Tic Tac Toe for INTV

[vprette]

this is a working rom, with computer level set as medium hig

comments are welcome, as well as help and suggestions about the next step I want to implement: adding some audio effect when choosing the key number, and jingle/music in the background that you can swith on/off (do we have somejingle ready to be used?)

 

tac09.rom

Edited November 5, 2014 by vprette

[vprette]

I'm working now on a different and much better version that I will call Tris (as tic tac toe is called in Italy) with title screen, graphic background, levels of difficulty and hopefully sound (this I have to study)

Edited November 5, 2014 by vprette

[freewheel]

I'd ask what kinds of "difficulty" you can have with Tic-Tac-Toe, given that it's a trivially-solved game, but... I'm ashamed to admit that I actually was beaten by a chicken once. Wasn't paying attention and started in a the "always lose" space.

[vprette]

I'd ask what kinds of "difficulty" you can have with Tic-Tac-Toe, given that it's a trivially-solved game, but... I'm ashamed to admit that I actually was beaten by a chicken once. Wasn't paying attention and started in a the "always lose" space.

well you can base the difficulty on 3 concepts: computer tries to make 3 in row to win (easy), computer check if you can make 3 in a row and try to stop you (medium) and computer knows what positions are better than others (in this case it's very difficult to beat, you likely draw)

 

I will code that in Tris

[vprette]

if anyone try the rom, give feedback about the difficulty: do you want it more difficult or not?

[+DZ-Jay]

Hi, Valter,

I just played your latest version now and I have a few comments (don't I always? ):

• It is not clear how to select to be "X" vs. "O." I found by accident that pressing "Clear" on the keypad selected "X."
• The computer always chooses the same moves in response to yours, without regard to the rest of the board. This makes it too easy. Perhaps you want to use a decision tree based on the current state of the game rather than on the last player's move.
• Sometimes the game ends in a draw, and sometimes I win, but the game always jumps back immediately to the starting screen at the end. A "game over" screen showing the outcome and the score showed only once after a draw, but I never saw it again.
• I found a way to beat the game every time: start at 1, then 5, and win with 8. The computer plays like an idiot:

X|.|.   X|.|.   X|.|.
-+-+-   -+-+-   -+-+-
.|0|.   X|0|.   X|0|.
-+-+-   -+-+-   -+-+-
.|.|.   .|.|0   X|.|0

• Adding an element of randomness may give it a more organic feel to the game.
• You may want to delay the computer's responses to make it "feel" like it's thinking.

Edited November 6, 2014 by DZ-Jay

[vprette]

 

Hi, Valter,

 

I just played your latest version now and I have a few comments (don't I always? ):

• It is not clear how to select to be "X" vs. "O." I found by accident that pressing "Clear" on the keypad selected "X."
• The computer always chooses the same moves in response to yours, without regard to the rest of the board. This makes it too easy. Perhaps you want to use a decision tree based on the current state of the game rather than on the last player's move.
• Sometimes the game ends in a draw, and sometimes I win, but the game always jumps back immediately to the starting screen at the end. A "game over" screen showing the outcome and the score showed only once after a draw, but I never saw it again.
• I found a way to beat the game every time: start at 1, then 5, and win with 8. The computer plays like an idiot:

X|.|.   X|.|.   X|.|.
-+-+-   -+-+-   -+-+-
.|0|.   X|0|.   X|0|.
-+-+-   -+-+-   -+-+-
.|.|.   .|.|0   X|.|0

• Adding an element of randomness may give it a more organic feel to the game.
• You may want to delay the computer's responses to make it "feel" like it's thinking.

 

 

thanks for feedback

 

1- yes, Clear is X and 0 is O (I did not provide instructions because I have in my mind the overlay design)

2- I have to check better the code since this is not what I expected

3- this is a bug, thanks to find that

4- another bug, I probably deleted one control in that corner

5- not easy to make it random (at least according to my programming skills)

6- yes I did test this and will add something like that

[vprette]

fixed bug 3,4

 

tictac_v1.rom

[CrazyBoss]

at least your version of tic-tac-toe also take up space in the rom, my version is around 14kb... When using intybasic things grow fast but its fun to program, i am working on something else now

[+DZ-Jay]

fixed bug 3,4

 

 

 

Nope. Bug #3 is still there. Bug #4 is fixed, though.

