Atari 2600 rpg project on going :)
Paul Allen Panks
The Atari 2600 Rpg Project is in its 5th month. We have made significant
strides during that time, and continue to do so.
We are currently finishing up the loose ends on the dialogue, storyboard,
maps,etc and are working on negotiations to distribute the game when it
is completed.
We are also continuing our efforts to locate a programmer to put what
we've done on disk and paper to cartridge. This is not an easy task, and
requires the services of a programmer who is familiar with the Atari 2600.
If anyone would like to assist in that area, please contact us any of the
e-mail addresses below:
Erik Ames <ea...@csinet.net> - Art/Illustrations Coordinator
William Cassidy <kcas...@zoomnet.net> > - Game Idea/Story Developer
Clint Dyer <APD...@prodigy.com> - Game Idea/Story Developer
Nathan Page <nm...@hermes.cam.ac.uk> - Program/Logic Support
Paul Panks <p...@dana.ucc.nau.edu> - Game Idea/Story Developer
Scottie Prince <ham...@magicnet.net> - Music/Sound Coordinator
Ryan Wilhlm <wilh...@maroon.tc.umn.edu> - Program/Logic Support
Thank you.
Regards,
Paul Allen Panks
--
--
"Chickens may lay eggs, but roosters wake you up in the morning. Nobody
pays them to do that. I do less work than that and I get paid. And I
don't like eggs anyhow. Ooh! Bacon!"
Homer Simpson, on subsidizing small-town agriculture.
Paul Allen Panks
Jerry Jessop
p...@dana.ucc.nau.edu (Paul Allen Panks) wrote:
Paul,
Please do not take this as a flame!
I am concerned that so much effort has been going into a game layout
when you have nobody that knows how to program a 2600 on your team.
Knowing the limits, and tricks of the 2600 is key to any game
development. Drawing out room maps without knowing the intimate
details of "playfield" registers or "reflected playfield" techniques
seems like putting the cart somewhat before the horse.
And yes, if I considered myself a 2600 programmer I would help, but
alas I am not. But, I do know the hardware :)
Jerry
>The Atari 2600 Rpg Project is in its 5th month. We have made significant
>strides during that time, and continue to do so.
>
>We are currently finishing up the loose ends on the dialogue, storyboard,
>maps,etc and are working on negotiations to distribute the game when it
>is completed.
>
>We are also continuing our efforts to locate a programmer to put what
>we've done on disk and paper to cartridge. This is not an easy task, and
>requires the services of a programmer who is familiar with the Atari 2600.
>
>If anyone would like to assist in that area, please contact us any of the
>e-mail addresses below:
>
>Erik Ames <ea...@csinet.net> - Art/Illustrations Coordinator
>William Cassidy <kcas...@zoomnet.net> > - Game Idea/Story Developer
>Clint Dyer <APD...@prodigy.com> - Game Idea/Story Developer
>Nathan Page <nm...@hermes.cam.ac.uk> - Program/Logic Support
>Paul Panks <p...@dana.ucc.nau.edu> - Game Idea/Story Developer
>Scottie Prince <ham...@magicnet.net> - Music/Sound Coordinator
>Ryan Wilhlm <wilh...@maroon.tc.umn.edu> - Program/Logic Support
>
>Thank you.
>
>Regards,
>
>Paul Allen Panks
>
>
>
>
Jim Nitchals
Jerry Jessop <jje...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
>Knowing the limits, and tricks of the 2600 is key to any game
>development. Drawing out room maps without knowing the intimate
>details of "playfield" registers or "reflected playfield" techniques
>seems like putting the cart somewhat before the horse.
It's also a matter of knowing how many of those techniques can be
rolled into a single section of a game. One could put a megabyte
of shared SRAM and a RISC CPU on a cart and still not be able to
deliver certain kinds of images, even though certain components are
available individually. The Suicide Mission (Starpath game) style
of graphics pushes the machine to the limit, and there are no cycles
left over to utilize the playfield in any way, for example.
