VCS: Stay Frosty 2 Demo

[SpiceWare]

We first started working on Stay Frosty 2 in 2008. We finally finished it, but weren't able to release it on time due to a shortage of Melody boards. So we decided to release a short demo. I tried to upload it here, but apparently the 509KB zip file is too large (it contains NTSC and PAL ROMs, along with a manual). You can obtain it from AtariAge in this topic.

I've also posted a bunch of screenshots in my blog.

[Philsan]

Awesome game and wonderful music!

[SpiceWare]

Thanks! I can't wait for the full version to be released as there's a number of elements of the game that isn't in the demo.

[MacDLSA]

Darrell !!!

I already like Stay Frosty "1" ( sorry... it's a long time I didn't play it... ) and I always think it's a superb game in all its parts !
I have to say that "old school" fixed screen platform games are my favourites ( Mario Bros. docet... -THE FIRST- Mario Bros., not the "Super" and all its billion of sons... ), so I'm a little bit "deployed" !
This first episode has immense playability, great graphic ( the snowman is "simply" one of the best VCS -HUGE- sprites ever seen ! ) and STEREO SOUND !!!!!!!!!!!

This second Frosty has different levels, "powerups" and some beautiful XMas songs ( I can't now reach so far, but I didn't heard "O' Holy Night"... did you included it, too ? ) but it doesn't ( still ? ) have stereo sound !!!
Is it a matter of the demos or you decided to delete this feature ?

[ note, just to stay "on topic" : yesterday we went to the Cinema to watch Disney's Frozen...
This was the very first time for my daughter, and at the end she was litterally enthusiast !
Great movie, indeed !!! AND... when I first saw Olaf, the snowman, it immediately reminded to me your Frosty' starring !!!
]

Nice job, as always, Darrell !!!

[SpiceWare]

Thanks!

SF1 doesn't have stereo sound, it just uses whichever sound channel is free. SF2 works the same way, though the left sound channel can be used for 3-voice music (one of the difficulty switches controls if the music plays or not).

There's 14 tracks, though O' Holly Night isn't one of them:

Track_A - Deck The Hall
Track_B - Silent Night
Track_C - Up On Roof
Track_D - The Shepherds Carol
Track_E - Go Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Track_F - Holly Ivy
Track_G - Midnight Clear
Track_H - Christmas is Coming
BossTrack - Stay Frosty (reuse of menu track)
ImperialTrack - Imperial March
MenuTrack - Stay Frosty
RescuedTrack - We Wish You a Merry Xmas
SantaTrack - Auld Lang Syne
ContinueTrack - Continue (tick tock)
AtariAgeTrack - Have You Played Atari Today

[MacDLSA]

Oh, hehe... I like XMas songs since, way back, I was a choral singer...
And "O'Holy Night" was ( and still is ) one of my favs !


Well, let me understand one thing.
You know I'm not a programmer, but as far as I know the VCS couldn't handle a 2-channel ( LEFT and RIGHT ) sound output, separately or even in the way your game does sound.
Maybe the Melody Board could make the TIA do it, but I really dunno...
The only thing I know is that the emulator ( Stella ) can do it, and also SF(1) is the only game I "heard" that ( again, played on the emulator ) gives this kind of sound in the two channels L & R, separately !
Just to clarify: one of my 2600 has composite video + RCA L/R audio pinjack outputs... if I would try SF1 ( or 2 ) cartrtidge in that machine and connect the audio outputs to a stereo amp, then would I hear the same I do in my computer with the game played by the emulator ?


[ edit: BUT ?!?!?!?! ... the IMPERIAL MARCH !?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ]

[SpiceWare]

The Atari was designed to have 2 speakers mounted in the unit, they changed it at some point so the sound was sent to the TV. The case wasn't updated though, it still has speaker holes(click photo at that link for an even larger view).

Early games like Air Sea Battle were written to utilize it, but the later games didn't bother since nobody would be able to hear it anyway. When video mods started coming out, people realized they could extract the left and right channels out of the TIA. A-VCS-tec Challenge, Medieval Mayhem and Skeleton+ utilize stereo sound. There may be other homebrews that do so, though I'm not aware of them.

When they revised TIA for Europe they had to come up with an extra pin to use for PAL signal requirements. They freed up a pin by mixing the channels internally, so you can't get stereo out of a PAL 2600.

Stella has a game specific setting for stereo - if it's on you get stereo, if it's off the channels are mixed and sent to both speakers. It's possible it was accidentally set to stereo for SF1.


NIMROD (Non-Infringing Mobile Robotic Observation Device) is making an appearance in SF2. You'll have to find it though, it won't automatically show up like it does in Toyshop Trouble or Reindeer Rescue

[MacDLSA]

Hehe, I have a L6 since more than 31 years so I perfectly know its case was designed to fit audio speakers inside, even if it never did .
UH !
Internal speaker audio channel could have been handled by the TIA itself separately from TV's channel ?
This is really a NEW for me !
To tell the truth,I heard something 'bout it, but I'd never thought such a thing !
And, too bad for our european consoles !

Ok, it's time for me to take a look at Stella's setup... and play SFII, maybe catchin' some "easter-egg" !

[SpiceWare]

No need to look yet - NIMROD doesn't appear in the demo.

[MacDLSA]

No need to look yet - NIMROD doesn't appear in the demo.

I see...

SF2_demo_NTSC_2.jpg

[SpiceWare]

Congrats on finishing the demo! You might like to see if you can score higher

[MacDLSA]

Nope, Darrell !
Just would like to see the complete game .

Really great !

[SpiceWare]

That was a subtle hint that it might be worth your time