L.E.M. Lunar Excursion Module

[+Philsan]

Previously I programmed simple Lunar Lander's genre games for C64 and Atari 8-bit.
I have done a version for Atari VCS console too.

This game is a sort of "Hello Word" for me...

 

 

Other videos: ArcadeUSA  ZeroPage Homebrew  Retro Bliss Gaming 1 2

 

I want to thank Fred Quimby for awesome batariBasic and Harmony cart, Jeff Wierer for Visual batariBasic (it's a pleasure to program with his IDE), Duane Alan Hahn for batariBasic manual, music and high score code, Mike Saarna for Titlescreen kernel, title screen's L.E.M. and score custom fonts all-in-one file, Steve Engelhardt for his code snippets and Stephen Anthony, Bradford Mott, Eckard Stolberg, Brian Watson (Stella multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator).

Game's size is 4KB but I switched to 8KB when I added title screen's music and to 16KB when I added a bitmap title screen.

 

In November 2020 it became the first batariBasic game that saves scores online with PlusCart(+). Virtual patches are awarded if you score 100,000 or more points.

In December 2020 it was added to Argon, an Android console emulator.

Special thanks to Brian Ostrowski for box, label, manual and patch design, Scott Lawrenz for English manual, Mario Caillahuz Aramburú, Gunnar Kanold, Jean-Christophe Ville for manual's translations (French, German and Spanish) and to Walter Lauer for patches production.

 

The game is reviewed in Brian Matherne's The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion: Volume 1 (standard/ebook edition - deluxe edition).

 

A collectors edition of the game is available on AtariAge store, with a 28 pages five languages manual.

 

Package renderings:

 

 

 

Actual photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I attach zip files with NTSC, PAL50 (slower so easier) and PAL60 versions together with code (scroll for latest version).

L.E.M. v01.zip

L.E.M. v02.zip

L.E.M. v03.zip

L.E.M. v04.zip

L.E.M. v05.zip

L.E.M. v06.zip

L.E.M. v07.zip

L.E.M. v08.zip

L.E.M. v09.zip

L.E.M. v10.zip

L.E.M. v11.zip

L.E.M. v12.zip

L.E.M. v13.zip

 

 

[jwierer]

I like it, though I suck at landing that thing.

 

-Jeff

[+LS650]

Looks cool - I will check it out later tonight....

[+Philsan]

I like it, though I suck at landing that thing.

Thank you.

On real hardware it is easier.

[Rybags]

It'd be somewhat easier if you used the button for the main retro rather than pushing up.

 

The ship explosion is kinda long.

 

That asteroid... changes row and bounces back... somewhat tricky.

[yuppicide]

Screen shots look nice.

[yuppicide]

Fun game. I like the graphics and the explosion. It is a bit long, but I like it anyway. Colorful. I only wish the landing pad were more easy to spot at first, but once you play a few times you see it easy.

 

Would be nice to see a version with multiple landing pads and different points for getting the harder ones.

[pitfall_jerry]

Well I was working on a Lunar Lander game. Guess I will have to change mine up a bit. Great work!

[yuppicide]

You could also turn this into something with multiple screens.. I was either thinking of where you need to fly around and pick up something on another landing pad and return it to the pad on the main screen, or a game where you must navigate your ship down through the "caverns" to land. This way you'd have to go between the stuff without touching it.

[simonsunnyboy]

A nice game so far - and I like it!

 

2 things are a bit annoying though, that red asteroid seems to have nonpredictable movement which sometimes such forces you to make a crash with it. Like when you are lined up above the landing site and suddenly the asteroid comes straight at you from the screen border.

 

The landing has to be pixel perfect at the moment. Looking at the big landing pads on the player's craft allowing a margin of another pixel to left and right might be a good thing.

 

This coudl also be configurable via the difficulty switches or the SELECT button..

 

Keep it going - i'd love to have a way to check in on my real 2600jr

[yuppicide]

One more thing.. I think the color used for the fire coming out of your ship when you move directions needs to be a tad lighter. I barely see it on my television. I don't know if anyone else gets this issue. It's fine in an emulator.

 

You can read more about color here:

 

http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-batari-basic-commands.html#colors

[+Philsan]

Thank you all for kind words and feedbacks.

 

It'd be somewhat easier if you used the button for the main retro rather than pushing up.

The ship explosion is kinda long.

That asteroid... changes row and bounces back... somewhat tricky.

I have tested both versions and I agree that main retro is better mapped to fire button.

Ship explosion will be faster.

I don't like asteroid bouncing too. I tried to add a delay but it is not easy without changing many lines of code.

 

Fun game. I like the graphics and the explosion. It is a bit long, but I like it anyway. Colorful. I only wish the landing pad were more easy to spot at first, but once you play a few times you see it easy.

Would be nice to see a version with multiple landing pads and different points for getting the harder ones.

You could also turn this into something with multiple screens.. I was either thinking of where you need to fly around and pick up something on another landing pad and return it to the pad on the main screen, or a game where you must navigate your ship down through the "caverns" to land. This way you'd have to go between the stuff without touching it.

