Songbird Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Check out the new alpha with even more features including pixel shatter explosions and powerups! 8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFG 9000 Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 This looks awesome! I really like the music. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 Thanks! I've really been getting into writing Lynx music for the past year or two, including Centipede, A Bug's Trip, Growing Ties, Unnamed, and Sky Raider. This one for Microvaders is a 2-channel track, and uses the same music player which I originally created for Centipede. I recently added the non-repeating intro feature, which gives me a lot more flexibility on jumping to a short tune for a single playthrough, then resuming the main looping tune. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefred Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Very nice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordKraken Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Are you hacking a rom again, or do you have the full source code for this one? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 ROM hacking; it's the only way to fly. That means I have no original source for the game. First I debugged the hidden game in Lexis until I could figure out how to make it boot directly instead of entering the secret code. Then I dumped RAM to a file and ran a 6502 disassembler on it. Next step is to look for common Lynx hardware labels such as joypad read or Suzy go for sprite painting. Then I have to reverse engineer the logic to understand how the enemies move, when collision detection happens, how to track number of lives or shot speed, etc. The process is pretty similar to what I documented in the Raiders of the Lost ROM blog series, except this time I don't have any reference source. And all the code I am patching into the game to add features is 100% assembly. I could do it in C, but I wanted the tightest code possible since I have limited RAM to make changes. Somehow it is extremely satisfying to my brain to take these old ROMs, patch in new features, and make the game whole. It's kind of like restoring an antique or heirloom, I suppose. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Songbird said: Somehow it is extremely satisfying to my brain to take these old ROMs, patch in new features, and make the game whole. It's kind of like restoring an antique or heirloom, I suppose. Computer archaeology as a hobby ? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted February 8, 2022 Author Share Posted February 8, 2022 I posted a new video of the game recently, which show cases the pixel-shatter explosions, new intro music, and powerups. Coming soon: improved art direction for the game! You're gonna love it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted February 8, 2022 Author Share Posted February 8, 2022 Sorry for reposting the same video! Somehow I thought the first YT video in this thread was the previous alpha. Nothing to see yet, move along... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 OK, to make up for my faux pas yesterday, here's a little sneak peek for you. Show of hands, who likes the new art style? Many thanks to anderlex for contributing the new graphics & palette! 12 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadest Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Wow, this is far better. The old style was in par with Lexis, but has this "mini game" feeling (probably due to the fact the small area was easily noticeable). The new background makes it way more appealing. And I guess on a real Lynx, with the Tate mode, it must be very good. Damn, I guess now I can't wait to get it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 The 3D gives a nice frame for the game. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 The new art style looks great! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Songbird said: OK, to make up for my faux pas yesterday, here's a little sneak peek for you. Show of hands, who likes the new art style? Many thanks to anderlex for contributing the new graphics & palette! Holy crow! Amazing work @agradeneu! It would be nice if “Lexis Mode” were an easter egg that could be unlocked for old time’s sake, though 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smith Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Looks more like Galaga 90 now (or 88 if you're Japanese)! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 1 hour ago, jgkspsx said: It would be nice if “Lexis Mode” were an easter egg that could be unlocked for old time’s sake, though Well, you can always play it in Lexis if you want to see the original game. In theory I could keep the old background art and palette around for fun, but in reality I am overwriting those parts of ROM with the new graphics plus I am changing the behavior of the game (size of the playfield, location of the score text, etc.). So it's not just a simple single-background swap to make it "Lexis Mode" at this point. But I'll keep it mind! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 12 minutes ago, Songbird said: I am overwriting those parts of ROM with the new graphics plus I am changing the behavior of the game (size of the playfield, location of the score text, etc.). I'm over Lexis Mode now. Look forward to your continued progress and thanks for the sneak peek. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Wiggles Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Wow awesome work! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeneu Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Thanks, always great fun to tweak a 16 color palette and then play with the pixels in this res. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordKraken Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 I always thought that the original background was a bit odd for a full game release and well well well... Look what's happening! GG both you Carl and Alex 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 (edited) Since Microvaders is another game I'm enhancing without the original source, it's an interesting brain teaser to figure out how to make big changes like incorporating the new look and best utilize limited RAM. Find out more in my new blog post! Edited February 10, 2022 by Songbird 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blany Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 The graphical update looks great. When are you expecting these to be ready for full production? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 That depends on when I quit adding features. Hoping for a 2022 Q4 release. I want to add a couple of new enemies (which also means new enemy behaviors, not just a graphics change), balance the gameplay so it has a gradual difficulty ramp, and some "polish" items like creating a real title screen, saving high score to EEPROM, etc. I'll post a new video sometime in the next few weeks to showcase the new art design in action. Stay tuned! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 8 hours ago, Songbird said: saving high score to EEPROM, etc. Yes, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 Guess what feature I just added yesterday? 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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