Paddlefield (was: Pong Wars) (Atari 2600)

[Thomas Jentzsch]

4 hours ago, Bomberman94 said:

The last one is the best.
The left paddle should also have some distance like the right one (if possible). 

Since the paddles are playfield, they have fix x-position and width (4 pixel resolution).

 

I could move the left boarder one pixel to the left. But then the left side has a disadvantage due to the longer ball travel. And if I do it for both sides, then the right side will have a wider gap than the left. And that will look odd too.

[gliptitude]

8 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

 

I think it fits where it is and would want to see it in action before another change. But maybe they could both flash both colors at a high frequency. Or maybe if the CPU side has more favorable appearance the whole colors could flip so the more distinct one is on the left.

[Bomberman94]

6 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Since the paddles are playfield, they have fix x-position and width (4 pixel resolution).

 

I could move the left boarder one pixel to the left. But then the left side has a disadvantage due to the longer ball travel. And if I do it for both sides, then the right side will have a wider gap than the left. And that will look odd too.

Understand - then it’s best we can do!

[r_type2600]

I have a couple of ideas, hope at least some make sense / are practical:

 

- the addition of paddles and their layout is neat. Would it be possible to offer different sizes for each player as a handicap / game progress feature?

 

- is it possible to have different sized balls for each player? The idea then would be to shrink the ball when a player paddle misses the ball. I think that could be more challenging and exciting than changing the ball speed. Perhaps a combination of both?

 

- I really like the idea of different color schemes, but it remains pretty much unmotivated atm, doesn't it? Suggestion: how about an ambiance effect with the colors gradually and smoothly changing during gameplay. That would be quite atmospheric and fit the game well, imo. Whenever I look at the screenshots/ play the game, I can't help think of Ying Yang and get some esoteric vibe

[Thomas Jentzsch]

20 hours ago, r_type2600 said:

- the addition of paddles and their layout is neat. Would it be possible to offer different sizes for each player as a handicap / game progress feature?

Yes, but due to the kernel, each new size requires ~200 bytes. 

20 hours ago, r_type2600 said:

- is it possible to have different sized balls for each player? The idea then would be to shrink the ball when a player paddle misses the ball. I think that could be more challenging and exciting than changing the ball speed. Perhaps a combination of both?

That would require even 400 bytes per additional size.

 

So it's a matter of space. I hope at least a 2nd paddle size fits.

 

Note: The current 2LK (ball is still single line) has 15 cycles free. So I have a small hope that I might be able to use WSYNCs (+6 cycles) and allow either the ball or the paddle pointers to cross a page (up to +4 cycles). The problem is mainly the timing of the 2nd PF2 write, which has to happen at cycle 48 exactly. This, combined with the WSYNC limits the code rearrangement quite a lot.🤞

20 hours ago, r_type2600 said:

- I really like the idea of different color schemes, but it remains pretty much unmotivated atm, doesn't it? Suggestion: how about an ambiance effect with the colors gradually and smoothly changing during gameplay. That would be quite atmospheric and fit the game well, imo. Whenever I look at the screenshots/ play the game, I can't help think of Ying Yang and get some esoteric vibe

That's a nice idea. Noted.

 

Any yes, I had thoughts about Yin and Yang too.

Edited February 11 by Thomas Jentzsch

[+somebooks]

my 12yo son and i just had a blast playing this on a sunday afternoon. a lot of shouting from both of us, haha.

(the winner of each match got to eat a lemonhead -- which really raised the stakes)

 

wanted to mention -- there were a number of times when one of us accidentally hit the button and reset the game in the heat of battle, which was kind of a bummer. the couch compliancy is awesome, but it may be worth considering some adjustment to how the reset works while players are in the middle of a game... like maybe you have to hold the button for a longer amount of time in order to reset ? (uh... or we can also just be more careful about not pressing the button... but thought you'd want to hear the feedback.)

[Thomas Jentzsch]

1 hour ago, somebooks said:

my 12yo son and i just had a blast playing this on a sunday afternoon. a lot of shouting from both of us, haha.