 

Whether I win, lose, or draw, it jumps straight to the start screen. Sometimes I see the "game over" status screen briefly, for about a single frame, before it switches.

 

-dZ.

[vprette]

at least your version of tic-tac-toe also take up space in the rom, my version is around 14kb... When using intybasic things grow fast but its fun to program, i am working on something else now

 

Im thinking about making Outlaw .. but dont know... almost finished Tris that I will show in separate thread

[vprette]

 

 

Nope. Bug #3 is still there. Bug #4 is fixed, though.

 

Whether I win, lose, or draw, it jumps straight to the start screen. Sometimes I see the "game over" status screen briefly, for about a single frame, before it switches.

 

-dZ.

 

it is strange: this does not happen to me: game go back to restart when pressing the disk... seems to work properly

[+DZ-Jay]

 

it is strange: this does not happen to me: game go back to restart when pressing the disk... seems to work properly

 

Well, that's how it behaves on my end. Which emulator are you using?

 

I tested some more and I see that it is a problem with the way the controller I/O signal is tested: it's very unreliable. Sometimes I press a button and it registers it twice, sometimes it does not want to register it at all and I have to press it multiple times, and other times I have to press it for a longer period for it to be acknowledged.

 

If I "tap" the buttons very lightly, I can sometimes manage to see the end status screen.

 

-dZ.

Edited November 7, 2014 by DZ-Jay

[vprette]

 

Well, that's how it behaves on my end. Which emulator are you using?

 

I tested some more and I see that it is a problem with the way the controller I/O signal is tested: it's very unreliable. Sometimes I press a button and it registers it twice, sometimes it does not want to register it at all and I have to press it multiple times, and other times I have to press it for a longer period for it to be acknowledged.

 

If I "tap" the buttons very lightly, I can sometimes manage to see the end status screen.

 

-dZ.

 

do you use emulator on pc qith keyboard or you running on real intellivision?

I'm using a laptop

[+DZ-Jay]

do you use emulator on pc qith keyboard or you running on real intellivision?

I'm using a laptop

 

I'm using jzIntv on a Mac, with a keyboard. I must say that there is definitely something wrong with the way they program handles input and keeps state, for I do not see these problems in the other IntyBASIC games, and most definitely not in my P-Machinery v2.0 tests of the I/O driver.

 

It seems as if you are testing the variables without resetting them after. Typically, your game loop should have something like this:

 

gameloop:
  WAIT
  IF (cont1.key = 1) then GOSUB PRESSED_1
  IF (cont1.key = 2) then GOSUB PRESSED_2
  ...
 
  GOTO gameloop

If you are storing the controller value in a variable, you must remember to reset it after using it on every iteration.

 

-dZ.

[vprette]

 

I'm using jzIntv on a Mac, with a keyboard. I must say that there is definitely something wrong with the way they program handles input and keeps state, for I do not see these problems in the other IntyBASIC games, and most definitely not in my P-Machinery v2.0 tests of the I/O driver.

 

It seems as if you are testing the variables without resetting them after. Typically, your game loop should have something like this:

 

gameloop:
  WAIT
  IF (cont1.key = 1) then GOSUB PRESSED_1
  IF (cont1.key = 2) then GOSUB PRESSED_2
  ...
 
  GOTO gameloop

If you are storing the controller value in a variable, you must remember to reset it after using it on every iteration.

 

-dZ.

 

I reset to 0 into the procedure at every call with this version, please check

tictac_v2.rom

[+DZ-Jay]

 

I reset to 0 into the procedure at every call with this version, please check

 

Nope. Still glitchy, sorry.

 

Moreover, if the first key I press is the "Clear" button on the title screen, it jumps directly into the game, making me "X". This is consistent with the variables being re-used with older values.

 

-dZ.