Seaweed Assault

[+Random Terrain]

Also created a Seahorse Sprite. Like the crab, it's just a JPEG since I don't have VbB sprite editor. I also placed the seahorse sprite onto the plafield with the crab. Sea horses are so funky looking. I think it'd make for a cool-looking enemy. Obviously, these are just some suggestions, so feel free to tell me to buzz off at any time

Thanks. Is there a reason why you don't have Visual batari Basic? Mac? Linux? Commodore 64? Like you saw in the Free sprites for the taking thread, The VbB Sprite Editor is great for artists because they can see exactly what their sprites will look like on an Atari 2600, then they can save and post .spr files for programmers to use right away so there will be no time wasted duplicating work and guessing at colors.

 

I'm not sure if I'll use every sprite posted, but if we want to get this finished in December, I won't be able to come up with every sprite on my own. I'll need all the help I can get.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Random Terrain

[Brian O]

Also created a Seahorse Sprite. Like the crab, it's just a JPEG since I don't have VbB sprite editor. I also placed the seahorse sprite onto the plafield with the crab. Sea horses are so funky looking. I think it'd make for a cool-looking enemy. Obviously, these are just some suggestions, so feel free to tell me to buzz off at any time

Thanks. Is there a reason why you don't have Visual batari Basic? Mac? Linux? Commodore 64? Like you saw in the Free sprites for the taking thread, The VbB Sprite Editor is great for artists because they can see exactly what their sprites will look like on an Atari 2600, then they can save and post .spr files for programmers to use right away so there will be no time wasted duplicating work and guessing at colors.

 

I'm not sure if I'll use every sprite posted, but if we want to get this finished in the December, I won't be able to come up with every sprite on my own. I'll need all the help I can get.

 

No particular reason. I guess I'm a late adopter with certain things. Plus, I'm just so used to working in Photoshop.

 

I just downloaded Visual Batari Basic editor. Moving forward, I'll try and use the sprite editor to create the sprites.

 

Thanks,

B

[Brian O]

Also created a Seahorse Sprite. Like the crab, it's just a JPEG since I don't have VbB sprite editor. I also placed the seahorse sprite onto the plafield with the crab. Sea horses are so funky looking. I think it'd make for a cool-looking enemy. Obviously, these are just some suggestions, so feel free to tell me to buzz off at any time

Thanks. Is there a reason why you don't have Visual batari Basic? Mac? Linux? Commodore 64? Like you saw in the Free sprites for the taking thread, The VbB Sprite Editor is great for artists because they can see exactly what their sprites will look like on an Atari 2600, then they can save and post .spr files for programmers to use right away so there will be no time wasted duplicating work and guessing at colors.

 

I'm not sure if I'll use every sprite posted, but if we want to get this finished in December, I won't be able to come up with every sprite on my own. I'll need all the help I can get.

 

Hi RT,

 

Let me know if I did this correctly. I created the seahorse in Visual Batari Basic (attached). It's 17 lines long, and would most likely need to be shortened in length a bit, but I'm more concerned with using the editor correctly.

 

Thanks,

B

Seahorse1.zip

[+Random Terrain]

Let me know if I did this correctly. I created the seahorse in Visual Batari Basic (attached). It's 17 lines long, and would most likely need to be shortened in length a bit, but I'm more concerned with using the editor correctly.

Yep, it worked great. Thanks. In case you don't know yet, you can right click in the Sprite Editor and select Set Background Color. The background color for this game is $80:

 

 

The background color doesn't get saved with the sprite file, it just helps the artist make sure the colors of the sprite won't clash with the background or won't be too dark.

 

In case you didn't see it in the right-click menu yet, you can also Preview in Emulator and move the sprite around the screen. I do this a lot when working on a new sprite.

 

Thanks.

[Piggles]

 

The normal playfield pixels with default resolution seemed to be the perfect shape for this game. Unless there is a bunch of seaweed clumped up in a big vertical strip, I don't even bother to shoot up or down. I mostly shoot left or right and see how many bits of seaweed I can shoot with the same missile for more points.

 

And lining up a shot is pretty easy once you get used to moving a little, then coming back so you're in the right spot. If shooting seaweed was easy, they would send down a monkey with a snorkel and a waterproof BB gun.

 

 

A monkey with a snorkel would make an amusing Easter Egg. I do like the push-your-luck element of choosing to wait for a row of seaweed or just blasting single pieces to keep the way clear.

