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About this blog

Blog is not dead which can eternal lie. An Atari 2600 game development blog.

Entries in this blog

Porting Elite to the 2600

After spending a couple days researching Elite, I'm convinced this game could be ported to the Atari 2600 and still retain most of its original look and feel. Here's what the original Elite looked like on the Commodore 64:   And here's a prototype screenshot on the Atari 2600 (this is from an emulator, not a mockup):   The Bitmap   The first challenge of the port is implementing a high-resolution bitmap. This can be achieved by using the 30Hz text display from Stellar Track. The 12

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Death of a Laptop

My main laptop died last month. It was a Dell Vostro 1400, and I was very happy with it up until the video card fried. Its best feature was the Nvidia Geforce 8400GS video card, which had its own dedicated video memory. Regrettably, that feature was its undoing.   The system died a couple months after the 1 year warranty expired. I did some research on the problem, and found that graphic card failures due to overheating were a common problem for this particular laptop model, common enough

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Robotics Discussion Part 1

I'm an avid fan of robotic technologies. Over the past several years I've been following the progress of advances in robotics, including mechanical dexterity, sensor implementation, and software AI. I'd like to share these advances with the AA community and discuss their implications. I think the robotic industry is on the verge of a profoundly significant break through, where robots will start to become ubiquitous in our lives. (As I am typing this post, there are two robots cleaning my kit

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Positron: Write Cycles v0.08

I was getting concerned that I didn't have enough half-finished Atari projects, so I started another one. Just to be safe.   Vista Operating System has chosen you to serve on the game grid.   positron08.zip   Features: - High-resolution light trace display with pseudo 3D effect, synchronized with the player's cycle. - Fluid cycle motion, one pixel per frame. - Uses standard 128 bytes of RAM. - 8LK displays 2 sprites anywhere in the game grid with no skipped scanlines. - Two songs e

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Stellar Overlord v0.95

Given Al's recent overhaul of the AtariAge website, this seemed like a good time to post the facelift I did for Stellar Overlord.   The new look   so95.zip   New Features: - Completely redid the font graphics from scratch. Wider is better. - Shrunk the planets in the Galactic Display to make them look more like round planets, and less like footballs. (besides, )- There is a new sound effect for the victory at the end of the game. It's based on an idea posted by thegoldenband.  

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

wav2atari.pl

I have a habit of checking out the 2600 programming forums every week or so, and two weeks ago I started commenting on the topic Advanced sound techniques: how do they work? My interest in this topic was mostly in sample playback. I've been messing with digital sound samples since 1990, and I was very impressed when I found out a couple years ago that the 2600 was capable of playing back decent quality sound samples. My only exposure to this was the Berzerk Voice-Enhanced, which is a thing of

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Stellar Overlord v0.90

Back in 2004 I wrote a game called Master of Arcturus for the 2004 minicomp. It was never productized to the point that I could release it on cartridge.   Exploring the Galaxy   so90.zip Known Bugs to Fix: - If you are pressing left when the game should end, the victory conditions are not registered correctly. - Streamline the combining of fleets when attacking a world. Two groups of 120 should combine seamlessly into a fleet of 240 ships that attack simultaneously. - If the game end

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Lehman Bros. v0.01

LEHMANBROS01.BIN Overview In this game, you control the CEO of a distressed investment firm. The game takes place at the firm's headquarters. Your objective is to collect as much cash as possible for your severance package before the company collapses. As you are collecting money, a variety of opponents will hinder your efforts.   The Federal Regulator (turtle) - Slow and easily avoided. But be careful. If a Federal Regulator catches you, your CEO's severance package is capped and he mu

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

The Battle of Midway v0.21

This is the first release of the game that is minimally playable. You can actually sink the ships now.   Mission Accomplished   tbom21.zip New Features: tbom18.asm 8/3/08 - Removed HMOVE artifact from title screen using cycle 73 HMOVE. - Time-based high-res physics engine for Zero. - AI to control Zero flight patterns. (preliminary) - Crash animation and sound Fx for Zero. - Multiple vectors for AA fire. - Detects a hole in the ship, and when the ship has been sunk. - Added preli

