New Super Nintendo Version of Doom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0q3DRWTzMI

The 1993 PC game Doom is my favorite video game.

The 1995 Super Nintendo version of Doom was full of compromises. We had to remove levels to make it fit on a game cartridge. I briefly worked with Randy Linden, but it was so short and so long ago that I didn't remember exactly what I did. Randy credits me with editing levels and game testing, so one website lists me as a level designer—although that description is a bit generous. I mostly just deleted levels, but it was enough to get my name in the credits.

The Super Nintendo hardware wasn't really up to the strenuous task of running Doom, so the game had a low frame rate. Even so, it was a miracle that Randy Linden got as much performance out of the SNES hardware as he did.

I recently saw a YouTube video calling it a terrible version of Doom.

Now, Randy Linden and a company called Limited Run Games have created a new cartridge with some modern hardware to give the game a boost. It eliminates most of the original compromises, making the SNES version almost identical to the PC game.

ROC'N ROPE | Atari 2600 Game from Publisher Coleco

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-KjotKP8bF4

MR. DO | Atari 2600

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Hmg2Aq6yffs

@john2001plus

0 seconds ago
I love the arcade game.  

ALL ATARI ST GAMES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUHtpNFZV38

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
I wrote a videogame for the ST and the Timex Sinclair 2068 called Diamond Mike. The ST version was published by XLent Software in 1986. I saw it on store shelves. (There are videos of it on YouTube.) I am not aware of a downloadable version, but I have a physical copy. 

I am surprised at how good some of these games look. The original ST only had 16 colors from a palette of 512.

NES Games Were Written in Assembly

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kFjSxwijItU

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
I wrote games in Assembly for the SNES, Gameboy Color, Atari ST, and Timex Sinclair 2068.

Comparing Every Star Wars Arcade Game

12 Underrated Atari 7800 Games You Need

What Happened to Arcades?

Defender (Atari 800 | Atari 5200) - Chronologically Gaming

@john2001plus
1 day ago 
My experience watching the home versions of Defender might differ from actually playing them, but just watching the game makes me uncomfortable. First, the music is monotonous—especially since you die so frequently, you keep hearing the same repetitive sound over and over.

My second issue is with the apparent choppiness of the game and its lower resolution compared to the arcade version. Visually, it seems like a much worse experience, although it might still be fun to play. At least twice, it looked like you didn't get hit but died anyway—possibly due to the choppy animation.

I have to admit, it is a great arcade conversion.

From what I've read, the Williams arcade version didn't use hardware sprites to save on costs. As a result, the processor had to work overtime to animate the graphics. The arcade machine used two processors: one for graphics and the other for sound. I believe the scrolling was also handled in software.

The arcade version used a 320x256, 16-color display, which could require up to 41KB of screen data. Considering that a single 6809 processor was responsible for handling all the graphics, that's impressive—though still within the realm of possibility.

BTW, 16 color graphics use 4 bits per pixel. On the Atari ST, this involved 4 parallel bit planes, which was a nightmare to write graphics code for, which I did back in 1986.   However, if the video memory were arranged as two 4-bit pixels per byte, then that would be ideal.  It would be much easier to code for.  (I think I heard that the Apple II GS did this.) If it were me, I would only move objects in increments of two pixels horizontally, which makes the code much simpler, and the user is not likely to notice the difference.


@john2001plus
1 day ago 
I found another source that said that the Defender arcade had 38K of video RAM, two pixels per byte, and only a 1 Mhz 6809.  It lists the graphics resolution as 292x240, which is slightly less than what I posted above.  This may have been deliberate to allow for overscan, as the monitor is designed for 320x256.



@chronologicallygaming
7 hours ago
That's a great analysis of the differences between the arcade and home versions of Defender! I always felt like the home version was a good compromise. Thanks for the comment!


@john2001plus
7 hours ago 
 I agree it is a good compromise.  As I said,  watching and playing might be different, so I will attempt to play the home version through emulation.

