76 replies to this topic

[KevinMos3]

A bit of an update. Finally got time to upload a binary with the White Castle inside walls touched up. Today, I decided to go ahead and make the walls the same color as the castle (instead of red) and the floors the color from the game I'd like to eventually imitate. The insides of the Yellow and Black castles have also been updated.

As always, see the first post for the binary.

Edited by KevinMos3, Sat Mar 5, 2011 6:28 PM.

[KevinMos3]

More changes. Now with animated grass on a few screens and other changes.

See the first post for updated pics and binary.

edit: Yet another update... I had the animated lighting (surround gfx) flickering in the dark rooms. I was going for the torch/candle/firelight look, but I didn't like it. So, I've removed the flicker and just went with the animated lighting. I also lightened the title screen because I suspect it would have been too dark on real hardware & CRT TV before. I'll need to play around with it when I get time and tweak LUMs as needed. Binary link has been updated.

I'm also working on an animated fountain with 2 colors, but it seems to be making the Green Dragon act strange, so I'll have to work on it more before I upload.

Edited by KevinMos3, Sat Mar 5, 2011 6:28 PM.

[accousticguitar]

KevinMos3, on Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:44 PM, said:

Now with animated grass

How in the world did you do that? It looks great!

[Corby]

Thats freakin Awesome!!!! Great work Kevin!!

[TrekMD]

OK, all I can say is "WOW!"

[Nukey Shay]

accousticguitar said:

How in the world did you do that?

Decorative objects can be made to animate easily. At no cost of ram if they are sharing their animation state with something already in the program (i.e. the ram byte used for the bat's state). The grass objects are also using sprite copy values instead of resizing them in the last table...the limitation would be that such objects can cause problems if they are in panel rooms (A missile sprite shares it's # of copies with whatever it's corresponding player sprite is using).

Also, altering the program to allow for more invisible objects (ones you can move through without collision). The original program just did that with the "surround" sprite...checking during P/B collision if the object # was zero. Instead, group all such objects at the top of the tables, and check if the current object # is less than whatever object #'s you want to allow collision with. Finally, altering sprite priority on the bands of playfield gfx where the grass sprites were placed allows the ball sprite to move over them instead of under.

[accousticguitar]

Nukey Shay, on Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:19 AM, said:

accousticguitar said:

How in the world did you do that?

Decorative objects can be made to animate easily. At no cost of ram if they are sharing their animation state with something already in the program (i.e. the ram byte used for the bat's state). The grass objects are also using sprite copy values instead of resizing them in the last table...the limitation would be that such objects can cause problems if they are in panel rooms (A missile sprite shares it's # of copies with whatever it's corresponding player sprite is using).

Also, altering the program to allow for more invisible objects (ones you can move through without collision). The original program just did that with the "surround" sprite...checking during P/B collision if the object # was zero. Instead, group all such objects at the top of the tables, and check if the current object # is less than whatever object #'s you want to allow collision with. Finally, altering sprite priority on the bands of playfield gfx where the grass sprites were placed allows the ball sprite to move over them instead of under.

So this is what you were talking about in the Playfield Manipulation thread about the "walk behind decorative objects" aspect. Way cool! It is amazing how good Adventure can look now. It's always played fantastic, now it can look the part as well. Too bad I don't have as much time as I used to for hacking.

[Nukey Shay]

Yup. In the new multicolor sprite thread, I set the program to walk behind castle gates by default so you can get a look at it.

BTW that assembly makes certian objects MUCH easier to do (i.e. the 2-color fountian) rather than using 2 or more overlapping sprite objects. You get as many color changes as you want per object. No cost in resources. And because it's 16k, there's little chance of running low of space unless you are a complete hacking maniac In that case, it would be possible to up the available space to 32k

I would have liked to add a Superchip option to take advantage of added ram...but the available VBLANK time kinda puts a stop to that (unless the game was to be PAL-only, I guess).

[KevinMos3]

A few minor changes:

• Changed the font for "Adventure" on the title screen
• The bat now faces the player like the dragons do
• Made some slight alterations to the Dragon attacking and dead sprites
• Changed the Ice Peninsula screen and added animated waves
• Added the 2-color animated fountain

As always, grab the latest binary in the first post.

To Do:
Next step will probably be to merge the work so far into Nukey's newer assembly, as I'm still currently using the older 8k one. It's almost time to begin work on the real intent of this project.

