Ti99 game Rock Runner

I was looking at a page about boulder dash and different variants and wondered if there was a boulder dash clone for the ti99.

I read about this ti99 game rock runner which is a boulder dash clone so I had to give it a go.


There's the author's web page at:

http://www.lafortune.eu/rockrunner/index.html

Rock Runner Info

8-way scrolling game for the TI-99/4A.
Goal: collecting diamonds in a 2D world.
Simple physics: gravity, lava, bombs, butterflies,...
Written in TMS-9900 assembler.
Development tools: line-by-line assembler, hex editor, Mini Memory module, tape recorder.
Used a novel undocumented half-bitmap graphics mode of the TMS-9918A Video Display Processor.
Program code fitted in 4K of memory.
Distributed by Asgard Software.

and I was able to find a disk image on the net.

I've never used a ti99 before so it was difficult to get things set up:

Requirements: Editor/Assembler cartridge, 32K RAM, disk drive, joysticks.
Executable to run: ROCK (E/A Option 5)



./mame64 ti99_4a -cart1 editass -rompath 'mame190roms' -window -screen screen1 -resolution 640x480 -verbose -ioport peb -ioport:peb:slot8 hfdc -ioport:peb:slot2 32kmem -flop1 ../../Rockrun.dsk


I finally realized what E/A option 5 means:

Load the editor/assembler by pressing 2:



Press option 5 to load:



Then type DSK1.ROCK and ENTER (I think it needs to be caps-lock uppercase)








It's pretty challenging to finish the first level in the time limit.