I have the Arcade1up version of Defender.  Having to hit a button to reverse direction feels like too many buttons to deal with.

STRAWBERRY POWER BERRY DOUGHNUT | Pac-Man x Krispy Kreme

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tkZ2ZLbWx60

Who was the first video game boss? (And why do we call them that?)

The video points out that having a more powerful enemy at the end of a level started with a Dungeon Crawler in 1974.

Games That Go to the Screaming Limits of the ZX81

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlleaHntFRg

SALAMANDER (C64 - FULL GAME)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpisB-gGBZY

DO NOT BUY THE NINTENDO SWITCH 2

Magnetic Core Memory

512 byes of RAM costing $2,000:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mrBz9-9qgGw

One of the biggest limiting factors of early computers was the cost of RAM.  In the late 1970s, I remember seeing an advertisement for 64K of RAM costing $1,000.  Today, you can get 64 gigs of DDR4 for under $100.

This is why the Atari 2600 video game system released in 1977 only had 128 bytes of RAM.  

The first TRS-80 came with 4K.  The VIC-20 had 5K.

The Sinclair ZX-81 came with 1K.  Its American counterpart came with 2K.  Both were expandable to 16K.

The Nintendo Entertainment System, first released in Japan in 1983, had 4.25K RAM.

By late 1983, RAM had gotten cheaper, so we saw the Commodore 64 released with 64K, and the Timex Sinclair 2068 with 48K RAM.

The REAL TechDweeb

This is most likley an April fools joke, but maybe the real joke is that it is true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoyGBHJ17_E

Playing Video Games As You Get Older

Why The Hell Are We Already Talking About The Next Xbox?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91iJQN2bbuI

@john2001plus

0 seconds ago
The current console generation is way better than all my computers.

5 Must-See Super Mario Bros Clones!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCDpA2skIuk

Greatest Super Mario Bros Fan Game Ever?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4qW3M2Qobyk

Incredible Donkey Kong Arcade ROM Hacks!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8BnIa-W5Dlk

This Nintendo Switch Scam Is Bigger Than We Thought?

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
Nintendo needs to make a case with a clear window showing the cartridge. The checkout person might be required to check the game's presence.  Other companies need to follow suit.  

However, the industry wants to move to downloadable games only.

It seems like a large number of people have no qualms about theft.

How the Super Game Boy played and enhanced Game Boy games on the SNES

I'm impressed with the technical details, especially at 19:03.

I never worked with this hardware, but I did program for the SNES and Gameboy Color.

Why The Nintendo Super Game Boy Was Simply AMAZING!

WHAT!? You DON'T know about these 5 amazing PS1 games!? (Hidden Gems)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKS2on55Rh0

Some NES Games Have Converters Inside

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Pe1wioM2SSc

Megamania for Atari 2600 - Take an Activision TRIP without Leaving the SHIP!

The History of Donkey Kong

You've GOT to try KNULLI! (GUIDE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJQnhkNd9kU

New Quarter Arcade Review Elevator Action From Numskull

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejOjNN4bl4g

Anbernic RG34XX Review: Nostalgia Machine

https://youtu.be/ozuBkxXhK7g?si=zzuEFltoRkGlUfey

Casey's Gold for Atari 2600 | FIND the GOLD in the Latest from Audacity Games!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io1syzr5ynI

Atari 2600 Space Invaders | DOUBLE-SHOOTER & INSANE Multiplayer Options!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOwswYVaJzk

Ponpoko (Arcade)

Night Flight (Tomy Tutor)

Rougien (Arcade)

Saurus Land | Scramble (Tomy Tutor ぴゅう太)

@john2001plus
1 day ago (edited)
The Scramble appears to use 8-pixel horizontal scrolling.  

Roughly 40 years ago, I played a Scramble version on the Timex Sinclair 20680 computer. I remember it having smooth scrolling even though the hardware does not support scrolling, but I could be remembering it wrong.  It had a nice fireworks animation when you beat the game.

