Nukey Shay Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 Good point about the dot sound...in fast mode, an existing sound doesn't have enough time to play out before the next sound gets bumped in. The solution is to use 2 pointers so that the sound is played for a shorter duration in fast mode. I also reused a bunch of ram pointers to hold a flag if the monsters are currently at intersections (i.e. already changing direction)...which should correct the fudged problem of monsters moving through walls. These flags are still uncorrupted once the energizer routine runs...so I can use them there in addition...saving a lot of time and memory. 85 bytes currently free hack_em_.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 The eating sound is much better on fast mode. I might even be inclined to suggest going with that one for slow mode too. I did get one ghost and one set of eyes stuck in a parallel horizontal pattern (at the same time!) on the first board that I played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 The eating sound is much better on fast mode. I might even be inclined to suggest going with that one for slow mode too. The sound for the fast mode is pretty much the same one that already existed in all the other versions I'm trying to come up with a more authentic sound for the slow mode rather than continue using the old one. I did get one ghost and one set of eyes stuck in a parallel horizontal pattern (at the same time!) on the first board that I played. Damn. I think I've got the problem figured out...the program allows direction changes on every 8th scanline (instead of every 16th). The original game was made this way because the horizontal rows had variable differences between rows. To save cycle time and eliminate a lookup table, I had cut this so that the rows exist only on multiples of 16...that's why the center tunnel is off-center. So the solution is to discover all of the AND #$07 instructions (allow every 8th), and change them to AND $0F (allow every 16th)....and it seems that I missed some Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 The sound for the fast mode is pretty much the same one that already existed in all the other versions No wonder I liked it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 OK...trying to attack this problem from another angle... In order to take advantage of the time savings earned by not redoing a check that had already been done on a frame (when deciding when to choose a direction)...I broke off the "illegal movement" check to happen on frames where the monster movement is normally skipped over (i.e. 1 frame out of 4...or 2 frames out of 4 when blue). I'm not quite sure how well this is going to work...because the eyes always move on every frame - so the possibility of eyes being locked in a horizontal pattern might remain. Also...I changed the AI. Instead of using the level number x 4 as a base, I used the point value of the fruit / 2 - which provides a larger variance between early and later levels. In addition, the dots still play a part, but the remaining number is divided by 4 instead (so they play less of a role). Because the previous versions would allow frames in which NOBODY is chasing the player, I also flipped the high bit of the timer each time through the loop (so red and brown use 1 set, pink and blue use the other). Kind of hard to explain, but the upshot is that the player is always "seeked" by at least 1 monster in smart mode - making it a bit more challenging. The dot sound has been edited again...I'm trying to get rid of the "IBM Selectric" sound at least I also fixed a bug that had the maze reverting to the blue color in plus mode when the energizer loop ran...sorry about that hack_em_.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 Damn it...screen roll during death sequence fixed (I think)... I forgot to mention that because the point value for the fruit is used as a basis for the AI...the pattern of the monsters will be different for each of the fruits. Not quite the same as the arcade game's method (where each board has a seperate personality value for each monster)...but not a bad compromise hack_em_.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakpack Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Hey,Nukey.Take a look at this one.I was never a real big fan of the ghost's look.I switched it over.Its based on the Hack'Em you released before the latest.I got the in game sprites changed,but when I went to mess with the intermission ghosts ,it went kinda haywire when I played it.Let me know what you think,if you want to go with these ghosts.I think they look better,IMHO.... hackemdifferentghosts.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 Meh... Looks even less like the arcade Too boxy or something. BTW there's shared data going on in the intermission GFX...so depending on the bitmap, hacking the binary might be tricky (better off using the source). Take a look at the source posted on the previous page to see how the GFX data is shared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakpack Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Aww,I liked the ghosts It looks 5200 like now.And growing up seeing the home versions,I like the style ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBillTX Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Breakpack's hack reminded me of the monsters in the Atarisoft Commodore 64 version (I dont remember what the 5200 version looked like, never owned one) and the 2600 version of Ms Pac Man. The new "Gulp" reminded me of the missle firing on "Megamania". How about taking the same sound effect Pac makes when he swallows a fruit and speeing it up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 No way to speed it up...since the sounds are already being played as fast as they can (60 frames per second). The only way to make it quicker would be to drop frames...and that usually alters the sound. It's all about finding the right balance of frequency + distortion, and I don't know a whole lot about the 2600's sound capabilities...for me it's all trial-and-error, changing values one-by-one until I find a good effect. Here's one that features multiple distortions. Sounds a -little- closer...but still off the mark. hack_em_.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Altered the sounds again. No problems seem to be cropping up with illegal motions (which is good, since I'm out of cycle time to do anything about it without removing more of the program). Adjusted the volume a bit on all of the FX. I also added branches to check for all collisions on a frame (as opposed to falling through as soon as just one is found)...this should allow you to get more than 1 monster on a single frame...in case they happen to be right on top of each other. Nearing completion. 