8bit Koffi time

[+Cafeman]

I am pleased to share with you the first .ATR file for Koffi: Yellow Kopter which runs on the A8 platform! This version runs in NTSC and PAL. However, it is noticeably slower in PAL. Thanks to Dennis Debro for his excellent conversion skills!

 

(EDIT -- thanks for the Poll, AL! Please respond to the poll to help me gauge interest!)

 

...

 

I'll also free-form ask my poll questions here. I'm trying to gauge interest on how to distribute Koffi to any interested A8 users, both NTSC and PAL.

 

1. Is there any interest in a disk floppy version of Koffi? NTSC or PAL? You see, as is now, this .ATR file would only run via disk format.

 

2. A cart version of Koffi: 8bit is planned, but it appears that since Koffi is 32K, I have to re-code it into two 16K banks and use bank switching. This will take more time to do!

 

3. I am also thinking of a PAL-specific cart version of Koffi. Since the PAL 50fps runs Koffi at only 5/6 the speed of the 5200 NTSC version at 60fps, it is currently slower gameplay , with slightly slowed down music and sound FX too. Since Koffi was programmed using a lot of in-code parameters, I think I can bump up the speed for the most part by just decreasing my in-game delay parameters, plus some other special code to check every 5th frame to move Koffi one extra time. Stuff like that which I haven't started. My question: Is there sufficient interest in a PAL Koffi 32K cart for A8?

 

Thanks, and enjoy the game. This is not exactly the final version -- there are 1 or 2 very minor things I'd like to tweak, but it is certainly close enough. If anyone manages to get this put to a 5 1/4" floppy & run on a real A8, I'd appreciate hearing your feedback and exactly how you got it to the floppy. (IE, do you just copy koffi.atr to a 51/4" floppy drive on your PC, then it works on the Atari?).

koffia8.zip

[DEBRO]

I am pleased to share with you the first .ATR file for Koffi: Yellow Kopter which runs on the A8 platform!  This version runs in NTSC and PAL. However, it is noticeably slower in PAL.  Thanks to Dennis Debro for his excellent conversion skills!

 

No, thank you Ron for letting me convert your baby

 

I'd be interested to hear what others think of the button layout. I tried to keep with the original as best I could. For example, you enter the Koloring Book mode using the same number key as you do in the 5200 version. Now to cycle through the colors you would use Option, Select, and the fire button.

 

This was really started as a labor of love. My 5200 joysticks were busted so I could only play Koffi on the emulator. Now that it's been converted, I can play it on my A8 (once I connect my SIO2PC cable).

 

If anyone manages to get this put to a 5 1/4" floppy & run on a real A8, I'd appreciate hearing your feedback and exactly how you got it to the floppy. (IE, do you just copy koffi.atr to a 51/4" floppy drive on your PC, then it works on the Atari?).

 

You would use the trusty SIO2PC and just copy the game to a real 5 1/4 floppy. The SIO2PC cable makes the A8 think your PC is just another disk drive.

[classics]

Is there a game manual on line somewhere?

 

I've gotten the bar full from collecting leaves but not much further than that.

 

BTW I love the background music.

[+Cafeman]

http://cafeman.www9.50megs.com/atari/5200d...structions.html

 

Those are the 5200 instructions I posted online during Koffi's development. They should explain the gameplay to you.

 

Catch RainDrops (If you press the 6 key at the title screen while using an emulator, it changes the rain back to the correct BLUE hue. They shouldn't be green, but emulators get that color wrong. ON a real system the color is baby blue).

[oesii]

Tried the .atr on the AtariMacOSX emulator and it works great on my Mac. I already have the 5200 version, and would probably play an .atr through my sio2pc setup or flash it to Atarimax Flashcart But if there was some interesting extras or something I might be interested in a cart version for the 8bits.

 

I think most serious 8bit users these days have sio2pc setups over real floppies so a floppy release would be less attractive. Might be wrong though if people are nostalgic for long load times and deteriorating disks

[+Cafeman]

Thanks, I'm not an A8 user anymore so I was totally unaware of the SIO2pc cable.

[ATARIeric]

koffi cart for me, a whole cart full of koffi, not chock full o nuts

[sku_u]

1. Is there any interest in a disk floppy version of Koffi? NTSC or PAL?  You see, as is now, this .ATR file would only run via disk format.

