PentaGo

[+darryl1970]

2 hours ago, desiv said:

Just have the default as Penta, but if difficulty switch 1 is flipped, there might be some graphics corruption that makes it display as Pengo.   

Note that both difficulty switches are utilized. Left Difficulty switches between TIA and POKEY sound. When the code (right, right, right, left, left, left) is entered at the title, the right difficulty can force the preferred background music.

2 hours ago, Trebor said:

I'm always fond of holding the Pause button down while powering up Easter Egg.  

An Easter Egg would be great, except I do not have space left for a Penta AND Pengo banner.  I do

The arcade Penta bootleg does not have a banner, but I am not a fan of that. The sno-bees come out and draw nothing.

 

[Trebor]

28 minutes ago, darryl1970 said:

An Easter Egg would be great, except I do not have space left for a Penta AND Pengo banner.

What is this Penta and Pengo you speak of?   

This is obviously a clone of the classic MS-DOS game Pango.

That Pengo banner was a typo, it just needs the 'e' changed to an 'a'. 

[+darryl1970]

28 minutes ago, Trebor said:

This is obviously a clone of the classic MS-DOS game Pango.

That Pengo banner was a typo, it just needs the 'e' changed to an 'a'. 

That is one UGLY port. LOL.

[+Muddyfunster]

43 minutes ago, darryl1970 said:

That is one UGLY port. LOL.

That one fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way to the floor.

[roots.genoa]

9 hours ago, Trebor said:

This is obviously a clone of the classic MS-DOS game Pango.

You meant Pengy, right?

[NE146]

I was thinking Pengoro

Ok yeah it's a totally different game, but hey! 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by NE146

[+darryl1970]

Apparently the 5200 version doesn't flip at Round 16 either; nor does it continue to increase in difficulty. Still a great game and amazing for the time!

 

 

[+Defender_2600]

Great work Darryl and thanks for sharing it!

 

Just a thought, I was wondering if it wouldn't be too difficult to try to increase the vertical resolution to 224 lines in order to add 2 more vertical zones to the playing field. The idea would be to use the maximum vertical resolution available so that the gameplay and aspect ratio of the playing field are closer to the arcade version. For example, 7800 Water Ski and Tank Command both have the total height at 224 lines, as well as the upcoming DK Remix.

 

In case, by increasing the vertical resolution to 224 lines, it will be necessary to move the graphic of the round indicator, not a problem however, an option could be to make it appear for a few seconds at the beginning of each new level.

 

If it were not possible to increase the vertical resolution to 224 lines, maybe you could still try 208 lines vertical resolution which would still allow you to add at least 1 further vertical zones to the playing field. Again, only if it interests you and isn't too difficult to implement. Thanks again for your attention.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[+sramirez2008]

2 hours ago, Defender_2600 said:

as well as the upcoming DK Remix.

Giddy up!

[+darryl1970]

7 hours ago, Defender_2600 said:

Great work Darryl and thanks for sharing it!

My pleasure.

7 hours ago, Defender_2600 said:

Just a thought, I was wondering if it wouldn't be too difficult to try to increase the vertical resolution to 224 lines in order to add 2 more vertical zones to the playing field. The idea would be to use the maximum vertical resolution available so that the gameplay and aspect ratio of the playing field are closer to the arcade version. For example, 7800 Water Ski and Tank Command both have the total height at 224 lines, as well as the upcoming DK Remix.

 

In case, by increasing the vertical resolution to 224 lines, it will be necessary to move the graphic of the round indicator, not a problem however, an option could be to make it appear for a few seconds at the beginning of each new level.

 

If it were not possible to increase the vertical resolution to 224 lines, maybe you could still try 208 lines vertical resolution which would still allow you to add at least 1 further vertical zones to the playing field. Again, only if it interests you and isn't too difficult to implement. Thanks again for your attention.

 

Marcos,

 

I haven't seen you around forever. I am glad you're okay.

