e5frog Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 I've come this far: http://w5.nuinternet.com/s660100106/files/channelf/test3.bin Movements work on both players, no collision detection yet. It's a bit slow, but as a PAL unit runs faster than MESS and NTSC units I hope it will be playable on one of those. If anyone like to check the code and help out it would be appreciated. Let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 wow man, and I thought ASTROCADE projects were rare *ba-dum-ching* most impressive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impaler_26 Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Finally another Channel F homebrew project. Great work so far! Here's a screenshot guys, you should really fire this up in MESS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) I've added some more collisions, but for now you can only hit the default frame (stand still)... I also managed to speed up the MultiBlitGraphic-routine quite a lot, when output:ing color there was this code: clr .multiblitGetColor: ds 0 bnc .multiblitGetColorEnd ai $40 ; multiply color number by $40 br .multiblitGetColor .multiblitGetColorEnd: This takes at least 6 cycles and at most 37.5 cycles (times four for machine cycles). Length of binary code is also shorter, 4 bytes instead of 8! But as the color data is the two lowest bits all that is needed is to shift them six steps to the left... This way it only takes four cycles every time: lr A, 0 sl 1 sl 1 sl 4 outs 1 Increase in game speed was very noticeable... between 2 and 33.5 cycles faster for each pixel! The updated binary is placed on the same link as above, I recommend the MESS 0.80.1 that is available for download at http://veswiki.com - it has more correct colors, even the ability to set the palette yourself and also updated sound - sounds like a Channel F II, and also the debugger is available - but not turned on by default. I'm going to add more collisions, try and optimize and then fill up the memory with soundeffects... if there's any left. It's a balance act choosing between fast code and short code... MESS screenshot stretched to correct geometry (almost): Edited July 28, 2008 by e5frog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Cool game E5frog, very impressive for a Channel F! If you remove the player's shadow, can help to increase the game speed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Cool game E5frog, very impressive for a Channel F! If you remove the player's shadow, can help to increase the game speed? Reducing the size of the graphics will increase speed, yes... it also means rewriting a lot of the code unfortunately. When moving I erase only the parts that are not overplotted by the next frame with small rectangles of green, that reduces flicker and also improves speed - not having to erase the entire block of graphics every time. I was thinking today, on the bus on my way to work, that it would be fun to do a minature game and try to reduce the size as much as possible by reducing the size of the graphics, perhaps small enough to compete in http://minigamecomp.org.uk/ I'll keep working on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 I've tweaked the plot delay time for the MultiBlit-routine, I managed to lower it from 35.5 cycles to 12 - an amazing cut of 23.5 cycles per plot:ed pixel! Latest test-version (only differs in speed from previous version above) : http://w5.nuinternet.com/s660100106/files/...f/IK-test_5.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Dracon Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Yes, run 50% faster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 (edited) Just got around to checking this one out. Very, very cool. I'm only just discovering the Channel F, but I like the unique flavor of the system -- it seems like it has a few tricks up its sleeve, in terms of things it can pull off that other systems of the time can't. (Just as those other systems can do lots of things that the Channel F can't, of course!) Edited September 6, 2008 by thegoldenband Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I'm new to the Channel F also and I've noticed that its graphics are very unique, hard to describe, I don't think I've seen it in other systems. This is very impressive. It's amazing what programmers can do with this old systems that pushes them to their limits. Look forward to seeing the final product and any other games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Just wow. pretty impressive for a pre-2600 system, especially considering how little development was done on the system before it died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Holy cow! I just came here from the recommendation at the Pac-Man thread, and I must say, you've mastered the VES unlike anyone else before. I'm simply stunned. What exactly are you doing that no one prior was able to do to get quality like this? (And on a side note, I MUST insist that you make both this and Pac-Man available on cartridge. I know I sound like a broken record, but come on, you can't make things this amazing and not make people want them!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 Holy cow! I just came here from the recommendation at the Pac-Man thread, and I must say, you've mastered the VES unlike anyone else before. I'm simply stunned. What exactly are you doing that no one prior was able to do to get quality like this? (And on a side note, I MUST insist that you make both this and Pac-Man available on cartridge. I know I sound like a broken record, but come on, you can't make things this amazing and not make people want them!) I think the biggest problem is that there are very few people interested in this system, both collecting and programming... I'm not a programming wiz' nor have I done much extraordinary work. I've always wanted to be able to program assembler on C64 and make those cool demos, but I guess this level of programming is more of a match to me. I'll definitely release these games on cartridge eventually, as I've said before it's mainly a matter of money, buying circuits, make PCB:s and such. I could put together another Pac-man cartridge tomorrow if I'd like to, but then I'd like a complete #20 or #19 for trade, colored box versions, maybe I'll put in an add... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I could put together another Pac-man cartridge tomorrow if I'd like to, but then I'd like a complete #20 or #19 for trade, colored box versions, maybe I'll put in an add... If you make your games available for sale I would purchase a system just to play them. I really have no interest in the Channel F but I love homebrew projects and would love to own both of your new games. I would of course not be able to trade for them since I own zero Channel F stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I could put together another Pac-man cartridge tomorrow if I'd like to, but then I'd like a complete #20 or #19 for trade, colored box versions, maybe I'll put in an add... I actually have a complete 20, but no 19. However, I'd really hate to lose the 20 as it was the only original critically acclaimed game for the system and I'm a collector and keeper. Nevertheless, I'll be there to pay as soon as you do make hopefully both of the games available for sale, even at a relatively high price (say even $60 - $80 US). