Vectrex Programming at German University 2016 & 2017

[Peer]

Good to hear from you as well!

And I thought you were still on "interlude". Yes, you are also under surveillance ;-)

Cheers,
Peer

[VECTREXER]

Love the last update. Thanks!

[Peer]

Alpha status update:

- Projects "Spaceball", "Doodle Jump" and "Star Fuel" have declared alpha status. Alpha versions are provided for external testing and are available for download.

- Please report feedback by using the links provided on the individual project web pages. Your feedback will be relayed to the authors who are looking forward to hearing from you.

- Please note that privacy policies require me not to openly reveal the student's email addresses. Your feedback will be addressed to me, and I will immediately forward it to the respective author who then can freely decide to get in direct contact with you.

- Feedback posts on the forum, of course, are also very welcome.

Edit 06/06/17

- Project "Spaceship Centauri" has also declared alpha status. Alpha version is provided for external testing and is available for download.

- It took me quite some effort to convince the students to release their alpha versions to the public. They would greatly appreciate feedback from the community

Eidt 06/07/17

- Demo video and optimized alpha binary of project "Star Fuel" uploaded

Enjoy,
Peer

[Peer]

Another alpha status update:

- Project "Kingdom of Heaven" has also declared alpha status. Alpha version is provided for external testing and is available for download.

- Project gallery page revised, alpha projects and projects with demo videos marked.

- There are now five games which have reached alpha status. Alpha testers wanted! It would be really nice to get some feedback.

Have fun,
Peer

[Malban]

Hi,

on our facebook group there are also a few comments about the games - BTW.
Anyhow - the 5 alpha games.

You either have stepped up you teachings quite a bit, these people are very interested - or the last ones - ehm - not so interested.
IMHO the five games below are quality wise way better than the last lot.
(Sorry - guys and girls from last year... this is a fact.)

The games are all playable, refresh in a manner that do not hurt your eyes - and I haven't found a single (bug).

GREAT STUFF!

The games...





SPACEBALL

Citing the manual:

Spaceball is a soccer-like game in space.
The goal is to move the ball into
the other player’s goal by
shooting it with missiles.
Whoever scores the limit of goals first wins the game.

The game looks and feels good.
The grafics are very clean and refresh in general with 50Hz.
(for each bullet add about 2000 cycles -> the refresh than goes under 50Hz (about 37000 cycles))
The two ships are drawn very clean and drift seems not to be anywhere near
these objects.

- the game has rudimentary sound
- the game makes use of the rotation routines the BIOS provides
- the game uses a vector font to display the score
- the game implements collision detection
- the game is playable and complete!

Some points regarding alpha status:
The game:
- the player ships can collide with the ball - but can not move it with the ship - seems "physically strange"
- the player can fly into the non goal corners
- the ship and the ball can move from one side to the other - shots can't
The game is a two player game - the manual states that this can not be
changed - even by the settings. A tiny little irritating, that the
selection screen shows "1 Player".

The code:
-  call to BIOS joystick routines two times (for each player) - once per update round is sufficent.

A small tipp, the "movable" objects (ships and ball) are drawn first in the update round.
It would be better to draw the moveable objects LAST in the update round.
Although I don't know all the facts that cause it.
The position of last drawn objects (regardless of how long zeroing the beam) influences the position
of the next drawn objects.
You see that on a real vectrex if you move a ship horizontally and especially if you move
across the border, the whole screen seems to slowly shrink and than expand once you cross the border.
(or vice versa).
This effect is less visible if "fixed" objects (score/wall) are drawn first in an upate round.

For a first vectrex game (and using a high level language) this is a
great effort. The Overlay - although only "basic" fits well.


SPACESHIP CENTAURI

This is more or less your standard BOTSS (bottom of the screen shooter).
But well implemented!
Screen refresh is nice and most of the time within 50Hz.

The game features rudimentary sound.
The explosions of the enemies are (slightly) animated.
The explosion of the main ship is cool, when its pieces fly thru space!
Using an own vectorfont to display messages and scores.
It feels very much like a shooter - there can be 8 of your own bullets at the same time in the "air".
Automatic difficult increase (or selectable) - although level 99 is more funny than
playable - (WUUUSH - dead!).

Some notes.
- the main sprite has to many vectors - it gets distorted
- the game features sound - but when your own ship explodes - it does that in total silence
- the in game score is a bit small - if it were bigger one would not see the drift as clearly
- a level is finished in the middle of a "wave" when other enemies are still aproaching - seems "strange" to see a level done
  when you know enemies are in the air...
- the "amunition" display - does it do anything? Is a limit implemented?
- do I have only one EMP?, can I earn new ones?