The Supercharger CD includes tools and example source code that will
allow anyone with ambition and basic 6502 programming skills the
ability to make a 2600 RPG. We're hoping that will happen soon.
--
Jim Nitchals <ji...@netcom.com>
Please cc: me personally on any public Usenet replies. Netcom's news
services have been unreliable lately.
Paul Allen Panks
Jim Nitchals (ji...@netcom.com) wrote:
: Jerry Jessop <jje...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
: >
: >Knowing the limits, and tricks of the 2600 is key to any game
: >development. Drawing out room maps without knowing the intimate
: >details of "playfield" registers or "reflected playfield" techniques
: >seems like putting the cart somewhat before the horse.
: ^^^^ (emphasis for the humor-impaired)
: It's also a matter of knowing how many of those techniques can be
: rolled into a single section of a game. One could put a megabyte
: of shared SRAM and a RISC CPU on a cart and still not be able to
: deliver certain kinds of images, even though certain components are
: available individually. The Suicide Mission (Starpath game) style
: of graphics pushes the machine to the limit, and there are no cycles
: left over to utilize the playfield in any way, for example.
: The Supercharger CD includes tools and example source code that will
: allow anyone with ambition and basic 6502 programming skills the
: ability to make a 2600 RPG. We're hoping that will happen soon.
I am confident it will, Jim. Very soon. ;)
Regards,
Paul Allen Panks
: --
: Jim Nitchals <ji...@netcom.com>
: Please cc: me personally on any public Usenet replies. Netcom's news
: services have been unreliable lately.
Bruce Tomlin
Jerry Jessop (jje...@ix.netcom.com) wrote in rec.games.video.classic:
>I am concerned that so much effort has been going into a game layout
>when you have nobody that knows how to program a 2600 on your team.
>Knowing the limits, and tricks of the 2600 is key to any game
>development. Drawing out room maps without knowing the intimate
>details of "playfield" registers or "reflected playfield" techniques
>seems like putting the cart somewhat before the horse.
Ditto.
>And yes, if I considered myself a 2600 programmer I would help, but
>alas I am not. But, I do know the hardware :)
I am, but I have to eat. BTW, IMHO it would be a much better idea to do
this as a ColecoVision game.
Bruce Tomlin
...and it's nowhere near as difficult to program, and you can actually
use most of the 16K VRAM as data storage for your program.
>graphics chip (used in the TI994 also) is very well documented unlike
>the Atari TIA. I can't wait to see the Supercharger development tools
The TIA is well documented. It's just the tricks that aren't documented.
Anyhow, I sure would like to know where I can find some 9918 documentation
without having to order it direct from TI (if they even still have it) or
anything like that. Does someone have a phile on it? I sure could use
it to help me disassemble the ROM, and the FrobCo docs only have the
sound chip data sheets.
Chris Cracknell
>The Supercharger CD includes tools and example source code that will
>allow anyone with ambition and basic 6502 programming skills the
>ability to make a 2600 RPG. We're hoping that will happen soon.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
You're hoping!
I'm bugging my mailman every day for the past month. I think he's going to
snap soon (which can be very dangerous since they are usually so well armed).
"Mail's here..."
CRACKERS MAILMAN
"Hey man, where's my Supercharger CD? "'Where's my Supercharger CD?' I've
Where's my Supercharger CD? been listening to the same thing
Where's my Supercharger CD? day after freaking day. 'Where's
Where's my Supercharger CD? my Supercharger CD?' 'Where's my
Where's my Supercharger CD? Supercharger CD?' 'Where's my
Where's my Supercharger CD? Supercharger CD?' Look I don't
Where's my Supercharger CD? send the mail. I just deliver it.
