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Post by Peer on Apr 6, 2021 2:50:28 GMT -5
Greetings everyone!
I just got a message from the very first person (I know of) who beat the game to 100% 
My sincere congratulations go to Alan!
There is one other beta-tester who played through 100% by using "beta-testing methods", giving valuable feedback, but in terms of beating the game that doesn't officially count. Alan is the first who made it in regular mode, and that is pretty cool!
I am really happy now that it payed off to design all the levels and all the details of the final stage, and to add that final happy-ending scene. And I am also very happy that, so far, no one did encounter any serious bugs or crashes. And, of course, that the overall difficulty of the game seems to be okay. -ish  Many Cheers, Peer |
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Post by VectorX on Apr 6, 2021 11:51:59 GMT -5
Good to hear, congrats on the game and to Alan!
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Post by VectorX on Apr 14, 2021 23:33:38 GMT -5
Ugh...finally, finally, FINALLY responding to a few things on here, after all this time... *"(I want) More", Sisters of Mercy, I really liked their "Black Planet" song. Used to see that video a lot on a low-power video station here. They eventually went nationwide, but disappeared when no one would buy them out after a few years. *"Total Eclipse of the Sun", the original by Klaus Nomi, same as above, Now THAT was a huge surprise. I have this (now long gone) Rock Video mag where they had an interview of the guy who directed a Klaus Nomi video that was banned, who also did Zebra's first video (a group I was pretty ga-ga over in high school). In the last couple of years YouTube suggested a Nomi video at one point, which I was going "Klaus Nomi...wasn't that the singer where the guy who directed a video of his also directed Zebra's first one? The punk singer who died right after his debut came out?" No, he looked punk, he was a great opera singer! I was very surprised at that. I saw several of his videos and plan on seeing the documentary on him eventually. A shame he had to go so young. *"Sounds of Silence", Simon & Garfunkel, when the in-game sound was not yet working, Heh, and a mondo classic tune there... *"If you go to Zachadum, you will die!", Ambassador Kosh, from the TV series "Babylon 5", about this project… One of my all-time favorite sci-fi series, right up there with Firefly! Quite the variety! |
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Post by Peer on Jul 11, 2022 9:32:14 GMT -5
Greetings everyone!
Sorry for the long pause and the long silence here. Several things have prevented me from doing any personal Vectrex stuff during the past year. But now, in preparation of the Packrat release, I finally managed to implement some final touches of Gyrostronomy / Gyrostrology, which are several minor performance improvements, and an improved joystick control of the ship.
The new version is marked as beta 1-5. Please find it here in the download sections: eitidaten.fh-pforzheim.de/daten/mitarbeiter/johannsen/vectrex_lab/projects/gyrostronomy/gyrostronomy.htm eitidaten.fh-pforzheim.de/daten/mitarbeiter/johannsen/vectrex_lab/projects/gyrostrology/gyrostrology.htm Regarding the new control: It is now truly like in the original Gyruss arcade machine, i.e. an 8-way control (U, RU, R, RD, D, LD, L, LU), moving the ship to the desired clock position 12:00, 01:30, 03:00, 04:30, 06:00, 07:30, 09:00, 10:30 o’ clock. The only way to stop the ship at its current (in between) location is to release the joystick to center position. Before this, the game had 4-way control (U, R, D, L), moving the ship to 12:00, 03:00, 06:00, 09:00 o’clock, and with the ship stopping at its current location if you pressed the joystick to a 45 degree position (RU, RD, LD, LU). Thus it was easily possible to stop the ship anywhere, without releasing the joystick to center position. While developing, I just got used to this without thinking further about it, but several players reported this as the ship getting unwantedly stuck. This will not happen anymore with the new version. I do not know if the new control makes the game play easier or maybe more difficult with respect to being able to stop the ship anywhere you like. In general, it is a good strategy to keep the ship moving at all times in order to avoid being hit by objects or enemy fire, but in some levels (the obstacle runs) it now might be more difficult to find and move through the gaps. Many Cheers, Peer |
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Post by hcmffm on Jul 13, 2022 0:47:36 GMT -5
Thank you, Peer, for this update and putting even more effort, time, and love into your great Gyrostronomy / Gyrostrology! The new game control is a good reason that Gyrostronomy / Gyrostrology will be once more in the game list of the coming Vector War. Let's see... |
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Post by Peer on Jul 18, 2022 6:50:58 GMT -5
Greetings everyone,
I have now uploaded the new release versions 1.6 of Gyrostronomy and Gyrostrology. In addition, I have also polished the web pages of the games. You can find everything here:
Feedback is welcome. Should you spot anything crucial, please let me know immediately, because I have also sent the new version to Packrat.
Many Cheers, Peer
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Post by Peer on Jul 20, 2022 1:24:56 GMT -5
Forgot to send a big thank you to all the testers who provided feedback on the new controls: THANK YOU!
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Post by Peer on Sept 3, 2024 12:31:20 GMT -5
For your information: Gyrostronomy/Gyrostrology is now available as a physical release.
Produced and sold by Sean Kelly, featuring great artwork by Stephen Gross:
Gyrostronomy/GyrostrologyThis is a new and special version. It is a 64K cartridge which contains both 32K games. At any point during gameplay, you can instantly switch between the two games and continue your game on-the-fly in the other universe. Same stage, same progress. Graphics, sound and names will instantly switch, while the action goes on. The cartridge box, the manual and the overlay are also special, as each of them works for both games. Have fun! Cheers, Peer |
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Post by VectorX on Sept 3, 2024 12:54:58 GMT -5
^I'm going to guess that this is the very first Vectrex overlay that's reversible!  (Or actually flippable, if that's a word.) |
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Post by Peer on Sept 3, 2024 13:08:15 GMT -5
^I'm going to guess that this is the very first Vectrex overlay that's reversible! (Or actually flippable, if that's a word.) You are correct. Quote from Sean's web page: "Gyro* comes with the Vectrex's FIRST rotatable overlay!" (there is also a close-up image of the overlay). Now take a guess about the box |
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Post by VectorX on Sept 3, 2024 13:58:16 GMT -5
You are correct. Quote from Sean's web page: "Gyro* comes with the Vectrex's FIRST rotatable overlay!" (there is also a close-up image of the overlay). Duh, shows how much I read on that page (i. e. none!)! Now take a guess about the box I'm going to guess there's a different cover with the other game name on the back. Very clever with both game names on the cart too! |
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Post by Peer on Sept 6, 2024 8:27:33 GMT -5
Now take a guess about the box I'm going to guess there's a different cover with the other game name on the back. Correct |
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Post by D-Type on Sept 6, 2024 9:50:09 GMT -5
^I'm going to guess that this is the very first Vectrex overlay that's reversible! (Or actually flippable, if that's a word.) You are correct. Quote from Sean's web page: "Gyro* comes with the Vectrex's FIRST rotatable overlay!" (there is also a close-up image of the overlay). Now take a guess about the box Only correct if it was created > 4 years ago. Mine is only a prototype, though :-) |
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Post by Peer on Sept 16, 2024 4:01:22 GMT -5
You are correct. Quote from Sean's web page: "Gyro* comes with the Vectrex's FIRST rotatable overlay!" (there is also a close-up image of the overlay). Now take a guess about the box Only correct if it was created > 4 years ago. Mine is only a prototype, though :-) Then you are indeed likely the first who had such an idea. To give due credit: the rotatable overlay/box/manual thing was Sean's and Stephen's idea, and maybe David from Packrat had also a part in that. I only provided the special instantly-switch-between-the-two-games software version. |
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(Or actually flippable, if that's a word.)
