Ghostbusters - Development Diary

[JasonACT]

I think it happens a bit less often now, but...

Still happens (I don't think it's a big deal or anything, just interesting).

[JasonACT]

But it does work when I recompile GB with "#define SCANLINE 172" along with the following line changed:

 

 

to 172.  (Should probably be SCANLINE too.)

 

[TheMole]

7 hours ago, JasonACT said:

(Should probably be SCANLINE too.)

Yup! Thanks, repo updated...

[+wongojack]

I played a bit more tonight and heard the sound of placing bait - nice touch.  Only had 4 Marshmallow Attacks.

 

Because the car can't actually show them, I think on the screen where you load the car, it might be nice to display how many traps have been purchased.  Even if just with text.

 

Not being able to capture the ghost closest to the destination definitely stands out.

 

I think my general feedback this time is that compared to some of the other versions, the pace of the game from start to end feels a bit slow.  Meaning, it seems to take a bit more time to get going where the buildings are turning red frequently.  Something about the pace is just a little slower than I'd like it to be.

 

I think this is just Classic99, but the sound has some artifacts where it kind of pops in the background sometimes.  Again, I think this is the emulator.  Also - is there no way to save state in Classic 99?

[+OLD CS1]

12 hours ago, wongojack said:

I think my general feedback this time is that compared to some of the other versions, the pace of the game from start to end feels a bit slow.  Meaning, it seems to take a bit more time to get going where the buildings are turning red frequently.  Something about the pace is just a little slower than I'd like it to be.

Ah, now see, I differ on this opinion.  Being that I can play a full game in around an hour, I find this pace just fine.

 

Well, technically my 53 minute video starts at 15 minutes in for lead-in, some hardware issues, and intro music.  I did not win the game so that shortened my game play, and I let the intro music play before my video outro.  That left a total of about 31 minutes of actual game play, including stocking Ecto-1.  Anyway, as soon as you start the game, the building at Church Street and 4th Avenue is flashing red.  That seems like a quick jump into the action.

 

I see long plays of C64 Ghostbusters anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes.  I have not watched them, so I cannot say for certain how much introduction or commentary exist in the videos to lengthen them.  Apparently, you can play tool-assisted in about 11 minutes.

[+OLD CS1]

Huh.  I just saw, in the C64 long play, the game ending at 8046 PKE.  The Keymaster and the Gatekeeper made it to Spook Central and ended the game earlier than 10000 PKE.  Not sure how I feel about that

[+wongojack]

2 hours ago, OLD CS1 said:

Huh.  I just saw, in the C64 long play, the game ending at 8046 PKE.  The Keymaster and the Gatekeeper made it to Spook Central and ended the game earlier than 10000 PKE.  Not sure how I feel about that

Yeah, we discovered the MSX version does this too, but The Mole decided against it (so far).

[+OLD CS1]

22 minutes ago, wongojack said:

Yeah, we discovered the MSX version does this too, but The Mole decided against it (so far).

Yeah, I am fine with @TheMole's version as it is.  Zuul and Lortho are an interesting touch in the original games, but I do not think we miss anything by not having them here.  Just more character inclusion.

 

Although, I do think we give short shrift to the Ghostbusters team by not having four guys to try to sneak past Mr. Stay Puft (Gozer.)

[+OLD CS1]

On 8/11/2024 at 11:23 AM, Zoyous said:

Regarding the Necker cube illusion in the city map that many people experience, it can be quite a persistent illusion even when one consciously knows the intended interpretation. In this case, if you don't mind departing from the original artwork slightly, I suggest that it could be mitigated somewhat by removing the top row and right column of sidewalk squares on each city block, as shown in this mockup:

 

 

Just a quick

[+wongojack]

On 8/24/2024 at 11:14 PM, wongojack said:

Because the car can't actually show them, I think on the screen where you load the car, it might be nice to display how many traps have been purchased.  Even if just with text.

Here's an example of this idea on the Intellivision version.

[+wongojack]

@TheMole Passing along a few more notes

 

One thing I liked about the Intellivision version is the roamers on the map seemed to continue to move toward Zuul even when you were driving the car and fighting ghosts.  This speeds things up a bit.

 

Also, I played the BBC Micro version (wip) which plays almost exactly like the C64 version.  Except one little bonus idea they put in the game was to let you actually control the Ghostbusters on the normally passive final screen.  You are instructed to "Cross the Streams" and given control of your Ghostbusters to do so.  This was a nice touch that I really appreciated.