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First Completed 7800 Game - "High Card Draw"


saxmeister

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I finally was able to complete coding a (very simple) game on the 7800 as a way of learning the ins-and-outs of the system and 7800BASIC. The game is an extremely simple card game and it's based on an old Commodore 64 type-in game from COMPUTE!'s Gazette way back in the day!

 

This is not impressive in any way, but it was a way of learning things the console way. My main goals were:

  • developing game logic
  • learning the ins-and-outs of graphics on the 7800
  • learning how to produce better random numbers in 7800BASIC
  • Working in 320A mode more

 

As a noob in game development (except for programming VIC-20 games back in the day) this is my first step. I've worked out how to create graphics and display them, but nothing advanced yet. I'm looking forward to the journey. Thanks to all who have been there-done that and have been decent enough to share their thoughts and experiences with us. Hoping to contribute something to the community.

 

As per @gambler172 I have added links to the binaries. They are rough and they don't actually prompt you to press fire yet and it's almost hard to tell anything has happened. I'll fix that in a later iteration.

 

Don't miss out! Play the game that atari7800forever.com said was "...a game with great graphics that you knew you never needed." (Gee, thanks! It's my first program on the 7800! Ha ha ha!)

 

Original Release

JS7800: https://raz0red.github.io/js7800/?cart=https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=911693

Updated release (March 3, 2022)

JS7800: https://raz0red.github.io/js7800/?cart=https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=922580

 

 

highcarddraw_03.bas.a78 highcarddraw_03.bas.bin

highcarddraw_09.bas.a78 highcarddraw_09.bas.bin

Edited by saxmeister
Added binary files
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Great stuff! 

 

Look forward to seeing what you come up with and if you get stuck, there are loads of posts in these forums around 7800 Basic that can help to guide and answer questions.

 

7800 Basic also has a wealth of examples that can be used to learn from. Also check out Matt's great thread of hints and tips. Finally, don't be afraid to ask!

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48 minutes ago, Muddyfunster said:

Great stuff! 

 

Look forward to seeing what you come up with and if you get stuck, there are loads of posts in these forums around 7800 Basic that can help to guide and answer questions.

 

7800 Basic also has a wealth of examples that can be used to learn from. Also check out Matt's great thread of hints and tips. Finally, don't be afraid to ask!

@Muddyfunster your work has definitely helped inspire me to jump into it! From the phenomenal new Keystone Kapers 7800 to the amazing E.X.O. and Bernie! Great work.

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For those of you starting out, always try to do the basics first. Start small. I started out with 320A text - which can be a challenge - and tried to walk through the basic logic.

step01.thumb.png.74bd7706e6719c41c1cccf6390f97c5d.png

 

Then progressively add to that. Next, I tried adding simple card graphics.

step02.thumb.png.457df874b0327548cdc24f67f74d635f.png

 

Then, I added some more design elements to the game, including the dealer looking upset when he loses and happy when he wins - just like the old Ken Uston Blackjack game but with my graphics.

step03_win.thumb.png.c930489bdf50c20cd53dc5c676804b3f.png

step03_lose.thumb.png.1b4ae709fe60dcfeb9d79554f19da21a.png

 

And then a basic text title screen. I'll replace this with graphics and then add music, better graphics for the cards, and better interaction. It looks too much like a Colecovision or Intellivision title screen right now.

step03_title.thumb.png.e3a4f6bbd93bfbefc75663f4c5172dbf.png

 

Once all of this is completed I may extend this to become blackjack or poker game.

 

 

highcarddraw_02.bas.bin highcarddraw_02.bas.a78

Edited by saxmeister
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On 1/24/2022 at 2:09 PM, saxmeister said:

As per @gambler172 I have added links to the binaries. They are rough and they don't actually prompt you to press fire yet and it's almost hard to tell anything has happened. I'll fix that in a later iteration.

Looking good! Can't wait to see more.?

