Vectrex Academy 2023 - final releases available

[Peer]

... and the next final release

Latest Updates:

• Final release of project "Cliff Jump" uploaded on 07/29/2023 at 09:00

This is a sports game diving competition. It is kind of similar to the corresponding events featured in the 80ies games "Summer Games" and "World Games" (C64 and Atari XL), and as far as I know new to the Vectrex.

Have Fun + Many Cheers,

Peer

[Peer]

... busy weekend, yet another final release Project "Vecdrift" has been completed.

Change log since last alpha version:

• Sound effects added
• New overlay
• New car designs by Helmut
• Road signs which impact the car behavior
• Four difficulty modes from easy to hard

Many Cheers,
Peer

[hcmffm]

Thank you for the many updates, Peer - even on the weekend. Looks and feels like end of Vectrex Academy 2023 is near. I've just tried out the latest versions of the games and I must say that I'm pretty impressed by the results this year. Games that are very playable. Games with sound and even music. And games which are challenging and addictive. My current favorite is Wet Cat with it's music and the smooth animation of the cat. But other games are also very well done. I hope that my feedback was motivating - I did notice that some games have been adjusted accordingly which is much appreciated. My congratulations to you Vectrex Academy 2023 students for your excellent effort and all the sweat and time that you have put into your Vectrex game! Well done!

Get in Shape
Very playable. Good that in each set there's a matching shape, now. "Eye of the tiger" music is a good idea for this brain training. I didn't recognize the title melody which sounds a bit sad. Difficulty throughout a game is a bit up and down but I guess this is on purpose and it's good because there are phases to relax, again.
Last wishes: Positive/negative feedback (e.g. sound) for each set. Highscore should not vanish until some few seconds have elapsed and then a button is pressed.

Tank Master
A good game with a lot of potential. I wished that the author continued his/her work.

Happy Bird
Can't really say much about this one. (Brett) playvectrex might post here, soon, and will leave some feedback regarding difficulty. Highscore should not vanish until some few seconds have elapsed and then a button is been pressed

Wet Cat
Very mature and cool game - my favorite.
Last wish: Title screen with cat graphic (cat seen from the front with randomly and slowly blinking eyes. I might help with graphics if desired.)

Fly High
Several difficulty levels are good. With joystick in diagonal direction this game is a bit simple to play (at least for me).

Freeride
Nice, calm game. Nice setup (downhill). A longer feedback will follow, soon.

Cliff Jump

Very mature and complete game with sound. A longer feedback will follow, soon.

VecDrift

Cool improvements. "Snow" is a bit too difficult to play, I think. Non-random order of traffic sign would be better to ensure that difficulty increases steadily.

As written above, Vector War XIII, a Vectrex tournament, will take place end of October. Wet Cat and Happy Bird are hot candidates for the Vector War. VecDrift and some more might be also in - I still have to play games a bit more and make up my mind.

- o -

[Peer]

... and yet another one

Latest Updates:

• Final release of project "Tee Time" uploaded on 07/30/2023 at 16:45

Minigolf for the Vectrex!

Many Cheers,
Peer

[hcmffm]

Vectrex Academy will end tomorrow, so long feedback doesn't make too much sense. There are some good reasons why I do write even more feedback:
- Feedback is a kind of appreciation
- Some authors might still want to continue programming (even if though it says "Final release")
- I feel like it.

Cliff Jump

Below please find feedback for "Cliff Jump", which has been programmed by PixelBlast. Final release (?) of Cliff Jump can be played online in a web browser or downloaded and played in an emulator or real hardware, see Vectrex project gallery.

· GENERAL NOTES
Right before the end of the Vectrex Academy you don't expect surprises. But Cliff Jump is another surprise. As Peer pointed out above, Cliff Jump reminds of Summer Games which appeared on the C64 and other homecomputers back in 1984. Graphics and animation was pretty outstanding at that time and Summer Games was much of a success. Cliff Jump is fun and challenging and so far I mastered only the first task, the forwards header. Actually, I had to to lookup and see what back-flip means. I've played on an original Vectrex console for about 15minutes, only, my maximum score was 35.

· WHAT I LIKE
+ Title screen with animated humans

+ Music

+ Cliff scenario with rough cliff and moving water.

