Screen Mockup: Pick Axe Pete - attempt in bBasic

[kirin jensen]

So if I went back and replayed the game to your exact specifications, is it going to change your mind about it? No. I owned this game when I was a kid. I read the damn instruction manual. I played the game on an emulator recently and found it to be deeply flawed; a hollow shell of what I remembered from my youth. I'm not the only one who feels this way, and just because I can't rack up a score of forty seven million points doesn't instantly invalidate my opinion. The fact that I can't make any progress at all only strengthens it.

 

Actually, my point is the same as it has been: You don't seem to have a clue how to play this game.

 

Further, you don't seem to be able to play PAP very well, and instead of figuring out the gameplay, you decided "it's another stupid O2 game".

 

I didn't like this game the first few times I tried it. Then I reread the manual and played it again. Vast difference in playing it. My high score is in the 1700 range, and at that point the game is incredibly wild. The game really changes play as early as the 400-600 level and that experience alone would make this a classic.

 

So. What's your high score?

 

A bit OT, but:

 

The discussion of this game made me curious, so I found a ROM for this, and an Odyssey2 emulator (O2EM for OS X), but...I don't seem to be able to get anything to happen. So, for those who know O2EM -- should I be able to move Pete with the arrow keys? What am I doing wrong?

 

This is my first foray into Odyssey2 gaming, actually...it seems like exactly what I'd always read, limited graphics but lots of sprites and a unique flavor all its own. Having tried a few games, I'm getting very mixed results with O2EM -- in about half the games I've tried, I don't seem to be able to move my character at all...

 

Most versions of O2 emulators allow you to set up the keys you want to use. I'd start there and with the 'readme' document that came with the emulator.

 

Hope you enjoy Pickaxe Pete once you get it running!

[PacManPlus]

Started in bBasic - I want to see how far I get. What do you think of the playfield so far?

[mimo]

Started in bBasic - I want to see how far I get. What do you think of the playfield so far?

Looks nice, but not very SI like

[PacManPlus]

 

I know - I'm just a little intimidated still with that one. I will get to it.

[PacManPlus]

My high score is in the 1700 range, and at that point the game is incredibly wild. The game really changes play as early as the 400-600 level and that experience alone would make this a classic.

 

I have to ask - how does the difficulty ramp up here? I am not good enough to get that high of a score to find out myself.

Aside from the boulders getting faster (do they get faster than you walk at some point?), and sections of the platform disappearing, is there anything else that changes? Are there ever more than 5 boulders on the screen at one time?

 

Thanks!

Bob

Edited October 19, 2007 by PacManPlus

[gambler172]

Hi Bob

Looks nice so far.Any bin available for testing?

greetings Walter

[Jess Ragan]

So. What's your high score?

 

If you're so convinced that I don't know how to play the game, then why don't you show me how it's done by posting a clip of your breaking the thousand point mark on YouTube? I'd love to see how you manage to avoid all the cheap hits, dodge the completely unpredictable bouncing boulders, and collect the stupid key that vanishes just before you can reach it.

[+thegoldenband]

Most versions of O2 emulators allow you to set up the keys you want to use. I'd start there and with the 'readme' document that came with the emulator.

 

Hope you enjoy Pickaxe Pete once you get it running!

 

Hmmm, still no luck. Everything seems to be set up properly -- I'm able to play Loony Balloon, Freedom Fighters, et al. with no problems. Maybe I have a bad dump, or it's just not properly emulated in (the Mac OS X version of) O2EM?

 

EDIT: Ah, it was a left joystick/right joystick issue. Unfortunately, O2EM has no keyboard config window that I've found, leaving the user no way of finding out what the Player 2 keys are! I had to plug in a USB gamepad and map all the Player 2 functions to get things to work.

Edited October 20, 2007 by thegoldenband

[superbee]

I didn't like this game the first few times I tried it. Then I reread the manual and played it again. Vast difference in playing it. My high score is in the 1700 range, and at that point the game is incredibly wild. The game really changes play as early as the 400-600 level and that experience alone would make this a classic.

 

Congratulations, my highest score actually is 1126. How you use to play it. Do you enter in a door immediatally after get the key or after catch the key you break some rocks before into the door?

[superbee]

Started in bBasic - I want to see how far I get. What do you think of the playfield so far?

 

Very nice, keep your great job

[kirin jensen]

I have to ask - how does the difficulty ramp up here? I am not good enough to get that high of a score to find out myself.

Aside from the boulders getting faster (do they get faster than you walk at some point?), and sections of the platform disappearing, is there anything else that changes? Are there ever more than 5 boulders on the screen at one time?

 

Thanks!

