Homebrew Idea

[Quote]

I do not have the skill, but I thought I could come here either for help or see someone who can program.

I have always wanted to demake the game Cave Story to run on the Atari 2600. I have already made graphics, but I do not have any programming skill, as mentioned above. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

A mockup will be attached.

[man2600]

What kind of game is the you're going to make an RPG or platformer?

 

I want to know to see if I can help

 

[Quote]

2 hours ago, man2600 said:

What kind of game is the you're going to make an RPG or platformer?

 

I want to know to see if I can help

 

This is a platformer game, meant to replicate Cave Story.

I can’t fit the entire game into a couple of kilobytes, so my idea is to have rooms and enemy placements that randomly switch around whenever you go to the next screen.

I also have a couple of graphics and demo tracks, the demo tracks are available on my YouTube channel!

[man2600]

Woag! ok i see a gameplay, i have some platformers codes samples but i don't know if this can help

fake_gravity_platformer_with_duck_and_fire_button_2020y_01m_02d_0020t.bas PLATFORM_2023_11_25_23_SC.bas SS2_2023_12_21.bas

[alfredtdk]

I played Cave Story on the Linux version around 2010. It seems like a simple game at first, but it has complexity and a gigantic world to be explored and many puzzles to be solved. A version for the Atari 2600 would have to have a lot of reduction in these aspects.
I did a proof of concept in example code based on Quote image.

 

Edit

In the second version I increased the width of the protagonist and the exit door.

CP_Cave_Story_2600.bas.bin

CP_L_Cave_Story_2600.bas.bin

Edited April 2 by alfredtdk

[alfredtdk]

I tried to reproduce some movements of the main character Quote.
Based on example source code Fake Gravity Platformer Test.

 

 

 

 

CaveStory2600.bas CaveStory2600.bas.bin

Edited April 5 by alfredtdk

[alfredtdk]

This other example uses the standard kernel. With the Quote character using just one color. The advantage is that you don't lose missiles 0 and 1, which can be used.
If you want to change the background scene, press reset. In this version, Quote does not have animated movements, it is static.

These source codes are available and can be improved later by anyone who wants to venture into learning Batari Basic.
Based on source code ex_sprite_with_collision_prevention_and_pfrowheight=7.

 

 

Cave_Story_pfrowheight7.bas Cave_Story_pfrowheight7.bas.bin

[Quote]

On 4/1/2024 at 11:16 PM, alfredtdk said:

I played Cave Story on the Linux version around 2010. It seems like a simple game at first, but it has complexity and a gigantic world to be explored and many puzzles to be solved. A version for the Atari 2600 would have to have a lot of reduction in these aspects.
I did a proof of concept in example code based on Quote image.

 

Edit

In the second version I increased the width of the protagonist and the exit door.

CP_Cave_Story_2600.bas.bin 8 kB · 7 downloads

CP_L_Cave_Story_2600.bas.bin 8 kB · 8 downloads

 

On 4/4/2024 at 11:08 PM, alfredtdk said:

I tried to reproduce some movements of the main character Quote.
Based on example source code Fake Gravity Platformer Test.

 

 

 

 

CaveStory2600.bas 40.88 kB · 1 download CaveStory2600.bas.bin 8 kB · 2 downloads

 

On 4/4/2024 at 11:35 PM, alfredtdk said:

This other example uses the standard kernel. With the Quote character using just one color. The advantage is that you don't lose missiles 0 and 1, which can be used.
If you want to change the background scene, press reset. In this version, Quote does not have animated movements, it is static.

These source codes are available and can be improved later by anyone who wants to venture into learning Batari Basic.
Based on source code ex_sprite_with_collision_prevention_and_pfrowheight=7.

 

 

Cave_Story_pfrowheight7.bas 13.33 kB · 2 downloads Cave_Story_pfrowheight7.bas.bin 4 kB · 5 downloads

These are really darn cool! Thanks for showing me these, and I think the first one looks the best. I’ll do some experimenting with these, and I’ll see how they work.

[LatchKeyKid]

On 4/2/2024 at 12:16 AM, alfredtdk said:

I played Cave Story on the Linux version around 2010. It seems like a simple game at first, but it has complexity and a gigantic world to be explored and many puzzles to be solved. A version for the Atari 2600 would have to have a lot of reduction in these aspects.
I did a proof of concept in example code based on Quote image.

 

Edit

In the second version I increased the width of the protagonist and the exit door.

