The hamburger experiment

[+atari2600land]

I gave the "stupidfish" and "stupidfishh" variables more descriptive names. They're now "bgitem" and "bgitem2".

 

herts21.rom herts21.bas

[+DZ-Jay]

5 minutes ago, atari2600land said:

Try dying when the bird is on the extreme right on the screen. This may be hard to time at first since the pause when dying.

Nope, didn't seem to do it.

 

5 minutes ago, atari2600land said:

I'll up the volume and reduce the bird flapping time.

?

 

I also finally got to see the chicken nugget! LOL!

 

And a pickle shot at me!!! I thought it was only eggplants.  Darn, those belligerent veggies!

 

I also made it to the Big Eggplant boss, although I failed to kill it.  How do I know how many times to shoot it?

 

    -dZ.

[+DZ-Jay]

By the way, you may want to ask a moderator to move this thread to the programming forum ...

[+atari2600land]

The heads of lettuce sometimes shoot at you. Not always, though, so watch out.

[+DZ-Jay]

Just now, atari2600land said:

The heads of lettuce sometimes shoot at you. Not always, though, so watch out.

I didn't see the lettuce.  Maybe in a later level?  I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

[+atari2600land]

The lettuce is round. I think you saw it as a pickle.

This is the lettuce:

[+DZ-Jay]

6 minutes ago, atari2600land said:

The lettuce is round. I think you saw it as a pickle.

This is the lettuce:

Oh!  That's not a pickle?  I think you'll be better off calling it a pickle.  It looks like a pickle (more than a head of lettuce), and still fits the theme.  Although pickles (and lettuce) are burger toppings, whereas eggplants, chicken nuggets, and corn on the cob, are not.

 

Your good vs. bad choices are a bit uneven ... Hmm ...

 

I personally like thematically-consistent elements in a game, and that everything can be explained diegetically.  If a pickle and lettuce are friendly with the burger (because they all belong together), then they wouldn't attack it.  And if they do, there should be some motivation for them to do so, and preferably this would be reflected in the game's story or mechanics.

 

Then again ... that's probably just me.

 

    -dZ.

Edited March 31, 2022 by DZ-Jay

[+atari2600land]

It's supposed to be a head of lettuce with a face. Or I guess I can't draw very well. I'll try redesigning it.

[+DZ-Jay]

55 minutes ago, atari2600land said:

I added a bird flapping its wings in level 1. I thought, since a cloud would look funny close to the ground, "What WOULD look good close to the ground?"

And sometimes, I get these weird squares in the level intro DESPITE me using CLS. The basic file is in the .zip file so you can look at it if you want to. Also included is a rom.

 

 

herts20220331.zip 17.54 kB · 1 download

I see that the only place that uses that color is here:

get_level_1:
	cls
	wait
	mode 0,9,2,3,4
	wait
	DEFINE DEF00,6,level_1_bg
	WAIT
	#bgcolor=$1006 : #bgcolor2=$1006
	fishx=0 : stupidfish=140
	goto get_new_level

I presume that it's $1006 (Yellow Green).

 

Those variables are then used in here:

make_bg:	PROCEDURE
	if level=2 then
		if ROW>6 then PRINT AT ROW*20 color #bgcolor2, "\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258"		
	end if

	if level=1 then
		PRINT AT 140 color #bgcolor, "\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256"
		if ROW>7 then PRINT AT ROW*20 color #bgcolor2, "\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258"	
	end if

	if level=3 then 
		if ROW<1 then PRINT AT ROW*20 color $1001, "\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258"
		if ROW=1 then print at ROW*20 color $1001, "\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257\257"
		if ROW>1 and ROW<7 then PRINT AT ROW*20 color #bgcolor, "\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258"
		
		PRINT AT stupidfish color 2, "\256"
		if ROW>7 then PRINT AT ROW*20 color #bgcolor, "\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258\258"		
		
	end if

	RETURN
	END

 

You may want to check the state of your variables in there to make sure they have the values that you expect.  My guess is that a variable being tested in an "IF" statement doesn't have the value you expect, causing the wrong statement to be executed.

