Random: Yars Revenge

joeycuda

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Just a thought - if there had been an 'arcade' version of Yars Revenge, that was color XY, how good could it have been? That was one of my favorites on the 2600. Seems like the artwork/theme could have translated well to an Atari cabinet. Discuss?
 
I never played it, but I looked it up online, and based on what I saw it would of been a ton better as an arcade game!
 
This has been remade as a downloadable game for the XBox 360 and PC. Not sure how the gameplay elements compare. It came out a month or so ago for 10 bucks.
 
People have posted on here before about their desire to make a Yar's revenge arcade cabinet (using an Atari 2600). In case you missed it, someone recently released a "new" Yar's game on the Xbox and PS3 as downloadable games, but I don't think that it has gameplay that is like the original. Another one of those 3D titles that takes the NAME of a game that peopke liked and used it for name recognition. I havent checked it out in detail, but that was my initial impression. Seems to me like, given it's simple play mechanics, an enthusiast could make a home brew sequel that would keep the essence of the original, yet updated to be played on modern hardware that would make an arcade cabinet conversion more desireable than the old 2600 version. A team was supposedly doing this with Archon, although I have not looked into the project for quite some time.

Speaking of such projects, I am going to post a new thread asking if people remember (or knows what happened with) a group that was taking the original arcade code and wrapping it with better/updated sprites and sound effects...
 
Just a thought - if there had been an 'arcade' version of Yars Revenge, that was color XY, how good could it have been? That was one of my favorites on the 2600. Seems like the artwork/theme could have translated well to an Atari cabinet. Discuss?

There was an arcade version of Yars' Revenge. It was called Star Castle.

Seriously.

Yars' Revenge began life as an attempt to port Star Castle to the Atari 2600. At the time, getting the 2600 with its very limited resources to display multiple counter-rotating concentric rings proved impossible, so the programmer unfolded the center star castle and put it on the right side of the screen, using solid blocks and moving it only up and down. He added the "neutral zone" in the middle to increase depth of game play (believe it or not, using the game code itself as a random number generator to display the neutral zone graphics on screen, an ingenious method of extreme memory use optimization).

Later advances like memory bank switching and a better understanding of the system's capabilities resulted in a successful homebrew Star Castle port (unfortunately never offered for sale):

 
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First, let me say that Yar's Revenge may be the best home game of its time even with the crappy 2600 controller. And I am one of those who share the dream of someday creating a dedicated Yar's Revenge cab. First, I would start with an old pac or Ms. Pac cab. Then I would use the hang sign for the side art (already have one to get scanned later.) Then, I can't place where but there is another Yar's pic that would look awesome for the front cabinet art. I think it might have been the 2600 manual for yars. Top it off with a custom marquee and there you go. Only thing is, I would be temped to change it to a vertical game. And I would probably opt for a Monroe joystick.

Here's a pic for the manual and front art. Side art looks similar but I can't find a pic online.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yars-Revenge-At...289?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335ea432b9
 
There was an arcade version of Yars' Revenge. It was called Star Castle.

Seriously.

Yars' Revenge began life as an attempt to port Star Castle to the Atari 2600. At the time, getting the 2600 with its very limited resources to display multiple counter-rotating concentric rings proved impossible, so the programmer unfolded the center star castle and put it on the right side of the screen, using solid blocks and moving it only up and down. He added the "neutral zone" in the middle to increase depth of game play (believe it or not, using the game code itself as a random number generator to display the neutral zone graphics on screen, an ingenious method of extreme memory use optimization).

Later advances like memory bank switching and a better understanding of the system's capabilities resulted in a successful homebrew Star Castle port (unfortunately never offered for sale):

Thanks for the info, I never thought about it like that, but it makes sense...
 
First, let me say that Yar's Revenge may be the best home game of its time even with the crappy 2600 controller. And I am one of those who share the dream of someday creating a dedicated Yar's Revenge cab. First, I would start with an old pac or Ms. Pac cab. Then I would use the hang sign for the side art (already have one to get scanned later.) Then, I can't place where but there is another Yar's pic that would look awesome for the front cabinet art. I think it might have been the 2600 manual for yars. Top it off with a custom marquee and there you go. Only thing is, I would be temped to change it to a vertical game. And I would probably opt for a Monroe joystick.

Here's a pic for the manual and front art. Side art looks similar but I can't find a pic online.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yars-Revenge-At...289?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335ea432b9
When I was younger, I always thought Yars Revenge was linked or related to Galaxian somehow. That pic of the manual reminded me why. Shiny metallic Galaxians. I knew it.

m_YarsRevenge_1.jpg
med-galaxian%20sideart%20left.ai.jpg
 
My friend and I were actually talking about making a Yars arcade game. We were thinking about taking a dual versus style cabinet, and re-writing code to do head to head Yars battles. It would be like mirrored images, and each of your Yars Flies could attack each other's base while sending projectiles across the screens to kill each other in a race to win.
 
I loved the game, the sounds, the celebration graphics when you took out Yar, that game just rocked. I also think of that game every time I play my Tempest bc the sound you hear when your player goes around on the screen and you hear that ticking sound, it sounds like your player nibbling away at the wall in YR.
 
My friend and I were actually talking about making a Yars arcade game. We were thinking about taking a dual versus style cabinet, and re-writing code to do head to head Yars battles. It would be like mirrored images, and each of your Yars Flies could attack each other's base while sending projectiles across the screens to kill each other in a race to win.

Have you ever done something like this? What code editor would you use? Were those 2600 games written assembler?
 
Have you ever done something like this? What code editor would you use? Were those 2600 games written assembler?

No I haven't done it yet, but I was considering. I wouldn't be doing the coding, my friend would do that, and i'd have no idea what program he'd use. I'm the creative brain, so i'd design the game and how it plays, and he'd bring it to life.
 
There is a homebrew NES version currently in development. I played it at Midwest Gaming Classic this year and it's a good port. If you're looking for someone who knows the code, that would be your guy.
 
No I haven't done it yet, but I was considering. I wouldn't be doing the coding, my friend would do that, and i'd have no idea what program he'd use. I'm the creative brain, so i'd design the game and how it plays, and he'd bring it to life.
I gotta get me one of those creative brain types :) I'm more of the coding end, although Assembler gives me the shakes.
 
I have built a Yars Revengerarcade machine

Hi guys

My name is Yan and i have already built a yars revenge arcade machine, I wanted to make a machine that i felt looked something like what it may of done in 1981, it also doesn't run the 2600 version but a full colour vector version of the game created by a British programmer, i felt this would then replicate a complete machine had it of exhisted.

A youtube video can be found here, sorry about the quality but i had many issues with my software.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic7SxqHu1mY
 

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I like everyone else in this thread also loved this game. I even revisited it in my teens and loved it that much more since i had a better understanding of how to play the game.

I don't know if i loved it enough to make it its own cabinet but i'm not ruling that out either lol.
 
Hi guys

My name is Yan and i have already built a yars revenge arcade machine, I wanted to make a machine that i felt looked something like what it may of done in 1981, it also doesn't run the 2600 version but a full colour vector version of the game created by a British programmer, i felt this would then replicate a complete machine had it of exhisted.

A youtube video can be found here, sorry about the quality but i had many issues with my software.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic7SxqHu1mY

Very cool.
 
if i could only have one atari cartridge on "the island" it would be yar's revenge.

I can still remember the a-ha moment when that game seemed brutal then you get through the barrier and it can be played for long periods of time. great stuff.
 
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