Gosub

[gambler172]

Hi Chris

Nathan wrote

 

For diagonal tunnels (like the ones below), try to make them at 45° angles, so the player can use the joystick's diagonal positions to get through them. Odd angles are more suited to different control schemes, like Combat or Asteroids.

 

Sorry Nathan i have another opinion about this.Because this level was an entry of the Level Contest and i would keep it as it is.And this level is really heavy(but possible) and so i would not change this.

 

greetings Walter

[R. Jones]

Nice progress, 2600land.

 

I have a few suggestions:

- It feels awkward to me, to use the difficulty switches to turn the timer on and off. I think it'd be more natural to have predefined modes that you could scroll through with the select switch like in the earlier games (gunfight, video olympics, combat.)

 

- You said you were having trouble with an all black level. Have you tried a plain spiral? I think it a geometric level like that would work well without visual feedback.

 

- Have you decided against multiplayer support? If so, was is it artistic choice, bB limitation, etc.?

[+Nathan Strum]

Game Select should return you to the main game select screen, if you aren't already there.

- What do you mean by that?

Sorry, I worded that a little poorly.

 

Currently in Gosub, Game Select does nothing, except when you're at the Gosub title screen, where it lets you switch between the game options. Which is fine.

 

But usually, the Game Select switch is also used to reset the game and return you to the title screen. (See for example: Crystal Castles, Joust, Dig Dug, Berzerk, Ice Hockey, River Raid, etc.) So if you're mid-game and decide you want to play game option 2 instead, you can hit Select to bail out of the game, then press it again to switch to option 2. Then start the new game.

 

I'm just bringing it up because since that's how so many other 2600 games work, when one doesn't work like that, something feels unfinished (or broken) about it.

[+atari2600land]

Progress report:

what I've done so far:

* game starts with fire button

* game ends if reset switch is pressed during game play (and same game is selected at the title screen)

* a longer pause for death

 

I took out the timed game because I might need the timer it used to slow down the octopus once he spots you (something that people want to have happen.), so the octopus is decided on by whether the left difficulty switch is on a or b. (b is octopus on)

I took out a later maze (the one that Nathan pointed out to me) and replaced it with a blank maze (which will NOT be in the final game) because I still haven't decided yet whether to put it back in or create a new level for it.

 

I haven't tried any black level so far because I'm still working on some minor changes.

 

As for multi-player, I've decided against it in the main game, but if enough people want it, I could make an Indy 500-style minigame.

 

This new build starts at level 1, that's why it's named what it is.

 

Thank you all for your input and I hope I get more as time goes on.

gosuba031007level1.bas.bin

gosuba031007level1.bas

Edited March 11, 2007 by atari2600land

[+Nathan Strum]

For diagonal tunnels (like the ones below), try to make them at 45° angles, so the player can use the joystick's diagonal positions to get through them. Odd angles are more suited to different control schemes, like Combat or Asteroids.

Sorry Nathan i have another opinion about this.Because this level was an entry of the Level Contest and i would keep it as it is.And this level is really heavy(but possible) and so i would not change this.

That's fine - I wouldn't expect everyone (or anyone) to agree with me.

 

When I'm testing a game, I usually approach it from the standpoint of, "What if I'd just bought this from AtariAge, and had to write a review of it?" I think it's important for people to give their opinions now - before the game is set in stone (or plastic). Some of this may not have occurred to the programmer, or may have been planned but overlooked, and so on.

 

In the end, of course, it's all up to the programmer to decide what makes it in the game, or doesn't.

Edited March 11, 2007 by Nathan Strum

[gambler172]

Hi Chris

i tried your newest version.Really great.

greetings Walter

[gambler172]

Hi Chris

i tried the new version with the octopuss.It is really heavy.Here i agree with Nathan.There should be a possibility to kill him,if necessary.Maybe 5 shots,for the whole game;otherwise it might be too easy.

greetings Walter

[potatohead]

Maybe be able to kill him with bullets found along the way?

 

I know, that's a significant change to what is an interesting game right now. It just sorta popped in there --like the Pillsbury Dough Boy...