· BUGS

When switching from cliff screen with score to next task, one can see the cliff jumper for a very short instance before next task is displayed.

· SUGGESTIONS

Below, please find various suggestions which came on my mind. Yes, I know it's final release but...

Scoring cards and digits of score

Currently, there is a four digit score and there are four scoring cards. This is a bit confusing and at first it's not clear whether a scoring card or a score is displayed.

Suggestions: 

- Use specific (large) size for scoring cards and (small) size for scores. 

- For zeroes (number) use a diagonal line in it.

- Perhaps a three digit score is sufficient. Or three referees and thus three scoring cards, only?

Order of tasks

Currently, first task is always "Forwards Header" and next tasks are random. Random tasks makes it difficult to learn because tasks don't repeat but every time there I'd a different task.

Suggestion: It would be good if tasks 1-3 would be fixed (not random). First three tasks should be easier tasks and perhaps both forward and backward so that player learns how to control the cliff jumper icludong rotation. This way, people can learn and master the initial tasks step-by-step and are prepared for the more difficult tasks.

Scoring

It's cool that scoring cards are displayed on after another - even with a sound.

Suggestion: Referees take their time, so scoring cards could be displayed in random order and even a bit slower.

Music

Currently, a few notes in the music sound a bit off e.g. third last note. Perhaps this is on purpose maybe it's not.

Suggestion: You may keep it or perhaps adjust notes a bit.

Naming of jumps
Currently, there are jumps like 002 Back flips. I'm not 100% sure but from what I can read in the internet, a back flip is backwards. But in CLIFF JUMP there is no way to jump or flip backwards. Are the naming of the jumps correct?

Tasks: Leading zeros or numbers in words

Currently, when a jump is announced, it says "003 AND A HALF BACK FLIPS", for example.

Suggestion: Number should be without leading zeroes ("3 AND A HALF BACK FLIPS") or even better numbers should be in words (e.g. THREE AND A HALF BACK FLIPS".

Immediate GAME OVER

Currently, once you loose your last life "GAME OVER" screen is displayed immediately. There is no splash and no sound.

Suggestion: Even when loosing your last life the splash shown and the splash sound should be played.

Three lives for a task (idea - not sure about this one)

Currently, if you loose a life in a task, you have less lives for the next task.

Suggestion: It might be a good idea to give the player three lives (trials) whenever a new task starts. I'm not sure about this one - good players might play Cliff Jump forever.

Text: Typos:

FORWARDS HEADER --> FORWARD HEADER (not quite sure about this one).

YOURE SCORE --> YOUR SCORE

Text: Colons (minor issue)

Currently, it says "HIGHSCORE SINCE STARTUP" (without colon) while it says "YOUR SCORE:" at the end of the game. "TASK" is without colon.

Suggestion: Either use a colon for both "HIGHSCORE" and "SCORE" or not (personally I wouldn't use a colon because it's pretty obvious that a highscore or score is displays). After "TASK" I would use a colon because right after task the name of the task is displayed.

Text "HIGHSCORE SINCE STARTUP" (minor issue)

Currently, it says "HIGHSCORE SINCE STARTUP". 

Suggestion: Typically highscores on the Vectrex are since startup, so addition "SINCE STARTUP" is not needed.

Text "YOU LOST" (minor issue)

Currently, once you lost your last life it says "YOU LOST" on the game over screen.

Suggestion: "You lost" sounds very negative. Perhaps just a "GAME OVER" or some other text might be more appropriate.

Text "PRESS FOUR TO START AGAIN" (minor issue)

Currently, it says "PRESS FOUR TO START AGAIN".

Suggestion: Typically, button 4 is named just "4", i.e. it could say "PRESS 4 TO START AGAIN".

· SUMMARY

Cliff Jump is an interesting game. It really hurts if you see the cliff jumper make a belly flop into the water. With some jumps I have little idea what to do - perhaps it's the naming or perhaps it's some secret control / button combination I haven't found, yet. Manual of Cliff Jump doesn't help much in that respect but that's fine - we'll find out.

- o -

[Peer]

Jul 30, 2023 10:02:59 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

...