Where's my Supercharger CD? I don't know where your
Where's my Supercharger CD? Supercharger CD is. I don't even
Where's my Supercharger CD? know what the hell a Supercharger
Where's my Supercharger CD? CD is, and to be frank with you
Where's my Supercharger CD? I really don't give a freaking
Where's my Supercharger CD? rat's ass what a Supercharger CD
Where's my Supercharger CD? is and I hope that when you do
Where's my Supercharger CD? get it you choke on it. Now piss
Where's my Supercharger CD?" off! It'll come when it comes."
CRACKERS
(Still piddling my pants with anticipation from hell!!)
--
http://www.freenet.hamilton.on.ca/~ad329/Profile.html
-=<Atari 2600 Collector and Wethifl Musician>=-
Jerry Jessop
bto...@crl.com (Bruce Tomlin) wrote:
>Jerry Jessop (jje...@ix.netcom.com) wrote in rec.games.video.classic:
>>I am concerned that so much effort has been going into a game layout
>>when you have nobody that knows how to program a 2600 on your team.
>
>>Knowing the limits, and tricks of the 2600 is key to any game
>>development. Drawing out room maps without knowing the intimate
>>details of "playfield" registers or "reflected playfield" techniques
>>seems like putting the cart somewhat before the horse.
>
>Ditto.
>
>>And yes, if I considered myself a 2600 programmer I would help, but
>>alas I am not. But, I do know the hardware :)
>
>I am, but I have to eat. BTW, IMHO it would be a much better idea to do
>this as a ColecoVision game.
I agree!
Doing an RPG on the 2600 is going to be extremely difficult, but
hey....doing anything on it short of a ball and paddle is tough.
The Coleco certainly has lot's more horsepower, and the TMS99018
graphics chip (used in the TI994 also) is very well documented unlike
the Atari TIA. I can't wait to see the Supercharger development tools
:)
Jerry
Robert Merritt
This spork scribble is by jje...@ix.netcom.com (Jerry Jessop)
>bto...@crl.com (Bruce Tomlin) wrote:
>I agree!
>Jerry
What kind of RPG are you guys talking about? Are you just doing this just
to see if it could be done? Doesn't Dragonstomper count?
Rob M email: rob...@jagunet.com
Game Reviews @ http://www.jagunet.com/~robertm
"If you think there is a solution, you're part of the problem"- GC
Paul Allen Panks
Dear r.g.vc.:
I would like to make a short but sweet statement on the 2600 rpg project.
;) I originally thought of the idea not just because it sounded cool,
but because I felt there was a need for an up to date role playing game
for the 2600.
I believed and still do today that it is a worthwhile project and the
benefits will ultimately outweigh any difficulties confronted.
We are blessed to have 7 wonderfully determined, and able-minded
individuals who just like myself would like nothing better than to see
the project through to its completion, and its release to the public.
We are all giving 110% and firmly believe we can accomplish our goal(s).
I am glad to hear from the many people who have either responded to the
posts I've written or e-mailed any of us on the 2600 rpg design team. We
appreciate and look forward to your comments,suggestions,etc.
Thank you for your time. ;)
Regards,
Paul Allen Panks
Story/Game Idea DEveloper
2600 Rpg Project
Bruce Tomlin
(bto...@crl.com) wrote:
: Jerry Jessop (jje...@ix.netcom.com) wrote in rec.games.video.classic:
: >The Coleco certainly has lot's more horsepower, and the TMS99018
: ...and it's nowhere near as difficult to program, and you can actually
: use most of the 16K VRAM as data storage for your program.
: >graphics chip (used in the TI994 also) is very well documented unlike
: >the Atari TIA. I can't wait to see the Supercharger development tools
: The TIA is well documented. It's just the tricks that aren't documented.
: Anyhow, I sure would like to know where I can find some 9918 documentation
: without having to order it direct from TI (if they even still have it) or
: anything like that. Does someone have a phile on it? I sure could use
: it to help me disassemble the ROM, and the FrobCo docs only have the
: sound chip data sheets.
--
John Vivian Matthews
Thus Spake Chris Cracknell (ad...@james.freenet.hamilton.on.ca):
: "Mail's here..."
