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Post by vectrexroli on Oct 26, 2019 11:40:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the game, lots of fun! :-)
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Post by Peer on Oct 27, 2019 1:34:26 GMT -5
Just saw this page www.vectrex.co.uk/news.htm currently showing 22nd Oct 2019 update, which has a picture of Vec-Man with a nice overlay. Have you considered making a version of the game that requires a dedicated overlay with the maze on it? I know you tweak the maze between levels, maybe you could have cutouts in the maze that are filled in with vector lines, like doors? If you didn't need to draw the maze, you would save some CPU cycles and then be able to make the playfield bigger. Although maybe you've had enough of coding it by now :-) Thanks for the link, had not been aware of it before 
Regarding game elements printed on an overlay: I am not really a fan of this, and I advise my students not to revert to such "tricks" when trying to improve performance. This usually works well with emulators, but not with real consoles. Images sizes and scaling on real Vectrexes can vary so much that it is hardly possible to find a playing that works on all devices. At least that is my experience.
With Vec-Man, I am lucky, as I do not have any performance issues  The game (almost) never goes beyong the 50hz barrier. One other (and much more important) reason is that all 256 levels have unique and different maze layout. There are no common elements which could potentially be put on an overlay.
Enough of coding? No, can't ever have enough Unfortunately just not the time realize all those ideas cramped up in my head...
Cheers, Peer
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Post by Peer on Oct 27, 2019 1:38:00 GMT -5
playvectrex spotted a (fortunately minor) bug in Vec-Man release version 2-0: If you finally die in level 10, the highscore display will incorrectly read "HIGH 0" instead of "TOP 10". Also, if you finally die in level 100 (anybody?), then the highscore display will incorrectly read "TOP 00" instead of "HI 100".
Many thanks for reporting this!
That was a classic off-by-one bug. The game play is not affected at all, only the highscore display, and only for levels 10 and 100. I have fixed this. A new version is now available for download on the Vec-Man web page. The version number will now say "RELEASE 2-1", so you can also check this if you do not know which binary version you have. Please fetch the new version.
Or just don’t die in level 10 or in level 100 Many Cheers, Peer |
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Post by hcmffm on Oct 27, 2019 4:52:09 GMT -5
Thank for your prompt reply and immediate fixing this minor Vec-Man bug, Peer! PS: "A Vectrex Academy Game" - I much like that subtitle. |
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Post by Malban on Oct 27, 2019 10:37:54 GMT -5
One suggestion for the controls.
In "my" pacman (game for PC), the movement can be done one step ahead.
Meaning, e.g. when going down and next corner (not back) you can go left/right, you can steer
left or right in advance (and release the joytick), the game than remembers the direction you want to go, at the corner it than steers the way you wanted.
Dunno if others would appreciate it - but I got so used to it when playing pacman, that I think it is a great feature...
Cheers
Malban
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Vec-Man
Oct 28, 2019 2:05:53 GMT -5
Post by Peer on Oct 28, 2019 2:05:53 GMT -5
One suggestion for the controls. In "my" pacman (game for PC), the movement can be done one step ahead. Meaning, e.g. when going down and next corner (not back) you can go left/right, you can steer left or right in advance (and release the joytick), the game than remembers the direction you want to go, at the corner it than steers the way you wanted. Dunno if others would appreciate it - but I got so used to it when playing pacman, that I think it is a great feature... Cheers Malban Darn, nobody seems to care that I had already officially declared feature freeze… Thanks for the suggestion Malban, I know what kind of control feature you mean. Since the following might also be of interest to other developers, let me bore you with some details I did some performance optimization (or rather performance decision) in an early development stage. The BIOS routine which evaluates the current position of the controller can be configured to evaluate both the x-axis (horizontal) and the y-axis (vertical) movements, or just either of them. Evaluating both axes takes longer than evaluating just one (about 300 cycles if I remember correctly). At any time, Vec-Man can reverse his current direction of movement, which is either horizontal or vertical. However, 90 degree turns can be done only when Vec-Man is at one of the intersections of the isles of the maze. Currently, whenever Vec-Man is not at an intersection, only the controller axis which corresponds to his current direction of movement is checked. Both axes are checked only if he is at an intersection. In term of screen coordinates, there are 27 steps between two positions of the maze grid (minimum distance between two intersections). This yields an average performance gain of about 288 cycles, compared to always checking both axes. And you know, every cycles counts So, that is the reason why the controls currently work as they do, and not as you suggested. But with the current performance being good as it is, I think it should be safe to implement what you asked for. Still, I would like to hear the opinions of the others. Who else is in favor of this? Cheers, Peer |
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Vec-Man
Oct 28, 2019 2:15:29 GMT -5
via mobile
Peer likes this
Post by D-Type on Oct 28, 2019 2:15:29 GMT -5
Completely agree with Malban, in the Vector War games I've played, the Vec-Man wanders off in all sorts of directions for me because you can't pre-select your next direction change. This is a key part of the game mechanic...instead of watching the ghosts and planning strategy, I'm having to ignore the ghosts and watch instead that I execute the next turn correctly.
