8 replies to this topic

[Ruffsta]

was wondering EXACTLY what i need to make a game... i have the following:

DASM
DASM-Atari2600
distella30
tiapaint
hexeditor



http://i13.ebayimg.c.../bf/2a/cc_1.JPG - assume i need one of these too right? obviusly to burn onto a chip

what other tools are need?

where do you buy empty cases and chips? i seen a site once, but forgot to bookmark it....

thanks in advance

[MayDay]

You really only REQUIRE three things...
1. text editor (I use Notepad)
2. emulator (I like z26, but there are a few others)
3. DASM (which you have)

Once you create binaries, you can send them to the site administrators here, and they can burn them off for you. Of course there are lots of other tools which are helpful along the way too, here is a good place to start for your specific question (Lesson 1 talks about exactly this). It sounds like you may have some coding experience, so I'm not sure how useful the rest would be to use.

Also, here is the information for AtariAge's homebrew services.

-JD

[Ruffsta]

Quote

It sounds like you may have some coding experience, so I'm not sure how useful the rest would be to use.

only programming experience i have is HTML and Visual Basic 6 - but i have a friend that understands basic and is going to be helping - but will also look for help here.

wow, i didn't know atariage had all those services - but i do think that i will need one of these: http://i13.ebayimg.c.../bf/2a/cc_1.JPG , to help lower costs to produce the cartridges, tho it would be less work for me to have atariage do it - just afraid i couldn't afford thier service. thanks for the info!


1 more question if i may... i have the 3 items you mention but where or how do i start off? sorry, if this was vb or html i wouldn't have to ask...

ps: i never used DASM or anything like it, so all of that is going to be a bit hard for me.

Edited by Ruffsta, Mon Dec 19, 2005 10:02 PM.

[Gateway]

Um, hate to burst your bubble, but coding for the 2600 is a lot different than using Basic or HTML!

There's a somewhat small group of 2600 programmers here at AA, because coding games can be frustrating, unless you understand how the TIA works( I still don't quite understand it myself). It takes a lot of time and dedication to finish the project, not to mention accepting constructive criticism when it's time to polish up the details before you make your game available to the masses.

Not saying you can't do it, just that it may be more difficult than you initially thought.

However, you can try batariBasic in the 2600 Programming Forums. It's a neat tool to use as a launching point to getting into more advanced projects. Good luck!

[Ruffsta]

yeah i expect it all to be hard.. but i've always wanted to make games (i'm known for ideas... just getting them to work or make them by myself is another story).

i started with vb6, think i could make games (and you can.. just not what i had in mind...), then i come across the fact that one can program for the atrai 2600 - and i'm like cool! gotta give it a shot (not expecting miracles here...), just wana get my feet wet). if i could create just 1 game.. i would have accomplished what i set out to do (and i never expect it to be much.. just complete and fully working the way i intended it to).

[MayDay]

Saying it's hard for a non-programmer is almost an understatement... I've been learning Assembly since March, and there have been a couple of times I thought it would be impossible to understand. However, you can find some sample codes in Andrews tutorial sessions I linked to above, assemble them in DASM, and put them into z26. Even this simple task took me about a week to actually get done. It seems that low language people just expect anyone crazy enough to try this will already understand the basic idea of what they're trying to do and have some experience in doing so. For that reason, there isn't a lot of step by step instructions (especially with the most basic stuff), but to their credit, they are very helpful and patient with newbs. If you really want to make a game, this is absolutely the best place to do it at.

-JD

PS- also some quick advice... save your game idea(s) until you have some atari coding experience, and know the system's limitations. Many newbs have came through, announced their games, gave up, and begged people to make it for them. This approach is not advisable, and will probably get you made fun of. If you decide not to heed this advice, please at least check out this guide before you post your idea.

Edited by MayDay, Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:58 PM.

[supercat]

Gateway, on Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:29 PM, said:

There's a somewhat small group of 2600 programmers here at AA, because coding games can be frustrating, unless you understand how the TIA works( I still don't quite understand it myself). It takes a lot of time and dedication to finish the project, not to mention accepting constructive criticism when it's time to polish up the details before you make your game available to the masses.

One thing I've taken to doing which is very helpful is starting with a little thingie I wrote called "skel.asm". Not much to it--it just shows a normal 'rainbow' pattern on the screen--but it's a useful starting point for a game. Basically, what I do is start at the top of the screen and work my way downward, writing code for the necessary subkernels. The main program is initially:

MAIN:
  jsr KERNEL
  jmp MAIN

but that can of course be extended. There's no problem calling KERNEL from many spots in the code--indeed, it's often useful. In addition, if there's a loop that may take "too long" to execute (i.e. may take more time than is available in overscan or vblank) you can include within the loop:

  bit INTIM
  bmi noKernelYet
  jsr KERNEL
noKernelYet:

The kernel preserves X, Y, and SP, but not the accumulator or status.

Starting with the little "skeleton" program can greatly simplify development, since it means it's possible to plunge immediately into writing the fun parts of the kernel.

[Ruffsta]

Quote

PS- also some quick advice... save your game idea(s) until you have some atari coding experience, and know the system's limitations. Many newbs have came through, announced their games, gave up, and begged people to make it for them. This approach is not advisable, and will probably get you made fun of. If you decide not to heed this advice, please at least check out this guide before you post your idea.

nah, i never give out my ideas... only to one person (which whom i've been coding vb6 with for a couple of years - and will HOPEFULLY join us here soon).

[RedBeard]

Ruffsta, over at Atari-Archives-Dot-Org there are many books about assembly language/machine language programming. I'm in the middle of one or two right now, still trying to figure out how and gather all the tools and such right now. I am also looking at the batariBASIC option here, too. So far I only see two 'how to' articles about it, but it looks promising...

><> RedBeard