(the winner of each match got to eat a lemonhead -- which really raised the stakes)

Thanks for the feedback. That's always motivating. 👍

1 hour ago, somebooks said:

wanted to mention -- there were a number of times when one of us accidentally hit the button and reset the game in the heat of battle, which was kind of a bummer. the couch compliancy is awesome, but it may be worth considering some adjustment to how the reset works while players are in the middle of a game... like maybe you have to hold the button for a longer amount of time in order to reset ? (uh... or we can also just be more careful about not pressing the button... but thought you'd want to hear the feedback.)

Yes, happens to me while testing too. Since I am converting the game to paddles, I will add a check if the left paddle is very right (upmost position on the screen plus a bit more) while playing. Only then the button will trigger the reset. Do you think that's sufficient? Or do you have a better idea?

[+somebooks]

18 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Since I am converting the game to paddles, I will add a check if the left paddle is very right (upmost position on the screen plus a bit more) while playing. Only then the button will trigger the reset. Do you think that's sufficient? Or do you have a better idea?

Yes, seems like that would work!

Although.. maybe playing with paddles will naturally lessen the likelihood of hitting the button anyway? May not even need to change the button thing if the game controls change significantly. Hard to know until playing the new version.

My only other idea is to hold the button for a second or two for the reset.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Version 0.7: This is a major update, which switched from joystick to paddle controls.

 

The game is still fully couch compliant, as you can change all options using the paddle. This is currently done step by step, first game mode, then board and finally colors. To switch between the steps press fire, which also starts and ends a game. While this works, I think I can do better. So this will change in the future. Probably I will add a top selection level from which you can select what you want to change and start a game. And depending on your feedback, I might change the option selection from direct paddle position to something else: when you move the paddle over by a certain distance to the left or right, this will trigger a change. Then you move back to neutral position and repeat from there. So the paddle will work like a switch. And, unlike the current selection, this will allow keeping and starting from the previous selection.

 

Currently steering the ball is not supported anymore, but want to return it. Maybe with multiple direction change strengths. There will be game variations with paddles only, steering only and both combined. Also there are two paddle sizes planned.

 

The paddles allow bouncing the balls into 6 directions, maybe I will change that to 8.

 

Please let me know how the paddles work for you. Thanks in advance!

 

BTW: I also added a PAL-60 version. Just in case anyone wants to check the preliminary colors on real PAL hardware.  

Edited February 12 by Thomas Jentzsch

[gliptitude]

The paddles changing color according to individual cels is a really neat effect and idea. 

 

I think the computer paddle doesn't move in any game mode? I would like it to if only for the visual effect and even if it is just cycling up and down. Maybe it's planned or already there and I missed it. I did find the the game select maneuvers tricky.

 

I wonder about a nudge using the button? Not sure how it would work but it would be nice to have that input and feedback. If paddles plug in 2P controller port, like I wish all paddle games did actually, start and stop game could go by 1P joystick button. I'm not pushing for the couch badge but it seems like a consideration.

 

I lost a game when I tried to defend my open wall with the paddle and it seemed like I should have deflected the computer's ball. If it doesn't work that way I think it should and would be one of the most impactful things do with the paddle.

 

I'm testing on Javatari with touch controls so far so don't get the full experience.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

6 hours ago, gliptitude said:

The paddles changing color according to individual cels is a really neat effect and idea. 

That's about the best I could come up. It is still not 100% fine e.g. on the checkerboard. So maybe I will either change the board or find a different solution.

6 hours ago, gliptitude said:

I think the computer paddle doesn't move in any game mode? I would like it to if only for the visual effect and even if it is just cycling up and down. Maybe it's planned or already there and I missed it.

I haven't thought about this yet.

6 hours ago, gliptitude said:

I did find the the game select maneuvers tricky.

Yes, they are. Usually you do not change anything between rounds but here you have to. That's why I want to change that. 