Funny how it wasn't a problem the few times I tested previously, but now I'm in a tournament... :-)
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Vec-Man
Oct 28, 2019 2:30:45 GMT -5
Post by Peer on Oct 28, 2019 2:30:45 GMT -5
Funny how it wasn't a problem the few times I tested previously, but now I'm in a tournament... :-) Now that you mention it, I realized that I should have started with "Why didn't all you guys say this while beta testing?" 
Hmm, since the Vector War is currently going on, and since adding this feature might be a tiny game changer, Helmut, could you please decide if this is something for now, or rather for after the end of the Vector War?
Cheers, Peer
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Vec-Man
Oct 28, 2019 2:33:57 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by D-Type on Oct 28, 2019 2:33:57 GMT -5
Also, in real Pac-man, the Pac-man sort of 'slides' round corners, possible because the corners of the maze are rounded, not 90 degree angles, it gives him a slight edge on the ghosts in twisty parts. That would be quite a tricky game mechanic to add, so I'm not suggesting you do it!
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Vec-Man
Oct 28, 2019 2:44:25 GMT -5
Post by Peer on Oct 28, 2019 2:44:25 GMT -5
Also, in real Pac-man, the Pac-man sort of 'slides' round corners, possible because the corners of the maze are rounded, not 90 degree angles, it gives him a slight edge on the ghosts in twisty parts. That would be quite a tricky game mechanic to add, so I'm not suggesting you do it! I tried that at one point, but it did not turn out to work very well. Or maybe just the ways I tried to implement it did not work very well. So I did not pursue that any further. But therefor I added some other things in Vec-Man that give him a slight edge on the ghosts... |
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Post by Malban on Oct 28, 2019 6:36:00 GMT -5
Hi,
I waited especially for you to say "I am finished" before mentioning it :-).
The cycle hit of 288... You might be able to circumvent the "hit" if you ask the directions each round alternately :-) In Vectorblade I have similar optimizations - there I ask one round the buttons, the next round the joystick position.
It's always only a few cycles to save - but if you have different/many small things - the sum counts...
Cheers
Malban
PS Dunno if I remember correctly, but I have the impression, that the "faster" bonus is negated by a power pill...
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Post by Malban on Oct 28, 2019 6:38:00 GMT -5
I tried that at one point, but it did not turn out to work very well. Or maybe just the ways I tried to implement it did not work very well. So I did not pursue that any further. But therefor I added some other things in Vec-Man that give him a slight edge on the ghosts... Still... If a ghost is near to you he won't catch you on a straight path - but cutting a corner, he might get you...
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Vec-Man
Oct 28, 2019 6:58:42 GMT -5
Post by Peer on Oct 28, 2019 6:58:42 GMT -5
I waited especially for you to say "I am finished" before mentioning it :-). Well, then wait for the day you declare Vectroblade beta testing to be over...
Perhaps we should introduce gamma testing as the new thing? |
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Vec-Man
Oct 28, 2019 7:03:31 GMT -5
Post by Peer on Oct 28, 2019 7:03:31 GMT -5
The cycle hit of 288... You might be able to circumvent the "hit" if you ask the directions each round alternately :-) In Vectorblade I have similar optimizations - there I ask one round the buttons, the next round the joystick position. Yes, that is a nice trick, but I already tried that
That technique means that Vec-Man effectively responds slower to the player's controller movements. It is just a tiny fraction, but at that time I had the impression that I could actually feel that disadvantage during gameplay. So I decided not to go that way. |
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Vec-Man
Oct 28, 2019 7:05:46 GMT -5
Post by Peer on Oct 28, 2019 7:05:46 GMT -5
Dunno if I remember correctly, but I have the impression, that the "faster" bonus is negated by a power pill...
Yes, the "fast" bonus is cancelled when a power pill is picked up later on. This is intended. And that is why the manual, with respect to bonus items, says "Choose wisely when to use them" |
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The game (almost) never goes beyong the 50hz barrier. One other (and much more important) reason is that all 256 levels have unique and different maze layout. There are no common elements which could potentially be put on an overlay.
