vdub_bobby Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 (edited) Just played through all the games, took notes, and voted. Edited September 29, 2006 by vdub_bobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted September 29, 2006 Author Share Posted September 29, 2006 Don't think I'll make it this year. I managed to play the 2600 entries, but none of the others. Guess I shouldn't have started playing The Bard's Tale two days ago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdub_bobby Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 Don't think I'll make it this year. I managed to play the 2600 entries, but none of the others. Guess I shouldn't have started playing The Bard's Tale two days ago... To be honest, you aren't missing much. I was kind of disappointed with the quality of the games. Most of the 2600 games were very good, but the most of the others weren't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 Don't think I'll make it this year. I managed to play the 2600 entries, but none of the others. Guess I shouldn't have started playing The Bard's Tale two days ago... You'll have to share your thoughts on the ones you did play after the contest ends. To be honest, you aren't missing much. I was kind of disappointed with the quality of the games. Most of the 2600 games were very good, but the most of the others weren't. I didn't play too many others myself, but I was kind of disappointed by the Colecovision's showing. For such a powerful machine, you would have expected far more complex titles. The ones that showed up were nice, but could have been made on just about any system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 Just finished testing the last but one. I agree, the top submissions are missing this time. Especially the more powerful platforms deliver only average entries this time. Quite a lot of them look more like 1k games. But there are also only very few really bad entries. @Cybergoth: Even if you don't make it, please vote for the ones you tested. @Everybody: Please comment your votes, as this a valuable feedback for the programmers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted September 29, 2006 Author Share Posted September 29, 2006 You'll have to share your thoughts on the ones you did play after the contest ends. My favourites are Ants and Zyx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 You'll have to share your thoughts on the ones you did play after the contest ends. My favourites are Ants and Zyx Ha ha, very funny. I made those way back in June when I just got started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Just a few hours left for voting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_B Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I didn't play too many others myself, but I was kind of disappointed by the Colecovision's showing. For such a powerful machine, you would have expected far more complex titles. The ones that showed up were nice, but could have been made on just about any system. To be fair to the Coleco guys they were all last minute entries, so they didn't really have much time to push the format to the limit. I was quite impressed at how playable the games turned out under the circumstances. For my money, the best entry was the Pong game for the Sega. OK, it's possibly the least original idea in computer gaming, but it's far and away the most playable of the bunch and that ought to count for something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 To be fair to the Coleco guys they were all last minute entries, so they didn't really have much time to push the format to the limit. I was quite impressed at how playable the games turned out under the circumstances. That's very true. It would have been nice if there were a few entries that weren't last minute, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+5-11under Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 JETP4K was indeed a last-minute entry, which was started the Sunday before the deadline. Squares! is a work-in-progress, as a >4K, <32K game. It was started about 6 months ago, and stripped down to 4K for the competition. I don't think I could make it much better in the 4K allotment, even with more time. Are you playing it with a keyboard or a joystick? Thanks, 5-11under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Squares! is a work-in-progress, as a >4K, <32K game. It was started about 6 months ago, and stripped down to 4K for the competition. I don't think I could make it much better in the 4K allotment, even with more time. Are you playing it with a keyboard or a joystick? A keyboard. I actually got quite good at it in an emulator. I'm surprised that it took up a full 4K. It's a fun little distraction (I've played the applet version before), but it isn't that complex. Was there architecutural difficulties in creating the game, or were there hidden features and levels to get to? There wasn't any docs in the zip file, so I just assumed that WYSIWYG. In any case, I didn't vote. So you don't need to worry about my highly untrained-professional opinion. BTW, sorry about the steep curve on Deimos Lander. It started as just the one level (intended to be quite challenging), then blossomed into more when I got a Batari upgrade. Given that I only had 4K to work with, there wasn't space to add any training missions. The work in progress version has training missions added that ease you into using the thrusters. You can see some screenshots at the end of the official thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 I'm surprised that it took up a full 4K. It's a fun little distraction (I've played the applet version before), but it isn't that complex. Was there architecutural difficulties in creating the game, or were there hidden features and levels to get to? There wasn't any docs in the zip file, so I just assumed that WYSIWYG. In any case, I didn't vote. So you don't need to worry about my highly untrained-professional opinion. The Coleco entries are possibly all written in C, so they might "suffer" from similar problems as the bBasic entries for the VCS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+5-11under Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Squares! is a work-in-progress, as a >4K, <32K game. It was started about 6 months ago, and stripped down to 4K for the competition. I don't think I could make it much better in the 4K allotment, even with more time. Are you playing it with a keyboard or a joystick? A keyboard. I actually got quite good at it in an emulator. I'm surprised that it took up a full 4K. It's a fun little distraction (I've played the applet version before), but it isn't that complex. Was there architecutural difficulties in creating the game, or were there hidden features and levels to get to? There wasn't any docs in the zip file, so I just assumed that WYSIWYG. In any case, I didn't vote. So you don't need to worry about my highly untrained-professional opinion. BTW, sorry about the steep curve on Deimos Lander. It started as just the one level (intended to be quite challenging), then blossomed into more when I got a Batari upgrade. Given that I only had 4K to work with, there wasn't space to add any training missions. The work in progress version has training missions added that ease you into using the thrusters. You can see some screenshots at the end of the official thread. My CV games are written in C. That's part of the problem, I think, although I'm not going to change (there seems to be enough power/speed in the language to do