:
: CRACKERS MAILMAN
: "Hey man, where's my Supercharger CD? "'Where's my Supercharger CD?' I've
: Where's my Supercharger CD? been listening to the same thing
LISA BART
"Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
"Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
"Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
"Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
"Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
"Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
"Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
Ooops. Wrong group. :^)
matt
===========================================================================
||| John V. Matthews, III | PO Box 50355
||| NCSU Mathematics Graduate Student | Raleigh, NC 27650
/ | \ http://www4.ncsu.edu/~jvmatthe/www/ | (919) 515 7324
===========================================================================
Timothy A. Seufert
In article <4u48un$c...@ruby.ucc.nau.edu>, p...@dana.ucc.nau.edu (Paul Allen
Panks) wrote:
>Dear r.g.vc.:
>
>I would like to make a short but sweet statement on the 2600 rpg project.
>;) I originally thought of the idea not just because it sounded cool,
>but because I felt there was a need for an up to date role playing game
>for the 2600.
>
>I believed and still do today that it is a worthwhile project and the
>benefits will ultimately outweigh any difficulties confronted.
>
>We are blessed to have 7 wonderfully determined, and able-minded
>individuals who just like myself would like nothing better than to see
>the project through to its completion, and its release to the public.
>We are all giving 110% and firmly believe we can accomplish our goal(s).
Great, great, you got vision. Nobody doubts that. Trouble is, fitting an
RPG into a 2600 requires that you have experienced 2600 programmers
advising the designers *from the start* on what they should and shouldn't
be trying to do, because the 2600 is such a primitive and hard to program
system. Getting too ambitious could result in the RPG not being even
remotely possible. 7 content people and no actual programmers is a mix
headed for disaster, meaning that when you do sign on a coder or two you
might have to scrap most or all of the work you've done.
In fact, given what I've seen in the information available about
programming the 2600, it may almost be necessary to be a programmer if you
want to draw art for the thing, so you don't draw images impossible for
the 2600 to display. A game system which uses 50% of its CPU performing
the task that video DMA does in a modern design is sharply limited in what
it can display and compute.
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
|Tim Seufert, bwa...@cats.ucsc.edu | UselessWastedSpace(tm) |
| "I never give them hell. I just tell the truth, and they |
| think it is hell." -Harry S Truman |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Nick S Bensema
In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.960806...@ns1.ptd.net>,
Mr. Maddog <mrma...@prolog.net> wrote:
>On 6 Aug 1996, John Vivian Matthews wrote:
>
>> Thus Spake Chris Cracknell (ad...@james.freenet.hamilton.on.ca):
>> : "Mail's here..."
>> :
>> : CRACKERS MAILMAN
>> : "Hey man, where's my Supercharger CD? "'Where's my Supercharger CD?' I've
>> : Where's my Supercharger CD? been listening to the same thing
>> [Snip, et al]
>>
>> LISA BART
>> "Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
>> "Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
>
>carrier for his spy camera. I'll set it up like this...
That was the original intent Crackers intended above.
and you screwed up the joke too. "Look, it's the femailman!" "Femail
_carrier_, Bart!" I have a good mind to report you to the alt.tv.simpsons
nitpick police... (unless I've been trolled) But that joke is hard to
spell write. And it was the Mr. Microphone, remember, not the spy camera.
The spy camera was a gift from Homer which he hated until he found out how
it worked.
--
N i c k B e n s e m a < n i c k b @ p r i m e n e t . c o m > ,-._|\
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ / \
Oscar Nominee for Best Actor Not Appearing in a Film. Phoenix-->*_,--._/
98-KUPD Red Card Holder #710563 WedSpc License #71.0563 v
Mr. Maddog
On 6 Aug 1996, John Vivian Matthews wrote:
> Thus Spake Chris Cracknell (ad...@james.freenet.hamilton.on.ca):
> : "Mail's here..."
