Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I am starting to really like it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdub_bobby Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 (edited) This is a lot of fun! But the difficulty maxes too quickly. IMO it should start just a little easier and get harder. Edited February 1, 2007 by vdub_bobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemo Posted February 2, 2007 Author Share Posted February 2, 2007 Hi, this version tries to balance difficulty... 1st stage : enemies are generated less frequently 2nd stage : enemies are generated less frequently, and have wider horizontal movement 3rd stage: enemies are generated more frequently 4th stage : enemies are generated less frequently, and have narrow horizontal movement 5th stage : like 3rd 6th stage : enemies are generated more frequently, and have narrow horizontal movement the remaining stages are like the 5th and the 6th. Simone lead_1k_20070202.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 (edited) Intense! I've managed 382, so far. Edited February 2, 2007 by Nathan Strum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 Great game, amazing what you can do in 1k! Is there any way to add noise-channel drum effects to the music when you reach Level 5 or 6? Even a simple "boom, click" effect would really add to the tension and excitement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Neuman Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 This game is very cool and very hypnotic Great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 Even better than before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 Getting better and better. How much problem would it be to increase the width of the playfield in higher levels? Even just two pixels would make the game quite a bit harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_type2600 Posted February 4, 2007 Share Posted February 4, 2007 Fantastic game. Original and simple concept; artistic integrity of gameplay, graphics and music; more intense than a Cave shooter; entrancing like Defender or Tempest. WOW! Forza Simone! Really hope you will also go for an extended version, this game has so much potential to become an instant cult classic with some added variety... Nathan and Thomas have already given some good ideas here, I'd like to add the suggestion of a game structured into zones (similar to Tempest for instance with grids changing color every 16 levels) incl. a simple transition level after each zone to break the mood (and rest the trigger finger) . Could look like this for example: - zone A (insectoid enemies): levels 1-8, eight different enemies with different moving patterns, color borders changing with every new enemy. - transition 1: dodge obstacles (fitting the mood of the next zone) a la Slot Racers, no shooting, very simple - zone B (aquatic enemies for instance): levels 9-16, enemies (zone-fitting graphical changes) keep the same patterns but density changes. - transition 2: as above - zone C: as above, horizontal speed change of enemies... etc. To graphically distinguish the different zones (aside from the enemies shapes) one could think of differently patterned borders or a different background colour... Personal Lead1k HSC: 461 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottHuggins Posted February 4, 2007 Share Posted February 4, 2007 >Really hope you will also go for an extended version, this game has so much potential to become an instant cult classic with some added variety... Agreed!! Very good for 1k, but a 4k version would be the bomb. I love the 'twitch' factor in this one. My best is 416. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted February 4, 2007 Share Posted February 4, 2007 BUG: if you hit 999, every additional invader shot will start the wave over again. No, I didn't actually score 999, I changed the score bytes in the Stella debugger to 990 to see what would happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemo Posted February 6, 2007 Author Share Posted February 6, 2007 Hi, here's the last version of lead. At the beginning of every stage, the playfield starts a little thinner, and becomes wider as you hit 50 points. Enemies are generated more frequently once you get to 200 points. Many many thanks for support/suggestions ! Simone lead_1k_20070206.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 The widening playfield works really good. But couldn't you make it even wider? Maybe increasing over time up to ~4 pixels on each side more? BTW: Fire do you have to press fire for fireing? IMO that's superfluous here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdub_bobby Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I like the widening playfield. I still wonder about the difficulty level - I hit 509 on my first play of the newest binary: I think the narrow playfield is too easy for the harder difficulty levels; it should start out at the wider setting and get wider starting maybe at 500 points or so. My 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemo Posted February 6, 2007 Author Share Posted February 6, 2007 (edited) Ok, try this one The playfield starts with the formerly wider setting, and becomes wider every 50 points like before. Thanks ! Simone lead_1k_20070206b.bin Edited February 6, 2007 by seemo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 BTW: Fire do you have to press fire for fireing? IMO that's superfluous here. I like pressing Fire. The game would feel weird without it. This ship, hurtling through space, firing out-of-control entirely of it's own accord. Eerie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 I'm not sure I like the multi-colored aliens. The varying shades of red and purple worked better for keeping track of what had been hit and how many times. Plus, it gave a more unique look and style to the game. The widening/narrowing playfield is a good addition though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lost child Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 I like the way this game is shaping up. It's very twitchy and the music and graphics are great! Gameplay Ideas: Instead of losing the game entirely when an alien passes the ship, you could slow down the rate of the ship's cannon. The opposite could be true for aliens shot in succession - speed up the rate of fire power. This might give the player a better sense of how well or crappy he is playing. It might be cool if the music speed changed to reflect this as well. Asteroid stage - The player must guide the ship through gaps in an asteroid field. Firepower would have little/no effect on asteroids so the gameplay would change from shoot everything to dodge everything. I realize it is probably too late now (the kernal would probably need to be rewritten entirely), but I think this game would be fun with the paddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_type2600 Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 I'm not sure I like the multi-colored aliens. The varying shades of red and purple worked better for keeping track of what had been hit and how many times. Plus, it gave a more unique look and style to the game. Exactly my feeling as well. The shade approach was much more intuitive and added to the hypnotic feeling of the game. Maybe the multicolor aliens could be included as a sort of bonus level in an extended version though? (like at the end of Paperboy, Hydra, etc.) The widening/narrowing playfield is a good addition though. Definetely - but I wonder whether the transition could not be smoothened instead of jumping from one size to another? Would also open up new variation possibilities, like ondulating tunnels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 I'm not sure I like the multi-colored aliens. The varying shades of red and purple worked better for keeping track of what had been hit and how many times. Plus, it gave a more unique look and style to the game. I have to agree here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 but I wonder whether the transition could not be smoothened instead of jumping from one size to another? There are some technical restrictions which make a smoothed transition pretty complicated. Definitely way to complicated for a 1K game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemo Posted February 7, 2007 Author Share Posted February 7, 2007 (edited) Hi, this version is identical to the previous one, except that 'original' enemy colors have been restored Simone lead_1k_20070207.bin Edited February 7, 2007 by seemo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Simone, the game's a lot of fun. Well done. Have you given any consideration to adding just a little drum effect to the music, once you get past 400 (or 500, or 600) points? It would really be a nice touch, I think -- just that little extra "push" to give it a sense of urgency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemo Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 Hi, this version introduces a 'hi-hat' sound once you get to 200 points. I took the sound data from Paul Slocum's great 'Atari 2600 Music And Sound Programming Guide' Unfortunately, during the second stage this sound becomes a little weird... Anyway, enjoy ! Simone lead_1k_20070209.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemo Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 Hi, here's a new version: now if you release the fire button, and press down, the enemies on the screen are removed. This allows to survive 'crowded' situations, where there are two enemies on contiguous horizontal lines, but on the opposite side of the playfield. To avoid using it too often, every time you use this 'not-so-smart-bomb' the score is reset for the current stage (for example 234 resets to 200). Simone lead_1k_20070210.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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