Edited by KevinMos3, Sat Mar 5, 2011 6:39 PM.

[KevinMos3]

Added a quick color hack of Dragster to the first post.

Check it out and tell me what you think.

[KevinMos3]

Added a Pete Rose Baseball color edit to the first post. Let me know what you think.

[KevinMos3]

Added a long overdue update of Galaxian to the first post. It's been just sitting on my hard drive since November. I should note that it was espire8's post that got me interested to take another look at this one and update the ship sprite. As always, the binary is in the first post. Also, to set the shot to normal (narrow) width, set the Right difficulty to "A".

There's also an edit to Nukey's Pac-Man Arcade Enhanced hack added, so take a look and let me know what you think.

[KevinMos3]

Updated the Pac-Man Arcade hack. New ghosts' eaten eyes sprite to look more like the arcade, reversed direction of extra lives sprite to match arcade, tweaked cherries sprite to more closely imitate the arcade. Both versions of ghosts' frills are still available. See the 1st post for screenshots and ROMs.

[KevinMos3]

Added a sprite and color hack of Xenophobe to the first post. The main character is intended to look more like Mr. M. Brace. The xeno colors are shades of green and look very good on my old TV with real hardware. I may tweak it a bit more later on, we'll see. I made the pants green similar to the arcade, but I'm not sure I like it better than the original black, since it looks a lot like the reds of the upper body on my TV. If anyone has suggestions, feel free to share.

Edited by KevinMos3, Tue Mar 6, 2012 2:52 PM.

[KevinMos3]

Made some more changes. Edited the ship graphic, altered the player sprite a bit, changed the doorway again, and made the xeno overrun warning flash light red instead of light gray. The first post contains older versions including a zip with 4 variations. One with the player having green pants, and the others with black pants & other differences. I'm undecided which I prefer so feedback is definitely welcome. The latest version is located below.

Here are some screenshots for comparison:

Original ROM:

My edits: (2nd with green pants, 3rd with black pants)

Arcade:


I left the windows of the spaceship red to keep it matching player 1. The ship for player 2 has blue windows.

Update: I'm unable to edit the first post properly, so I cannot upload the latest version. Therefore, the latest version is attached here for now.
 Xenophobe Arcade.bin   16K   25 downloads

Edited by KevinMos3, Wed Mar 7, 2012 5:03 PM.

[BladeJunker]

KevinMos3, on Tue Mar 6, 2012 3:12 PM, said:

Made some more changes. Edited the ship graphic, altered the player sprite a bit, changed the doorway again, and made the xeno overrun warning flash light red instead of light gray. The first post contains older versions including a zip with 4 variations. One with the player having green pants, and the others with black pants & other differences. I'm undecided which I prefer so feedback is definitely welcome. The latest version is located below.

Here are some screenshots for comparison:

Original ROM:
Xenophobe (1990) (Atari) Ship.png Xenophobe (1990) (Atari).png
My edits: (2nd with green pants, 3rd with black pants)
Xenophobe Ship.png Xenophobe.png
Arcade:
Xenophobe Arcade Ship.png Xenophobe Arcade.png

I left the windows of the spaceship red to keep it matching player 1. The ship for player 2 has blue windows.

Update: I'm unable to edit the first post properly, so I cannot upload the latest version. Therefore, the latest version is attached here for now.
Xenophobe Arcade.bin

Impressive, this is a much better representation of the arcade game on the 2600. I'm a big fan of Xenophobe but I don't why since its not a very good game lol, perhaps its the look & atmosphere. Still wouldn't mind getting my hands on the Lynx version.

[TrekMD]

That is very impressive indeed! Nicely done!

[KevinMos3]

Thanks guys. I've made more changes and I'm trying to decide on a few issues before I call the colors done & could use some input.

I'm thinking a more subdued contrast like in the 2nd screenshot here might make sprites stand out a little more and be easier on the eyes... (basically less background distraction):


Also, pay attention to when xenos get hit. I've been debating on what to do with the hurt color. Right now, there's a transition color from red to light green. I got the idea from the arcade version which has red and yellow explosion colors, but I'm not sure I like it better than just plain light green like in the original ROM.

Changes include:

• New sprites for pods, rollerbabies, and snotterpillars
  
• New sprites for weapons and most pickup items
  
• New xeno hit colors
  
• Background wall now shaded like foreground

 Xenophobe Arcade v3.bin   16K   14 downloads
Note: Latest version now available in the first post.