 

Nice!  I like this version more than the double wide version and playfield lines version.

[alfredtdk]

Quote  and LatchKeyKid  I'm glad you liked it. In this updated version of the first version that I presented at the beginning of the topic, there are some differences in the graphic design of the Quote character. The first is that I gave more space between the character's eyes, but there is a certain price. We know that the sprite grid is horizontal and only 8 pixels, so I had to sacrifice the character's headphones. To remedy this situation, it would be necessary to use virtual sprites to compose the headset. Another difference is that Quote takes longer to wink, which requires more frames per second from the character. Perhaps a delay programming technique, which I'm not yet aware of, will solve the use of fewer frames per second.
I haven't yet removed the stickiness that the character has from the playing field, which makes the playing field feel sticky.

Cave_Story_Reloaded.bas Cave_Story_Reloaded.bas.bin

[Quote]

2 minutes ago, alfredtdk said:

Quote  and LatchKeyKid  I'm glad you liked it. In this updated version of the first version that I presented at the beginning of the topic, there are some differences in the graphic design of the Quote character. The first is that I gave more space between the character's eyes, but there is a certain price. We know that the sprite grid is horizontal and only 8 pixels, so I had to sacrifice the character's headphones. To remedy this situation, it would be necessary to use virtual sprites to compose the headset. Another difference is that Quote takes longer to wink, which requires more frames per second from the character. Perhaps a delay programming technique, which I'm not yet aware of, will solve the use of fewer frames per second.
I haven't yet removed the stickiness that the character has from the playing field, which makes the playing field feel sticky.

Cave_Story_Reloaded.bas 32.98 kB · 0 downloads Cave_Story_Reloaded.bas.bin 8 kB · 1 download

This is still looking very good!

I have an idea for the Quote sprite, and I will post it tomorrow.

[Quote]

21 hours ago, Quote said:

This is still looking very good!

I have an idea for the Quote sprite, and I will post it tomorrow.

This is based off a sprite made by another person, but this is my idea for a Quote sprite.Edit - Please keep the more “game accurate” sprite. I thought about it a bit more, and I like that more than the one above.

Edited April 11 by Quote
Notify

[Quote]

Some Sprites

Enemies 1 & 2 jump around like the Critter enemies in the original game.

Enemy 3 flies up and down until it is shot.

 

Edit - Made it more obvious that Enemy 3 is a bat, & fixed Quote’s legs.

 

Edited April 11 by Quote
Clarification

[alfredtdk]

13 hours ago, Quote said:

This is based off a sprite made by another person, but this is my idea for a Quote sprite.Edit - Please keep the more “game accurate” sprite. I thought about it a bit more, and I like that more than the one above.

Would it be this? I maintained pixel fidelity in vertical and horizontal lines like the sprite image you posted previously.

Cave_Story_Reloaded_2.bas Cave_Story_Reloaded_2.bas.bin

[Quote]

1 minute ago, alfredtdk said:

Would it be this? I maintained pixel fidelity in vertical and horizontal lines like the sprite image you posted previously.

Cave_Story_Reloaded_2.bas 33.26 kB · 0 downloads Cave_Story_Reloaded_2.bas.bin 8 kB · 0 downloads

Yes, something like that, but I would like you to keep the more game accurate sprite instead.

I appreciate the effort, though!

[alfredtdk]

14 minutes ago, Quote said:

Yes, something like that, but I would like you to keep the more game accurate sprite instead.

I appreciate the effort, though!

I understand. I may be talking nonsense, but to maintain the somewhat flat appearance of the character I think it would be necessary to have a more compressed playing field, with more horizontal lines, and it is possible to increase these lines, the standard BB is 11 lines (11x36), which would affect directly the displayed sprites.
Regarding pixel accuracy, it is faithful to the image that the person made for you.

[Quote]

23 minutes ago, alfredtdk said:

I understand. I may be talking nonsense, but to maintain the somewhat flat appearance of the character I think it would be necessary to have a more compressed playing field, with more horizontal lines, and it is possible to increase these lines, the standard BB is 11 lines (11x36), which would affect directly the displayed sprites.
Regarding pixel accuracy, it is faithful to the image that the person made for you.

By “Game Accurate”, I mean this one.

 

[alfredtdk]

1 hour ago, Quote said:

By “Game Accurate”, I mean this one.