 

That does look really good. I am currently using 224 mode, but I didn't use the bottom row for a couple reasons:

 

First, I was told that the bottom row would get cut off on many TVs, and I felt that the round indicator was important. (Early versions had the lives down below too.)

 

Second is that I am constantly peeking and poking to the memory locations on-screen. I found that constantly polling the bottom row causes slowdown, especially in the higher levels. The game is right on the edge of running out of cycles. There are 4 sno-bees (full throttle), up to 12 flashing egg blocks, 3 stars, and up to 4 crushing (or 3 crush & 1 moving) ice cubes. That, along with the playfield, is a lot of plotting. I think I found the sweet spot with the current build.

 

I learned a while back that using that last row would kill the game play. Just peeking the values cause issues. It caused me a lot of stress, because I couldn't figure out what had slowed the game down suddenly. I eventually realized that I was simply reading the bottom row in some areas of the code. I wasn't even placing anything there during gameplay.

 

Regardless, I thought it would be fun to see it, so I spent a couple hours throwing this together this morning.

 

Here are two versions. One version is using the taller playfield. Both are forced to level 25, because I wanted to demonstrate how smoothly the game currently plays at top throttle. The game actually maxes out around 13-16, depending on difficulty level. I chose to start at 25, because more flags looks nicer at the bottom of the screen.

 

I am extremely happy with the way everything flies in the regular version. I think you'll be surprised how much one extra row affects game play.

 

Regular Game @ Rd 25:                                        Added Row ("Tall") @ Rd 25:

PentaRd25Demo(11-27-2021-AM).a78              PentaTallDemoRd18(11-27-2021-AM).a78

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[+Defender_2600]

4 hours ago, darryl1970 said:

Here are two versions. One version is using the taller playfield. Both are forced to level 25, because I wanted to demonstrate how smoothly the game currently plays at top throttle. The game actually maxes out around 13-16, depending on difficulty level. I chose to start at 25, because more flags looks nicer at the bottom of the screen.

 

I am extremely happy with the way everything flies in the regular version. I think you'll be surprised how much one extra row affects game play.

 

Darryl, many thanks for trying, I appreciate that. I'm seeing some slowdowns, it's a bit of a shame because I really like the playing field with that extra zone.

 

Just as a last evaluation, I was wondering if you tried to use the "7800heat" utility made by @RevEng, in case there is some area of the code that could be optimized. Regardless, you did an amazing job, thanks again.

 

 

 

[+darryl1970]

6 hours ago, Defender_2600 said:

Darryl, many thanks for trying, I appreciate that. I'm seeing some slowdowns, it's a bit of a shame because I really like the playing field with that extra zone.

Yes.

6 hours ago, Defender_2600 said:

Just as a last evaluation, I was wondering if you tried to use the "7800heat" utility made by @RevEng, in case there is some area of the code that could be optimized. Regardless, you did an amazing job, thanks again.

I had not seen the utility. Looks interesting. Paul had done some benchmarking on Pengo during development. A lot of time has been spent refining it, in order to keep it speedy. There's a lot going on behind the scenes. There's nothing more I can really trim.

 

Thank you. I am glad you like it. (Even thought the extra row would be preferable.)

 

[+Defender_2600]

Thanks again to you and everyone involved in the development.

 

[Shannon]

I was just playing the game gear version of Pengo and I noticed the music was different... Interested in adding it?   

 

I'm guessing no... but I just found that interesting.. considering Sega owns and released the game gear version of Pengo.   

[+darryl1970]

1 hour ago, Shannon said:

I was just playing the game gear version of Pengo and I noticed the music was different... Interested in adding it?   

I always found that odd too. The Mega-Drive/Genesis version has a different tune. I really do not like the version they chose for the Genesis. It is repetitive and kind of annoying. The Game Gear version has decent music, but nah. I still don't care for it much. There are other reasons as I think about it. I am out of space for any more music. I have it set to alternate between two tunes (would require more code to add tunes). I have a cheat where the right difficulty can force the background tune, and there are only two positions on the switch. Also, I am trying to distance myself from the copyright. That would be adding more "properties" to the game, and they'd technically be newer.

