GTIA Blast

[Retrogamer_ST]

GTIA Blast - Speaking of smooth moving graphics

"Atari Online Polen.

There's always lot of things going on there.
http://atarionline.pl/v01/index.php?ct= ... n=showfull

I found a link to this one, GTIA Blast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-voWLTXCFI

Graphical chock...even if YouTube ruins the super smooth movement of this game. Try it on emulator instead.

Try this one too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjzV_DzKW_w

NOW, try it yourself

(it's a demo and not finished yet)

[Retrogamer_ST]

Some more screens from GTIA Blast. It's truly amazing what you can do on an old Atari 800.

This game scrolls super smooth both horizontal and vertical at the same time when you move right or left and even uses parallax scrolling. I will quote what someone said on the net about GTIA Blast.

GTIABlast! is a game in progress and the demo clearly shows that the Atari 800 is a more capable system than some may believe. As I understand it, the name is a tribute the the chip that can still do amazing things in 2013 as it did 33.8 years ago. Created by by Paul Lay and Harvey Kong Tin for the Atari 400/800 series of computers, it looks like the sort of game that will initiate more interest in the old Atari computers.

And here what Steve Hales thinks about C64 and emulators. Steve Hales worked for Synapse and were the man behind games as Dimension X and Fort Apocalypse for exemple.

About the port of Fort Apocalypse

95% of the code on the C64 is mine. Joe Vierra did the port in about a week. I like the Atari version because of the colors. I found the C64 always had a washed out screen.

About emulators and abandonware

I'm incredibly supportive of the the emulator scene. Without it, all of these games would disappear. Its the history of our industry. I believe that abandonware should be treasured and persevered. Imagine, if we lost all of the early science fiction stories.

[Retrogamer_ST]

Here's a link to the GTIA Blast site
http://www.playsoft.co.uk/gtiablast.html

GTIA Blast on TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPYvW3uUAKI

[kiwilove007]

I will mentions that of this date - that development of AtariBLAST! (ie. GTIABlast!) is still continuing.... onwards...

This project has gone far beyond it's original specs - which was meant to be something far simpler than what it is now...

Further demos were on public display - at the Atari Party in Los Angeles - see photo coverage of it... somewhere...

And one at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo - did not see any photo coverage anywhere... videos of these have not appeared... nor reports/details thereof...

These two demo updates were not posted up anywhere...

Progress has since moved on - a little further - since those versions...

Harvey

[kiwilove007]

Here is a sneak peak video of a later level in AtariBLAST! - formerly GTIABlast!
http://youtu.be/Sd8JxSYLUX4

While it looks like a Zaxxon game - it really isn't - but it does show that this project now uses horizontal scrolling levels in it.

I have always wanted to see a better Zaxxon game done - that while the C-64 had the best official Zaxxon version?
This is meant to redress that difference?

But it also shows what if you drifted away from the original coin-op graphics - what could you do instead? Here is one option/redesign done...
why it's a blast from the past - and this will not be the only such revisit done...

Harvey

[Atari030]

Damn I've missed those lovely Atari 8-bit sounds. That looks great.

[kiwilove007]

This is probably the way to actually do the Zaxxon game? To depart from the original coin-op graphics...
The actual game play is not duplicated here - because AtariBLAST! was originally Vertical Scrolling only - then it changed a bit here and there, finally to include horizontal scrolling.
I forgot exactly how this evolved into this as such - I was changing the angle of the brick wall as such - and found this angle to be the best way to do it - this is my second attempt at it - the first is more Zaxxon like, whereas this suits the horizontal scrolling format...

You do have to experiment to find the best way of doing things, to have them looking at their best?

Often the first try - doesn't work out at all - and doing more than one try is usually required.

Harvey

[Mindthreat]

That looks incredible! I always wondered why games didn't really utilize the GTIA capabilities as seen in the Robot + Spaceship Demo.

[kiwilove007]

There were at least 2 games back then - that had a go at GTIA 9 mode - Colony 7 and Space Lobsters within a game - but they were not successful efforts. Not counting Koronis Rift which just used it for an instrument panel. Hawkquest likewise made limited use of it too.
Recently there was Battle Eagle - done around the same time as GTIABlast!.

But what sets GTIABlast! (AtariBLAST!) apart - is probably all the different elements used together...

The most obvious reason why it wasn't fully explored back then... would be that - it was the beginning of the end for the Atari 8-bit home computers - that with the launch of the Atari ST and Amiga computers (many people would probably regard the Amiga of the same lineage as the Atari 400/800) - there wasn't the incentive to fully explore the GTIA modes then... say 1985-1986-1987? 16-bit computers definitely had the edge over the 8-bit computers - higher resolution, more colours - more grunt... etc...

But the GTIA chip was in use - say 1980-1981 - when the Atari 400 / 800 was generally on sale. I don't think they were on general sale - as far back as 1979? - but only announced then... The very early ones may have went out with CTIA chips?

Harvey