Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Thanks for the ideas. I'm checking INTIM in vblank using bne and in overscan using bpl. Which is preferred? Depends. BPL is a bit more tolerant when you are late. With BNE you might have to wait 5*256 cycles (worst case) until you get a chance for hitting zero again. But with BNE you will at least notice any timing mistake almost immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercat Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Thanks for the ideas. I'm checking INTIM in vblank using bne and in overscan using bpl. Which is preferred? I'll take a look at the code and see what I can come up with. My preference is to check for INTIM to count down to a value below about 125 (use CMP/BCC) on both vblank and overscan. This has the advantage that I can tell when it's "almost" time to hit the vertical. This allows for routines that can take a variable length of time greater than one frame's worth of processing (within the routine, I do "BIT INTIM/BMI NoKernel/JSR Kernel"). In many cases this feature isn't needed, but I generally do things that way as a matter of habit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spector Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 This is all pretty wild. Ladybug 2600! Will this 16K game work using "auto detect" for bankswitching when loaded up via a Cuttle Cart I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 (edited) Hello all, Minor update: - insects and lady bug don't animate during PAUSE - fixed a bug that caused the bonus display to change sometimes by disabling the color timer during the sequence - sound is now disabled during all DEMO modes (saves 10 bytes) - tweaked the game logic to hopefully eliminate the occasional screen jump Game feels right now for difficultly on STANDARD. Just played a bunch of games with no screen jumps - if anyone encounters one please let me know! It will most likely happen at the harder levels. Thanks! ladybug_NTSC.bin ladybug_PAL60.bin Edited August 13, 2006 by johnnywc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 This is all pretty wild. Ladybug 2600! Will this 16K game work using "auto detect" for bankswitching when loaded up via a Cuttle Cart I? Thanks! Glad you like it. It should work - it's a 16K game with no Superchip needed. I'd assume the CC1 can detect that based on the ROM size. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Just played a bunch of games with no screen jumps - if anyone encounters one please let me know! It will most likely happen at the harder levels. Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Just played a bunch of games with no screen jumps - if anyone encounters one please let me know! It will most likely happen at the harder levels. Why? Hi Thomas, I've been doing some investigating and my guess is that the overscan is taking too long. I'm doing the following in overscan: - checking collisions - bubble sort - moving bonus timer On the harder levels, there is more likely to be 4 moving insects on the screen. This is causing the Sort routine to take too long I think (it does many more swaps when all 4 insects are on the same row). Also, many collisions are done only on cell boundaries; the likelyhood of all 4 insects being on a cell boundary on the harder levels is higher since they're moving during more frames. I did some analysis in z26 and noticed that vblank always had about 5 or 6 scanlines left; I've moved the bonus timer logic to the vblank to see if that helps. I'll do some testing over here; if it works out I'll post a new ROM. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Wonder if anyone's done a first draft of the game's instruction manual? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Current version: No gameplay changes; moved a bunch of stuff around to try to balance the vblank and overscan calculations. Did some optimizations that will hopefully eliminate the screen jump. Thanks, ladybug_NTSC.bin ladybug_PAL60.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Wonder if anyone's done a first draft of the game's instruction manual? As soon as I get off my lazy a$$ and get Nathan the content, this will be on it's way. Shooting for a 8/26 release at the ECGXPO in Pennsylvania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 (edited) Hello all, Release candidate: - optimized some code, freed up some bytes and removed some cycles - adjusted the horizontal speed of the insects; they moved too fast left-right on the higher levels. This should be much more balanced. Please post any comments. Thanks, ladybug_NTSC.bin ladybug_PAL60.bin Edited August 15, 2006 by johnnywc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_type2600 Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Definetely ready to be released, I would say. Could not find any technical glitches (only got to the pumpkin level though), and all the small fine-tuning has nicely smoothened the gameplay. Great new title logo! I was sceptical on departing from the arcade-style one as I feared it would reduce a bit the authentic appearance of the game. Glad to see this worry blown away, Nathan has really proven his artist spirit on this one! Not only is it aesthatically far more pleasant than the rather drab arcade logo, but it manages to fully capture the flair (kinda flowerpower era) of the original. One miniscule observation - the pumpkin and butterflies are exactly the same color, which makes them blend somewhat. This is not so noticable on the later levels with mixed bugs, but a bit distracting on the butterflies only levels. Would it be possible to increase the orange tone on the pumpkin? Fantastic game! Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 Definetely ready to be released, I would say. Could not find any technical glitches (only got to the pumpkin level though), and all the small fine-tuning has nicely smoothened the gameplay. Great new title logo! I was sceptical on departing from the arcade-style one as I feared it would reduce a bit the authentic appearance of the game. Glad to see this worry blown away, Nathan has really proven his artist spirit on this one! Not only is it aesthatically far more pleasant than the rather drab arcade logo, but it manages to fully capture the flair (kinda flowerpower era) of the original. One miniscule observation - the pumpkin and butterflies are exactly the same color, which makes them blend somewhat. This is not so noticable on the later levels with mixed bugs, but a bit distracting on the butterflies only levels. Would it be possible to increase the orange tone on the pumpkin? Fantastic game! Eric Hi Eric, Thanks for the comments. I agree - Nathan's logo is fantastic and really polishes the game off nicely. I don't miss the old one at all... Here is an updated version - instead of brightening the pumpkin I darkened the butterflies (and a few other bugs as well). This should help make the flicker less distracting as well. Comments, of course, are welcome! ladybug_NTSC.bin ladybug_PAL60.