 

   -dZ.

[+DZ-Jay]

3 minutes ago, atari2600land said:

It's supposed to be a head of lettuce with a face. Or I guess I can't draw very well. I'll try redesigning it.

It's OK, no worries.  I just mentioned a pickle because it looks like the ones from BurgerTime with the face.  I guess that if an orange blob can be a chicken nugget, a disc with a face can be a lettuce head.

 

    -dZ.

[+atari2600land]

I figured out what is causing that green square. It's when you die and a pea is being shot by another vegetable when you go to the level intro screen.

[+DZ-Jay]

47 minutes ago, atari2600land said:

I figured out what is causing that green square. It's when you die and a pea is being shot by another vegetable when you go to the level intro screen.

I thought it would be that, but I thought I tested it.  Hmmm.  Ok cool.

[+atari2600land]

Since I figured it was displaying a square, before everything is shown on the level intro screen I put

    define 63,1,all_on
    wait
    print at 220 color 7,"\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256\256"
       

in it. I then spent about 8 minutes trying to get the light green square to appear with no luck. Can you?

 

herts21.rom herts21.bas

[+atari2600land]

I got past the 16K mark. It gave me a purple screen. Adding org $C100 to the code fixed it. I am wondering though, can I go all the way to $FFFF from $C100 or not? Hopefully I can add as much code as I need before I put org $c100 in. This is my .cfg file:

[mapping]
$0000 - $0FFF = $5000
$1000 - $151E = $6000
$151F - $2126 = $C100

 

I put in level 4. It took a few HOURS to get everything right, but I think I finally did. Let me know if any strangeness occurs.

Level 5 will be Mustard Moon. The moon is colored like mustard, so I thought it would be a good fit.

Level 4 is Doughy Desert. I am wondering though if the chicken nugget is hard to see when it's in the reddish sand ground, or should I lighten the sand more?

I originall had just a one colored pyramid, but I thought a two-toned one would be better, so I put in a two-toned one. Pressing 4 at the title screen takes you to the desert level.

herts22a.rom

[carlsson]

If I understood correctly, the upper part of that memory block (perhaps from $F000 ?) is good for data/graphics but not code. There is also a block at $A000 (8 kilodecles = 16 kilobytes) you can use before going to $C100.

[+atari2600land]

A short YouTube video of the first level.

 

[+DZ-Jay]

12 hours ago, atari2600land said:

A short YouTube video of the first level.

 

It's looking good.  I would recommend separating the enemy counters from the level and the boss.  I mean, they are separate kinds of enemies and, indeed, separate stages of the game, so conflating them can be a bit confusing.

 

Perhaps the main level should display the countdown to the boss, and the boss stage should display the countdown to the boss' death.  Just a thought.

 

Also, it seems that quite a few times the eggplants shoot right upon their death, or even a frame or two after.  It gives the perception of being a glitch, so you may want to address that.

 

Lastly, that video shows the first level being sort of hard.  Perhaps it's worth toning down the difficulty of the first level at least.  Maybe you could reduce the rate of shooting, or the velocity of the bullets, etc.  That may help players ease into the game.

 

Remember, the game is very repetitive as it stands, so it may not be a good idea to frustrate the player so early if there isn't much more for the player to see or gain through the rest of the game.  Reducing difficulty and letting the player invest in his skills at the early stages can hook them to the game-play, simple as it may be.  Just a thought.

 

By the way, I meant to ask you ... why are the hamburgers en route to Switzerland?  Is there any particular reason! Or just on a random holiday excursion?

 

   dZ.

Edited April 2, 2022 by DZ-Jay

[+atari2600land]

7 hours ago, DZ-Jay said:

It's looking good.  I would recommend separating the enemy counters from the level and the boss.  I mean, they are separate kinds of enemies and, indeed, separate stages of the game, so conflating them can be a bit confusing.