Bob

 

The platform stages disappearing make it difficult enough. There's fewer places to catch a ladder (but fewer places for a ladder to appear as well), and with all that empty space, the boulders are really unpredictable. Plus, the longer a boulder sticks around (i.e., doesn't smash into your axe or another boulder and doesn't go through a door) the faster it starts to move. Plus the patterns are so damn hypnotic it's easy to get distracted by them while a boulder hits ol' Pete.

 

 

So. What's your high score?

 

If you're so convinced that I don't know how to play the game, then why don't you show me how it's done by posting a clip of your breaking the thousand point mark on YouTube? I'd love to see how you manage to avoid all the cheap hits, dodge the completely unpredictable bouncing boulders, and collect the stupid key that vanishes just before you can reach it.

 

I'd love to, but I don't have a way to record (unless I can tape the game to my VCR - I'll check) and even less of a way to post it. I'm pretty lo-tech, frankly. And quit trying to reach that key if it's more than half a screen away horizontally. It'll definitely vanish before you get there, and there's always a new key coming up. The boulders are fairly predictable so I'm not what you mean. Concentrate on running away from the ones you'd need to duck until you've had some practice. Ducking is trickier than jumping in PAP. Maybe you need not to run around so much in the game. PAP works better as a gam,e where you wait for your opportunities: running after a key or ladder is usually a mistake.

 

 

I didn't like this game the first few times I tried it. Then I reread the manual and played it again. Vast difference in playing it. My high score is in the 1700 range, and at that point the game is incredibly wild. The game really changes play as early as the 400-600 level and that experience alone would make this a classic.

 

Congratulations, my highest score actually is 1126. How you use to play it. Do you enter in a door immediately after get the key or after catch the key you break some rocks before into the door?

 

Immediate after, unless I get a new pickaxe right away. Though if I think my score's too low (I like to score at least 50 points per level) I will hang around just to get a new pickaxe and smash more boulders.

[+johnnywc]

Interesting thread...

 

Thanks to Bob's mockup, I was inspired to download an O2 emulator and try this game out and see for myself how it is. Well, as it turns out I picked up an Xbox 360 a few nights ago and for some reason all I'm playing is Pick Axe Pete and other O2 games!

 

Anyway, the game certainly isn't perfect but I find it challenging and fair. Sure, there are points where I'm stuck in a corner getting clobbered by boulders but most of the time it's because I put myself in that situation with poor planning. I've gotten much better at ducking which has helped immensely. Getting the key was frustrating at first but once I stopped trying to get to the top of the screen to get it and concentrated more on waiting for collisions and catching as it flys up to the top, it got much easier.

 

Someone said there isn't a clear objective; I'm not sure why. The objective (if I'm playing it right) is to get the key and make your way to a door, fall down the mine shaft to the next screen. You always have the option of making your way to the lower level to get the pick axe if you want to increase your score (I do this often) but it's not necessary.

 

As for tweaking the game, my recommendation would be to put in some game options that would add more lives, add more time to how long the pick axe/key stick around, and have the pick axe/key stop at different levels.

 

Here's to hoping Bob can finish this one - I think the 2600 needs another platformer and PAP (with minor tweaks) would be a great addition.

 

Thanks for listening...

[superbee]

Someone said there isn't a clear objective; I'm not sure why. The objective (if I'm playing it right) is to get the key and make your way to a door, fall down the mine shaft to the next screen. You always have the option of making your way to the lower level to get the pick axe if you want to increase your score (I do this often) but it's not necessary.

 

You´re rigth, Jhonny. Some people seems that not want to see the objective of this (and others Ody gaems). So, whats the Berzerk objective, to cross the door and go to next level. It´s exactly what you need to do in PAP, but you´ll need the key.

[PacManPlus]

Ok. got the following working:

 

1) Player Movement

2) Player Falling

3) Player Jumping

4) Player Ducking

5) Showing Boulders on the screen (they don't move and they don't hurt the player yet - they are just kind of 'there')

 

It's a slow process, as I'm learning bBasic as I'm writing this. What do you think so far?

 

... I think when it's done, I may call it 'Boulder Bound Bob'

pap.txt

pap.txt.bin

[fsuinnc]

I have always liked the O2 (not as much as the A2600 of course). Back in the day the O2 football and Baseball were the best sports game around until the Intelliviion showed up (my opinion, no discusion needed). I was never a big PAP fan. I just never got it and never really tried but I knew several O2 owners that swore it was the best game going. Anyway, So far I think this game is very, very impressive in bringing the look of the original to the 2600. I hope you can continue the work and I hope it keeps going this well.

[gambler172]

Hi Bob

Looks nice,so far.Keep on working......

greetings Walter