Synthpopalooza Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 A thought ... The high order bytes of coin insert are all 0. This means you can just store a 0 in channel $01 and a $Cx in AUDC2 before calling the sound. This may save you an entry on the table. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Also: This brings back memories of when we tried to get 16-bit bass working in Bentley Bear. Great times ... ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 (edited) Yep Though at least we didn't have to worry about being in-line with TIA sounds in that one. Edited February 4, 2021 by PacManPlus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Funny thing was, in 2015 at the start of Bentley Bear, I literally hadn't touched POKEY music since at least 1990. So I had to relearn everything ... I had the standard $Ax 8-bit note table committed to memory still. But now ... I feel the urge to write a "POKEY for dummies" guide and post it on the forums. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 27 minutes ago, Synthpopalooza said: Funny thing was, in 2015 at the start of Bentley Bear, I literally hadn't touched POKEY music since at least 1990 ... Hey, do you realize the link in your signature points to some Asian-langauge site that doesn't look to have anything to do with your music? (SORRY FOR THE ASIDE ... but I'D like to hear Synthpopalooza's real synth-pop music, not Asian-language spam ). 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Just now, DrVenkman said: Hey, do you realize the link in your signature points to some Asian-langauge site that doesn't look to have anything to do with your music? (SORRY FOR THE ASIDE ... but I'D like to hear Synthpopalooza's real synth-pop music, not Asian-language spam ). Dammit ... thought I fixed that ... 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I wonder if any of these improved sounds could be hacked in to the 2600 version of Galaxian. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 16 hours ago, Synthpopalooza said: Dammit ... thought I fixed that ... ... and it's fixed!!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 18 hours ago, ZylonBane said: I wonder if any of these improved sounds could be hacked in to the 2600 version of Galaxian. ZB! Haven't seen you in a while! Hope all is well and you are staying safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 Ok, Time for a little update: This is not going to be the quickest game completed, as I've been looking through the commented disassembly of the arcade version of Galaxian. I'm starting to understand a little Z80 in the process, and I'm seeing how they do things which I like better than how I did it. For instance: As we already know, there are 8 sprites available for the Galaxian hardware. What I *didn't* know, was that the sprite 'slots' are predetermined: 0 - For miscellaneous use, i.e. an enemy explosion while still in the 'flock' (because it's a tile, and needs to be converted to a sprite to show the explosion). I'm also using it for the player(s), being they will never be in the same zone as the 'flock' itself. 1 - reserved for the flagship 2 - reserved for the 'escorts' to the flagship 3 - reserved for the 'escorts' to the flagship 4 - solo alien attacker 5 - solo alien attacker 6 - solo alien attacker 7 - solo alien attacker So there are never more than 4 solo + 1 flagship + 2 escorts attacking at one time. Originally, I was using the first two sprite slots for each player (because of the 2 player simultaneous option). I've reduced that down to 1 to match the arcade, and for the simultaneous option I flicker the players, and their shots. It's not that noticeable. Also, did you know that the arcade version flickers the enemy shots? There are only 7 available shots, and Galaxian can have up to 14 enemy shots at a time. I was actually a little surprised by this one. I will do the same, although I only have 6 available to me (up to 12 at one time). There are two of the arcade routines that I cannot follow, so if someone knows Z80 well, I could use some decyphering... Thanks guys! Bob P.S. - My nickname at work is now 'Blob' as I mistyped my name on an e-mail as I've done here once or twice (the 'l' and 'o' are adjacent and sometimes I fat-finger them) ? 8 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Did my suggestions help with the POKEY sound issues any? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 Hey! I actually put them aside for a moment while I retrofit the code to work more like the arcade version. I'm absolutely sure you r suggestions will help though. Thanks, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Cool ... Out of curiosity: Are there any home ports of Galaxian that use 320 mode, apart from this? And I don't count Apple II because that uses artifacting and essentially halves the resolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 On 2/7/2021 at 5:14 PM, PacManPlus said: Ok, Time for a little update: This is not going to be the quickest game completed, as I've been looking through the commented disassembly of the arcade version of Galaxian. I'm starting to understand a little Z80 in the process, and I'm seeing how they do things which I like better than how I did it. For instance: As we already know, there are 8 sprites available for the Galaxian hardware. What I *didn't* know, was that the sprite 'slots' are predetermined: 0 - For miscellaneous use, i.e. an enemy explosion while still in the 'flock' (because it's a tile, and needs to be converted to a sprite to show the explosion). I'm also using it for the player(s), being they will never be in the same zone as the 'flock' itself. 