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Popeye 7800


darryl1970

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1 hour ago, Albert said:

The HOKEY is soldered directly to these boards, as opposed to being a separate board, and all of the carts that went out were tested twice (including listening to make sure the audio was playing), so I'm not sure why some may not be working.  Do you have a copy of Ballblazer?  If so, do you hear the music with that cart?  I also suggest cleaning the contacts on the cartridge iwth isopropyl alcohol, as that can fix this issue if the contacts are dirty (which can happen even with brand new boards, usually if I see this I will clean the contacts myself). 

 

 ..Al

Al I suspect these folks might have the older audio wiring in place in their AV upgrades which, would cause pokey audio to be much lower in volume than the TIA and it is possible with HOKEY it is something similar or the TIA could be overpowering the audio line if they don't have the audio mixed right inside the console. That is why I was asking if they had AV upgrades. I've had to correct a few of these over the years that were done by others.

 

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Utilizing an AT84 (Longhorn Engineering v2.1 with resistor updates via Joe Electronic Sentimentalities), A1 (Longhorn Engineering v2.1 w/o resistor updates* via Yurkie), and A3 (UAV via -^CrossBow^-) serial consoles, although each contain a (slightly) different A/V mod performed, there are no issues being experienced with Popeye.

 

*Compensated for the lower/halved default POKEY/cart audio via external wiring.

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2 hours ago, Trebor said:

Utilizing an AT84 (Longhorn Engineering v2.1 with resistor updates via Joe Electronic Sentimentalities), A1 (Longhorn Engineering v2.1 w/o resistor updates via Yurkie*), and A3 (UAV via -^CrossBow^-) serial consoles, although each contain a (slightly) different A/V mod performed, there are no issues being experienced with Popeye.

 

*Compensated for the lower/halved default POKEY/cart audio via external wiring.

Not sure how your LHE systems have their audio being handled but when I had the LHE in mine the pokey wasn't present and I ended up just attaching my audio wiring to the top north legs of the R5 and R6 resistors at that point in time. The original instructions had you attach the audio wire to the bottom legs of those resistors similar to the composite only kit instructions sometimes advise and that was causing pokey to not be heard as the TIA audio line was overpowering the POKEY for me. Hence the move of the wire to the other side of the resistors.

 

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The error in the counting of points for the thrown bottles by Seahag on the 2nd screen is such a non issue in the overall playing of the game. This is a wonderful update when compared with the 5200 release. Played the crap out of 5200 Popeye and got very good at it. The head/body contrast of Brutus's body in the 5200 release always made me laugh! Fix or no fix this is a definite purchase for me in the future!

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On 5/22/2023 at 10:46 PM, John Stamos Mullet said:

For the record - my daily driver 7800 is modded with a UAV and a proper audio circuit for pokey audio, and Popeye works fine for me.

Just confirming the same - A3 model, UAV using @-^CrossBow^-'s mount board and an internal AtariVox+.  No problems at all.

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On 5/24/2023 at 9:10 AM, GaryH917 said:

The error in the counting of points for the thrown bottles by Seahag on the 2nd screen is such a non issue in the overall playing of the game. This is a wonderful update when compared with the 5200 release. Played the crap out of 5200 Popeye and got very good at it. The head/body contrast of Brutus's body in the 5200 release always made me laugh! Fix or no fix this is a definite purchase for me in the future!

This. I mean, if it was on every board, I could see people complaining, but just on that one board... unless you're a high score chaser, it really doesn't matter. The game is gorgeous, regardless.

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Well I got the replacement cart for Popeye and it does the exact same thing, my 7800 is an old AV mod so this must be what's messing it up. I also bought Beef Drop from the Atariage store at the same time and it works but everything is Green I may need to buy a newer 7800 machine with a better AV MOD.

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1 hour ago, SalemFrost7800 said:

Well I got the replacement cart for Popeye and it does the exact same thing, my 7800 is an old AV mod so this must be what's messing it up. I also bought Beef Drop from the Atariage store at the same time and it works but everything is Green I may need to buy a newer 7800 machine with a better AV MOD.

I can't speak to his current availability, but @-^CrossBow^- did an excellent job of modding/restoring my system (and many others). Maybe yours can be fixed? 

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8 hours ago, Karl G said:

I can't speak to his current availability, but @-^CrossBow^- did an excellent job of modding/restoring my system (and many others). Maybe yours can be fixed? 

Second that motion.  His work is meticulous.  It's like a brand better-than-new console when he is done with it.  Highly recommended.

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I can't stop visiting this thread, this port is just so excellent. It's really tempting me to buy an Atari 7800 just so I can play this magnificent homebrew (though the problem is, I don't have a lot of space in my apartment, so I don't know if it'd be worthwhile). I'd badger about ROM availability and even paying extra for it, but I know that I'd get the same answer as everyone else hahaha.

 

Though one inaccuracy I've noticed is that in the Hearts stage, Brutus can jump up at you if you're at the highest floor, which from my testing, doesn't happen in the Arcade version, so that might need to be rectified at a point. 