I read that Tomy Tudor does not have hardware scrolling.  If they move the entire screen in memory to scroll, that would be slow.   A more efficient but more difficult algorithm would be to update only the tiles that change, which would only be a fraction of the screen.  I notice that the star field doesn't move,  which makes me think that they are doing the more efficient method.  However, either way, memory copies can be expensive.  

I notice some artifacts where the trailing edge of the scenery will have duplicate characters for a fraction of a second.

Each 8 horizontal pixels can have only 2 colors, although that is better than some computers like the Spectrum which have 2 colors for every 8x8 tile.  This limitation would make it difficult to scroll by less than 8 pixels.  It can be done, but it limits the number of colors you can use.  The square blocks would have to be monochrome.

The system has an impressive 32 8x8 monochrome sprites but only 4 can be on the same line.  They might be using sprites for the stars, which would explain why the stars flicker.  The flickering stars might just be a feature.

Spider-Man (Atari 2600) - Chronologically Gaming

Let’s play some “Super Star Wars” for the SNES

>

@john2001plus
17 hours ago (edited)
Hey Thor,

Super Star Wars was developed by Sculptured Software in November 1992. I went to work for Sculptured Software in January 1993.  I saw the game during my interview process and occasionally worked under the lead programmer.

Before this, I was a database programmer, but I had tried to write games on my own in the mid-1980s.

I was a grunt programmer. I did tasks on many games that the main programmers didn't want to do, like working on menu screens, converting data into a usable format, and editing levels, as I did on the 1995 release of Doom for the SNES.

The Moby Games website has an incomplete listing of games I worked on.  On some games, I would do minor tasks and not end up in the credits.  I don't recall if I did anything for the sequel Star Wars games, but I was friends with people who worked on them.

Best wishes,

John Coffey

P.S.  I have the Aracde1up Star Wars game.  It was my favorite arcade game.


Highlighted reply

@thorskywalker
2 hours ago
That's awesome, and pretty crazy that you worked on Doom for SNES because I played the hell out of that game.  I'm curious, how good is the Arcade1up version of Star Wars?  I was very young, but I loved that game when I was a kid... every time I had an extra quarter (which wasn't all too often back then) it went to that game because, oddly enough, a gas station near our house had it.


@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
 @thorskywalker  The Star Wars Aracade1up is very similar to the arcade game. It has a 17-inch LCD screen compared to the original 19-inch CRT, but not all the space on CRTs is used.  

The Yoke controller is very good. Now that I am 64 years old, I have a problem: The game is such a button-masher that it hurts my fingers. The buttons on the Arcade1up feel a bit stiff. I don't know if the arcade had buttons with a softer feel.

P.S.  I was not very good at putting together the Arcade1up cabinets.  It would take me hours and the Star Wars cabinet was the most difficult out of the four that I own.

Pitfall! (Intellivision)

The problem with Pitfall is if you want to "beat" the game, you have to have mapped out the route to get all the treasures before the time runs out, and you have to play the game pixel-perfect on most of your jumps.  If you don't play perfectly then the clock will run out before you can "win".  Otherwise, there is not much point to the game other than the novelty of running and jumping.  

The game is so unforgiving that I found it frustrating.

I suppose you could just play to beat your high score.  However, there is a certain satisfaction to completing the game.

10 Worst NES Game Endings!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJlWHoXggpU

Will this HAGGARD copy of Doom for the Super Nintendo work?

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
"I forgot how much this version of Doom sucks." 

I'm in the credits, although Randy Linden is the genius who made the game possible. 

In 1995, it was very expensive to buy a PC. My first computer was a barebones 486-33 Mhz, costing $1,200. So, for many people, this was an affordable version of Doom.

Atari 5200 with John Delia! - Chronologically Gaming

The Spectrum | FULL REVIEW of Features, Gameplay, & User Experience

@john2001plus
2 minutes ago (edited)
I wrote a game called Diamond Mike for the Timex Sinclair 2068.  I was a huge fan of the system.