For a first vectrex game (and using a high level language) this is a
great effort! The Overlay - although only "basic" fits well, but using it on the emulator I missed
the score and amunition level - is it transparent?


Doodle Jump

I love this little game.
If it only would continue what it promises over an alpha stage
(and probably a university cause)...
It could become a "Man goes down" kind of thing for the vectrex.
(For non insiders - google for Alex Herberts Man goes down for Atari 2600).

Missing still:
- a difficulty increase
- some extras (remember the skateboard - or the helicopter pack?)
- some music and more sounds..

The overlay is:
a) great coloring - love the "horizont" and the colors in general
b) the "score" area as a fixed feature of an overlay is in general a bad idea, since
all vectrex display slightly different

Anyway:
- Refresh is crisp and good
- rudimentary sound
- looks like a good collision detection
- the animation of the man "jumping" can be barely discerned - that might be
enhanced with a frame or two
- death "scene" is a little "short"
- using "as usual now?" an own vector font

While technically the other described games might make more use of vectrex features -
gameplay wise I prefer this one :-) Great first effort!


Kingdom of Heaven

This title is quite similar to the last.
Here you also play a man jumping from platform to platform - although here
you actually have to "interactively" jump (press a button).

The overall grafic seem to be more "evolved", which comes at the cost, that the game
sometimes drops beneath th 50Hz barrier.

The overlay like most of the other overlays is rather simple and fitting.
Although it seems that the large title "Kingdom of heaven" might under cirumstances
hide the level display.

The game features different levels and gets more difficult with each level.
There are smaller platforms and the speed of the levels increase.

Overall it has more features than "Doodle jump" - but for one reason or another
I still like doodle jump a tick better.

The points that I find bothersome:
- the jump - or the fall "takes to much time" - if I do a wrong jump
often there is no way to correct it. For my taste the jumping should be faster.
- Although the platforms look nicer than just "lines" - drawing these takes to great a cycle toll
and thus the screen often tends to "wobble"
- the main character (when it stands still) seems to be drawn with to many vectors
either it is the drift which distorts it - or there are some vectors "off"
- The man is drawn in some detail - but while moving there is no animation - it feels kind of "stiff"

- The game features rudimentary sound (one pong)
- vectorfont
- I don't think there is a level selection - although the player menu suggests it

Still...
For a first vectrex game - also a great effort. Personal taste is always subjective...


STAR FUEL
I think this might be a good game.
But I also think this is my "Polar Rescue" of the lot.
There is an original game idea, an actual plot, different levels and all - but me
being a not very coordinative person (one button shooter - remember :-)) - this
game is not for me to play :-).

You are lost in space - without fuel. You must harvest the asteroid belt you
are currently positioned in. To do that - you must destroy the asteroids
(using one kind of "canon") and than extract energy (with another type of canon).
Shooting (destroying) can be done with two different kinds of canons (wide effect area - slow,
or small area - fast ).
Switching the canons is done with buttons 2,3 and 4. Firing is done with button one - steering
with the joystick.
Once enough energy is collected you engage your FTL and fly to the next level.

The game features sound, and also make use of different sounds (alarms) to notify the player.
The sound is an actual game element.

The grafic is stripped to the bare essentials (not! a bad thing) - which leaves you with a
crisp display.
In higher levels more than one asteroid is available for harvest.

Overlay:
the "score", and other fixed feature of an overlay is in general a bad idea, since
all vectrex display slightly different

The FTL drive displays quite a portion of the vectors out of the vectrex display range (illuminating)
the screen borders - you might cut them down a little...

But overall also a great effort!


Malban

[VectorX]

Jun 9, 2017 11:42:08 GMT -5 Malban said:

Doodle Jump
It could become a "Man goes down" kind of thing for the vectrex.
(For non insiders - google for Alex Herberts Man goes down for Atari 2600).

Or Spike Goes Down for the Vectrex from the same guy, as it was an unlockable game for the limited edition Protector cart

Nice write-up!

[hcmffm]

During the next days I'll try to alpha test all five games currently available as binary.

An important note for all my reviews:
I much appreciate the work, effort, and thoughts that all you students have put into your games! My "reviews" are rather feedback and suggestions and not so much reviews that judge whether a game is good or bad.
Criticizing a game is simple compared to writing a Vectrex game - especially the first one. My criticism is intended to give you hints and ideas to perhaps make your game even better. Some of my ideas might be simple to implement, some might mean quite some effort.
Decide yourself which ideas you pick up and which ones you don't. In no case feel obliged in any way. Even leaving your game as it is now, is fine for me. Though, I do admit that I'm picky and I do like high quality and complete Vectrex games.
If you should have questions regarding a specific suggestion you can post here or contact me via PM (English and German are both fine). I can provide my graphic drafts as vector graphics or in large size if wanted.

