not added to the frame 9 total .

I have fixed it and made a new batch of carts to replace the 13 carts in the first batch that were sold .  I should be sending new carts to those people in the next couple of weeks ( for free of course ) as soon as I get the names of those folks ( including you I suppose) from GDG.

I thought I had tested every scenario but must have overlooked that one .   This was mainly due to misunderstanding how bonus balls are applied in scoring .

 

As far as the score logic, it is roughly this ( I am winging it from memory)  . I am using ASM and am not familiar with Batari Basic.  My logic is probably very inefficient but it works ....

RAM variables used :

shot  ; 1 or 2

score   ; overall score

strike   ; 0 or 1 

frame  ; 1-11

shot1score  

shot2score

ballminus1result  ; 0 if neither spare nor strike, 1 if spare, 2 if strike

ballminus2result ; 0 if neither spare nor strike, 1 if spare, 2 if strike

I have an indicator (0/1) variable for each pin  :  pin1, pin2, etc

 

Each frame has 2 shots unless there is a strike .
After shot 1 (if not a strike) ,     Shot is increased to 2  . 

      The number of still-active pins ( this collision/ algorithm determined)  is subtracted from 10 .  This is stored in shot1score and added to score.     

      Then if the shot was a strike  then shot stays at 1 , pins are reset, and frame number is increased.    

       

If ballminus1result = 1 (spare) or 2(strike) then  shot1score is added again to score (UNLESS you are on BONUS BALL 1  ( frame 11)  .

If ballminus2result = 2 (strike) then shot1score is added again to score   ( EVEN in bonus -- this is what I had wrong)  

  Then ballminus1result is moved to ballminus2result , and 0 (no strike) or 2 ( strike) is moved to ballminus1result.

 

After 2nd shot  where shot=2 ,  the number of still-active pins is subtracted from 10.    This is then subtracted from shot1score( to avoid double counting)  and stored in shot2score.  This is added to score.

  If ballminus2result = 2 (strike) then shot2score is added again to score (UNLESS you are on BONUS BALL 2   (frame 11) ) .

  Then ballminus1result is moved to ballminus2result, and 0 (no spare) or 1 ( spare-- if no pins still active) is moved to ball1result.

 

 shot reset to  1 , pins are reset, and frame number is increased.   

 

   I  think this is pretty much it .     If you had variables for each frame score , you could add the double counts to the appropriate frame total instead of just the overall score . 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2019 by easmith

[+cvga]

Thanks! I don't think I even have the computer that had the code but I did find a printout of it from January 21, 2008. I also have a bunch of handwritten notes. I can see I was trying to determine whether to create a vertical vs horizontal lane (I went with horizontal). My printout doesn't show my score routine. I'll have to keep searching.

[easmith]

Update attached :

I discovered a scoring bug where bonus ball 1 was not being added to frame 9 score if a strike occurred on both frames 9 and 10 .    Fixed now. 

Also added a joystick button reset  .   Anyone who ordered a first batch copy ( about 15 people ) will be receiving a free updated cart directly from me in the next couple of weeks!  

ProBowlingUpdate11-30-19.bin Bowling Info sheet.docx

[KevinMos3]

Just wanted to say that I really like this game.  It took me forever to figure out how to play it.  Not sure why the instructions just weren't making sense to me.  It wasn't until the ZeroPage video that I kinda understood what was going on.  After understanding the controls, it's very simple and enjoyable.  I still love the old Bowling game by Atari, but this perspective is a great addition to the 2600 library.  Excellent job on this.  I do wish your games worked on the FB Portable, but I guess we can't have everything. 

 

Now I have to figure out the controls for Pro Golf.  No matter how many times I've read the instructions, I've not been able to understand how to play it... and I really want to because it looks great.

Edited December 1, 2019 by KevinMos3

[easmith]

1 hour ago, KevinMos3 said:

 I do wish your games worked on the FB Portable, but I guess we can't have everything. 

 

I wish someone would explain why not and perhaps I could fix it. I know they work on Javatari app on cell phone 

1 hour ago, KevinMos3 said:

Now I have to figure out the controls for Pro Golf.  No matter how many times I've read the instructions, I've not been able to understand how to play it... and I really want to because it looks great.

I’m sorry it is not more intuitive  . I will try to make a narrated screen capture video that explains the controls ! 

 

But basically , it is just this :

move joystick to set target . The pin acts as the target .  You can’t set target unless it is in range (indicated by club shown in lower left .  - - means you are out of range ). 

Then to shoot , it’s down(backswing ), up (downswing ) when meter is max ,then button (strike ball) when meter is back to 0. 

 

The trick is you always want to press up (to start downswing) when shotmeter is near max (unless you are putting ) . Otherwise you will land short of target . Also if you press button to strike ball early or late you will slice /hook shot or push/pull putt.