atwwong Posted May 5, 2004 Author Share Posted May 5, 2004 Everyone, thanks for all the feedback, comments, suggestions, and help! The hack has improved beyond what I was originally going to do because of all your valuable input! Thanks to Nukey, I was able to partially implement some coding changes for release candidate 04. (The ladder/bridge on the left side is problematic, though, see next section.) Changes in rc04: Functional -Ladder (yes, it's supposed to be a ladder [bridge]) properties match the graphics more closely, with some leeway for the dismembered hand [magnet] (yes, a deceased person's hand, possibly Graves') anomolies mentioned by Nukey (the Adventure bridge had some small leeway, too, for going up and down) -one ghost no longer afraid of key Thanks Nukey! Graphics -minor change in name room to reflect version # To do for rc05: -read Stan Jr.'s list -ladder/bridge disappearing on left side. (I could use some help with this; it happens in adventure as well, so I'm not sure about this but I know it's bothering people ) -fix up the ghosts' graphics a bit ? Questions for players: -The hand is supposed to be hard to see, but if this is a big nuisance could someone suggest a good, rotty colour? -Are the doors to the lower rooms (hacked castle rooms) okay with no extra graphics? -Want hints for game two? -Any other suggestions for improvements are welcome! Thanks for playing! haunted_adventure___rc04.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 Another possible (improvement?) would be addressing the gates. Since you are supposed to be INSIDE a haunted mansion, locked buldings/castles don't really fit into the idea. The castle gate graphic image can be filled in completely, so it looks just like a part of the walls. And the X/Y locations of the gates for each can be moved about. The only problem is in returning OUT of the room the gate sends you to...currently it always puts you on the center of the screen. But this could be recoded a bit by adding 2 tables of 3 bytes each that hold the X/Y values for leaving the screen. Give a yell if you need help with this. What does this mean? It means that rather than having castles inside the game, you could have sliding passageways (or bookcases!). That fits in nicely with the theme A good rot color? Try $A2 (dull green)...or just a shade of grey...$06 or $04. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 Nukey, I always saw the "gates" as doors that opened to new wings of the mansion, or in place of the staircases in the original game. But I like your idea as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATARI TROLL Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 This gets better by the updates and changes! Thanks atwwong & Nukey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwwong Posted May 8, 2004 Author Share Posted May 8, 2004 Thanks to Stan Jr. for extensive testing and comments, and thanks to Nukey for the numerous coding tips for this and a possible future project Changes in rc05 (final rc?) Functional: -Eye/dot location slightly changed to ensure pick up when searching (in odd cases it could not be picked up and thus ruined the game). -Black and white switch will enable player to see the invisible hand and eye on the floor, especially helpful for game 2 and 3; most elements will appear in colour in b/w mode Graphics: -new ghost attack -new doors to lower levels -bat more like HH but still with eyes (I always liked the Adventure bat better with eyes) -name room -lighting in dark made circular (thanks Nukey) notes/spoilers: Sometimes the barrier to the secret room can be breached with the eye/dot and one object (key), but sometimes it takes two objects or three; and sometimes it is inaccessible with three. I believe this is a quirk in the adventure "engine". Nukey says, "Also, since the bridge only allows movement within 2 horizontal pixel widths, it might be impossible to move through it if the magnet changes it's X location by 1 (though I'm not sure about that). The player vs. object X differences get thrown off by 1 each time you move across a screen boundry (which is why sometimes you can slide along the castle gate area, and other times you can't)." The ladder/bridge has a small area above and below this to avoid the above mentioned quirk. The ladder was intentionally made small to be difficult to find in the dark mazes, however, several comments have made me seriously reconsider that design decision. HA was designed to be a more difficult adventure, but not frustrating. In short, should I make the ladder larger and thus visible, lowering the difficulty level of the game? If no changes are made to the ladder, this will be the final rc, unless some other issues pop up. haunted_adventure___rc05.