NES -> Atari 2600 port

[+thegoldenband]

I'm really excited by, and appreciative of, the work you've done with Metroid! I know you said on your blog that there won't be any work on this one for a while, but when the time comes, I look forward to seeing more. Even a proof-of-concept treatment of the first room, with collision detection and traditional character movement, would be fantastic.

 

I mean, Metroid on the 2600 -- why not, you know? The basic mechanics of the game make sense for the system, and it'd be an absolute tour-de-force if it could be pulled off.

[haroldoop]

Yeah, I agree with that. It would be pretty cool to see a (at least) partially working version of Metroid for the Atari 2600.

[vdub_bobby]

Thanks guys.

[Atariboy2600]

Here's my mockup sprites of Mario and Luigi of Super Mario Bros game for the 2600 using the NES SMB sprites for model looks.

 

The first pic if from NES SMB and the right is the mockup of SMB 2600 looks.

[Ringman]

Here's my mockup sprites of Mario and Luigi of Super Mario Bros game for the 2600 using the NES SMB sprites for model looks.

 

The first pic if from NES SMB and the right is the mockup of SMB 2600 looks.

 

In the hacks section someone mentioned making a Zelda hack. I'm up for the challenge, because Secret Quest is perfect for Zelda, its got the sword the large mazey levels the numerous monsters

 

Mind doing a mockup of Zelda, cuz for the life of me I can't seem to get him to look right

 

8x16

[Cybergoth]

Mind doing a mockup of Zelda, cuz for the life of me I can't seem to get him to look right

 

Link is his name, not Zelda.

[vdub_bobby]

Mind doing a mockup of Zelda, cuz for the life of me I can't seem to get him to look right

 

Link is his name, not Zelda.

 

And a Secret Quest hack would make a good Legend of Zelda: Dungeon Edition 2600

[Bucket]

Here's my take on Mario and Luigi:

 

 

They're 7x11 sprites, which is basically 8x12 with extra elbow room (literally). Unfortunately, I don't think anyone could make a satisfactory-looking Link for Atari. The top-down look makes it especially difficult. Excitebike... now THERE'S a game that's totally possible.

Edited July 17, 2006 by Bucket

[SeaGtGruff]

Here's my take on Mario and Luigi:

 

 

They're 7x11 sprites, which is basically 8x12 with extra elbow room (literally). Unfortunately, I don't think anyone could make a satisfactory-looking Link for Atari. The top-down look makes it especially difficult. Excitebike... now THERE'S a game that's totally possible.

 

Heh heh, you're joking! It looks like you could take your Mario/Luigi sprite, change the colors a bit, give it pointy ears and a pointy hat, and it would make a pretty fair imitation of Link. It doesn't have to be a top-down view, and it doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it evokes the essence of Link!

 

Michael Rideout

[haroldoop]

Here's my take on Mario and Luigi:

 

 

They're 7x11 sprites, which is basically 8x12 with extra elbow room (literally). Unfortunately, I don't think anyone could make a satisfactory-looking Link for Atari. The top-down look makes it especially difficult. Excitebike... now THERE'S a game that's totally possible.

 

Heh heh, you're joking! It looks like you could take your Mario/Luigi sprite, change the colors a bit, give it pointy ears and a pointy hat, and it would make a pretty fair imitation of Link. It doesn't have to be a top-down view, and it doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it evokes the essence of Link!

 

Michael Rideout

 

In fact, the way they are now, they look more like Link than with Mario & Luigi.

[Shawn]

Here's my take on Mario and Luigi:

 

 

They're 7x11 sprites, which is basically 8x12 with extra elbow room (literally). Unfortunately, I don't think anyone could make a satisfactory-looking Link for Atari. The top-down look makes it especially difficult. Excitebike... now THERE'S a game that's totally possible.

 

 

Those mock ups have more than 1 color per line. Not gonna get those made to easy. Try using only one color per line that way they will be more 2600 friendly like this dude:

 

 

[Pixelboy]

Those mock ups have more than 1 color per line. Not gonna get those made to easy. Try using only one color per line that way they will be more 2600 friendly like this dude:

Where do you see more than 1 color per scanline, exactly?

[SeaGtGruff]

Those mock ups have more than 1 color per line. Not gonna get those made to easy. Try using only one color per line that way they will be more 2600 friendly like this dude:

Where do you see more than 1 color per scanline, exactly?

 

I think he's mistaking the black background as a second color in certain areas (like the pants area beside the hands)?

 

Last week I was tinkering with a flickered sprite to see if I could get multicolors on a single scan line (up to 3 or 4 colors per line in a sprite), but naturally the colors looked very washed-out and/or muddy. I haven't tried running my tests on an actual Atari and TV yet, just on an emulator, so I'll try some more and post an example if I can do anything that looks like it might be promising.

 

Michael Rideout

[Atariboy2600]

Those mock ups have more than 1 color per line. Not gonna get those made to easy. Try using only one color per line that way they will be more 2600 friendly like this dude:

Where do you see more than 1 color per scanline, exactly?

 

Coconuts, PeekABoo, Snoopy And The Red Baron, Surf's Up, Sweat: The Decathlon Game, I could be wrong on one or all of them but I see more colors on the same line

[SeaGtGruff]

Coconuts, PeekABoo, Snoopy And The Red Baron, Surf's Up, Sweat: The Decathlon Game, I could be wrong on one or all of them but I see more colors on the same line

I haven't checked those games on an emulator yet, but I imagine that if you were to disable the various graphics elements (player0, player1, missile0, missile1, ball, playfield) one at a time, you'd probably discover things like the ball being used in conjunction with one of the players, or both players being combined together, or missile1 being combined with player0, etc., to get two or more colors per scan line. Of course, if the player's horizontal position is static, and if the player is positioned just right, you could do an actual color change in the middle of drawing the player on a given scan line.

 

Michael Rideout

[SeaGtGruff]

Coconuts,

The human and the monkey are formed by a combination of player0 and player1.

 

PeekABoo,

The cat is formed by a combination of player0, player1, missile0, and missile1.

 

Snoopy And The Red Baron,

Snoopy is formed by a combination of player0 and the ball.

 

Surf's Up,

The surfer is formed by a combination of player0 and player1.

 

Sweat: The Decathlon Game,

The runner is formed by a combination of player0 and player1.

 

Michael Rideout

[Atariboy2600]

Coconuts,

The human and the monkey are formed by a combination of player0 and player1.

 

PeekABoo,

The cat is formed by a combination of player0, player1, missile0, and missile1.

 

Snoopy And The Red Baron,

Snoopy is formed by a combination of player0 and the ball.

 

Surf's Up,

The surfer is formed by a combination of player0 and player1.

 

Sweat: The Decathlon Game,

The runner is formed by a combination of player0 and player1.

 

Michael Rideout

 

So that mean it can be done with more colors on a player

[Pac Munchkin]

Here are a couple of screenshots of SMB.

 

The main screenshot types that are missing are the cloud bonus "levels," the levels that look like 1-1 through 1-3 but have a black sky, the water levels, and the castle levels (which look similar to the inside-the-pipe screenshots).

 

EDIT: Added some of the missing screenshots.

 

 

I think if the background clouds and mountains were not there it could be done, the music could be similar to the Pitfall II special chip music?

 

If we think how good pitfall II is Super Mario seems it could be done, doesn't it?

 

Wade

[ZylonBane]

If we think how good pitfall II is Super Mario seems it could be done, doesn't it?

No, it doesn't. Pitfall II is very specifically structured toward what the 2600 can do. Super Mario Bros is not.