Great Exploitations

Yep - seems a little too fast now, especially without an analog gas pedal.

 

One thing I'd like to see (or hear) is a different sound when you're on the grass. Maybe a higher engine pitch like the wheels are spinning.

 

As for the transmission, I like the gear shifting, but I think when starting in 2nd, 3rd and 4th, the sounds should begin at successively higher RPMs than they do in 1st, since you aren't starting from an idle in those gears.

You can mix two extra joystick signals with a driving controller, but there is no point with a 1P game. Just use a joystick in the other controller jack.

Just use a joystick in the other controller jack.

Yup, we can just use our foot pedals then

Something I just noticed: when you are moving diagonally, the playfield often moves like this when the rate of movement is, for example, down once every other frame and right once every four frames:

 

frame 1: D

frame 2: no move

frame 3: D

frame 4: R

frame 5: D

frame 6: no move

frame 7: D

frame 8: R

frame 9: D

etc.

 

I.e., the horizontal and vertical scrolling isn't synchronized.

 

That looks kind of jittery and is hard on the eyes - it would be better if, in the above example, it was like this:

frame 1: D

frame 2: no move

frame 3: D

frame 4: no move

frame 5: D and R

frame 6: no move

frame 7: D

frame 8: no move

frame 9: D and R

etc.

 

When I was working on an Arkanoid clone Manuel made the same comment with regards to the movement of the ball - and he was right, it did look much better when the horizontal and vertical movement was synchronized.

 

Regarding the higher speed, I like it.

 

Regarding shifting - I wouldn't give any unnatural advantage to the manual shifter (like higher top speed or faster accel), but rather think through the advantages of manually shifting in a real car:

-more control, especially by downshifting

-faster accel by optimal shifting

-others...?

 

And then think about how to incorporate those. For example, you could make the automatic transmission shift slightly suboptimally so that it is possible (though difficult!) to best it when shifting manually for better acceleration. Also, you could set the automatic transmission to shift the same way always but set different optimal shifting points for different road surfaces (ice, grass, etc.), thereby giving an advantage to the skilled manual shifter.

 

That make sense?

it did look much better when the horizontal and vertical movement was synchronized.

Yup, I learned the same when doing Thrust. I could have done the vertical scrolling smoothly, but it just didn't look good.

Thanks for all the comments. So regarding the bug's speed, maybe I can do both. The standard bug can come with the 1600cc engine, but you will be able to upgrade to a 1776cc engine if you earn enough money? I suppose other upgrades would be possible too; the main limitation as to how many I can add will be the RAM requirements, which is getting scarce.

 

I know the engine sounds like it's bogging down between gears. This was a compromise because of the limited pitch in the TIA. IMO, AUDCx=2 is perfect for a VW Bug, but there isn't much usable range in pitches. Basically there are two options: Either make the engine sound like it's bogging down a little or make the sound jerky like Indy 500. I prefer the former.

 

Real manual transmissions generally do allow for quicker acceleration and a higher top speed. The differences can be small but skilled drivers can exploit them. So allowing a manual transmission to behave slightly differently would not be unnatural. Also, I'm not sure that I've seen any games that don't give the manual transmission a slight advantage in acceleration and/or top speed. Regardless, I would make the difference subtle enough so that you'd have to be skilled to beat the automatic.

 

Regarding the scrolling, I agree that the method shown might look better, but implementation is not cut and dried. The problem is that this game does not scroll in deliberate, discrete amounts like Thrust or probably any other 4-way scrolling 2600 game (are there any others?). The physics in this game require that the X and Y screen positions have a fractional byte and the bug has X and Y fractional velocity. This is what makes skidding, friction, and all that possible. Forcing a particular scroll pattern would require unnatural tweaking of the screen's fractional bytes. There might be a way to minimize the scrolling issue but I can't think of a solution right now.

Mountain King scrolls in four directions. Also...Marble Craze, Subterranea, and Vanguard. Though I don't think Subterranea or Vanguard scroll horizontally *and* vertically at the same time.

Mountain King scrolls in four directions. Also...Marble Craze, Subterranea, and Vanguard. Though I don't think Subterranea or Vanguard scroll horizontally *and* vertically at the same time.

Good to know. So does Marble Craze scroll as you go or does it work like Thrust? I'd try it out, but I don't think the game is playable via emulation and I don't have a set of paddles handy.

Marble Craze scrolls? I thought it just jumped from screen to screen...

There might be a way to minimize the scrolling issue but I can't think of a solution right now.

 

if(abs(X_fractional_velocity) > abs(Y_fractional_velocity))
{
if(MoveXNow())
{
	MoveX();
	if(MoveYNow())
	{
		MoveY();
	}
}
}
else
{
if(MoveYNow())
{
	MoveY();
	if(MoveXNow())
	{
		MoveX();
	}
}
}

 

Marble Craze scrolls? I thought it just jumped from screen to screen...

Oh...I think you're right.