> :
> : CRACKERS MAILMAN
> : "Hey man, where's my Supercharger CD? "'Where's my Supercharger CD?' I've
> : Where's my Supercharger CD? been listening to the same thing
> [Snip, et al]
>
> LISA BART
> "Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
> "Can we have a pool, Dad?" "Can we have a pool, Dad?"
It's more like the scene where Bart spent weeks pestering the mail
carrier for his spy camera. I'll set it up like this...
Bart: I hear the mail carrier
Lisa: Bart, she's a 'female' carrier
[Opens door]
Bart: Where's my spy camera, where's my spy camera, where's my.... (etc.)
[For weeks she keeps hearing about that spy camera..]
Carrier: HERE! Here's your stupid spy camera!
How 'bout it Crackers, making the old postal worker a bit disguntled? :)
Eric Noss
a.k.a
Mr. Maddog
Kevin Horton
[Warning! Long drawn-out technical stuff about programming and the
2600's internals follows!]
Jim Nitchals (ji...@netcom.com) wrote:
-> Jerry Jessop <jje...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
-> >
-> >Knowing the limits, and tricks of the 2600 is key to any game
-> >development. Drawing out room maps without knowing the intimate
-> >details of "playfield" registers or "reflected playfield" techniques
-> >seems like putting the cart somewhat before the horse.
-> ^^^^ (emphasis for the humor-impaired)
-> It's also a matter of knowing how many of those techniques can be
-> rolled into a single section of a game. One could put a megabyte
I couldn't have said it better myself. If you don't use the strengths
of your particular machine (2600 in this case) to an advantage, your game
will never fly. No way in hell (tho, windows 95 is trying it's hardest
(dons flameproof suit)). I learned this out the hard way. I designed up
tons of graphics for some Coleco games, only to find out that I couldn't
use any of 'em because the Coleco can only display 2 colours per character!
Not only that, but the total lack of scrolling ability killed most of the
other game ideas I had in mind. However, I *have* found a way to do
'faux' scrolling. It *can* be done, but I have to work with the machine
very closely otherwise it won't work and I'll have lots of problems such as
a jerky/chunky scroll, or the colours will be all wrong between characters
(the downside to this particular trick). Consequently, I have to design the
level so that these little quirks never show themselves. A good example is
Grog's Revenge. If you notice on Grog's Revenge, there are never two over-
lapping sections with 2 diffrent colours. This it to account for the faux-
scroll, since each character can have two diffrent colours from 2 diffrent
characters (mid-scroll).
-> of shared SRAM and a RISC CPU on a cart and still not be able to
-> deliver certain kinds of images, even though certain components are
-> available individually. The Suicide Mission (Starpath game) style
-> of graphics pushes the machine to the limit, and there are no cycles
-> left over to utilize the playfield in any way, for example.
Yep. Also doesn't the Supercharger hold some of the memory in some form
of a circular fifo-type structure? I ask, because I could see something
like that really helping to streamline the memory to screen transfer, which
would result in much more time to do better graphics/gameplay.
Not only do the graphics have their many quirks, but the audio has them
as well. For instance, you'll have a very difficult time writing any
music for the 2600, at least 'conventional' (diatonic) music. The reason is
the 2600's tone generators only have like a max. of 7 bits of resolution.
(5 bits of resolution plus a few more from the 'type' register) The Coleco's
got a similar sound generation setup, tho I had the luxury of 12 bits worth
of division. Still, I had a nasty time trying to input the tunes- and have
them sound half-ways decent. The problems I had were with the resolution.
In particular with rounding. If the proper value for middle 'C' is
3095.65, setting it to 3096 ot 3095 may not be good enough. An excellant
example of trying to 'shoehorn' music into the 2600 is in the cart
Journey Escape. Good music *can* be had on the 2600, it's just a matter
of making it. To do so you need to compose the music with what the 2600
has to offer. Bobby is Going Home had some right decent music for the
2600. Of coz Pitfall ][ doesn't count, because it has a special chip to
do the sound generation.
