Flying Shark

[Imperious]

This is looking and playing fantastic, really looking forward to the finished product. I'll have to hack another of my 64k Jon Guidry boards into a 512k though. A bit

of a job but well worth it.

 

One minor thing I noticed, and it could be my imagination, but it appears the gun sound pitch changes slightly at times?

[artrag]

Awesome opening screen! My comments:

 

A) enemies: unless you do not have the ZX original data for enemy placement, I would go for a semi random solution at least for planes.

My idea would be:

1) define in rom 4-5 kinds of swarms with their different trajectories for the planes,

2) space the starting positions of the swarms by a fixed amount of vertical scroll distance + a random offset,

3) randomize the choice of swarm types.

This would avoid too much enemy clutter and speed up a lot the development. It could be needed to select a good seed in the random sequence generator by trial and errors, but it is simpler than encoding data levels manually

Ground enemies have to be manually set in order to avoid inconsistencies with the background.

 

B) improving shadows:

1) the main plane, while exploding should change its shadow accordingly.

2) I do not see any critical situation about the 5th sprite issue, so probably enemies could safely have their own shadows. All swarms at least now have two or 3 planes taking 4 or 6 sprites, but the trajectories are studied to have max 4 sprites per line.

You could put enemy shadows with the same offset used for the main plane, using a sprite plane with lower priority

 

But feel free to keep your own way, I have no idea of the effort needed and I know how annoying can be these kind of comment while one is coding

Edited November 19, 2017 by artrag

[Asmusr]

B) improving shadows:

1) the main plane, while exploding should change its shadow accordingly.

2) I do not see any critical situation about the 5th sprite issue, so probably enemies could safely have their own shadows. All swarms at least now have two or 3 planes taking 4 or 6 sprites, but the trajectories are studied to have max 4 sprites per line.

You could put enemy shadows with the same offset used for the main plane, using a sprite plane with lower priority

 

Thanks for the suggestions. It does indeed look nice with shadows for the enemy planes.

flying-shark-8.bin

[Tursi]

Gorgeous!

[TheMole]

Yup, I can only echo what others have already said: simply beautiful.

[ti99iuc]

I do not know if this can be useful but i found this link with all VGM musics for each level:

http://vgmrips.net/packs/pack/hishouzame-flying-shark-sharp-x68000

 

[+OLD CS1]

VGMRips.net is a great site! This is where I get most of my VGMs and I use the SN76489 VGMs as reference for my sound_list.rexx script. One really great feature of the site is the availability of the rips not just in VGM format but in MP3, as well.

[Asmusr]

Thanks, I have those VGMs already. A VGM for our own sound chip would have been great.

[digdugnate]

i loaded this up on my TI this morning- what a fantastic game.

 

imagine if we had time travel...

[+OLD CS1]

FWIW I have been toying with the idea of a converter for some other chips (probably not FMs) to the 9919/SN. Very little chance I could have it done by year's end, but it has been on my list. For other chips I have been playing by ear.

[Tursi]

I've been toying with converters too.. my Protracker and NES converters both use the same concept, but they are difficult to maintain and improve, and I've got the similar skeleton of a SID converter. (They're all more technically recorders than converters, but whatever works.) I've been wanting to expand it into a more general purpose conversion tool - start with a front end that converts the input into usable channel data, then the processing system only needs to worry about note selection and noise conversion. Splitting the two tasks would make it easier to maintain as well as to add new input formats.

[+OLD CS1]

I have parsed the output of SIDdump with Rexx, fairly easily.

 

You get output which looks something like this, where the output is time-coded but you have the option for frames:

 

 

 

