310 replies to this topic

[AtariNerd]

Wanted.

[SpiceWare]

[johnnywc]

Looks great Bob - one of my all-time favorites!

[purenergy]

Enjoyed this back in the day, can't wait to see it done.
Great work Bob!

[PacManPlus]

Thanks for all of the kind words, guys.

Guess what, I had to implement flicker for this one. To use 320 character mode, an 8 byte-wide ship, six 1-byte shots, and 2 six-byte enemies takes approx 421 Maria Cycles. There was no way I could put two other enemies (there are 4 max on the screen at one time in this game). So, I was left no choice. The flicker has very little intelligence, you can see it in the UFO and meteor stages.

I am hitting some CPU cycle maxes already in this game. Took me most of the day to get some acceptable frame rates out of this. Still, if everything is on the screen at once, you can see a little slowdown.
This is what I have left:

- End Of Level
- Rocket Launching (this one's going to be tough)
- Sound

Here's the latest WIP

Enjoy,
Bob

P.S. - To the question about using the Marquee 'Scramble' for the splash screen, I would like to, but it all depends on how much space I have left.

Thanks!

Attached Files

•  Scramble.A78   32.13K   44 downloads
•  Scramble.bin   32K   24 downloads
•  ScrambleP.A78   32.13K   26 downloads
•  ScrambleP.bin   32K   29 downloads

Edited by PacManPlus, Wed Jan 4, 2012 9:59 PM.

[Rybags]

I gotta say - the look, feel, mechanics are just about arcade exact.

Are you considering doing Pokey sounds, or a version for the XM expansion.

I might be able to help with a few sound effects - the Pokey triangle/saw wave feature could come in handy.

[Rybags]

 scramble1.mp3   70.65K   36 downloads

Got it almost exact in a couple of minutes.

That uses 16 KHz mode with a frequency sweep with Audf values going 255 to 60.
The game seems to do 6 then has a kind of pause.

The arcade uses the YM chip like the ST, so Pokey and maybe even TIA could fairly closely match most of the sounds.

[PacManPlus]

Funny you should start with that one, as that is the one I started with as well. The sounds in Scramble seemed simple, so I figured the TIA could handle them.
Here's my version of the background sound. I used Voice $0A, with the sweep moving in threes from $1F to $02 (the $02 I had to fudge because I didn't want $01 - it was too high). I also added the slight delay.

Funny thing though, in my version of ProSystem that voice is muted. On the real thing it sounds good though. That sound is in the attachment below.

I think the UFO sound is going to be the most difficult, with the warbling and all...

Attached Files

•  Scramble.A78   32.13K   44 downloads
•  Scramble.bin   32K   29 downloads
•  ScrambleP.A78   32.13K   28 downloads
•  ScrambleP.bin   32K   29 downloads

Edited by PacManPlus, Thu Jan 5, 2012 8:47 AM.

[Rybags]

I wonder if a memory watch in Mame could help. No idea if hardware registers can be monitored.

I did the start music in Moon Cresta by just measuring the notes and selecting best matching frequency.

Maybe for that quick sweeping sound, a similar technique could be used. Just pick landmark parts of some captured audio and work out the frequencies and duration of the sweeps.

[atarinut76]

add me to the list too!!!!

thanks
Matt

[ntavio]

Please add me also! Thanks Bob!

[fandenivoldsk]

Please add me to the preorder list! Looks sweet!!

[masematte]

Please add me to the list too. Amazing work und bob

[moonpatrol]

Please add me to the list! Thanks

[Mayhem]

Obviously I should be on any pre-order list too

[remowilliams]

Wow! How does he keep on doing it?? Cart Want!

[Mitch]

Since this seems to have turned into a combined beta and cart preorder thread...
I want a cart too!

Mitch

[iesposta]

I will buy a cartridge too!
This is one of the two arcade games that I own the boards, and Scramble (cocktail table) never worked.
Easy guess as to what the other arcade game I own is.
<- hint, hint...

[jeffgamer]

Yeah, I'm always up for one of your carts. Perpetual pre-orders! :-)

[diggs130]

If there is a list,please add me to it!

[cmart604]

One for me too please!

[JonnyBritish]

Add me to the list as well Bob...JonnyBritish

[Underball]

What are the differences between Scramble and Super Cobra, and can there be a Super Cobra version too?

Just plain astounding, Bob as always.

[NE146]

Underball, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 11:02 AM, said:

What are the differences between Scramble and Super Cobra, and can there be a Super Cobra version too?

Just plain astounding, Bob as always.

Super Cobra is the sequel to Scramble and is a lot more difficult. There's a lot more stages, and there's more enemies who are a lot more aggressive.

I always thought if there's a Super Cobra for the 2600 (whatever your opinion of it may be, there outta be a Scramble for the 2600 as well. But I'll take a 7800 version anytime as well.

[edweird13]

I defiantly want one too.