Lost Levels releases NES Hard Drivin' to the public

[Greg2600]

http://www.lostlevels.org/hard-drivin/

Lost Levels, for it's 10 year anniversary, has released the rom for Hard Drivin' on the NES. More importantly, is an interview by site master Frank Cifaldi, who's brought a lot of fantastic prototype information to us all, with designer Mark Morris.

I honestly thought the rom was out and about already. Disclaimer though, this is an early demo, but does run well on the FCEUX emulator. Other emu's and flash carts are a glitch y mess.

[fluid_matrix]

http://www.lostlevels.org/hard-drivin/

Lost Levels, for it's 10 year anniversary, has released the rom for Hard Drivin' on the NES. More importantly, is an interview by site master Frank Cifaldi, who's brought a lot of fantastic prototype information to us all, with designer Mark Morris.

I honestly thought the rom was out and about already. Disclaimer though, this is an early demo, but does run well on the FCEUX emulator. Other emu's and flash carts are a glitch y mess.

Saw this late last night. Was going to d/l it to play on my PSP, but after watching the video decided not to. Which is sad, because I really use to enjoy the game.

[Supergun]

Saw this late last night. Was going to d/l it to play on my PSP, but after watching the video decided not to. Which is sad, because I really use to enjoy the game.

No thanks.
Emulation (in any way, shape, or form, is not good enough for me)
Real hardware with real software and real controllers on a real CRT is where it's at for me.

And this is great news. I first heard about it over at another forum.
So speaking of which, I disagree with the previous comment. I do want to play it. Badly in fact.

I was a huge fan of the Hard Drivin' games and I bought the Sega Genesis, Atari Lynx, Super Nes, and Sega Saturn Versions.
They all had their own quarks and such, but I enjoyed them all for what they were and what they could do on their respective systems.
So can someone tell me which donor cart will work easiest with this so I can build it and play it tonight?

(a starting point I guess would be a Tengen release of the same rom size but I need more details)

Thanks!

[Tanooki]

Excellent go Lost Levels. I wondered if this would ever pop up so that's a cool surprise. Maybe for their 15th they can find sim city for NES.

[Kitsune Sniper]

No thanks.
Emulation (in any way, shape, or form, is not good enough for me)
Real hardware with real software and real controllers on a real CRT is where it's at for me.

Well let us know when you pay money for a repro of this.

In the meantime we'll be playing this to experience a bit of history.

[Kiddo]

Well let us know when you pay money for a repro of this.

In the meantime we'll be playing this to experience a bit of history.

If I may ask, is compatibility on the NES Powerpak all right with it?

[Kitsune Sniper]

If I may ask, is compatibility on the NES Powerpak all right with it?

Heck if I know. I don't have a flash cart. :P

I suspect it might be a little bit too tough for a flash cart to run correctly. But again, I have no idea.

[InsaneDavid]

For those that are all excited about building a cartridge around this remember, this is a very early demo of the game which is all explained if you, uh, actually read the column.

"Be gentle, this is a very early demo of the game; a lot of features hadn't been implemented yet, and because of the scanline-level trickery Mark employed, the game doesn't run correctly in any current emulator."

"Note: this is an early demo, with many features not yet implemented. Graphical errors are present on all emulators, though the game runs smoothly on real hardware."

[fluid_matrix]

I disagree with the previous comment. I do want to play it. Badly in fact.

Which part are you disagreeing with?

a. That I saw it late last night?
b. I was going to d/l it, but didn't?
c. I was going to emulate it on my PSP?
d. I watched the video?
e. I use to really enjoy the game?

Quite honestly, I see no grounds for you to disagree with anything I previously said, considering they're all fact.

[CastlevaniaDude]

Am I the only one who thinks that this is REALLY freaking impressive for the NES?

I used to love this game for Genesis and in the arcade.

Really surprised how close they got it on the Nintendo, though. Especially for a demo version.

[bigbacon]

can someone post a video please?

[Supergun]

For those that are all excited about building a cartridge around this remember, this is a very early demo of the game which is all explained if you, uh, actually read the column.

"Be gentle, this is a very early demo of the game; a lot of features hadn't been implemented yet, and because of the scanline-level trickery Mark employed, the game doesn't run correctly in any current emulator."

"Note: this is an early demo, with many features not yet implemented. Graphical errors are present on all emulators, though the game runs smoothly on real hardware."

