Nintellisivion Version 4.4 Released

[+wavemotion]

Nintellivision 4.4 is available at:  https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/NINTV-DS/

 

This version provides a major overhaul for the controller types, overlays and configurations. Unfortunately, in order to provide for a robust future, I had to break the existing configuration and start fresh - this means you will have to redo any custom configurations you had. But the emulator is smarter now - gone is the old method of having to select a custom overlay and instead if the .ovl (overlay) file exists with the same base name as the game .rom/.bin, it will auto-load and be used. I've removed all of the internal crap-tastic text overlays and instead I'm providing my personal overlay set (many of these overlays were done by other people and submitted to me) with the emulator. This contains roughly 40 overlays - some are good, others are less good. I've updated the custom overlay guide so you can produce your own overlays. I bumped the maximum number of custom configurations from 300 games to 600. The original 300 figure was derived by taking the original 125 and assuming we might have another 125 homebrews plus a bit of extras to be 'safe'. Given the prolific release schedule of new Inty games in recent years, I think 600 is a slightly safer number

 

I've also simplified the controller mapping a bit - and you can more easily select setups for my favorite Intellivision games.  

 

From the updated readme:

 

Controller Types :

• You can select Player 1 controller or Player 2 controller.
• More importantly you can select 'Dual Action A' or 'Dual Action B'
• Dual Action A uses the disc/buttons from Controller 1 and the Keypad for Controller 2 (perfect for AD&D Cloudy Mountain or Tron Deadly Discs)
• Dual Action B uses the disc from Controller 1 and the Buttons/Keypad for Controller 2 (perfect for Astrosmash, Buzz Bombers and any game you move and shoot)

 

Because the Intellivision had an innovative controller/keypad arrangement, you may want to get creative in how you map your buttons. For example, selecting Dual Action A controller and then mapping ABXY (and the related diagonals) to the 8-arrow-fire keypad buttons makes for a very enjoyable experience in games like AD&D Cloudy Mountain or Tron Deadly Discs. You move your adventurer with the d-pad and you fire with the ABXY into any of the 8 directions. Map the 'RUN' controller action button to the shoulder buttons on the DS and you can navigate any of Cloudy Mountain's dungeons with ease. In my opinion, for many of these games, this is pretty close to the original feel of playing on a real Intellivision.

 

Overlays :

Nintellivision contains a default standard overlay that mimics a real Intellivision controller along with some of the common menu items. Each game can also have a custom overlay which is user-defined. A large number of custom overlays are provided in Extras.zip in the overlay-library folder. You must name the .ovl file the same as the base filename of the ROM (e.g. if you have Astrosmash.int or Astrosmash.rom, you must name the overlay Astrosmash.ovl). By default, overlay files (.ovl) go into the same directory as the game ROMs but you can override this in Global Configuration.

  

 

I've made it clear in the readme that the overlay are for personal use only and not released with the same licensing as the emulator itself (which is why they are contained separately from the emulator itself and must be manually installed by the end-user).  The DS screen is very low resolution - 256x192 and none of these reimagined horizontal aspect-ratio images would be suitable for printing or even basic web use as they would look too pixilated on larger screens. In the past, I've skirted the issue by giving these overlays out to friends but what I've discovered is that the very small userbase who is buying a DS/DSi/XL/LL to play their favorite Intellivision games is generally the same people that are fully supporting the Inty community and have been for decades.  If any of the sampled graphics are a problem for any copyright holder, please let me know and I'll remove those overlays from the set.

[Crash7]

It's amazing what you guys can do with your brains and technology......

 

I can't even get JZINTV's Intellivision emulator to work on my computer no matter how hard I try.

 

Is there someone out there that would be willing to send me a version of it on a thumbstick where I could just plug it into my PC and pull it up?

 

Because installing it myself has been one gigantic nightmare LOL

[+fdr4prez]

3 hours ago, llabnip said:

I bumped the maximum number of custom configurations from 300 games to 600. The original 300 figure was derived by taking the original 125 and assuming we might have another 125 homebrews plus a bit of extras to be 'safe'. Given the prolific release schedule of new Inty games in recent years, I think 600 is a slightly safer number

yes, only slightly safer 

[StephenJ01]

Outstanding work llabnip!!

