+Andrew Davie Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 Will there be a PAL and NTSC version on the same cart? If the binary won't be released, it'd be nice to have both on the one cart It is a dual-format cartridge that switches to NTSC or PAL based on the position of one of the difficulty switches when the machine is switched on. In other words, one version fits all. Cheers A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I may have to get a PAL TV if the speed difference is that much greater. Maybe I can convince Andrew to "waste" some time in the PAL version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I may have to get a PAL TV if the speed difference is that much greater. Maybe I can convince Andrew to "waste" some time in the PAL version. Huh?! Why would you want to do that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Huh?! Why would you want to do that "waste" = display more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 "waste" = display more Ok, then it makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Will there be a PAL and NTSC version on the same cart? If the binary won't be released, it'd be nice to have both on the one cart It is a dual-format cartridge that switches to NTSC or PAL based on the position of one of the difficulty switches when the machine is switched on. In other words, one version fits all. Cheers A Excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymonster Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 (edited) Andrew, The size limitations are a problem for the diamonds. But what about this attachment? By using the darkest of the three colours on some of the edges we can soften the roundness and 'suggest' to the eye that the shape is more diamond like. Additionally the brighter outline and shading inside makes it look more like a diamond in the Atari 800 version and less like a boulder. It's not ideal, but I like it more than the triangle gfx you have at present.. Edited January 26, 2008 by happymonster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 (edited) The size limitations are a problem for the diamonds. But what about this attachment? Do I get this right? Purple = use only the dark color Orange = mix dark and second color White = mix all three colors Here is the result (can you spot the diamond? ). Edited January 26, 2008 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymonster Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 (edited) Ah! Yes, that's not clear when seen ingame.. The screenshot helps a lot when drawing. How about this? Edited January 26, 2008 by happymonster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 How about this? IIRC we had a similar design already. IMO it is still not sticking out enough. The diamonds should be clearly visible. Keep on trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymonster Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Then making it smaller is all I can think of at the moment: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymonster Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Or this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Or this? No bad. But why the big gap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymonster Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 (edited) Because the colours in both the Atari and C64 version included a dark band in the middle: Since we can't really do a proper diamond shape, we can at least suggest the original design while using a colour that makes it stand out from the boulders and walls. Filling in the middle band doesn't really help and it starts to look similar to the boulders IMHO. Edited January 26, 2008 by happymonster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tremoloman2006 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 (edited) Then making it smaller is all I can think of at the moment:Is the diamond going to have any sort of animation? If it can glitter, blink, or at least change sprites I like the "almost solid white" one looks the best thus far. I grew up on the Tandy 1000 version which utilized the enhanced graphics card that was built-in to the motherboard. On that version the diamons glistened. I know that's not going to happen with 2600 hardware but something like that would really make them stand out IMHO. Just my 2¢. Then again, I could be full of it... Edited January 27, 2008 by tremoloman2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Then making it smaller is all I can think of at the moment:The "almost solid white" one has my vote so far since it stands out the most to my eyes. Do you mean the one from this post? http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1452971 ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tremoloman2006 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 (edited) Do you mean the one from this post? http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1452971 ..Al I was referring to this one Al: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1453006 It reminds me of the version I played on the Tandy 1000 for countless hours "back in the day". Edited January 27, 2008 by tremoloman2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymonster Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I like both of the last two I posted. If only we had an extra 'pixel' in width and height! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_type2600 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Or this? This is neat and a rather good approximation of the original, IMO. Pretty convincing, especially if that "gap" gets animated (e.g. moves up and down between frames). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 Diamonds are tricky, but I acutally LIKE the current diamonds. Still, I'm open to improvements. The attached animating GIF is a grab from the two diamond animation frames currently used. The problem with diamonds is that it costs processing time to animate them, so you can't animate them TOO rapidly (especially when there's a whole screen of them, such as with an amoeba trapped, or level 9) and so you can't rely on their animation to make them look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymonster Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Both the last two images I posted don't use all the space, so you could move them up and down, or left-right as well. I can see why you used the triangle shape (after trying myself to solve this problem), but it doesn't fit in with the rest of the gfx for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 Both the last two images I posted don't use all the space, so you could move them up and down, or left-right as well. I can see why you used the triangle shape (after trying myself to solve this problem), but it doesn't fit in with the rest of the gfx for me. Nor others, but fortunately I have <evil laugh> ABSOLUTE CONTROL over the graphics. Actually, I don't... First Star Software, Inc. have to like things, and they've expressed some concern in the past about the diamond shapes. We'll see who wins But since they will, I've tried a colour change, at least... I actually quite like this very minor change; suggested by some of your examples above. The shape is the same as before, but diamonds are much more distinct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I actually quite like this very minor change; suggested by some of your examples above. The shape is the same as before, but diamonds are much more distinct. That does look very nice and is definitely an improvement over the previous diamonds. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 This video shows the "blue" diamonds in action, and also halfway-through, the "extra life" background shimmer effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymonster Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 That does look better. Can you try and make a video with the last gfx I posted in there instead? Just for a comparison.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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