Thank you all for your excellent effort and love that you put into the development of your game!

___

SPACE BALL
Below please find feedback for Tim's Space Ball. The game is complete and can be played, already. There is one bug that should be improved/fixed; the suggestions are just possible ideas/ways to make the good game even better.

· GENERAL NOTES
Two players are required, i.e. you will need two controllers for the real Vectrex. Until now I've played Space Ball for testing purposes and without an opponent, only, but my guess is that Space Ball is good fun.

· SIMILAR VECTREX GAMES
- Scull soccer
- V-Hockey

· WHAT I LIKE
- Completeness of game: Intro sound, game menu, game over plus overlay, and game manual
- Zooming of spaceships and ball at beginning of each round
- Graphics
- Bouncing ball

· BUGS
Direction of spaceship and flying direction
Currently, the direction of the spaceship and the flying direction do not match in all cases. There are more rotation angles than flying angles. (Note: Shooting angles seem to be o.k..)
Suggestion: Adjust flying direction to directions/angles of spaceship.

EDIT:
Player 1 rotates Player 2's space ship
When playing on the real hardware using a VecFlash and rotating the Player 1 space ship left or right, the Player 2 space ship also rotates left/right. In ParaJVE this problem does not occur.

EDIT 2:
Collision detection when shooting on ball
When shooting on the ball diagonally, one can shoot slightly through the ball. Please note that this is on emulator; not sure about the real hardware.


· SUGGESTIONS
Score: Positions
Currently, position of scores is at the top and horizontally align. This alignment doesn't match the vertical alignment of the game.
Suggestion: New alignment of scores: One score at top right and one score at bottom right.

EDIT
Score: Who is who?
During the game the two players have little idea who is player 1 and who is player 2. At the end of a game it says "Player 1" wins and thus the players don't know for sure who actually won.
Suggestion: Add the players number as prefix to the score. E.g. "P1: 1 P2: 3".

No collision with "goals"
Currrently the spaceships can fly over the goals. This is fine because one could think of the goals as just markers on the grass.
Suggestion: To support this impression the lines of the "goals" could be darker in brightness.

Spaceships a bit hard to differentiate
The two space ships look very alike and players might mix up which space ship is which.
Suggestion: Make spaceships a bit more different. E.g. one could be brighter than the other space ship. Or shapes could be different.

Menu: Number of Players
It's good to have a menu which allows for choosing various games.
Suggestion: Not sure whether a one-player option will be added in Space Ball. If not the "Player 1/2" selection should be removed.

Menu: Game number
From what I can see, the game number reflects the number of goals you have to shoot to win the game. Currently the default is 1 and the maximum is 4.
Suggestions: Menu item should be renamed from "Game" to "Goals". Default should be a bit higher, e.g. three goals. Maximum should be also higher, e.g. 9 goals.

Game options
Suggestion: In addition to choosing the number of goals to win a game there could be additional game options:
- Size of goal
- acceleration of ball
- ...
These game options could be either controled individually (not recommended) or by choosing a specific game number. The higher the game number the more difficult the game could be (i.e. smaller goals, slower acceleration of ball, ...)

Ball in goal
When the ball is in the goal, the ball disappears right away and "Goal! Player x" is displayed.
Suggestion: It would be good if the ball would remain visible for an instant and then the "Goal! Player x" appears.

Gameplay: Skills plus Random
Suggestion: The gameplay might become even more interesting if there is some random involved in the game. E.g. when a player hits another player one or both players might be bounced into various directions. The same could happen when hitting the ball with your space ship.

Autofire
If you keep button 2 or 4 pressed you have auto-fire. I think autofire makes players slack.
Suggestion: There should be no autofire. Only with every button press there should be a shot.

Graphics: Ball
Please note that I'm not 100% sure about this one because I've tested Space Ball using an emulator (ParaJVE), only.
The ball's shape looks a bit like a stop sign and not very round.
Suggestion: The diagonal lines of the ball could be a bit shorter and other lines a bit longer. This way the ball might look rounder.

Graphics: Goal
Currently a goal is the empty area between the two squares in the left and right corner.
Idea: A goal could be a box which is drawn in the middle. Or just a line. Or... See drafts below.

