Author Topic: Nice Code Software  (Read 2145 times)

PangentTech

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Nice Code Software
« on: September 13, 2022, 04:35:51 AM »
https://bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/Nice_Code_Software

Alienis - Originally released by Inventor, Alienis is an advanced hack of / clone of Battle City, with scrolling levels. Also called Alienis (VT03), Bugs (VT02), Ice Age (VT02), Monster War (VT02), Monster War (VT03), Pulver (VT02), Pulver (VT03), Pulveration (VT02), Pulveration (VT03) and Pulverize (VT02).

Is the "Ice Age" version circulating anywhere?

forgotusername

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2022, 05:12:03 PM »
I do have a copy of it, I believe it came from archive.org (in the "Undatted NES" set).

PangentTech

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2022, 06:25:54 PM »
 Thank you very much!

 This is almost identical to the Monster War version, but has different graphics for the player and enemies, and they are visibly animated, with two frames in two directions ... Monster War just uses two identical frames for this, so there isn't visible animation.

Mcin

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #3 on: October 20, 2023, 04:35:56 PM »
Hello everyone! Pegasus affictionado with famiclone-scene activity that can be traced back to 2008 here. I'm here to continue a research I started on atariage: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/341063-atariintellivision-flashback-classics-on-nes-review/#comment-5330446

Recently I've been doing intel regarding NES clones of Atari Games, starting from Atari Flashback 1, which for sure IS a NOAC. However, authorship of the games is somehow disputable. Wiki says it's nice code, https://bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/Nice_Code_Software however, I lack any hard proof for that. wiki says Nice Code is believed to have programmed officially licensed ports of Atari 2600, Atari 7800, and Intellivision games to the Famicom for use in plug & play systems. But why? because Flashback games are cross-found on consoles with a lot of nice code shovelware? I cannot trust this argument, as Chinese companies copied each other in other occasions.

Intellivision raises the same question, as there is no hard evidence. I found out that Blue sky Rangers were involved in releasing those consoles, but who coded games?

There are earlier Activision 10-in-1 and Atari 10-in-1, which are commonly believed to be a NoaC consoles, hovewer, shared games between atari 10-in-1 and atari flashback, like adventure, are totally different. I doubt these are famiclones but rather winbond-compatible, but maybe, just maybe, DC-studios, who made games for these consoles, did also flashback games? They gad GB games in portfolio, and their founder is a c64, so 6502 know-how was there.

As for missile command, which is said to be undumped, this is probably not NES game. As I said, 10-in-1 is most likely not noac, and atari keychain is not as well - this topic suggests that Digital Eclipse Vancouver used winbond-compatible instead https://bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Undumped_Games

Finally, we have Blaze mini arcade, which looks like it has flashback version of Adventure, Sprint Master and Gravatar, DIFFERENT version of Yar's revenge and nowhere-else found 2600-centipede recreation
https://piped.smnz.de/watch?v=RuBy8rVjlQs
However, this is #2. Atari Mini arcade #1 was released at the same time, and it uses ARM f1c100, as seen in this video https://piped.smnz.de/watch?v=9du237nO26M. Would they use different hardware for other console released in the same time and in the same series?

I'd be grateful for any evidence-based response, as I'm sick of clues after long time internet scrapping. If there is any member who owns those consoles, show up, for we need these as our research material.

forgotusername

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2023, 12:14:14 AM »
I can confidently say in my research that the ports were Nice Code-developed, though that isn't easy to prove in short terms. Some examples off the top of my head:

*Numerous NOAC ports of Atari 2600 games (including Activision/Imagic titles) exist as Nice Code-hacked versions, but were never officially released on any licensed plug & play. This includes Street Racer ("Lightning"), No Escape ("Ice Ocean"), Pressure Cooker ("Candy Workshop"), and quite a few others.
*Nice Code released hacked up versions of unreleased "revisions" of the Intellivision ports. For example, the Snafu hack "Shrew Mouse" has three players, while the official INTV plug & play only shows two. It would be incredibly difficult for such features to be hacked in if Nice Code didn't, at the very least, hold the original source code.
*Other verifiable Nice Code games are known to be included on Techno Source consoles, meaning Techno Source presumably commissioned Nice Code to make the Intellivison titles. Nice Code may have also been hired by Techno Source to produce the Activision/Imagic titles; however, Techno Source's eventual p&p under this license used emulation.
*Some of Nice Code's generic hacked versions are dated 2003/2004, meaning they would have had access to the games at effectively the same time the "licensed" consoles released. As such, it's not like they got ahold of the source code after the fact or something; the generic hacks were produced alongside the official versions.

