+johnnywc Posted July 12, 2006 Author Share Posted July 12, 2006 Hello all, Last build for the night: - lady bug is animated on the title screen - bonus points stay on the screen a bit longer - fixed a bug that sometimes caused 4 letters to start on the screen (and 1 skull) - fixed a bug that sometimes caused the activate sound to play twice for one insect Only issue is that I encountered a screen roll on one of the later levels; I optimized some of the code in the VBLANK that hopefully has resolved this. Please let me know if any screen rolls are encountered with this build (and any other issues). Thanks, ladybug.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Yeah, but the problem is that many versions of macro.h, and perhaps the current one, contain the 9-byte VSYNC that seems to cause problems on some games and some hardware. I don't think anyone knows the cause, but using the routine did seem to cause at least one game to roll, and on my hardware it caused one game to display with the TV's frame stable but shifted down so the bottom of the screen was cut off. In each case, switching back to the older VSYNC routine fixed the problems. This is enough for me to avoid the macro and manually insert the old one that's known to work. You're sure about that? I'm pretty certain that in the long run all of those problems got tracked back to other sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Please let me know if any screen rolls are encountered with this build (and any other issues). None that I've seen. BTW, your attention to detail is highly impressive. I can think of a few arcade conversions I'd like to see redone with this amount of quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I can think of a few arcade conversions I'd like to see redone with this amount of quality. Yup. Best we start compiling a Todo list for him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Yeah, but the problem is that many versions of macro.h, and perhaps the current one, contain the 9-byte VSYNC that seems to cause problems on some games and some hardware. I don't think anyone knows the cause, but using the routine did seem to cause at least one game to roll, and on my hardware it caused one game to display with the TV's frame stable but shifted down so the bottom of the screen was cut off. In each case, switching back to the older VSYNC routine fixed the problems. This is enough for me to avoid the macro and manually insert the old one that's known to work. You're sure about that? I'm pretty certain that in the long run all of those problems got tracked back to other sources. No, I'm not sure, as I could have missed some correspondence here or on [stella]. But from what I remember, the source of the problems was never really determined. Changing to the old macro worked, but changing the value written to VBLANK from (IIRC) 8 to 0 worked as well. And neither of the solutions make any sense. VBLANK shouldn't have anything connected to bit 3. And frankly, the 9-byte VSYNC should work in theory. But they both did seem to have an effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted July 12, 2006 Author Share Posted July 12, 2006 Hello there, Please let me know if any screen rolls are encountered with this build (and any other issues). None that I've seen. That's good to hear. Thanks for the feedback. BTW, your attention to detail is highly impressive. Thanks! I'm almost glad that I'm running out of ROM because every time I play a game I think of "one more thing" I can make better... (down to about 40 bytes scattered throughout the 4 banks BTW after 6 or 7 rounds of optimizations I can think of a few arcade conversions I'd like to see redone with this amount of quality. Yup. Best we start compiling a Todo list for him Hmmm... don't tempt me! I love doing arcade conversions but I think first I'm finally going to finish my hockey game (hopefully by hockey season ). Here is my short list of some of my favorite arcade games that I feel need to be ported, re-done, or finished and would make decent conversions on the 2600: - Elevator Action (I have it about 80% disassembled). With CPUWIZ's SARA chips this may be worth finishing after all! - Mappy (would Namco go for that?) - Major Havoc (would Atari go for that?) - Wizard of Wor (I'm about 50% done this one) - Donkey Kong (aka Champ Kong ) Any other suggestions are welcomed! Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 No, I'm not sure, as I could have missed some correspondence here or on [stella]. But from what I remember, the source of the problems was never really determined. Changing to the old macro worked, but changing the value written to VBLANK from (IIRC) 8 to 0 worked as well. And neither of the solutions make any sense. VBLANK shouldn't have anything connected to bit 3. And frankly, the 9-byte VSYNC should work in theory. But they both did seem to have an effect. IIRC the problems came from not turning off the TIA before VSYNC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Any other suggestions are welcomed! Kickman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Hmmm... don't tempt me! I love doing arcade conversions but I think first I'm finally going to finish my hockey game (hopefully by hockey season ). Here is my short list of some of my favorite arcade games that I feel need to be ported, re-done, or finished and would make decent conversions on the 2600: - Elevator Action (I have it about 