1 - reserved for the flagship 2 - reserved for the 'escorts' to the flagship 3 - reserved for the 'escorts' to the flagship 4 - solo alien attacker 5 - solo alien attacker 6 - solo alien attacker 7 - solo alien attacker So there are never more than 4 solo + 1 flagship + 2 escorts attacking at one time. Originally, I was using the first two sprite slots for each player (because of the 2 player simultaneous option). I've reduced that down to 1 to match the arcade, and for the simultaneous option I flicker the players, and their shots. It's not that noticeable. Also, did you know that the arcade version flickers the enemy shots? There are only 7 available shots, and Galaxian can have up to 14 enemy shots at a time. I was actually a little surprised by this one. I will do the same, although I only have 6 available to me (up to 12 at one time). There are two of the arcade routines that I cannot follow, so if someone knows Z80 well, I could use some decyphering... Thanks guys! Bob P.S. - My nickname at work is now 'Blob' as I mistyped my name on an e-mail as I've done here once or twice (the 'l' and 'o' are adjacent and sometimes I fat-finger them) ? Interesting... Y'know, I wonder if anyone has ever considered making a "console" based on one of the more prevalent arcade platforms, like Namco Galaxian Hardware for example. Lots of games are based on it. Even Pac Man, or the Namco Galaga platform, which is similar. And I don't mean early consoles like the Bally Arcade/Astrocade which may have been related, or The Colecovision which was, sorta. I mean a system made today with our much lower memory costs... Just spitballin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+x=usr(1536) Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 9 hours ago, Zonie said: Y'know, I wonder if anyone has ever considered making a "console" based on one of the more prevalent arcade platforms, like Namco Galaxian Hardware for example. Lots of games are based on it. Even Pac Man, or the Namco Galaga platform, which is similar. The idea's been floated a number of times over the years, but has never really taken off. A few reasons for that: Even once-common games such as Pac-Man, Galaga, and Centipede have reached the point where functional PCBs are becoming harder to find, and non-working ones have value for parts or even the board itself. Natural attrition is the main culprit. Granted, those three aren't as hard to find as some, but decent survivors at reasonable prices are requiring more and more effort to come by. Your main audience for games developed for the platform are going to be emulator users. There's no lockout or exclusivity on most actual boardsets for limiting the game in question to physical hardware; it can just as easily be run in software. This reduces the desirability of the PCB-as-console idea since MAME removes the cost considerations of physical hardware. There's really nothing stopping anyone from doing it - all they need to do is write the software, package it in a ROM format that the emulator / PCB can understand, and distribute the images. However, the amount of actual demand for new games on old arcade hardware is significantly lower than for dedicated consoles. Note that this was how a number of games were developed BITD, though, not counting bootlegs. See also: Kyle Hodgetts' games, which performed unnatural acts without consent on different arcade platforms. 9 hours ago, Zonie said: And I don't mean early consoles like the Bally Arcade/Astrocade which may have been related, or The Colecovision which was, sorta. I mean a system made today with our much lower memory costs... FPGA it. Compared to building a dedicated PCB for each platform you want to develop for, it'll be a lot more flexible (and reliable). It's also a lot simpler to fix post-release issues or expand functionality when your hardware exists in software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 11, 2021 Author Share Posted February 11, 2021 On 2/8/2021 at 2:52 PM, Synthpopalooza said: Cool ... Out of curiosity: Are there any home ports of Galaxian that use 320 mode, apart from this? And I don't count Apple II because that uses artifacting and essentially halves the resolution. Not that I know of... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler172 Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 5 hours ago, PacManPlus said: Not that I know of... I have the CD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 ZeroPage Homebrew will be playing GALAXIAN on tomorrow's (Tue Feb 16, 2021) stream LIVE on Twitch at 6PM PT | 9PM ET | 2AM GMT! Hope everyone can watch! ZPH Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew/ Games: Popeye 7800 (2021 Exclusive WIP Update | 7800) by Darryl Guenther @darryl1970 (Programming and Graphics) / Bobby Clark @Synthpopalooza, Matt Smith @mksmith, Pat Brady @Pat Brady, Trebor @Trebor (Music) / Mike Saarna @RevEng, Matt Smith @mksmith, Paul Lay @playsoft, Perry Thuente @tep392 (Programming Consultants) / Atariboy2600 @Atariboy2600 (Package Artwork) Galaxian (2021 WIP | 7800) by Bob DeCrescenzo @PacManPlus / Bobby Clark @Synthpopalooza (Sound Design) Wizard's Dungeon (2021 WIP | 7800) by Vince Dickinson @BydoEmpire 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 Cool! Thank you! Just keep in mind: I recently gutted the enemy handling (aside from the flock itself) and am in the middle of completely re-writing it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 24 minutes ago, PacManPlus said: Cool! Thank you! Just keep in mind: I recently gutted the enemy handling (aside from the flock itself) and am in the middle of completely re-writing it. You're welcome, there's plenty to show off on the current build! Plus, with the re-write, that'll just give me an excuse to play it again when you've updated it. - James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I haven't read every page to see if this was talked about more, but has the issue with the explosion sounds, being goofy been fixed yet? On my DF cart with PokeyMAX I just hear a BONG like sound that doesn't sound like it was the intended sound? Just curious if that is a DF/PokeyMAX issue or if the sound is messed up when the player ship explodes in the game? I've not tried to load it up on my Mateos, but didn't think the Pokey coding on it would work for that cart anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 That was a coding error. I think he has fixed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 56 minutes ago, Synthpopalooza said: That was a coding error. I think he has fixed it. Ah okay. In re-watching the ZPH stream last night when playing the game they have the same sound but I had to really turn it up to hear it and they only died once I think so it took a bit before I could catch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I just sort of figured it was a placeholder sound... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 No. I had designed it to use $0x distortion (pink noise) but in PMP's code it accidentally got set to $Cx (saw wave) and made a buzz instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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