Scott Stilphen Posted November 8, 2001 Share Posted November 8, 2001 Using Rasty's excellent ROMHACK program, I was finally able to find his initials graphics in the code. They appear right after the "© 1982 ATARI" graphics, and appear (as text) as: 1cd8 |----XXXX-| 1cd9 |----XX-XX| 1cda |-XXXX-XX| 1cdb |XX-XX-XX| 1cdc |XX-XX-XX| 1cdd |----XXXX-| 1cde |----XX---| 1cdf |.----XX---| (dashes put in for spacing) If you flip this around, you can see it's "JD", with the letters back-to-back and their height slightly offset to each other. At least we know now exactly how they look. If only I could figure out how they are triggered to appear in the game..... [ 11-08-2001: Message edited by: Scott Stilphen ] [ 11-08-2001: Message edited by: Scott Stilphen ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videotwit Posted November 8, 2001 Share Posted November 8, 2001 Nice piece of code-sleuthing, Scott! Now if only you could get a screen capture of it actually happening... Very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted November 8, 2001 Author Share Posted November 8, 2001 Thanks. I'm still trying to find them in Raiders, but so far no luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted November 8, 2001 Share Posted November 8, 2001 It's always possible that the letters are never actually triggered... Atari didn't like this, and may have threatened workers if they happened to find initials in their code. But good luck finding 'em anyways --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted November 8, 2001 Author Share Posted November 8, 2001 According to both Howard Warshaw and Jerome, Jerome's initials are in both E.T. and Raiders, but neither one remembers how to trigger them. Besides, these games were made at the time when Atari's management changed their attitude about Easter eggs and actually encouraged them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted November 8, 2001 Author Share Posted November 8, 2001 Perhaps someone (like Nukey Shay, who's more of a "code-sleuth" than I'll *ever* be) can find out how they are triggered. If the above piece of code that I found is definitely it, then it might be possible to see where exactly that code is accessed in the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Congrats! Yeah, it's obvious that this is the correct graphic for ET...though it looks quite different from the signature used in Raiders (so much for the similar routine theory). Anyway, the way that these bits usually work is by indirect loading. There should be a "base address" that the graphic pictures are at...and it looks as though this is at $FE00 in the second bank (1E00 in the text file). In programs, there is usually a data table that consist of "offsets". These values, when added to the base address, reveal the starting address for each picture. The offset for the signature is $F8, and is normally loaded into the X register...so what I'm looking for is where the program replaces the regular offset value with $F8. Example: (?) (??) LDX #$F8 The (?) signifies a test that checks to see if a condition is met in order to display the signature. The (??) signifies the branching instruction that will SKIP OVER the LDX command when the result of the previous test is FALSE. The program will undoubtedly use more than one set of these unknowns...and discovering what the (?) lines contain will uncover exactly what needs to be done to reveal the signature. So on to step 1...find the $F8 values in the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted November 9, 2001 Author Share Posted November 9, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Nukey Shay: Congrats! Yeah, it's obvious that this is the correct graphic for ET...though it looks quite different from the signature used in Raiders (so much for the similar routine theory). I must have looked at that code a half-dozen times, but today for some reason I just happened to see that. I was going by a description that I had for it (from someone years ago), who said it looked like the lowercase letters "db" together, and that it also vaguely resembled a sword handle (?), which we dubbed the "Warshaw sword". A few years after that, I had a chance to ask Warshaw about it, who said that they were Jerome's initials. As for Raiders, I'm guessing that the graphics for them are too large to appear as a single piece when using programs like showgfx or Romhack, which is why it's so hard to find. quoteSo on to step 1...find the $F8 values in the program. Go Nukey go!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Do these long lost initials we are talking about appear in the menu type bar at the top, say about 3/4 of the way on the right and appear in a dark blue color? I have unlocked them a couple of times with the emulated version (never with the actual cart, yet), but I had no idea they were anything special. I just figured they were an easter egg like the YAR and INDY. I have NO idea how I did it, but I will try to do it again and take a screen shot. If I do it on the VCS getting a screen shot may be a challenge, but if all else fails I'll try to keep meticulous record of HOW I did it. And it does look dead-on like the image you drew in the initial post, a "J" and "D" merged together. I'll keep you posted. Stan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khryssun Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Nice find Scott. Now I'm sure to search for a real 2nd easter egg when playing E.T. [ 11-08-2001: Message edited by: khryssun ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted November 9, 2001 Author Share Posted November 9, 2001 *GASP* What?!? Stan, you're my new best friend Yep, those are the initials. Probably the best way to figure out what you're doing is to play the actual cart and videotape your games. Between you and Nukey, we may finally have this one mystery solved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Looks like I know what I'm doing on my day off tomorrow. Anything specific I should be looking for? A particular score? A certain # of Reeses given to Elliot? A certain # of pieces collected? A certain # of pieces eaten? A certain health level? All of the above? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Cool. And yes, since it's in the same graphic set as the rest of the bar items...it should appear in the text bar. I would guess that it would be in the center, but I guess that it being off-center kinda explains it's darker hue. BTW which emu were you using? Do you remember if it was shown after the other "easter eggs" were unlocked? Difficulty settings? [ 11-09-2001: Message edited by: Nukey Shay ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 StellaX was the emu I was using when I did it. It was during a 6 hour session of ET (don't ask). I know I did it at least twice if not 3 or 4 times during that session. Everytime I did it, it was in the middle of a game. This makes me think it has to do with Reeses given to elliot or something like that (I rarely ate the things). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 check that. It was just plain old Stella emu. not X. And yeah, the "JD" appeared off set from the center about where the clock appears when you call the ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Excellent...just wanted to check that it wasn't just a side-effect from the emu itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 BTW it could be any combination of things that open it up...try Scott's suggestion of using videotape if you can. It might be something simple like giving Elliot 7 pieces in a 7th round of a game when your energy is above 7000 units. Your energy level is easily seen, but it might be difficult to remember how many pieces you gave or what round you were in when using an emu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Gotcha. I'll do what I can. I'm working on it right now. I'm currently counting pieces and score and round #'s. If I do it once, I'll let you know, but we probably won't know anything until I can successfully duplicate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 By the way. Any body know why the game always starts you with 3 points? Could this be significant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 After some disassembling, I found the place where the logo is enabled: code: LDA #$00 STA $C0 STA $C2 LF5B0: LDA $F3 ; this must NOT be zero BEQ LF5B8 LDA #$D8 ; this is the offset for the graphics STA $C0 and code: LFCE0: LDX #$00 ; X is initialized with 0 LDA $EA CMP $80 BNE LFCFB CMP $DD BNE LFCFB CMP $A1 BNE LFCFB CMP #$01 BNE LFCFB LDA $D2 CMP #$20 BCS LFCFB DEX ; this changes X into $ff LFCFB: ; the code jumps here, if not all states match STX $F3 RTS Now, we have to find out what the variables at $EA, $80, $DD, $A1 and $D2 are used for and we are done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Update: $EA is the game mode (1..3) This is compared with #1, so the logo can only appear in game 1. I have a screenshot of a patched version, the initials appear in orange at the top bar about 75% from the left. Somebody who wants to see it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genki Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Me? To be honest I have never played ET in level 1. it wasn't that interesting to me as I just get tired of being stuck in holes too often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted November 9, 2001 Author Share Posted November 9, 2001 quote: Originally posted by StanJr: Looks like I know what I'm doing on my day off tomorrow. Anything specific I should be looking for? Here's all the other info I have: Besides Jeff Adkins (he was the 'someone' I mentioned before), the only other person (Kristine Roper) I knew of that had seen them (until now) contacted me a few months ago. She added revealing them may involve running from the scientist on the forest screen, and that the initials stayed on the screen for quite a while, and then disappeared when she did something else. Thomas' info confirms the infamous EG letter that the trick only works on game 1. [ 11-12-2001: Message edited by: Scott Stilphen ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted November 9, 2001 Share Posted November 9, 2001 Running from the Scientist? Hm. As I recall, they appeared for me at least once on the screen with 4 holes, two look like alligator mouths (the top ones). The Scientist MAY have been present, I really can't remember. I do recall that it only happened after several rounds (like 10). I played 11 rounds last night and will start again today. If I do it, I will record everything that was happening at the point they appeared and try to do it successively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted November 9, 2001 Author Share Posted November 9, 2001 Almost forgot - I did get an email from someone else not long ago about the initials. Here's a copy: "Hey yesterday I played E.T. for the 2600 and Elliot ran over to me and gave me a weird symbol that was placed at the top bar. I thought it might had been the Easter Egg in uncovering HSW but I checked your site and you stated that the artist for the game - JD put his intials in also. And that's what it was - JD. Keith" He didn't remember how he did it, and apparently he never saw it again (I never heard back from him). One more piece of the puzzle..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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