Malban
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I have added some different collision detection, which should be better performing with a low enemy count.
I had to change quite a lot at different places… should probably be well tested…
… next beta…
The shots missing… was that more when many enemies are on screen or rather when there are only a few enemies?
Joystick.
Thats the effect of something I did on prupose for optimization.
I can take it out – doesn’t really matter – probably.
But horizontal axis will still take precedence over vertical axis.
1 – new shop sound effect when moving between items:
in my opinion the sound is a bit too aggressive and ‘out of place’ sounding, it would be better in my opinion if you have a simple short ‘beep’ sound, dont make it a low pitch sound, eg. a suitable sound would be like a ‘blip’ ‘blip’ ‘blip’ as you move between the items in the shopWill look at the sound again…
2 – at the first boss, i had the triple shot, i cant remember if i had autofire or not but anyway, when i killed the boss and he was exploding, i can still keep firing bullets, and some bullets are stuck around the middle of the screen. do you need a video recording of this issue? note i only ever play on real vectrex, never emulation (vide)
Will look at it again…
3 – i think i mentioned before: after completing minestorm, could you instead display that you receive cash $1000
example: instead of the current display: “Success! 10000 bonus“, change to “Success! $1000 bonus” (or: “Bonus! 1000 Cash“) (or if you have space/cycles, you could display both.. so display that you been awarded 10000 points and 1000 cash)Will do…
4 – if you get a weapon in the game because you collected EXTRA icons, in my opinion that weapon should be unlocked in the current game and you can now buy that again if u lose a life (currently you have set it so you can only buy the weapon grade one step below). this seems a bit irregular and uncommon to me, and annoying! lol
(ok it’s just my opinion of course but i wanted to voice this opinion) 🙂Won’t do 🙂 – otherwise you can “buy” the laser to early…
5 – i have mentioned this in the other thread: in achievements screen, for ‘Greedy’ page details, the text and cup gfx are overlapping
Already done
6 – just an opinion of course but, for the large alien which appears down low on the screen from the left and then moves across
Will not be changed.
8 – 3rd boss (the death star), i notice when i hit him with my weapon (i think i had triple shot), that he makes a ‘jerking’ movement now, at his top half (of the circle of his body) … i assume this is something new you added? – well to throw in my opinion, it felt to me like the jerk is a bit too severe and should be reduced (it’s a good idea that he jerks like that when he is hit, but i think it should just be a slight jerk and not as much as it is currently set to .. currently to me it looks a bit ‘glitchy’ because of the high displacement when he jerks)
Didn’t change anything. I’ll look at it. – But possibly this will simply stay…
9 – falling bonus icons in game:
i wanted to mention 2 of them, the ‘minestorm’ icon and the ‘extra life’ icon
in the game i played this evening, they were both too common in my opinion.
i must have got the extra life icon about 4-5 times in a single game (i played 79 levels). it seems it would be better if the chance of getting the ‘extra life’ icon was reduced .. so eg. maybe i might see it approx. twice in 79 levels seems better to me)
– the minestorm icon seems to me to be too common also (it feels like it should be reduced in odds a little, eg. reduced by 35% because it seems to me currently it shows up way too often)Didn’t change anything. This is pure random – the same randomness where you complained that Minestorm is to seldom :-).
Will probably stay10 – super diamond .. i know this is quite rare to see… however, i got this ‘bonus stage’ when i played tonight, and to me it feels a little ‘unfinished’, as in, there is not really any sounds here if i remember correctly? and also, you dont really do anything, just a big diamond comes to you. maybe you could reduce the big diamond size?
suggestion: …. have the short ‘diamond minestorm’ section like you have now but which has some slower moving regular sized diamonds, but then after a pause, the (reduced in size as its way too big now) super diamond flies down the screen but REALLY fast, so it is not easy to grab it. sometimes you might get it, and sometimes not. like in the picture below, u could set it so the little diamonds dont all move too fast so u can grab some, but the larger super diamond which only comes once, moves VERY FAST so its not easy to get it!That is not realy a “level” more an “intermission” scene. You can’t really do anything – except get 100000 points and some cash. Its a “reward” thing. Will not change except perhaps some sound.
Regards
Malban
I didn’t change anything. So it is all the same.
The collision detecttion is not in all cases optimal – I know.
If you only “just” are aware that some seldom shots are missing – I guess it is not too bad.
…
IMHO it is worst when using blaster shots…
Vectorblade_Beta33.bin – 17th August 2019
Same as 32 without the two mentioned bugs…
2 bugs I found…
a) the divider in the achievement is placed wrong
b) I think the game over screen hangs in an endless loop
… will be fixed soon…
The pitch of the voice has already been lifted.