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1 hour ago, Greenknight9000 said:

I can't stop visiting this thread, this port is just so excellent. It's really tempting me to buy an Atari 7800 just so I can play this magnificent homebrew (though the problem is, I don't have a lot of space in my apartment, so I don't know if it'd be worthwhile). I'd badger about ROM availability and even paying extra for it, but I know that I'd get the same answer as everyone else hahaha.

 

Though one inaccuracy I've noticed is that in the Hearts stage, Brutus can jump up at you if you're at the highest floor, which from my testing, doesn't happen in the Arcade version, so that might need to be rectified at a point. 

Welp, ain't I a fool haha. After a few hours of playing I got proven wrong. I figure I'll add some more feedback as to not clog up the thread. 

With how incredible of a port this version is, I honestly would believe that it might've given the Atari 7800 a more notable reputation of being able to be practically arcade-perfect, had it have been released back in the day. The controls are just as perfect as can be and the collision is the perfect balance of tight, but not unfair - when a death occurs, it's completely my fault and not a result of any shortcomings that the game might have. It's no wonder this homebrew won an award!

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8 hours ago, Greenknight9000 said:

I can't stop visiting this thread, this port is just so excellent. It's really tempting me to buy an Atari 7800 just so I can play this magnificent homebrew (though the problem is, I don't have a lot of space in my apartment, so I don't know if it'd be worthwhile). I'd badger about ROM availability and even paying extra for it, but I know that I'd get the same answer as everyone else hahaha.

I get that about the ROMs. I would usually rather just have the ROM at this point myself for most games.

8 hours ago, Greenknight9000 said:

Though one inaccuracy I've noticed is that in the Hearts stage, Brutus can jump up at you if you're at the highest floor, which from my testing, doesn't happen in the Arcade version, so that might need to be rectified at a point. 

I did not copy the arcade logic exactly. I based the game logic, especially Brutus's, off of the "feel" that I get from the game. There are differences. My Brutus never jumps down two levels to crush Popeye. There are some limitations due to space and logic. However, I was almost positive that Brutus has jumped up at me on the top level before, so I checked it out.
 

The arcade Brutus will "wander" a little more at times. I do have modes for Brutus, but they are a little different. When he is wandering (like on a mission), arcade Brutus will walk across the 2nd and 3rd rows, almost making a loop. In this mode, he does seem to ignore Popeye, above and below. However, after Popeye is further into the level, he will jump up to get Popeye on the top level. (I think the arcade Brutus jumps down more than he jumps up -- at least until later in the levels.) If you notice, I do make Brutus ignore Popeye in the beginning. I think my Brutus will attack Popeye on the top level from the start by the third Heart stage.

 

I believe some of this helps balance the hardware limitations. I can't handle 3 skulls on-screen. At one point, I didn't think I'd be able to get one. I also cannot have more than 5 hearts, notes, or letters on screen. This all allows me to have more total sprites than the NES, in which the Sea Hag never throws bottles. (Brutus throws bottles, and she only throws 3 skulls after the first round or Game B.)

 

All-in-all, I probably wouldn't change this, as I think it helps balance this version.

 

...but, here's Brutus attacking in the arcade version.

image.thumb.png.bdf3b40d336ab75766f2a74a9de28bc4.png

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On 5/27/2023 at 12:58 PM, Karl G said:

I can't speak to his current availability, but @-^CrossBow^- did an excellent job of modding/restoring my system (and many others). Maybe yours can be fixed? 

I reached out the @-^CrossBow^- and he already replied. I will let you all know how things work out!. Thank you for the help.

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Ok, I sent my 7800 to @-^CrossBow^- and he has already finished the upgrade and he sent me a cool video with a lot of the behind the scenes activity and best of all he showed me that Popeye now works and looks amazing! He has already mailed the 7800 back and I should have it in a few days. Thanks again for those who recommended him and a HUGE Thanks to the man himself @-^CrossBow^- for the fast and amazing work, I can't wait to play Popeye!

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  • 3 weeks later...
9 hours ago, darryl1970 said:

The latest version, 2.4, has the scoring bug fixed. I fixed this right after it was brought to attention.

That's great! Looking forward to this. One of two games I really wanted to get. 

 

Its not the only games I wanted but with time running out, this and Wizard of Wor were absolute.

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On 6/23/2023 at 9:13 AM, bikeguychicago said:

Will this be available for purchase as a ROM? I have the boxed copy but would also like the 'fixed' version as well. 

I have always been a fan of ROMs for the SD carts. I didn't give it much thought, because the AA Store was handling distribution. I have been pretty bogged down lately, but let me think about this one a little.

13 hours ago, Philsan said:

Is Popeye on sale 2.4 version?

Any cart going forward should be 2.4.

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Just a quick update, I got my new 7800 Mod from -^CrossBow^- and a new 7800 Controller from edladdin (Long Story)
and for the frst time last night I was able to play Popeye in all it's glory! It took me back to the Golden Age
of Arcade Games, darryl1970 did an absolutely amazing job and I look forward to playing this cart for many years to come. 

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