[Coco] No more dream ports (Was:Wolfenstein 3-D on a 4.77mhz 8088? So, 6809 port, anyone?)

[Fedor Steeman]

Well, the experts have spoken and what they say makes a lot of sense.

I whole-heartedly agree that we should not pretend that the CoCo can do
more than it actually can, and that its relative simplicity yet powerful
CPU c.q. BASIC language is exactly what makes it attractive to write stuff
for in these days!

A close rendition of something like W3D is of course out of question. But
perhaps we could approach it CoCo-style? I mean we could use the model of
Androne/Phantom Slayer/etc. and perhaps throw some horizontal scrolling in
the mix. So the steps are the limiting factor, but within the steps, you
have some freedom for aiming at and shooting stuff.

Just my 50 øre...

Cheers,
Fedor

PS: Can that Marty's Nightmare game still be acquired somehow?





On 25 April 2013 08:48, Steve Bjork <6809er at srbsoftware.com> wrote:

> Mark,
>
> While it is true that Xevious had 3 CPUs, (Main, Graphics and sound)  it
> did not need all that power.  The Namco Galaga board was used for the
> following games...
> Galaga, Bosconian, Dig Dug, Xevious and Super Xevious.
>
> The hardware designers built the Namco Galaga board for more than just the
> Galaga game.  Since they did not know what games would be using it, they
> over-design to cover any future games.
>
> I don't believe that graphics on the board had any sprites. (Arcade game
> Zaxxon also did not have sprites.)  Graphic work was done of the Charter
> map system to emulate sprites.  This is why they put a CPU in the graphic
> system.
>
> If the number of game objects is kept low then a game "like" Xevious or
> 1942 could be done on a CoCo 3.  Since the vertical scrolling technique
> takes 128k just for the screens, you will need a 512k CoCo 3 to run the
> game.
>
> Steve
>
>
> On 4/24/2013 9:39 PM, Mark McDougall wrote:
>
>> Xevious is my all-time favourite arcade game, and 1942 is pretty high on
>> the list as well. I'd love to see those done for the Coco...
>>
>> I've always wondered whether Xevious really _needed_ three CPU's,
>> especially given the scrolling, tile and sprite hardware. I figure not
>> because it was ported to home machines with far less processing and
>> graphics power. The NES port, for example, is pretty impressive.
>>
>> Of course, emulating sprites on the Coco is always going to be the
>> bottleneck...
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>
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