Game Select - HERO 2 for Atari 2600

[minireis]

Game Seletc this month released the homebrew game HERO 2 for the Atari 2600.

 

For more information, visit their website: https://www.facebook.com/atarigameselect

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVKbby-X6LE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZW4E9r7h3M

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu9zduKP9NE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW1deZOsKLQ

 

I liked very much!

minreis

 

 

[insertclevernamehere]

A heads up for anyone interested in checking out the above videos.  Only the bottom one contains any gameplay.  The others are a bit of a waste of time.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

That looks very much like a hack of the original game to me. If Activision notices it, you might be in trouble.

[roadrunner]

Someone was selling Pitfall beer awhile back.

[adamchevy]

9 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

That looks very much like a hack of the original game to me. If Activision notices it, you might be in trouble.

My thoughts exactly.  I'm not sure it warrants the #2 label as a hack. 

[Dionoid]

On 8/27/2022 at 10:16 PM, minireis said:

I liked very much!

So this basically is the original H.E.R.O. game with some graphics and levels modified. What is there to like?

 

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by Dionoid

[minireis]

1 hour ago, Dionoid said:

So this basically is the original H.E.R.O. game with some graphics and levels modified. What is there to like?

 

 

Is it forbidden to like these modifications?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

1 minute ago, minireis said:

Is it forbidden to like these modifications?

Not at all. But it should made very clear, that this is not a new homebrew game, but just a nicely packaged hack.

[minireis]

1 minute ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Not at all. But it should made very clear, that this is not a new homebrew game, but just a nicely packaged hack.

I get it buddy, you've said that before.

[Dionoid]

3 minutes ago, minireis said:

Is it forbidden to like these modifications?

No, of course not. I know a lot of people like hacks. I just think hacking an existing game and selling it, should not be something to be proud of. Maybe it's just me.

[minireis]

1 minute ago, Dionoid said:

No, of course not. I know a lot of people like hacks. I just think hacking an existing game and selling it, should not be something to be proud of. Maybe it's just me.

Look, you don't have the right to decide what I should or shouldn't like, okay? Put yourself in your place.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

26 minutes ago, minireis said:

Look, you don't have the right to decide what I should or shouldn't like, okay? Put yourself in your place.

Nobody is attempting to to you what to like, he literally explained to you that he doesn't like it but understands why others might 🙄 stop being so damn sensitive. Personally, I think it's you as a new member to this community, coming here posting about a ROM HACK as if it was some legit homebrew are the one that needs to put yourself in their place, again, you are absolutely free to like this "HACK" all you want just as others here are free point out what it actually appears to be and voice their opinion on it. 

[minireis]

11 minutes ago, OldSchoolRetroGamer said:

Nobody is attempting to to you what to like, he literally explained to you that he doesn't like it but understands why others might 🙄 stop being so damn sensitive. Personally, I think it's you as a new member to this community, coming here posting about a ROM HACK as if it was some legit homebrew are the one that needs to put yourself in their place, again, you are absolutely free to like this "HACK" all you want just as others here are free point out what it actually appears to be and voice their opinion on it. 

I really hope it's like that, I'm a new user just sharing a friend's work.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Just now, minireis said:

I really hope it's like that, I'm a new user just sharing a friend's work.

It is exactly like that.  

[minireis]

2 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

It is exactly like that.  

Thanks!

[Ricardo Pim]

Hello friends, this is Ricardo from Game Select. I took notice of this post and came here to clarify a few things. First of all I am very sad to see discussions like these. We at Game Select continue to produce our homebrews, but with H.E.R.O. we decided to do something different.

Those who follow our page know that we never hide what we did here.

 

I don't really know exactly how to categorize this game, I would say a middle ground. I understand a hack is when you take a game's binary, reverse engineer it and change colors and sprites, without doing much more than that, but this is my personal opinion, you are free to decide yourself what it is. 

 

We had access to the original source code of Activision's H.E.R.O (you can found at internet dozens of old game source codes), in Assembly.  We studied the code and we changed almost everything except the gameplay, otherwise it wouldn't be a H.E.R.O and we generated another binary game and change the name, a very common practice that I have seen in hacks and arcade ports.

 

So the engine is the same, meaning you'll feel like you're playing the 1984 original. We've changed the entire Map, it's a whole new Mine. Forget what you memorized from H.E.R.O., we changed everything, the enemies, one of them has a prank, which due to its characteristic, sometimes the shot goes through and doesn't kill. Now there are hidden passages, some walls open holes in the ground, some stages due to different path options, you can get lost among other things.