Original:


Goal variation 1:


Goal variation 2:


Goal variation 3:


Note: The small graphics are a bit hard to see. You can use context menu (right-mouse click) "View graphics" to see the graphics in full size.

Overlay: Playfield
Suggestion:  The overlay could have additional lines which show the play field. E.g. there could be a middle line.

Overlay: Solid Goal posts
Suggestion: The four corners of the overlay could be coloured matching the four blocks drawn in the corner. (Note: Overlay graphics and drawn graphics might mismatch in position on non-calibrated (old) Vectrex consoles.)


- o -

[Malban]

@helmut:
I can't verify the "player 2 rotating with player 1" (or vice versa).
On my test vectrex everything is alright.

Malban

[Peer]

Malban and Helmut, biggest thanks for your reviews!!!

Here is another one:

- Project "Pipe Race" has also declared alpha status. Alpha version is provided for external testing and is available for download.

- Please note that this version could not yet be tested on the real hardware. This is scheduled for next Friday.

Have fun,
Peer

[hcmffm]

Jun 10, 2017 8:35:25 GMT -5 Malban said:

@helmut:
I can't verify the "player 2 rotating with player 1" (or vice versa).
On my test vectrex everything is alright.

Hmm, might be a problem of my "no-buzz Vectrex" or the VecFlash cartridge. I'll retry on a "buzz" Vectrex tomorrow.

Jun 11, 2017 6:28:57 GMT -5 Peer said:

Malban and Helmut, biggest thanks for your reviews!!!

You're welcome! It's pleasure to support your yearly "Vectrex endevour" a bit. BTW, by when must the students finish their games?

[hcmffm]

Copying Malban's review of Space Ball and putting it into other words was an easy task. I thought this time I better write something original myself and be the first to test Ralph's "Pipe Race".


PIPE RACE

· GENERAL NOTES
The game play of Pipe Race is related to Vectrexagon and Hex; using the 3D effect makes the game play quite interesting. Pipe race is a one player game and has three difficulty levels which differ in speed.

· WHAT I LIKE
- Smooth and fast 3D graphics of the pipe
- Space ship slowly zooming in at start of the game
- Simple but challenging gameplay

· BUGS

Collision detection
Collision detection on the left side of the space ship seems not 100% correct.

To reproduce:
1. Set framerate of ParaJVE to 10.
2. Play the game
3. Rotate the pipe that your space ship just crashes into the pipe on the left side.
--> Graphics of pipe and spaceship intersect for an instant but the game continues.

Ghost pipes
At startup the first pipe section is drawn and it gets larger and larger (correct). Already, there are some very large pipe sections that flash for a very short instance (bug). This effect can be seen throughout the whole game but at the beginning of the game it can be seen best. During the game it's even hard to notice and not disturbing.

· SUGGESTIONS

Control using buttons (added 12th June 2017)
ATM, the user controls the spaceship using left/right of the joystick.
Suggestion: It would be good if buttons could be used in addition to the joystick (e.g. buttons 1+2 for rotating left and buttons 3+4 for rotating right.)

Brightness for stronger 3D effect
Already, the 3D experience is quite good. To emphasize the 3D effect, brightness could be used (Note: brightness might be used, already, but in ParaJVE I cannot recognize a change in brightness)

Graphics: Space ship - Perspective
Currently the space ship looks very 2D and not so much 3D. I guess reason is that the space ship is comparatively long and not very wide. The perspective of the space ship should be more from the back to match the 3D perspective and therefore smaller in height and larger in width.

Graphics: Space ship - Design
It might be just me or the emulator but I don't like the design of the space ship much. Perhaps a different design could be used. E.g. a simple triangle would be sufficient. (See drafts below)

Label "Score:"
I think the "Score: " label can be removed. (It's clear that the numbers at the top is the score.)

Score: Overflow
When reaching more than 9999 points there is an overflow and you see something like ";409". I'd suggest to let the player win the game at "9999".

Menu "Player" and "Game"
Currently, Pipe Race is a one-player game. I think the choice "Player" should be removed. "Game" should be renamed to "Difficulty" or even more appropriate "Speed".

Immediate "Game over"
When the player hits a pipe, "Game over" is displayed immediately. It would be good if you could actually see that situation for a short instant and then "Game over" is displayed. Perhaps the "Game over" could be even on the same screen (and not on a separate screen).

Game over without score
When crashing "Game over" is displayed immediately and the player cannot see the score he/she reached. In addition to "Game over" the score should be displayed. As an alternative the "Game over" might appear on the same screen (see previous suggestion).

