snicklin Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 3 hours ago, Draxxon said: Thanks for such an awesome game! We added this to the Atari Flashback 9/X and even made a snazzy custom bezel for it. Thank you, again! Eh? I thought that the Flashbacks only played Atari 2600 games?? Please correct me if I am wrong, I am very happy to be corrected... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rensoup Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 (edited) 12 hours ago, Peri Noid said: @rensoup, could you write, how much space would the game consume on the disk/cart without XBios compression? Some people complain about "slow loading times" - it seems so since loading from a disk is slow (no turbo mode and so on). But it would be good to think about a tradeof between overall loading time (including decompression) and loading of raw data without compression, including space requirement of the latter. We've been there many times, what you're saying makes no sense at all (I'm not using XBios compression) and after having explained this over and over again and wasted so much time arguing about this, you have to understand that I'm fed up with people bringing this up... Edited October 28, 2021 by rensoup 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 39 minutes ago, snicklin said: Eh? I thought that the Flashbacks only played Atari 2600 games?? Please correct me if I am wrong, I am very happy to be corrected... Flashback 9 and X have a standard SOC in them and can be flashed to play all sorts of emulators just like the nes/snes/genesis/psx minis can. @Draxxon has a great build for these boxes with a load of cool stuff setup on it. https://atariage.com/forums/topic/320084-atari-flashback-nexus-community-project/ 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rensoup Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 (edited) On 10/27/2021 at 11:40 PM, rensoup said: On 10/27/2021 at 8:35 AM, Bobo Cujo said: - I don't think the "princess watching the hourglass" cutscene is supposed to play between: Level 12/Before Jafar, and After Jafar/Before the ending level. I saw it both times... (I had 12 or so minutes on the clock) I didn't notice, probably because I used the cheat code a lot ? but that might be possible because level 12 is a 2 part level. That's fixed, it's bit more tidy, going from level12 part 1 to level12 part 2 is smoother indeed! Also fixed a crash bug which was caused by some sprites routines not checking for zero height sprites ! It did cost 4 bytes and I ran out of memory, which I got back by refactoring the code ? (the bug's rare enough, I've only seen it on level 12) Edited October 28, 2021 by rensoup 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draxxon Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 (edited) Yes the AFB9s and Xs (and even the Legends Flashbacks) have been modded. They basically run the equivalent of RetroArch. It is just emulation and has some issues for sure. The Atari 800 core was rebuilt for the FBs by AA member @rocketfan and it gets constantly updated. The biggest limitation is the one button joysticks the atari flashbacks use. So we have to use all sort of tricks for two button games, or else play them on the LFBs. Edited October 28, 2021 by Draxxon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Rensoup, thanks for accepting my suggestion of adding the Readme.txt to the first posting. Here’s a stupid question: I managed to reach level 4 finally…. But since there are 14 levels…….. is there no way to save games on real hardware ? Did the original version(s) of PoP offer ways to save progress ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxl Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 13 minutes ago, Level42 said: I managed to reach level 4 finally…. But since there are 14 levels…….. is there no way to save games on real hardware ? actually cool idea but cheat codes will do the job too or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 1 hour ago, rensoup said: That's fixed, it's bit more tidy, going from level12 part 1 to level12 part 2 is smoother indeed! Also fixed a crash bug which was caused by some sprites routines not checking for zero height sprites ! It did cost 4 bytes and I ran out of memory, which I got back by refactoring the code ? Have the downloads in the first post been updated? The dates still say "Final" for the Oct 24 2021 files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzspeed Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 2 hours ago, Level42 said: Did the original version(s) of PoP offer ways to save progress ? I'm not too sure regarding the original Apple release of PoP, but under every other release of the game that I'm aware of once you get past level 2 you can save using [CTRL] & G at any time during play. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peri Noid Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 8 hours ago, rensoup said: We've been there many times, what you're saying makes no sense at all (I'm not using XBios compression) and after having explained this over and over again and wasted so much time arguing about this, you have to understand that I'm fed up with people bringing this up... OK. My fault, must have missed... a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 25 minutes ago, Peri Noid said: OK. My fault, must have missed... a lot. Just take a few moments to read all 3260 postings to this thread….. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peri Noid Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 It doesn't matter, if it's XBios compression or any other. It's the matter of "uncompressed vs. compressed". But forget it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CharlieChaplin Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 15 hours ago, rensoup said: We've been there many times, what you're saying makes no sense at all (I'm not using XBios compression) and after having explained this over and over again and wasted so much time arguing about this, you have to understand that I'm fed up with people bringing this up... Well, I guess all Peri Noid wanted to know are two numbers like e.g. 170 kbytes compressed (with ZX5 or whatever) and xxx kbytes completely uncompressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rensoup Posted October 29, 2021 Author Share Posted October 29, 2021 On 10/28/2021 at 11:09 PM, ojanhk said: Thank you so much for this game, it’s awesome and the port you’ve done is amazing. After playing a bit, I had to check and tonight I launched PoP on a MegaSTE just to confirm: your 8bit version is so much better than the Atari ST version ! Again many thanks for all the hard work, and my deepest respect for your programming skills ! Thanks, I had to check the ST Version again on YT because my memory is hazy... the framerate is all over the place, goes from too fast to too slow! I'm guessing they did a static 6502 to 68000 code converter and failed somewhere along the way... I just don't see how the ST rendering alone could be that slow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rensoup Posted October 29, 2021 Author Share Posted October 29, 2021 23 hours ago, Level42 said: I managed to reach level 4 finally…. But since there are 14 levels…….. is there no way to save games on real hardware ? Did the original version(s) of PoP offer ways to save progress ? I ripped that code out, it took a little too much space plus it wouldn't work for carts anyway... 