 

Notice Pengo's name in the Genesis version.

 

1 hour ago, Shannon said:

I'm guessing no... but I just found that interesting.. considering Sega owns and released the game gear version of Pengo.   

I didn't understand either. The story I've heard is that Popcorn was only licensed for use in Japan. Maybe that license wouldn't be valid for a late 80's home port. IDK? I would assume that the alternate tune is Sega's property, and they could have used that. The alternate tune wouldn't be known in Japan, just as brand new tunes would not. I am guessing they saw this as an opportunity to better utilize the newer sound chips, such as the Yamaha in the Genesis. I still would have much preferred that link to the arcade version, such as an alternate remix.

[+DrVenkman]

So to bring back the topic of the name … just for curiosity, this morning I did a quick search on the iOS AppStore. This title, which looks to be very similar to the 5200 version, has been available for about 2 years at least:

 

 

A similar search for “Pango” reveals a whole range of games that seem to start off as “modernized” versions of Pengo but then morph into a series of storytelling edu-tainment titles featuring the lead character. 

 

I’ll also add that I did a quick once-over on the USPTO Trademark database and find a number of uses of “Pengo” that are active - however, these relate to a company making drilling and augering equipment; another company that makes or made trailer equipment; and a third that makes some kind of beverage-related product. I don’t see any active or dead/lapsed trademark for use as the title of a video game. Of course, the above is not to be taken as legal advice and is presented for information and educational purposes only, and no attorney-client relationship is created or implied by my comments. 

 

So having said all that, my vote would be to make the final title whatever you want and call it good.

[Shannon]

Truth be told.  I always liked the music to the 5200 version of Pengo.  I'm gonna have to give that one a spin.  It's been a while. 

[BrianC]

The Japanese Game Gear Pengo has the popcorn tune, but changes to a different one (the same one the western versions start with) after a few rounds. 

[+Defender_2600]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:32 AM, darryl1970 said:

A 144k cart and POKEY, would have been NEO GEO type prices back in the day

 

In truth, thinking about it, Alien Brigade and Crossbow are 144k, Commando is 128K + POKEY, Winter Games and Summer Games are 128K + 16K RAM, just to name a few. While some NES games like SMB II are 256k ...

 

 

- Alien Brigade -------------------- 144k
- Crossbow ------------------------ 144k
- Toki (prototype)(NTSC) --------- 144k

 

- Commando ---------------------- 128K + POKEY
- Ballblazer ------------------------  32K + POKEY

 

- Summer Games ---------------- 128K + 16K RAM
- Winter Games ------------------ 128K + 16K RAM
- Plutos (prototype) -------------- 128K + 16K RAM
- Sirius (prototype) -------------- 128K + 16K RAM
- Impossible Mission -------------- 128K +  8K RAM
- Jinks ----------------------------- 128K +  8K RAM
- Tower Toppler --------------------- 64K +  8K RAM
- Rescue On Fractalus (prototype) - 32k +  2K RAM

 

- Basketbrawl ---------------------- 128K
- Double Dragon ------------------- 128K
- Fatal Run ------------------------- 128K
- Ikari Warriors -------------------- 128K
- Mean 18 Ultimate Golf ---------- 128K
- Midnight Mutants ---------------- 128K
- Ninja Golf ------------------------ 128K
- Planet Smashers ---------------- 128K
- Rampage ------------------------ 128K
- Scrapyard Dog ------------------ 128K
- Title Match Pro Wrestling ------- 128K
- Water Ski ------------------------ 128K
- Xenophobe ---------------------- 128K
- Rampart (prototype) ------------ 128K
- Toki (prototype)(PAL) ----------- 128K

 

[Atariperson23]

Really interesting game, Pengo would've been a great port if Atari had made an 7800 version of it in '86 or '87. The game looks really polished, will wait for release...

