E.X.O. [Done]

[juansolo]

I have a POKEY set aside especially for a physical release of this one.

[john_q_atari]

Man that Recycler is a killer. He took all 10 of my lives!

 

[+DrVenkman]

3 hours ago, juansolo said:

I have a POKEY set aside especially for a physical release of this one.

It sounds like HOKEY will be a good option for a lot of titles going forward. That's what I'm counting on at least. I only have one spare POKEY these days.  

[+jgkspsx]

Jiminy crickets! Why did I miss this thread until now! This looks incredible!

[+Muddyfunster]

29 minutes ago, john_q_atari said:

Man that Recycler is a killer. He took all 10 of my lives!

 

The Recycler takes his job very seriously,  Just ask @-^CrossBow^- !

 

Thanks for trying the demo!

[+sramirez2008]

40 minutes ago, john_q_atari said:

Man that Recycler is a killer. He took all 10 of my lives!

 

Don’t forget to plug in an AtariVox if you have one.  The trash talk takes each boss encounter to another level. 

[john_q_atari]

2 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

Don’t forget to plug in an AtariVox if you have one.  The trash talk takes each boss encounter to another level. 

Good point. I'll plug in my atarivox and give it another try.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Yeah, the recycler is by far my worst nemesis in this game. Several times I've managed to get to the world 2 boss 'Recycler' and have a lot of lives only to loose most of them in the battle against him. I'm lucky if I manage to only get killed a few times in the process and consider that a good run against him.

 

[Silver Back]

This looks awesome. I’m gonna give it a try after I’m done with olli. My spare time is limited so I’m gonna try to RUSH through it that seems like a good idea. 

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE (tomorrow)!!

 

ZeroPage Homebrew is playing E.X.O. on tomorrow's stream LIVE on Twitch, hope you can join us!

 

Fri Dec 31 @ 2PM PT | 5PM ET | 10PM GMT

WATCH: https://www.twitch.tv/zeropagehomebrew/

Games:

• Bernie and the Cubic Conundrum (2021 WIP | 7800) by MuddyVision / Lewis Hill @Muddyfunster
• Heartlight (2021 WIP | 7800) by Eagle @Eagle
• E.X.O. (2021 Final Demo Update | 7800) by MuddyVision / Lewis Hill @Muddyfunster / Bobby Clark @Synthpopalooza (Music)

 (WATCH AT 1080P60 FOR BEST QUALITY)

 

 

 

[+sramirez2008]

@Muddyfunster @Synthpopalooza Congratulations on winning Atari 7800 Best Homebrew (Original) for E.X.O.

[+Muddyfunster]

On 2/13/2022 at 10:46 PM, sramirez2008 said:

@Muddyfunster @Synthpopalooza Congratulations on winning Atari 7800 Best Homebrew (Original) for E.X.O.

Thanks Steve!

[+Muddyfunster]

Anyone playing EXO under emulation, I strongly recommend updating to v5 of A7800 as it has much improved handling of the funky POKEY tricks used for the many tunes in game. 

 

Linky

[+saxmeister]

This game is a work of art! Color me super impressed. As always, great work @Muddyfunster!!!!!!!

[+Muddyfunster]

On 9/25/2022 at 10:33 PM, saxmeister said:

This game is a work of art! Color me super impressed. As always, great work @Muddyfunster!!!!!!!

Thanks @saxmeister appreciate your kind words  

[SlidellMan]

Congratulations on E. X. O. Finally getting completed and released!

[Ecernosoft]

On 12/24/2021 at 9:23 PM, Muddyfunster said:

E.X.O. is complete.  (woohoo)

 

Release Candidate Demo A

The demo is limited to the first two worlds and the first two bosses and saving functionality is disabled.

 

Other than that you have the full experience, nothing is cut from the levels or bosses

 

EXO is a 512KB binary with 16KB RAM + POKEY - It is NTSC and PAL compatible out of the box and works on Dragonfly with POKEY/POKEYMAX on real hardware, and on MiSTer PAL and NTSC Cores.

 

It does not work on Concerto currently due to the ROM size.

 

Emulation : Testing and working fine under BUP, A7800, JS7800 & Argon - Please note the Music comments below.

The release candidate has had a few tweaks and changes since the demo from July and I'm very pleased to be able to provide a demo for folks to test. The only real changes I plan to make from here are fixing any bugs that pop up between now and release and removing the temporary demo title page etc. We might also have to tweak the music depending on how HOKEY testing goes.

Updates for Release Candidate A - December 2021
⦁    Significant amount of balance tweaks made across the whole game.
⦁    Palette tweaks to avoid colours that do not play well on LCD displays.
⦁    Extra POKEY tunes (now 15 up from 13)
⦁    World 5 is complete and implemented.
⦁    5 boss fights now implemented.
⦁    AtariVox speech on boss fights.

 

A note on POKEY music :

Please note that quite a few of EXO's tunes do not sound right under emulation. This is just the maturity of POKEY emulation in the currently available emulators. If the music sounds odd - it's the emulation.