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwwong Posted May 8, 2004 Author Share Posted May 8, 2004 Here is Haunted Adventure with a slightly longer ladder to ease frustrations in the dark mazes. Spoilers: Since you can reach above the top rung on a real ladder, you can position the ladder inside and stucking out below just slightly any barrier/wall you wish to climb. The coding allows for you to reach over the top (or bottom, depending on where you are in the story). BTW, you can pick up the dismembered hand (yuck) in game 2 using the ladder if you really know what you are doing... The glimpses of other apparent scenes that you can't reach in the dark mazes deep under the grey cavern are intentional. So is the one way passage (remember Zork?)! haunted_adventure___rc06.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 In short, should I make the ladder larger and thus visible, lowering the difficulty level of the game? . Yes. It does not decrease the difficulty level, it decreases the frustration level. BTW, you can pick up the dismembered hand (yuck) in game 2 using the ladder if you really know what you are doing.. Yes you can, and in the small ladder version you will lose you ladder MANY MANY MANY times trying to get it. Can't wait to try these two new bins out, thanks for letting me be so involved the in process! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 A slight glitch in the (what used to be) the black castle. In a couple spots, you can move to the edge of the screen when the linked screen won't allow you to move that direction (one of these spots is on the upper edge of the first dark room...just a bit right from the middle). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out_of_Gas Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 This gets better, and better. This is gonna rock when a cart is made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwwong Posted May 9, 2004 Author Share Posted May 9, 2004 A slight glitch in the (what used to be) the black castle. In a couple spots, you can move to the edge of the screen when the linked screen won't allow you to move that direction (one of these spots is on the upper edge of the first dark room...just a bit right from the middle). I will check this (to make sure I didn't do this intentionally); I guess it may look sloppy... It's tough to map something sinister with those playfields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwwong Posted May 9, 2004 Author Share Posted May 9, 2004 The mazes in the former black castle area had some glitches where the playfields were shared. The player could enter a passageway that was smaller than another and get temporarily stuck. Also, there were areas where the player could travel to the edge of the screen and be blocked by the next playfield. I thought this was cool so I left one in! The unfortunate side effect of this is that I lost my one-way passage, but now it feels much more complete. There is only one small area that could not be fixed; this would have caused an entire re-design I had to re-design the first area that Nukey mentioned; I hope it is just as challenging! Thanks everyone for helping me work out the bugs! haunted_adventure___rc07.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATARI TROLL Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 What can I say....this is as addicting as Nukey's! Nice work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 I FINALLY just beat game 2. Wow. Is Game 3 fully playable and ready to go? Wow. And why exactly are we taking old man Graves' headbone to this room again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 And why exactly are we taking old man Graves' headbone to this room again? Perhaps to put his ghostly spirit to rest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 yes, yes, I get that, but why THIS room, why is it unhappy where it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwwong Posted May 10, 2004 Author Share Posted May 10, 2004 yes, yes, I get that, but why THIS room, why is it unhappy where it is?I'm working on the manual now, but in the revised story his crypt was desecrated and his head removed by disgruntled postal workers... I mean, someone who wasn't very happy. Game 3 is ready (sorta like Adventure's game 3) and winnable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 About it being "a room"...the bitmap could be changed to make that area look like it is outdoors (the Win screen can be any of them, just change the