I dunno if we can get more out of it. And Yesterday I discovered my Sound system doesn’t work anymore – so I can’t listen to it at the moment anyway 🙂
Vectorblade_Beta32.bin – 15th August 2019
Level 95 Boss? – I will have to look at it…
Things done with this update:
done: Helmut Page contents starts beyond up/down arrows
done: When a bonus letter is “moving” and a minestorm is entered – the
letter is remembered as collected, but not displayed in the “EXTRA” display!done: Helmut
– except the “Shots fired” and the “Shots hit”. On the second page it says just “hit” (Shots is missing).done: score rollover should award max score
done: waiting in “game over” screen repeatedly (after 5 minutes or so) awards bonus points
done: Helmut achievement sortings
done: to test
level intro sometimes missingdone: to test
blade ranks 4,3,2 not given!done: to test
Money rank 1 achievemnt not givendone: Helmut / VTK
First boss: Shot gets stuck (very minor issue)
Currently, when destroying the boss one of the shots remains in the air. It looks as if this shot is frozen.
If you keep on shooting you can do so but not in normal frequency.
Suggestion: Shots should dissappear and not freeze in the air.-> Could happen in any boss fight without autofire!
Hehe.
Actually I have no great preference about the ordering. My main concern is, that the achievements are achievable.
My test yesterday showed, that 4 of them are not achievable yet.I tell you what, following is the current ordering in “code” form.
First in the list is displayed first and scrolling is down.
I can easily change that to scroll up.Why don’t you order them the way you like – and I compile a version that displays it – and we look how that works out.
Only additional thing you must say is whether scrolling “up” from bottom (different than now), or “down” from top (like it is now):
achivementPointers: dw snr3_t,snr3_n,snr3_r, 0*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE1_SNIPER_RANK3 dw snr2_t,snr2_n,snr3_r, 0*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE1_SNIPER_RANK2 dw snr1_t,snr1_n,snr3_r, 0*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE1_SNIPER_RANK1 dw scr5_t,scr5_n,scr5_r, 0*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE1_SCORER_RANK5 dw scr4_t,scr4_n,scr5_r, 0*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE1_SCORER_RANK4 dw scr3_t,scr3_n,scr5_r, 0*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE1_SCORER_RANK3 dw scr2_t,scr2_n,scr5_r, 0*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE1_SCORER_RANK2 dw scr1_t,scr1_n,scr5_r, 0*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE1_SCORER_RANK1 dw mnr5_t,mnr5_n,mnr5_r, 1*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE2_COLLECTOR_RANK5 dw mnr4_t,mnr4_n,mnr5_r, 1*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE2_COLLECTOR_RANK4 dw mnr3_t,mnr3_n,mnr5_r, 1*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE2_COLLECTOR_RANK3 dw mnr2_t,mnr2_n,mnr2_r, 1*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE2_COLLECTOR_RANK2 dw mnr1_t,mnr1_n,mnr1_r, 1*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE2_COLLECTOR_RANK1 dw blr5_t,blr5_n,blr5_r, 2*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE3_BLADEMASTER_RANK5 dw blr4_t,blr4_n,blr4_r, 2*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE3_BLADEMASTER_RANK4 dw blr3_t,blr3_n,blr3_r, 2*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE3_BLADEMASTER_RANK3 dw blr2_t,blr2_n,blr2_r, 2*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE3_BLADEMASTER_RANK2 dw blr1_t,blr1_n,blr1_r, 2*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE3_BLADEMASTER_RANK1 dw ofr4_t,ofr4_n,ofr4_r, 3*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE4_OFFICER_RANK4 dw ofr3_t,ofr3_n,ofr3_r, 3*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE4_OFFICER_RANK3 dw ofr2_t,ofr2_n,ofr2_r, 3*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE4_OFFICER_RANK2 dw ofr1_t,ofr1_n,ofr1_r, 3*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE4_OFFICER_RANK1 dw spr4_t,spr4_n,spr4_r, 3*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE4_SPY_RANK4 dw spr3_t,spr3_n,spr3_r, 3*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE4_SPY_RANK3 dw spr2_t,spr2_n,spr2_r, 3*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE4_SPY_RANK2 dw spr1_t,spr1_n,spr1_r, 3*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE4_SPY_RANK1 dw chr4_t,chr4_n,chr4_r, 4*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE5_CHALLENGER_RANK4 dw chr3_t,chr3_n,chr4_r, 4*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE5_CHALLENGER_RANK3 dw chr2_t,chr2_n,chr4_r, 4*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE5_CHALLENGER_RANK2 dw chr1_t,chr1_n,chr4_r, 4*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE5_CHALLENGER_RANK1 dw blas_t,blas_n,blas_r, 2*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE3_LASER dw quad_t,quad_n,quad_r, 2*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE3_QUADRO dw trpl_t,trpl_n,trpl_r, 2*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE3_TRIPPLE dw loss_t,loss_n,loss_r, 4*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE5_BIGGEST_LOSS dw greed_t,greed_n,greed_r, 1*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE2_GREEDY dw life_t,life_n,life_r, 1*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE2_9LIVES dw all_t,all_n,all_r, 1*256+ ACHIEVEMENT_FLAG_BYTE2_ALL dw 0Vectorblade_Beta31.bin – 13th August 2019
Just a compile with the latest changes.
