175 replies to this topic

[Nerf Herder73]

Again, this was very good! I've been playing nearly every day.

Should the bounding box issue be overcome, could the 320 mode intermissions be added to PMC:PE? They don't seem to require as many colors as the main game boards. It doesn't look like the six color limit would be an issue with the exception of "The Chase" from Ms. Pac-Man.

[PacManPlus]

Thank you for the compliments

As far as adding 320 mode to PMC, I'm afraid that wouldn't work too well... The bounding box issue can't be overcome with Kangaroo mode on, and it would require a whole new Sprite (stamp... etc.) graphic set, and the colors in the intermissions wouldn't be enough.

thank you, though...
Bob

[DracIsBack]

PacManPlus, on Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:48 PM, said:

As fart as adding 320 mode to PMC

Hee hee hee hee hee!



Yes, I am 12 years old today!

[KevinMos3]

Phenomenal job! Been watching this since the first post and I'm glad to see it turned out so good. This really does scream for an XM version release for pokey sound. It sounds good as it is, but it's just too close to perfect to not put that polishing touch on it. After spending time with the pokey PMC, I'm spoiled on sound, but after playing this, I'm spoiled on graphics and have a hard time going back to PMC. An XM release would put it over the top and I'd definitely want to purchase it. It would also be a great 1st generation XM lineup addition.

Please?

[Jinks]

KevinMos3, on Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:54 AM, said:

Phenomenal job! Been watching this since the first post and I'm glad to see it turned out so good. This really does scream for an XM version release for pokey sound. It sounds good as it is, but it's just too close to perfect to not put that polishing touch on it. After spending time with the pokey PMC, I'm spoiled on sound, but after playing this, I'm spoiled on graphics and have a hard time going back to PMC. An XM release would put it over the top and I'd definitely want to purchase it. It would also be a great 1st generation XM lineup addition.

Please?

I want xm pokey 320 as well..

[darryl1970]

PacManPlus, on Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:54 PM, said:

Last Update - sound, intermissions changed to Pac-Man.

Result: it can be done, with some color & transparency compromising.

I am just impressed, because I didn't know the 7800 could do 320 graphics before frogger. Ms Pac is good -- Pac-Collection is way better -- Pac Collection with Pokey sound is outstanding. However, this fills in a huge piece that was missing for me. The graphic resolution wasn't any better than the 2600/5200, and I felt that was pathetic for a system made 4 years later -- regardless of how many multi-color sprites it could push.. In fact, the animation on your version doesn't have that 7800 choppiness either!!

NICE JOB!!!

[GroovyBee]

darryl1970, on Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:39 PM, said:

In fact, the animation on your version doesn't have that 7800 choppiness either!!

The "choppiness" as you call it has much more to do with the programmer's ability than the hardware.

[DracIsBack]

darryl1970, on Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:39 PM, said:

because I didn't know the 7800 could do 320 graphics before frogger.

I'm pretty sure there's a few games from the era that use 320 mode as well.

[PacManPlus]

Hi Guys:

Thank you very much for the compliments...
This was just a side project to satisfy my curiosity (and to attempt vertical scrolling). I may or may not come back to this in the future, but I am already working on two other games (one announced but not touched in a few weeks, and the other not announced yet).

I can't keep re-hashing the same game over and over again; I'll never grow as a 7800 programmer that way.

Thanks, everyone
Bob

[Marc Oberhäuser]

And here is the box for Bob's latest creation

Attached Thumbnails

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[KevinMos3]

This looks great when I play it in 7800x (on the XBOX) which is a M.E.S.S. emulator. However, when using ProSystem, the black boxes surrounding Pac-Man and the ghosts are much taller and overlap the maze. Is there a setting in ProSystem so it will play like it does in M.E.S.S.?

You can see the difference between the two emulators (M.E.S.S. & ProSystem respectively) in these pics:

[GroovyBee]

As a first guess it looks to me like MESS is ignoring Kangaroo mode in the MARIA control register. Do you have a screen shot with the ghosts in a corridor?

[KevinMos3]

Here ya go:


As you can see, the boxes are still there in M.E.S.S., but they're much smaller.

[GroovyBee]

Does it only happen with pacman at the start?

[KevinMos3]

I'm not sure I understand your question. In MESS, the sprites are gorgeous because the black boxes surrounding the sprites are small (about a pixel on each side); you hardly even notice them. This is how they are displayed throughout the game. In ProSystem, the black boxes are much taller and overlap the maze graphics. Of course, the way MESS is displaying the game is preferable to ProSystem.

