Techniques and Antic modes of the sports games

[popmilo]

For 8 bit platforms I think horizontal scrolling is better for gameplay: International Soccer, Emlyn Hughes Soccer, Match Day.

 

It must mean something that most of the games were horizontal scroll based

 

Found this one that was our favorite in 90's before Sensible Soccer came out:

World Cup arcade for C64:

 

Simple graphics and not so many sprites on screen at once but gamplay was fun and really competitive.

 

So... You guys want a soccer game for Atari ? How many of you would like that to happen ?

[emkay]

Some mockup

 

 

Background is really background. Some "simulation" of Mode 5 ....

[+Philsan]

It must mean something that most of the games were horizontal scroll based

 

Found this one that was our favorite in 90's before Sensible Soccer came out:

World Cup arcade for C64:

 

Simple graphics and not so many sprites on screen at once but gamplay was fun and really competitive.

 

So... You guys want a soccer game for Atari ? How many of you would like that to happen ?

I just tested it. A good game, not one of the best soccer games of its time, but doable on A8.

 

Some mockup

 

mockup.png

 

Background is really background. Some "simulation" of Mode 5 ....

Very nice! But with such low goalposts gameplay would be like Thorn-Emi Soccer.

[emkay]

Very nice! But with such low goalposts gameplay would be like Thorn-Emi Soccer.

What do you mean exactly?

With Popmilo's Softwaresprite routine, you can have up to 12 of those on the screen.

[+Philsan]

What do you mean exactly?

With Popmilo's Softwaresprite routine, you can have up to 12 of those on the screen.

I mean that if goalposts are little and not very high, you cannot make high shots and headers.

Check out International Soccer, Emlyn Hughes Soccer and Match Day 2.

Popmilo's World Cup Soccer has nice big goalposts (but gameplay doesn't allow very high shots and headers).

[emkay]

I mean that if goalposts are little and not very high, you cannot make high shots and headers.

Check out International Soccer, Emlyn Hughes Soccer and Match Day 2.

Popmilo's World Cup Soccer has nice big goalposts (but gameplay doesn't allow very high shots and headers).

Ah, I see, you really meant the goal size. That could be as big a the screen . It's just an adaption, of a screenshot above.

[Heaven/TQA]

if I would do it... I would go for Kick off 2 like approach...

 

vertical alignment... software sprites... gras green with raster interrupts and simple bitmap outline for field and goal... players software sprites...

 

compare Kick off 2 Atari ST version with Amiga version... gameplay is same... but Amiga scrolls bitmaps while ST moves sprites and draws outline of field...

 

me played ST and Amiga versions to death

 

Edited February 22, 2017 by Heaven/TQA

[+Cafeman]

What about a new hockey game, keeping horizontal alignment? A nice rink and ice could be drawn with Antic4, but then you would need to use 4 multiplexed Players and have the flicker issue and possibly since-color teammates. Unless you used a kernel over the ice rink playfield to dynamically change colors per scanline, like RS Soccer's programming. RS Soccer is way too slow and clunky though.

 

I'm not sure if it would look good with a solid blue ice rink (COLBK) and software sprites teammates ... any opinions?

 

Here is Major League Hockey which is using the high-memory high-res mode Antic E. It seems to move fast enough, although crude in appearance. It's only 8K. A 32k version would make it prettier and smoother. I can't see if it uses PM's at all?

 

[+Philsan]

Played Kick Off to death too.

The beauty of this game was speed and pixel perfect control.

There weren't good 8-bit versions of this game.

160 pixel resolution instead of 320 is a big limitation.

The best soccer games were horizontal.

But never say never, perhaps we could have the best 8-bit computers vertical soccer game.

[emkay]

compare Kick off 2 Atari ST version with Amiga version... gameplay is same... but Amiga scrolls bitmaps while ST moves sprites and draws outline of field...

The difference is that you have the possiblility to lay the "outline" directy and original sized beneath the softwaresprites

[+Philsan]

There's an A8 soccer that could be used as base for graphics.

Unfortunately gameplay is terrible and very far from C64 International Soccer (not to mention Spectrum's Match Day or C64 Emlyn Hughes International Soccer).

 

 

Speaking of Emlyn Hughes International Soccer, here's an explanations of ball physics, for information only, not to convert it to A8 (I don't think it would be possible with few hardware sprites):

THE REAL HEART AND SOUL of Emlyn Hughes International Soccer is the already-mentioned complexity of the control system that takes a fair amount of time to master properly. To illustrate why, take for example the running speed, which is linear. As you start your run, you accelerate until you reach the individual player's top speed. Turning around slows you down, unless of course you make an effort to keep your momentum by running a circle instead of simply heding straight to the opposite direction.

Passing and shooting function in a fairly similar manner. Instead of providing separate buttons for the two actions, the game handles them with the use of only one, and just like in real life a shot is simply a kick stronger than a pass. Consequently, the stronger (and more shot-like) you want the kick to be, the longer you press the button. However, you cannot kick harder than the player's current maximum available strength, which in turn depends on his running speed, current fitness level, as well as the ball's proximity.

Since there are no separate "pass" and "shoot" buttons, you also have to take care of the kick directions yourself. Depending on the settings, there are either 5, 3 or 1 kick directions. No one really ever chooses less than 5, of course, even if it may at first sound confusing that in order to kick a ground ball to your left, you need to press the button and turn your joystick 45 to 90 degrees counter-clockwise from the direction you are running to (e.g. "north-east" or "north" if you are running straight towards "east", "south" or "south-west" if you are heading "west"). Meanwhile, in case you want to kick a lobbing ball into the same direction, you have to press the fire button and press your joystick 135-180 degress counter-clockwise (e.g. between "north-west" and "west" if you are running towards east and want to kick the ball so that, from the players point of view, it flies towards left on the field, or to the general direction of "north-east").

These are just the basic controls. Backheels, headers and tackles are somewhat more complicated to pull off, but when you do, the feeling is that of immense pleasure. Especially so, if you score with one of your fancy moves. And, it must be stressed, after a bit of practice the controls become perfectly intuitive, and you will never need to think about them on the technical level again. Like walking, once you learn to move in Emlyn Hughes International Soccer, you will never forget how to do it. (And if you are like us, you will continue making those moves even while sleeping.)

[popmilo]

Hey, thanks for mentioning Emlyn Hughes International Soccer ! Never played it till now... Looks crazy good based on manual about gameplay and controls. Have to test it further..

 

And that European soccer on A8 looks like slow soft-sprites... We can do better.