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Great Exploitations



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bB 1.1 beta build release B

Posted by batari, 05 March 2011 · 204 views

Here is another release that should be close enough that programmers can get started on some games.

This release requires a test version of Stella, posted in the previous blog entry.

Included in this release:

Support for 10 sprites (player0-player9)
pfcolors: now works
Background colors per line supported (uses new bkcolors:...



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batari Basic 1.1 beta - with DPC+ kernel

Posted by batari, 30 January 2011 · 343 views

It's been nearly four years since the 1.0 release of bB, so it's about time for another. Many things need to be done, but I've gotten over the big hump of letting bB take advantage of special Melody/Harmony features.

We developed the DPC+ bankswitching scheme some time ago. DPC+ is based on DPC, the chip in Pitfall II. DPC+ has evolved a bit...



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2600 LAN

Posted by batari, 06 December 2008 · 264 views

I originally wrote a detailed blog entry about this, but lost it due to accidentally closing the browser window, so this one will be brief unless I feel like recreating all that effort again.

Anyway, this is a proof-of-concept demo of a multiplayer game on two 2600s connected via the right joystick port. It's Adventure, where one console controls our...



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2600 Compression redux

Posted by batari, 23 June 2008 · 279 views

This is actually quite different than the first topic on 2600 compression.

Let's suppose we have some RAM available, and want to crunch a 4k bank of arbitrary 2600 code/data by as much as feasible, assuming the decompressor will live within some of...



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512k Superbanking with TTL

Posted by batari, 12 December 2007 · 121 views

A thought occurred to me the other day about 256k Superbanking. Adding a common TTL chips, a 74174 (hex flip flop), to the 0840 design could extend it to 512k!

The idea is simple - the 0840 board uses VCS-A6 to select banks, except connect its EPROM...



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Supersize me!

Posted by batari, 07 October 2007 · 333 views

I thought this should get its own blog entry.

I built a prototype 128k-256k 2600 cart, and it works! If I can make this a reality, I won't need to worry about limiting the number of tracks in Superbug.

But actually I can't take credit for this, because without Supercat's 0840 cart design and his comments on...



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2600 compression

Posted by batari, 02 October 2007 · 250 views

Now that Gingerbread Man is done, I am already starting to think about the next project, or more accurately, working on my previous project (Superbug.) Also, a few people tried out a demo cart of the game at NWCGE and it was generally well-received.

The biggest problem with the game, I think, is that the track data takes a lot of space. Right now, each...



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Popcorn and Gingerbread

Posted by batari, 10 August 2007 · 178 views

Now I'm getting hungry.

Changes:
New boss level and final boss level.
Three selections: 1=default, 2=you lose progress when you die, 3=children's mode (slow enemies and no bird)
The easter egg: Actually it was always there, but I've added a very subtle hint for it in the game.
Opening tune: Popcorn!
Various bugfixes.

To try out the...



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Tank war

Posted by batari, 24 March 2007 · 118 views

Djmips mention of an old Apple II game called RobotWar got me wondering if something similar could be done for Combat tanks. Of course with the 2600, a tank language would have to be really minimal. So I've come up with a 4-bit machine code that might work. You would enter the machine code into the 2600 via the joystick. Each tank might feasibly get...



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As fast as you can

Posted by batari, 14 March 2007 · 109 views

Finally, time for another update of Gingerbread Man!

There have been lots of changes, and I don't feel like listing them all, but I'll mention a few:

- Sounds, scoring, lives, different bosses, continue feature
- Bonus timer; When it ends another enemy emerges
- Levels should be less frustrating
- Secret level warp screen (PM me if you want to...



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ZP/immediate load auditor

Posted by batari, 18 January 2007 · 97 views

Many homebrews have had problems with zero page loads when immediate loads were intended. It's a common error that has caught even the best programmers. The problem is that, in most cases, the final binary works as if there were no bug but may occasionally show weird problems on actual hardware. ...



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You can't catch me!

Posted by batari, 14 January 2007 · 304 views

My 2600 projects are piling up like the snow that hasn't been falling here, despite freezing weather and predictions from meteorologists. But the analogy doesn't work without snow, which one must shovel away in layers, starting with the freshest layer first. So imagine four games piled up, Superbug on top, with Twisty Passages, RallyB and Zirconium...



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The Kernel's Secret Recipe

Posted by batari, 17 December 2006 · 158 views

I've been thinking about the possibility of a multisprite kernel with an asymmetric, reflected playfield, all with no line breaks. It's impossible via normal means, I know. But I was thinking about the repositioning routine and how inefficient it is to basically divide by 15 right smack dab in the middle of the kernel!

So I thought of a...



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Superduperbug

Posted by batari, 01 November 2006 · 148 views

I have made the bug faster. It still accelerates at the same rate but will reach a top speed about 50% faster than before. Personally, I find it to be too fast, at least for this track, but maybe some like it that way.

Other changes include a digital speedometer and a 4-speed transmission (albeit automatic.)

I may also add the ability to manually shift...



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Superbug demo candidate

Posted by batari, 24 October 2006 · 98 views

Sadly, I have not spent as much time on Superbug as I think I should. The basic gameplay is coming along, but the tedium of adding new tracks by hand was a little daunting. Instead I've been working on a track editor, but so far it's text-based, clunky, and needs a lot of work.

Although there are no new tracks yet, I have made some...



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Supercharger prototype!

Posted by batari, 17 October 2006 · 143 views


Do any of the Supercharger-using blog readers here want one of these (for free)?

What's happening is I am planning on releasing the 4k version of my SC game on cassette, so expect a formal release date in a couple of months. I also plan to release on CD. This will be a limited release, as the minigame version, while fully...



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Old things, living and dead

Posted by batari, 26 September 2006 · 56 views

Kind of a different blog entry - not much Atari stuff to speak of.

I did some traveling the past 10 days. I like to visit uncrowded places that few ever see. Well, I did spend half of my time in Yosemite, which is kind of the antithesis of the rest of my trip. That's not to say the natural wonders there aren't worth seeing. However, I believe...



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Today's blog title, take 2

Posted by batari, 18 August 2006 · 45 views

I edited this because I need an 8x7 sprite design for the players... Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled blog...

Last night I decided to work on Maze Craze 2. Well, this is no longer the official name. I think I'll call it "Twisty Passages" unless someone has a better idea.

I've pared it down to 4k...



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Musically disinclined

Posted by batari, 22 June 2006 · 96 views

I've modeled myself as a writer, a programmer, a teacher and even a mountain climber, but never as a composer.

I want some critique, as this is my first musical piece ever. Is this a piece of art or a piece of something else?

EDIT: OK, so I can't leave this alone. I've posted a new version that (I think) sounds better.

EDIT2: Added third...



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Speak to me

Posted by batari, 05 June 2006 · 133 views

I've been playing around with the AtariVOX lately. I found it a little tedious to make my own words - I'd have to try to figure out the phonemes, then cross-reference another table to look up the actual bytes to send to the Avox. Then burn to EPROM or whatnot and see if it works.

Computers are great at tedious things, so I did a little...



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