Um, yes, I did actually read the entire column. Let me quote your own quote that you just quoted:

"............because of the scanline-level trickery Mark employed, the game doesn't run correctly in any current emulator............"

Where in my post did I state any interest in any emulator? In fact quite the opposite. I stated they are of no interest to me and that I wanted to build a real cartridge to play on a real system.
Where in the article does it state that it would have any compatibility or functioning issues on real hardware?

So, um, yeah, who is the one who didn't read something?

[Supergun]

Which part are you disagreeing with?

a. That I saw it late last night?
b. I was going to d/l it, but didn't?
c. I was going to emulate it on my PSP?
d. I watched the video?
e. I use to really enjoy the game?

Quite honestly, I see no grounds for you to disagree with anything I previously said, considering they're all fact.

Where is this coming from? Why the hostility around here?
But for the sake of argument, let's see what you said:

"......Saw this late last night. Was going to d/l it to play on my PSP, but after watching the video decided not to. Which is sad, because I really use to enjoy the game......"

The part I disagreed with was that you were going to download it, but saw the video, and then decided not to. (implying it did not impress you and/or interest you)
That is the part I did not agree with. It DID impress me, and it DOES interest me, and I DO want to play it and enjoy it.
So what, other people are not allowed to disagree with your opinions?

Does this drama always happen around here?

[Supergun]

Am I the only one who thinks that this is REALLY freaking impressive for the NES?

I used to love this game for Genesis and in the arcade.

Really surprised how close they got it on the Nintendo, though. Especially for a demo version.

Your not alone. I too was VERY impressed with what I saw.
I also loved this game as well. And I also owned the arcade machine as well at one point in the past. In fact my name and some information I contributed is stated in one of the FAQ's that was made for it years ago.

Just because I have a pacman arcade machine in the garage does not by ANY means imply that I never play my 2600, 5200, ColecoVision, NES, etc. version of pac-man that I also have. In fact I have dozens & dozens of video games that I have multiple versions of across multiple platforms, and also the arcade board as well. They all have their place and I enjoy comparing and contrasting them all the time.

This guy busted his ass and made a version of Hard Drivin' for the NES. Most programmers would not have even attempted it. That is impressive to me and I don't have to explain why to those who think the game was a waste of time. If it does not interest you, then ignore it and don't download it. So what right?

[badinsults]

can someone post a video please?

There's a video in the article....

[CastlevaniaDude]

Your not alone. I too was VERY impressed with what I saw.
I also loved this game as well. And I also owned the arcade machine as well at one point in the past. In fact my name and some information I contributed is stated in one of the FAQ's that was made for it years ago.

Just because I have a pacman arcade machine in the garage does not by ANY means imply that I never play my 2600, 5200, ColecoVision, NES, etc. version of pac-man that I also have. In fact I have dozens & dozens of video games that I have multiple versions of across multiple platforms, and also the arcade board as well. They all have their place and I enjoy comparing and contrasting them all the time.

This guy busted his ass and made a version of Hard Drivin' for the NES. Most programmers would not have even attempted it. That is impressive to me and I don't have to explain why to those who think the game was a waste of time. If it does not interest you, then ignore it and don't download it. So what right?

Agree with almost all of what you said.

I definitely have the same game across platforms in some cases. I also think this was a hell of a feat of programming, and I was super impressed by it.

I understand the argument that the game doesn't stand the test of time or might not be fun to play now, or whatever, but that is just a really great looking piece of work on the NES.

[Clownzilla]

A great find for NES history! Unfortunately, I could not even play this game in the arcade. It always seemed choppy and nearly impossible to control my vehicle (the clutch was a cool feature though).

[The Dord]

Video of the Hard Driving NES game. (for those of us that want to see the video directly)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1MWiJ0UqNs

[bigbacon]

Still seems like it would be worth putting into a Tengen case for the fun of it.

[Supergun]

6973
Still seems like it would be worth putting into a Tengen case for the fun of it.

6973

[BlastProcessing402]

Never saw the point to home versions of Hard Drivin'. The only real draw of the arcade version was that force feedback steering wheel, and you certainly weren't gonna get that on a port. The game itself was pretty meh.

[Greg2600]

If I may ask, is compatibility on the NES Powerpak all right with it?