 

The problem with disk based games is that one is then at the mercy of a disk based 800 system. I have no disk drive for my XEGS, preferring to keep it as a gaming system. Will this version be compatable with the XEGS?

 

Were any changes made to the game that differentiates it from the 5200 version (which is still on my heavy play list BTW)?

[+Cafeman]

There are (erm, SHOULD BE) not noticeable differences. If you want a fresh experience, wait for Koffi 2: Rescue Kopter.

 

In fact, I was unsure if Dennis would be able to convert it as-is because I used up almost 100% of my ROM. But he found some space.

 

I am re-thinking this Koffi 8bit floppy idea, since it seems to me that anybody with the SIO2PC cable could play the game that way. I was not aware of that cable so I wondered if anyone (like me!) still uses disks and the 1050 drive. Yeah, mine still works fine and I have almost all my games on disks!

 

Classics' flashcart is another new mystery to me. Has anyone managed to get Koffi.ATR to run on that?

[Callipygous]

I voted cart. Really not sure how much demand there would be. Probably not as much as console collectors who unlike 8-bitters have difficulty playing a binary on an actual machine. There are alot more 8-bittters then 5200 users, but not as many collectors.

[davidcalgary29]

I too would like to see this game released on cart.

[video game addict]

I too would love a cart release. Already own the 5200 version, but would pick up an 8-bit cart as well, if released.

 

If you want a fresh experience, wait for Koffi 2: Rescue Kopter.  

 

 

But I also agree with Callipygous, probably not as many diehard 8bit collectors out there. Most can transfer .ATRs directly to their machine with all the cool things & flash carts & Hollex carts. May not be as many people looking to buy.

 

Also concerning cart construction, not sure how easy it is to get cases, and PCBs, Sunmark makes these though right? But finding old carts to reuse could be costly. Maybe a join effort with Sunmark, or let them release it and pay you royalties?

[Thelen]

Great news to hear this game will appear on the 8 bit machines !!

 

I think a disk image will be the best idea, almost every 8 bit user is using disk images instead of real disks, and all game carts are available in disk form.

 

Off course, a cartridge is much more spectaculair I think....when I ever finish a game, I will release it as cart (image) and as diskimage I think. as Callipygous and Video game addict are saying, there are less atari 8 bit cart collectors out there

 

Thelen

[DEBRO]

Has anyone tried the game and compared it to the 5200?

 

I've found one difference/bug so far.

 

If you press the START button on title screen while a note is playing, the note is continously played until you pick up a rain drop

 

This would have to do with me moving the title screen music to the VBI. It's easily fixed but I was wondering if anyone else noticed any differences/bugs.

[+Cafeman]

Has anyone tried the game and compared it to the 5200?

 

I've found one difference/bug so far.

 

"Dennis! Our lives are in your hands, and you've got BUTTERFINGERS?!"

 

name that quote

 

Anyway, if anyone has played this on a real system, in PAL, please tell me your impressions of it. It is a bit slower than it should be.

[video game addict]

Dude. Her life is in your hands!

 

Sounds close enough to the Big Lebowski to me!

 

I love that movie.

[Albert]

As a huge 8-bit fan myself, I'd love to see Koffi available as both NTSC and PAL cartridges. I'd want an NTSC cartridge for myself, but I know there are many Atari 8-bit fans still active in Europe, so they'd surely want a PAL version as well. There's just something about cartridges, especially if adorned with a nice label. Plop it in and play! And with the 8-bit computers, you get to use the tried-and-true CX-40 joystick. Of course, this isn't always an issue with the 5200 if you have an adapter that allows you to use 2600 sticks.

 

..Al

[Goochman]

This is def cool since my 5200 is dead and I cant play that Koffi!

 

I played this on my 130XE and it worked fine - I had ran into 3 issues:

 

1. The music start issue mentioned above

 

2. For some reason the water wouldnt drop easily on the first level - It didnt repeat on the 2nd gme but it would start and stop randomly - Game 2 had no such issues

 

3. Restarting - I had to wait through all the credits/etc.. before I could hit Start again - Having start active whenever I want to restart would be nice

 

Otherwise this is a fun game.

 

I got to Mothers Revenge but couldnt get by that level (like when I played before )

[krisjohn]

I've been meaning to dig out my 800XL, so this might finally be the push I need. I can get it running on a real PAL Atari 8-bit with my SIO2PC cable. Haven't hooked anything up in a long time, but I believe there's a free Windows XP compatible Atari drive emulator to suit the SIO2PC cable.