Additionally, you seem to be confusing two entirely different plug & plays mentioned here. The Missile Command NOAC port is on a different 10-in-1 plug & play; it was released by Basic Fun in 2017 (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIYnHzGgpig). The Techno Source Activision console, while also not NOAC-based, was released in 2005 (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSZLbjOBojc). The Jakks Pacific versions are presumably Winbond-based.

Mcin

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2023, 06:36:53 AM »

*Nice Code released hacked up versions of unreleased "revisions" of the Intellivision ports. For example, the Snafu hack "Shrew Mouse" has three players, while the official INTV plug & play only shows two. It would be incredibly difficult for such features to be hacked in if Nice Code didn't, at the very least, hold the original source code.

They were too crappy for any other company to bother... sorry, I had to.

*Some of Nice Code's generic hacked versions are dated 2003/2004, meaning they would have had access to the games at effectively the same time the "licensed" consoles released. As such, it's not like they got ahold of the source code after the fact or something; the generic hacks were produced alongside the official versions.

I somehow missed that fact. Do you remember,m out of sleeve, any generic hack dated 2003/2004? wiki entry has no date. If not, I am going to dig through the dump romset to find out.


Additionally, you seem to be confusing two entirely different plug & plays mentioned here. The Missile Command NOAC port is on a different 10-in-1 plug & play; it was released by Basic Fun in 2017 (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIYnHzGgpig). The Techno Source Activision console, while also not NOAC-based, was released in 2005 (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSZLbjOBojc). The Jakks Pacific versions are presumably Winbond-based.

Basic fun is just re-releasing old Jakk's Pacific consoles, this was mainstream enough to get its Wikipedia mention: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Joystick_Controller_TV_Video_Game_System
Aand... It looks like wikipedia is entirely wrong, as I can clearly see other flashback games on the video. Which is cool in it's own merit - I one guy told me he'll help in dumping if I managed to somehow grasp my hands on one of them.
Additionally BG Wiki is missing a Volleyball entry from Basic fun release.

And the Activision console I meant was also Jakk's pacific, different than in your video:
https://piped.smnz.de/watch?v=aox7tglQK30
« Last Edit: October 24, 2023, 03:43:40 AM by Mcin »

forgotusername

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2023, 01:36:36 PM »
Virtually every Intellivision-based hack has a copyright of 2004, with at least two particularly early revisions - "IQ Champion" (Buzz Bombers) and "Defend Homestead" (Astrosmash) - having a date of 2003. Note that IQ Champion is credited to "Dongxin techno", a literal translation of Nice Code's Chinese company name. Some of the Atari hacks have variants with 2004 copyright notices, including "Sudden Strike" (Battlezone); though most currently dumped revisions instead feature "Power Joy Ltd" bylines without a year. The Atari Flashback itself (according to Wikipedia) was first released in November 2004.

The Volleyball game seen on the Atari Basic Fun system is, possibly by accident, the Intellivision volleyball game; which is potentially another indication that the Atari and Intellivision NOAC library originate from the same source. There is a third Blaze tabletop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hINjFL-AfBc) that also contains a volleyball game, though I am unsure if it's just the Intellivision game again or not.

EDIT: According to CaH4e3, the origin console of the Sudden Strike ROM (a 100-in-1 "D-CAT" plug & play) has a manufacturing date of 2004/12/17. So at absolute maximum, the hacked version was produced less than two months following the Atari Flashback's release (and it's more likely they were produced simultaneously).
« Last Edit: October 23, 2023, 01:48:08 PM by forgotusername »

Mcin

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #7 on: October 24, 2023, 03:58:23 AM »
Yes, volleyball is an Intellivision game, hovewer it looks like Intellivision 10 in 1 and 25 in 1 versions are different, probably a hack, wiki mention s it.
And thanks for showing me how strong the correlation is. Hovewer, there is still a minimum of doubt in me and I'll be looking further :)

Mcin

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #8 on: November 16, 2023, 08:43:47 AM »
Hi, I keep looking for more detailed info and my unchecked items list is going to an end.
One more place I could make use of is a nesbbs.com
If one colud help me to register there or be my proxy messaging there, I'd be grateful.

Mcin

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Re: Nice Code Software
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2024, 04:39:27 PM »
So, i ended up my research, all left I can do is to contact people from former TechnoSource, who were very likely involved. If one will help me to reach them on LinkedIn, I'd be grateful. I'm lacking Premium to send more messages :/ If you have an idea for other means to reach them, I'm open.