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View Full Version : Combat Atari 2600 Getting a Facelift



Rain
08-14-2011, 01:59 PM
To mark the 34th birthday of the Atari 2600 video cartridge, I have decided to remake this classic game for the PC. During the game design I have tried to maintain the accuracy of the original Atari game, while adding a few new features. There is nothing set in stone as to what I might be adding in to the game but a few ideals are in the works currently.

I had two free hours this morning in between work, so I went a head and laid out the beta version of the engine to see how it is going to look/work. I have made this beta engine available to the public for download at:


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q9C1MDH8

I have decided during the creation to use the original Atari NTSC screen resolution, and keep the game without any particle effects or anything that you would not have seen in 1977. What's the use of remaking a classic if your just going to turn it into another washed out, 3D, HD mess? At the moment I have yet to include a scoring system in the game, nor is there any AI implemented as of yet.

The main goal of this game is to try to get people amped about older games, to see how much better they are than regular games. I have been an avid gamer for most of my life, and own dozens, and dozens of systems and I recently bought my daughters a X-Box 360, a Wii and they also have a PS3. While I was playing a few of the games I was thinking to myself how dumb these games are (at least in my opinion) whatever happened to the days when as children we had to use our imagination to play a game, what the hell ever happened to the scoring system?

Out of these three major systems that we own, and our 338 game library there is pretty much only one that I find mildly interesting, and that one is for the Wii. So, my projects at recreating the classics is an attempt to bring younger kids back to the basics, to use their brain (rather than rot it out playing games that while hard, do not challenge you intellectually), to enjoy an experience with their friends, their brothers & sisters as well as their mother and father.)

The completed project will have approx. 13 playable maps, each with a variety of features and functions. All of the original Atari content and features will be included in the final version. Planned release date for the final version hopefully will be two months from now (as long as my assistant programmers don't bail out on me again!)

So feel free to download my engine and give it a test drive, and give me all of your feedback on it (good, or bad.) Compare it to the original version and let me know what you think about the physics and underlying system. I look forward to reading each and every report on the game as it progresses.

The Controls


Arrow Keys (Move Forward 8 Way Direction)
Z (Fire Weapon)



http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q9C1MDH8 (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q9C1MDH8)

Fiasco
08-14-2011, 07:45 PM
Runs pretty well and looks a lot like the original, good work. Will you be adding the ricochet mode where rounds bounce off the walls?

Rain
08-14-2011, 08:27 PM
Oh yeah, that's going in for sure! Today I just wanted to program the basic framework for Player 01, and actually making the bullet user controlled like in the original game took up a big chunk of my time! It's gonna be 70's glory lol!

Rain
08-16-2011, 09:56 PM
Okay, so I am currently beta testing the ricochet mode as suggest by my friend above. I am really trying to maintain the original games beauty and ease of use while adding on some more advanced features. The bullet uses a simple physics set that I wrote this afternoon. I also added a second player to the game as well (no AI just yet, it's human controlled.) I am thinking of adding a "virtual lan pary mode" to the game as well that will allow for up to eight tanks in a broad range of maps.

I did rewrite the entire control system, and I think this system remains more true to the original Combat design. Below is a list of the controls for the game (keep in mind that this is beta, and the controls were not set up for ease of use atm.)

Updated Controls

Player 1

Up Arrow- Move Forward
Left Arrow - Turn Tank Left
Right Arrow - Turn Tank Right
Z Button - Shoot Cannon

Player 2

W Button - Move Forward
A Button - Turn Tank Left
D Button - Turn Tank Right
C Button - Shoot Cannon


I uploaded the file here:


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SSFO9ZSB

Feel free to play and let me know what you think of it thus far, also keep in mind I am still in engine development at this time. Thanks guys!

Fiasco
08-17-2011, 06:35 AM
Megaupload says the file is unavailable.

Rain
08-17-2011, 07:18 AM
Sorry about that, I am in the process of compiling a new build. I will upload it as soon as it is completed :D

Rain
08-17-2011, 09:09 AM
Okay, I have finally compiled another version of my remake of Combat. This one brings forth several new features which I am very happy about, including joytick support & scoring!

On top of everything else I have added a few new physical parameters to the applicaion. Some of the features that I have included are new shooting physics (i.e. which way the ball bounces off of a wall) and dynamic sprite coloring.