 

Many thanks,
StephenJ

[ts-x]

hours ago,  llabnip said: 

I know @ts-x has a nice set of alternate overlays for his personal use... I believe he shared a draft set over on the Nintellivision thread I started some while back over at gbatemp.

(From the Intellivisionaries thread) Here’s a direct link to my set of overlays. I’m more of a keep the left thumb on the joystick and use the right thumb for the touchscreen player, so these are designed with that in mind. Here are a few examples for anyone who might be interested in using them (the pink portion is for Nintellivision use and is not visible when using the overlay)…

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by ts-x

[StephenJ01]

Ts-x,
Thanks for your fine work.

Any chance you could do an overlay for "Chip Shot - Super Pro Golf"?

 

Thanks,

Stephen

[ts-x]

On 11/5/2023 at 12:29 PM, StephenJ01 said:

Ts-x,
Thanks for your fine work.

Any chance you could do an overlay for "Chip Shot - Super Pro Golf"?

 

Thanks,

Stephen

Thank you for the kind words. It’s been awhile since I created overlays for Nintellivision but I am considering another batch to add a few recent releases. When I get back to it, I’ll take a look at that title as well. Creating overlays can be a time consuming process, but like anything once you get in a groove it’s a bit easier to crank them out 😁.

[StephenJ]

On 11/7/2023 at 10:54 AM, ts-x said:

Thank you for the kind words. It’s been awhile since I created overlays for Nintellivision but I am considering another batch to add a few recent releases. When I get back to it, I’ll take a look at that title as well. Creating overlays can be a time consuming process, but like anything once you get in a groove it’s a bit easier to crank them out 😁.

ts-x,

If you ever get around to doing an overlay for Chip Shot Pro Golf, and you'd be open to format suggestions...here's mine.

I thought I'd include the Club Distances (mid potential) cause I don't like having to dig up the instruction manual every time I play the game.

Just a thought. I'm sure I'd be happy with anything you come up with.

All the best,
Stephen

 

[StephenJ]

2 hours ago, StephenJ said:

ts-x,

If you ever get around to doing an overlay for Chip Shot Pro Golf, and you'd be open to format suggestions...here's mine.

I thought I'd include the Club Distances (mid potential) cause I don't like having to dig up the instruction manual every time I play the game.

Just a thought. I'm sure I'd be happy with anything you come up with.

 

All the best,
Stephen

 

Made a correction in the Club Distances title. 

[+wavemotion]

I converted your image to a proper Nintellivision overlay. It's attached here - enjoy. Assuming you're okay if I add it to my overlay pack going forward?

 

 

Chip Shot - Super Pro Golf.ovl

[StephenJ]

Wow...that was fast!

Can't wait to load it up and play a game.

Of course, I'd be happy to have it included in your overlay pack.

 

Thanks llabnip!!

Stephen

[+wavemotion]

7 minutes ago, StephenJ said:

Wow...that was fast!

You did the hard work

 

He hard part is having a proper 256x192 image that has all the elements you need to play the game. Turning such an image into an overlay is only 10 minutes of work.

 

As an aside, I added a hotspot to that overlay such that pressing 'CHIP SHOT' will bring up the Nintellivision menu.

[StephenJ]

I'm playing the game now...works great.

"...pressing 'CHIP SHOT' will bring up the Nintellivision menu..."

Very Nice.

 

You da' man!

 

[StephenJ]

llabnip,

While playing the game, I realized that my overlay is missing something...the [0]...that is in the same position as the [Scorecard] button.

When a shot lands in the water, one of the player's options is to press [0] to play from the previous position. Unfortunately, my overlay did not show the [0] on the button.

I made an update...see attachment.

 

Sorry,

Stephen

 

[+wavemotion]

Here is the updated overlay.

 

Chip Shot - Super Pro Golf.ovl

[StephenJ]

Thanks again!

Stephen

[+wavemotion]

I've uploaded a daily refresh build 4.4a to:  https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/NINTV-DS

 

Minor changes - a few more internal database updates to support more game ROMs without need for a .cfg file. The biggest change is the ability to take a screen snapshot by pressing and holding the L+R shoulder buttons for ~ one second.  The resulting .bmp file will be time-stamped and written to the SD card.