Squish 'Em for the 2600 (Done!)

[neotokeo2001]

Nice game.

 

[ZylonBane]

I realize this is still pretty much a tech demo...

What? The last binary he posted is, as far as I can tell, feature-complete. The only things left are some minor gameplay and audiovisual tweaking to more closely match the computer version.

[Cybergoth]

What? The last binary he posted is, as far as I can tell, feature-complete. The only things left are some minor gameplay and audiovisual tweaking to more closely match the computer version.

 

Well, the scoring seems incomplete, there's no real game frame, no game over either, the unsquishing of monsters and the squishing SFX are missing, etc...

 

So while the play mechanics are mostly there, it's no game yet

[Vic George 2K3]

I enjoy this game more than I do Crazy Climber.

[ZylonBane]

Well, the scoring seems incomplete, there's no real game frame, no game over either, the unsquishing of monsters and the squishing SFX are missing, etc...

Actually they do unsquish, it just takes a while currently.

 

And the computer version doesn't have a title or game-over screen either.

[Cybergoth]

But the game does end I suppose?

 

BTW: Can't remember the goal actually. Was it going up as fast as you can, or squish as much as possible?

[neotokeo2001]

But the game does end I suppose?

 

BTW: Can't remember the goal actually. Was it going up as fast as you can, or squish as much as possible?

 

SQUISH 'EM

 

How far would you go for a suitcase full of money?

Would you climb a 48 story building? How about a

building still under construction? Yes?

 

If there were bricks falling from the roof aimed right

at your noggin? And what if it were crammed full of creepy critters trying to knock off?

 

Well then, Go play SQUISH 'EM!

Squish 'Em - With amusing and colorful graphics and 15 levels of stompin' good times! Why is it called Squish 'Em? Well, Remember those pesky critters that chase you around the building? Of course you could dodge 'em, or even jump over 'em.

But, It's much more fun to time your leap just right and...

SQUISH 'EM!

[vdub_bobby]

Hi folks. Sorry, Manuel, I couldn't find time to get online over the weekend and upload a PAL60 binary.

 

And you're right - it's no game yet! But soon, soon...

 

Big, big changes over the weekend! I worked hard.

 

Here's a list:

-All music is done.

-Enemy movement routines are done. All enemies move properly and at the correct speed.

-All sound effects save one (game over SFX) are in and done. For me, the sounds (music and effects) are at least half the appeal of this game, so I am very pleased with how well they translated. Let me know what you think!

-Unsquishing timing is correct now.

-Color change upon level change is done.

-Extra life display is fixed and done.

-Score flashing during music is in and done.

-Crazy flashing screen when you grab a bonus item is in and done. See if you can spot the difference between this version and the A8 version. When I'm done I'll post somewhere a list of differences - it's already bigger than I hoped it would be, but most things are so minor it doesn't really matter.

-Fixed (crosses fingers) a weird bug when you died and started to climb a girder on the same frame. (It would reset the game.)

-New enemy generation is done; you shouldn't see weird things after level 15 (like Manuel mentioned above) anymore.

-Kernel is done.

-Fixed movement-speed error (you moved sideways too quickly).

-Created PAL60 version. I would appreciate input on this. The colors look mostly OK, though maybe the players shirt could be darker.

 

Known bug:

-Sometimes it will display two bonus item floors in a row. I *think* this happens when you die one floor before the bonus item will appear. Then when you restart it goofs up.

 

Yes, I only am aware of one bug. Please let me know if you see any others!

 

Next on my list:

-Finish brick-falling routine. I was able to finally disassemble that part of the A8 code and figure it out - it is rather odd how it's set up, but pretty simple once I figured out what was going on.

-Finish death routine.

 

That will wrap up the gameplay elements, after that it's just game-state and interface stuff. I'm hoping to finish by Friday! We'll see...

 

Source, NTSC binary, and PAL60 binary in the zip file.

SquishEm20071209.zip

Edited December 10, 2007 by vdub_bobby

[Cybergoth]

YAY! Amazing change list. Must play. that. now!

 

BTW: Isn't the A8 version 8K? How can yours still fit into 4?

[vdub_bobby]

YAY! Amazing change list. Must play. that. now!

 

BTW: Isn't the A8 version 8K? How can yours still fit into 4?

A8 is 8K ROM, true. First 4K of it is zeroes...

 

 

It's getting close, though. For a preliminary working binary that I can give to Danny I might need to go to 8K. I can always tighten it down to 4K later.

[Cybergoth]

-Created PAL60 version. I would appreciate input on this. The colors look mostly OK, though maybe the players shirt could be darker.

 

I think those are very good colors. I played up until the enemies started randomizing and never encountered any problems with the choice of colors. Excellent

 

Uihjah, uihjah, they unsquish really fast in higher levels... can't wait to play that under real "life" conditions

 

I can confirm the 2-item bug, experienced it once as well.

 

This is the #1 item on my shopping list for this Christmas, thanks again!

[+Nathan Strum]

Great update!

 

I was going to post a bug about a collision detection issue - that if you squish the outside edges of some of the shorter creatures, it registers as a "miss" and then you die when the creature walks into you. The player sprite doesn't come down far enough to hit some of the creatures at their outer edges.

 

Then I played the A800 version, and discovered it does the exact same thing.

 

Now that's an accurate port!

[vdub_bobby]

Great update!

 

I was going to post a bug about a collision detection issue - that if you squish the outside edges of some of the shorter creatures, it registers as a "miss" and then you die when the creature walks into you. The player sprite doesn't come down far enough to hit some of the creatures at their outer edges.