lots). The biggest hurdle was probably the squares bouncing from each other, given the different directions and speeds possible (ie. fast square catching up to slow square moving in the same direction). The good thing about the competition is that I was able to tighten my code, and find some improvements to the bouncing method (ie. finding bugs that I had to wander around). If you progress long enough, the yellow (I think) square speeds up. Further along, one or two (d'oh, can't remember for this version) extra squares show up. What applet are you speaking of? As far as Deimos Lander goes, I think my problem with it is it's too fast (for me). I'll try it at a slower emulation rate, and hopefully build my skill (maybe you could "half" the speed in the program, for old guys like me ). Before I get too far, left/rigtht and the fire button are my choices, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 My CV games are written in C. That's part of the problem, I think, although I'm not going to change (there seems to be enough power/speed in the language to do lots). Perhaps. Is there a standard toolkit for Coleco C? C by itself is a fairly efficient language, so you should be able to fit things in 4K quite well. Most of the bBASIC space is used by predefined APIs and graphics. If you're using a complete C toolkit, I could see the same thing happening. What applet are you speaking of? I'm afraid I don't know where it's at any more. It played a lot like your game (i.e. restricting you the center while trying to avoid bouncing shapes), except that it used the mouse for control rather than a keyboard or joystick. As far as Deimos Lander goes, I think my problem with it is it's too fast (for me). I'll try it at a slower emulation rate, and hopefully build my skill (maybe you could "half" the speed in the program, for old guys like me ). Heh. It's not actually that fast. The key is not to overthrust. Just tap the thrusters lightly when you want to go somewhere. Want to move left? Just tap left for a moment and you'll keep moving. Don't thrust upward unless you absolutely need to. Only tap the vertical thrust to keep yourself airborne or slow your descent. Horizontal velocity is "free" in that you keep the velocity once you've spent the fuel. This is different from vertical velocity which can be lost through gravity. As a result, you usually want to move left or right fairly quickly, as then you won't need to spend as much fuel staying in the air. As I said, though. The work in progress version has some great tutorial levels. In fact, the first level puts you right over the pad so that you can land it niiiice and easy. Before I get too far, left/rigtht and the fire button are my choices, right? Correct-a-mundo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Heh. It's not actually that fast. The key is not to overthrust. Just tap the thrusters lightly when you want to go somewhere. Want to move left? Just tap left for a moment and you'll keep moving. Don't thrust upward unless you absolutely need to. Only tap the vertical thrust to keep yourself airborne or slow your descent. Horizontal velocity is "free" in that you keep the velocity once you've spent the fuel. This is different from vertical velocity which can be lost through gravity. As a result, you usually want to move left or right fairly quickly, as then you won't need to spend as much fuel staying in the air. IMO the problem is, that many people have problems with thrusting games in general. Those people will have the same problems in Gravitar or Thrust. There is not much a programmer can do against that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s0c7 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Want to move left? Just tap left for a moment and you'll keep moving. Part of my problems learning to play it was to move left I automatically wanted to move the joystick right (fire the opposite thruster). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 IMO the problem is, that many people have problems with thrusting games in general. Those people will have the same problems in Gravitar or Thrust. There is not much a programmer can do against that. Generally speaking, I think you're right. For example, when I was at the ECCC show this weekend, I showed off the latest Deimos Lander beta to a fellow there. His first action was to thrust right off the screen. He refined his attempts after a few tries, and was eventually able to complete the first few levels before finding it too challenging for a quick demo. However, I *do* believe that just about anyone can learn to play thrusting-type games. It's all a matter of whether they like them or not. If they like them, they'll enjoy practicing fine control. (Let me tell you, the first time I played Thrust! on Linux I was terrible. But the game was so addictive that I kept coming back.) If they don't enjoy it, then they find it about as fun as beating their head against a concrete wall. As a result, they give up pretty fast. Thankfully, I think a lot of action gamers fall into the former category. Part of my problems learning to play it was to move left I automatically wanted to move the joystick right (fire the opposite thruster). That's a new one. :!: It makes sense, but I never thought that anyone would find it intuitive. If you'd like, I can add the functionality to the work in progress version. I'm not using the right difficulty switch anyway, and most people would probably think it's some sort of cruel "cross arms" challenge. Then when I release the beta, we can shake out whether it helps some players or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Part of my problems learning to play it was to move left I automatically wanted to move the joystick right (fire the opposite thruster). That's a new one. :!: It makes sense, but I never thought that anyone would find it intuitive. If you'd like, I can add the functionality to the work in progress version. I'm not using the right difficulty switch anyway, and most people would probably think it's some sort of cruel "cross arms" challenge. Then when I release the beta, we can shake out whether it helps some players or not. Or just rotate the joystick 180°. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Or just rotate the joystick 180°. Good point! It seems there are advantages to not using up and down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s0c7 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 That's a new one. :!: It makes sense, but I never thought that anyone would find it intuitive. Too much Jupiter Lander in my youth. Brain conditioning care of CBM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Too much Jupiter Lander in my youth. Brain conditioning care of CBM. That would explain it. In any case, I'll add that feature to my TODO list, just in case there are more folks like yourself out there. That way all y'all won't have to deal with an upside-down fire button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Does anyone know what's up with the contest site? It seems to be on the fritz at the moment. Is this just because the scores are being deployed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 www.minigamecomp.org.uk also has the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcoleco Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 www.minigamecomp.org.uk also has the same problem. Results are available now, and my Coleco minigame got the lowest number of votes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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