 

For playing under emulation, I highly recommend A7800 V5.x.

 

E.X.O. Compatibility

 

• E.X.O. works fine on Dragonfly, MiSTer, A7800 V5.x, Argon.
• E.X.O. works fine on Bup but with some distortion on the POKEY tunes. Gameplay is unaffected. 
• E.X.O. works "ok" on ProSystem. Some graphical artifacts on cutscenes.
• E.X.O. does not run on Concerto hardware due to the rom size.

 

Elite Xeno Operations - Full feature list :

⦁    5 full worlds for the player to explore and defeat, each with unique a graphical theme and environment, from industrial factories to ruined ancient temples.
⦁    5 end of level bosses to defeat.
⦁    4 hidden Key Stones to unlock.
⦁    15 Pokey Tunes for your audio enjoyment.
⦁    More than 100 screens in total.
⦁    HSC, AtariVox and Savekey support for saving progress and unlocks (3 save slots).
⦁    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 and adjusted.
⦁    32kb of music and sound effects, over 80kb of graphics.

 

Enjoy  

 

EXO_Release_Cand_Demo_A.a78 512.13 kB · 188 downloads

Awh man! 512K? Why so big????

 

Edit: And dude, I'd love to see a SMB-like platformer come from you, I'd absolutley 100% play it.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Ecernosoft

[Ecernosoft]

Also the music on JS7800... is..... halp

 

Edit: Something more similar to sonic would be nice.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Ecernosoft

[Ecernosoft]

On 12/25/2021 at 2:32 PM, jgkspsx said:

Jiminy crickets! Why did I miss this thread until now! This looks incredible!

You are having the same thought as me.......

[Ecernosoft]

On 12/24/2021 at 9:48 PM, Muddyfunster said:

• Use a good controller.
• Oh and don't RUSH!

pain

[+Muddyfunster]

1 hour ago, Ecernosoft said:

Also the music on JS7800... is..... halp

 

Edit: Something more similar to sonic would be nice.

First post mentioned issues with the music on certain emulators. JS7800 is great for playing online but I don't use it to test anymore as it does have the odd issue with some of the POKEY stuff, as does BUP. E.X.O. uses some of the more exotic and unusual timings and stuff for the music, hence some emulators get upset.

 

I've updated the compatibility chart.

 

If you want to hear the music properly, fire up the demo on A7800 v5.2 

 

 

[+Muddyfunster]

23 minutes ago, Ecernosoft said:

Awh man! 512K? Why so big????

 

Edit: And dude, I'd love to see a SMB-like platformer come from you, I'd absolutley 100% play it.

For the size, that was down to design choices and "code duplication" instead of "code complication", which turned out to be a good decision in the grand scheme.

 

At the end of the day, it's 2022 not 1982. A 512kb cart costs a few pennies more than a 48k cart these days so it's not really an issue.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ecernosoft]

39 minutes ago, Muddyfunster said:

First post mentioned issues with the music on certain emulators. JS7800 is great for playing online but I don't use it to test anymore as it does have the odd issue with some of the POKEY stuff, as does BUP. E.X.O. uses some of the more exotic and unusual timings and stuff for the music, hence some emulators get upset.

 

I've updated the compatibility chart.

 

If you want to hear the music properly the fire up the demo on A7800 v5.2 

 

 

Nice- trying it now!

 

Also, PLEASE make a Mario or Sonic like platformer for one of your future games- and I can help with that. 

I personally prefer sonic over mario though.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Ecernosoft

[+Trebor]

This jaw-dropping game is mind-blowing to state the least.  Its full-release day cannot come soon enough. 

 

FIVE incredible worlds - each with their own unique environment and personality.

 

-Engaging Gameplay? Check.

-Original game? Check.

-Smooth controlling? Check.

-Fantastic graphics? Check.

-Phenomenal sound? Check.

-Search and Rescue/Recover? Check.

-Exploration? Check.

-Challenging Boss Battles? Check.

-Cinematics with cut-scenes? Check.

-Sci-Fi? Check.

-Action? Check.

-Adventure? Check.

-Checkpoints? Check.

-Save States? Check.

-Hidden/Bonus items-Easter Eggs? Check.

-Game Tutorial? Check.

 

To summarize*:

-Cool Code? Check.

-Perfect Pixels? Check.

-Marvelous Music? Check.

-Devious Design? Check.

-Code Gurus? Check (Involved - but not included).

-Terrific Testers? Check (See above).

-Special Thanks? Check (Involved and included).

 

There is absolutely no question, this is one of the greatest games, for the 7800, ever developed.

 

*Summary phrasing 'borrowed' from the credits section of the game.

[Albert]

E.X.O. will make its debut at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo in two weeks.  Here's a render of the box front and back:

If you're not able to attend the show, E.X.O. will be available in the AtariAge Store in early November!

 ..Al