80% disassembled). With CPUWIZ's SARA chips this may be worth finishing after all! - Mappy (would Namco go for that?) - Major Havoc (would Atari go for that?) - Wizard of Wor (I'm about 50% done this one) - Donkey Kong (aka Champ Kong ) Any other suggestions are welcomed! Thanks, *clearing throat* I think you made a statement to me about a particular game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofan Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Here is my short list of some of my favorite arcade games that I feel need to be ported, re-done, or finished and would make decent conversions on the 2600: - Elevator Action (I have it about 80% disassembled). With CPUWIZ's SARA chips this may be worth finishing after all! - Mappy (would Namco go for that?) - Major Havoc (would Atari go for that?) - Wizard of Wor (I'm about 50% done this one) - Donkey Kong (aka Champ Kong ) Any other suggestions are welcomed! Mr. Do! (pleeeeease) or what about Bomb Jack? some more mockup screens (without my new soccer): my VCS graphics page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Mr. Do! indeed. Original 2600 game version was good, but it could have been done better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 For your next game, I'd suggest coding one that's never been done on the 2600 before. Betcha can't do Mappy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted July 12, 2006 Author Share Posted July 12, 2006 Any other suggestions are welcomed! Kickman Wasn't this started a while back? Kickman has always been a favorite of mine - too bad we can't get this WIP. *clearing throat* I think you made a statement to me about a particular game? Bob - that was supposed to be a secret! I wonder what game that could be... Mr. Do! (pleeeeease) Sorry - I was never a Mr. Do fan. More of a Dig Dug fan. or what about Bomb Jack? Sad to say but I've never played it. For your next game, I'd suggest coding one that's never been done on the 2600 before. Betcha can't do Mappy! I've actually started Mappy. It's one of my favorites and I think a decent conversion can be done for the 2600 (assuming I can convince PMP to do the music for me - although it may cost me another Pac-game ). Thanks for all the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 (edited) *clearing throat* I think you made a statement to me about a particular game? Bob - that was supposed to be a secret! I wonder what game that could be... Sorry - I just though you had forgotten I never said which game! (at least in this thread) For your next game, I'd suggest coding one that's never been done on the 2600 before. Betcha can't do Mappy! I've actually started Mappy. It's one of my favorites and I think a decent conversion can be done for the 2600 (assuming I can convince PMP to do the music for me - although it may cost me another Pac-game ). Absolutely - no problem, I enjoyed this! Edited July 12, 2006 by PacManPlus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uosipa llamxew Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 After Mappy, there's always Jumping Jack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Any other suggestions are welcomed!Kickman Wasn't this started a while back? Kickman has always been a favorite of mine - too bad we can't get this WIP. The one from Mike Mika? It only does 3 balloons per row, so it's probably more efficient to start from scratch Truth to be told, I basically mentioned it since so far I couldn't think of a really satisfying solution to a Kickman Kernel, just wondering with what you'd come up with (Then again, when that discussion happened, I didn't think "Sara", but 128 bytes.) Mr. Do! (pleeeeease)Sorry - I was never a Mr. Do fan. More of a Dig Dug fan. May I suggest Robby Roto for a compromise then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianC Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 (edited) I wouldn't mind seeing Qix on the 2600, but is it possible? I would also like to see Monaco GP, Rampart, Make Trax/Crush Roller, and Scramble on the 2600. I wouldn't mind seeing Xevious finished up or a new 2600 Xevious either. Wizard of Wor with more levels from the arcade and Mappy on the 2600 sound awesome! Edited July 12, 2006 by BrianC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 IIRC the problems came from not turning off the TIA before VSYNC. Now that you mention it, one game I tried that had a screwy (but not rolling) screen never hit VBLANK. But this doesn't explain why the older VSYNC would work regardless of the VBLANK setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Now that you mention it, one game I tried that had a screwy (but not rolling) screen never hit VBLANK. Splatform? But this doesn't explain why the older VSYNC would work regardless of the VBLANK setting. Remember Bobs collission detection phenomenons, that got healed by all kinds of miraculous code tweaks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdub_bobby Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Remember Bobs collission detection phenomenons, that got healed by all kinds of miraculous code tweaks? You had to bring that up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 It seems like the Ladybug code would lend itself well to a Turtles port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirin jensen Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 It seems like the Ladybug code would lend itself well to a Turtles port. Sounds