+Muddyfunster Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Latest Public Demo is RELEASE CANDIDATE A (December 2021) find it HERE E.X.O. Elite Xeno Operations. Your objective is to rescue your 4 team mates who are all inconveniently being held in different places. You also need to foil an alien plot to destroy the Earth and wipe out Humanity. How rude. E.X.O. - Inspiration E.X.O is heavily inspired by games like Cybernoid, Starquake, Exile and even Adventure. Flick screen shooter/adventure/explore type games. E.X.O draws on these archetypes, it has shooting but it's not trying to be a 'schmup', it has exploration, it has some puzzles (with more planned), it has a lot of "figuring out" that the player needs to do, to solve each screen and each level. It originally started as a "port" of Cybernoid, but I wanted to go in a slightly different direction so after some initial work, everything changed. Controls E.X.O needs a two button controller. (added emphasis!) A good controller is important! (no really, a beat up old controller that barely works will lead to a very frustrating experience!) Button 1 is mapped to lasers (useful for softer targets, mines, probes). Button 2 is mapped to rockets. (default is a "down" rocket, rockets can be flicked upwards by using up + button 2. Up activates thrust / engines. left and right to move left and right. Select = Bail out - only works on screen 1 of any world (used if you select the wrong level to try by mistake). See the in-game "how to play" for more details. Gameplay & Objective Each level has a generator and a security code. To rescue the team member and leave the level, you need both. Each level also has a hidden Key Stone. Switches are used to unlock the rooms containing the Key Stones. When the final Key Stone is unlocked the screen will screen shake, notifying you something has changed in the level. You will not be able to get to the security code until you have disabled the generator and weakened the security systems that block the way. (TLDR : Generator -> Security Code -> Exit -> Boss). Rockets are limited, use them sparingly! replenishments can be found, usually 1 crate on each world. Life & Death If you lose your ship, you will restart at either the beginning of the level or the most recently activated restart point. Restart points look like TV's, fly into them to activate them, when they are active, they are green. Features & notes as of Release Candidate A (December 2021) 5 full worlds for the player to explore and defeat, each with unique a graphical theme and enviroment, from industrial factories to ruined ancient temples. 5 end of level bosses to defeat. 4 hidden Key Stones to unlock. Pokey Tunes for your audio enjoyment. More than 100 screens in total. HSC, Atarivox and Savekey support for saving progress and unlocks. AtariVox speech supported for boss fights. Cinematic Viewer so that you can revisit past glories. Comprehensive "how to play" tutorial in game. Unlockable Easter Eggs such as the POKEY music player. Fully PAL compatible (palette, speed and yes, spellings..) 32kb of music and sound effects, over 80kb of graphics. Issues & Compatibility Nearly all of EXO's tunes do not sound right under older emulators. This is due to the maturity of POKEY emulation in software emulators. If the music sounds odd - it's the emulation. Recommended Emulator for EXO is A7800 V5+ - POKEY sounds good. Link to V5 Bup has POKEY issues (notes and music sound off,) Prosystem has some gfx glitches on cutscenes, Concerto is not supported due to ROM size. Road Map for EXO Release! Special Thanks : @mksmith @RevEng @SmittyB for answering my never ending stream of questions and providing great advice. @mksmith @RevEng for supporting the homebrew community with fantastic tools and drivers like 7800 Basic, ADS etc. @sramirez2008@-^CrossBow^- @Trebor @ZeroPage Homebrew for comprehensive testing and feedback. You guys rock! @Synthpopalooza for making some absolutely bangin' tunes! Media: RC-A Screenshots. World 1 map 38 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 This looks awesome but due to the file size I won't be able to test on actual hardware. The Mateos is the only cart I have for things like this and it is limited to a max game size of 144k. But will give the emu route a shot. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Awesome! Look forward to trying it out. ..Al 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevEng Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Muddyfunster said: Special Thanks : @mksmith @RevEng @SmittyB for answering my never ending stream of questions and providing great advice. I'm confidently speaking for everybody that lends a hand in the 7800 programming forums... while nobody is looking for a pay-off, seeing cool stuff like your projects bloom with just a little bit of our advice and input, is entirely a win-win. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said: This looks awesome but due to the file size I won't be able to test on actual hardware. The Mateos is the only cart I have for things like this and it is limited to a max game size of 144k. But will give the emu route a shot. Thanks @-^CrossBow^- The demo *could* fit into 144k standalone with some minor tweaks I think, but going forward the extra levels mean that the game needs 256k. So it would be a one off for the demo. Does Mateos work with 128K + 16KRam bank schemes? (Not sure what the Mateos can and can't accommodate). Edited July 25, 2020 by Muddyfunster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 19 minutes ago, Muddyfunster said: Thanks @-^CrossBow^- The demo *could* fit into 144k standalone with some minor tweaks I think, but going forward the extra levels mean that the game needs 256k. So it would be a one off for the demo. Does Mateos work with 128K + 16KRam bank schemes? (Not sure what the Mateos can and can't accommodate). I believe it can yes as there is a selector switch on the cart to either limit the banks to just 128k and below games where you can store upto 16 games onto the cart at once. Or you can move the selector to 144k games and that gives you 8 game slots. I leave mine in 144k mode as most of the stuff I had on the cart required that setting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 3 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said: I believe it can yes as there is a selector switch on the cart to either limit the banks to just 128k and below games where you can store upto 16 games onto the cart at once. Or you can move the selector to 144k games and that gives you 8 game slots. I leave mine in 144k mode as most of the stuff I had on the cart required that setting. Ok, I think I can easily make a 144k version just for the demo and I'll drop that in the first post later. Hopefully that will work for the Mateos as I know a few folks have those and I really would like to know how things work / look on real hardware. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 1 minute ago, Muddyfunster said: Ok, I think I can easily make a 144k version just for the demo and I'll drop that in the first post later. Hopefully that will work for the Mateos as I know a few folks have those and I really would like to know how things work / look on real hardware. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 @Muddyfunster Look forward to the 144k version as I too only have a Mateos. I would love to be able to test this game, but please don’t limit it on my/our part. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 This looks fantastic! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) Good stuff, Just to be clear though, the 144k version will only be for the demo, the final release (targeting real cart / physical release) is always planned to sit on a 256k + 16kb RAM cart due to how the game organises all the graphics and screens across the 4 levels (90 or so screens). Appreciate the real hardware testing though, that will be super helpful! Edited July 25, 2020 by Muddyfunster 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Yesterday we had the EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE of E.X.O. on the ZeroPage Homebrew stream LIVE on Twitch! It was a blast playing it, thank you so much @Muddyfunster! Below is the archived video of our full playthrough of the demo on YouTube, enjoy! Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew/ Games: E.X.O. (2020 Exclusive WIP Premiere | 7800) by Lewis Hill (@Muddyfunster) Knight Guy in Low Res World: Castle Days (2020 WIP | 7800) by Vladimir Zuñiga (@vhzc) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2002) by Adam Thornton (SET VIDEO TO 1080P60 FOR FULL QUALITY) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler172 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Hi Muddy 144 k would be great,cause Mattheos cart,Concerto and CC2 can handle this.CC2 can do 512 k....but no 256 k....hope this info helps. BTW...the game looks great....if you need a tester.. just lmk. greetings Walter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 5 hours ago, Muddyfunster said: Please post any questions or comments. FWIW, this doesn't seem to work (black screen hang) on OpenEmu on a Mac, which is using ProSystem 1.4.1 for a core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 Sorry @bhall408I've only tested on A7800 and JS7800. I don't use ProSystem. JS7800 is browser based and should work on your mac. I've added to the first post versions for 128k+16kRAM. I've only posted the .BIN, not sure if that is all that is needed to run on Mateos etc. I can add the .A78 if needed Also added a version with the DEVCART switch on, not sure if that's also helpful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, gambler172 said: Hi Muddy 144 k would be great,cause Mattheos cart,Concerto and CC2 can handle this.CC2 can do 512 k....but no 256 k....hope this info helps. BTW...the game looks great....if you need a tester.. just lmk. greetings Walter Thanks Walter, I wasn't aware of what the different carts can handle so thanks for that update, very helpful. I've added a 128+16k build that I hope works on the different card solutions. And thanks for offering to test, appreciate that will definitely add you to the test group when I get that group set up. Edited July 25, 2020 by Muddyfunster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cousin Vinnie Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 WANT 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Okay, this does fire up on the Mateos using the SGR extension that I've tried so far. But there are some graphical glitches on the explosions using the normal laser. Also the color is very off compared to what I've seen so wondering if this game is using a lot of the golden colored hues that do NOT look right in most cases on flat panels? Like the ground looking green in commando for instance? I will try and capture some footage later, but I'm not the best at these games and it is one of the reasons I don't play my copy of Cybernoid that much on the Jaguar LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mksmith Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Congrats Lewis ??? Looking forward to playing this ? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) I don't see glitching on this one under A7800 or JS7800 but on BupSystem i see glitches on the laser impacts. I don't know which is correct. Even the standard 256k build has the glitches on BupSystem. You guys will need to let me know what works on Mateos and what doesn't. Edited July 26, 2020 by Muddyfunster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I better order more PCB's, one of mine can do 256K+16K RAM. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 (edited) ok so after playing for a bit the glitches clear, which makes me think it's a timer variable starting high and not at zero. Seems the RAM isn't starting full of zero's which was my assumption. Edited July 26, 2020 by Muddyfunster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 36 minutes ago, Muddyfunster said: exo206_demo1_128k.bas.a78 128.13 kB · 1 download I don't see glitching on this one under A7800 or JS7800 You guys will need to let me know what works on Mateos and what doesn't. I got this to start on my Mateos with S9 (144k) and SGR (128k) extensions, but each time the Spaceship glitches. I can't get him into the playable field (please see below). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 (edited) try the one I just posted @sramirez2008 I've added what is hopefully a fixed bin to the first post. Edited July 26, 2020 by Muddyfunster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 2 minutes ago, Muddyfunster said: try the one I just posted @sramirez2008 I used the one in Post #22. Did you re-post Post #22? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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