value in the disassembly). As seen in Avalon, the bitmaps can be altered so that the screen kinda looks like trees. That screen could be his gravesite - just outside the mansion So you find the key to unlock the front door, and the grave could be just outside amongst the trees. Another possible thing that would tie the two games together is to send the ball position to the missile sprites INSTEAD of the ball (Also seen in Avalon). This has the drawback of eliminating panels, but you would be able to make "eyes" similar to HH's (except not as detailed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Hey...I just realised something...the yellow key could be changed to be a shovel...and the yellow castle gate his plot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out_of_Gas Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 That would rock! Great Idea Nukey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Changes.... Change these two lines in the object matrix... ;Original... .byte <PortInfo1,>PortInfo1,$C8,$00,<PortStates,>PortStates,$00,$00;#1 Portcullis #1 Black 09 (08) .byte $BF,$00,<KeyCurr,>KeyCurr,<KeyStates,>KeyStates,$1A,$00;#0B Key #01 Yellow 63 (58) ...to this... ;Changed... .byte <PortInfo1,>PortInfo1,$C8,$00,<GraveStates,>GraveStates,$20,$00;brown .byte $BF,$00,<KeyCurr,>KeyCurr,<ShovelStates,>ShovelStates,$1A,$00;Yellow ...and then add in this... ;Added GFX... ;Object #0B : List of States ShovelStates: .byte $FF,<GfxShovel,>GfxShovel ;Object #0B : State FF : Graphic GfxShovel: .byte $06; XX .byte $0C; XX .byte $18; XX .byte $B0;X XX .byte $F8;XXXXX .byte $F0;XXXX .byte $C0;XX .byte $00 ;Object #1 States (Portcullis) GraveStates: .byte $04,<GfxGrave01,>GfxGrave01;State 04 at FB24 -Dugup .byte $08,<GfxGrave02,>GfxGrave02;State 08 at FB22 .byte $0C,<GfxGrave03,>GfxGrave03;State 0C at FB20 .byte $10,<GfxGrave04,>GfxGrave04;State 10 at FB1E .byte $14,<GfxGrave05,>GfxGrave05;State 14 at FB1C .byte $18,<GfxGrave06,>GfxGrave06;State 18 at FB1A .byte $1C,<GfxGrave07,>GfxGrave07;State 1C at FB18 -Buried .byte $20,<GfxGrave06,>GfxGrave06;State 20 at FB1A .byte $24,<GfxGrave05,>GfxGrave05;State 24 at FB1C .byte $28,<GfxGrave04,>GfxGrave04;State 28 at FB1E .byte $2C,<GfxGrave03,>GfxGrave03;State 2C at FB20 .byte $30,<GfxGrave02,>GfxGrave02;State 30 at FB22 .byte $FF,<GfxGrave01,>GfxGrave01;State FF at FB24 -Dugup ;Object #1 States 940FF (Graphic) GfxGrave01: .byte $18 ; XX .byte $18 ; XX .byte $7E ; XXXXXX .byte $18 ; XX .byte $18 ; XX .byte $18 ; XX .byte $FF ;XXXXXXXX GfxGrave02: .byte $7E ; XXXXXX .byte $7E ; XXXXXX GfxGrave03: .byte $7E ; XXXXXX .byte $7E ; XXXXXX GfxGrave04: .byte $7E ; XXXXXX .byte $7E ; XXXXXX GfxGrave05: .byte $7E ; XXXXXX .byte $7E ; XXXXXX GfxGrave06: .byte $7E ; XXXXXX .byte $7E ; XXXXXX GfxGrave07: .byte $7E ; XXXXXX .byte $7E ; XXXXXX GfxGrave08: .byte $7E ; XXXXXX .byte $7E ; XXXXXX GfxGrave09: .byte $00 Tada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwwong Posted May 10, 2004 Author Share Posted May 10, 2004 This looks like a capital idea, Nukey! Could I do these changes with the non-optimized code? Or do I need to port everything over to the optimized code first? Maybe I'll just try it ... rats, dinnertime for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Since it's adding in 72 bytes, you would either need to use the optimized code, or make a bunch of your own optimizations to the original code (it would be quicker to just use Joel's code...since it has over 300 bytes free already). The best part is that the other 2 keys and gates will still remain the same...only the yellow key/gate will change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwwong Posted May 10, 2004 Author Share Posted May 10, 2004 Since it's adding in 72 bytes, you would either need to use the optimized code, or make a bunch of your own optimizations to the original code (it would be quicker to just use Joel's code...since it has over 300 bytes free already). The best part is that the other 2 keys and gates will still remain the same...only the yellow key/gate will change. Thanks Nukey! Looks like I've got more work to do, but I'm heading over to my parents for a late Mother's Day dinner. I'll be back... Hmmm... this will mess up the b/w switch trick... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 How would it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwwong Posted May 10, 2004 Author Share Posted May 10, 2004 How would it?Doesn't Joel's code remove the black & white switch coding? Okay, I'm not sure (at my Mom's) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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