Strike Zone Bowling ( formerly Pro Bowling 2)

[easmith]

Final version here:

 

 

 

 

Wanted to start a new thread to distinguish from the old thread for Pro Bowling.

 

Attached are Beta Roms for NTSC and PAL 60.  This was another collaboration with Kevin Mosley.

 

For those who played Pro Bowling , the gameplay mechanics are pretty much the same .  The main gameplay differences are :

 

- now  can choose 1 or 2 players

-  splits / spares are easier to make ( no longer requires specific spin) 

- you can get " in the zone "  ( a perfect game is much more possible  - can you win the trophy?  ) 

 

Enjoy!

 

Some screen shots:

 

 

 

 

Here are photos of manual for those that don't want to download it :

 

 

 

 

 

 

StrikeZoneBETA2_PAL60.bin StrikeZoneBETA2_NTSC.bin

Strike Zone Bowling Controls.pdf

Edited January 24 by easmith

[TrekMD]

Thank you!  This looks so awesome!

[guppy]

Once I got the hang of the controls, I was able to hit 4 or 5 strikes in a row! I got this high score on my 3rd game.  It really helps to read the instructions to know what you're doing.

I love the special animations, and the fact that you can choose a man or woman bowler.  This would have been a very memorable bowling game if it had been released in 1982. It's just amazing. I love everything about it.  Will definitely order a cartridge when avaialble.

New high score, 257:

Just bowled a 278!

Edited March 5, 2023 by guppy

[easmith]

2 hours ago, guppy said:

really helps to read the instructions to know what you're doing.

i am so glad you like it!  keep at it and you will get a 300 soon. yes once you learn how to do the spins correctly you can really make a lot of spares and strikes . 

 

The arcade is interactive btw....

[+fdr4prez]

Is there a gameplay video available? 

[easmith]

13 minutes ago, fdr4prez said:

Is there a gameplay video available? 

I will try to put something up soon

[guppy]

Some feedback:

 

Add a 3-Game Match mode, so two players can compete in a series?

 

Can you add an option for left handed bowlers, with mirrored graphics and inverted controls?

 

Can the ball scale as it goes down the lane?  It would help the 3-D simulation if it visually shrank as it gets further from the bowler. 

 

I think the lane would be better with the guide arrows vertically inverted, like on a real bowling alley lane, like this:

 

[easmith]

36 minutes ago, guppy said:

Some feedback:

 

Add a 3-Game Match mode, so two players can compete in a series?

Thanks for the interest and feedback .    I am maxed out pretty much with features . This game only uses  the original hardware specs for RAM and only 32K . 

I still program in Assembly and am already over achieving for my knowledge level

 

The 2 player game was hard enough to get to work !  You could just keep track of best 2 out of 3 I guess.

 

39 minutes ago, guppy said:

Can the ball scale as it goes down the lane?  It would help the 3-D simulation if it visually shrank as it gets further from the bowler. 

Maybe. will look into it . It never really bothered me before , but fresh eyes are  useful.  It depends on how much ROM space can be salvaged .

 

41 minutes ago, guppy said:

 

I think the lane would be better with the guide arrows vertically inverted, like on a real bowling alley lane, like this:

That would be easy enough to do 

[guppy]

1 hour ago, easmith said:

Maybe. will look into it . It never really bothered me before , but fresh eyes are  useful.  It depends on how much ROM space can be salvaged .

As-is, it plays well enough, but it'd be a nice touch.

[Philsan]

The game is impressive, both graphically and gameplay wise, congratulations!

[easmith]

14 hours ago, guppy said:

Can the ball scale as it goes down the lane?  It would help the 3-D simulation if it visually shrank as it gets further from the bowler. 

Yes looks like this is doable . Working out the right  timing/ graphics of transitions .   

Edited March 5, 2023 by easmith

[+sramirez2008]

Wow! I own and love Pro Bowling, but this version of your game looks amazing. Look forward to having this on cart. 🙂

[easmith]

On 3/4/2023 at 6:39 PM, guppy said:

Can the ball scale as it goes down the lane?  It would help the 3-D simulation if it visually shrank as it gets further from the bowler. 

 

New ROMS uploaded in first post . Ball gets smaller as it moves away now.   For some reason I can't remember I thought this was not doable . Probably because original game was 8K.  I got used to it and never revisited it .  Nice improvement !

 

Also the guide arrows are inverted now.

 

Again, this game was a total team effort with Kevin Mosley aka @Kevinmos3 .  Hope you enjoy it .   I will await the first posting of a perfect 300 game 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by easmith

[Funkyspectrum]

thanks for this mate i will try to do a review on my website www.funkyspectrum.com as soon as possible it looks like a great title ! thanks for being one of the people who keeps the torch burning for this great system ! i had to sell my console because of money problems but i still play atari using roms so thank you very much for releasing these to the public !

[simonbelmont78]

This has got to be one of the best Homebrew games I've played. This is not just your typical bowling game but more of an experience of being at the bowling alley which is so cool to see something like this on the 2600. Absolutely incredible! I would love to see how much you can add to this game to its maximum rom potential but right now it's absolutely amazing the way it is. Thank you for putting this out there for us all to play.

[guppy]

On 3/5/2023 at 8:29 PM, easmith said:

 

New ROMS uploaded in first post . Ball gets smaller as it moves away now.   For some reason I can't remember I thought this was not doable . Probably because original game was 8K.  I got used to it and never revisited it .  Nice improvement !

