artrag Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 (edited) The looping music is too loud, too short, too dull, in short, too annoying. You could try to replace this music with a softer bass jingle. Edited May 13 by artrag Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5465796 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 15 hours ago, Jess Ragan said: Here's the loping music. Thoughts, opinions? Would hearing this in the background for five straight minutes drive you mad? I need to ask Nanochess about the MUSIC command. Say you needed all sound channels for a specific melody, one that uses chords. When you're done playing that melody and need the game to start playing sound effects, what do you do to keep the sounds from getting distorted? Do you just shut off all sound channels (SOUND 0,,0, etc.) to reset them? I've been working on an intro for the SG-1000 version, and everything after the Sega jingle ("Saaay-guuuh!") gets kind of grungy-sounding. loping_audio_00.wav If you are playing music along the sound effects (SOUND 2), then you should use the statement PLAY SIMPLE NO DRUMS. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5465872 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted May 13 Author Share Posted May 13 (edited) Gee Artrag, tell me what you really think! The loping music is history. I didn't like it either, and I couldn't turn down the volume. Instead, you're getting a pop up sound for when the Byrons appear. Annnyway, I'm calling it. Here are the release candidates for the ColecoVision and SG-1000 versions of WESEB. Both games can be played from start to finish without problems. I'm fatigued by the development and play testing process and I'm eager to pull out... the spirit is willing, but the flesh is spongy and bruised. (Actually, no... the spirit wants out, too.) There's a credits screen now... just wait ten seconds and it will come up. Anyone who's been credited (Nanochess, NewColeco, Tursi) probably should give it a look and tell me how/if they'd like to be represented. I understand that NewColeco has transitioned and may no longer use the first initial D, but I need to know that now before this gets published physically. I know a guy who wrote a video game book that was about to be published, but some of the writers transitioned, and he was obliged to pulp all the copies that were already published. I can't afford that, and I doubt Cote Games has the budget for it either. EDIT: The ROMs have been updated with the preferred names of those individuals listed in the credits. whackem_sg1000.sg whackem_game.rom Edited May 14 by Jess Ragan Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5465929 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Wasn't expecting a credit, thanks. That said, the quotes are unnecessary. I assure you far more people know me as Tursi than any other name (except maybe 'that jerk', but I only answer to that one sometimes ). I don't care if you leave them though! Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5467191 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted May 16 Author Share Posted May 16 It's cool you're being so chill about this, but fair is fair! Tursi without the quotes it is. I'm honestly not sure what you contributed to this project, aside from your expertise with the ColecoVision/TI 99/4A sound chip and your willingness to share it. That alone was enough to give you props. Nanochess was HUGELY instrumental in the production of this game... it literally wouldn't have happened without CVBasic and the various utilities designed for it. whackem_game.rom whackem_sg1000.sg 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5467296 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted May 16 Author Share Posted May 16 Work in progress box arts for the American and Canadian versions of the game, plus a higher definition logo. 3 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5467313 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 Just wrote an instruction manual for the game! I still need to tweak the layout a bit but it gives you a pretty good idea of what I'm aiming for with this. whack em smack em instructions.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5469100 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 Update to the instructions, to make them more ColecoVision-y. whack em smack em instructions.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5469237 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted June 11 Author Share Posted June 11 A minor alteration to let the player advance to the next level with any button on any controller, handy if you're playing with the second player keypad. Whack Em Smack Em Byrons.rom 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5483961 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted June 20 Author Share Posted June 20 Intro for the SVI computer version. In way of warning, you'll want to run this on a ColecoVision emulator... it hasn't been formatted for SVI computers yet. svi_intro.rom 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5489421 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 16 Author Share Posted August 16 Getting cheeky with these intros! Anyway, this intro was intended for the Creativision, but is currently running on the ColecoVision. I can't get any Creativision emulators to run! Needless to say, making a port for that system will be difficult without usable dev tools. Also, there's no sound, but I have ideas... creativez.rom Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5516827 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 9 hours ago, Jess Ragan said: Getting cheeky with these intros! Anyway, this intro was intended for the Creativision, but is currently running on the ColecoVision. I can't get any Creativision emulators to run! Needless to say, making a port for that system will be difficult without usable dev tools. Also, there's no sound, but I have ideas... creativez.rom 4.88 kB · 1 download I had luck with this one https://sourceforge.net/projects/creativisionemulator/ and using Windows 11. It is easier to move the game and the bioscv.rom file to the same directory as the emulator, then you type this: creativision -r game.rom -b bioscv.rom -g Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517144 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 16 Author Share Posted August 16 That does work with both the ROM and the BIOS in the same directory, but! When I run the demo, it's a big garbled mess. Does Creativision have support for PLETTER compression? Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517194 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 2 hours ago, Jess Ragan said: That does work with both the ROM and the BIOS in the same directory, but! When I run the demo, it's a big garbled mess. Does Creativision have support for PLETTER compression? I've tested it with oscar_compressed.bas but always there can be a bug because variations in calling sequences. If you send me your .bas file I could debug it Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517241 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 Sure thing. Also note that RANDOM doesn't seem to be very random on the Creativision; I get zero every time. Everything works OK on ColecoVision, though. creativez.bas Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517243 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 1 hour ago, Jess Ragan said: Sure thing. Also note that RANDOM doesn't seem to be very random on the Creativision; I get zero every time. Everything works OK on ColecoVision, though. creativez.bas 10.36 kB · 0 downloads Thanks a lot! I've corrected it. Just update this file in your setup. cvbasic_6502_prologue.asm Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517287 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 (edited) Thanks, but it throws an illegal opcode (FF @ 0003) when I attempt to run it. This is from two different emulators. (I finally figured out what I was doing wrong with FunnyMu.) EDIT: No, wait, that was my mistake! Forgot to add the --creativision option when compiling the code. Now it works fine. My bad! Edited August 17 by Jess Ragan 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517291 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 13 minutes ago, Jess Ragan said: Thanks, but it throws an illegal opcode (FF @ 0003) when I attempt to run it. This is from two different emulators. (I finally figured out what I was doing wrong with FunnyMu.) EDIT: No, wait, that was my mistake! Forgot to add the --creativision option when compiling the code. Now it works fine. My bad! Excellent! By the way, nice animation! Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517294 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 Thanks, much appreciated! I hope Australians have a sense of humor about it, considering that Dick Smith was a big name over there. Sadly, I tried compiling Whack 'Em Smack 'Em Byrons with the --creativision option, and got these error messages from GASM80: Error: negative value (-4213) for TIMES at line 20361 [Original program as designed for ColecoVision] Error: negative value (-3632) for TIMES at line 20060 [Program tailored for Creativision, with two sound effects removed and sound_pop moved to 12] Any idea what TIMES is? Because I've pored through the code (okay, I used the search function) and found no variable with that name. Is this some weird ASM thing that's invisible to BASIC coders? If you'd like to look through my source code, I'll share it with you privately. A Creativision port of the game isn't something that's massively important to me- I've already got four different versions of the game out there already!- but it could be handy for squashing bugs in the CVBasic code. My guess is that the sound effect routine you'd written for WESEB that works perfectly well on a ColecoVision may be giving the Creativision fits. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517323 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 10 hours ago, Jess Ragan said: Sadly, I tried compiling Whack 'Em Smack 'Em Byrons with the --creativision option, and got these error messages from GASM80: Error: negative value (-4213) for TIMES at line 20361 [Original program as designed for ColecoVision] Error: negative value (-3632) for TIMES at line 20060 [Program tailored for Creativision, with two sound effects removed and sound_pop moved to 12] Any idea what TIMES is? Because I've pored through the code (okay, I used the search function) and found no variable with that name. Is this some weird ASM thing that's invisible to BASIC coders? It means that the code exceeded the available cartridge space. For Creativision it is needed to "round" up the cartridge to 32K because the boot up vectors are at the end of memory. Don't get so worried at this time, because I'm still going to optimize the 6502 code generator, but you can reduce your code doing some of the following: * Avoid using 16-bit variables if you can use 8-bit variables. * Avoid using 16-bit numbers, add the period suffix to numbers when using only 8-bit numbers (for example use a = a + 5. instead of a = a + 5 because it will use smaller operations) Currently the 16-bit code is overly "expansive" in 6502 CVBasic. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5517470 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 (edited) Once again, here's the Creativision version of Whack 'Em Smack 'Em Byrons, except it only runs on the ColecoVision. It still doesn't quite compile for the Creativision [It throws the error Error: negative value (-1815) for TIMES at line 18389], but it's close! I'll leave the ASM for Nanochess in case he wants to use it for more bugtesting. By the way, the game compiles down to 30.8K on the ColecoVision, so it should theoretically fit in the limit of the Creativision, which seems to have a mandatory file size of 32K... no more and no less. whackem_vtest.rom Edited August 19 by Jess Ragan 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5518310 Share on other sites More sharing options...
artrag Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 The v0.61 will have huge improvements in the code size...I guess it is just matter of using the new iteration of cvbasic Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5518311 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 I'm actually helping him bug test that. 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5518358 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 And here's the Creativision version of Whack 'Em Smack 'Em Byrons. This game wouldn't have be possible without CVBasic, and its author Oscar Toledo was critically important in the development of this port. He tweaked the CVBasic engine three or four times to ensure that the game would compile! (Note: If you're porting games to Creativision, know that the system uses 768 bytes of your allocated 32K for the font, regardless of whether or not you use a custom font.) The port is playable from beginning to end, but I wouldn't call it finished... there are still timing issues, which stem from not only the system's lower clock speed but also the fact that the Dick Smith Wizzard uses the PAL video format. I'm not sure if I should adapt the game for PAL or NTSC, but I presume that the majority of these systems use PAL. Also, Creativision emulators for Windows and DOS don't seem to like diagonals, which is a problem for a game that relies on them. I've been testing the game on the 3DS, using the ColecoDS emulator. That properly reads diagonal input! whackem_vtech.bin 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5518791 Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 11 hours ago, Jess Ragan said: I'm not sure if I should adapt the game for PAL or NTSC, but I presume that the majority of these systems use PAL. Apart from the Japanese model, I believe all systems are PAL? Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/364885-whack-em-smack-em-byron-dev-log/page/3/#findComment-5519137 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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