From the earlier screenshots & posts in this thread, it seemed the large boxes were just a necessary evil, but after PacManPlus' final release, I tried it in the other emu (7800x aka MESS on the XBOX) and thought the problem was resolved. So which emulator is displaying correctly? On real hardware, will there be the large black boxes, or the nice small ones?... and can ProSystem be made to display the small ones like MESS does?

[GroovyBee]

To be honest I haven't played this version. I've just downloaded it and I'll check it out on my real hardware.

[GroovyBee]

Its a bug in ProSystem 1.3e.

[KevinMos3]

GroovyBee, on Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:56 PM, said:

Its a bug in ProSystem 1.3e.

That's great news. Since that's the case, I'll probably want to get in on the list for a cart. Also, Marc may want to update his boxes with screenshots from MESS since the ones in his pics above have those huge black surrounds from ProSystem.

[AtariNerd]

Hah! I had had the thought that maybe they were double-high sprites and one could slightly squish them down to fit into a single-high one with a slight sacrifice in resolution, but if it's an emulation bug...*giggles like a schoolboy*

Edited by AtariNerd, Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:40 PM.

[KevinMos3]

PacManPlus, on Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:57 AM, said:

This was just a side project to satisfy my curiosity (and to attempt vertical scrolling). I may or may not come back to this in the future, but I am already working on two other games (one announced but not touched in a few weeks, and the other not announced yet).

I can't keep re-hashing the same game over and over again; I'll never grow as a 7800 programmer that way.

I understand and hope I don't come across in the wrong way. This is hands down, the best 8-bit home version of Pac-Man that I've played. However, it had been a while since I'd played the NES version, so I tried out every version I have back-to-back last night along with the arcade original and confirmed my previous conclusion.

That's what makes it so hard to reconcile your above statement with the quality of this game. It was just a quick test, but it turned out to be the best version available on an 8-bit system IMO... even with the TIA sound. So maybe you can see why some of us look at this game and think, "this is so close to perfect... what would make it an absolute masterpiece is the sounds from the pokey PMC." As I said earlier, I don't mean to come across the wrong way - like I'm begging, nitpicking, being fussy, never satisfied, etc. If it sucked or was an "okay" version I doubt anyone (including me) would care about polishing the sound. This is just too close to perfect, so I hope at some point you find the time and inclination to add the pokey sounds.

[darryl1970]

KevinMos3, on Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:41 AM, said:

PacManPlus, on Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:57 AM, said:

This was just a side project to satisfy my curiosity (and to attempt vertical scrolling). I may or may not come back to this in the future, but I am already working on two other games (one announced but not touched in a few weeks, and the other not announced yet).

I can't keep re-hashing the same game over and over again; I'll never grow as a 7800 programmer that way.

I understand and hope I don't come across in the wrong way. This is hands down, the best 8-bit home version of Pac-Man that I've played. However, it had been a while since I'd played the NES version, so I tried out every version I have back-to-back last night along with the arcade original and confirmed my previous conclusion.

That's what makes it so hard to reconcile your above statement with the quality of this game. It was just a quick test, but it turned out to be the best version available on an 8-bit system IMO... even with the TIA sound. So maybe you can see why some of us look at this game and think, "this is so close to perfect... what would make it an absolute masterpiece is the sounds from the pokey PMC." As I said earlier, I don't mean to come across the wrong way - like I'm begging, nitpicking, being fussy, never satisfied, etc. If it sucked or was an "okay" version I doubt anyone (including me) would care about polishing the sound. This is just too close to perfect, so I hope at some point you find the time and inclination to add the pokey sounds.

I admit this is impressive. It ALMOST redeems the 7800 in my eyes, yet disappoints for being so close yet so far. It was SO NICE to see an Atari version of Pac-Man that wasn't shaped like a stop sign. It was also nice to see the right Monster graphics. I have criticized the 7800 for choppy game play in many games, but this was very arcade-like. It is a shame about the bounding boxes.. So "pretty" yet flawed by system limits. After looking at this, it was hard to stomach the original verion.

[The Usotsuki]

I wonder how good Galaga would look using this technique.

*hides*

And maybe the NES version's logic as it's more arcadelike (and still 6502).

[Tubular Gearhead]

I would like to get one of these as well if you are still adding names to the list.

Thanks in advance!

[Madaracs]

Cool stuff.

[darryl1970]

I thought this was kind of fun.
Pressing the 'insert' button for a second on M.E.S.S. (un-throttling) causes weird sync issues. I wonder if this is a flaw in the emulation, since these modes are rarely utilized. It's kind of fun and quirky. Even though the dots aren't all visible, they can still be eaten most of the time.

The intermissions really get scrambled... Afterward, the play field comes back with a yellow tint.