Good news and bad news.

[Spirantho]

Can you do it the way the original games often did it? I.e. make an attract mode (which is, of course, the normal game mode but with no player sprite, joystick input and no death sequence when the ship gets to the edge of the screen) which shows the hi-score where your current score goes.

 

That's the best method, I find - when I get a great score and die I have a tendency to forget the exact score I just got by the time I get as far as my high-score book or Cart Commander!

[Big Player]

On the scoring is there anyway you could flip between the title screen and the playfield after the game is over to display the score? I'm not a programmer so I don't know if this saves any memory, but it is used in other 2600 games.

 

I'll post more feeback after I play it more.

[Chadivision]

I appreciate everyone's input. You're giving me some really good suggestions.

 

Right now, the title screen uses just about all of the 128 bytes of RAM, so I'll need to find a way to free up a few bytes (which is tough, but it should be workable) in order to remember the high score. Putting the score on the title screen probably won't work in this case, but I may be able to toggle back and forth between screens like Big Player mentioned. If I get some time, I'll try to work on it some more this weekend. I'll keep you posted.

 

Before releasing the cartridges, I will at least make the score stay on the screen longer after the game ends. This approach wouldn't show the high score, but it would show you the most recent score and give you time to write it down.

 

Speaking of scores, I just got a new high score of 5,195

[Albert]

Before releasing the cartridges, I will at least make the score stay on the screen longer after the game ends.  This approach wouldn't show the high score, but it would show you the most recent score and give you time to write it down.

 

You definitely want to allow people to take pictures of the television screen for high score contests. If you can squeeze that onto the title screen (I'm surprised the title screen uses all 128 bytes!) or at least leave the game screen on after you die for the last time, that would be a big plus. Or perhaps have a simple "Game Over!" screen that shows the score.

 

Speaking of scores,  I just got a new high score of 5,195

 

Are you playing this in an emulator? If so, which one are you using?

 

..Al

[DEBRO]

I appreciate everyone's input.  You're giving me some really good suggestions.

 

Right now, the title screen uses just about all of the 128 bytes of RAM, so I'll need to find a way to free up a few bytes (which is tough, but it should be workable) in order to remember the high score.  Putting the score on the title screen probably won't work in this case, but I may be able to toggle back and forth between screens like Big Player mentioned.  If I get some time, I'll try to work on it some more this weekend.  I'll keep you posted.

 

Hi Chad,

 

I would just like to reiterate Thomas' suggestion. Don't forget you've got people willing to help in area you may need. Please don't hesitate to ask.

[StanJr]

Ok, so I've spent a few more hours playing it, and aside from the score issue, which is getting well addressed. The only thing that still bugs me is the gun seizure when the ship gets to the last row. For me, if that happens I usually just stop playing and wait for a new ship, because there is no certainty that I can salvage my ship, and I rarely do at that. Hopefully this will not be as discouraging an issue on a real VCS. The game is challenging enough without the seizure, in my opinion.

 

If you want to make a practice version, give us a variation with 5 lives instead of three.

 

[Chadivision]

I'll see what I can come up with for the score screen, and I'll ask for help on the Stella list if I need to.

 

I've been playing the game on an actual 2600 using my Cuttle Cart. Keep in mind that even though the emulators are very good, none of them are exactly the same as the actual system. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to release it on a cartridge, so I have done most of my testing on a real Atari 2600. I did check it on Z26 every once in a while to make sure that it is playable in and emulator. I will agree that it is a lot harder using the keyboard. Also, emulators usually respond to player input slightly slower than the Atari does. In a lot of games it isn't really noticable, but Backfire is a pure reflex/coordination type of game.

Has anyone tried this using a Cuttle Cart, or a Supercharger?

 

I think that the rumble effect will not bother you as much when you play it on the actual system. I always try to shoot the ships before they get that close, but if they do make it to the last line, I am normally successful about 2 out of 3 times when playing on an actual Atari.

 

I just didn't want to make it so all you had to do was wait until the ship got to point blank range and shoot. It would be impossible to miss. On the other hand, I didn't want you to get killed without having one last chance to save your gun.

 

Here is a gameplay tip that might help. When your gun is rumbling, position your gun directly under (or over depending on which gun) a barrier, wait until the ship is in front of you, and fire. That way if you miss, the reflected shot might hit it. This basically doubles your chances of hitting it. Make sure that you start moving the gun out of the way after you shoot, because you might end up shooting yourself.

 

Would anyone else like for the game to start with 5 lives? I'm not overly attached to the number 3.

