Curt Vendel Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 So... besides Space War, is anyone else out there doing any 7800 development??? Anyone playing around with Hacks of 7800 games??? I personally would love to see someone pull another 2600 Pac Man Hack.... where Ms Pac Man was converted into Pac Man on the 2600.... it would be phenomenal to see that done on the 7800.... Sure it would have to be run in emulation or on a 7800 thats been mod'd to bypass the checksum check, but it would be worth it, so???? Anybody out there? Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 So... besides Space War, is anyone else out there doing any 7800 development??? Anyone playing around with Hacks of 7800 games??? I personally would love to see someone pull another 2600 Pac Man Hack.... where Ms Pac Man was converted into Pac Man on the 2600.... it would be phenomenal to see that done on the 7800.... Sure it would have to be run in emulation or on a 7800 thats been mod'd to bypass the checksum check, but it would be worth it, so???? Anybody out there? Curt There's been rumors of new games for a while but so far nothing completed yet. As far hacks needing a mod'd 7800, the a78sign program works just fine for hacks as well as new games. But from what I've heard, the 7800 graphics are stored in a format that's harder to hack. Any 7800 programmers care to comment? Mitch Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_Dodgson Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 7800 graphics shouldn't be that hard to hack compared to 2600 or Lynx graphics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 The first person who can either hack or program Pac Man Plus, will have a LOT of fans! Or Super Pac-Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Naw - let's see a ZELDA or CASTLEVANIA port. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Pac Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Or even a half way decent fighter. I wonder why nobody tried to hack 7800 games any earlier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 I'm going to try and port Mappy to the 7800, but I've been so busy with other stuff (and a minor addiction to FFTA) that I haven't made much progress. However I do plan on getting to it some day as I'd love to use my 7800 dev. card (I just hope we all live to see it). Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 How about Millipede? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Or even a half way decent fighter. I wonder why nobody tried to hack 7800 games any earlier? Fighters were more a product of the 16-bit era. Unless you mean side-scrollings like DOUBLE DRAGON, STREETS OF RAGE, BAD DUDES and RIVER CITY RANDSOM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 How about Millipede? There's still hope that a real prototype of that may be found. It WAS planned. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 What other "planned" games were there ... regardless of whether or not they were started? Games I'm sure were started: ELECTROCOP, GAUNTLET, SKYFOX, GATO, PITFIGHTER, MISSING IN ACTION, Games that were mentioned, but may not have been started: RESCUE ON FRACTALUS, LODE RUNNER and WHITE WATER MADNESS (Wood And Water Rage). Others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 What other "planned" games were there ... regardless of whether or not they were started? Well you can add Plutos and Sirius to the list of games that are known to be out there (I believe John Hardie owns them). Plutos was even demoed briefly at PC3 but it kept crashing. Moon Patrol, Track and Field, Millipede, and Pac-Man were probably started but never finished. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Here's a list that's been floating around the net of "unreleased 7800 titles". Ghostbusters (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) River Raid (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) 3-D Asteroids (I'm sure this is a working title for Asteroids) Team Wrestling (Mat Mania Challenge, before license?) California Games (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Crime Buster (Quite possible, as its an Atari XE cart) Demolition Derby (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Eidilon, The (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Electro Cop (There was an article on this in Video Games and Computer Entertainment. The game was shown at the Winter CES of 1990 or 1991) F-15 Strike Eagle (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Final Lap (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) G.A.T.O.(Incomplete prototype now found) Gauntlet (Reported in ACE magazine in UK around 1990 or so. By the same people who developed TOWER TOPPLER) Gremlins (Reported in Video Games and Computer Entertainment, but I think they mixed up the Atari 5200 with the Atari 7800). Hoop Wars (Working title for BASKETBRAWL) Lode Runner (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) MIDI Maze (Possible. An XE version was just released. not sure how they'd network, though) Midnight Magic (Released on the XE and 2600, so it's possible) Moon Patrol (Ditto) Pac-Man (Ditto) Peasant King (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Peek-A-Boo (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Pit Fighter (Prototype found) Rampart (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Rescue on Fractalus (On the original Warner 7800 boxes and marketing material. According to some there are Warner era prototypes out there). Road Riot 4WD (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Sarge (Working title for ALIEN BRIGADE?) Sky Fox (A rough demo found) Stargate (I may have been responsible for starting this rumour as I could have sworn I saw a 7800 version of this at Zayres back in 1987) Steel Talons (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Toko (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Track and Field (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Turrican (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) White Water Madness (Appeared in Atari Canada price lists in 1988/9) Wood and Water Rage (May be an alternate title for the above) Night of the Ninja (Appeared in an ad for Froggo games in THE ATARIAN. No screenshots shown, though) Pyromania Appeared in an ad for Froggo games in THE ATARIAN. No screenshots shown, though. One of the video game guides suggested that this prototype did exist) Scorpion Squad Appeared in an ad for Froggo games in THE ATARIAN. No screenshots shown, though) Scrapper Story Appeared in an ad for Froggo games in THE ATARIAN. No screenshots shown, though) UFO Appeared in an ad for Froggo games in THE ATARIAN. No screenshots shown, though) Double Dunk (On the 2600, so possible) Quest for Quintana Roo (Advertised in THE ATARIAN, though I've never seen a shot) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Peasant King (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) Peasant King was the working title for Off The Wall I believe. Rampart (Never heard of a 7800 version of this before a list on the net appeared) DP Guide reports this one as being nearly done, but not released Sarge (Working title for ALIEN BRIGADE?) Nope. They're totally different games. I think Medal of Honor or something like that was the working title for AB. Rescue on Fractalus (On the original Warner 7800 boxes and marketing material. According to some there are Warner era prototypes out there). I've heard that a VERY incomplete prototype exists which just shows the cockpit and some left and right movement White Water Madness (Appeared in Atari Canada price lists in 1988/9) Wood and Water Rage (May be an alternate title for the above) I believe they are indeed the same title. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Pac Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Let me remind DracIsBack there is an 8 bit fighter. Although it wasn't offically released by anyone. But I know it exists they featured it in Game Pro Street Fighter 2 NES. Yes, I know this was a pirate title but did you know even Capcom was impressed, and there are plunty of fighters made for the SMS including Virtua Fighter. Besides what do you call Fight Night a shooter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 I've heard some idle chatter that Toobin' was planned for the 7800. Can anyone verify this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 I'm going to try and port Mappy to the 7800 7800 Mappy would be soooooooo cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferris Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 You know, out of everything in the Atari world, this is the thing that intrigues me most. I have been nearly obsessed with 7800 prototypes for almost the past 15 years. I have done some very extensive research on this subject and come to some interesting conclusions. The results of my studies are posted on my site, which you can view here at http://www.atari7800.com/html/gameshistory.htm This page contains an entire listing of all games that were released, developed, scheduled, or rumored to have been underway on the 7800. The page also discusses the reasons behind these games not being released and all the issues that factor in to the 7800’s dilemma when it comes to prototypes and vaporware. As far as new developments, I have been working on three of my own 7800 titles for about the past year and a half on a custom 7800 development board. The most promising of which is called Towers, a game that is sort of a cross between Rampart and Tetris. When it is done I will post it so everyone can play it in an emulator. I hope you guys find that 7800 software history page a little helpful. Cya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricBall Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 As far hacks needing a mod'd 7800, the a78sign program works just fine for hacks as well as new games. But from what I've heard, the 7800 graphics are stored in a format that's harder to hack. Any 7800 programmers care to comment? See A 7800 hack request over in the Hacks forum for some possible starting tools. For pure graphics hacks, the first challenge is figuring out which mode(s) the game is using. That will give you the bit to pixel/color mapping. Just like a 2600 hack, the color (or palette on the 7800) will require some disassembly to change. (And disassembling is non-trivial.) But I'd really prefer to see other people take up the challenge of programming the 7800 rather than make a "Kill Dr. Phill". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Let me remind DracIsBack there is an 8 bit fighter. Although it wasn't offically released by anyone. But I know it exists they featured it in Game Pro Street Fighter 2 NES. Yes, I know this was a pirate title but did you know even Capcom was impressed, and there are plunty of fighters made for the SMS including Virtua Fighter. Besides what do you call Fight Night a shooter? Whoa Classic Pac - no need to be rude. I just wanted you to clarify by what you meant by "fighter". Fight Night is a boxing game, not the same as what I'd consider a fighter (aka MORTAL KOMBAT) or a sidescrolling beat-em-up (aka DOUBLE DRAGON). You are right - I clean forgot about the three Mortal Kombat titles on the SMS. But in North America, stuff like STREET FIGHTER, MORTAL KOMBAT etc, was strictly 16-bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Ferris - how did you assemble such a list of titles and their catalogue numbers? I've also been following the 7800 rather religiously since 1988 and many of those titles I'd never even thought were considered for the 7800 before today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Basically, many developing titles were deleted for lack of payment. Titles such as Sky Fox fell to this fate. Is that what happened to it? Interesting... DESERT FALCON 1984/86 BALLBLAZER 1984/86 I don't think these were released until 1986. I could be wrong though. CX7818 BENTLEY BEAR IN Q*BERT What the? PYROMANIA MFD., NO SHIP Do you know this to be a fact? That could make for an interesting find some day... Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferris Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 That list is everchanging. Every few weeks I have to make changes, especially with the CX designations. It’s like a huge jigsaw puzzle without half of the pieces. You may be right about Desert Falcon and Ballblazer not actually being released until 1986, but the only official paperwork I came across on these titles was presenting these two games as titles that were to be out by Christmas 1984. Could be wrong, if I am the database can easily be updated. Bentley Bear in Q-Bert sounds crazy but I have heard this title mentioned by one vendor of the era and two Atari employees who swore that they knew of this along with Crystal Castles on the 7800. Appearantly Atari acquired the rights to all of the Parker Brother’s games for the 2600 and had intended to replace the character of Q-Bert with Bentley Bear, to create a Mario or Sonic type of mascot for the Atari brand. He was a cute little guy, it would have worked out well IMHO. As for Pyromania, the gentleman who ran Froggo (which was a very tiny game company compared to the other third party vendors) had been telling vendors that Pyromania had been manufactured and was about ready to ship. Pyromania had been advertised for some time along with the rest of the Froggo titles that never surfaced. Next time the vendors went to contact Froggo, the line was disconnected and they were out of business. The official mantra out of Froggo was that they had been manufactured, so that’s what I’m going by. If this is indeed true, they probably manufactured the first line of them and then went out of business and most likely destroyed these titles in a bankruptcy proceeding. That’s the story I’ve heard. Again, that list is fairly fluid but it’s about as solid of a list as it can be. Things are bound to be incorrect and if they are then they can be changed. It’s important to keep this in mind when looking at the roster. If anyone has any solid information regarding corrections on the page feel free to drop me a private message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferris Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Ferris - how did you assemble such a list of titles and their catalogue numbers? I've also been following the 7800 rather religiously since 1988 and many of those titles I'd never even thought were considered for the 7800 before today. It wasn't easy. And it may not all be correct. But it's as correct as it can be. Sometimes I feel a litle bit like Fox Mulder running around chasing little green men that everybody says doesnt exist except for those so high up that they have seen them first hand. As I say on that web page, I have spent countless years researching and attaining as much information as possible with regards to what was in development for the 7800, what was finished, and what didn't make it past the concept stages. All of the information listed in the database is as accurate as possible and historically grounded. All of the titles listed as "confirmed" or "likely titles" are posted as such based upon official Atari press releases, Atari in-house communiques, advertisements, packaging, posters, recently discovered artwork, and the reliable testimony of former Atari employees and vendors. There may be a few errors along the way, especially among the CX-78 designations, but vaporware information is sketchy at best at times, so piecing together the history from multiple sources can be a real tricky task. Anwyays, long story short its a real pain-in-the-ass for something so questionable. That's basically 10 years worth of work that still gets brushed off. Alot of those titles I'm sure were only discussed or brainstormed on. Hopefully as the years go by, more and more 7800 titles will be found, just like Plutos, Sirius, Rescue on Fractalus, KLAX, Missing in Action, and most recently GATO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 These games I really want to see on the 7800... Motor Psycho II (yes, you heard me right!) Gremlins STUN Runner Vindicators Electrocop Gauntlet Pac-Man Moon Patrol Rescue on Fractalus Final Legacy Roadblasters California Games GATO (if only it wasn't a demo...) Elevator Action Crystal Castles Blasteroids (the sequel to Asteroids Deluxe made in 1987) Star Wars Paperboy Ghostbusters Turrican Stargate Secret Quest R-Type Rolling Thunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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