Bubble Bobble

[awergh]

So decided to try it out but I seem to get a black screen after the tape stops loading
Is there some part of the instructions I am missing or something?
Side 2 asked me for a code which I think is for level 79+ so I guess I can't do that.
I didn't get any tape read errors so I would of assumed the tape is fine.
Can anyone enlighten me to whether I have to do something or its just broken?

[Gryzor]

Sometimes you don't get any errors, especially if the screen is altered (loading screen, blanked screen) by the program. I've got this issue several times, and it was always the tape's fault (or at least a problem with loading)...

[awergh]

oh well guess that makes sense then, why is it that more of the better games don't seem to work? and the really bad ones do oh well i don't have very many that dont work it was only robocop not working that made me really sad
I've been wondering would it be possible to rerecord the game onto the same tape and get it to work that way? that way I can still have an original tape but have it work instead of not work

[Carnivius]

Is there a better version of Bubble Bobble being made?  Like a new attempt at a CPC version of the game or did I imagine that?  I did a mock up myself a couple years ago but I swear I saw a video with a whole bunch of levels and in motion since then.

[Gryzor]

oh well guess that makes sense then, why is it that more of the better games don't seem to work? and the really bad ones do oh well i don't have very many that dont work it was only robocop not working that made me really sad
I've been wondering would it be possible to rerecord the game onto the same tape and get it to work that way? that way I can still have an original tape but have it work instead of not work

Yes you could. It could be possible that the tape was demagnetized at places and maybe lost some data. But, also, maybe the tape itself has degraded so that you can't record anything with a great degree of reliability...

@Carnivac: I remember your mock-up being fantastic; I don't remember a video though?

[Axelay]

Is there a better version of Bubble Bobble being made?  Like a new attempt at a CPC version of the game or did I imagine that?  I did a mock up myself a couple years ago but I swear I saw a video with a whole bunch of levels and in motion since then.

The CNGsoft remake, perhaps:

BB4CPC (Bubble Bobble Demo) - Amstrad CPC

[Carnivius]

Ah that's it.  Despite the sprites flickering a lil bit that looks much improved over the official CPC version.  Nice work by those guys.

[Xyphoe]

Ah that's it.  Despite the sprites flickering a lil bit that looks much improved over the official CPC version.  Nice work by those guys.

This shows the actual game in action -
[AMSTRAD CPC] Bubble Bobble Remake - BB4CPC - PREVIEW!

[Carnivius]

Yeah, very very nice.  I'm not even that huge a fan of Bubble Bobble (I always preferred the later Parasol Stars on PC Engine or Amiga, can we get a CPC version of that too?  The two player mode was prone to joyous backstabbing between the players ) but I want that, especially when mentioned it runs on a CPC 464

[Cholo]

So decided to try it out but I seem to get a black screen after the tape stops loading
Is there some part of the instructions I am missing or something?
Side 2 asked me for a code which I think is for level 79+ so I guess I can't do that.
I didn't get any tape read errors so I would of assumed the tape is fine.
Can anyone enlighten me to whether I have to do something or its just broken?

Side 2 of the original tape is indeed just the final boss lvl, so i hope you can get side 1 working. Loading side 1 you should first get a black screen with copyright stuff written with white/red letters (telling you to press fire). Once into the "main menu" you get a even darker screen with the title and 1/2 player and press R to redefine keys. I write this because if you are sitting in a dark room you may not have noticed (/puts back on glasses).

The trouble with the "good" games is usually the high lvl of protection on the tapes. Highly protected games does all kinda stuff like weak signals, timed loading etc. Sadly that also makes them much more fraguile to anything because its already "pressing the limits". Seriously shouldnt sneeze next to a protected tape. If just 1 error happens to a protected tape then the whole tape is usually ready for the trashbin as even if the tape has the full game on both sides, it just means there will be a load error crash on the other side too. Had the game been unprotected and used the normal amstrad block loading a tape can still be playable even with multiple errors as you can turn the tape over and load a error free block from the other side of the tape.