23 hours ago, xxl said: actually cool idea but cheat codes will do the job too yep 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rensoup Posted October 29, 2021 Author Share Posted October 29, 2021 22 hours ago, DrVenkman said: Have the downloads in the first post been updated? The dates still say "Final" for the Oct 24 2021 files. I may update them if there are enough bugs to fix, there's no rush though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rensoup Posted October 29, 2021 Author Share Posted October 29, 2021 8 hours ago, CharlieChaplin said: Well, I guess all Peri Noid wanted to know are two numbers like e.g. 170 kbytes compressed (with ZX5 or whatever) and xxx kbytes completely uncompressed. If 10 people asked me if shaking the drive could make loading faster, should I really take the time to answer that 10 times ? It's easy to come up with solutions if you only partially understand the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 (edited) 37 minutes ago, rensoup said: I ripped that code out, it took a little too much space plus it wouldn't work for carts anyway... I thought AGV supported writes to the cart and SIDE3 will be able to accept writes as well when FJC completes the next firmware version for it….. so it might be a good idea to track this and I hope you would be willing to put it back in…. Cheat codes are different, I don’t know them and I’m not looking for them because I don’t want to be tempted to skip a level when I get stuck…. Edited October 30, 2021 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 On 10/26/2021 at 1:16 PM, Wrathchild said: From this topic: https://www.atarimax.com/flashcart/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=273 And Steve mentions 650w x 450h @ 72ppi for the AtariMax shell itself That looks like the original OSS BXL carts. Picture it in orange plastic. Solakian Mold Co. Best cart style ever. NO THROUGH HOLE. 4 plastic pins, 2 on right, 2 on left hold it together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 How about [uncompressed, NO XBIOS] Incognito Loader and FujiNet .ATR's. that would be great. Cart images also good. Just saying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 (edited) What is different about normal ATRs and Fujinet ATRs ? can’t you just use the ones Rensoup already provided with Fujinet ? Edited October 30, 2021 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Level42 said: What is different about normal ATRs and Fujinet ATRs ? can’t you just use the ones Rensoup already provided with Fujinet ? I think that's something called "Word Salad". He's asking for is a disk image that could not fit onto a real disk but will work fine with modern devices with all the data uncompressed to speed up loading. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Mr Robot said: I think that's something called "Word Salad". He's asking for is a disk image that could not fit onto a real disk but will work fine with modern devices with all the data uncompressed to speed up loading. Aha. Well I think we will have to be happy with what we’ve got as this discussion has been running wayyyy before the release of the final version. I am very happy with the cart versions but if I would be forced to load it at 1x SIO speed than I would have accepted that too because the game is not only brilliant in sound and graphics but SO much fun to play. I never played it very much BITD, I guess I never had the ST version. I love platformers and I always loved the style of Karateka….I find myself playing it every moment I can…. I love the extensive bass in the music, sounds so epic on my B&O MX8000…. I don’t have a favourite music set yet but for the sound effects Nr.1 definitely has my vote if only because of the totally brilliant “tsjing” sound of crossing swords… I’m currently puzzled by the mirror on Level 4 but I want to give it a few more tries before I watch a YouTube video…… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 (edited) Oh by the way, for those having trouble with joystick controls: You kinda have to think that you send the “commands” a little bit ahead of time they are needed. I guess this is a bit of a keyboard controls thing maybe if the original version ? Anyway, thinking about it that way made it easier for me to play. Another tip: by coincidence I had bought one of those brand new Chinese 2600 joysticks just to see how they were. I found out that I actually prefer playing PoP with that joystick instead of my silky smooth Suzo Competition Pro with leaf switches which I otherwise find the best joystick ever. Those new “2600” sticks have a decisive “clunk” feeling when moved in a direction and the switch is activated. It’s a bit like a micro-switch, but softer and without the annoying micro-switch clicks. Haven’t opened it up yet but so far these cheap little sticks absolutely surprised me in quality. The button has the same feeling which is good for PoP (and other games that only require occasional button presses). It’s certainly too fatiguing in fast shooter games though….but brilliant for PoP. https://a.aliexpress.com/_uvFAcm Edited October 30, 2021 by Level42 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivop Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 13 minutes ago, Level42 said: You kinda have to think that you send the “commands” a little bit ahead of time they are needed. That's also key to playing H.E.R.O. on the 2600. The rotor needs some time to spin up Not that I have finished it yet. Level 15 is my record Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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