 

Great work on this one BTW!

[SeaGtGruff]

Hi Chris

i tried the new version with the octopuss.It is really heavy.Here i agree with Nathan.There should be a possibility to kill him,if necessary.Maybe 5 shots,for the whole game;otherwise it might be too easy.

greetings Walter

I like the idea of having an electrical charge that can be used to frighten off the octopus, then takes a little while to recharge so you can't use it again right away. Then the octopus can be more difficult to evade and more likely to go after you, since you have a (limited) way to drive him off.

 

Michael

[+atari2600land]

OK, let's put that electrical charge in the game. I warmed up to the idea (no pun intended).

[gambler172]

OK, let's put that electrical charge in the game. I warmed up to the idea (no pun intended).

Hi Chris

yeah,because without this,the octopuss seems too hard.

Another thing.Did you get my last screens?

greetings Walter

[+atari2600land]

Did you get my last screens?

Yes I did.

[+atari2600land]

Here's a new file version. There's a mini-game I'm working on called GoSub 500, which is like Indy 500, but you can't get to it yet. Sorry, Nate, but I had to move how to start the game back to the reset switch because I added the electric fire-thingy. You get three shots per maze, and to use it, you press fire (if you pressed fire to begin, it'd automatically go down to 2, but then I can always have it start at 4, but it'd be confusing to have each maze start with the sound, if people clamor to start the game with the fire button, I might be able to figure out a way to get it back, but for now, to start the game, you press the reset switch.) If you press fire when the octopus touches you, it goes somewheres. Since nobody really told me what to do and how to do it, I just winged, so this is just a test. If someone could tell me how to start up GoSub 500 by looking at the code, that'd be really nice of you.

gosuba031107a.bas

gosuba031107a.bas.bin

[Dragnerok X]

Here's a new file version. There's a mini-game I'm working on called GoSub 500, which is like Indy 500, but you can't get to it yet. Sorry, Nate, but I had to move how to start the game back to the reset switch because I added the electric fire-thingy. You get three shots per maze, and to use it, you press fire (if you pressed fire to begin, it'd automatically go down to 2, but then I can always have it start at 4, but it'd be confusing to have each maze start with the sound, if people clamor to start the game with the fire button, I might be able to figure out a way to get it back, but for now, to start the game, you press the reset switch.) If you press fire when the octopus touches you, it goes somewheres. Since nobody really told me what to do and how to do it, I just winged, so this is just a test. If someone could tell me how to start up GoSub 500 by looking at the code, that'd be really nice of you.

 

Nice game! It's evolved quite a bit since I last saw it (which, admittedly, has been months). I have a suggestion, though. The player pretty much generally knows where the octupus always is on the map, and your idea of changeing the octopus to the background color is good, but why not try this.

When the octopus is supposed to be hidden, set the octopus to the background color and remove it's shape by setting the bytes of the entire sprite to zero, like this.

 

Octopus'_Player_Number:
%00000000
%00000000
%00000000
%00000000
%00000000
%00000000
%00000000
%00000000

 

This will not allow the octopus to be seen when it crosses the playfield borders. So try it. Besides, what have you got to lose?

Edited March 12, 2007 by Dragnerok X

[gambler172]

Hi Chris

great work with the fire for the octopuss.It works perfect and the game is still difficult enough.

The minigame is a good idea too.

greetings Walter

[+atari2600land]

Hey, gang! The minigame works now! To select it, hold down the select switch at the title screen until the first number says 2. I also redesigned a couple levels and fixed some score bugs. As for Dragnerok X's suggestion, I have no idea how the octopus works, so I think I'll let Mike handle that. I looked at the code and could not figure out why it turns blue at the beginning of the maze if it's not near the sub. Now all I need to do is add some more mazes and add the last stage black maze (unless something else comes up, which it probably will. )

gosuba031207.bas.bin

gosuba031207.bas

Edited March 13, 2007 by atari2600land

[+Nathan Strum]

Nice minigame.

 

A couple more suggestions...