6 hours ago, gliptitude said:

I wonder about a nudge using the button? Not sure how it would work but it would be nice to have that input and feedback. If paddles plug in 2P controller port, like I wish all paddle games did actually, start and stop game could go by 1P joystick button. I'm not pushing for the couch badge but it seems like a consideration.

Yes, the 2nd port is always a consideration for a paddle game. Also because you do not want to swap controllers frequently between carts. Or when using a multicart.

6 hours ago, gliptitude said:

I lost a game when I tried to defend my open wall with the paddle and it seemed like I should have deflected the computer's ball. If it doesn't work that way I think it should and would be one of the most impactful things do with the paddle.

Yes, that would be a bug. I haven't tested that much yet, so thanks for the hint.

6 hours ago, gliptitude said:

I'm testing on Javatari with touch controls so far so don't get the full experience.

Yes, that makes a big difference. During development, I usually test with keyboard and mouse in Stella. Which is also very different to real paddles.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

V0.8, more changes (ROM as usual in the 1st post):

• reworked the game options selection (>200,000 combinations, fully "Couch Compliant"  )
• added pause (default when game is stopped via fire button)
• added two more board layouts
• added ball steering
• added CPU paddle movement

Please let me know how the paddle controlled option selection works for you.

 

Note: The ball steering still needs some work.

Edited February 18 by Thomas Jentzsch

[gliptitude]

For me the previous version was easier to work, or force to work and get a game started, even if I didn't quite understand options I was choosing. On current version I understand less and is less intuitive to me. I feel like I am meddling when I do it.

 

I kept getting stuck I think in computer vs computer mode after changing some selections. At no point was I able to quickly cycle through many variables on one option, such as all the colors. I think I was able to do that on previous version. It would be fun to do that with the paddle knobs.

 

Button to stop play is good and simple. I had more trouble with button to resume play, after meddling with options. .. And I'd be sad for button to be abandoned as in-game function. (toggle between bat and ball control and have more than a nudge on the ball with the paddle knob, like a dramatic ascend and dive?!).

 

Maybe you could use both paddles to manage options since there is always a pair of them.

 

Then the more evident set up is cycling boards with one and colors with the other. The other options are? Still developing I think. But the computer control could itself be an automated non-choice, like the default in the absence of controller input, then interrupted. You'd rather be more articulate about it, but if the cost is having difficult selection scheme maybe it isn't worth it? It is a unique game where AI isn't strictly necessary for the game to proceed and that ball keeps bouncing.

 

 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

8 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

For me the previous version was easier to work, or force to work and get a game started, even if I didn't quite understand options I was choosing. On current version I understand less and is less intuitive to me. I feel like I am meddling when I do it.

I understand your problem. And I was kind of expecting this feedback.

 

What I am doing is simulating a joystick. You turn the paddle off center e.g. left (counter clockwise), which is like push a joystick left. Then you turn it back to center and e.g. left again. So like another joystick push left. And so on... So, to navigate, you have to turn paddle left and right, or vice versa.

 

To help you here, I have added click sounds (higher pitched click when moving off center, lower pitched click when turning back to center). And also show arrows, which display at which direction you are currently are (or none). 

 

The reason why I am doing it like this: If I would use the paddle position directly (as I did before), then when you enter the selection mode, you could be anywhere. Because the current paddle position is what counts. And even worse, if you select an option with multiple choices, you would change that choice immediately too. No good! And I also cannot use relative positions, because the paddles can only be turned so much. If an option with multiple choices is far to the right, you couldn't select choices further right. Because you cannot turn the paddle any further. So that doesn't work too.

 

And that's why I am simulating a joystick with the paddle.

8 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

I kept getting stuck I think in computer vs computer mode after changing some selections. At no point was I able to quickly cycle through many variables on one option, such as all the colors. I think I was able to do that on previous version. It would be fun to do that with the paddle knobs.

Like I tried to explain above, you can.  I hope, once people understand the concept, it becomes easy enough. Please let me know.

