Atari 7800 Projects that we need Released!

[7800 Pro Gamer]

Right now the 7800 is getting a lot of support and it's great to see.  Lots of developers have been busy bringing their projects to life on the Prosystem and use Atari kids are reaping the benefits.  But the truth is, us Atari kids are getting up there in age. It won't be long before we are filling the nursing homes and eating supper at 3 o clock so we can be in bed by 7. 

That being said I talked to my kids about my Atari collection and how interested they are in playing it when I'm gone. And the answer is they aren't.  Aside from the few games we play together it's all getting dumped when I'm gone, and that doesn't big me.  But what does bug me are the many awesome games that we want to play that might not get finished or released. 

There is no point on holding onto these dumps or projects!  Let's support developers so we can experience these games while there is still an audience for them!  Here's a few that I'm worried we won't get full finished versions of:

Toki - I heard that the NTSC conversion is done.  There's a ton of rumors but this one just needs to be released already!

GET LOST! - This homebrew project from the early 2010s is a fantastic idea and works better than it looks. The project was rolling until a big derailed the project. We need a final version ASAP and I'd you haven't tried it you should!

PETSCII Robots - My worry about this one is how many ports are actively being worked on. I could see the 7800 version getting overlooked easily and that would be a shame. Let The 8 Bit Guy know we want it!

Are there anymore you can think of?  Let's discuss!

[7800 Pro Gamer]

Sorry for the many typos. I wrote this while I was still drinking my coffee lol. 

[DegasElite]

I thought Toki for the A7800 was just a prototype and not a full game. Anyway, I have the Lynx version, and it's mint. It's exactly like the arcade game. Cool game! I hope it is finished as a full game by now for the A7800. That would be a welcome and lucrative collector's asset to the A7800 library. :O)

[dauber]

I don't know if this counts, but I would looooooooove a 7800 version of Q*bert's Qubes. The late Ken Siders did a fantastic Q*bert clone called b*nQ, so I imagine someone could take up a project and call it b*nQ's bl*Qs or something...

[CrossBow]

2 hours ago, Silver Back said:

Toki - I heard that the NTSC conversion is done.  There's a ton of rumors but this one just needs to be released already!

My unerstanding here is that it is a prototype but finished enough to be playable to completion. It was converted to NTSC but still had some graphic glitches due to it. However, the owner of the ROM appears to have gone dark so it is really a waiting game to have permission to release what has been done.

2 hours ago, Silver Back said:

GET LOST! - This homebrew project from the early 2010s is a fantastic idea and works better than it looks. The project was rolling until a big derailed the project. We need a final version ASAP and I'd you haven't tried it you should!

I've not heard of this one? Can you shed some light on it?

2 hours ago, Silver Back said:

PETSCII Robots - My worry about this one is how many ports are actively being worked on. I could see the 7800 version getting overlooked easily and that would be a shame. Let The 8 Bit Guy know we want it!

This is really coming along now and apparently it has all of the same maps as the more up to date versions on much stronger hardware do. It will get released and it will be very impressive no doubt. But you are correct, it will be overlooked and overshadowed by the other releases. But that has more to do with the popularity of the other platforms it is and has been ported to vs the 7800. I'd like to see a 5200 version released as well that makes better use of the colors and pokey audio. But I think the memory limitations will be the factor preventing that. I own the 8-bit release version CIB, but even that version doesn't get the updates that the commodore platforms have been getting. 

Once it is released, I'm sure I buy the 7800 version and I do plan to get the Genesis release of the game as well.

I would like to see what a modern programmer can do to bring over a port of Crystal Castles to the 7800 with trak-ball support. We know the 7800 is able to pull it off graphically but it would need pokey or other audio implementation to do the arcade justice. 

A port of Satan's Hollow to the 7800 could be pretty epic as well. But I don't think either of these suggestions are really on any current programmers radar.

 

[7800 Pro Gamer]

33 minutes ago, CrossBow said:

I've not heard of this one? Can you shed some light on it?

It's a homebrew that Propane13 announced in 2012 and can be found here https://atariage.com/forums/topic/200199-get-lost/. I wrote it off for a while but it's actually a pretty expansive adventure with some great ideas. Every time I thought I saw everything, I would find another path to a new area. You venture from the ground, to the clouds and castle, to caves and underwater collecting gems. The graphics are definitely the weakest part of this game but don't let that prevent you from trying it. It's an impressively large 7800 game that comes from the time just before the homebrew boom of the 7800.

[7800 Pro Gamer]

Unfortunately a few major bugs on real hardware and the fact that he got away from coding on assembly prevented a cart release to this point it seems.