9 months is an inoridinate amount of time for ANYTHING...so I'm setting a self-imposed deadline for Sept. 10th. Everything else seems to be working correctly (actually, better than I'd hoped for), so I'll just work on the sound until then...and it will be considered finished (I've only got 16 bytes free anyway). Final version candidate... hack_em_.zip hack_em__source.zip changelog.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xulchris Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Hi, I just played this for the first time a few days ago, and I'm really impressed. My only suggestion is that there should be a point value displayed when you eat a fruit just like one is displayed when you eat a ghost. Otherwise this game looks perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Nearing completion. 9 months is an inoridinate amount of time for ANYTHING...so I'm setting a self-imposed deadline for Sept. 10th. Everything else seems to be working correctly (actually, better than I'd hoped for), so I'll just work on the sound until then...and it will be considered finished (I've only got 16 bytes free anyway). I've been wanting to call it done for a month now but you just keep topping yourself. There's so much in the thing now that I can't think what else there is to do besides tweaking the sounds slightly. I'll keep play testing for the next few days to see if there are any screen rolls or wondering monsters that I haven't seen yet. OH - Don't forget that the Super-Pac in the 1st intermission is still being cut in half right at the end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 My only suggestion is that there should be a point value displayed when you eat a fruit just like one is displayed when you eat a ghost No way to add it...unless I subtracted the death sequence and used a Ms.Pac spin instead. The player bitmaps must all exist on a single page. Not really a big issue anyway, since the target's point value never changes (a key is always 5k pts. and everybody already knows it). Monsters are variable...so it's more important to show it for them. OH - Don't forget that the Super-Pac in the 1st intermission is still being cut in half right at the end! Problem is I don't know how to fix it...it's my first experience working with quadruple-width player sprites. I suppose that I could just blank the color once it reaches the edge (just like I did for the monster). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Haven't downloaded the latest one yet, but playing last night's using Stella I managed to go right through monsters twice in the first level, at turns, and one time on the second level I ate an energizer and a ghost started moving across the screen horizontally through walls. I'll try this one now. Wish I could tell you how it all sounds, but Stella 1.3 doesn't seem to be producing any sound on my linux box (probably because it only wants to use oss and my machine, like most, is running alsa now. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Yeah...last night's was kind of messed up, since I was trying to eliminate the illegal motion routine completely (I still haven't been able to get rid of that patch). And the version I just posted will cause a roll if more than one monster gets real close on your tail...since the program is trying to find all collisions and runs out of time. I bumped the collision detection back down to first come-first served Going though a monster is always going to be a possibility, unless I increased the sensitivity (which I really don't want to do...since the game is already pretty deadly in slow/smart mode). I also erased the color of the sprites in the 1st intermission here...to fix the decapi-pac It's still good as long as no monsters end up in walls or jitters appear. The eating dots and monsters sounds I'm still not thrilled about, so those will probably change. hack_em_.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakpack Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 So I guess the ghosts I did wasnt all that good 4 u...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 They look too blocky IMO Damn it...just had a blue monster move through the left wall around the box just above the tunnel...but at least it corrected itself right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBillTX Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Damn it...just had a blue monster move through the left wall around the box just above the tunnel...but at least it corrected itself right away. Had the same thing happen with a pair of eyes trying to return to the box on x26. Should have got a screen capture. Youre getting closer with the "Wocka" sound in the slow mode, I didnt hear it while playing the fast mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Trebor Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Nearing completion. 9 months is an inoridinate amount of time for ANYTHING...so I'm setting a self-imposed deadline for Sept. 10th. Hmm...Today's the 10th...Wonder is we'll see the "Final-Final" :-) version today -Trebor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 11, 2004 Author Share Posted September 11, 2004 The fact is that I haven't been able to come up with a better sound for the dots. I did find a better one (IMO) for the monsters tho. I'm at zero bytes free...so unless any bugs show up to correct, this will be the last update. hack_em_.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 ...so unless any bugs show up to correct, this will be the last update. I really hate to say it but I keep getting ghosts stuck moving horizontally through walls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 11, 2004 Author Share Posted September 11, 2004 How about this...I expanded the illegal motion check a bit (at a cost of the dot sound being altered again in slow mode). Cycle time might be in question tho... hack_em_.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted September 11, 2004 Author Share Posted September 11, 2004 BTW the folding sprite in the first intermission has been corrected. The reason it appeared was that I used the color of the monster sprite to determine if the display should be using 9 or 15 scanlines. Since I bumped the color of the monster down to zero to correct the problem of it appearing on the opposite side...it no longer had the value to tell it to use 15 scanlines! So you'd get a 9-line version of the 15-line sprite object - cut it in half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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