Cybergoth Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Hi there! If you don't depend on it too much, and if varying user inputs cause varying cycle counts, it should be a decent source of randomness. You know, Eduardo is such a maniac, he is not going for "any" randomness. If it costs 8K to have the "original" Pac-Man randomness, he'll go for it... Greetings, Manuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 Hi there! If you don't depend on it too much, and if varying user inputs cause varying cycle counts, it should be a decent source of randomness. You know, Eduardo is such a maniac, he is not going for "any" randomness. If it costs 8K to have the "original" Pac-Man randomness, he'll go for it... Greetings, Manuel Hi Manuel, Looks like you already know me a lot... But in fact I will just need 2KB for that random lookup table. BTW, I have now the ghosts working. There is a small bug I still need to work out (sometimes the red ghost keeps walking in circles) but nothing too serious. It's still amazing me how close I have managed to get with this game. When you see it running you will think it's an emulated game, not a port. Now I just need to keep a promise and share it with a friend... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 It's working!!!! Completely playable and functional... Now I just need to finish those intro sequences, refine things a bit and voila! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 12, 2004 Author Share Posted May 12, 2004 UPDATE (May 12th): - Gameplay almost done. Just need to correct a bug which is locking the game from time to time and give final touchs on my sprite driver. - Next to do: intermissions, which will require separated set of sprites (now full arcade size) and a new sprite driver. - Check new pics bellow, straight from the game itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaxxon Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 Hi opcode, Did you ever consider programming the game so the maze is displayed horizontally instead of shrinking it to fit vertically? You would need to tilt your TV to play it but hey, if you're going to go for total arcade accuracy you might as well go all the way. Are you still planning to include easier difficulty settings instead of just the regular arcade difficulty settings, which are pretty hard? NE146 mentioned that most all home versions lack the arcade trick where you can tap the joystick in the opposite direction you're traveling so when you reach a wall you'll just stop, facing the other way. Do you know what he's talking about and can you do this on your CV version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 18, 2004 Author Share Posted May 18, 2004 UPDATE: May 18th - Pac-Man is now fully functional (aside a few bugs) - Intermissions included, though my second sprite driver (just for intros and intermissions) is still missing a few fetures. - Included the random lookup table (2KB). Now you will think this game is being emulated. TODO: lots of debugging, Ms Pac-Man.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 18, 2004 Author Share Posted May 18, 2004 Hi opcode, Did you ever consider programming the game so the maze is displayed horizontally instead of shrinking it to fit vertically? You would need to tilt your TV to play it but hey, if you're going to go for total arcade accuracy you might as well go all the way. The original arcade is 224 pixels wide, so it couldn't be displayed horizontally either (the CV vertical resolution is just 192 pixels). Are you still planning to include easier difficulty settings instead of just the regular arcade difficulty settings, which are pretty hard? I used to think the same, but with 5 lives and normal difficult I am now able to reach the 1st bell stage. NE146 mentioned that most all home versions lack the arcade trick where you can tap the joystick in the opposite direction you're traveling so when you reach a wall you'll just stop, facing the other way. Do you know what he's talking about and can you do this on your CV version? Yep, I have already noticed that. If it is possible in the original game, then it's possible here, that is my motto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 I have had a chance to try this out and I must say, it's pretty damn amazing! The Atarisoft Pac-Man conversion is pretty good, but this is spot-on arcade perfect! ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 My take on this... Think about the best Pac-man conversion you've ever played. Think about how close it was to the original. I'm sure it had a few hiccups but nothing where you couldn't play it. Now forget about it This one is 100%. Believe me! You'll think you're running MAME on your CV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 UPDATE: May 18th - Pac-Man is now fully functional (aside a few bugs) - Intermissions included, though my second sprite driver (just for intros and intermissions) is still missing a few fetures. - Included the random lookup table (2KB). Now you will think this game is being emulated. TODO: lots of debugging, Ms Pac-Man.... A few questions... How much of the rom area is currently unused? If Ms.Pac is going to be attempted, any chance at including alternates? Like the original "Crazy Otto"? Or Ms.Pac Attack/Plus? If extra mazes are possible (i.e. with Ms.Pac), would options to select them in the Pac Man versions be possible (i.e. to include various hacks of Pacman...like NuPuckX or Plus...most of them use the same maze sets - Pacman's or NuPuckX's). Are speedup conversion options included? Like fast-moving player/monsters and/or increased difficulty? Awesome work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dav Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 UPDATE: May 18th - Pac-Man is now fully functional (aside a few bugs) - Intermissions included, though my second sprite driver (just for intros and intermissions) is still missing a few fetures. - Included the random lookup table (2KB). Now you will think this game is being emulated. TODO: lots of debugging, Ms Pac-Man.... A few questions... How much of the rom area is currently unused? If Ms.Pac is going to be attempted, any chance at including alternates? Like the original "Crazy Otto"? Or Ms.Pac Attack/Plus? Or 2 player simultaneous