Atari 8-bit section corrections

[Randy California]

Further info on some of the games mentioned in the RM section:
- Castles & Keys - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (binary exists)
- Dancing Feats - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (written by Softsync, Inc. and also available on tape and disk)
- Dr. Goodcode's Cavern - spelled with a "c", not an "l", this game written in BASIC was disk only, never saw a cartridge version announced anywhere
- Flapper - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (binary exists)
- Golf Challenge - never meant to be released on cartridge (exists as a tape only)
- Hobgoblin - more likely a disk game for this text adventure
- Hot Lips - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (written by London Software and also available on tape and disk)
- Kidwriter - disk only, no cartridge version planned
- M*A*S*H - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (binary exists)
- Parallax - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (written by London Software and also available on tape and disk)
- Porky's - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (binary exists)
- Reptilian - game was barely started
- Rosen's Brigade - NEVER meant to be a cartridge release (Gentry Software was Datasoft's budget line so it makes no sense)
- Slamball - game was started on the Atari but finished on the C64
- Star Trux - a binary exists so shouldn't be in the RM
- Trion - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (written by London Software and also available on tape and disk).

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RC
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[digitalpress]

Thanks for the updates! I'll be sure to pass this along to the 8-bit section editor.

[digitalpress]

OK, after reviewing these I do have some follow-up questions of my own:

- Castles & Keys - game distributed by Romox in ECPC format (binary exists)

For this and all others like it where a binary exists, I presume these"belong" in the Prototype section, is that correct?

- Golf Challenge - never meant to be released on cartridge (exists as a tape only)

For this and anyplace where it either seems unlikely to be a cartridge development effort I can confirm that there are Atari documents that state otherwise - while it's not always CLEAR, there are cases like this one where the game is listed in their master part database or as a development effort alongside other games which are all cartridges. I'd agree that some of these titles are just impossible (like the Gentry Soft game) but they are "implied".

- Reptilian - game was barely started

Based on what, is there a binary out there for this one too? Sorry, John may know more about some of these - I don't think I've ever personally seen or played a binary of this one.

- Slamball - game was started on the Atari but finished on the C64

Can you elaborate? Was the actual CODE converted to become the C64 version or was the game simply dropped and later appeared on C64? Also, where did this information come from, if you can recall?

Thanks again for the feedback and input! All of these details are very important to us.

[Randy California]

For this [Castles & Keys] and all others like it where a binary exists, I presume these"belong" in the Prototype section, is that correct?
Well, in the case of Castles & Keys, I believe the game was never sold with box and instructions. Like some other titles (Mogul Maniac, Porky's...), it was copied on erasable cartridges via the Romox ESD machine. There may be some prototypes of other games but the mentioned programs are not...


Based on what [Reptilian barely started]
Information I gathered... Years ago, I was in touch with Steve Hales of Fort Apocalypse fame and he told me the programmer was fired (or something close) and the game could never be finished...


is there a binary out there for this one too?
Artwork and ads exist but that's all. Maybe very early code but good luck finding that...


Can you elaborate? Was the actual [Slamball] CODE converted to become the C64 version or was the game simply dropped and later appeared on C64? Also, where did this information come from, if you can recall
Again, discussions with Steve Hales and info from the Giant List of Classic Programmers. The Atari game was dropped in favor of the C64 version as the programmer was either fired or not fast enough (from what I recall).

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RC
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[digitalpress]

Very interesting. Thanks for the follow-up!