 

Then I played the A800 version, and discovered it does the exact same thing.

 

Now that's an accurate port!

 

Yeah, the graphics are all exactly the same and both versions detect collisions using the hardware collision registers (i.e., the sprites have to overlap for a collision to register), so it should be the same. If it's any consolation, I have the same issue, though - I too often die on the very first level when I just miss squishing a short monster.

 

EDIT: And speaking of squishing, one change I forgot to mention: all scoring is now in *except* that you don't get 200 pts for jumping over a monster (yet).

Edited December 10, 2007 by vdub_bobby

[Albert]

Wow, what a change list!

 

I've missed a few versions, so I need to sink my teeth into this one!

 

I do hope you're able to squeeze the game into 4K.

 

..Al

[ZylonBane]

Wow, looking good! A few comments--

 

The background siren sound seems like it might be a little louder than the computer version. Or it might just be my imagination.

 

The leg-lifting and dieing sounds should have the same "modulation" (for lack of a better word) as the various musical sounds.

 

The little tune played when you grab the briefcase sounds like it's missing a note or two near the beginning.

 

Will you be adding the falling sound for the bricks?

 

Is there no way to have the brick use a missile instead of (I'm assuming) the ball? It can be hard to spot when it's the same color as the playfield.

[vdub_bobby]

Wow, looking good! A few comments--

 

The background siren sound seems like it might be a little louder than the computer version. Or it might just be my imagination.

It might be. I'll look into that, thanks.

The leg-lifting and dieing sounds should have the same "modulation" (for lack of a better word) as the various musical sounds.

Not sure what you mean...

The little tune played when you grab the briefcase sounds like it's missing a note or two near the beginning.

I don't think so, but I'll double-check.

Will you be adding the falling sound for the bricks?

 

Is there no way to have the brick use a missile instead of (I'm assuming) the ball? It can be hard to spot when it's the same color as the playfield.

Yes, and no.

 

Have to use the ball. But I can stripe it pretty easily, which I might do if more folks complain and/or I think it's warranted.

[+Nathan Strum]

I think it'd be nice to see it striped.

[Cybergoth]

Here's another vote for trying striped.

[tmont]

Very awesome.

[vdub_bobby]

Latest:

 

-Brick routine is in and 95% done. Bricks don't appear until the 3rd level, don't appear when a suitcase is on the screen, and fall about every 4 seconds otherwise. What isn't done is the sound - it doesn't sound real great and I need to double-check the timing of when it starts - it starts before the brick appears, but I need to check on how long before.

-When putting in the brick routine I reworked how the level/floor data is handled and I think that, as a happy side effect, took care of all of the bugs in how enemies were generated. I.e., I don't think you'll see two consecutive floors of bonus items anymore, plus some other less obvious bugs were fixed. The pattern should be: Every time you die, begin a new building, or begin a new game you start off with a screen without enemies. Moving up, you should see 15 floors of one enemy, then 16 floors of the next enemy, then 1 floor with a bonus item, then 15 floors of the next enemy, then 1 floor with a suitcase, then all blank floors above the suitcase. When you die you restart exactly where you were except that all visible floors are cleared of enemies. So if you climb 5 floors, then die, you should still have to climb 10 more floors before you see the 2nd set of monsters. Except! If there is a suitcase on the screen when you die, it should move you down so that the suitcase is on the first floor that's scrolled in.

 

I'm pretty sure that's all working correctly, though I'm not sure what should happen when you die while in-between floors nor am I sure what actually does happen!

 

Anyway. About striping the brick - give this version a couple of plays and then tell me what you think. With the sound cue, with the brick always falling directly on top of you, and with the consistent timing of when the brick falls, I think you are a lot more aware of where the brick is; it's much easier to anticipate.

SquishEm20071210.zip

[+Nathan Strum]

Are extra lives working correctly?

 

I ask because sometimes I die, and don't lose any lives. Sometimes I hit bonus items and lose lives. Sometimes, the lives counter is split like this:

 

And sometimes, I'll get several bonus items in a row, allowing me to rack up a bunch of lives all at once:

[vdub_bobby]

Are extra lives working correctly?

 

I ask because sometimes I die, and don't lose any lives. Sometimes I hit bonus items and lose lives. Sometimes, the lives counter is split like this:

 

And sometimes, I'll get several bonus items in a row, allowing me to rack up a bunch of lives all at once:

Arrrgh! Is that using the latest binary?

 

And to answer your questions:

No, extra lives are not (yet) working correctly. You do not lose lives when you die.

 

I was aware of the other bugs but I thought I fixed them all in the last version.

 

By the way, it will display up to 6 extra lives out of a possible 127. EDIT: I mean, it will when I get it working correctly...

Edited December 11, 2007 by vdub_bobby

[+Nathan Strum]

Arrrgh! Is that using the latest binary?

Yep.

[vdub_bobby]

Arrrgh! Is that using the latest binary?

Yep.

Well, I found the display bug, that's an easy fix. The multiple-bonus-items-in-a-row bug is more perplexing. Can you give some details? How often did it happen? Was it immediately after a death? When did it happen? After you passed the 15th level and start the random-enemy level(s)?

 

Thanks.

[Cybergoth]

Well, I found the display bug, that's an easy fix. The multiple-bonus-items-in-a-row bug is more perplexing. Can you give some details? How often did it happen? Was it immediately after a death? When did it happen? After you passed the 15th level and start the random-enemy level(s)?

 

I could just replicate it for a dozen times in my game. It was not really related to death, I more got the impression that it happened when it wanted to do the bonus anyway. It started from the second randomized building onwards.