I'm interested.  I want 2068 compatibility, which maybe it doesn't have.

The Spectrum review: A ZX Spectrum Lover’s Dream or Disaster?

Atari 5200 Launch! Galaxian, Pac-Man, Space Invaders - Chronologically Gaming (CG)

@john2001plus
25 minutes ago (edited)
I played Atari 800 games at one friend's house and then went to a different friend's house to play on his Atari 5200.  I immediately noticed that the games were identical to the Atari 8-bit computer.  However, control with the analog joystick was terrible.  This felt like a huge error by Atari.  What good are the games if you can't play them?

Pac-Man is a game that requires a very good 4-way joystick to control.  I can't do it well enough on a computer keyboard or a joypad.   I have a Namco Joystick from over 20 years ago, but with the 8-way joystick, I keep making wrong turns.  This is why I purchased the Namco Arcade1up with close-to arcade controls.  It doesn't have Pac-Man but it does have Ms. Pac-Man.

I have similar problems trying to play Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man/Donkey Kong with a joypad.  Joypads are great if don't have to keep switching directions but they aren't precise enough for games as rapid as Pac-Man.  Console versions of these games seem to compensate for the difficulty of using a joypad.

When I first saw Space Invaders, it was obvious to me that it was moving just one invader at a time.  This is why it speeds up as you eliminate invaders.  This is the first game I can recall that had memory-mapped video, but apparently no sprites.  So the CPU would have been limited on how many objects it could move at one time.

Atari announced the 7800 around 1984.  They said that it was going to have around 128 sprites.  I was excited for it.  But then they delayed the release and it looked like it was never going to happen.  They finally released it to compete with the NES, but by that point, it was the weaker system.

3D Games on the Super Nintendo Without the Super FX Chip

"I've seen PowerPoint Presentations with a better frame rate."

The arcade game was one of my favorites.

Two Year Old Facebook Post

The word "sprite" is interesting. It means elf, fairy, or ghost, although it can also refer to flashes of different color lights in clouds caused by lightning. The word originated in the Middle Ages from the word "spirit". When I hear the word, I think of the Disney character Tinkerbell.

In computers and video games, a sprite is an image that can move on top of a background. Usually, these are 2D objects moving on top of a 2D background, although a game like the original Doom had 2D objects moving on top of a 3D background. The mouse pointer on a computer screen is technically a sprite.

Back in the days when computers and video games were 8-bit and 16-bit, it was helpful to have hardware support for sprites, which allowed graphical objects to move around independently of the background. The reason this was helpful was that it was more taxing for the old slow computers without hardware sprites to manipulate the graphics on the screen. When I was writing games for the Timex Sinclair 2068 and Atari ST computers, I had to write software to make all the graphics move because there was no hardware support for sprites, which made the task more technically challenging.

The early arcade video games used hardware sprites and so did all early home video game consoles. The sprites on the Atari 2600 are extremely primitive and very difficult to program, but the programmers knew how to make them work.

Many people have touted the Commodore 64 as the best 8-bit computer because it had hardware support for eight 8x8 sprites, although this is not very many compared to the Nintendo Entertainment System that came out later. I think that the Atari 8-bit computer had better graphical capabilities overall.

Once we had 32-bit processors, there was no longer a need for hardware sprites. These systems were powerful enough that it was not a huge challenge to manipulate graphics on a screen. Also, with 32-bit systems, there was a greater emphasis on 3D graphics instead of 2D graphics.

Top 10 Games EVERYONE should PLAY at least once!

Ms. Pac-Man

@john2001plus

1 month ago (edited)
I have played hundreds of games of Ms. Pac-Man.  Once and only once the first maze came up as the Pac-Man maze.  This was an odd glitch.  Reportedly, the maze still exists in the ROM because Ms. Pac-Man started as a hack of Pac-Man.

Occasionally the first Ms. Pac-Man maze will appear a different color.  Many people have seen this.  This is a glitch.