 

I have found that once I got good at hitting the UFOs (which take a lot of practice) I can get plenty of extra lives from shooting the blue UFOs. I have had more than 10 lives at a time. Usually the thing that determines how well I do is how many green UFOs I shoot (the one that wipes out the barriers). If you notice, the levels get progressively harder as you go on because there are more barriers and fewer clear paths to shoot through. If you hit the green UFO (the colors might be a little off in your particular emulator) it not only wipes out the barriers, but it also sets the barrier difficulty back to what it was at the beginning of the game. That buys you some more time to shoot more UFOs and get a higher score. The good news is that no matter what level you are on, the UFOs always move at the same speed, so if you get the timing down, it's just a matter of whether you have a clear shot or not.

[Spirantho]

I personally say change the score as we've discussed (so we can take photos etc!), but apart from that I don`t think it's broken so I wouldn`t fix it.....

 

What I would do is use player 1 difficulty switch to turn rumbling on or off... maybe have the select switch choose how many lives, but I think 3 is best.

[Big Player]

Suggestion: It would be nice if the gun under your control had some type of visual difference so you knew for sure which one you were controlling without having to move it first. Say a red cannon for the one under control?

 

I will try it tonight on my Supercharger. Will it work with an unmodified one?

[BeerGnome]

heres my two cents.. what about a two player mode that allows each gn to be controlled by a diffrent user?

[Chadivision]

Originally I meant to make the active gun look different, but somehow I forgot to make that change. I think that would be a definate improvement. I'll change that before the final release.

 

I don't own a supercharger, but from my understanding, only supercharger games will work on an unmodified one. This is a standard 4k game, so I doubt that it will run.

 

I thought about a two player mode where you each control a gun, but I decided against it. Since this was my first real game, I wanted to keep it simple.

[Godzilla]

no, many roms work fine on an un modified super charger. of course, many don't, but still :-)

[StanJr]

Chad, I think you are probably right, the more I play and the better I get, the less the gun rumble frustrates me (although it still does at times ). So no real need to change it. I understand why it is there. Your tip will probably help, and when I get it on a real system, that will help too.

 

Big Player's suggestion about color switching the active gun is a good idea. Not necessary for those of us that pay ATTENTION, Big Player , but it would make the game a bit more colorful!

 

Otherwise I really feel you have a winner on your hands here. The game is WAY challenging and addictive! Well done.

 

[Nostalgic]

I tried out Backfire in the Stella emulator on Linux. Between the small window size, small bullet size, and playing with the keyboard, I didn't do all that well.

 

However, I'll echo the other sentiments here - this game is both enjoyable and challenging. I do want the opportunity to try to get more than a handful of points and settle into the "game rhythm" that lets a game go well.

 

I'll also agree with Big Player on having the cannon you are currently controlling marked in some fashion. It would be a great help.

 

I did have one annoyance, which I'm not sure is a bug or a feature. Right after destroying an enemy plane, if the barriers shift and your gun is right beneath or above it, either your shot continues through the plane, bounces, and destroys your gun right away, or the game still thinks the trigger is pressed and fires again, straight into the barrier. In short, it's easy to lose a gun right when the barriers change.

 

Thanks for bringing Backfire to us!

[Chadivision]

As for the double shot thing when the plane is near you, I'd say it's not really a bug or a feature. It looks like the shot goes through it, but what is happening is that when the ship is destroyed, your finger is still on the button, so another shot is fired immediately. It was something that I was planning on changing originally, but the more I played it, I started thinking that it added another twist to the game.

 

I'm not overly attached to this idea though, so if enough people would like to change it, I could do that.

 

Also, if you notice, when you shoot a UFO, the bullet passes through it and keeps going. I was planning on changing that, but I liked the possibility that you could hit a UFO and a ship in the same shot. Also, you need to be careful when going after UFOs because sometimes your shot bounces around in the middle and you can't fire again until it's done.

[MegaManFan]

So Chad, once you're done tweaking the game, can we expect to see an official release version in the AtariAge store?

[Chadivision]

Yes, I am going to release cartirdges. I just have to write the manual and make some final adjustments to the game. I think that we are probably going to do a label contest. I emailed Albert about it, and we decided that we would wait until the current label contest is finished, that way people can submit artwork for both contests.

[+Nathan Strum]

I got to try Back Fire out on Stella (runs fine on a Mac!) and it's a great game! It really reminds me of some of the games from the early 80's where companies tried unique things to 'stretch' the limits of the joystick/button controller as far as they could (games like Crossfire, Turmoil, Laserblast, etc.)