[Trebor]

On 11/15/2021 at 5:32 AM, darryl1970 said:

A 144k cart and POKEY, would have been NEO GEO type prices back in the day (assuming Pengo would have been released in the initial 84 release time frame)...

 

9 hours ago, Defender_2600 said:

In truth, thinking about it, Alien Brigade and Crossbow are 144k, Commando is 128K + POKEY, Winter Games and Summer Games are 128K + 16K RAM, just to name a few. While some NES games like SMB II are 256k...

 

Both are very good and valid points. 

 

The original line up of games ranging from 16K to 32K and TIA only, developed and ready for release in '84, would not have been able to see this kind of a Pengo port without a ridiculous cartridge cost.   

 

However, five to six years later into the console's life, it would have been possible, if in this alternate universe, the Atari 7800 was receiving classic arcade title releases along with relatively modern releases, and Commando-like hardware support was provisioned for it.

 

I'm thrilled in the year 2021, not only is the interest for the Atari 7800 present, very much alive and well, so is the support, thanks in part to both of the quoted individuals above.

 

Call the game whatever title, just also call it fully released in the AtariAge store.

[+darryl1970]

9 hours ago, Defender_2600 said:

In truth, thinking about it, Alien Brigade and Crossbow are 144k, Commando is 128K + POKEY, Winter Games and Summer Games are 128K + 16K RAM, just to name a few. While some NES games like SMB II are 256k ...

Yes. This is correct. I was referring more about the initial release in 84 and the prior generation. That's what I meant by my appreciation stopping at the 2600, 5200, and initial release of 7800 games. After that period, I feel there was very little quality from Atari. Even the extra cart space didn't help by the time super games came out.

 

I had just read a comment elsewhere, comparing Mario Bros 5200 to Mario Bros XE. I think Mario XE is amazing. It's one of the most complete ports for 8-bit systems. However, I feel the developers for the 5200 version crammed more into 16K than I'd have ever expected back in the day. It had similar enemy patterns, it had the shellcreeper shell flips, Mario and Luigi burnt or froze when hit by fire or ice, etc. My friends and I had so much fun with that. It more detail than Coleco ever included, and it was only 16K. I hate to see such a work of art get overlooked for the amazing accomplishment that it was. It was like a poor person giving their last 10 cents, vs a rich person giving $1,000.

 

I was still thinking in terms of how much I respect the developers back in those days (82-84). They had hard limitations. They didn't have MAME to reference graphics, gameplay, and sound. They were often limited to 16K carts. They also didn't have a PC with an Intel i7, emulation, and powerful dev tools. They really squeezed a lot out of the systems!

 

So, the spirit of my comment is that it's not always fair to say it's how it "should have been done" back in the day, because there were other factors that need to be appreciated. What I have to develop on, without deadlines and limitations, would be unfair in a contest.

 

I agree that things SHOULD have looked prettier and played much better, by the time the 7800 Super Games came out. I feel that Atari was at a disadvantage though, because they didn't have the same budget as Big-N. Big-N seemed to have all the good programmers and licenses. I imagine Atari got a lot of budget programmers or programmers who wanted to hurry and get to a real money-making game, on a money-making system. I've read interviews where programmers said that 7800 ports were often the 2600 game with better graphics and some tweaks. POKEY/better sound wasn't an option for them, because it would never pay off.

 

It would have been nice if the 7800 could have seen its true potential back in the day, but it seems there were a lot of outside factors, impeding the possibility.

 

[Atariboy2600]

On 10/9/2021 at 5:26 AM, darryl1970 said:

It's Pengo!

Here's a demo of Pengo. I hope you enjoy.

 

The full version has Novice, Arcade, and Expert difficulty levels.

Each difficulty has its own high score board, when used with a high score save device. (One combined scoreboard when no device is present)

 

Difficulty Levels: (Demo does not have multiple difficulty levels.)