Difficulty: Speed only
Currently, difficulty seems to increase by speed, only. For the player it would be more challenging and interesting if difficulty increased a little by speed and a little by the holes in the pipe (i.e. less wholes)

EDIT:
Sound: More variation
Currently there is little sound during the game. Various ideas to improve sound:
- "Pipe" could have a steady sound/noise.
- There could be a sound when rotating the pipe.
- There could be a sound whenever a pipe section gets closer to the player ship. Loudness and/or frequency of the sound could change depending on how close the larges pipe sections is.


Static pipe and rotating space ship
Currently, the space ship always resides at the bottom of the screen and the pipe rotates.
The game might be much more challenging and interesting if the pipe remained static and the player ship rotated around the pipe.
Note: This would be a big change in the game play and I guess it's quite some effort to implement this.

EDIT:
Sub-suggestion: Both space ship and individual pipe sections could rotate independently. This would make the game even more difficult because the wholes in the pipe that you have to fly through keep changing.


Draft of some pipe racers:


- o -

[hcmffm]

Reviewing your (Andreas') Star Fuel was quite difficult for me: Already, Star Fuel is very mature and very well done for a first game. To me it looks like you have put quite some thoughts into this game. The weapon handling, the game play, and the game manual have a scientific touch and terminology which is nice and consistent and make the game interesting. Star Fuel is a shooter but because of its complicated and very sensitive controls I'd call it "intellectual shooter".
Until now, I've played Star Fuel on the emulator (ParaJVE), only. Positioning the weapon precisely using the cursor keys is quite a challenge due to the speed of the weapon. I think I have to play Star Fuel much more and play it on the real hardware to get to the higher levels and to get a real idea of Star Fuel.

ADDED 18th June:
I've played Star Fuel on a real Vectrex console for a while and was in level 4 or 5 (~1.500 points). Using the joystick controller is much better than the PC keyboard. Button layout (B1: Shoot, B2: Choose Harvester, B3: Laser, B4: Cruncher) makes sense and while playing I got quicker and quicker. Clearer weapon indicators would still be good (see suggestion below).


STAR FUEL

· GENERAL NOTES
This game is a bit special; Make sure you have the game manual at hand otherwise you will have a hard time to find out how to play Star Fuel.

· WHAT I LIKE
- The well formulated text in chapter "Gameplay" in the manual.
- Graphic design of the various weapons and the asteroids
- Warp to next level
- Score with vector font

· BUGS
Flying Star fragments
Sometimes star fragments appears and fly around. I think that's good but I'm not sure whether this is a feature or a bug.

· SUGGESTIONS

ADDED 18th June:
Shooting: Sound feedback
Larger asteroids require several hits. Currently you don't know whether your shot hit an asteroid or not.

Suggestion: When shooting the laser on (large) asteroids it would be good if there was some feedback if you hit the asteroid or not.

Weapons: Fire at will
Currently, the weapon handling is a bit special: You have to select the weapon using buttons 2-4 and then fire it using button 1. This makes the game difficult and the player has to learn how to play Star Fuel.

Suggestion: I wonder whether Star Fuel could become a bit more of an action game by facilitating weapon handling: By pressing button 2-4 you choose and fire the appropriate weapon. Button 1 would no longer be needed.
Important note: As written in the intro, Star Fuel has some intellectual touch. Facilitating weapon handling might ruin this touch so this suggestion might not be a good suggestion at all.

Weapons: Graphics
Currently, the weapons have very different graphics and it's a bit hard to memorize which graphics stands for which weapon.

Suggestion: I think that the real weapons, i.e. laser and crusher should have similar graphics while the harvester could have a different graphic. This will make memorizing the weapons easier.

Asteroids and Star fragments: Predictable paths
Asteroids and star fragments move over the screen. After crossing the full screen three times the path of the asteroids and star fragments repeat. This way the player can predict the path easily and position the weapon easily and then wait for the object to pass (again).
Suggestion: Whenever the objects leave the screen a random horizontal or vertical offset could be added. At the beginning of the game this offset could be "0" to make the game easy.

Asteroids: Rotation or morphing
Currently the asteroids move smoothly over the screen. After a short while you know the shapes (graphics) of the asteroids.
Suggestion: Asteroids graphics could be rotated. Rotation could be set once when a new asteroid appears. It might be changed very slowly during its flight on the screen (if performance / frame rate allows to do so).

As an alternative to rotation there could be morphing: There could be some template shapes (X/Y point lists) for asteroids and when creating an new instance of an asteroids a point list is used and to each X/Y position of the point list a random offset is added. This will make each asteroid look pretty unique.

Game play: Weapon Delay
When shooting a weapon the weapon fires immediately.