 

I will try and get the system all hooked up for you as soon as possible. Maybe a few days to find all the bits.

[DEBRO]

"Dennis! Our lives are in your hands, and you've got BUTTERFINGERS?!"  

 

name that quote

I wish I could. It sounds familiar though.

 

2.  For some reason the water wouldnt drop easily on the first level - It didnt repeat on the 2nd gme but it would start and stop randomly - Game 2 had no such issues

 

Thanks, I didn't experience this in my testing but I'll look into it. BTW, did you run this in an emulator or the true A8?

 

3.  Restarting - I had to wait through all the credits/etc.. before I could hit Start again - Having start active whenever I want to restart would be nice

What!? You want to bypass the names that did the hard work to produce this game? J/K IIRC the original 5200 Koffi allowed you to press RESET to bypass the credit screen (I'll check the code to verify). Right now the RESET was suppose to do a cold boot and reload the game but again I goofed, sorry. Once a cart is done (there will be at least a cart image, trust me ) then RESET will take you back to the title screen. Would you like the START button to restart the game using the original choosen game options?

 

I can get it running on a real PAL Atari 8-bit with my SIO2PC cable.

Thanks Kris, this would really help. I hadn't tried it on my A8 yet but I was able to get an early copy to Fabrizio (rasty). He helped confirm the speed issues on the PAL system.

 

I believe there's a free Windows XP compatible Atari drive emulator to suit the SIO2PC cable

I believe you speak of Dan's Atari810 Disk Drive Emulator.

[+Cafeman]

IIRC the original 5200 Koffi allowed you to press RESET to bypass the credit screen (I'll check the code to verify). Right now the RESET was suppose to do a cold boot and reload the game but again I goofed, sorry. Once a cart is done (there will be at least a cart image, trust me ) then RESET will take you back to the title screen. Would you like the START button to restart the game using the original choosen game options?

 

In 5200 Koffi, You can always hit RESET or the #3 button to reset back to the title screen. It would keep the High Score but it did reset the options you had chosen. Dennis, if you want to , it might be nice to keep the difficulty and level options on a Reset.

 

Oh, and the quote was from Jurassic Park. John Hammond talking to Dennis Nedry. That spoken line always cracks me up, the actor's voice slightly cracks in disbelief when he says "Butterfingers?!" .

[Goochman]

I tested on a 130XE and not an emu.

 

I played 3 more games and didnt experience any water difficulties.

 

However,

The first game I played I kinda forgot exactly what to do and filled my water tanks to the max, knocking off the storm cloud and then trying to reduce the fire.

 

I was able to pass Pryo's Mom and get to the next level without a hitch.

[krisjohn]

Okay, I got it running on an unmodified PAL Atari 800XL last night after I logged off.

 

* Speed issues regarding playability negligible.

* Speed issues regarding music, well, it did seem a little slow, but I listen to drum and bass, so who knows.

 

However, the rain was green. Now, I was only using RF, but on easy with the large rain it didn't look baby blue to me, definately green.

 

I thought it was corrupting until I booted with the option button down, then it was fine.

 

Nice to finally see my Llama in action

 

If you want me to test anything, just say.

[DEBRO]

Okay, I got it running on an unmodified PAL Atari 800XL last night after I logged off.

 

* Speed issues regarding playability negligible.

* Speed issues regarding music, well, it did seem a little slow, but I listen to drum and bass, so who knows.

So are you saying you're okay with the speed? It is slower than the NTSC version. After playing NTSC for a while PAL is just too slow for me

 

However, the rain was green.  Now, I was only using RF, but on easy with the large rain it didn't look baby blue to me, definately green.

 

I thought it was corrupting until I booted with the option button down, then it was fine.

I forgot to mention that BASIC had to be disabled. Ron and I talked about checking for BASIC, prompting the user that it was installed, and not booting the game. In the cart version this wouldn't be an issue.

[krisjohn]

So are you saying you're okay with the speed? It is slower than the NTSC version. After playing NTSC for a while PAL is just too slow for me

 

Seems fine. Keep in mind that I haven't played it on an emulator in NTSC mode or anything. But I certainly didn't feel like response time was being affected.