Novice:

# of Pengos = 5; Extra Pengo = 30,000; Snow-bees start off at very slow speed

 

Arcade:

# of Pengos = 3; Extra Pengo = 30,000; Snow-bees start off at standard pace. Average intelligence.

 

Expert:

# of Pengos = 3; Extra Pengo = 50,000; Fast snow-bees

 

Demo:

# of Pengos = 2; Extra Pengo = 30,000; Arcade difficulty; # Of Playable Levels = 4

 

 

I tried to take the best of the arcade and 5200 versions, to make what I feel to be the most balanced conversion. I feel that the arcade can be brutally unfair. The arcade collision heavily favors the snow-bees. It is easier to miss with an ice block, especially on higher levels. Also, the wall stun is delayed in the arcade version. If Pengo stuns a snow-bee that is next to him, the arcade snow-bee will slide into Pengo, kill Pengo, and then it will be stunned.

 

Pengo is momentarily unable to move after pushing or crushing an ice block. My version has a slightly lesser delay after Pengo pushes a block or crushes an ice block. The arcade delay seems to get longer as the snow-bees get insanely fast. It makes the game feel impossible at times. I think the game is difficult enough already. If Arcade Mode is too easy on this version, Expert more than makes up for it.

 

I have not yet decided what to do about the rounds. The arcade game has 16 rounds. The arcade game becomes almost impossible after round 14. It becomes harder to hit the snow-bees with the ice, they crush the ice before the player can push a cube, and they are much faster than Pengo. After round 16, the game loops to level 1, and the difficulty is back to level 1 difficulty. I believe this is because the game is so difficult and cheap at that point, the programmers never expected anybody to get that far.

 

I currently allow the game rounds to continue on indefinitely. I kind of like it this way.

 

The game has 12 different intermissions. The last two intermissions alternate after level 12.

 

Unlike the arcade game, this version does not reset to level 1 after level 16.

 

Update 11/13/2021

• Fixed issue where sno-bees travel through star blocks and blocks with eggs hidden inside. I wasn't going to change this, because it can happen in the arcade. I still allow it at level reset, if a sno-bee is trapped in its corner.
• Fixed issue with sno-bee randomness. This makes the sno-bees a little less predictable. It's been broken for a while. "Pento" can no longer hide on the other side of a star block when all of the sno-bees are on the same vertical or horizontal path.
• Updated the banner to match the arcade bootleg, "Penta".
• More TIA harmonies & updated Pokey alternate tune. Other sound tweaks.
• Minor cosmetic changes

 

PentaDEMO(11-13-2021-AM).a78 144.13 kB · 98 downloads

 

PentaBUP(11-13-2021-AM).a78 144.13 kB · 45 downloads

 

 

Update 11/06/2021 - Many updates

• Refined controls. Smoother navigation. Button action now mimics the arcade, so it can not be held down indefinitely.
• Credits screen has been added
• Snow-bees hatch faster
• Tighter snow-block collision. (Almost too easy now!)
• Intermission penguins walk from off-screen now. Music is sync'd to where it plays the full tune after level 6. The arcade ALWAYS cuts the tune off. (The intermission can be skipped with the joystick button once the penguins are half-way across the screen.)
• Additional level layouts: 16 regular and 2 hidden (ZPH & Blob mode)
• Minor cosmetic changes
• The most noticeable updates:
  • Refinements to POKEY music. Thanks again @playsoft for the engine and Popcorn POKEY.
  • Intermission has dedicated POKEY music @Pat Brady
  • Brady updated and refined the TIA Engine, adding dedicated harmonies. He reworked the TIA tunes (LEFT DIFFICULTY selects POKEY/TIA)
• I have no issues with my versa-cart or Dragonfly.
• POKEY sound is fixed on Concerto (At least is works on my cart). TIA sound also works on Concerto. I did have one issue where the game would crash when I tried to start the game. I erased the game off of my card and recopied it to the card. It has been running on my Concerto for 3 hours now in invincible mode. It's now up to level 80, since the snow-bees forfeit after 2 minutes of inactivity. Half has been in POKEY mode, and half in TIA.