Suggestion: On of the weapons (I'd suggest the harvester) could have a short delay before firing which the user has to take into account when using the weapon. This would make the game even more challenging and "intellectual".

Sub-suggestion: During the short delay the weapon graphic could change; e.g. the weapon could rotate and/or it could change in size and/or brightness.

Game play: Time limit
Currently, Star Fuel is nice and calm to play but I think there's no real action. You can collect asteroids slowly and forever if you want. This might change in the higher levels but I think there should be **some** action from the very beginning on.

Suggestion: Instead of just a fuel gauge, there could be two separate gauges: One gauge for the total energy and one gauge for the star fragments collected. The total energy goes down and down and limits your time that you can spend on the level. The star fragments increase whenever you collect star fragments. The two gauges could be vertical or horizontal bars with dark vertical lines as pitch lines to indicate the minimum value (zero) and the maximum value.
Note: These two gauges won't look as cool as the current gauge but users will understand it - even without game overlay.

Sub-suggestion: The weapon magazine (currently the large horizontal gauge) could be a vertical bar, too. This way the player has three vertical (or horizontal) gauges to see the status of total energy, star fragments, and weapon. A small legend could be added on the overlay and/or (if the frame rate allows) also as real graphic to indicate which vertical bar stands for what.
Alternatively the weapon magazine and the limitation of fire ressources could be completely removed. (In the first levels it has no effect; anyway; not sure whether it has much effect in higher levels)

Sub-suggestion: The dark pitch lines for the minimum and maximum values of the gauges could be omitted when reversing the star fragment control: The gauge for star fragment control could start at 100% and decrease whenever you collect star fragments.

Please note that the suggestion "Gameplay: Time limit" would require big changes to the game play of Star Fuel. I think the game play would improve quite a bit; the time limit might make the game really challenging.


· GAME MANUAL
Please note that I post suggestions for the manual because I didn't find any bugs and have few suggestions for the game, only.

Manual: Order of weapon graphics
Currently, it's a bit hard to understand and memorize which button activates which weapon and which graphic represents which weapon. The game manual helps here but the manual is a bit confusing: Order of buttons and order of weapon graphics don't match. And in table "weapon characteristics" the order is different, again.
Suggestion: Order of the weapons should be the same throughout the manual and follow the order of the buttons, i.e.
1. Harvester
2. Laser
3. Crusher

Manual: Some typos
To do you*r job...
...a*n* infinite number...
The farther we are away f*ro*m ...

- o -

[hcmffm]

Next "review" is for Robin's Doodle Jump.

DOODLE JUMP

· GENERAL NOTES
Doodle Jump is a jump and run game. Unlike the original game of the same title for Android and Windows Phone you use the controller and you don't draw/doodle. The game's concept is simple but the fast game play is addictive.

· SIMILAR VECTREX GAMES
- Staiga
- Kingdom of Heaven

· WHAT I LIKE
- Jumping and scrolling is combined very well
- Falling down sequence (Uaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!)
- Good impression of height when using the overlay (as one can see in the video)
- "Jump" game (there are not many of them on the Vectrex)

· BUGS
ADDED 18th June:
Scrolling repeated
When jumping the screen is scrolled. Sometimes you jump on a platform and the screen is scrolled and even though you just stand around the screen is scroll for a second or even third time.

· SUGGESTIONS

Score: Height in meters
Currently, with every platform the score increases by some few points. I wonder whether the score could increase a bit more (e.g. 3 points) and thus reflect the height in meters (i.e. the score is the height the player climbed up.). A small "m" could be added to the score, i.e. "000242 m" to make this clear to the user.

Game variation: 'Melting platforms'
ATM, you can stay on a platform and think about your next jump as long as you want.

Suggestion: There could be platforms which melt away, i.e. if you jump one or more times on them they disappear. These melting platforms should be visually marked, e.g. brightness could be different. And with every jump the brightness could be fainter and finally the platform fully disappears.

Increasing difficulty
Currently, the difficulty doesn't increase throughout the game. This means that skilled players can play endlessly.

Suggestion: Steadily increase difficulty by...
.. increasing vertical distance between platforms.
...offering less and less platforms to jump on.
...using melting platforms (see above)

Sound variation: New platform reached
Currently, the sound is a bit monotoneous.

Suggestion: There should be additional sound effects. Some ideas:
- Whenever reaching a new platform there could be some nice "success" sound.
- When falling down there could be a sound which changes in frequency (Uaaaaa!)

Graphics: Player
The current player graphic reminds me of an Egyptian ankh.