8 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

Button to stop play is good and simple. I had more trouble with button to resume play, after meddling with options. .. And I'd be sad for button to be abandoned as in-game function. (toggle between bat and ball control and have more than a nudge on the ball with the paddle knob, like a dramatic ascend and dive?!).

I have to think about this. Entering the selection mode could be limited to a certain paddle position (most left or right) and/or a long button press.

8 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

Maybe you could use both paddles to manage options since there is always a pair of them.

That's something I would like to avoid. If you play solo, you would have to change controllers. Also, with two player games, there would be the same problem.

8 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

Then the more evident set up is cycling boards with one and colors with the other. The other options are? Still developing I think.

Sorry, I do not get this. Can you try to explain again, please?

8 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

But the computer control could itself be an automated non-choice, like the default in the absence of controller input, then interrupted. You'd rather be more articulate about it, but if the cost is having difficult selection scheme maybe it isn't worth it? It is a unique game where AI isn't strictly necessary for the game to proceed and that ball keeps bouncing.

I had thought about this too, but this is quite tricky, especially when using paddles. There always is the risk, that either the code assumes there is a human player when there is not (paddles have no neutral position, unlike a joystick). Or that the computer interferes with a human player.

[gliptitude]

In general, I think it is time for me to set up the console and give fair shake with real paddles.  Will also be easier to make more direct observations of all game behavior and give fuller attention.

 

To clarify the quoted text, "Then the more evident set up..", that is for the suggested two paddle selection scheme. The two most robust options are colors and board layouts, which are also fun to browse. Both being always set for selection instead of having to go sideways through other variables to get to them seems like "evident" answer. As in let's just have these two real clear things always ready to go. I want to play the game and I want to pick colors(1P). (If I have a friend he can pick boards(2P), or I can pretend and be my own friend.) And I can have a deeper look at other variables later.

 

I think I understand the joystick analogy and I think it means you can't have paddle position absolutely correspond with so many individual selections in a spectrum of them, which indeed is what I was suggesting and even part of the reason to have two paddles going for options. But doing like joystick points, still it'd be nice to have the two paddle knobs sitting there ready to do it. I only sort of factually understand avoiding this, (two paddles). But more fundamentally, I am a pretty lazy guy myself and laziness is specifically the justification for having the two paddle knobs for selecting. It is just less complicated from the beginning, "intellectually". Like I am confident a chimpanzee could be trained to select colors and boards with two knobs. Not so confident if he has to interpret different icons and symbols corresponding to different and more discreet variables, and meanwhile the knobs are changing function in the process. Seems like something that would cause one of those terrible chimpanzee tantrums. And I believe what he is thinking in that scenario is, I know how the knobs work, why did you take them away from me? [This ends my two paddles persuasion].

 

I see the problem with intermittent AI confusing the Atari. It must mean it isn't really an option. And yeah I think you cannot reasonably do without any AI in this game so there has to be some type of option trigger for it. .. But, now this isn't exactly more two paddle argument, if you are only one player then you automatically want AI opponent, (no, no you want AI vs AI screensaver mode, but maybe that could just be what happens when you idle for too long and it proceeds with whatever options you linger on). So maybe that AI variable is only selectable in 2P game and with second paddle button. Maybe not really even selectable but 1P button is 1P game and 2P button is 2P game. .. Then how to stop game without sacrificing button? Maybe just don't stop game. Or a combination to stop game like you suggest. I guess I am pushing for chimpanzee compliance and thinking it compliments couch compliance in spirit. 

 

It's a little hard to keep track in my mind the paddle pointing like joystick and how it would work or does work. It seemed like in the current version only the extremes registered an option change, but I'm gauging from screen appearance not knob turning. Maybe simplest is the options are in a set order ascending and you advance one at a time with each full turn, or whatever is reasonable threshold between "left" and "right". I.e. left and right really have no orientation in selection screen and either is like pressing the game select switch, what you would normally be doing to make such selections.