Also, I could go back to using a different color for each floor like the original ROM, but there's also the issue of there being a wrong pointer in the original... so floors 4 and 3 have the same color even though there's actually a separate color table for floor 4.

Edited by KevinMos3, Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:17 PM.

[KevinMos3]

Updated Xenophobe:

• Changed number font to match arcade
  
• Changed player sprite to more closely match arcade stance & walk animation
  
• Made variations for alternate characters
  
  • Mr M Brace
    
  • Mr EEz
    
  • Dr Kwak
    
  • Mr Fogg
    
  • Dr Zordirz
    
  • Col Schickn

I'm pretty satisfied with it now except I'd like to get all characters selectable in a single binary, but that is beyond my abilities. Perhaps someone better with assembly will be willing to take that on.

Uploaded another Dragster hack. This one uses some of the source from Atarius Maximus' Drag Race hack.



Also uploaded a hack of Front Line. The main purpose was to edit the player sprite, but there were some other minor color changes as well.


You can find the binaries in the first post.

Edited by KevinMos3, Sat Apr 7, 2012 11:59 PM.

[accousticguitar]

I'm liking the Dragster hack. It's amazing to me how I can think a game is perfect and then someone comes along and makes it better! It reminds me of Space Invaders Deluxe in that regard.

[PFL]

I've just come across your work and just wanted to say that there is some excellent work here. It's always nice to these oldies get a new lease of life.

I'd love to see what you could do with Mario Bros. (hint, hint! )

[KevinMos3]

PFL, on Sun Apr 8, 2012 1:00 PM, said:

I'd love to see what you could do with Mario Bros. (hint, hint! )

Hehe. Actually, I've been sitting on a hack of Mario Bros. since 2010. I used 2 of the enemies from the Return of Mario Bros. hack, (Firefly & Ice Spike), so I was hesitant to upload it. I may go ahead and do so soon. There are other hacks I've been sitting on as well -- for various reasons (either didn't feel they were worth uploading, or thought the field for a particular game was too crowded already).

Here's a pic. Actually, it looks like I took inspiration on the crab and turtle as well, although they are not direct copies from the other hack. I remember spending quite a bit of time on the crab and turtle.

[PFL]

^
That's really nice. I hope you can upload it sometime. Do you have to get permission first, do you think?

I was wondering if you would consider making PAL versions of at least some of your hacks. They're great to play in Stella as is and I really enjoy them but when I play them on my 2600jr with my Harmony cart the colours are often strange. It really affects Pacman which is a shame...

[KevinMos3]

PFL, on Fri Apr 20, 2012 12:23 PM, said:

That's really nice. I hope you can upload it sometime. Do you have to get permission first, do you think?

My view of hacks is that no "permission" is needed to either borrow sprites from another hack or hack a hack. However, proper respect should always be shown, so if someone borrows something from another hack, credit should be given. I always make a point to mention the work of anyone involved along the way and many times even give links to other threads. You can see some of this in the first post. A hack is borrowing from the original author to begin with, so any person editing the work of someone else, (say David Crane for example), has no right to be upset if someone, in turn, borrows their work. It especially bothers me when someone sells a hack, but won't release the binary. They have no right to do that. Fortunately, I haven't seen this happen in a long time.

PFL, on Fri Apr 20, 2012 12:23 PM, said:

I was wondering if you would consider making PAL versions of at least some of your hacks. They're great to play in Stella as is and I really enjoy them but when I play them on my 2600jr with my Harmony cart the colours are often strange. It really affects Pacman which is a shame...

Are you wanting PAL 50Hz or 60Hz?
It's not much work to do PAL versions of games where Nukey has merged NTSC and PAL disassemblies. Just a few color tweaks.

Here's a PAL Pac-Man Arcade

 Pac-Man Arcade Enhanced (PAL50).bin   8K   6 downloads

And a PAL Double Dragon Arcade. I think the PAL version is easier to play.
This is newer than the NTSC version. I'll be uploading an NTSC update soon.

 Double Dragon Arcade (PAL50).bin   16K   6 downloads


Galaxian Arcade will take a little work to adjust the colors, but I don't have time right now. I may or may not get to other games.

Edited by KevinMos3, Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:46 PM.

[KevinMos3]

I got to playing around with Rampage! the other day and put in some new sprites and changed the pink buildings to a tan color. As always, check the first post for more details and to download the ROM.

Here are some quick screenshots of Old vs New: