Super Cobra Improvements

[+MrFish]

Apparently growing up in a single-button game results in decreased ability to use multi-button joypads. When I got a Jaguar aged about 26 I found it quite hard to navigate between three buttons and still fail epically when trying to use present-day multi-button joypads with multiple sticks, buttons and shoulder triggers.

 

That's not what I'm saying at all about multiple buttons. I'm talking about the particular situation faced in

games like Super Cobra, where the onslaught of enemies needing to be handled with different weapons

changes faster than you can often think to switch back and forth. So you just end up mashing both

buttons, which makes a single button for both (as used on the Atari version) more than adequate.

 

I owned an NES BITD too and found the extra buttons great. And I think more A8 games need to utilize

controllers with extra buttons. Pushing <UP> on the controller for jumping sucks. It especially sucks when

it's programmed that way and the button is being used for absolutely nothing! This was done in

Crownland; what in world were they thinking of??

 

I've also played many FPS games over the years, with my keyboard and mouse configured to the hilt,

and am totally acclimated to using them that way. And I used to use one of these monstrosities

(Microsoft SideWinder Forced Feedback Pro) to play Mech Warrior (4, I think) on the PC. This thing

has buttons, dials, a "hat" joystick on top of the joystick arm, and the joystick even twists from side to

side (I guess that's part of why they call it a Sidewinder) as a function as well. I found these a pure joy

over using a keyboard or any other controller with Mech Warriors. It was utterly perfect for it. The

mobility and functionality gained by this well thought out controller totally warranted having one and

taking a little time to learn and configure all of it's controls for such a game.

 

 

 

Is it just me (or my almost doubled age) or is it harder or at least takes longer to change direction using a joypad than using a stick. I can't emulate quick wiggling of the stick (as required for shooting in Shamus) with a joypad.

 

I do find a joystick better than a joypad for many games. I just think some games weren't meant for a

joypad. Other games feel much better with a joypad. The NES games were designed with a pad in mind,

so they work better with a pad. Atari games were designed for a joystick, so they work better with it. But

there are games that were designed with joystick in mind, for instance, that work as good or better with

a pad. I also find that some games are much better with a keyboard than any type of joystick or controller.

Edited April 26, 2018 by MrFish

[Fox-1 / mnx]

 

. I also find that some games are much better with a keyboard than any type of joystick or controller.

Like "Typo Attack"

 

:-)

Edited April 26, 2018 by Fox-1 / mnx

[+MrFish]

Like "Typo Attack"

 

:-)

 

Hahaha...

[Mclaneinc]

As I said, I'm sure there are more, I just didn't find (or remember) them all in my "quick" scroll through everything on Fandal's sight, but after that, I didn't feel like looking any more, and had plenty to make my point. I'm glad you brought these up though, as they were a couple I remembered vaguely, but not the names. Isn't there a Sidewinder II as well?

 

There is but its nothing to do with Futureware..Horizontal shooter, very so so..

[Mclaneinc]

 

I thought about mentioning Sidewinder in this thread. Even though it has nice graphics and so forth,

I find it too hard to be enjoyable. So, I find it to be a game that just sits unused in the the collection.

 

I hadn't seen your hack before though. It looks good. And in a few short minutes, I can see much

more playable than Sidewinder.

 

My work was just adding the screens and loading them, Big Mac did the screens with the editor and I gave them a 10 min look at...If they are more fun then its down to him

 

Glad you liked...I regret hacking the title page tho, looks daft now but was fun at the time...

[Fingolfin]

Thank you very much for sharing your hack of Sidewinder, Mclaneinc! It looks great.

 

FWIW I like the credit given to Ronald Reagan in the hack especially given your title, Raid on Libya; another Scramble/Super Cobra game in Gunstar's zip is Dawn Raider and it has the music to "Beverly Hills Cop" for its theme (I actually recognized it as such on first hearing the other night and confirmed with google/YouTube).

 

I won't be political at all and just say I liked seeing/hearing/experiencing the references to the early 80's.

 

Also, if you might know the answer, Mclaneinc I am curious as to why your hack works well in NTSC but original Sidewinder does not (Sidewinder II .xex from Homesoft also seems much better and more playable in NTSC than Sidewinder; both in .xex form or using the .atr you provided Sidewinder is unplayable in NTSC).

[Mclaneinc]

I wish I could say I know why it works ok on NTSC compared to the original but my coding was pretty simple and I know that the original was ripped by Omnimon (which it was supposed to be protected from (Sorry John, it wasn't) and Steve who ripped it made zero changes to the code bar any slight protection checks. I just took his code on multiboot and converted it back to a whole disk, added the modded the levels and changed the loading code..

 

I'm glad it does work well but there was no magic from me & Steve...

Edited April 27, 2018 by Mclaneinc

[Gunstar]

WARLOK. I can't believe I forgot about this Scramble-like game as well, another of my favorites!

Warlok.xex

Edited April 27, 2018 by Gunstar

[Mclaneinc]

DAMN hard though.....I had to hack the hell out of it to get anywhere...

[+therealbountybob]

Dawn Raider is a really good game but it has some serious glitches - info on ths HSC5 R24 thread.

 

So that glowing Sidewinder review was you Mclaneinc! Add me to the list of those who found the game way to hard to be any fun at all

 

Will try the Super Cobra hacks at the weekend - the game is one where it's intentionally hard as there is not much replay value once you've been round it's the same again and again - popular HSC game though last played HSC14 R3 . Making it easier by having a smaller chopper etc may take away the main thing it has going for it "being a challenge to complete"! With practice you can position correctly for most things and complete it a few times though, there is a good learning curve. Some additional cavern layouts would be welcomed

 

I really like these type of "Arcade" games and would love to see a new one. Warlock looks interesting but is very hard - fandal patched it at my request while ago: "(Note: disable fast SIO in the emulator deprotected and NTSC fix by Fandal)."

 

Bellum is not bad and is completable, probalby the most disappointing is Airstrike / II as they look like they should be good but are too hard, the best game of this type is TTOBL - A perfect working Tail of Beta Lyrae with gravity balls remains the one true quest for the Atari experts: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/158241-the-tail-of-beta-lyrae-washouts/ one day someone will crack this

 

I wonder if Caverns of Mars II was meant to have had bombs

[www.atarimania.com]

WARLOK. I can't believe I forgot about this Scramble-like game as well, another of my favorites!

 

Careful, that's a bad crack you're using, the only working and complete version is the full disk .atr release.

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[Gunstar]

 

Careful, that's a bad crack you're using, the only working and complete version is the full disk .atr release.

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

LOL. Yeah, I have your ATR written to floppy, I just had this .xex. You made me laugh though, thanks. I don't want the bad crack to melt my IC's or anything.

[Mclaneinc]

 

 

So that glowing Sidewinder review was you Mclaneinc! Add me to the list of those who found the game way to hard to be any fun at all

 

 

Bellum is not bad and is completable, probalby the most disappointing is Airstrike / II as they look like they should be good but are too hard, the best game of this type is TTOBL - A perfect working Tail of Beta Lyrae with gravity balls remains the one true quest for the Atari experts: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/158241-the-tail-of-beta-lyrae-washouts/ one day someone will crack this

 

I wonder if Caverns of Mars II was meant to have had bombs

 

Yep, the review was mine back in the Atari User days, I loved Scramble stuff so got in to it but yes it was hard. As I went and met the Futureware team to get the editor off them and to have a nose I possibly was a bit kinder with the review than I should have been..Apols

 

I saw Bellum in its early form in the shop, it was pretty but lacking, the final version was much better...

 

Yup TTOBL is the scramble players creme de la creme of a shooter, still love it....As for a Crack I thought DJbee had released a couple of reset sector versions so it was a clean crack and had nothing already saved to alter gameplay as yet, its in the preservation thread iirc..

 

Yeah, I was so annoyed that COM was missing the bombs, it was a guilty pleasure but the missing bombs felt so wrong..Such a shame..

Edited April 28, 2018 by Mclaneinc

[Gunstar]

DAMN hard though.....I had to hack the hell out of it to get anywhere...

I know, but there's just something about it that keeps making me give it one more go and try to get a bit farther, that is lacking from a lot of the other Scramble type games. Maybe it's just the great graphics. I did make it to at least the second level, maybe even the third, when I was playing it a lot a couple of years ago.

 

I am liking your hack of Sidewinder, though it seems an equally tough game to me as Warlok.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Gunstar

[+therealbountybob]

 

...

Yup TTOBL is the scramble players creme de la creme of a shooter, still love it....As for a Crack I thought DJbee had released a couple of reset sector versions so it was a clean crack and had nothing already saved to alter gameplay as yet, its in the preservation thread iirc..

....

Still not an fixed ATR version that can be put on a floppy (I think)

[Mclaneinc]

Not sure if this is what you wanted, credits to DJbee..

Tail of Beta Lyrae, The (1983)(Datamost)(US)f initial state restoredcr.atr