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Here is an updated version - instead of brightening the pumpkin I darkened the butterflies (and a few other bugs as well). This should help make the flicker less distracting as well. How about slightly brightening currently flickering objects? Combined with the phosphoric effects of the TV, the brightness of flickering objects would be almost the same of non-flickering ones, while now they become a bit darker then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 (edited) Hello all, Couldn't resist: freed up a few bytes and was able to implement a variable timer start. - timer sound is synchronized to the insects leaving the pen - changed the insect brightness back to the original colors (looks better IMO) - darkened the pumpkin color to contrast with the butterflies (and make it look more orange) - EDIT: insects move a bit slower to start on the NOVICE level How about slightly brightening currently flickering objects? Combined with the phosphoric effects of the TV, the brightness of flickering objects would be almost the same of non-flickering ones, while now they become a bit darker then. That would of been great, but the kernel doesn't support it (I don't store the state of objects that are flickering). Right now I do a lookup on the color in the kernel - I would of had to set the color outside the kernel based on what is flickering, what is not, etc. and I'm completely out of RAM... Maybe for Mappy... ladybug_NTSC.bin ladybug_PAL60.bin Edited August 15, 2006 by johnnywc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 That would of been great, but the kernel doesn't support it (I don't store the state of objects that are flickering). Right now I do a lookup on the color in the kernel - I would of had to set the color outside the kernel based on what is flickering, what is not, etc. and I'm completely out of RAM... Maybe for Mappy... Understood. Another thing: When starting a new game, the color timer isn't reset. So for picking up the first object, you don't know, when it will change the color. And later on, you don't know exactly when the blue phase ends. So you often happen to pick up items with the wrong color. Some kind of "color is up to change" indicator (flashing, countdown pings) would be nice, even if that's unlike the arcade game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 Another thing: When starting a new game, the color timer isn't reset. So for picking up the first object, you don't know, when it will change the color. And later on, you don't know exactly when the blue phase ends. So you often happen to pick up items with the wrong color. Some kind of "color is up to change" indicator (flashing, countdown pings) would be nice, even if that's unlike the arcade game. Hmmm.. the code does reset the color timer on a game reset (sets it to BLUE)... do you mean for each level? Also - I see your point about the "color is about to change" flash warning, but "just missing" a letter as it switches color is part of the challenge of Lady Bug! The time for each color is constant so it becomes second nature as to when it will change. As you approach the threshhold, you need to make a decision: do I risk it or do I wait until the next round? Thanks for the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Hmmm.. the code does reset the color timer on a game reset (sets it to BLUE)... do you mean for each level? IMO, since the game starts after pressing fire, the timer should be reset then and not (only) on game reset. And maybe for each new round too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 Hmmm.. the code does reset the color timer on a game reset (sets it to BLUE)... do you mean for each level? IMO, since the game starts after pressing fire, the timer should be reset then and not (only) on game reset. And maybe for each new round too. Thanks for the suggestion Thomas. I played the MAME version and the timer is reset (to RED) at the beginning of a level. - changed the color timer so that it starts RED at the beginning of each level (per the arcade) - color timer no longer moves during the intro sequence (per the arcade) Manual/label are nearing completion. Any suggestions - get them in now!! Thanks, ladybug_PAL60.bin ladybug_NTSC.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 Just played a full game. I must say that I am happy with the results. Oh - and I also played the game of my life: 345,000, Part 18 (Horseradish) Admittingly, the game is not IMPOSSIBLE any more after level 16 now that the insects don't move twice as fast left to right. Post those high scores! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 345,000, Part 18 (Horseradish) I suppose that's with standard settings, right? (BTW: Maybe that should somehow be indicated when the game is over. Maybe just a different color of the score?) I must admit, that I am still pretty bad. My best score is ~150k. I die way too often just because of greed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 345,000, Part 18 (Horseradish) I suppose that's with standard settings, right? (BTW: Maybe that should somehow be indicated when the game is over. Maybe just a different color of the score?) Yes - that is with STANDARD settings. I had *exactly* enough bytes in the bank where I draw the score to squeeze in a color change. Not too sure about the colors, but: - STANDARD score is light pink - NOVICE score is light green - ADVANCED score is light orange I have the score color set at all times (so you know what level you're playing *while* you're playing) I also changed the color of the skill level text on the title screen to match this scheme. I must admit, that I am still pretty bad. My best score is ~150k. I die way too often just because of greed. Keep practicing! Thanks for the score update - 150K is pretty good! Changes: - score color has been changed to match the skill level (see above) - skill level color has been changed to match the score color - after a game, if you change the skill level the score is reset to 0 Any feedback or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks, ladybug_NTSC.bin ladybug_PAL60.bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spector Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 (edited) I've just played the game via Cuttle Cart on my 2600: really impressive. Seeing it on an actual Atari makes it all the more enjoyable. It compares well with the Colecovision release, which I've been playing a lot recently. I'm off to have another game Edited August 16, 2006 by Spector Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 It compares well with the Colecovision release Only this version is more fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 - STANDARD score is light pink - NOVICE score is light green - ADVANCED score is light orange IMO you should swap the colors for STANDARD and ADVANCED. Orange is somewhere in between Green and Pink, so that should be the color for STANDARD. I have the score color set at all times (so you know what level you're playing *while* you're playing) I also changed the color of the skill level text on the title screen to match this scheme.... - after a game, if you change the skill level the score is reset to 0 Good ideas! Now competitions become possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.