GTIABlast! WIP demo

[serj]

Fantastic game !

big thanks for this excellent game.

[Fletch]

Simply amazing! The speed is amazing and the graphics top notch. Thank you so very much for this!

[+playsoft]

Thanks Steve!

 

I think that the 1000 point bonus animation and the end of level animation are purely amazing. I don't see it often enough and it is too fast to analyse how this was done, it looks like some kind of interlace on alternate scanlines??

 

It's just an image which is displayed for 1 frame in 3 instead of the normal game screen. The image has 4 frames with increasing gaps between scan lines to try and give a Jeff Minter type explosion (Mutant Camels was the first time I saw those split apart explosions).

 

 

Contrary to my come back before, I actually had a point whereby the whole game stopped, I couldn't move my craft or anything, though I've not seen this happen again after several plays.

 

5 seconds is suspiciously about how long it would take a byte to wrap around if you increment it every vertical blank. I have some flags that I inc and dec to set and clear. Perhaps there is a race condition which doesn't happen very often where I can miss one reaching 0 and then have to wait until it completely wraps around. I'll look at some robustness changes in this area and make a new cart version available with the Rambo 1088 version.

 

[+Philsan]

Thank you very much Paul (and Harvey).

 

As expected, this is one of the best A8 games.

 

... and thank you for the (undeserved) credits!

[spookt]

Great game - loving it! Thanks!

[robc]

I saw this right as I was about to leave for work. So had a ~30 second play under emulation.

 

I cannot wait to flash this over to an Atarimax cart and play on my 800XL for real - quite excited to check this out in due course!

[itaych]

This is fantastic. Are there plans to release it as a hardware cartridge?

[AtariBrian]

I would love to get it on cart . From previous posts I am not thinking it is possible . Ask Albert ..

[FifthPlayer]

Although it's easy to say "just go buy an Atarimax cart and flash it yourself", I think this should be a hardware cart in the Atari Age store. There are so few titles there for the A8 compared to other systems.

Edited September 9, 2016 by FifthPlayer

[darwinmac]

If it's possible, I would also love to see it in the AtariAge store. I can play it on Altirra, but I am not really interested in buying an AtariMax cartridge simply so I can flash the game on it in order to play it on the XEGS. It'd be much better if it could be supplied ready-made on a cartridge. I'd be ready to pay for it.

 

From what I read of the documentation, it looks like I couldn't use the FAT32 loader or the Image Space on a MyIDE-II in order to run it from there.

 

Bob C

[+Philsan]

If it's possible, I would also love to see it in the AtariAge store. I can play it on Altirra, but I am not really interested in buying an AtariMax cartridge simply so I can flash the game on it in order to play it on the XEGS. It'd be much better if it could be supplied ready-made on a cartridge. I'd be ready to pay for it.

 

From what I read of the documentation, it looks like I couldn't use the FAT32 loader or the Image Space on a MyIDE-II in order to run it from there.

 

Bob C

I would like a boxed version too.

 

But an Atarimax cart is useful to load Space Harrier and new Pac-Man with high-score saving too.

[Grevle]

Game is Out of this world !. Its Taking the A8 to a new level. I been playing it on my Pal 130xe, And im lost for words. The amazing backround animations, The multi colored attackers, so many different types of them. The rotating small multicolored qubes that attacks you. How is it even possible ?.. hehe Are those softsprites ?. The A8 have gottens some fantastic games the last few years, Like Space Harrier, Dimos Quest and so many others. The A8 scene .. Its Alive. Thanks to everyone keeping the A8 Alive

[pirx]

The first game I am really excited about for years! Finished space invaders infinity gene some time ago and this masterpiece is fully in par with the commercial prods!!! I LOVE IT!!!

[Aking]

ab_cart.zip

 

OK - here is the final version of the 8-bit version for the Atari home computers which can run off a 8mbit flashcart with the original hardware or via emulation.

 

Instructions are provided. Have fun!

 

Can someone confirm all the files are here intact and working.

 

This will run fine on NTSC or PAL Atari's - PAL should be easier to play and the NTSC would look/play that little bit better/harder.

 

Due thanks must go to Paul Lay for the amount of work that has gone into this project.

 

Harvey

 

 

With your graphic skills Harvey, maybe you can make and post a nice label for the cart, please ??

[Kyle22]

It works great on my Ultimate SD cart.

[itaych]

My 9 year old loves it! Looks great in wiixl.

