| Re: Atari 2600 games in general [message #10426] |
Wed, 08 August 2012 00:38 |
|
|
Originally posted by: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!npois!cbosgd!mark
<pre>Article-I.D.: cbosgd.2986
Posted: Friday, 14-Jan-83 14:06:16 EST
Received: Sun Jan 16 05:25:08 1983
References: <413@rocheste.UUCP>
The problem with the graphics on the 2600 is that the horizontal
resolution is only 40 pixels, each about 1/2 inch wide. And as
if that isn't bad enough, you are restricted in that the right
hand 20 pixels are either a copy of the left 20 or their mirror
image!
As far as I know, the only exceptions to this are the sprites,
of which there are 5. (Player 1, Player 2, Missile 1, Missile 2,
and the ball. These have a reasonable resolution, but other
severe restrictions. They do have a hack for 2 or 3 copies and
extra width, which explains why so many things come in threes.
The cleverest 2600 games use the sprites for different things on
different scan lines - for instance, Frogger uses the same sprite
for different logs/trucks/turtles on different rows. With only
4K of ROM and 256 bytes of RAM to work with, you can't expect much.
However, I am at a loss to explain how Star Raiders managed to get
the stars to move so well across the background.
</pre>
|
|
|
|
Members
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