I did a “little” test game just now…
I played
100 levels easy
100 normal
100 hard
100 impossible
54 super impossible
in “one game”. I got all secrets all ranks and about 12 million points (though VB rolls over at 9999999 to 9000000).That took quite some time… I guess about 3 hours :-).
Not fixed discovered bugs during play:
- level intro sometimes missing
- Money rank 1 achievemnt not given
- blade ranks 4,3,2 not given!
Everything else was fine :-).
Following changes/considered/done since last version:
Jacek:
new boss animations
done: boss 1
done: boss 2
done: boss 3 (stays the same)
done: boss 4!!! not done: Helmut / VTK
First boss: Shot gets stuck (very minor issue)
Currently, when destroying the boss one of the shots remains in the air. It looks as if this shot is frozen.
If you keep on shooting you can do so but not in normal frequency.
Suggestion: Shots should dissappear and not freeze in the air.-> I was not able to reproduce this.
I explicitly remove all player shots upon death of the boss. And also there is no
code that even calls “shotDisplay”.
Please if you encounter this again hit “1” (the key) to save the game.
Better yet – PAUSE the game – open Dissi, enable debug mode and
on vecxi press the disk symbol with SHIFT pressed.
This will take a few seconds – but it will save the game with all history.
Please send me the saved game files (in directory “serialize” the newest StateSave file)!!!George
In shop “bullet” counter (bar) can go negative
-> Can not reproduce! (see above debugging)done – Helmut
Shop sound <> shot sound
Currently, in the shop when selecting a different item, a short sound is played. The sound ressembles
very much the sound when you shot (shop sound = shot sound).
Suggestion: During the game you hear the shot sound very often.
It would be good if in the shop one heard a different sound.done – Boss levels are not displayed as Level + number anymore
Helmut
Level 25 twice?!
Currently, there are two level 25: There is level 25 Boss allowed by level 25 normal. This is a bit confusing.
Suggestion: From my point of viewer boss levels should mark the end of a larger unit.
The first unit is levels 1-24 and level 25 should be the boss level.
After that the levels 26 with new enemies should follow.
In beta 28 it says: “LEVEL 25 BOSS”. Changing this to just “BOSS” or “BOSS LEVEL” would be a simple and effective solution.done: messages spellings wrong
done: to Test
Helmut:
Blaster: Achievement achieved but not displayed as achieved (Bug)
In this game I’ve achieved the blaster and could buy the quadro shot. When looking in the list of achievements,
the “Blaster” achievement isn’t hooked and the trophee graphic isn’t displayed.done:
Helmut
Year of copyright
Currently, when starting Vectorblade it says (c) 2018.
Suggestion: (c) 2019not done: (no space left)
Helmut
Inner animation when attacking
Currently, enemies have some inner animation when displayed at the top. When flying and attacking, the enemies have no inner animation.
Suggestion: Add a minor inner animation to attacking enemies. This will make enemies and game look even more lifely.not changed – no time (in game time)!
Helmut
Number of highscores
Currently, four highscores are displayed, only.
Suggestion: Display five or even 10 highscores.
Notes:
– 1, 3, 5, or 10 highscore entries feel ‘natural’ to me. Four entries is somehow odd.
– Displaying ten highscores would make the screen look too cramped and would require a complete redesign.
So five highscores would be best, I think.half changed: awards are only given when shotcount >1000
Helmut
No Sniper > 100%
Currently, with double or triple shots you can get a hit rate > 100%.
My impression is that once you die and you have a hit rate > 100 % you don’t get any sniper rewards.
Sugestions: Sniper rewards should be rewarded even with a percentage higher than 100%.
Rank 3 – 90%
Rank 2 – 100%
Rank 1 – 120%not changed: Helmut
Shop: Size of symbols
In the shop, in the top left the symbol of the selected power-up is displayed.