Load address: $2400 Init address: $3FD0 Play address: $2D6E
Calling initroutine with subtune 0
Calling playroutine for 9250 frames, starting from frame 0
Middle C frequency is $1168
| Frame | Freq Note/Abs WF ADSR Pul | Freq Note/Abs WF ADSR Pul | Freq Note/Abs WF ADSR Pul | FCut RC Typ V |
+-------+---------------------------+---------------------------+---------------------------+---------------+
|0:00.00| 2A3E  ... ..  00 0889 0B2 | 2187  ... ..  00 0849 0B2 | 0386  ... ..  00 0888 450 | B900 80 Low F |
|0:00.01| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 478 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.02| ....  ... ..  .. .... 132 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 132 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 4A0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.03| ....  ... ..  40 .... 172 | ....  ... ..  40 .... 172 | ....  ... ..  40 .... 4C8 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.04| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 4F0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.05| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 518 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.06| ....  ... ..  .. .... 232 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 232 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 540 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.07| 2CC1  E-5 C0  41 .... 032 | 1C31  G#4 B8  41 0839 032 | 0598  E-2 9C  41 .... 400 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.08| ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 428 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.09| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 450 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.10| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 478 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.11| ....  ... ..  .. .... 132 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 132 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 4A0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.12| ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 4C8 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.13| ....  ... ..  40 .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  40 .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 4F0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.14| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 518 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.15| ....  ... ..  .. .... 232 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 232 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 540 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.16| ....  ... ..  .. .... 272 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 272 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 568 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.17| 2CC1  E-5 C0  41 .... 032 | 1C31  G#4 B8  41 .... 032 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 590 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.18| ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 5B8 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.19| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 5E0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.20| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 608 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.21| ....  ... ..  40 .... 132 | ....  ... ..  40 .... 132 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 630 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.22| ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 658 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.23| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 680 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.24| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 6A8 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.25| 2CC1  E-5 C0  41 .... 032 | 1C31  G#4 B8  41 .... 032 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 6D0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.26| ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 6F8 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.27| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 720 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.28| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 748 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.29| ....  ... ..  40 .... 132 | ....  ... ..  40 .... 132 | ....  ... ..  40 .... 770 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.30| ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 798 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.31| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 7C0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.32| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 7E8 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.33| 2CC1  E-5 C0  41 .... 032 | 1C31  G#4 B8  41 .... 032 | 0430  B-1 97  41 .... 400 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.34| ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 428 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.35| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 450 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.36| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 478 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.37| ....  ... ..  40 .... 132 | ....  ... ..  40 .... 132 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 4A0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.38| ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 4C8 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.39| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 4F0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.40| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 518 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.41| 2CC1  E-5 C0  41 .... 032 | 1C31  G#4 B8  41 .... 032 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 540 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.42| ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 568 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.43| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 590 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.44| ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 0F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 5B8 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.45| ....  ... ..  40 .... 132 | ....  ... ..  40 .... 132 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 5E0 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.46| ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 172 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 608 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.47| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1B2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 630 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.48| ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 1F2 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 658 | .... .. ... . |
|0:00.49| 2CC1  E-5 C0  41 .... 032 | 1C31  G#4 B8  41 .... 032 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 680 | .... .. ... . |
|0:01.00| ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 072 | ....  ... ..  .. .... 6A8 | .... .. ... . |

 

 

[+OLD CS1]

1942_siddump.txt

 

EDIT: Sorry, was not my intention to hijack the thread like this, I had multiple tabs open and thought I was posting in my own thread.

[fabrice montupet]

 

A floppy disk version would require SAMS, and I'm not planning to go down that route. But when the game is finished it will be available on cartridge.

Thank you for the answer. I understand. A cartridge version is already fantastic :-)

Do you plan to add a keyboard control? It would be great!

[Asmusr]

Do you plan to add a keyboard control? It would be great!

 

Sure.

 

Right now I'm trying to find time to work on the music, but I haven't really made any progress since last week.

[fabrice montupet]

The airplane shadow should not look like this?

There should be no transparent areas as it is currently.

[Imperious]

Fabrice obviously means that is what He thinks it should look like?

 

Personally I think It would be a nice idea if the shadows could be turned on or off (menu option?), it's a bit of a distraction

on the incoming fighters, but I would say it wouldn't take long till You didn't really notice it.

 

That's just my 2c. It will a great game whatever decisions are made.

Edited December 1, 2017 by Imperious

[+Ksarul]

I think I like it better with the plane shadows, but that too is just personal preference.

[Omega-TI]

Rembrandt, Piccaso, Manet, or Rasmus, who am I to tell the artist what is best? Whatever the Master settles on will 'work for me'!

[Asmusr]

The shadows will stay as they are.

[fabrice montupet]

Not realistic, but as you want ^^
As the arcade game logically also use total black shadows (I just discover it today!) I think that your choice is due to technical constraint.

Edited December 1, 2017 by fabrice montupet

[artrag]

Another thing that could be animated is flame in the craters from the explosions on ground items once hit by the player.

The arcade has some red/yellow points within the black craters. Not sure actually if the size of the craters allows to have red or yellow points at the moment.

 

Another nice touch could be to have large battleships moving in the middle of the sea.

If you look at the arcade verson, battleships in the middle of the sea are moving up or down, faster than the scrolling.

 

A couple of missing bits are the large planes moving from the bottom or the upper border of the screen and small motor boats in the sea casting bullets.

Edited December 2, 2017 by artrag

[Asmusr]

This is my best attempt to port the music from "02 Asia (BGM 1).vgz" to our sound chip. I had to make a lot of changes, of course, to convert it from the far superior YM2151 chip.I transposed it to better suport low bass notes.

 

level1.vgm

 

If you don't have a VGM player, you can get one here:

 

http://vgmrips.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=112

 

[fabrice montupet]

Your port is excellent! I'm impressed by the quality!

[artrag]

BTW, the VGM sounds great !

Edited December 4, 2017 by artrag