I would like to have a colored landing pad but it's a ball and it has playfield color.

I agree regarding game improvement; it would be possible only adding multiple screens.

 

A nice game so far - and I like it!

2 things are a bit annoying though, that red asteroid seems to have nonpredictable movement which sometimes such forces you to make a crash with it. Like when you are lined up above the landing site and suddenly the asteroid comes straight at you from the screen border.

The landing has to be pixel perfect at the moment. Looking at the big landing pads on the player's craft allowing a margin of another pixel to left and right might be a good thing.

This coudl also be configurable via the difficulty switches or the SELECT button..

Keep it going - i'd love to have a way to check in on my real 2600jr

If I have done no mistakes, asteroid should be few pixels higher than landing pad + module (not many pixels ). So you should have no problems if you fly low.

Landing pad is a ball, so maximum 8 pixels wide. Module is 7 pixels wide. There is a margin of only 1 pixel. Perhaps I could allow an additional margin of 1 pixel to the right and to left side but graphically it would be not "pixel perfect".

 

One more thing.. I think the color used for the fire coming out of your ship when you move directions needs to be a tad lighter. I barely see it on my television. I don't know if anyone else gets this issue. It's fine in an emulator.

As red I used PAL $64 and the equivalent NTSC $44. I cannot test NTSC colors on real hardware. I would like to find a good compromise between emulators and real hardware.

 

Thanks again.

[yuppicide]

Keep up the nice work. We're glad to have you participate here. Eitherway you look at it, it's a good game.

 

You can add in some title screen music if you wanted fairly easy with Visual bAtari Basic's built in music thing. If I were you I'd slap it on cartridge and sell it.

[simonsunnyboy]

Keep up the nice work. We're glad to have you participate here. Eitherway you look at it, it's a good game.

 

You can add in some title screen music if you wanted fairly easy with Visual bAtari Basic's built in music thing. If I were you I'd slap it on cartridge and sell it.

 

That's sounds like a great idea! I'd certainly would want one!

 

Is there a highscore competition running for this game yet? I'm interested how good other players are at this...

Edited March 24, 2010 by simonsunnyboy

[lucifershalo]

great fun game

 

and another European one

[sandmountainslim]

How do u land?? I can SEE the landing pad but I explode when I touch it

Wp

[+Philsan]

How do u land?? I can SEE the landing pad but I explode when I touch it

Wp

You have to land not too fast (score's color must be white, not red).

Furthermore, landing pad is only eight pixels wide, L.E.M.'s seven pixel wide, so you have to make a "pixel perfect" landing.

As written above, I will post a new version with main retro mapped to fire button.

[sandmountainslim]

How do u land?? I can SEE the landing pad but I explode when I touch it

Wp

You have to land not too fast (score's color must be white, not red).

Furthermore, landing pad is only eight pixels wide, L.E.M.'s seven pixel wide, so you have to make a "pixel perfect" landing.

As written above, I will post a new version with main retro mapped to fire button.

 

Thanks

I did manage to make a couple landing.

I agree that it will be better to use the fire button for the engines.

Wp

[+Philsan]

As promised I have attached in the first post a new version with main retro mapped to fire button and faster explosion.

 

Thanks yuppicide, simonsunnyboy and luciferhalo for your kind words.

I would to love to make a boxed version but I think with new Harmony Cart it is now unnecessary, in particular for a very simple game like mine.

But if the game improves (maybe with an intro music) and I would find someone able to make an artistic retro good quality package and produce the cart, I can think about it.

[donnerkuh]

Why not a own cartridge? Is somewhere a tutorial how to build own cartridges?

[sandmountainslim]

Why not a own cartridge? Is somewhere a tutorial how to build own cartridges?

 

Yeah why NOT make a cartridge?

This Harmony thing has not made them obsolete. most people dont own a harmony.

Wp

[yuppicide]

Don't let the Harmony deter you from any cartridges. Us "older" people like the feeling of holding an actual item in our hands..

 

It's like this.. I recently found out someone I really like put out a solo CD. I just !!had!! to buy it right away to listen in the car on the way home from work. I logged on to Amazon and gladly paid the $8.99.

 

.. but at the same time, I also plan on buying her CD because I like to have something tangible.. see the pictures inside, read the notes, etc.

 

Look at all the pictures of people's collections here.. you don't just see a room with 1 cartridge.. you see a whole wall full!

[+Philsan]

I am a collector too, so I am not against VCS cartridges after Harmony cart's birth!

IMHO with Harmony cart it is unnecessary to make a single cartridge for *every* game, but only for the best ones.

But if you think that my simple game deserves a cart in the future I will try to make it happen.

I know someone that perhaps could make the package but who can burn the cart?

[lucifershalo]

I have Harmony cart, too

but I would like to have your game on cart

I think that a lot of collectors here like to play the game but also collect them on cartridges

[+Philsan]

L.E.M. v03 released: intro music added and asteroid redesigned.