ms pac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 19, 2004 Author Share Posted May 19, 2004 It's all a matter of free space... I will be using a 64KB EPROM, so first I want to make sure I will have space for Ms Pac-Man and Pac-Man Plus. If I end with some free space I could include something else (Pac-Man has consumed so far 24KB, not bad considering I have two sets of sprites, maze graphics take a lot more space than the original, and I need several tables in ROM, like that random number table). BTW, the game is very stable now and 2 players mode is working correctly. I think I have corrected all major bugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisbid Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 the only option i think is critical is a speed up option. slow pac-man no matter how pretty is just not nearly as fun as pac-man with extra speed. Even if that means letting the ghosts move faster. i really cant wait for this cart. one other minor question, if keypad functions werent needed in this game, could one use an Atari CX40 joystick instead of a coleco controller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 19, 2004 Author Share Posted May 19, 2004 the only option i think is critical is a speed up option. slow pac-man no matter how pretty is just not nearly as fun as pac-man with extra speed. Even if that means letting the ghosts move faster. i really cant wait for this cart. That's a good possibility... one other minor question, if keypad functions werent needed in this game, could one use an Atari CX40 joystick instead of a coleco controller? Control scheme is same as Space Invaders Collection, 1 for 1P, 2 for 2P, # for credits and * for pausing. But you can select everything from controller #2, so port #1 is free to use with an Atari joystick. Or even better, you can use the soon to be released OpController arcade controller, which will feature dedicated 1P, 2P, credits and pause buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 So is it all right for me to post about the game? I wasn't sure whether or not you wanted me to keep quiet about it. Judging from all the comments by other beta testers, it looks like it's OK to spill the beans. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 20, 2004 Author Share Posted May 20, 2004 So is it all right for me to post about the game? I wasn't sure whether or not you wanted me to keep quiet about it. Judging from all the comments by other beta testers, it looks like it's OK to spill the beans. JR HI Jess, That's ok, no problem at all. I just don't want to show the game running till I have a solid build... It's almost there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 21, 2004 Author Share Posted May 21, 2004 Now that's interesting... Check the screenshots bellow. Do you see anything interesting? The top screenshots came from MAME, the bottom screenshots came from MESS(running my version of PM). In the first row I just started a game and didn't do anything till a ghost touched PM. In the second row, I just watched the attract mode self play till a ghost touched PM. I tried several combinations and every time I got similar results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Excellent The home ports always lacked 100% identical patterns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakpack Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Now that's interesting... Check the screenshots bellow. Do you see anything interesting? The top screenshots came from MAME, the bottom screenshots came from MESS(running my version of PM). In the first row I just started a game and didn't do anything till a ghost touched PM. In the second row, I just watched the attract mode self play till a ghost touched PM. I tried several combinations and every time I got similar results. It looks like a carbon copy (minus the obvious color & resolution differences).Dang--WOW I'll take a copy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Now that's interesting... Check the screenshots bellow. Do you see anything interesting? I'm going to take a guess on the collision. In the attract mode Inky "swallows" PM before stopping. In the game it looks more like a partial collision detection. If this is what you're talking about, I've noticed it before (on the real machine) but it doesn't bother me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted May 21, 2004 Author Share Posted May 21, 2004 Now that's interesting... Check the screenshots bellow. Do you see anything interesting? I'm going to take a guess on the collision. In the attract mode Inky "swallows" PM before stopping. In the game it looks more like a partial collision detection. If this is what you're talking about, I've noticed it before (on the real machine) but it doesn't bother me. That wasn't the point... I just wanted to show people the ghosts are behaving exactly like the arcade game.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 That wasn't the point... I just wanted to show people the ghosts are behaving exactly like the arcade game.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Now that's interesting... Check the screenshots bellow. Do you see anything interesting? Bloody amazing! I can't wait to get my greedy little hands on one of these carts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 I don't pay much attention to the minutae in arcade game translations (like, for instance, monster patterns)... I judge them based on how they sound, look, and feel. I can sense whether a game is a faithful arcade translation or not using the above criteria. After extensively testing Pac-Man Collection, I can confidently say that it is a faithful arcade translation. I can just FEEL it. The monsters move at the right speed (Blinky gradually closes in while pursuing you, while Clyde lags behind), the sound is as close as it could possibly be on the ColecoVision, and the control is right on target. It's funny... I thought Atarisoft's Pac-Man was a good game, but it took a lot of unnecessary liberties with the source material. Pac-Man Collection is the geniune article, though, with nothing added or taken away from the original arcade experience. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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