I haven't tried it myself but others have and it's as glitch-y and unplayable as on emulators like Nestopia. FCEUX works though, but it's still not quite a playable game, it's really a demo. It does go to show you though how innovative the programmers of the 70's, 80's, early 90's were on limited hardware. Plus the interview is cool, because this designer really had NO idea people were interested. I feel this way with a LOT of former game designers. They walk away from the business with this great stuff and stories galore, and don't realize we want to hear about them. So my point is that yes it's great to view/play the game in any form, but we shouldn't forget about the background story that goes with it.

[TheRedEye]

I haven't tried it myself but others have and it's as glitch-y and unplayable as on emulators like Nestopia. FCEUX works though, but it's still not quite a playable game, it's really a demo. It does go to show you though how innovative the programmers of the 70's, 80's, early 90's were on limited hardware. Plus the interview is cool, because this designer really had NO idea people were interested. I feel this way with a LOT of former game designers. They walk away from the business with this great stuff and stories galore, and don't realize we want to hear about them. So my point is that yes it's great to view/play the game in any form, but we shouldn't forget about the background story that goes with it.

Thanks for saying that, it was the whole reason I started Lost Levels: I wanted to save this stuff, but I didn't want it to just be some broken files that turned up in ROM sets. Getting context is REALLY important, especially for an early buggy demo like this one. Otherwise you'd see this popping up on YouTube with people "reviewing" it talking about how it "sucks" because they don't understand how game development works.

[InsaneDavid]

Thanks for saying that, it was the whole reason I started Lost Levels: I wanted to save this stuff, but I didn't want it to just be some broken files that turned up in ROM sets. Getting context is REALLY important, especially for an early buggy demo like this one. Otherwise you'd see this popping up on YouTube with people "reviewing" it talking about how it "sucks" because they don't understand how game development works.

Thank you for maintaining such a great resource of information and developer stories over the years.

[fluid_matrix]

Where is this coming from? Why the hostility around here?
But for the sake of argument, let's see what you said:

"......Saw this late last night. Was going to d/l it to play on my PSP, but after watching the video decided not to. Which is sad, because I really use to enjoy the game......"

The part I disagreed with was that you were going to download it, but saw the video, and then decided not to. (implying it did not impress you and/or interest you)
That is the part I did not agree with. It DID impress me, and it DOES interest me, and I DO want to play it and enjoy it.
So what, other people are not allowed to disagree with your opinions?

Does this drama always happen around here?

People are allowed to have their own opinion, and had I actually stated an opinion, then you would have an argument. However, everything I stated was truthful and in no means up for debate.

[Tanooki]

Agree with almost all of what you said.

I definitely have the same game across platforms in some cases. I also think this was a hell of a feat of programming, and I was super impressed by it.

I understand the argument that the game doesn't stand the test of time or might not be fun to play now, or whatever, but that is just a really great looking piece of work on the NES.

Mind blowing is what it was for me seeing it. The fact he got that kind of a workable engine going on the NES was simply amazing. I used to love marveling over dos era demos from the demo scene showing what a PC could pull off and this is right up there. Sometimes ballsy stuff does make it to market too Ike the 2bit color conversion of the laserdisc arcade dragons lair to the gb color which is stunning and sometimes like hard driving they don't.

[Greg2600]

Thanks for saying that, it was the whole reason I started Lost Levels: I wanted to save this stuff, but I didn't want it to just be some broken files that turned up in ROM sets. Getting context is REALLY important, especially for an early buggy demo like this one. Otherwise you'd see this popping up on YouTube with people "reviewing" it talking about how it "sucks" because they don't understand how game development works.

Which is why you have a great website. More articles!!!

[Ed Oscuro]

I was thinking that a "Hardly Drivin'" joke was going to be a good fit here, but that really is running too smoothly - with the 3D graphics is pretty mindblowing - so I'll forget about it. It's much better than I would have expected, at least as far as the looks go, even given the early state of the game. That they also had some system for implementing drifting (the horrible squealing tires noise) and going off-road (the constant explosion noise) is pretty good too. Of course it's really great just to see some of the 3D terrain appear and disappear in a flash, with correct perspective the whole way through - there's few systems that bring home the value of a polygon like the NES does.

Much appreciated, thanks to all involved!

[davidbrit2]

Kinda neat, but the lack of any left/right parallax perspective shift in the road is pretty jarring. It's rare to see a pseudo-3D engine not do that. But the stunt sequences being pre-rendered probably necessitated that for consistency.

I think the Gameboy version is more impressive, with its full polygonal 3D engine, but the frame rate obviously isn't nearly as smooth.