 

Also the guide arrows are inverted now.

 

Again, this game was a total team effort with Kevin Mosley aka @Kevinmos3 .  Hope you enjoy it .   I will await the first posting of a perfect 300 game 

 

 

I love the improvements!  The ball scaling is very subtle but definitely makes a difference!  

I would love to see a slow-mo instant replay of the "action mode" view as an option.  The "cinematic" cutscenes after strikes and spares are amazing, but being able to replay the previous throw in slow motion so you can see exactly where the ball went would be a welcome addition.  This could be triggered by conditions hardcoded into the game, or could be called by the player through joystick input, such as holding the action button down + joystick left, or some other input, after the ball clears the alley.

 

I would also love it if the end screens could display a line score of the game you just played, across the top of the screen, showing every frame that you bowled.    

 

The interactive video game end screen could have a little "more" to it.  It doesn't have any sound effects, and if you shoot the alien saucer once the game just returns you back to the title screen. It would be amazing if you could play through one level of this game, with an option for replays, or return to the title screen.

Edited March 18, 2023 by guppy

[David Alexander]

Eagerly awaiting the finished game to put in my Atariage cart

[cvga]

On 3/18/2023 at 1:43 PM, guppy said:

I love the improvements!  The ball scaling is very subtle but definitely makes a difference!  

I would love to see a slow-mo instant replay of the "action mode" view as an option.  The "cinematic" cutscenes after strikes and spares are amazing, but being able to replay the previous throw in slow motion so you can see exactly where the ball went would be a welcome addition.  This could be triggered by conditions hardcoded into the game, or could be called by the player through joystick input, such as holding the action button down + joystick left, or some other input, after the ball clears the alley.

 

I would also love it if the end screens could display a line score of the game you just played, across the top of the screen, showing every frame that you bowled.    

 

The interactive video game end screen could have a little "more" to it.  It doesn't have any sound effects, and if you shoot the alien saucer once the game just returns you back to the title screen. It would be amazing if you could play through one level of this game, with an option for replays, or return to the title screen.

Since you're commenting on a bowling game, just wondering if your AtariAge name is related to Guppy Troup.

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

ZeroPage Homebrew is playing Strike Zone Bowling on tomorrow's ZPH stream LIVE on Twitch, hope you can join us!

 

Mon Mar 20, 2023 | LIVE @ 6PM PT | 9PM ET | 1AM GMT+1Day

WATCH LIVE: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew/
WATCH LATER: https://youtube.com/zeropagehomebrew/

 

Games:

• Kovi Kovi (2023 Exclusive World Premiere | 2600) by Mashdy Games / Marco Johannes @MarcoJ
• Food Ninja (2023 Exclusive World Premiere | 2600) by Ricardo Pim @Ricardo Pim
• Stellar Drive (2023 | 2600) by Mirsad Sarajlic @kikipdph / Vejsil Sarajlic
• Strike Zone Bowling (2023 WIP | 2600) by Edward Smith @easmith / Kevin Mosley @KevinMos3

 (WATCH AT 1080P60 FOR BEST QUALITY)

 

 

 

[guppy]

On 3/19/2023 at 6:21 PM, cvga said:

Since you're commenting on a bowling game, just wondering if your AtariAge name is related to Guppy Troup.

Nope.

[guppy]

Still trying for a perfect game... 

Getting closer...

Edited March 30, 2023 by guppy

[easmith]

40 minutes ago, guppy said:

Still trying for a perfect game... 

 

Getting closer...

 

Cool, the key is to make sure you actually contact the first 3 pins each bowl after you are "in the zone".

 

 

[easmith]

On 3/18/2023 at 1:43 PM, guppy said:

I love the improvements!  The ball scaling is very subtle but definitely makes a difference!  

I would love to see a slow-mo instant replay of the "action mode" view as an option.  The "cinematic" cutscenes after strikes and spares are amazing, but being able to replay the previous throw in slow motion so you can see exactly where the ball went would be a welcome addition.  This could be triggered by conditions hardcoded into the game, or could be called by the player through joystick input, such as holding the action button down + joystick left, or some other input, after the ball clears the alley.

 

I would also love it if the end screens could display a line score of the game you just played, across the top of the screen, showing every frame that you bowled.    

 

The interactive video game end screen could have a little "more" to it.  It doesn't have any sound effects, and if you shoot the alien saucer once the game just returns you back to the title screen. It would be amazing if you could play through one level of this game, with an option for replays, or return to the title screen.

Thanks for the feedback. Instant replay would be cool but I don't think that is doable based on the way the game logic flows,   and also the RAM being completely maxed out.  

 

Certainly it is a flaw that you cannot see the score for every frame , but that would also require RAM that is just not there to spare .   The running score is the best I could do , especially for the 2 player game.   There might be another way to accomplish this but it is beyond my skill level.

 

So far as the arcade, I intentionally left this very basic as just a  "credits" screen,  and as a nod  to the first game I ever made for 2600 called "Alien Attack". 

In the end I decided just to have it be a Bowling game.  

[guppy]

16 minutes ago, easmith said:

Cool, the key is to make sure you actually contact the first 3 pins each bowl after you are "in the zone".

I just took a perfect game into the 9th frame, and then screwed it up 😕  It's legitimately difficult to hit that spot 12 times in a row.  I thought I was really going to do it that time, too.

[guppy]

X X X X X X X X X XXX!!!