Ben_Larson Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Another new version. Changes since the last one: * Added 'continue/quit' screen * Fixed a couple minor bugs I guess I still need to test on a real system with a joystick and not a gamepad, but barring any difficulty changes I think I might be done... Panky_the_Panda_1.0_Beta5.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_Larson Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Quick update: I'm now working on the PAL conversion right now, then I think I'll be done. For anyone from Europe, which do you prefer: true 50Hz PAL conversions with squished screens or 60Hz conversions with a non-squished screen? (which I guess may not work on some older TVs, right?) I plan to offer both, but I can't say for sure there won't be issues with adjusting the gameplay speed for the 50Hz version... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd-w Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Quick update: I'm now working on the PAL conversion right now, then I think I'll be done. For anyone from Europe, which do you prefer: true 50Hz PAL conversions with squished screens or 60Hz conversions with a non-squished screen? (which I guess may not work on some older TVs, right?) I plan to offer both, but I can't say for sure there won't be issues with adjusting the gameplay speed for the 50Hz version... Personally I prefer a 60Hz version with PAL colours. I haven't encountered any TVs that don't accept a 60Hz signal, and modern games consoles here offer a 60Hz option. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animan Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Wow, This game plays smooth. Love to see this on cart. Very solid platformer. Great Job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinMos3 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Awesome job. I love the continue/quit screen. Have you entertained the suggestion of adding something to a couple of those dead-end areas? ...like an extra life or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_Larson Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 Have you entertained the suggestion of adding something to a couple of those dead-end areas? ...like an extra life or something? Well I could conceivably add one more item/enemy, but there's no memory left to 'keep track', for example, of whether the player has fetched a certain extra life item yet or not. I've already gone through 3 times to squeeze out more bytes for features too - first time for the random movement of the bat, second time for the music, then once more for the sound effects... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinMos3 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Well I could conceivably add one more item/enemy, but there's no memory left to 'keep track', for example, of whether the player has fetched a certain extra life item yet or not. Hmm, how about a "Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle!"? That would probably take up too much ROM space, but just a dummy sprite could still be cool. Maybe a flower growing in that dark lair? A teaser sprite of one of the poachers? ...Just some kind of visual reward for making it to the dead end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_Larson Posted September 4, 2010 Author Share Posted September 4, 2010 Ok guys, I'm gonna call it a game. Here ya go: Version 1.0 Changes since Beta 5 -------------------- * Fixed bug related to having an item equipped, quitting, and then starting a new game * Fixed slight horizontal motion judder * Ice screens are now light blue instead of white/gray * Fixed the order of keys in key display to be more consistent color-wise * One minor sound effect change * Altered color of red key in the key status display to be darker This version also includes a PAL 60Hz binary ( SECAM 60Hz too... for the 0.0 people who probably want that. ) I don't plan on making a 50Hz version unless somebody really wants it. BTW, in case anyone is interested in how much time is involved in making a game like this, I've been (anal retentively ) keeping a log ever since I started. Looks like the total LOE is about 242 hrs. That includes time in front of the computer, programming, as well as all testing... but doesn't include, say, time spent passively watching TV while also thinking about some implementation detail. If you add that in, it may be closer to 300 hours or so. I think I remember reading once that David Crane spent something like 1000 hours on Pitfall. Not saying this is equal to Pitfall, but I think this may say at least something about the benefit of modern development tools vs. what they had back in the day... Panky_the_Panda_1.0.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 Congratulations! Can't wait to get a cart of this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steril707 Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Awesome game, Ben.. Incredible Introscreen, nice Music, much content, pretty sprites.. I am really jealous of your skills, man... Thanks for the awesome (yet difficult) game.. Mike... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari_afternoon Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Thanks a lot from me, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steril707 Posted September 27, 2010 Share Posted September 27, 2010 After playing the game a little bit, I noticed a few things. First off, it's brilliant. Not many games on the 2600 that are comparable, I think. One thing that I find a little bit hard, is, that you have to start finding these hidden entrances very early in the game. After collecting the orange and the blue key, that is. If you don't know about this mechanic, the game gets very irritating very fast.. I had to read your explanation in this thread, and consult the map Kevin made, to get further along... Anyway, awesome game... Thanks a lot.. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin Posted September 27, 2010 Share Posted September 27, 2010 This is an excellent game! I enjoy the fast and smoothy gameplay very much. Panky is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemo Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 As soon as I heard the music of this commercial on TV, I thought "Hey, it's Panky the Panda !!!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAHVg0a4r54 It's nice to see how two similar songs both take you through similarly fantastic worlds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I finally found this thread (probably because I didn't find it within all the BASIC games before) and gave the game a very brief try. It looks and plays very good. Except for the jumping physics, those should be improved (especially vertical movement), IMO. Currently they seem somewhat too unrealistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_Larson Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 Thomas, Are you talking about how the jumps are not always completely parabolic, or that gravity is too low/high, or something else? Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian O Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Wow! I can't believe I haven't seen this until today. What a fun game. Really nice job on this. -B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) Are you talking about how the jumps are not always completely parabolic, or that gravity is too low/high, or something else? Gravity seems OK, maybe a tint higher (but then the game might become too difficult, see below). Changing horizontal direction while jumping is unrealistic, but often used in many games. So that's fine. Vertical movement while jumping somehow seems off. As if it doesn't accelerate with gravity, but at predefined steps. But maybe that's just because emulation on my Netbook is not smooth enough. A few more things I noticed: - The animal to the left could use some animation, maybe the terminals too (Nathan could sure do magic here) - Lots of screens seem pretty empty (how about more enemies in higher levels?) - It would be nice if Panky could duck (maybe only in easy levels?) - Continue seems to restart the game, why not from the last checkpoint? - Could not make out any differences between the levels (except for less lives), something like harder physics (e.g. more gravity) or faster, less predictable and more enemies etc. would sure help. BTW: How do you score? I didn't read the thread yet, so I am sorry if I missed something here. Edited December 31, 2010 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) One more little thing: When stepping to the edge of a platform, Panky seems to float in the air. No foot touches the platform anymore. How about making him fall as soon as no foot (pixel) is on the platform anymore? Maybe you have to move him a few pixel left or right while falling, to avoid that it looks like he is falling "through" the platform. Also, I once thought I saw him turning into a skeleton Panda while dying. But that was only imagination. Or maybe an idea? Edited January 2, 2011 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) [double post] Edited December 31, 2010 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) [triple post] Edited December 31, 2010 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian O Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 And if you don't want to see the dreaded quadruple post, I suggest you do what he says. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 No reply yet. I hope I didn't kill the motivation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian O Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 No reply yet. I hope I didn't kill the motivation. I hope not. It's a fun game. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokumaru Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Loved the game. The 2600 needs more platformers with good physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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