Naming of jumps
Currently, there are jumps like 002 Back flips. I'm not 100% sure but from what I can read in the internet, a back flip is backwards. But in CLIFF JUMP there is no way to jump or flip backwards. Are the naming of the jumps correct?

Buttons select the respective jump, joystick controls forward or backward motion.

Thanks for your dedication to testing and for all your hard work!

[Peer]

Jul 30, 2023 10:02:59 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

... There are some good reasons why I do write even more feedback:
- Feedback is a kind of appreciation
- Some authors might still want to continue programming (even if though it says "Final release")
- I feel like it.

And your testing and writing reports is indeed highly appreciated!

And even "final" releases are sometimes bugfixed and/or continued. Vec-Man, for example, is at "final" release version 2-5

[hcmffm]

Jul 30, 2023 10:17:45 GMT -5 Peer said:

Jul 30, 2023 10:02:59 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

...

Buttons select the respective jump, joystick controls forward or backward motion.

Thank you for this valuable hint. Flip, Flip, hurray! Now, I can do backwards and forward flips. Perhaps a note in the game manual would be good.

Jul 30, 2023 10:22:07 GMT -5 Peer said:

Jul 30, 2023 10:02:59 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

... There are some good reasons why I do write even more feedback:
- Feedback is a kind of appreciation
- Some authors might still want to continue programming (even if though it says "Final release")
- I feel like it.

And your testing and writing reports is indeed highly appreciated!

And even "final" releases are sometimes bugfixed and/or continued. Vec-Man, for example, is at "final" release version 2-5

Good to read that my feedback is not in vain. And always good if authors still keep an eye on their games before the final "Final release".

[Peer]

Jul 30, 2023 10:29:59 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

Jul 30, 2023 10:17:45 GMT -5 Peer said:

Buttons select the respective jump, joystick controls forward or backward motion.

Thank you for this valuable hint. Flip, Flip, hurray! Now, I can do backwards and forward flips. Perhaps a note in the game manual would be good.

Second page of the manual: "Joystick - turning direction (left or right)". The icons on the overlay, at the joystick position, angular arrows, are also a good hint. That is how I found out

[hcmffm]

Jul 30, 2023 10:36:49 GMT -5 Peer said:

Second page of the manual: "Joystick - turning direction (left or right)". The icons on the overlay, at the joystick position, angular arrows, are also a good hint. That is how I found out

Blush - completely overlooked that one. Perhaps "Backward turning (left) or forward turning (right)" would be clearer.

[Peer]

Jul 30, 2023 10:46:21 GMT -5 hcmffm said:

Jul 30, 2023 10:36:49 GMT -5 Peer said:

Second page of the manual: "Joystick - turning direction (left or right)". The icons on the overlay, at the joystick position, angular arrows, are also a good hint. That is how I found out

Blush - completely overlooked that one. Perhaps "Backward turning (left) or forward turning (right)" would be clearer.

I had an unfair advantage. I force the students to design their overlays 80ies-retro-style, with joystick and button functionality indicators. So I knew exactly where to look for hints 

[Peer]

... submission deadline is rapidly approaching, here is the next one

Latest Updates:

• Final release of project "Vecventure" uploaded on 07/31/2023 at 09:00

Many Cheers,
Peer

[Peer]

... and last but not least:

Latest Updates:

• Final release of project "Vec T-Rex Run" uploaded on 07/31/2023 at 23:10
• Final release of project "1024" uploaded on 07/31/2023 at 23:00
• Final release of project "Get in Shape" uploaded on 07/31/2023 at 17:10
• Final release of project "Wetcat" uploaded on 07/31/2023 at 17:00

Please see change-logs on the project pages of "Wetcat" and "Get in Shape" to check for modifications since last versions.

Enjoy playing, and Many Cheers,

Peer

[hcmffm]

Thank you for your replies and most recent updates, Peer. That's all good news - looks like Vectrex fans have a whole bunch of new Vectrex games to play. And it looks like my long testing backlog gets even longer. I'll do a first play-test tonight and might post some short feedback.

[playvectrex]

Despite Happy Bird having some random hit detection glitch, it's still fun and addictive.

youtu.be/dTIT110XrLY