I *highly* recommend against doing something as complex as this project
seems to be on the 2600. It'll be impossible to shoehorn it all into a
little cart (bankswitched or no). Not only that, but the primative
video and sound hardware will be very, very difficult to work around.
(Don't get me wrong- the 2600 can do some amazing stuff, but it can't
do everything it's being asked of in this case. I'd love to be proved
wrong, tho) And to add one more thing- how is all this game supposed to
fit into a cart? Your memory space is 4K. You *can* bankswitch, but
this will add $$$ to the cost of your carts. Guess you could Supercharge
it. ;-)
I'm not trying to throw a wrench into the 2600 RPG by any stretch of
the imagination, but doing all the design work ahead of time is suicidal,
to say the least (for the 2600 at least). Been there, done that, bought
the T-shirt. I'm just trying to put programming the 2600 into perspective.
It's *not* pretty to code for, lemmetellya! If I were you, I'd go to the
5200 or Coleco. :-) But that's just me.
[dons flame-proof suit]
BTW, I will help in any way I can from a hardware/tech point of view. The
only thing is I need to talk with the programmer and figure out the vitals;
i.e. how much memory is needed, and how exactly to cram it all into the
4K address space.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| \_ \_ \_\_\_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ B5(6) t w g+ s-- r- |
| \_\_ \_\_ \_\_ \_ \_\_\_ &h48,&h65,&h6C,&h6C,&h6F,&h21 |
| \_ \_ \_\_\_ \_ \_ \_ \_ __ kho...@tech.iupui.edu __ |
| "It's 5:50 AM. Do you know \/__Can *YOU* write 8085__\/ |
| where your stack pointer is?" \/ assembly? \/ |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
John Vivian Matthews
WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
OFF TOPIC POST!
Thus Spake Nick S Bensema (ni...@Primenet.Com):
: And it was the Mr. Microphone, remember, not the spy camera.
: The spy camera was a gift from Homer which he hated until he found out how
: it worked.
Bzzzzt! Sorry. The microphone was the Bday gift was the microphone where
he fakes the boy down the well.
Larry Scott Ii
: example of trying to 'shoehorn' music into the 2600 is in the cart
: Journey Escape. Good music *can* be had on the 2600, it's just a matter
: of making it. To do so you need to compose the music with what the 2600
: has to offer. Bobby is Going Home had some right decent music for the
I still think the Mountain King "crown" music is the best non-enhanced
2600 music.. Not a real long tune at all, but they got the "bass" line in
harmony with the "lead" just right... I think the 2600 version sounds
better than both the 8-bit and Coleco ones...
: the T-shirt. I'm just trying to put programming the 2600 into perspective.
: It's *not* pretty to code for, lemmetellya! If I were you, I'd go to the
: 5200 or Coleco. :-) But that's just me.
The Coleco would be perfect for an Ultima-style RPG.. The map could
scroll 2 characters at a time (2x2 tiles) and the Coleco features color
high-resolution graphics for good tile design.. Damn... if I could code
assembly I might try to port Ultima III to the Coleco... except for that
32k limit .. forgot about that..
Kevin Horton
Bruce Tomlin (bto...@crl.com) wrote:
-> Jerry Jessop (jje...@ix.netcom.com) wrote in rec.games.video.classic:
-> >The Coleco certainly has lot's more horsepower, and the TMS99018
-> ...and it's nowhere near as difficult to program, and you can actually
-> use most of the 16K VRAM as data storage for your program.
Ugh! Such a nasty (and slow) way to get extra RAM. This is the reason
why the TI 99/4a 's BASIC is so sllloooowwww. It used the video RAM for
program storage/execution.
Also, with many of the routines, accessing video RAM can be very counter-
productive, since you have to remember and re-set the video RAM pointer,
which eats up even more valuable time.
-> >graphics chip (used in the TI994 also) is very well documented unlike
-> >the Atari TIA. I can't wait to see the Supercharger development tools
The 9918/9928 *used* to be well documented. TI no longer has any more
databooks in stock about the '18 or '28, unfortunately, which sucks.
