72 replies to this topic

[jwierer]

I am proud to make publicly available an Atari 7800 PacmanConstruction Set. For those who previously tried my Beef Drop Construction Set, I tried to get to make it as simple as possible to hack Pacman. With this tool you'll beable to many changes to most aspects of the Pacman series of games such as:Pacman, Ms. Pacman, and Jr. Pacman to create custom hacks of Pacman. Since you can change most aspects of the game, aside from the actual game play, you can create entirely new versions for this classic game.

Here's a list of the things you can change:

• Mazes
  
  
• Dot pattern
  
  
• Energy Dot locations
  
  
• Maze order
  
  
• Fruit Locations (Ms Pacman)
  
  
• Game Colors
  
  
• Sprites
  
  
• Title Screen Graphics
  
  
• Game Text
  
  
• Number of lives

Before you begin you need to make sure you're systems meetsthe minimum requirements.

Prerequisites

• Operating System: Windows XP, Vista, Windows7. Might work on older versions of Windows, but I haven't tried it.
  
• .NET Framework 3.0 ( if running XP you can download here)
  
• Ram about 20-25MB of free ram
  
• 1MB of free disk

Download Latest
 pcs1.029.zip   949.1K   47 downloads

Older

 pcs1.027.zip   947K   173 downloads
 pcs1.026.zip.zip   945.79K   172 downloads

There is very little you need to do after downloading and running. Basically make sure that pacman constructionset.exe and A78SIGN.exe, included in the download below) are in the same directory. After that everything is optional, but will make your life easier. The first thing you'll want to do is set an emulator to use using the Debug menu and selecting "Set Emulator". I tested this with ProSystem during development, but you can choose whatever you want. You can find some emulators here. The other thing you might want to do is load an external editor such as a hex editor or bit editor like Hack-o-matic 3 so you can make additional modifications, not available from the editor itself. Once set you can test in an emulator by hitting F8 or opening in an editor using F9. Menu items and buttons are also available.

Screenshots





Here are some hacks I've posted previously in my blog

• Snow Day Jr. Pacman
  
• Upside Down Pacman
  
• Upside Down Ms Pacman
  
• Jr Ms Pacman

Special thanks to Bob DeCrescenzo for creating the 7800 Pacman series and providing me with all the technical information necessary to create this and Gambler172 for tirelessly testing the last couple months!

Edited by jwierer, Sun Jan 8, 2012 8:40 PM.

[gambler172]

Hi Guys
And here are 2 hacks,made by Jeff and me.
greetings Walter

Attached Files

•  piranha final.bin   16K   119 downloads
•  Caterpiller_FINAL.bin   16K   110 downloads

[Shannon]

Wow! Pretty slick.

[TrekMD]

Cool, cool...

[jwierer]

Here's another hack for all the Smurf fans, "Papa Smurf in Pacland". This one has all new levels, title screen, graphics, and even the intermission graphics are different. The only thing I really don't like is the 3rd pacman color for the hat is shared with the hidden side border so you see the "red" zones on the left and right hand side.





 PapaSmurf_in_Pacland.bin   32K   105 downloads
 papasmurf_in_pacland.a78   32.13K   103 downloads

-Jeff

[gambler172]

Hi Jeff
Wow,the smurf hack looks really great.
greetings Walter

[Bakasama]

Here's a question I been waiting to ask. Do the ghost monsters used the same template or do they four different templates?

[jwierer]

Bakasama, on Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:48 PM, said:

Here's a question I been waiting to ask. Do the ghost monsters used the same template or do they four different templates?

The ghosts share a single set of sprites, though they have their own individual colors that can be set. You have to set the in game colors and the intermission colors separately.

-Jeff

[jwierer]

gambler172, on Mon Aug 31, 2009 12:07 PM, said:

Hi Jeff
Wow,the smurf hack looks really great.
greetings Walter

Thanks! I'm eager to see what other games folks dream up.

-Jeff

[seanhq]

I'm pretty new to collecting for the Atari 7800 (I'm a 2600 collector) but now seeing this construction set and what can be done with it makes me want to dig deeper into what can be done with the 7800. Thanks for sharing.