D_Wins.jpg

 

P_Wins.jpg

 

DW_Console.jpg

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5 minutes ago, saxmeister said:

Oh my word! Seeing this on a real 7800 just made me super happy today. Thanks so much, @sramirez2008! That is amazing. I really need to invest in a Dragonfly!

Thank you for sharing your game with the community.?

Note: The game looks much better in person. Unfortunately my phone takes crappy pictures. 

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I just realized that the 7800 didn't have any real casino card games for it.  I just find that strange seeing as how their usually on any and every system.  It would be cool just to have a card game collection or something of the like. But even so Hi card fills a hole in the 7800. Thanks for your work I'm loading it onto my concerto now. 

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title03.thumb.png.ca530c5afe49fa10b9135d4f4d98518e.png

 

board03.thumb.png.d88afe563fc5babb2f2045559031ee80.png

 

I updated the code a bit. Still not where I want it to be, but it's getting there. I definitely want to implement multicolor and add new cards and a better title screen.

 

I added some sound effects (I'll do more with these later, maybe even POKEY), delays to make interactivity better, and a prompt to press fire to play again.

 

Files are attached.

highcarddraw_03.bas.bin highcarddraw_03.bas.a78

Edited by saxmeister
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1 hour ago, saxmeister said:

I updated the code a bit. Still not where I want it to be, but it's getting there. I definitely want to implement multicolor and add new cards and a better title screen.

 

I added some sound effects (I'll do more with these later, maybe even POKEY), delays to make interactivity better, and a prompt to press fire to play again.

Loving it!

 

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  • 1 month later...

I took some detours to learn more about the 7800 and 7800basic and came back to High Card Draw to produce some updates.

Next, POKEY theme music... I've already tracked it in TIAtracker and would be happy enough integrating that. But I'd like to tackle POKEY music as well.

  • Added a title screen with better graphics in 320A mode
  • Animated the title screen and added a background gradient (this varies from emulator to emulator so it may not line up properly)
  • Reworked all of the game graphics in 160A mode
  • Tweaked all of the timing of the gameplay
  • Came up with a temporary branding for these experiments and added a splash screen (ha ha ha)

JS7800: https://raz0red.github.io/js7800/?cart=https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=922580

.A78 file: https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=922580

.BIN file: https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=922581

 

One thing that I desperately need to do is fix the random number issue. It always follows a pattern. Any suggestions?

 

I'm thinking of going back to the 320A graphics for the dealer and splitting the screen and showing text and dealer graphics in 320A while leaving the cards in 160A.

Edited by saxmeister
Added link and more details
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2 hours ago, saxmeister said:

I took some detours to learn more about the 7800 and 7800basic and came back to High Card Draw to produce some updates.

Next, POKEY theme music... I've already tracked it in TIAtracker and would be happy enough integrating that. But I'd like to tackle POKEY music as well.

  • Added a title screen with better graphics in 320A mode
  • Animated the title screen with background gradients (this varies from emulator to emulator so it may not line up properly)
  • Reworked all of the graphics in 160A mode
  • Tweaked all of the timing of the gameplay
  • Came up with a temporary branding for these experiments and added a splash screen (ha ha ha)

JS7800: https://raz0red.github.io/js7800/?cart=https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=922580

.A78 file: https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=922580

.BIN file: https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=922581

 

One thing that I desperately need to do is fix the random number issue. It always follows a pattern. Any suggestions?

 

I'm thinking of going back to the 320A graphics for the dealer and splitting the screen and showing text and dealer graphics in 320A while leaving the cards in 160A.

Wow...this is looking great!  Please note that the colors look much better in person.

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Thanks so much, @Muddyfunster. Coming from you, that means a lot. I'm really just trying to figure out the 7800 and expand my idea of the concept of the game loop.

 

I'm hoping that whatever I start here can be expanded into the territory of other card games such as Blackjack and Poker. I'll keep plugging away....

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