Suggestion: Perhaps the player graphic can be changed that it looks a bit more like a human being or animal (see drafts below; my favourite graphic is #5).

Graphics: Player animation
In order to make the game even a bit more lively, the player could be animated like in Atari's "Clowns" (i.e. player's arms move a bit around).

"Falling down" animation
In the current "falling down" animation during the falling the perspective changes from side perspective to top perspective.

Suggestion: During the falling the perspective should remain either side perspective or top perspective. I'd suggest to use top perspective and use the zooming of the body/player from large to small (which is used at the end of the animation) even much more (see draft animation below)

Control: Buttons
Currently, Doodle Jump can be played using the joystick left/right, only.

Suggestion: In addition to joystick left/right also buttons should be supported.

Drafts for player:


Falling down animation:



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[hcmffm]

SPACESHIP CENTAURI
This "review" is for Christoph's Spaceship Centauri.

· GENERAL NOTES
Spaceship Centauri is a vertical shooter. A speciality of the game is that you must not let pass any enemy; otherwise you die. The game can be played well and by adding some variations to the gameplay it could become a nice shooter.

· SIMILAR VECTREX GAMES
- N.E.L.S.
- Debris & Debris Revisited
- Vectrexians

· WHAT I LIKE
- Overlay: nice graphics
- Synopsis: funny text
- Explosion of the Spaceship Centauri (great!)
- Levels, clear beginning, and ending of the game (achieved score is displayed at the end)
- Big and special vector font
- Demo mode available

· BUGS
None found.

· SUGGESTIONS

ADDED 18th June:
Score: Small size
As Malban pointed out the score which is displayed during the game is a bit small and thus hard to read. In the emulator it's not too bad but when playing on the real Vectrex hardware one can see the problem.

Suggestion: Would be good if the score was a bit larger in size.

ADDED 18th June:
Explosions: Loudness
On the real Vectrex the explosions sound really cool. When shooting a lot it's hard to hear the explosions, though.

Suggestion: Explosions should be a bit louder and/or shooting shot be a bit softer.

Space ship: graphics
Currently the spaceship graphic uses areas while the enemy ships don't.

Suggestion: A bit more consistent graphics. See drafts below.

Gameplay: EMP
Currently, the EMP is availabe only once. EMPs can be real life savers.

Suggestion: Would be cool if the player could get another EMP at some stage or start with e.g. three EMPs.

ADDED 18th June:
Gameplay: Shooting Frequency
Currently the player can shoot at pretty high frequency. This allows the player to master levels by just moving from left and right and back and shooting all the time.

Suggestion: Frequency of shooting should be reduced a bit so that a shot becomes something valuable. This way the player will be forced to actually aim at a target and the shoot (instead of brainlessly shooting).

Gameplay: Gauge
Currently, there is a gauge at the top which indicates the current number of shoots that fly around. It's fun to see how fast one can shoot but this indicator doesn't really add to the game.

Suggestion: Either remove the game or use the gauge for something differerent. E.g. it could indicate the time till the EMP is available, again.

Game story: Game over when passing
Currently, you must not let pass an enemy pass otherwise you loose the game. In the synopsis this is not mentioned and to the player it's a bit unclear what the story is behind this because the whole game plays in free space.

Suggestion: There should be some indication/reasoning why you lose the game when an enemy passes. Some ideas:
- Thin dark horizontal line which indicates the surface of a planet or a huge mother ship. Also the overlay could have some drawings.
- End animation could reveal the reason: E.g. explosion of a planet or attack of the Spaceship centauri from behind.

Explosion: Size and shape
The explosion of the enemy ships is nice but a bit small and too symmetric. The same explosion animation is used for all enemies.

Suggestion: Explosion of enemy ships could be a bit larger and it should be non-symmetric (see Minestorm explosion).

Sub-suggestion: The explosions might even vary a bit, e.g. the individual lines of the star explosion could be a bit different in length with every explosion.

Gameplay: Difficulty
Playing the game is fun. ATM, with each level difficulty is increased by making opponents faster and faster.

Suggestion: Difficulty should be increased in various ways, not just by speed. Some ideas:
- Different opponents which fly differently and/or which require to be shot more than once.
- Swarms / formations of enemies which are difficult to handle (e.g. some on the right and some on the left side)

Next level after last spaceship
The level changes in the middle of playing. It can even happen that some spaceships are flying around.

Suggestion: Each level should end when shooting the last spaceship of that level.

Next level after a longer pause
Currently, the switch from one level to the next is quite quick and if there wasn't the writing "Level <x>" you wouldn't even notice.