 

I am finishing a logical thought at this point more so than testing what you maybe really want to do and might already work. A little bit of learning involved in order to play is not terrible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

7 hours ago, gliptitude said:

In general, I think it is time for me to set up the console and give fair shake with real paddles.  Will also be easier to make more direct observations of all game behavior and give fuller attention.

Definitely. The selection is tailored to real paddles. With a mouse or a keyboard it is much harder.

7 hours ago, gliptitude said:

To clarify the quoted text, "Then the more evident set up..", that is for the suggested two paddle selection scheme. The two most robust options are colors and board layouts, which are also fun to browse. Both being always set for selection instead of having to go sideways through other variables to get to them seems like "evident" answer. As in let's just have these two real clear things always ready to go. I want to play the game and I want to pick colors(1P). (If I have a friend he can pick boards(2P), or I can pretend and be my own friend.) And I can have a deeper look at other variables later.

Well, these three option are available directly left of the initially selected continue option. Because the selection wraps around. I cannot make it any closer, can I?

7 hours ago, gliptitude said:

I think I understand the joystick analogy and I think it means you can't have paddle position absolutely correspond with so many individual selections in a spectrum of them, which indeed is what I was suggesting and even part of the reason to have two paddles going for options. But doing like joystick points, still it'd be nice to have the two paddle knobs sitting there ready to do it. I only sort of factually understand avoiding this, (two paddles). But more fundamentally, I am a pretty lazy guy myself and laziness is specifically the justification for having the two paddle knobs for selecting. It is just less complicated from the beginning, "intellectually". Like I am confident a chimpanzee could be trained to select colors and boards with two knobs. Not so confident if he has to interpret different icons and symbols corresponding to different and more discreet variables, and meanwhile the knobs are changing function in the process. Seems like something that would cause one of those terrible chimpanzee tantrums. And I believe what he is thinking in that scenario is, I know how the knobs work, why did you take them away from me? [This ends my two paddles persuasion].

I am pretty much convinced that a two paddle selection would be much worse for most use cases.  

7 hours ago, gliptitude said:

I see the problem with intermittent AI confusing the Atari. It must mean it isn't really an option. And yeah I think you cannot reasonably do without any AI in this game so there has to be some type of option trigger for it. .. But, now this isn't exactly more two paddle argument, if you are only one player then you automatically want AI opponent, (no, no you want AI vs AI screensaver mode, but maybe that could just be what happens when you idle for too long and it proceeds with whatever options you linger on). So maybe that AI variable is only selectable in 2P game and with second paddle button. Maybe not really even selectable but 1P button is 1P game and 2P button is 2P game. .. Then how to stop game without sacrificing button? Maybe just don't stop game. Or a combination to stop game like you suggest. I guess I am pushing for chimpanzee compliance and thinking it compliments couch compliance in spirit. 

See, you are facing the same complexity I am trying to minimize here.  

7 hours ago, gliptitude said:

It's a little hard to keep track in my mind the paddle pointing like joystick and how it would work or does work. It seemed like in the current version only the extremes registered an option change, but I'm gauging from screen appearance not knob turning. Maybe simplest is the options are in a set order ascending and you advance one at a time with each full turn, or whatever is reasonable threshold between "left" and "right". I.e. left and right really have no orientation in selection screen and either is like pressing the game select switch, what you would normally be doing to make such selections.

Why? You can go right for game play setting and left for colors and board layouts. With a paddle in your hand, you automatically find the center very easily, because unlike with a mouse or keyboard, your hand soon "knows" where it is. And from there you can go left or right, just as you like.

7 hours ago, gliptitude said:

I am finishing a logical thought at this point more so than testing what you maybe really want to do and might already work. A little bit of learning involved in order to play is not terrible.

Please test using real hardware (paddles!), I think this might clear up some things.