like a good idea. Ladybug's amazing. My best score in emulation: 174400. Love the game. I know it's great because it pisses me off. Speaking of arcade ports, I've always wanted one of Space Fire Bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 Here is my short list of some of my favorite arcade games that I feel need to be ported, re-done, or finished and would make decent conversions on the 2600: - Elevator Action (I have it about 80% disassembled). With CPUWIZ's SARA chips this may be worth finishing after all! - Mappy (would Namco go for that?) - Major Havoc (would Atari go for that?) - Wizard of Wor (I'm about 50% done this one) - Donkey Kong (aka Champ Kong ) Any other suggestions are welcomed! Thanks, I've got a few suggestions you might want to tackle: - Arkanoid (it would be a dream to play using paddles) - Bubble Bobble (maxing out the number of on-screen objects would be the challenge here) - Moon Cresta (looks like something the 2600 could handle) - Nibbler (can this type of game be done on the 2600? I wonder...) - Zaxxon (a cool side-scroller instead of that poor 3D mess Coleco released) Other (non-arcade) suggestions: - K.C. Munchkin (wouldn't that be sort of ironic? ) - Parsec (a port of the TI99/4A game) But if none of these suggestions interest you, then I say you should go with Donkey Kong, just to show the world what Coleco could have done if they had put more effort into it. That seems like a challenge that's right up your alley, Johnny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted July 13, 2006 Author Share Posted July 13, 2006 Any other suggestions are welcomed!Kickman Wasn't this started a while back? Kickman has always been a favorite of mine - too bad we can't get this WIP. The one from Mike Mika? It only does 3 balloons per row, so it's probably more efficient to start from scratch Truth to be told, I basically mentioned it since so far I couldn't think of a really satisfying solution to a Kickman Kernel, just wondering with what you'd come up with I have some ideas - the key is always compromise to a point where it still 'feels' like Kickman. I didn't realize there were only 3 ballons in MM's port - and they all looked like the same balloon in the screenshot I saw. I'll have to think about this one. May I suggest Robby Roto for a compromise then? Never heard of Robby Roto - and I see it got 0 votes in your poll... Maybe I'll skip that one.... I wouldn't mind seeing Qix on the 2600, but is it possible? I would also like to see Monaco GP, Rampart, Make Trax/Crush Roller, and Scramble on the 2600. I wouldn't mind seeing Xevious finished up or a new 2600 Xevious either. Wizard of Wor with more levels from the arcade and Mappy on the 2600 sound awesome! Scramble is an all-time favorite of mine, but falls in the horizontal scroller category - not a strength for ol' Stella. Super Cobra was a decent conversion IMO of a similar game; if something better than that can be pulled off I may try it. It seems like the Ladybug code would lend itself well to a Turtles port. Ah - I believe that was suggested way back in the beginning of this thread when Lady Bug was thought to be too difficult... Seriously though - I've yet to play a game of Turtles but if anyone wants to give it a shot I'll be happy to share the technique I'm using for LB. Ladybug's amazing. My best score in emulation: 174400. Love the game. I know it's great because it pisses me off. Awesome score! My high score remains at 252,000. Things get really hectic on the later levels but it never feels impossible - just very difficult. I like hearing comments on the gameplay (too easy, too difficult, difficultly ramps too quickly, too slowly, etc.). Thanks for the feedback! Speaking of arcade ports, I've always wanted one of Space Fire Bird. Wow - I must of lived under a rock back in the 80's. Never heard of that one either! Sounds like I missed out on some good games (spent too much time playing Scramble, Pac-man, Elevator Action and Pole Position!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted July 13, 2006 Author Share Posted July 13, 2006 I've got a few suggestions you might want to tackle: - Arkanoid (it would be a dream to play using paddles) - Bubble Bobble (maxing out the number of on-screen objects would be the challenge here) - Moon Cresta (looks like something the 2600 could handle) - Nibbler (can this type of game be done on the 2600? I wonder...) - Zaxxon (a cool side-scroller instead of that poor 3D mess Coleco released) Other (non-arcade) suggestions: - K.C. Munchkin (wouldn't that be sort of ironic? ) - Parsec (a port of the TI99/4A game) But if none of these suggestions interest you, then I say you should go with Donkey Kong, just to show the world what Coleco could have done if they had put more effort into it. That seems like a challenge that's right up your alley, Johnny. Hmm... I've always thought about a Moon Cresta port (one of if not THE first arcade game I ever played). I think it would translate well. Bubble Bobble is 2-player goodness (I was just playing it with my brother) but there may be too much going on to translate well. Most of the other games I haven't played too much if at all. Donkey Kong has always been one of my favorites and I may re-do it as a proof-of-concept sort of project since No-friend-o would flip if they found out. Thanks for the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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