 

When zapping the octopus, instead of sending him clear across the maze, which makes it too easy, how about if it just threw him a short distance away?

 

For the minigame, how about if you could shoot a torpedo at your opponent to slow him down? That would add some strategy to it.

[vdub_bobby]

Possible bug: It looks like the sub faces the wrong way when going at a diagonal.

[+Nathan Strum]

I noticed that, too. Also, if you're moving straight up or down, it seems to face backwards, instead of the way you were previously headed. In other words, if you were going left, then up, it should still face left. But sometimes it will flip around to the right.

[+atari2600land]

Possible bug: It looks like the sub faces the wrong way when going at a diagonal.

I accidentally flipped it around in line 768. It should read this:

  if d = 9 then timer = timer + 1 : y{0}=1
  if timer > 1 then p1y = p1y - 1 : p1x = p1x + 1 : timer = 0
  if d = 10 then timer = timer + 1 : y{0}=1
  if timer > 1 then p1y = p1y + 1 : p1x = p1x + 1 : timer = 0
  if d = 11 then timer = timer + 1 : y{0}=0
  if timer > 1 then p1y = p1y - 1 : p1x = p1x - 1 : timer = 0
  if d = 12 then timer = timer + 1 : y{0}=0
  if timer > 1 then p1y = p1y + 1 : p1x = p1x - 1 : timer = 0

 

 

This should be fixed when the next version comes out.

Edited March 13, 2007 by atari2600land

[+atari2600land]

I noticed that, too. Also, if you're moving straight up or down, it seems to face backwards, instead of the way you were previously headed. In other words, if you were going left, then up, it should still face left. But sometimes it will flip around to the right.

I've never noticed that before. Ever since I put in REFP1=8 or 0 for up, down, left and right, it seems like it has always faced the same way.

[+atari2600land]

I noticed that, too. Also, if you're moving straight up or down, it seems to face backwards, instead of the way you were previously headed. In other words, if you were going left, then up, it should still face left. But sometimes it will flip around to the right.

I've never noticed that before. Ever since I put in REFP1=8 or 0 for up, down, left and right, it seems like it has always faced the same way. Here's the first part of the code I posted from the last post (which would explain y{0}:

  if y{0} then REFP1=8
  if !y{0} then REFP1=0
  if d = 1 then timer = timer + 1 : y{0}=0
  if timer > 1 then p1x = p1x - 1 : timer = 0
  if d = 2 then timer = timer + 1 : y{0}=1
  if timer > 1 then p1x = p1x + 1 : timer = 0
  if d = 3 then timer = timer + 1
  if timer > 1 then p1y = p1y - 1 : timer = 0
  if d = 4 then timer = timer + 1
  if timer > 1 then p1y = p1y + 1 : timer = 0

[gambler172]

Hi Chris

played the actual version.It seems that it is more difficult now.The 4th screen should appear some screens later,because it is still really heavy.

greetings Walter

[+atari2600land]

Hey, I made a final black level that gets black once it begins so you have time to study it once you set out. This binary file starts at this level (so you don't have to play 18 levels to get to it.) And here's a to-do-list:

 

-change color of the sub in game from black to red (I made it red in code line 605 (not my line #605), but I need someone to correlate the colors to pal and b_w mode.)

-somewhere along the line, the octopus's color scheme in b&w mode got broken. I need someone to fix it, please.

-change the color of the octopus in the last level to black instead of blue, and black instead of gray in b_w mode when he's not attacking or about to attack.

-in b&w mode, the octopus just moves back and forth rapidly instead of going anywhere.

 

I think the answer to most of these lie in the set_colors_2 part of the code, and if I knew bBasic better, I could probably do it myself. Heck, I bet there's a very simple way to turn the last level to black once the sub gets moving, but I don't know how.

gosuba031307.bas.bin

gosuba031307.bas

[Rom Hunter]

The black sonar level is great!

 

Please let the sub and the octopus move very slow in that level.

 

This way the player gets more time to listen to the sonar.

 

Edited March 14, 2007 by Rom Hunter