Edited February 20 by Thomas Jentzsch

[Thomas Jentzsch]

A small update (V0.81): 

• Added player's ball steering again. Currently it is not very strong, but IMO about right. It is the same for paddle and non-paddle games. Maybe I have to make it stronger for the latter.
• Reworked CPU's paddle "AI". Now it is a bit more random and works for all ball speeds.
• When selecting CPU vs CPU ("screensaver mode"), the colors will cycle slowly
• Game resets when changing options limited to board changes. All other options can be changed during a game.

 

The ball steering works different for paddle and non-paddle games:

• Without paddles:
  • Steering is activated when the ball hits the own border.
  • To steer the ball, move the controller far off center. Since there is no visual indicator, you have to get a feeling for the center. This works well with real paddles, but not when you play without paddles (e.g. via emulation). So please test with real paddle controllers.
• With paddles:
  • Steering is activated when the ball hits the paddle.
  • To steer the ball, move the paddle relative to the paddle hit position (at least 1/4th of the total range). 
• Common for both:
  • Steering is deactivated, when the ball hits the top/bottom borders or while it is moving back to the own border/paddle. 

I hope you will get the idea when playing.  

Edited February 25 by Thomas Jentzsch

[+sramirez2008]

*Whew* So many great WIPs to test. I have to find time to really test this one. Thanks for sharing @Thomas Jentzsch.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Some development notes which might be interesting for some.

 

The games has a board with 23 rows and 32 columns. This results into 23 * 4 = 92 bytes used by the board alone. Due to this, RAM has been scarce almost from the beginning of the project. To solve this problem, I am trying to utilize any byte and bit as effective as possible. Here are some tricks I am using:

• I am very strict with stack usage and use only 4 bytes (2 would be possible) here. Where possible (code used only once), I avoid subroutines. Unfortunately this makes the code less structured. To keep the code readable, using macros which contain what was a subroutine before can help. 
• I have 8 temporary variables, but in the kernel I need 12. So I make sure that the stack is not used and use its 4 bytes.
• The game's selected options and current states are stored in 2 variables, where every bit is used.
• For the ball position, I use fractional math. 8 bits each are for the x- and y-positions, 4 bits for the fractional position. From the 4 bytes for the fractional position, 2 are used for color indexes stored in the remaining 4 bits.
• Also, when the game is stopped, the fractional ball positions can be neglected. Therefore I reuse one byte for controlling the selection handling.
• For the ball speeds, only 2 bytes are used, 1 per ball. Since the number of angles is limited to 12 (or 16), I am using an index into a speed-per-angle table. The remaining bits are used as offsets for these speed tables, which define the different ball speeds.
  Note: The ball speed taken from these tables also uses fractional math, but only in one byte as 4.4. So only 4 fractional bits, which fits to the ball position bits.
• For the paddle/pong sounds the code uses 1 byte, which defines the length of the sound. This byte is split, one half for each player.
• When a game ends, a tune is played. This needs another variable. Since the game is stopped then, the ball speeds are not used anymore. Therefore I am reusing one byte here.

Finding the bits and bytes has been an iterative process. E.g. initially I used 2 bytes for the speed of each ball and axis (= 8 bytes in total). Only when I ran out of RAM, I realized that the number of speed combinations is limited and the speeds are taken from a table already. And then I refactored the code to save 6 bytes.

 

For manipulating individual bits of bytes, I found the following code very useful:

; A contains the values of the changed bits 
  eor variable
  and #BIT_MASK
  eor variable
  sta variable

The trick is, that the changed bits are XORed once (after AND) and thus changed. The other bits are XORed twice, so they are not changed.

 

Currently I have 4 bytes of RAM free (and ideas for 1 or 2 more bytes).  

Edited February 26 by Thomas Jentzsch

[gliptitude]

It generally works well with paddles. The clicking during menus I think is helpful. Whole mechanic of menus works.

 

I don't understand the double arrows menu selection. Under a couple settings games end unexpectedly quickly. Alternatively, games can go on indefinitely in the other setting(s). This is frustrating, not understanding.