 

PengoDemo(11-06-2021).a78 144.13 kB · 94 downloads

 

PengoBUP(11-06-2021).a78 144.13 kB · 30 downloads

 

 

Update 10/23/2021 - Alternating BG tunes; Updated TIA Popcorn

• This version alternates the background tunes per-round. I start with the Popcorn tune, since that appears to be the original tune used.
• This also includes an updated Popcorn tune for TIA
• A new cheat code has been added. This one can be accessed inthe demo: At the title screen: {right, right, right, left, left, left} toggles the ability to force the background tune. This just unlocks and locks the right difficulty switch, to be used as the versions prior to the alternating tune.
• Tighened up the collision when an iceblock catches a snow-bee
• Added a sfx when a snow-bee is crushed

 

PengoDemo(10-23-2021-AM).a78 144.13 kB · 86 downloads

 

PengoBUP(10-23-2021-AM).a78 144.13 kB · 30 downloads

 

Update 10/22/2021 - TIA Popcorn, for those without POKEY.

Sorry for the quick post, but this may be the last for a while. A lot came together, and I think I am winding down to more of a maintenance mode, unless I decide to alternate the background tunes. This contains general clean up in sound. Key Pokey harmonies from a table.

PengoDemo(10-22-2021-MD).a78 144.13 kB · 32 downloads

 

PengoBUP(10-22-2021-MD).a78 144.13 kB · 36 downloads

 

*** Bonus: There are 6 hidden modes that are unlockable in the full version. I compiled a couple into a demo. Pengo doesn't lose any lives, but the demo is only limited to a number of level clears.

 

Blob Mode (Used to test the Blobs. After being on a level for two-minutes, this mode is activated in regular play.) - PengoBlobDemo(10-22-2021).a78 144.13 kB · 19 downloads

 

ZPH  @ZeroPage Homebrew  Mode (Every other board is the ZPH level) - PengZPHDemo(10-22-2021).a78 144.13 kB · 20 downloads

 

 

 

Update 10/21/2021 - Popcorn added for POKEY sound. LeftDiff  = POKEY On/Off; RightDiff = Alternative/Popcorn

PengoDemo(10-21-2021-PM).a78 144.13 kB · 30 downloads

 

PengoBUP(10-21-2021-PM).a78 144.13 kB · 20 downloads

 

 

 

Update 10/16/2021 - High Score saves (To clear corrupted high scores, hold RESET & SELECT on options screen.)

The previous demo skipped the high score entry screen. This is fixed, and music is added.

PengoDemo(10-16-2021-AM).a78 144.13 kB · 85 downloads

 

BUP does not support high scores.

PengoBUP(10-16-2021-AM).a78 144.13 kB · 32 downloads

 

Update: 10/13/2021

PengoDemo(10-12-2021-PM).a78 144.13 kB · 49 downloads

  

PengoBUPDemo(10-12-2021).a78 144.13 kB · 52 downloads

 

First Public Demo - 10/08/2021

PengoDemo(10-08-2021-PM).a78 144.13 kB · 162 downloads

 

 

 

 

 

Pengo was one of my TOP TEN wanted arcade port for the 7800 I made both mockup screen and label art 

[+darryl1970]

15 hours ago, Atariboy2600 said:

Pengo was one of my TOP TEN wanted arcade port for the 7800 I made both mockup screen and label art 

That is very cool! I LOVE the artwork, as I did for Popeye. Thank you for sharing!

 

I choose RD instead of Act. I do not have any more room in my graphics banks to make that selectable. (It looks like it was RD until the final revision of the game.) Unfortunately I do not have "All Rights Reserved" from Sega, so I will probably name it "Penta", after the arcade bootleg.

 

I hope you enjoy the game!!

[Lauren Tyler]

Is there a chance we might see the alternate arcade theme included?