Robocop is definately one of the "tough" ones. I tried to make a tape (cdt) image myself but gave up as its some mixed speedlock protection. I suggest you do not try to save back a image of the original tape and definately dont do it onto the original tape (the read error is probably because of a small physical dent and it wont go away with overwriting).

What i do suggest is go buy a new "normal position" tape instead. And then try to transfer a cracked version to that tape instead. A cracked version is usually just using the normal block loading so you should have no problem with those. If you was wondering where to find a cracked version i suggest looking for cracked disc instead .. those are usually also tape cracks anyways .. but have been put into Dsk for easier loading with emulators. Cracked versions are usually also easy to spot the loading pattern so you know what to save to tape first (aka 1 file is called "Bubble1" and second is called "Bubble2" etc.

Anyways, there may be hardware difficulties as well as you havnt mentioned your setup.

[awergh]

I was just wondering if writing back to the tape was possible, guess it sounds like its not likely to work oh well worth a thought.

I haven't experienced any issues with my setup previously which is
CPC464
GT64 (used for powering the S-Video Modulator, and games that I decide should be in green)
S-Video Modulator
PC with TV Card connected to 15" CRT

[Cholo]

The 464 is definately the best setup possible for tape reading. So its definately worth a shot trying to record the game back to a new blank tape. It is possible to write back most protected games, so its worth a shot. Again writing back a cracked/hacked version is definately possible, even tho its a bit more work usually.

[tastefulmrship]

I always preferred the later Parasol Stars on PC Engine or Amiga

Parasol Stars was my favourite of the series.

...DIGRESSION...
Due to lack of motivation to work this weekend, I have done a very quick CPC version of the Amiga music!
I haven't been able to get Arkos to work for a while now, so it's still WinAPE volumes for now. I recommend listening to it in MONO mode than STEREO to get that Amiga on a TV screen feel... or something vaguely not similar!

Anyway, it's nice to remember those tunes you couldn't get rid of when you were young... and still can't...

[mr_lou]

Due to lack of motivation to work this weekend, I have done a very quick CPC version of the Amiga music!

Dude! Those are awesome conversions!
I have to look up whatever other musics you've done.

[rexbeng]

Why not post the tune in the appropriate Parasol Stars thread, then? 


rb

[tastefulmrship]

Dude! Those are awesome conversions!
I have to look up whatever other musics you've done.

Thanks, but they aren't all that.

I've done a lot of conversions recently, but don't get your hopes up. No, really! I mean it, DON'T!
They would've been totally shyte if it wasn't for MaV's editing them on real hardware. If they sound vaguely like the originals, then he's the one to thank, not me!

Why not post the tune in the appropriate Parasol Stars thread, then? 

Nah, they're not meant to be taken seriously; just a little bit of fun while I was bored, that's all.

Anyway, a proper version of the proper arcade music would be better suited to a CPC Parasol Stars remake.
We have plenty of proper musicians who would do an infinitely better job than I could ever do! Proper!

I'm happy for them to sit here and slowly fall down the "Games forum" page into obscurity!
(They are fucking catchy, though, aren't they?)

[mr_lou]

Er...  ok then.

Can we please have some more of that lame music of yours then?

[tastefulmrship]

Can we please have some more of that lame music of yours then?

Well, here are the Amiga & C64 tunes I've massacred so far;

Gameboy Ports? - Super Mario Land
WIP: Now That's What I Call Chip Tunes (WinAPE) - 5 more tunes just for fun!
WIP: Now That's What I Call Chip Tunes (WinAPE) - This Musicdisk Is About 20% Cooler

I don't plan on doing any more, to be honest, but I am currently re-editing the original NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL CHIPTUNES music... but while my copy of Windows still refuses to load Arkos (god knows why, it worked a few weeks ago), I've kinda stalled!

There are a load of Dubmood cracktro and keygen chips that I wouldn't mind having a bash at. If I get a few hours spare, I might ask him if he would send me the original .xm files. We'll see.

[mr_lou]

Hm well, I'd tell you to work on your self-esteem since you clearly have no sense of your own skills, but I'd rather you spent your time on doing more music instead. 