[Aking]

Thanks Steve!

 

 

It's just an image which is displayed for 1 frame in 3 instead of the normal game screen. The image has 4 frames with increasing gaps between scan lines to try and give a Jeff Minter type explosion (Mutant Camels was the first time I saw those split apart explosions).

 

 

5 seconds is suspiciously about how long it would take a byte to wrap around if you increment it every vertical blank. I have some flags that I inc and dec to set and clear. Perhaps there is a race condition which doesn't happen very often where I can miss one reaching 0 and then have to wait until it completely wraps around. I'll look at some robustness changes in this area and make a new cart version available with the Rambo 1088 version.

 

 

 

Paul, will you post the u1mb compatible file ?

[+Adam+]

I'm not sure why Harvey (kiwilove) shared his nice video only with 5200 forum Anyway, here it is:

And here are some Atari Blast! screenshots I've published in the latest AtariOnline.pl article:

[kiwilove]

With your graphic skills Harvey, maybe you can make and post a nice label for the cart, please ??

Sorry I don't do cart labels - ever. Someone else could do it - you could ask someone who has done some fine graphic artwork for other games - to provide one? They'll have my full blessing and encouragement.

I prefer to remain centred on in-game graphics and probably need to team up with another programmer keen to do some more shooters?

 

Harvey

[kiwilove]

I'm not sure why Harvey (kiwilove) shared his nice video only with 5200 forum Anyway, here it is:

 

 

....

Thanks Adam for the writeup at Atarionline.pl - I was wondering when that would appear.

 

I did not post the video here because Youtube downgraded it so much - and I would encourage players to post up their own videos at Youtube - which should be a lot better? I don't know why my past videos are so much better in quality - and this one is so rubbish.

 

We are fully aware of the weak/bad points regarding AB! and of the work required to make it into a game without so many flaws, etc. But to add another year to it's development was simply not possible - nor wanted. (This is for the Polish commentators - and honest comments from them, is always OK - because we all want to see better and bigger? things from these ole Ataris).

The positive comments have been well received and appreciated.

 

Harvey

Edited September 9, 2016 by kiwilove

[+CharlieChaplin]

Well,

 

the game is great ! And it also has a great end-sequence (animation)...

 

My highscore so far: 84080 (easy to beat, I bet)

[snicklin]

I won't say anything more than this, "Boulderdash". Give me a like if you know what I am talking about in the context of this game.

[Irgendwer]

We are fully aware of the weak/bad points regarding AB! and of the work required to make it into a game without so many flaws, etc. But to add another year to it's development was simply not possible - nor wanted. (This is for the Polish commentators - and honest comments from them, is always OK - because we all want to see better and bigger? things from these ole Ataris).

 

The games plays quite well, but it's really a pity that IMHO it suffers from recycling. Why overuse this song (AFAIK the first appearance was "Animal Party" then "Strictly Gone Bananas") - especially if not matching to the game?

And why was it impossible to create unique graphics in a three year time period? It feels like playing in a messy nursery.

I feel sorry for the code.

[Mclaneinc]

Mods, a thread title change to GTIA / Atari Blast FINAL would be appreciated..

[Mclaneinc]

 

The games plays quite well, but it's really a pity that IMHO it suffers from recycling. Why overuse this song (AFAIK the first appearance was "Animal Party" then "Strictly Gone Bananas") - especially if not matching to the game?

And why was it impossible to create unique graphics in a three year time period? It feels like playing in a messy nursery.

I feel sorry for the code.

 

 

BOO HISS BOO HISS....I bet you have always wanted to be the pantomime bad guy

 

Seriously, I can understand a bit of what you say and yes, one tune that's been used before but its a great tune, I loved it in the game Flimbo's Quest on the C64 and its a great port of it, its what I would call a happy happy song, some how I feel it fits perfectly as I have said in another post....Matching the game...it works for me...

 

As for the graphics, sure its reused stuff but that's the theme of it, graphics that were in intros that are now part of the actual game, I'm glad they stayed over the development period, they look right and its nice to see them in there, there are times like in the R-Type level where colours are a bit odd but I'd presume that was part of the restrictions of having so many other colours. Could designs and other grahics have 'evolved', perhaps yes but at its core its a good old fashioned shooter and it looks good and more importantly plays well.

 

I love it, there was more to the final version that I had expected so in that respect it wasn't the original demo and that's all, it was the demo and a hell of a lot more making it a full game and then some..