«Pentagram», new port for Atari 8-bit computers | Download
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Mariusz "mariusz" Wojcieszek surprises us with a new port for Atari 8-bit computers: this time, it is "Pentagram", originally for ZX Spectrum (Ultimate Play the Game, 1986).
This is the final game in the "Sabreman" saga and the sequel to the well-known «Knight Lore»-another title with an isometric perspective, which also has a port for Atari XL/XE. The protagonist, a recently graduated sorcerer, embarks on a quest to find the elements that summon the Pentagram, an artifact of immeasurable magical powers.
Wojcieszek explains that he has developed a static recompiler that takes the Spectrum Z80 code and generates its equivalent for the 6502 - the chip used in Atari 8-bit computers. "The code is created slowly and unoptimized, but it works mostly correctly. The recompiler is not designed to produce 100% correct 6502 code, but it can detect various situations that require manual intervention," notes "mariusz."
He has also created another tool to verify the correctness of the code. The program runs both versions - Spectrum and Atari - in parallel, using Z80 and 6502 emulators; it compares the memory accesses of both versions and reports their differences.
To play «Pentagram», at the title screen you must press the key1to select the keyboard. Then press the key several times0(zero) to start the game. Once in the game, press the keyXto rotate the character; the keySto move forward; and the keyWto jump (although other keys also serve the same purpose).
The author acknowledgesHe said that this first version runs slower than the original Spectrum version, as he has not had time to optimize it. "I hope to improve the speeds later. The game has not been tested extensively, so there may be some problems," he added.
Pentagram - Preliminary version for Atari 8-bit computers
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