 

Perhaps the main level should display the countdown to the boss, and the boss stage should display the countdown to the boss' death.  Just a thought.

Done.

7 hours ago, DZ-Jay said:

Also, it seems that quite a few times the eggplants shoot right upon their death, or even a frame or two after.  It gives the perception of being a glitch, so you may want to address that.

The vegetable has to be shown on screen for it to shoot. I don't know why it would shoot after it's been hit.

 

7 hours ago, DZ-Jay said:

Lastly, that video shows the first level being sort of hard.  Perhaps it's worth toning down the difficulty of the first level at least.  Maybe you could reduce the rate of shooting, or the velocity of the bullets, etc.  That may help players ease into the game.

 

Remember, the game is very repetitive as it stands, so it may not be a good idea to frustrate the player so early if there isn't much more for the player to see or gain through the rest of the game.  Reducing difficulty and letting the player invest in his skills at the early stages can hook them to the game-play, simple as it may be.  Just a thought.

Done, too. If you think it's repetitive now, think how it would be without the boss fight. That's something I put in to attempt to reduce the repetitiveness. Perhaps I should put in a bonus stage that's only accessible if the player doesn't miss a vegetable?

 

Nobody's ever asked WHY the burgers are going to Switzerland. You're the first one to ask that. The answer is because that's where they want to go.

herts23.rom

[+fdr4prez]

What's the function of the flapping bird?  can the bird fly up/down randomly?

 

What is this little yellow thing?

 

 

This appears after you respawn from being killed in the Boss level.  It looks like a bird is just sitting out there.

 

[+atari2600land]

The bird is just there for decoration.

That little yellow thing is the bird's beak.

[+fdr4prez]

Thanks. 

 

The bird does not seem to appear when the boss is out, so it's curious why it only appeared after you died

[+atari2600land]

I'm trying to get rid of it.

[+atari2600land]

I couldn't get rid of it, so I did the next best thing. When the boss comes on the screen in level 1, the bird zips off the screen. I guess the bird knows a huge eggplant is bad news.

herts24.rom

[+DZ-Jay]

4 hours ago, atari2600land said:

Done.

The vegetable has to be shown on screen for it to shoot. I don't know why it would shoot after it's been hit.

I'll test some more to see ...  It may be a race condition.

 

4 hours ago, atari2600land said:

Done, too. If you think it's repetitive now, think how it would be without the boss fight. That's something I put in to attempt to reduce the repetitiveness. Perhaps I should put in a bonus stage that's only accessible if the player doesn't miss a vegetable?

That sounds like a good idea.

 

4 hours ago, atari2600land said:

Nobody's ever asked WHY the burgers are going to Switzerland. You're the first one to ask that. The answer is because that's where they want to go.

LOL!  Good answer.

 

1 hour ago, atari2600land said:

I couldn't get rid of it, so I did the next best thing. When the boss comes on the screen in level 1, the bird zips off the screen. I guess the bird knows a huge eggplant is bad news.

herts24.rom 18.06 kB · 1 download

That works.  I like diegetic solutions to technical problems in games. :)

 

     -dZ.

[+atari2600land]

I spent all day working on this.

Changes

- I had to get rid of the bird. I'm sorry, it was beyond my control. Either that or get so angry I snap and do angry things. You wouldn't believe how angry I get when something does not go right.

+ I did add a bonus round, though. This is what the bulk of the time today was spent on. Fixing things, and then fixing other things that were caused by fixing the first thing. Or something. Each level has a chance to get to the bonus round. To get to the bonus round at the end of each level, you must complete the level without dying.

+ What IS the bonus round? A round where if you shoot 10 corn cobs, you get an extra life. Failing to do so will end the round early, because there's no point in continuing to play it if you miss one.

I'm tired.

 

herts25.rom