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Nort.exe

If I had infinite free time, I would write the game Nort.exe for the 2600.   In Nort.exe, you are a computer program, trying to survive deep in the bowels of the Vista Operating System. The game would consist of 4 phases:   Phase one: DRM Due to an errant MD5 checksum calculation, Vista's DRM has incorrectly matched your program file with "Britney_Spears_-_Baby_One_More_Time.mp3". Your program file is now targeted for deletion. Use your tank process to destroy the DRM subprocesses and es

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

The Battle of Midway v0.17

With the Atari movie coming up, I've had some motivation to do more coding. I took another look at The Battle of Midway this weekend, and here are the results.   More entitlement.   tbom17.zip New Features: tbom16.asm 7/13/08 - Removed unnecessary procedural subroutines, freeing up some ROM and cycles. - Expanded the ROM out to 8k. VSync and Overscan are in bank1, Kernels are in bank2. - Displays title with fade-in effect and player's plane. - Integrated include files into the main

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Stellar Fortress v0.23

Entitlement.   sf23.zip New Features: sf22.asm 3/2/08 - Added preliminary title music. - Reorganized bank data. All kernels will now live in bank 2. Bank 1 contains the VBlank and Overscan.   sf23.asm 5/24/08 - Changed cannon graphics. Uses lower vertical resolution. Cannon is larger. Now has 16 rotational animation positions instead of 8. - Added Title Screen mode. Press the fire button to begin the game. - Added Title graphics.   To Do: - Rewrite the kernel to squeeze out m

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Stellar Fortress v0.21

The targeting computer for the Plasma Cannon is now online:   Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station.   sf21.zip New Features: sf21.asm 1/15/08 - Added support for all four quadrants, so the Plasma Cannon can now fire in all 64 directions. - Implemented targeting computer for the Plasma Cannon. The cannon tracks the player's ship and will shoot at it with reasonable accuracy. - Implemented delayed cannon rotation. The cannon now rotates toward t

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Stellar Fortress v0.20

To placate my critics, here is another update for Stellar Fortress, as promised.   I'm hit! I'm hit!   sf20.zip New Features: sf20.asm 1/10/08 - Major improvements to shield collision detection. Now uses a combination of coordinate checking and collision registers. Allows player to fly closer to the cannon, making the game feel less claustrophobic. - Added 16-bit trig table for linear shots. This is now used for the Plasma ball. It imitates 16-bit motion with proper trig ratios, w

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Stellar Fortress v0.19

I always have extra free time around Christmas, and this inevitably leads to more Atari development. In a renewed effort to actually get another game completed, I've gone back to working on Stellar Fortress.   The rings are more, um, ring-like.   sf19.zip   New Features: sf18.asm 12/28/07 - Optimized ROM usage. Opened up another 1k of free space. - Fixed bug in ship-to-shield collision detection. Detection code was only running once every 4 frames. Changed to every frame. - Fixed

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Coastal Chaos V0.05

Blog is not dead which can eternal lie. My blog has been dormant for over 6 months, but I'm finally doing more Atari development.   Incoming!   Use the fire button to fire the cannon.   cchaos05.zip   Features: cchaos03 - Added on-screen positioning of both ship sprites. - HMOVE every line to prevent comb-effect. - Reduced size of island by removing 6th row of castle. cchaos04 - Added demo cannon ball in ball graphics that moves down middle of screen. - Implemented pseudo 3D c

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

24 Character Display

Ack. Has it really been 2 months since I've posted?   I got a chance to do some coding the last couple days, and I've come up with something that I've always wanted to implement: a 24 character display for the Atari 2600. Behold, the wannabe Atari 2600 home computer!     tesoro_bas.zip Features: - Displays 24 characters per line, and a max of around 18 lines per screen. - Character set can contain 52 unique characters. More, if byte sharing is used. - Only uses 26 bytes of RAM. -