This is a job done from collector to collector, we invest time and money so that those who like to own physical copies of games can have it.

About what is right or wrong, I'm not here to judge anyone, nor would I want to be judged, but you can easily find dozens of homebrew and 2600 reproductions being sold. Think! It is from a platform that manufacturers have abandoned for decades. I am happy with these works as it is what keeps our beloved 2600 still alive.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Ricardo Pim

[orange808]

This community has a long history with boxed hacks. Piling on to this one seems odd.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

We also had people who were trying to sell hacks as new games.

[adamchevy]

I think it would be great to have a sequel to Hero that is a real sequel.  Its one of my favorite games for the 2600.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

3 hours ago, Ricardo Pim said:

First of all I am very sad to see discussions like these.

After you explained your hack in detail, it has become more clear that this is not just a another cheap graphics hack to milk collectors. From which we have seen many in the past. 

 

Sorry, but from the videos you provided, these changes were not obvious. And not many here speak Portugiese.  

[+Al_Nafuur]

3 hours ago, Ricardo Pim said:

Hello friends, this is Ricardo from Game Select. I took notice of this post and came here to clarify a few things. First of all I am very sad to see discussions like these. We at Game Select continue to produce our homebrews, but with H.E.R.O. we decided to do something different.

Those who follow our page know that we never hide what we did here.

 

I don't really know exactly how to categorize this game, I would say a middle ground. I understand a hack is when you take a game's binary, reverse engineer it and change colors and sprites, without doing much more than that, but this is my personal opinion, you are free to decide yourself what it is. 

 

We had access to the original source code of Activision's H.E.R.O (you can found at internet dozens of old game source codes), in Assembly.  We studied the code and we changed almost everything except the gameplay, otherwise it wouldn't be a H.E.R.O and we generated another binary game and change the name, a very common practice that I have seen in hacks and arcade ports.

 

So the engine is the same, meaning you'll feel like you're playing the 1984 original. We've changed the entire Map, it's a whole new Mine. Forget what you memorized from H.E.R.O., we changed everything, the enemies, one of them has a prank, which due to its characteristic, sometimes the shot goes through and doesn't kill. Now there are hidden passages, some walls open holes in the ground, some stages due to different path options, you can get lost among other things.

This is a job done from collector to collector, we invest time and money so that those who like to own physical copies of games can have it.

About what is right or wrong, I'm not here to judge anyone, nor would I want to be judged, but you can easily find dozens of homebrew and 2600 reproductions being sold. Think! It is from a platform that manufacturers have abandoned for decades. I am happy with these works as it is what keeps our beloved 2600 still alive.

I also fiddled around with the H.E.R.O. code a bit some time ago, first for the PlusROM HSC "hack" and later I wanted to make another version which loads the levels from an internet backend. But the levels of H.E.R.O. aren't easily changeable, quite a lot of things are hard coded into the game engine, that's why I started C.A.V.E. Apocalypse instead.

 

@Ricardo Pim As far as I can see from the video you have solved some of the limitations of the H.E.R.O. game engine. 👍 great work!

[minireis]

1 hour ago, Al_Nafuur said:

I also fiddled around with the H.E.R.O. code a bit some time ago, first for the PlusROM HSC "hack" and later I wanted to make another version which loads the levels from an internet backend. But the levels of H.E.R.O. aren't easily changeable, quite a lot of things are hard coded into the game engine, that's why I started C.A.V.E. Apocalypse instead.

 

@Ricardo Pim As far as I can see from the video you have solved some of the limitations of the H.E.R.O. game engine. 👍 great work!

I will download and play, thanks

[+wongojack]

I saw this game pop up on the Facebook groups, and I couldn't understand what it actually was.  This thread finally explained it.  Is the ROM available for purchase?

[Ricardo Pim]

6 hours ago, Ricardo Pim said:

dozens of homebrew and 2600 reproductions being sold

I mean, hacks and reproductions...

[Ricardo Pim]

2 hours ago, Al_Nafuur said:

I also fiddled around with the H.E.R.O. code a bit some time ago, first for the PlusROM HSC "hack" and later I wanted to make another version which loads the levels from an internet backend. But the levels of H.E.R.O. aren't easily changeable, quite a lot of things are hard coded into the game engine, that's why I started C.A.V.E. Apocalypse instead.

 

@Ricardo Pim As far as I can see from the video you have solved some of the limitations of the H.E.R.O. game engine. 👍 great work!

Thank you! And you did an amazing job here. Congratulations!!!