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 If you make your games available for sale I would purchase a system just to play them. I really have no interest in the Channel F but I love homebrew projects and would love to own both of your new games. I would of course not be able to trade for them since I own zero Channel F stuff I've been thinking of taking up payments for pre-orders, but I'm not that keen on having that pressure on me, but I guess I could need the money to buy the stuff needed. I could need some help on finding a good and cheap place to make the PCB:s, perhaps I should order 50 of them initially, if I was going to get 50 of the necessary static memory interface circuits these would cost $400 plus shipping and also taxes if I can't avoid that by sending them via a friend in the US... Currently the economy is pretty poor, maybe I should build a pair of Pac-man carts and auction on eBay or something - however Namco Bandai might be sensitive about that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 If you make your games available for sale I would purchase a system just to play them. I really have no interest in the Channel F but I love homebrew projects and would love to own both of your new games. I would of course not be able to trade for them since I own zero Channel F stuff I've been thinking of taking up payments for pre-orders, but I'm not that keen on having that pressure on me, but I guess I could need the money to buy the stuff needed. I could need some help on finding a good and cheap place to make the PCB:s, perhaps I should order 50 of them initially, if I was going to get 50 of the necessary static memory interface circuits these would cost $400 plus shipping and also taxes if I can't avoid that by sending them via a friend in the US... Currently the economy is pretty poor, maybe I should build a pair of Pac-man carts and auction on eBay or something - however Namco Bandai might be sensitive about that... Well, I'd hate to see it go to eBay for purely selfish reasons, as I know I could never hang with the big bidders there, but that sounds like a great idea to raise the most money with the least hassle. As for Namco Bandai being sensitive about it, I have a hard time believing they'd have any interest in a one-off like that, particularly since AtariAge and Opcode, et al., have put out unofficial COLLECTIONS based on the property. Certainly those haven't been kept hush-hush, and even at your peak of sales you'd never be anywhere near the same volume. If you were really concerned, you could call it a "Pac-Man clone" or "Pac-Man homage" or something if you want to avoid calling it "Pac-Man" directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted October 5, 2008 Author Share Posted October 5, 2008 (edited) Well, I'd hate to see it go to eBay for purely selfish reasons, as I know I could never hang with the big bidders there, but that sounds like a great idea to raise the most money with the least hassle. As for Namco Bandai being sensitive about it, I have a hard time believing they'd have any interest in a one-off like that, particularly since AtariAge and Opcode, et al., have put out unofficial COLLECTIONS based on the property. Certainly those haven't been kept hush-hush, and even at your peak of sales you'd never be anywhere near the same volume. If you were really concerned, you could call it a "Pac-Man clone" or "Pac-Man homage" or something if you want to avoid calling it "Pac-Man" directly. I could perhaps make it a long auction and not write in the auction that it is Pac-man - only a well known homebrew - but spread the word on forums like this and answer e-mail questions truthfully. Perhaps I could write something like "It's the first Channel F homebrew released on a dedicated cartridge." I don't know. I need to find a pair of SRAM 6116 (2kbit x circuits first, the rest has already been found, I think that will be easier than to use four 2114 (1k x 4) as they do in the SABA#20 (popular for Multi-cart builds). I put an add in the Marketplace, but if anyone has a pair or know where to get a pair cheap, let me know. Edited October 5, 2008 by e5frog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 I'm thinking I might need to pick up a Chanel F console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I'm new to the Channel F also and I've noticed that its graphics are very unique, hard to describe, I don't think I've seen it in other systems. This is very impressive. It's amazing what programmers can do with this old systems that pushes them to their limits. Look forward to seeing the final product and any other games. I dunno, I think low-res with only a few colors describes it pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I'm new to the Channel F also and I've noticed that its graphics are very unique, hard to describe, I don't think I've seen it in other systems. This is very impressive. It's amazing what programmers can do with this old systems that pushes them to their limits. Look forward to seeing the final product and any other games. I dunno, I think low-res with only a few colors describes it pretty well. LOL that's a good way to describe that fuzzy glow all the games have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucebidder Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I could perhaps make it a long auction and not write in the auction that it is Pac-man - only a well known homebrew - but spread the word on forums like this and answer e-mail questions truthfully. Perhaps I could write something like "It's the first Channel F homebrew released on a dedicated cartridge." I don't know. I need to find a pair of SRAM 6116 (2kbit x circuits first, the rest has already been found, I think that will be easier than to use four 2114 (1k x 4) as they do in the SABA#20 (popular for Multi-cart builds). I put an add in the Marketplace, but if anyone has a pair or know where to get a pair cheap, let me know. YOu could put it up on CTCW there would be little hassle and that way all that are interested to bid or preorder or however you want to do it. I know Mike would love to see it come up there and you wouldn't have to pay ebay 30 percent of your profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5frog Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share Posted October 11, 2008 What's CTCW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 The better EBay alternative for gaming stuff. http://www.chasethechuckwagon.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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