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Hunt the Wumpus v0.18

Are you up to the challenge of level 4?   cc2_cd_zip.zip Features: htw18.asm 09/27/06 - Added level display and selection on the title screen. - Implemented 4 difficulty levels. The level defines the ratio of rooms to tunnels: Level 1: 40 rooms, 24 tunnels Level 2: 32 rooms, 32 tunnels Level 3: 24 rooms, 40 tunnels Level 4: 20 rooms, 44 tunnels   To Do: - Expand Wumpus clues so they appear in all rooms that are within 1 or 2 rooms of the Wumpus. - Add cut scenes for Wumpus death,

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Hunt the Wumpus v0.17

I let my blog fall off the main page. Bad TROGDOR. No peasants for you.   This update is the product of taking two steps backward, and three steps forward. The ROM image is now 8K, making it my first 8K bankswitching ROM! This required a lot of code reorganization, which is one of the least fun things to do when writing a game. The biggest problem was hunting down all the subroutines and data references that pointed to the wrong bank and caused the game to lock up. I've cleaned all tho

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Hunt the Wumpus v0.15

A shot in the dark.     Features: htw14.asm 08/24/06 - Added arrow shot cut scene.   htw15.asm 08/28/06 - Added footsteps - Added arrow shot sound FX.   To Do: - Expand Wumpus clues so they appear in all rooms that are within 1 or 2 rooms of the Wumpus. - Add death music and victory music. - Add cut scenes for Wumpus death, Pit death, arrow shooting, and victory. - Add title screen and music. (started) - Add in-game sound effects. - Add difficulty levels and level selection. -

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Hunt the Wumpus v0.13

Score!   Features: htw12.asm 08/20/06 - Added score display. - Added scoring for cave exploration. - Lightened the cavern color based on user feedback.   htw13.asm 08/21/06 - Added ability to shoot at Wumpus, and victory / death detection. - Added previous game score display on title screen. - Added buffering to fire button to detect state changes.   To Do: - Expand Wumpus clues so they appear in all rooms that are within 1 or 2 rooms of the Wumpus. - Add the ability to shoot yo

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Hunt the Wumpus v0.11

I see you.   Features: htw09.asm 08/08/06 - Added ominous death sound. - Start player in a safe cavern with no clue.   htw10.asm 08/11/06 - Added title screen mode. - Dropping title effect. - Glaring, blinking red eyes randomly move around the title screen.   htw11.asm 08/12/06 - Added preliminary title music. (Funeral March of a Marionette by Charles Francois Gounod)   To Do: - Expand Wumpus clues so they appear in all rooms that are within 1 or 2 rooms of the Wumpus. - Add t

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Hunt the Wumpus v0.08

Death awaits you all, with nasty sharp pointy teeth!     Features: htw08.asm 08/05/06 - Added Death by Wumpus cut scene. - Added death detection (walking into rooms with pits or the Wumpus.)   To Do: - Expand Wumpus clues so they appear in all rooms that are within 1 or 2 rooms of the Wumpus. - Add death detection (walking into room with Wumpus or Pit) - Add the ability to shoot your arrow at the Wumpus, so you can actually win the game. - Add death music and victory music. - Add cu

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Hunt the Wumpus v0.07

I smell a Wumpus.     Features: htw06.asm 07/29/06 - Switched to 4LK, freeing up even more cycles in the kernel. - Optimized ball display decoder. - Integrated maze buffer preloader to prevent black line artifacts. - Added clue display in GPR0, GPR1, M0, and M1.   htw07.asm 08/03/06 - Improved player-to-playfield collision handling to act more like "Adventure". Rather than always moving you back to your original position, you can slide along a surface using diagonal movement, which m

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

Hunt the Wumpus v0.05

Features: htw02.asm 07/22/06 - Added random number generator. - Mazes are randomly created. Hold down the reset switch to generate a new maze. - Unexplored caverns are concealed.   htw03.asm 07/23/06 - Added screen wrapping so all 64 cells are displayed across 4 screens.   htw04.asm 07/24/06 - Switched to 2LK, freeing up many cycles in the kernel. - Added delay to joystick read to slow down player.   htw05.asm 07/27/06 - Added compensation for playfield mirroring so displayed tunn

TROGDOR

TROGDOR

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