Atari 800 computer graphics in 1986 1987 or 1988? (SVCD)

[kiwilove007]

There has been some excellent examples of doing decent graphics in Atari BASIC - in a book, there was a drawing done of a Atari 400 in Graphics mode 7. And I think from that same book? A helicopter taking off (animation with sound) - using ATASCII graphics (control characters).

[WAQWBrentwood]

I could' never do any decent graphics on Atari BASIC I did mutch better on A TI/99 with TI Extended BASIC. I do remember these ATARI machines being about basicaly bomb proof. You could shoot it with a shotgun and not hurt them mutch. and they were a heavy as a Buick! They sure as hell don't build them like they uesed to!

[kiwilove007]

The soundtrack starts with 'The William Tell Overture' (I think that is what it is called? From a collection of tunes that someone has ripped from different games. Then next is Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygen? Then it's the music from "Necromancer" for the simulated game scrolling down...

[NotATube]

@kiwilove007; IIRC the second tune was from something called "Dave T's Disco" published in Page 6 / New Atari User magazine as a type-in listing, I remember it because I typed it in from the magazine myself!

I don't think it was meant to be a direct copy of any existing song.

[Ainigma]

whats the song in the beginning?

[kiwilove007]

Note - vertical scrolling is not that simple, and you certainly cannot do it in BASIC, without machine code routines. In the mock game scrolling down, there is a seamless join between the 5? various character sets being used. The full character set is used for the landscape - but in a game you will use less characters, because of the need for explosions, rubble, animation and so on - to be included in the redefined character set also.

[KrisForges]

The woman sees the computer right

[omnikittens]

i think the 800 came out in 79 and the 800XL in 83. I got mine in 86 when I was 6.

The last scroll reminds me of a game a used to play and the music too. What's that tune name any ideas?

[horsie111]

@omnikittens Unreliable but, from memory, it's The Last V8.

[rellik187redrum]

That music in the scrolling part makes me so sad . I wish I could go back in time. I have more now than I ever thought I would have, but would give it all up to be a young kid again in the 80's......

[omnikittens]

@rellik187redrum

I know what you mean

[SpeedVideoz]

Atari 800s where originally found in dashboards of ufos, wile they where bored they played games that made them use their brains more.

[walkmapper]

Hello Harvey,

That end scroll is excellent. The graphics (particularly the road sections) look almost as good as those we had on Astrohawk for the SNES/GBA. I don't think I'd seen the scrolling demo before, or perhaps I'd forgotten it. I do remember the pictures though which brought back some nice nostalgia of receiving those floppy disks in the post all the way from NZ. Hope you are well, Paul.

[bigpoopie69]

A Commodore 64 could not do half this stuff. :-)

[CharlieChaplin1972]

And err,

is this demo now available somewhere for download ?!?

[billkendrick1]

The end scroll and its music were great!

[kiwilove007]

Thank you for your comments. Note - the mock game scrolling gave Andrew Bradfield some idea of what a future game could look like? Gave him the encouragement that such a game as "HawkQuest" could be done. These demos were not shown anywhere at all - at the time they were done, except for a very small group of close friends. I don't think I showed the computer drawing demos to anyone?

[alaggan]

'The end scroll and its music were great!'

I'll second that. Very impressive, reminded me of SNES games!

[kiwilove007]

There is more to it, with the scrolling landscape, than just the scrolling involved. In that a redefined character set is used, and this changes with the landscape, and the join between the different screens and character sets is scrolling too... meaning this is a difficult feat to do.. which the programmer has done.

[Alphasys]

@Vid comment: Yes, seen that before. Done it before. Technology: Display list interrupt. Vertical scrolling (up) on it's own is actually really easy. Poke 622 with 1, issue a graphics 0 command and list something.