I am really trying hard to preserve this game and make it as close to the original Atari version as possible, if you have any questions/comments about the game, or just general suggestions please feel free to contact me so that I can try to include them in on future builds.

Below is an updated controller list:

IMPORTANT: New Control System

General Controls:
Press [Space] to start a new game

Player 1:
Press [1] to activate/deactivate joystick
Left Arrow - Turns Left
Right Arrow - Turns Right
Up Arrow - Moves Tank
Z Button - Fires Cannon

Player 1 Joystick Controls:
Left POV - Turns Left
Right POV - Turns Right
Up POV - Moves Tank
Button [1] - Fires Cannon



Player 2:
Press [2] to activate/deactivate joystick
A Button - Turns Left
D Button - Turns Right
W Button - Moves Tank
Z Button - Fires Cannon

Player 2 Joystick Controls:
Left POV - Turns Left
Right POV - Turns Right
Up POV - Moves Tank
Button [1] - Fires Cannon


I have switched over to MediaFire to host my future releases of this and all other games currently under developement. If you would like to test drive the new build please feel free to download it at the address below.

Download Location:

http://www.mediafire.com/?iht2a5iimecx7g7

Fiasco
08-17-2011, 11:38 AM
It's coming along nicely, I did notice a few small glitches but being that it's an early build I am sure you are aware of them. Can't wait to see the next build.

Rain
08-17-2011, 11:48 AM
It's coming along nicely, I did notice a few small glitches but being that it's an early build I am sure you are aware of them. Can't wait to see the next build.

Any glitches that you find I'd be happy to take a report on them. Here are the two that I have found thus far.

1.) Sometimes when shot you appear up by the scoreboard. :S

2.) Sometimes when bumping a wall you go bat-shit crazy.

If your's are any other than these please jot them down here so I can properly address them in my next build. Thanks :D

Fiasco
08-17-2011, 12:12 PM
Those were two of the ones I noticed, also noticed sometimes when shot your tank tends to move in a direction all by itself.

Rain
08-17-2011, 01:31 PM
Yeah I found the bug in the code for that error, and it will be corrected on the next build of the game. Thanks :D

Fiasco
08-17-2011, 01:41 PM
Also noticed, if you start a new match and drive straight forward into the wall you tend to get stuck on the wall. Might be part of the other glitches.

Rain
08-17-2011, 01:47 PM
Also noticed, if you start a new match and drive straight forward into the wall you tend to get stuck on the wall. Might be part of the other glitches.

It was :D

Fiasco
08-25-2011, 09:53 AM
Any new development?

Rain
08-25-2011, 04:38 PM
Any new development?

Actually, yes! You can download a new version of the game by clicking the link below. This is the official project page of the game. The current version is RC 1a.


http://sandbox.yoyogames.com/games/183796-berzerk-engine

Thanks for asking, hope it plays well for you!

Fiasco
08-25-2011, 05:21 PM
Site appears to be down, I'll try again later.

Fiasco
08-25-2011, 05:24 PM
Actually, that link goes to the berzerk game, not combat.

Rain
08-25-2011, 08:18 PM
Yeah, sorry about that. You will still be able to find the Combat game on that page to in other games by this member. I do not get on this site much anymore, as with the anticipated release of GameMaker HTML5 I am pretty wrapped up in those forums atm.

Thanks for playing!

Fiasco
08-25-2011, 09:43 PM
Sorry, I did find Combat on that page, however, it's not an executable file. Do I need to compile somehow in order to play the latest version?

Rain
08-25-2011, 10:40 PM
Check this one out.

http://sandbox.yoyogames.com/games/184096-combat-atari-2600-inspired

Fiasco
08-25-2011, 10:52 PM
That one works, not sure what the changes are from the last version I played but I did notice a few slight bugs that may have been addressed already.

#1 when driving into a wall your tank seems to go crazy and bounce off the wall in a random direction (it has been YEARS since I played the original, not sure if this was the way it was back then.)

#2 There were a couple of times when firing a "ricochet" that the "bullet" went right through the back half of the enemy tank without registering a hit.

Can't wait for online play. Kepp up the good work. Glad someone cares about the old games.