[Bakasama]

jwierer, on Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:04 PM, said:

Bakasama, on Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:48 PM, said:

Here's a question I been waiting to ask. Do the ghost monsters used the same template or do they four different templates?

The ghosts share a single set of sprites, though they have their own individual colors that can be set. You have to set the in game colors and the intermission colors separately.

-Jeff

Ah, that's too bad they all share same set of sprites. I would've been great if each had their own set of sprites. I had an idea of Gargamel head being chased by smurf heads.

[jwierer]

Bakasama, on Sat Sep 5, 2009 10:29 AM, said:

jwierer, on Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:04 PM, said:

Bakasama, on Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:48 PM, said:

Here's a question I been waiting to ask. Do the ghost monsters used the same template or do they four different templates?

The ghosts share a single set of sprites, though they have their own individual colors that can be set. You have to set the in game colors and the intermission colors separately.

-Jeff

Ah, that's too bad they all share same set of sprites. I would've been great if each had their own set of sprites. I had an idea of Gargamel head being chased by smurf heads.

Smurfs all look the same anyway, blue face, white hat, right? Go for it!

-Jeff

[Bakasama]

jwierer, on Sat Sep 5, 2009 6:32 PM, said:

Smurfs all look the same anyway, blue face, white hat, right? Go for it!

-Jeff

Well anyway, I realized there was another hack I've been thinking of and it's now doable thanks to this program.

Edited by Bakasama, Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:36 PM.

[jwierer]

Here is a little more action for the Smurf lovers. Papa Smurf , Pacland 2 is a hack of Jr. Pacman. Changed most of the graphics and the levels are all different, upside down actually which completely changes the game play. Only thing I didn't change was the fruits. Maybe somebody more creative can do better?




 papasmurf_in_pacland_ii.a78   32.13K   80 downloads
 PapaSmurf_in_Pacland_II.bin   32K   80 downloads

Enjoy,
Jeff

[gambler172]

Hi Jeff
Looks great.
greetings Walter

[gambler172]

Hi Guys
A contest with the Pac editor started in the CONTEST forum.
greetings Walter

[Pacfan97]

(Comment Removed By Me)

Edited by Pacfan97, Sat Dec 5, 2009 1:17 PM.

[jwierer]

Pacfan97, on Mon Nov 2, 2009 7:41 PM, said:

LOL!!

Congratulations on your first, interesting, yet confusing, and non-productive post. At least I guess you bumped this thread.

-Jeff

[gambler172]

Until now,no posts for the contests.
greetings Walter

[horseboy]

If only you could change the audio...

[gambler172]

horseboy, on Fri Nov 6, 2009 9:39 AM, said:

If only you could change the audio...

Hi Horseboy
This is also possible,but not with the editor.It should work with Hackomatic,but it is not an easy thing.....
greetings Walter

[Vic George 2K3]

Can't get it to hack Ms. Pac-Man.

[horseboy]

Vic George 2K3, on Sat Nov 7, 2009 3:44 PM, said:

Can't get it to hack Ms. Pac-Man.

Maybe it has to be the updated version that Bob hacked to make it more like the arcade version.

[jwierer]

Vic George 2K3, on Sat Nov 7, 2009 3:44 PM, said:

Can't get it to hack Ms. Pac-Man.

Post the bin you're using. It should work fine with the original Ms. Pacman and Bob's updated hack.

[update] Just tested and it seems to work fine. If you go to Help->Download Roms->Ms Pacman, you'll get the same binary I was using for testing. The original Ms. Pacman should be a 16K rom.

-Jeff

Edited by jwierer, Sun Nov 8, 2009 3:00 AM.

[ovalbugmann]

What do you use jwierer to load these binaries on a stock 7800?

What are all the options to be able to load a program on the 7800?

1. Official 7800 Development card?
2. Cuttle Cart 2
3.
4.
5.

Please list other options you know about that are available to 7800 owners.

Thanks!

(No sense in me hacking Pacman, with your utility, if I have no other option to play it other than emulation as I only like real hardware.)

Edited by ovalbugmann, Sun Nov 8, 2009 3:37 AM.