If Smurf Rescue Had Been Released for the Intellivision...

[ColecoFan1981]

Exactly how close did Coleco come to programming the Intellivision Smurf Rescue (Coleco #2485), the one that never actually got released?

 

And if it had been released back then (in late 1982 or early 1983), the graphics may have been fine by Intellivision standards, but due to the sound limitations of the GI AY-3-8914, I believe in that regard it would have suffered greatly compared to the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision releases (I know, since the Intellivision version of Donkey Kong had very limited music, while for Donkey Kong, Jr. the music stopped when Jr. was walking, jumping or climbing).

 

~Ben

Edited February 9, 2023 by ColecoFan1981

[mr_me]

That's a limitation of the programmer not the AY sound chip.  The sound chip in the Intellivision is comparable to the TI sound chip in the Colecovision.  The AY sound chip in the Intellivision became quite popular, it was used in lots of arcade machines, the Vectrex, the MSX computer, and cloned by Yamaha.

 

Not sure if Coleco got far with Smurf Rescue.  Their Intellivision cartridges were programmed by a third party developer.  If done by a competent Intellivision programmer, their games would have sounded great.

Edited February 9, 2023 by mr_me

[+Lathe26]

It likely would have looked a lot like Sydney Hunter and the Shrines of Peril

 

(note: the link jumps straight to the game play, backup if you want to hear the verbal introduction)

 

 

[carlsson]

Yes, capacity wise the AY in the Intellivision is superior to the SN in the Colecovision, not to mention the TIA in the 2600. But due to most of the original games used some kernel - e.g. Exec - limitations to music may have been located there rather than the chip.

[mr_me]

_{Developers of the Coleco cartridges wouldn't have had knowledge of the exec.  Almost all Mattel cartridges were based on the exec, and they had games with background music with no issues, e.g. Snafu, Mazeatron, Burgertime.}

[Intymike]

17 hours ago, ColecoFan1981 said:

Exactly how close did Coleco come to programming the Intellivision Smurf Rescue (Coleco #2485), the one that never actually got released?

 

And if it had been released back then (in late 1982 or early 1983), the graphics may have been fine by Intellivision standards, but due to the sound limitations of the GI AY-3-8914, I believe in that regard it would have suffered greatly compared to the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision releases (I know, since the Intellivision version of Donkey Kong had very limited music, while for Donkey Kong, Jr. the music stopped when Jr. was walking, jumping or climbing).

 

~Ben

Sound limitations compared to the Atari VCS? You are a funny guy. 

[ColecoFan1981]

1 hour ago, Intymike said:

Sound limitations compared to the Atari VCS? You are a funny guy. 

Well, I didn't know how actually superior the chip was. As another user just said to me earlier, it depended on who programmed these games. Some actually did play well, like Bump 'n Jump.

 

Also, have you seen Brian's Man Cave's video of the recalled Intellivision Smurf port?

 

The programmer actually correctly coded the sound, an exact duplicate of the ColecoVision release's soundtrack.

 

~Ben

Edited February 9, 2023 by ColecoFan1981

[mr_me]

That Smurf game is a modern homebrew, it's a variation of the Sydney Hunter game shown above.  Modern homebrewers have a lot of tools for making Intellivision music.

[Alex.Pace]

On 2/9/2023 at 3:57 AM, ColecoFan1981 said:

Exactly how close did Coleco come to programming the Intellivision Smurf Rescue (Coleco #2485), the one that never actually got released?

 

And if it had been released back then (in late 1982 or early 1983), the graphics may have been fine by Intellivision standards, but due to the sound limitations of the GI AY-3-8914, I believe in that regard it would have suffered greatly compared to the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision releases (I know, since the Intellivision version of Donkey Kong had very limited music, while for Donkey Kong, Jr. the music stopped when Jr. was walking, jumping or climbing).

 

~Ben

No programming on it, but there was a smurfette birthday game programmed, not released due to bugs.

[+DZ-Jay]

On 2/8/2023 at 9:57 PM, ColecoFan1981 said:

And if it had been released back then (in late 1982 or early 1983), the graphics may have been fine by Intellivision standards, but due to the sound limitations of the GI AY-3-8914, I believe in that regard it would have suffered greatly compared to the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision releases

 

On 2/8/2023 at 10:37 PM, mr_me said:

That's a limitation of the programmer not the AY sound chip.  The sound chip in the Intellivision is comparable to the TI sound chip in the Colecovision.  The AY sound chip in the Intellivision became quite popular, it was used in lots of arcade machines, the Vectrex, the MSX computer, and cloned by Yamaha.

 

Not sure if Coleco got far with Smurf Rescue.  Their Intellivision cartridges were programmed by a third party developer.  If done by a competent Intellivision programmer, their games would have sounded great.

 

On 2/9/2023 at 2:03 AM, carlsson said:

Yes, capacity wise the AY in the Intellivision is superior to the SN in the Colecovision, not to mention the TIA in the 2600. But due to most of the original games used some kernel - e.g. Exec - limitations to music may have been located there rather than the chip.

 

As others have pointed out, the crap audio on Coleco games (and Parker Bros., which to me is the biggest offender) has nothing to do with the sound capabilities of the Intellivision and everything to do with programmer choices or inexperience on the platform.

 

Many games -- even from that era -- have proven that the Intellivision is a highly capable device, when it comes to music and sound effects.

 

Not only that, but as limited as the AY-8914 is when compared to later devices, it can still produce (and reproduce) some very interesting musical and percussive instruments.

Exhibit #1:

Exhibits #2 through #8:

 

[ColecoFan1981]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:17 AM, DZ-Jay said:

 

 

 

As others have pointed out, the crap audio on Coleco games (and Parker Bros., which to me is the biggest offender) has nothing to do with the sound capabilities of the Intellivision and everything to do with programmer choices or inexperience on the platform.

 

Many games -- even from that era -- have proven that the Intellivision is a highly capable device, when it comes to music and sound effects.

 

Not only that, but as limited as the AY-8914 is when compared to later devices, it can still produce (and reproduce) some very interesting musical and percussive instruments.

Exhibit #1:

Exhibits #2 through #8:

 

I can only guess now that the fixed development time the programmers were given (per Coleco's orders) for all the games I mentioned was the sticking point in why the programmers didn't play around with the workings of the 8914.

 

~Ben