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Post by garryg on Jul 16, 2014 18:21:03 GMT -5
I've almost finished the gameplay changes to this.
The respawn is tidied up a bit, and you now die instantly when your last life is used (no respawn animation first!) You also now can't shoot continually, and have a power bar that drains when you are shooting but not hitting anything. Your power doesn't drain if you are hitting something, and releasing the trigger(s) and waiting will gradually restore the bar. This makes the game harder, but does add an element of strategy, and panic, to it.
I've also removed the border for speed considerations, although it does still appear when respawning, in order to show you the playfield boundaries.
I will try to get this put up on my blog before the weekend. This is the first version I would appreciate real playtest feaback on.
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Post by garryg on Jul 19, 2014 7:03:31 GMT -5
OK, you should be able to download the latest version from: www.dropbox.com/s/1c17uirecoaszk5/retdev.binThis has a couple of game-play changes, with the inclusion of the 'power bar' I'd like to know how this plays on different emulators as well as your real hardware, thanks.
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Post by cNp on Jul 19, 2014 8:27:41 GMT -5
Hey Garry,
Good work, the game as a whole feels a lot more playable now, not sure of anything specific that's had that effect but it's enjoyable to play!
A few observations (playing on physical Vectrex hardware using VecFlash):
The numbers of the score are not in line with the word score (they are just beforegameplay starts)
The star shaped enemies are a little too dim; I would up the intensity a little
You can move your ship over the power bar
When you die and the borders appear you 'jump' to a different place on the screen instead of staying in the same place
I actually don't think showing the border at any time is needed; it never feels like you are unexpectedly hitting an unexpected barrier
The enemy that is an X in a box doesn't seem to attack you, once near it kind of skirts around you, is that intentional?
Could there be an enemy that shoots at you? Perhaps there is an I haven't seen it...
Cheers,
cNp
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Post by VectorX on Jul 19, 2014 9:13:50 GMT -5
The enemy that is an X in a box doesn't seem to attack you, once near it kind of skirts around you, is that intentional? Sounds like an ode to those pains in Bedlam that start swirling around you.
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Post by christophertumber on Jul 19, 2014 11:25:41 GMT -5
Garry, Here's an idea. If you hold a standard Vectrex controller vertically in each hand (two controllers total) like this: You have dual thumb sticks. You may want to brace the bottom of the controller against your desk or lap as the controllers are a little big/awkward for this. But I found it worked really, really well. Attached is a quick demo thrown together to show this control scheme. I don't know if people owning two standard controllers is much more common than the previously mentioned aftermarket controllers but when I started a thread earlier about whether people want two player games or not there was quite a positive response which leads me to believe a lot of people do have extra controllers. Obviously polling a second joystick would add some overhead which might be a problem but if you have a second controller please try it as I think it's a really nice option. Attachments:DUAL.BIN (949 B)
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Post by VectorX on Jul 19, 2014 11:32:57 GMT -5
I don't know if people owning two standard controllers is much more common than the previously mentioned aftermarket controllers but when I started a thread earlier about whether people want two player games or not there was quite a positive response which leads me to believe a lot of people do have extra controllers. You can also just get a flat piece of wood that's wide enough to fit two controllers (whether they're the original Vectrex ones or modern day converted ones), hammer down some nails around them, and that could hold them down. I did that when I had my Atari 7800 copy of Robotron: 2084 with a piece of wood that was carved like a shield that I found in the garage (I guess someone did that for an art project or something). Although crude and it looked like crap without the controllers on it (a wooden shield with nails sticking out of it, say what?) it still worked.
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Post by christophertumber on Jul 19, 2014 11:43:17 GMT -5
You can also just get a flat piece of wood that's wide enough to fit two controllers If you can, please try the little demo and see what you think - If you use the two controllers as thumbsticks I think it's really usable and might only get awkward in high move&fire situations. Just steadying against my lap seemed more than enough. Really thinking about adding support for this to Specter but independent movement and fire is a pretty big change in game mechanic and difficulty. Would have to be two distinct game modes. Hmmm...
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Post by VectorX on Jul 19, 2014 12:04:43 GMT -5
If you can, please try the little demo and see what you think - Can't, as I've got a Vectrex flashcart, but not a mini USB cable for it as of yet.
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Post by christophertumber on Jul 19, 2014 12:42:16 GMT -5
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Post by garryg on Jul 19, 2014 16:00:49 GMT -5
The enemy that is an X in a box doesn't seem to attack you, once near it kind of skirts around you, is that intentional? The 'X in a box' only moves in horizontal and vertical lines, so it 'skirts around' to try and get in line with you. I should hit you if it's in horizontal or vertical alignment though! The closest thing to a bullet is the small inverted pyramid/triangle that comes after you shoot the 'X in a box.' Thanks to everyone for all the reply's, you have given me some good feedback to work with. I'm glad you think it's beginning to look more like a finished game now.
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Post by garryg on Jun 27, 2015 11:08:55 GMT -5
Just in case anybody is still remotely interested, I've stopped work on the original incarnation of Vec-Wars, but the final version is now available to download from my blog...
At least I'm pretty sure this is the final version, it now has some (very) basic sound and a re-spawn timer, when you are killed, so you have a chance to escape a tricky situation.
The rest has been tidied up in parts, but it's now pretty much as I'm leaving it.
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Post by VectorX on Jun 27, 2015 12:10:53 GMT -5
Just in case anybody is still remotely interested, I've stopped work on the original incarnation of Vec-Wars, but the final version is now available to download from my blog... The rest has been tidied up in parts, but it's now pretty much as I'm leaving it. So, are you not sure if you're ever finishing it, or are you moving onto something else for now?
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Post by garryg on Jun 28, 2015 14:51:49 GMT -5
It's pretty much a finished game now, see the full list of what is included below... But this was originally one of my very early development games (one of the first full games I made for the Vectrex) that I used to learn a lot about Vectrex programming with, and I've made some code decisions with it that I could probably do much cleaner now. Also, the code is all in one big, and very messy, file. So I have decided to draw a line under it, and stop adding things. With the idea of starting againe from scratch - With Vec Wars 2.
What's in Vecwars (v1):
1) There are 5 enemy types that all have their own unique attack patterns. 2) The basic swarm enemy type is always present with each other enemy type being added gradually as the game progresses. 3) Once all enemy types have been introduced they all continually appear on screen. 4) Basic sound is now incorporated for all hits. 5) A power-bar has been added that means you cant continually fire, as your laser runs out when the power bar is empty. 6) A re-spawn timer has been added, where your ship shows a shield around it and the enemies freeze for a few seconds after the player has been hit, allowing you to escape from sticky or trapped situations. 7) Collision detection is not 'off' or 'flaky' in this game, your ship just has a small hit-box, like most bullet-Hell or SHMUP games.
In the mean time I plan to polish up Circus Vectrex and may look at getting it out on a cartridge (Possibly with Vec Wars and Spike and the vortex included as 'bonus' games. But don't hold your breath as it is expensive and the parts aren't exactly easy to get hold of, so if anybody has the parts and is interested in helping with this...
Then there are a few (possibly) smaller projects I want to look at first, where I want to test out some ideas I have... With the eventual idea of restarting Vec Wars, from scratch, with better base routines and a more modular and logical code structure and design. I really want to see if I can re-make Vec Wars in a form that allows me to really push the cycle rate to it's limit. I think I've got enough Vectrex experience to tackle that properly now.
Oh, yes I nearly forgot, I plan to have support for proper duel stick joy-pads in the remake as well!
Watch this space...
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