 

The whole added dimension of not shooting yourself really adds a lot to the game. I think "evil" is the operative word, here.

 

Just to throw some ideas out:

 

1) I agree, it'd be nice for the "active" gun to be a different color. Maybe a brighter blue? Or make the inactive one darker?

 

2) I haven't gotten very far in the game, so I don't know if there are any different ships to blast or not, but maybe some more variety in the enemies (ie. different shapes, colors). Maybe even some that move differently (eg. change speeds as they move across the screen, or start and stop as they move, accelerate as they get closer to you, change speeds with each row, etc.). Just for the sake of longevity.

 

3) I really like the "rumble" effect as ships get near, it's a neat idea (oh for a 2600 rumble pack!). But it would be nice to see it ramp up as the game progresses. Perhaps reduce the amount of "rumbling" (when the enemy gets near) on early levels, and increase it as the game progresses. Maybe even add special evil UFOs that cause you to rumble when they appear, too. Or even... how about as you reach higher levels, more rows would start causing the rumbling (the nearer rows would make you rumble more violently). Shooting some special UFO could "clear" the rumbling back down to one row. The audio pitch could change as you rumble more.

 

4) Either a shorter death rumble, or maybe have the enemies freeze while you're in the process of dying. Or perhaps when you're dying they disappear, and reappear when you stop. It's really easy to lose a couple of lives in a row the way it is now.

 

5) I wouldn't mind starting with 5 lives. Maybe as an A/B difficulty switch thing.

 

6) Different sounds for the different UFOs when shot. Maybe have the UFOs accompanied by sounds when they appear, too.

 

Anyway, these are just some thoughts I had while playing it. Take them or leave them.

 

And... what current label contest? I wasn't aware one was running...

[Paul Slocum]

If you get stuck trying to add the score to the title screen, don't hesistate to post your source on Stella. I'm sure somebody (probably Thomas) can find a way to make it happen.

 

-Paul

[Shannon]

That last message got me to thinking.. It'd be kinda cool to see crossfire on the 2600. If it was even technically possible.

[Big Player]

Here's a WAV file of the Backfire bin. I'm going to try it out in my Supercharger now.

backfire.zip

[Chadivision]

I had originally planned to make different kinds of enemies. I was thinking about making one that accelerated and decelerated, but I realized that the game was pretty difficult as it is and I didn't want to make it too frustrating (just frustrating enough to keep you playing).

 

The ships do get slightly faster with each level. I never liked it when there is a big difference in difficulty between one level and the next. I also didn't want to make a game where the difficulty maxes out before the game is over. That is the one thing that I don't like about Atlantis. That is a hard game on the upper levels, but about half way to rolling the counter it gets to a point where it isn't getting any harder.

 

I always loved how they did the difficulty in Pac Man (Atari 8 bit, or arcarde version.) The ghosts get a little faster each level and you don't really relize how fast they have gotten until you start a new game on the first level.

 

In Backfire, the ships start out moving at 1 pixel per frame. Your gun moves at 1.5 pixels per frame and the UFOs move at 2 pixels per frame. Each level, the ship's speed increses by 1/32 of a pixel per frame (I think that's right, I may have gone with 1/16. I'd have to look at the code again to be sure).

 

I guess the point of all of this is that if anyone would like the game to get more difficult faster, I could increase the speed increment for each level, but after testing it, I like it the way it is. What does everyone else think?

 

By the way, let me know if it runs on the Supercharger. I think that the game is much more user friendly on an actual Atari.

[StanJr]

I'd say its challenging enough as it is. With an increased number of barriers, it gets almost IMPOSSIBLE to hit the UFO's in the middle because they move so fast and you have to lead them in to your shot.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think all that Nathan was looking for was a bit of variety in the types of enemies, not an overall increase in difficulty.

 

[Cybergoth]

Hi there!

 

And... what current label contest? I wasn't aware one was running...

 

Sort of. He probably refers to the "CVDRUM Splash Screen Contest". And I think there might be a label contest for "A-VCS-TEC Challenge" in the pipe too.

 

Grüße,

Manuel

[Chadivision]

When I emailed Al about making the cartridges, he mentioned that there is a contest going on right now, but that we could probably start the label contest in about 2 weeks. I don't remember what the current contest is. I've been so busy lately that I haven't really been keeping current on everything that is going on at this site, so I'm not sure which contest he was referring to.