 

Ball nudging seems not enough to me or too limited. I think I recall a rule that it won't nudge if you hit top/bottom walls or when it is moving backward. I don't see why. I mostly played with bat and nudge combo and mostly ended up not nudging because it was nearly imperceptible to me, as well as frustrating that I can't just do it.

 

The game generally works and looks great.

 

 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

10 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

It generally works well with paddles. The clicking during menus I think is helpful. Whole mechanic of menus works.

Thanks for the confirmation.

10 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

I don't understand the double arrows menu selection. Under a couple settings games end unexpectedly quickly. Alternatively, games can go on indefinitely in the other setting(s). This is frustrating, not understanding.

With V0.81, only the board change (or the circular restart arrow) should reset a game. Please let me know if that's not the case. Unlike all other settings I cannot avoid the board change doing that. Also it makes little sense to change a board in the middle of a game.

10 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

Ball nudging seems not enough to me or too limited. I think I recall a rule that it won't nudge if you hit top/bottom walls or when it is moving backward. I don't see why.

The rules are there for two reasons. If the top and bottom border wouldn't stop steering, you could easily move the ball all along the border. That would change the game completely. And you would continue steering when moving the ball back, this would conflict with paddle positioning. You would "hunt" the ball with the paddle, and the ball would run away.  

10 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

I mostly played with bat and nudge combo and mostly ended up not nudging because it was nearly imperceptible to me, as well as frustrating that I can't just do it.

Thanks for the feedback. I will increase the effect with the next release.

10 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

The game generally works and looks great.

Thanks!  

[gliptitude]

3 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

With V0.81, only the board change (or the circular restart arrow) should reset a game. Please let me know if that's not the case. Unlike all other settings I cannot avoid the board change doing that.

 

Circular arrow I was using to start a game. I never tried pausing and un-pausing a game this go with the paddles. I'm not sure how I started games previously in Javatari touch control testing but had observed back then pausing and circular arrow resetting. Now I am under the impression circular arrow is THE way to start a game.

 

There is a menu icon which is two triangles, what I called arrows. They change with selection from small to large to double or outlined. I don't know what they are supposed to do but determined that my games either ended very quickly or didn't, based on which triangle configuration I had set. On games that ended quickly it was confusing. The balls would not have broken through and game score appeared to be even at 0 each time. Action stopped and end game music played. I believe I won once this way and lost twice this way, indicated by music. Here is a photo of a game that ended this way:

 

 

Between the several different configurations of two triangles I tried I only noticed two different variables and outcomes in the game, which was the ending quickly or not ending quickly.

 

3 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

The rules are there for two reasons. If the top and bottom border wouldn't stop steering, you could easily move the ball all along the border. That would change the game completely. And you would continue steering when moving the ball back, this would conflict with paddle positioning. You would "hunt" the ball with the paddle, and the ball would run away.  

Wow, I 100% understand this.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

48 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

Now I am under the impression circular arrow is THE way to start a game.

Yes. The triangle icon ("play") to the left continues the current game.

48 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

Here is a photo of a game that ended this way:

That's a loss. The dark side won. You can see this by the colors and by the direction the arrow is pointing. Also the tune is different than if you won.

48 minutes ago, gliptitude said:

Between the several different configurations of two triangles I tried I only noticed two different variables and outcomes in the game, which was the ending quickly or not ending quickly.

These triangles define the ball speeds of each player. 

[gliptitude]

 I don't understand why it's a loss.

 

On 2/1/2024 at 8:02 AM, Thomas Jentzsch said:

 

goals: reach opposite border or xx (depends on game variation) extra cells, game over tunes depending of which side won

 

What game variations mean xx extra cels or how does one know?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

On 2/27/2024 at 12:34 AM, gliptitude said:

What game variations mean xx extra cels or how does one know?

When the goal is e.g. 30 extra cells, a 30 is displayed initially. The number counts down when a player owns more cells than his/her opponent. Which player is leading is indicated by an arrow, pointing at the side of the player. E.g. a "<20 " display means, that the left player is leading and has to own 20 more cells for a win.

Edited February 28 by Thomas Jentzsch