[Brian O]

Let me know if I did this correctly. I created the seahorse in Visual Batari Basic (attached). It's 17 lines long, and would most likely need to be shortened in length a bit, but I'm more concerned with using the editor correctly.

Yep, it worked great. Thanks. In case you don't know yet, you can right click in the Sprite Editor and select Set Background Color. The background color for this game is $80:

 

 

The background color doesn't get saved with the sprite file, it just helps the artist make sure the colors of the sprite won't clash with the background or won't be too dark.

 

In case you didn't see it in the right-click menu yet, you can also Preview in Emulator and move the sprite around the screen. I do this a lot when working on a new sprite.

 

Thanks.

 

Thanks! Having some trouble getting it to create a .bin file so that I can preview in the emulator.

 

Going to start from scratch tonight and follow the instructions step by step.

 

That monkey with the snorkel sounds like it'd be fun to see

 

-B

[+Random Terrain]

Thanks! Having some trouble getting it to create a .bin file so that I can preview in the emulator.

That's weird. If you have Stella set as your default emulator, then right click on the Sprite Editor screen and select Preview in Emulator, it should immediately pop up in your emulator. No need to create a .bin file by hand, it's created automatically for you, then gets deleted as soon as you close the emulator.

[Brian O]

Thanks! Having some trouble getting it to create a .bin file so that I can preview in the emulator.

That's weird. If you have Stella set as your default emulator, then right click on the Sprite Editor screen and select Preview in Emulator, it should immediately pop up in your emulator. No need to create a .bin file by hand, it's created automatically for you, then gets deleted as soon as you close the emulator.

 

I think what I'm going to do is download the latest version of Stella, and then download VbB and bB again. Start fresh. When I downloaded everything it was late and I was tired, and I wouldn't be surprised if I botched something during initial setup. I really want to be able to preview the sprites (almost makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something!).

 

When do you think you'll have a new version of Seaweed Assault to check out?

 

 

Thanks again.

-B

[+Random Terrain]

When do you think you'll have a new version of Seaweed Assault to check out?

My guess is a couple of days if I don't screw it all up with stupid little mistakes. I'm glad I use Save As frequently. Sometimes I mangle the code so horribly, I have to go back a few saves and start over.

[abaudrand]

Very funny game, the random monsters add a lot of fun I like the skid effect (that i still don't masterize) and maybe you can increase it to make it harder each level

[psquare75]

Can I just say I love the first post with the back story and animations? It was like an instruction manual. Well done!

[~llama]

I just played this in Stella for a while. Super fun

 

I agree with the comments about the difficulty of lining up a vertical shot being much more difficult than a horizontal one, but I sort of see that as part of the game's panic-inducing strategy. This game is great at building tension, creating a feeling of entrapment. Good work! I'm interested to see where this one goes!

[phaxda]

This is cool! Something about underwater games (Seaquest, Go Fish, etc,) that I just love.

[+SpiceWare]

I'm glad I use Save As frequently. Sometimes I mangle the code so horribly, I have to go back a few saves and start over.

Good habit to get into. I zip up the folder with my source at least once per day so I can roll back. Have had to roll back many times on my current project as I've had numerous hiccups figuring out ARM stuff.

[Brian O]

 

The normal playfield pixels with default resolution seemed to be the perfect shape for this game. Unless there is a bunch of seaweed clumped up in a big vertical strip, I don't even bother to shoot up or down. I mostly shoot left or right and see how many bits of seaweed I can shoot with the same missile for more points.

 

And lining up a shot is pretty easy once you get used to moving a little, then coming back so you're in the right spot. If shooting seaweed was easy, they would send down a monkey with a snorkel and a waterproof BB gun.

 

 

A monkey with a snorkel would make an amusing Easter Egg. I do like the push-your-luck element of choosing to wait for a row of seaweed or just blasting single pieces to keep the way clear.

 

Here's my attempt at a Monkey w/ a Snorkle. I was able to really call out the flippers on his feet, but the scuba containers on his back were hard to define. I tried to use a single line of different color to at least call out that area. Haven't tried to animate it yet (I'm still getting used to the vbb interface, etc). Let me know your thoughts.

 

-B

snorkle_monkey_spr.zip

[Brian O]

Couple more bad guys for you -- Floating Mine and Sea Urchin.