Suggestion: The pause in between levels should be a bit longer. This gives the player some time to relax and mentally prepare for the next level.

Different end animations
Currently, the game ends when hitting an enemy or when an enemy reaches the bottom of the screen. In both cases the spaceship explodes.

Suggestion: It would be good if there were different animations for crashing and for passing. Perhaps there could be an exploding planet because the enemies have fiinally reached the planet and destroy it.


"Game" -> "Level"
Currently, in the menu the user can select "Game" 1 to 99.

Suggestion: Rename "Game" to "Level".

"You failed" -> "You lost"
Currently, if you crash your spaceship or let an enemy get past you the game ends and the text "You failed" is displayed.

Suggestion: "You failed" sounds a bit harsh to me. A better wording might be "You lost" or the known "Game Over". (Hopefully there is a way to win the game, too.  )

Spaceship drafts:


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[hcmffm]

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Feedback below is for Jan-David's Kingdom of Heaven (KoH).

· GENERAL NOTES
Kingdom of Heaven is a jump game very similar to Doodle Jump. Main difference is that in KoH you jump by pressing button 1 while in Doodle Jump you jump permanently. Both games are appealing, the differtiator in between games could become the speed of the game: Doodle Jump permanent jumping is ideal for a fast and short game while KoH could be also a fast game but with more thinking and planning. Below please find various suggestions that make KoH more of a precise and long(er) game; these suggestions are marked with two asterisks (**).

· SIMILAR VECTREX GAMES
- Staiga
- Doodle Jump

· WHAT I LIKE
- Increasing difficulty (smaller platforms, vertical speed)
- simple, addictive gameplay

· BUGS
ADDED 18th June:
Initial player shape (minor issue)
At the start of each game the player falls on the platform. Currently the shape of the falling is the shape used at the end of the last game.
Expected: Player shape at start-up should always be the same.

· SUGGESTIONS

Level change: Clearer indication
Currently, the level changes while playing. The level is displayed in the top right corner.

Suggestion: The level change should be clearer. Some ideas:
- Sound when new level begins
- Pause the game for some seconds and display "LEVEL <X>" **
As written above, KOV could become a not so fast but precise and long jump game. Therefore I'd suggest to really pause the game for a short while and explicitely announce every new level. This way the player knows that he/she succeeded and he/she can relax and mentally preprare for the next level.

Difficulty curve **
Currently, the difficulty of the game increases very quickly. After (estimated) two minutes you are done.

Suggestion: Difficulty curve could be a bit less steep. This way game take more time which is o.k. for KoH.

Score display
Currently, the score is displayed at the end of the game. During the game the level is displayed, only.

Suggestion:
- Display both level and score during game
or
- Display score instead of level. Display level whenever the level changes (see above)

- Display level on the end screen.

Variation: Bonus items **
Currently, the game is nice and simple to play. KoH could be a bit more complex and provide a bit more variation.

Suggestion: Bonus items could be placed on some platforms that the player can collect. The bonus items could score extra points.

Sub-suggstion: The bonus items could be items (e.g. keys) that must be collected. A new level starts whenever the player has collected all required bonus items.

Jumping: Change in direction **
Currently, you can jump around and even during the jump you can control left and right.

Suggestion: Jumping could be more strict: After starting a jump the player can set direction (left/right) only once.

Jumping: Height of jump **
Currently, when pressing button 1 you jump. Height of jump cannot be controlled.

Suggestion: Height of jump might depend on the length you press button 1.
Note: Not sure whether this would be a real improvement to the game because the games main task is to jump/climb the highest platforms possible.

Game play: Running on platforms **
Currently, you can jump around.

Suggestion: In addition to jumping around the play might run on the platforms. While jumps could be limited in horizontally the running wouldn't. To make use of the running the platforms would require to be even wider.
Notes:
- Wider (larger) platforms will reduce framerate and might increase flickering.
- This would be a big change to the game but offer new possibilites.

Graphics: Brightness
Currently, it looks as if all graphics have the same brigtness.

Suggestion: Platforms could have a lower brightness.


Graphics: Player
The player's graphic might be improved. Below find various drafts

Graphics: Platform
Currently, the platforms look nice and I didn't even expect and know that one could draw that many platforms (lines) without flickering. The platform looks 2D.

Suggestion: By changing the graphics a bit (turn it upside down) and using brightness one could make the platform look 3D (see drafts below). Please note that the second draft uses three lines per platform, only. This might help to increase frame rate and/or allow for larger platforms.

Drafts for player:


Draft for platforms:


Draft for platforms (using only three lines per platform):


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