Currently, the symbol is displayed in normal size, i.e. the size that is used within the game.
The top left area looks pretty empty.
Suggestion: The symbol could be displayed a bit larger. This way, one can recognize the symbol more
easily and the empty area is filled.
-> no game time left. I could do this – but have to remove something elsedone: Helmut (single arrow)
Single and double arrows
Currently, there are single and double arrows used as indicators for the list:
– Status info uses double arrows
– Achievement list uses single arrows
Both lists use paging for displaying the various items. In Status info the item at the very bottom is displayed again
on the next page at the very top. This means that some items are displayed on two pages.Suggestions:
– Use single arrows for both lists (the double arrow is not helpful for the user I think).
– When paging in status info the item at the very bottom should not displayed on the next page at the top, again.Note:
The list in the shop scrolls item by item and doesn’t display items pagewise.
So the list in the shop is different to the list of achievements and the status info.done: Helmut (Laser costs 5000)
Some thoughts on the laser:
With laser the game is really much simpler. But, if I understood right,
once you die you loose everything (=greatest loss). And I do die during playing the first 50 levels -even with laser. A new laser could be bought for just 1000 bucks which is not much compared to the other stuff. So you can gather money (using the known technique) and when buying things in the store you always keep a bit of money for powering up the player ship and even buy a laser, again. This worked out for me several times.
Suggestion:
The laser could be more expensive (e.g. 2500 bucks or even 5000 bucks).
This way its hard to get a laser and the laser remains something special from the bonus side and from the money side.done: VTK
Scroll text not always centereddone:
– money – no speech (gets on ones nerves)Helmut (still relevant?)
Currently, there is line-wise vertical scrolling in the shop and paging (Achievements screen, Status screen) use joystick up/down.
Suggestion: For paging use joystick left/right instead of up/down. Appropriate arrows indicate this.
This will help the user to understand the concept of scrolling and paging better and usage gets more intuitive.Malban
VectorbladeWheel.bin – 12th August 2019
This is a compile especially for the “wheel of fortune” test.
It starts with “EXTR” given and only “A”s drop :-).I am not 100% content with the whole thing. “Beautifiers” are welcome. Only thing to keep in mind is that I have in that bank only 31 bytes left (I already squeezed a lot). I didn’t touch bank 0 yet, since I wanted to keep the MH option open.
It is as of now pretty “quiet” – and doesn’t really display which EXTRA does what. Should I leave that for the player to figure out?
This is the only “sequence” that I “stuffed” right in the game. RAM management doesn’t really allow much within the game, because all the game information is held in RAM and that makes it difficult.
For YOUR info:
LASER – as before gives you laser + autofire
MONEY – gives you 5000 credits
LIVES – gives you full lives (9)
POWER – gives you full power (6)
LOCK – gives you 15 locks
EQUIP – gives you full speed, full bullet speed, max bullets, armor, 10 bombs, and 1 minute + timer
IMMUNE – gives you immunity to single shot and double shot drops
SECRET – gives you the secret rewards: sccopy lock, money sucker and status enhancement
YES
All of them are pretty damn nice – I think the money 5000 is even the worst of the lot :-).
Thing is while getting one EXTRA is pretty easy, getting two or three of them is pretty hard… so that might even that out.Anyway… pls tell me your thoughts
Malban
For information…
This is my current todo list… have I listed everything you guys are concerned about – or did I miss anything?
done - Boss levels are not displayed as Level + number anymore Helmut Level 25 twice?! Currently, there are two level 25: There is level 25 Boss allowed by level 25 normal. This is a bit confusing. Suggestion: From my point of viewer boss levels should mark the end of a larger unit. The first unit is levels 1-24 and level 25 should be the boss level. After that the levels 26 with new enemies should follow. In beta 28 it says: “LEVEL 25 BOSS”. Changing this to just “BOSS” or “BOSS LEVEL” would be a simple and effective solution. done: messages spellings wrong done: to Test Helmut: Blaster: Achievement achieved but not displayed as achieved (Bug) In this game I’ve achieved the blaster and could buy the quadro shot. When looking in the list of achievements, the “Blaster” achievement isn’t hooked and the trophee graphic isn’t displayed. done: Helmut Year of copyright Currently, when starting Vectorblade it says (c) 2018. Suggestion: (c) 2019 not done: (no space left) Helmut Inner animation when attacking Currently, enemies have some inner animation when displayed at the top. When flying and attacking, the enemies have no inner animation. Suggestion: Add a minor inner animation to attacking enemies. This will make enemies and game look even more lifely. not changed - no time (in game time)! Helmut Number of highscores Currently, four highscores are displayed, only. Suggestion: Display five or even 10 highscores. Notes: - 1, 3, 5, or 10 highscore entries feel 'natural' to me. Four entries is somehow odd. - Displaying ten highscores would make the screen look too cramped and would require a complete redesign. So five highscores would be best, I think. not changed: awards are only given when shotcount >1000 Helmut No Sniper > 100% Currently, with double or triple shots you can get a hit rate > 100%. My impression is that once you die and you have a hit rate > 100 % you don't get any sniper rewards.Sugestions: Sniper rewards should be rewarded even with a percentage higher than 100%.