 

Right. I think this one, even without the headphones, is the most faithful in terms of appearance to your avatar.
For the record, I made a quick addition of headphones using player0 as a complement, so you can check that it is possible.
I didn't add synchronized movements with the main player, Quote (player1). This means that the headphones will not follow Quote as he moves around the playing field.
It's just an exercise in curiosity, totally possible for the Atari with the use of synchronized virtual sprites.

CStory_Headset_Test.bas.bin

[LatchKeyKid]

Alfred, you're using bB to make the demo, correct?    I think part of the potential confusion is that bB (unless IIRC you're using the DPC+ kernel) is a two line kernel that gives square pixels for sprites versus the rectangular/elongated sprites in the sample image Quote posted.  It won't be perfect obviously (and will by definition make the character bigger/wider) but it may get closer to the look within the 8-pixel wide limitations of player sprite detail.  Unfortunately, you can't get exactly the look below without switching to a one line kernel.

 

Edited April 11 by LatchKeyKid

[Quote]

20 hours ago, alfredtdk said:

Right. I think this one, even without the headphones, is the most faithful in terms of appearance to your avatar.
For the record, I made a quick addition of headphones using player0 as a complement, so you can check that it is possible.
I didn't add synchronized movements with the main player, Quote (player1). This means that the headphones will not follow Quote as he moves around the playing field.
It's just an exercise in curiosity, totally possible for the Atari with the use of synchronized virtual sprites.

CStory_Headset_Test.bas.bin 8 kB · 3 downloads

I think Quote still looks good without the headphones.

[alfredtdk]

10 hours ago, LatchKeyKid said:

Alfred, you're using bB to make the demo, correct?    I think part of the potential confusion is that bB (unless IIRC you're using the DPC+ kernel) is a two line kernel that gives square pixels for sprites versus the rectangular/elongated sprites in the sample image Quote posted.  It won't be perfect obviously (and will by definition make the character bigger/wider) but it may get closer to the look within the 8-pixel wide limitations of player sprite detail.  Unfortunately, you can't get exactly the look below without switching to a one line kernel.

 

I wouldn't even say it's a demo, it's more of a proof of concept than is feasible given the limitations of the system. Cave Story is a grand, complex game, with many puzzles to be solved during your personal journey. It would be a lot of sand for the Atari truck.
There would have to be a major adaptation for it to make sense on fifty-year-old hardware.
I imagine something along the lines of Princess Rescue or the current Xantiom (which were inspired by Super Mario Bros and Metroid).

What we draw in the sprite editor will not be exactly what we see when the code is compiled, this sprite will be adapted to the scan line whether in NTSC or PAL screen format.
Perhaps DPC+ would be the most recommended for this type of game, given the resources available for this type of kernel, which is not the case here.
I really didn't like this quote sprite either, Quote looked like a malnourished creature, giving the eyes a very sad look.

[alfredtdk]

2 hours ago, Quote said:

I think Quote still looks good without the headphones.

I agree.

[alfredtdk]

Cave Story - Teleportation room

Cave_Story_Teleportation_Room.bas.bin

[alfredtdk]

Cave Story - Teleportation Computer  Room

Cave_Story_teleportation computer room.bas.bin Cave_Story_teleportation_computer_room.bas

[Quote]

9 hours ago, alfredtdk said:

I wouldn't even say it's a demo, it's more of a proof of concept than is feasible given the limitations of the system. Cave Story is a grand, complex game, with many puzzles to be solved during your personal journey. It would be a lot of sand for the Atari truck.
There would have to be a major adaptation for it to make sense on fifty-year-old hardware.
I imagine something along the lines of Princess Rescue or the current Xantiom (which were inspired by Super Mario Bros and Metroid).

What we draw in the sprite editor will not be exactly what we see when the code is compiled, this sprite will be adapted to the scan line whether in NTSC or PAL screen format.
Perhaps DPC+ would be the most recommended for this type of game, given the resources available for this type of kernel, which is not the case here.
I really didn't like this quote sprite either, Quote looked like a malnourished creature, giving the eyes a very sad look.

Xanthiom is an amazing homebrew, and it’s actually the reason I gained the courage to ask for help in creating this homebrew. I had imagined that a CS demake would be a endless game, but remembering Xanthiom, I think it would be better if the game was shrunk down by a lot, so it still somewhat maintains the feel of the original game.

”Malnourished Creature” is quite possibly the best way to describe the Quote sprite I had made.

Edited April 12 by Quote