Front Line Arcade

[dr. kwack]

Greets.

 

I haven't done a hack for awhile and I usually do conversion "improvements". This time around I'm attempting to change Front Line by Coleco so it looks a bit more like the arcade version.

 

This is a work in progress and so far...

 

Changed the walking style of the soldiers. Now they have more of the "boogie method" of the arcade.

 

I also altered the body as the arcade only shows one arm when walking.

 

Changed the "death throe" to better resemble the arcade- this is weird though, the enemy soldier's helmets are green, butr when the "hero soldier" dies, his turns brown.

 

Altered the large and small tanks as well. Small tank has a longer gun and the large tank has a more T-shaped gun as per arcade.

 

I'm horrible at this game in MAME so I'm not sure what else needs changed. Suggestions or comments are welcome as always.

fla6.zip

[Bakasama]

I'm horrible at this game in MAME so I'm not sure what else needs changed. Suggestions or comments are welcome as always.

 

I have you thought about using the cheat.dat file? Some that's cheap but I would argue it's a very useful tool when doing reseach or taking screenshots.

 

You get that dat file from http://cheat.retrogames.com/ then click on Pugsy's cheat file and download the lastest one.

[Feralstorm]

Didn't the arcade front line use a joystick for moving and a rotary knob for aiming? I wonder how difficult (or even practical) it would be to change the controls to use something like a a joystick and a driving controller in different ports? Seems like an idea, but I have trouble imagining someone trying to manage all those controls at once.

[dr. kwack]

I have to agree that changing the controls would be kinda awkward. I still can't manage games like Spy Hunter very well just for that reason.

 

Nonetheless, here is my final version of Front Line. Added the following changes:

 

The number font was altered to more resemble Taito's.

 

Changed the lives remaining icon from a tank into a helmet as per arcade.

 

Further tweaked the tanks to better resemble the arcade version.

 

Changed the rocks and cacti in the desert a bit.

 

Solidified most of the brick walls in the fortress area.

 

Modified the "leaping soldier" sprite a bit.

 

Changed the fortress tank a bit as well.

 

Changed the explosion sprites to look more like the Taito style "poofs" of the game and less like the crummy Coleco Zaxxon explosions.

 

That's all I can remember for now. Enjoy!

Front_Line_Arcade_Final.zip