Yamaha does have plenty of info on the '38, however, which is an enhanced
version of the '18/'28. The diff. between the '18 and '28 is the '18 puts
out composite video, while the '28 puts out RGB. AFAIK, they are the same
otherwise.
-> The TIA is well documented. It's just the tricks that aren't documented.
-> Anyhow, I sure would like to know where I can find some 9918 documentation
-> without having to order it direct from TI (if they even still have it) or
See above.
-> anything like that. Does someone have a phile on it? I sure could use
-> it to help me disassemble the ROM, and the FrobCo docs only have the
-> sound chip data sheets.
Yeah, I was very dissapointed with the Frobco 'docs' on the video chip.
Here's what it says about it: 'NOTE: For a detailed technical programming
description of the 9928, refer to documentation created for thr chip by
Texas Instruments.'
Then they go on for two pages with some 'examples'. Said examples don't
document the video in any way shape or form. Other than that, the
Frobco manual is pretty well-rounded.
[on figuring out video]
I figured it out thru reverse-engineering the BIOS routines. (specifically
the one that shows the blue 'players/skill' screen) However, I did find
a great file on the web that tells all about it. Search for info on
the 'MSX port descriptions' or something along those lines. As a side
benefit, you not only get info on the 9928 (that's in the coleco) but also
on the 9938 and 9948 (I believe, can't remember). The '38 is in the
NES. It has a full register description and stuff.
Bruce Tomlin
Kevin Horton (kho...@tech.iupui.edu) wrote in rec.games.video.classic:
>Ugh! Such a nasty (and slow) way to get extra RAM. This is the reason
>why the TI 99/4a 's BASIC is so sllloooowwww. It used the video RAM for
>program storage/execution.
Sure, but most of the time (in other words, when you're NOT being an idiot
like TI was by interpreting a program that is stored in VRAM), you can
treat it as a sort of fast secondary storage.
>a great file on the web that tells all about it. Search for info on
>the 'MSX port descriptions' or something along those lines. As a side
Thanks.
>The '38 is in the NES.
!!!
I didn't realize this! I thought N designed some sort of custom graphics
chip, but I should have known better. (Aside from the 2600, where I
thought Atari had designed the TIA chip specifically to make a home game
machine, *every* pre-crash game system used a pre-existing graphics chip,
sometimes with the whole design right off the chipmaker's data sheets.) On
the other hand, it does explain why the NES seems so much like an enhanced
ColecoVision.
Mark Rathwell
: I still think the Mountain King "crown" music is the best non-enhanced
: 2600 music.. Not a real long tune at all, but they got the "bass" line in
: harmony with the "lead" just right... I think the 2600 version sounds
: better than both the 8-bit and Coleco ones...
Another good 2600 game for music is California Games. The music
and the graphics in that cart really impressed me.
>> Mark <<
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Mark Rathwell
---------------------------
The University Of Guelph
mrat...@uoguelph.ca or av...@Freenet.Carleton.CA
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For everything you ever wanted to know about the "Incredible Hulk"
television series, check out the Incredible Hulk TV show FAQ at:
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Kirk Israel
Mark Rathwell (mrat...@uoguelph.ca) wrote:
: : I still think the Mountain King "crown" music is the best non-enhanced
: : 2600 music.. Not a real long tune at all, but they got the "bass" line in
: : harmony with the "lead" just right... I think the 2600 version sounds
: : better than both the 8-bit and Coleco ones...
: Another good 2600 game for music is California Games. The music
: and the graphics in that cart really impressed me.
Gyruss. Souped up elctro Tocatta & Fugue. And comes with a great game
as well...
--
_____
-O\O Kirk Is Romance dead? Nah. Visit the BLENDER OF LOVE
( = ) kis...@tufts.edu http://www.cs.tufts.edu/~kisrael/bol
"The desires of the heart are as crooked as corkscrews." --Auden