The tracks are great. Keep 'em coming.

[MaV]

Well, my only job was to compare the songs in WinApe, on real hardware through speakers, and on real hardware through external stereo, and then discuss the result with tasty. That's 5% of the work at most, IMO, so tasty should be given all the credit.

TBH, listening to the music in almost finished form and helping to get them a bit more polished was most entertaining, especially since the songs are very nice.

[cngsoft]

...DIGRESSION...
Due to lack of motivation to work this weekend, I have done a very quick CPC version of the Amiga music!
I haven't been able to get Arkos to work for a while now, so it's still WinAPE volumes for now. I recommend listening to it in MONO mode than STEREO to get that Amiga on a TV screen feel... or something vaguely not similar!

Holy crap, do you know how much work you've saved me? I had already found out that the Amiga songs were .MEDs but the peculiar choice of instruments made the pattern translitteration a nightmare to me. Gentlemen, I believe we know who's going to get the credit for the soundtrack of PS4CPC!

[TomEtJerry]

Hi guys !

I agree with Mr Lou, your tunes conversions are really nice, TastefulMrShip,  and have the "right feeling" for a game. I didn't know the final boss music (Parasol star on Amiga was nice but hard if I remember well).

I have the feeling that Matt Furniss was not very inspirated when I done it :-)  (carbon copy of "La Lambada" ).

[tastefulmrship]

 

Holy crap, do you know how much work you've saved me? I had already found out that the Amiga songs were .MEDs but the peculiar choice of instruments made the pattern translitteration a nightmare to me.

The original .MED files use synth sounds that MODPlug seems to ignore. Hence the silence.
I had to use an olde copy of MED Soundstudio to transfer the instruments to CPC, then it was a simple matter of copying the patterns to STarkos. There are a few sound-effect instruments I failed to emulate properly, but again it was only meant to be a bit of fun.

I didn't know the final boss music (Parasol star on Amiga was nice but hard if I remember well).

I have the feeling that Matt Furniss was not very inspirated when I done it :-)  (carbon copy of "La Lambada" ).

I think Matt was in direct competition with Richard Joseph's Robocod soundtrack for the most bounciest, catchy soundtrack on Amiga. I'd say Richard won, but I am biased! ^_^

[cngsoft]

If with PARASOL5 you mean the track
http://cngsoft.no-ip.org/TAITO-PARASOL_STARS-SECRET_WORLD_THEME.OGG it belongs to the secret world exclusive to the Amiga version; you can reach it by grabbing the heart powerup in World 3 Round 4 and collecting all the resulting bonus items when you kill the last seahorse. (you can cheat your way in, too) One of my mockups is indeed from this secret world; here's how it originally looked like:







Etc.. This world strikes me as something made with the leftovers of "The Addams Family", for some odd reason.

[tastefulmrship]

If with PARASOL5 you mean the track
http://cngsoft.no-ip.org/TAITO-PARASOL_STARS-SECRET_WORLD_THEME.OGG it belongs to the secret world exclusive to the Amiga version; you can reach it by grabbing the heart powerup in World 3 Round 4 and collecting all the resulting bonus items when you kill the last seahorse. (you can cheat your way in, too) One of my mockups is indeed from this secret world; here's how it originally looked like:

Etc.. This world strikes me as something made with the leftovers of "The Addams Family", for some odd reason.

That tune (SECRET_WORLD_THEME) is actually PARASOL4. I managed to get that one done.

If I get a few hours free over the weekend, I'll see if I can get PARASOL5 completed. It's also the only tune that will require hardENV to be authentic to the original. I REALLY need to get Arkos working again... maybe a quick WinXP rebuild is in order!

It doesn't appear in the LONGPLAY MOVIE, so it must have something to do with the BAD ENDING.


Amiga Longplay [229] Parasol Stars


Attached is an .MP3 of PARASOL5.med, played through DELIPLAYER2.50 on PC.




EDIT: This post marks my "Post Count Of The Beast".
(ie, six hundred and sixteen)