 

Finally got VbB to let me preview in Stella and move the sprite around, Pretty cool!

 

-B

sea_mine_spr.zip

Sea_urchin_spr.zip

[Cliff Friedel]

Just got a chance to play this on stella and really like it. I will have to try and put it on the harmony and see how it plays as I think I would do a lot better with a real joystick. Great game!

[+Random Terrain]

Here's my attempt at a Monkey w/ a Snorkle. I was able to really call out the flippers on his feet, but the scuba containers on his back were hard to define. I tried to use a single line of different color to at least call out that area. Haven't tried to animate it yet (I'm still getting used to the VbB interface, etc). Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks. It will be fun figuring out what the player will have to do to get it.

 

 

 

Couple more bad guys for you -- Floating Mine and Sea Urchin.

 

Finally got VbB to let me preview in Stella and move the sprite around, Pretty cool!

Thanks. I'm glad you have the preview working. Sometimes moving a sprite around gives me ideas for what the animation should look like or it will give me ideas for new sprites.

[Brian O]

Here's a logo concept I whipped up. If you like it, I could always create a high-res version of it for you.

 

-B

[+Random Terrain]

Here's a logo concept I whipped up. If you like it, I could always create a high-res version of it for you.

Looks pretty darn good. There's a 98 percent chance that this will never be put on cartridge, but if you're having fun, go ahead and make a high-res version. Is there a way to put a hint of faded seaweed tentacles in the background, similar to the title screen (but not as primitive and ugly as what I did)?

 

 

Thanks.

[Brian O]

Here's a logo concept I whipped up. If you like it, I could always create a high-res version of it for you.

Looks pretty darn good. There's a 98 percent chance that this will never be put on cartridge, but if you're having fun, go ahead and make a high-res version. Is there a way to put a hint of faded seaweed tentacles in the background, similar to the title screen (but not as primitive and ugly as what I did)?

 

 

Thanks.

 

Thanks, I'll definitely make a high-res version for you, just in case. What determines if something is made into a cartridge or not? Does it simply come down to cost? If so, I think it's a shame, because this game is really fun to play.

 

In regards to the seaweed, that won't be too hard to add. I only added the water/bubble background to have something to place the logo on.

 

-B

[+Random Terrain]

What determines if something is made into a cartridge or not? Does it simply come down to cost? If so, I think it's a shame, because this game is really fun to play.

Since I have to use Superchip RAM to get more variables, I'll also have to move from 16k to 32k because Superchip RAM steals 256 bytes from each bank and I was already getting low on space. Besides the cost of having someone put the 32kSC cartridges together, I also don't know how to create a manual. I think people make them using some kind of expensive PDF software.

[Brian O]

What determines if something is made into a cartridge or not? Does it simply come down to cost? If so, I think it's a shame, because this game is really fun to play.

Since I have to use Superchip RAM to get more variables, I'll also have to move from 16k to 32k because Superchip RAM steals 256 bytes from each bank and I was already getting low on space. Besides the cost of having someone put the 32kSC cartridges together, I also don't know how to create a manual. I think people make them using some kind of expensive PDF software.

 

OK, makes sense. I wasn't aware of that. I know that AA makes one-off carts. Can they handle games that use Superchip RAM? Even if it doesn't get sold in bulk, it would be pretty cool to have it on a cart.

 

If you ever decided to move forward w/ the game, let me know. I can always help you w/ the manual.

 

Looking forward to the next game iteration.

 

-B

[RevEng]

OK, makes sense. I wasn't aware of that. I know that AA makes one-off carts. Can they handle games that use Superchip RAM? Even if it doesn't get sold in bulk, it would be pretty cool to have it on a cart.

The "melody board" option is capable of doing it, but $25 plus shipping (while reasonable for one-offs) makes it less appealing to use it to roll your own run.

 

If Al wants to carry it in the AA store then he'll have other terms for RT.

 

I wish there was an alternate source of melody boards. I have a WIP that isn't really appropriate for the AA store, but its 32k, which makes alternatives tough.

Edited December 3, 2010 by RevEng

[+SpiceWare]

I know that AA makes one-off carts. Can they handle games that use Superchip RAM?

The +$5 Melody Board option supports Superchip RAM. That's what "Supports all known bankswitching methods including SARA on-board RAM. " in the description means.

Edited December 3, 2010 by SpiceWare