-> TODO
Change sniper rewards to be more difficult (needed percentage > 100%)not changed: Helmut Sniper achievements: One at a time? Currently, if you have a hit rate of 90% or more you get all three sniper achievements at a time once the game ends. This way you can play one game with precise shots and your are done with all sniper achievements. Suggestion: Sniper achievements could be rewarded one by one, i.e. in one game you can get one achievement (the lowest), only. (not sure...) Helmut perhaps: COLLECTING RANK MARKERS IN ASCENDING ORDER WILL GIVE YOU GREAT BENEFITS! and COLLECTING E-X-T-R-A IN CORRECT ORDER WILL MAX YOUR WEAPON! Splitting the secret message has two benefits: 1. Messages are easier to understand. 2. The EXTRA can be last secret that you can buy. This helps us in the laser discussion, I think, because the laser secret will be revealed last. Helmut / VTK First boss: Shot gets stuck (very minor issue) Currently, when destroying the boss one of the shots remains in the air. It looks as if this shot is frozen. If you keep on shooting you can do so but not in normal frequency. Suggestion: Shots should dissappear and not freeze in the air. Helmut (probably not changing) Shop: Size of symbols In the shop, in the top left the symbol of the selected power-up is displayed. Currently, the symbol is displayed in normal size, i.e. the size that is used within the game. The top left area looks pretty empty. Suggestion: The symbol could be displayed a bit larger. This way, one can recognize the symbol more easily and the empty area is filled. Helmut (pending?) Single and double arrows Currently, there are single and double arrows used as indicators for the list: - Status info uses double arrows - Achievement list uses single arrows Both lists use paging for displaying the various items. In Status info the item at the very bottom is displayed again on the next page at the very top. This means that some items are displayed on two pages. Suggestions: - Use single arrows for both lists (the double arrow is not helpful for the user I think). - When paging in status info the item at the very bottom should not displayed on the next page at the top, again. Note: The list in the shop scrolls item by item and doesn't display items pagewise. So the list in the shop is different to the list of achievements and the status info. Helmut Some thoughts on the laser: With laser the game is really much simpler. But, if I understood right, once you die you loose everything (=greatest loss). And I do die during playing the first 50 levels -even with laser. A new laser could be bought for just 1000 bucks which is not much compared to the other stuff. So you can gather money (using the known technique) and when buying things in the store you always keep a bit of money for powering up the player ship and even buy a laser, again. This worked out for me several times. Suggestion: The laser could be more expensive (e.g. 2500 bucks or even 5000 bucks). This way its hard to get a laser and the laser remains something special from the bonus side and from the money side. Jacek new boss animations Helmut Shop sound <> shot sound Currently, in the shop when selecting a different item, a short sound is played. The sound ressembles very much the sound when you shot (shop sound = shot sound). Suggestion: During the game you hear the shot sound very often. It would be good if in the shop one heard a different sound. Helmut (still relevant?) Currently, there is line-wise vertical scrolling in the shop and paging (Achievements screen, Status screen) use joystick up/down. Suggestion: For paging use joystick left/right instead of up/down. Appropriate arrows indicate this. This will help the user to understand the concept of scrolling and paging better and usage gets more intuitive. George In shop "bullet" counter (bar) can go negative Nico When returning to the beginning after a game, you get directly to the desktop. As I really like the title screen It would be nice to get there first. Nico On the desktop screen you begin with greetings, which is kind, but it would be more informative to show the different bonus items first. I'd love to see a really short introduction text, like "Captain V. Tiberius Rex - you are the last hope to rescue the galaxy from the Alien invasion...." on this screen. VTK Scroll text not always centered Unclear!: Crash: Star wars boss, player on the complete right, destroyed by laser, 4 shot Unclear!: VecFever? crash after "achievment officer rank 2"? - do level select -> and hide it again - scrolling smoother (y) in intro text? - money - no speech (gets on ones nerves) - laser?? - VecFever support - triangles on desktopn top/bottom not equal? - minestorm success also print about 500 credits? - in demo mode also do a high score table? - Hardcore mode - add beta tester credits - MH
