Friday 25 December 2020

Xmas News updates

 Hi again folks,

I wanted to show & tell some updates/improvements i have made for the new version of Tennis (0.11.3). 

First, the intro splash screen which fades in and out:

 As per suggestion from JDGP030302, i have added a "memory" code so when the ball leaves the screen left or right, it will return at the same "X & Y" position and also added a cleaner "beep" sound (many thanks to JDGP030302 for the cleaned wav!).

Added a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) shader which gives an old TV screen look (by pressing F10):


Added the Videojuel overlay:

 And added two USB gamepads but for now you need to plug two USB gamepads to play with them because if only one is connected it won't work (to why, i don't know...). Because at first, when i was plugging only one USB gamepad, the game worked but freezed when no gamepad was connected. At least now we can use both keyboard and two gamepads but not the keyboard and one gamepad. 

I'll check that out later as there is more improvements to add like a reset button for resetting the score and make two kinds of score for Tennis : regular (as the one it has already (by default)) or the real one: 0-15-30-40-etc... (like in real Tennis). Better ball speed as the one coded in OdySim is way to slow (when at speed 05) or way to fast (speed 1000). Add joystick "sticks" for near-real controller simulation (just got the D-pad and buttons coded for now), etc...

So in the meantime, enjoy the little gift in the previous post and take care folks! :)

- Sly -

Merry Christmas to everyone! =)

 Hi and Merry Christmas folks!

Hoping that you will have a great day with your young one(s), wife or husband, partner, family and friends! We all need a great day especially with a miserable year we had and it will get brighter in the following months to come. 

So today, it's a day to celebrate with family and friends, and opening presents if you were not naughty (lol!). So here's a picture (err...more an icon or thumbnail since the real picture is 39 Megs) of my little present for all of you folks:

An Magnavox Odyssey Poster! Click HERE to download it. :)

It's not a fancy present and once you print it, it won't be small! This is the project i was working on this summer as i wanted to print and sell some (like 20). One of my friends had made it print (the prototype poster before this final version) to see what the quality looked like and damn(!) it looks great!

So instead of asking a store to print it, buy some tubes and ship it (as shipping now costs a lot, even more outside Canada - something like $30 from province Quebec to California state) and this is the main reason not wanting to sell/ship it so instead of paying for printing the poster (says $20-30 depending the size you want it, shipping tube (about $5) and shipping price (with insurance and tracking) which is $20 minimum within Canada and at least $30-40 depending the state you live in the U.S. so the minimum cost would be about $65!! ($45 minimum for Canadians)

Now, just download the PNG file and put it on a USB stick and print it to a local printing shop and it should cost you around $20-25 depending the size you want because the printing shop i asked to print it say that the file is so big that it can be like 26x23 inches (that's the size of the prototype) to the size of a billboard! No kidding! (That should cost an arm and a leg!). And don't forget  once the poster printed, cut both grey section with an exacto (sharp knife) or leave them (your choice).

So this is my little Christmas present to you folks! You can resize it and make it a desktop wallpaper, make a mouse pad or t-shirt (see further), etc... the only thing i ask is not use the PNG file to make money out of it. This file is free of use/distribution as long anyone is not trying to make profits out of it. 

Wanna know the story behind it ? OK then, here's it is:

I wanted to do a special project for the Odyssey community (everyone that loves, collects and supports the Magnavox Odyssey) and i notice that the Odyssey never had a poster of it's own, only ads and flyers. So since the pandemic was raging during summer, i've started working on the Odyssey poster and here's the sketch/draft of it:


I glued a can of Coca-Cola to show you the size i wanted it to be which was 33½" by 30". After i made small change as the "The electric game center by Magnavox" which sounded very ancient, i replaced it with "The electronic game of the future" which sounds much better:

While working with Paint Shop Pro 6 (yup still using old software), i have changed the pattern of the games as the upper games were the 12 pack-in, after was the extras (72-73) and at last the rifle games. I didn't liked it so i changed the pattern of the games from A to Z (Analogic to Wipeout actually) and added a picture of the rifle gun on each shooting gallery games. So the printed prototype looks like this:

 
Notice that it still says "The electric game center by Magnavox" ? When i saw the result, this is when i decided to changed it to "The electronic game of the future" which now features on the final version. Also notice that the border is very thin and doesn't look professional so i enlarge the boder which is also featured in the final version. Think i have made more than 25 changes from the first sketch to the final version. So the poster you see (the upper one of this text) is the only printed prototype and i "may" give it to someone as a special contest winner in the future.
 
Oh and my friend who arranged to print out the prototype (he used the wrong file as i have sent him the final before printing) made me a little surprise by also making these:
 

 
An Odyssey Mouse Pad and a T-Shirt, very cool! (even if it's has the old inscription). When i saw the Mouse Pad, this is when i did the last change on the poster with a bigger border as this looks much nicer.

I hope that you like the little Xmas present (and the story). So all the health and celebrate with loved ones on this "Holy Day". Until next time, take care folks! =)

--- Sylvain (Sly DC) De Chantal ---

Monday 21 December 2020

OdySim update as December 21, 2020

 Hi folks!

After an awful news regarding Don Emry, there is a good news as i am welcoming back Nicholas Broetzman after a long departure of the Odyssey collectors community. He was the one who helped me out at the beginning of this adventure (the project was called "LOVEOdyssey" back then) and after he got married, he sold out all his magnificent Odyssey collection, but now he's back and recollecting all Odyssey stuff! 

Stuart Feldhamer sent me an email about 2 weeks ago saying that he and others are looking forward for new OdySim updates. Well here's one now Stuart ...LOL!!! Sorry, wanted to tease you a bit! ;)

I wrote to him that i was thinking of updating the version of LÖVE before releasing/updating any games as i am still using LÖVE version 0.10.1 (aka Super Toaster) as this version was released in February 2016 and the latest version: LÖVE 0.11.3 (aka Mysterious Mysteries) was released in October 2019.

So i'll start with Tennis first and update it to 0.11.3 and also i'll add x2 USB gamepad to be used so it will be more faithful to the Odyssey analog controllers and add a CRT shader (for the "retro" fun of it). Maybe by updating to a newer version i'll be able to correct  the resolution problem as by an old request ?! OH and also a proper/cleaned "beep" sound thanks to JDGP030302! ;)

During 2021, i'll begin to start posting some mods/hacks/add-ons for the Magnavox Odyssey like adding sound, composite video output, power LED, etc.. as this is more my cup of tea (electronics) than programming. So stay "tuned" in 2021!

And on Christmas day (in 4 days), i'll have a surprise for you all. It is a project that i worked during summer. For now, you'll all have to wait until Xmas morning. :)

Until then, take care folks! =)

- Sly -

Sunday 20 December 2020

In Memoriam - Donald Charles Emry

 Hi folks,

It's been 3 and a half months now since the last i have posted something and i am coming back with an awful news. Donald Charles Emry or Don Emry has passed away on November 22, 2020. Just about one month ago as i have discovered this bad news just 3 hours ago when writing this post.

 
For those who doesn't know who was Don, he's the guy who did the last four Magnavox Odyssey games in 1973, which was : 
 
 



These are the best designed boxes in the entire legacy Odyssey library, don't you think folks ? There was also 4 others games he started some work but these were never finished. Only one of the unfinished games is now known: Ski Festival - only the overlay is known to exist and was supposed to be bundled with "Ski" for the Odyssey "Deluxe model". 

So all my condolences and sympathy to the family and friends of Donald...Our thoughts and prayers are with you Don!