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Atari 2600 BASIC Programming (2015)

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Re: Atari 2600 BASIC Programming (2015)

#11

Post by tombert »

kgwxd wrote: post #7
tombert wrote: post #4

I will be honest and admit that I don’t find most Atari 2600 games to actually be fun; there’s a few gems like Warlords and and Pitfall and Pitfall 2, but I don’t think that home console games started getting really good until the Colecovision. That said, I am perpetually amazed at what some people have been able to pull off on such a weak device. 120 bytes is nothing for memory compared to anything I have written on…

You should check out what the homebrew scene has made. I bought an old system, and garbage picked a CRT, just to play them. Started with Medieval Mayhem, a Warlords remake closer to the arcade version. Then I went on a years long obsession. Champ Games makes great stuff and has taken over distribution of some games AtariAge doesn't do since "Atari" bought them.

Oh I have. I find the homebrew and demo scene for the Atari to be extremely impressive.

I don’t think it works on real hardware but I’m quite partial to Bad Apple : https://youtu.be/Ko9ZA50X71s?si=Ds7WuMgPHeubBNNz

Re: Atari 2600 BASIC Programming (2015)

#12

Post by boutell »

rented_mule wrote: post #6

As a kid, I had the hardest time understanding what a computer was. At 9 years old in 1977, I had a friend whose dad was a computer programmer. The friend tried to explain to me what a computer was, but I just couldn't understand it. We even took a field trip to a National Weather Service office where they talked a lot about their computers and showed us one that filled a room, but I still didn't understand. None of…

Wow! I'm so glad this actually did open the door from someone. I remember nerding out over how lame it was, but I was fortunate enough to have a TRS-80 Model III in my household. And I didn't fully grasp the hardware limitations then.

Someone really should DIY a real Atari "VCS," as in adequate bank switched RAM and something not unlike TRS-80 BASIC achieved without outlandish hardware for the time...

OMG! Someone pulled it off back in the day! I had no idea. So much for my retirement project idea:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompuMate

That's ok, I have a lot of years to go before I need one LOL

Re: Atari 2600 BASIC Programming (2015)

#14

Post by sedatk »

rented_mule wrote: post #6

As a kid, I had the hardest time understanding what a computer was. At 9 years old in 1977, I had a friend whose dad was a computer programmer. The friend tried to explain to me what a computer was, but I just couldn't understand it. We even took a field trip to a National Weather Service office where they talked a lot about their computers and showed us one that filled a room, but I still didn't understand. None of…

My story is similar. I loved playing video games and all, but after I wrote my first program, I became obsessed with computers. The infinite canvas for interactive human experience and problem solving felt out of this world.

Re: Atari 2600 BASIC Programming (2015)

#15

Post by throwaway94275 »

userbinator wrote: post #5
tombert wrote: post #4

I will be honest and admit that I don’t find most Atari 2600 games to actually be fun; there’s a few gems like Warlords and and Pitfall and Pitfall 2, but I don’t think that home console games started getting really good until the Colecovision. That said, I am perpetually amazed at what some people have been able to pull off on such a weak device. 120 bytes is nothing for memory compared to anything I have written on…

Looking at it another way, 128 bytes gives you 1024 bits of state, or roughly 2^1024 (10^308) distinct states, still far more than the number of observable atoms in the universe. 128 bytes may be a tiny amount, but the real skill is in finding how to represent the necessary states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_number and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Chess provide some interesting background reading.

Some games had an additional 128 or 256 bytes of RAM bult in. Mountain King being one of those I think.

Re: Atari 2600 BASIC Programming (2015)

#16

Post by kgwxd »

forinti wrote: post #9
kgwxd wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should check out what the homebrew scene has made. I bought an old system, and garbage picked a CRT, just to play them. Started with Medieval Mayhem, a Warlords remake closer to the arcade version. Then I went on a years long obsession. Champ Games makes great stuff and has taken over distribution of some games AtariAge doesn't do since "Atari" bought them.

Someone ported Thrust in 2002: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeQCIDCod8c It's quite a feat.

I have that one. Even got the foot pedal, I have no other use for it :) That dev is still petty active, he helped me with a few dev things in the AA forums. Him and a ton of other devs are active in the chat during episodes of ZeroPage Homebrew on Twitch. Nanochess is here on HN quite often too.
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