Contest - Win a Donkey Kong XM Box

[tep392]

11-May-13 - updated contest versions with latest bug fixes. 2nd place is still wide open for the DK XM box. Please post your entries!

 

current standings

 

1st Trebor 138,000

2nd KevinMos3 96,400

3rd chuckH 44,600

4th TEP392 12,800

 

 

 

30-Apr-13 NEWS FLASH!

 

I have a second box that I've decided to send out for the 2nd place winner. I'll give till this Friday for submissions. Don't think anyone will beat Trebor, but there is plenty of room to make second place. The changes I've just made to fix the fireball behavior on the cement level makes it a little easier since they can't come down the moving ladders any more.

 

Here's are some fixes for the latest release candidate.

1) Fixed problem with fireball coming down "invisible" ladder on cement level.

2) Fixed corruption to Mario sprite when going up/down near top of ladder.

3) Fixed bad pixel in "option" on the menu screen.

Not ready to make any color tweaks yet. My basement issues are behind me now so I will be getting my system setup again in the next couple days.

 

 

 

Hey everyone,

 

I havn't had much feedback on the release candidate I posted but I see it's being downloaded. Hopefully you are all trying it out. I really need everyones help playing this to flush out any remaining bugs, so I'm going to provide a little enticement. I have an extra DK XM box, courtesy of Marc Oberhauser that I will be giving away to whoever gets the high score in this contest.

 

 

I have modified the demo so that you can play up through level 4 and then it will jump back to the menu screen. It is set to play Japanese screen order and difficutly A only. Download the game from this post, not the DKXM thread.

 

The rules are simple. Start at level 0 and score as many points as possible before you either die or reach the end of the 4th level. You can play with emulation or on hardware. Please use hardware if you have a CC2. To enter the contest simply post a screen shot of your high score to this thread. The contest ends on April 30th. Who ever has the high score on that day will win the box!

 

EDIT: I'm going to look thru my stuff for something to offer as a 2nd place prize. So please post you scores. I think I have some Pac-man scratch off cards lying around somewhere.

 

Good luck and thanks for you participation!

Perry

 

dkxm_contest_ntsc_rc3.a78

dkxm_contest_pal_rc3.a78

dkxm_contest_rc3.bin

[Trebor]

Just to get the ball rolling:

 

 

Perry,

 

Two things:

 

1. *LOVE* the updated Kong and Hammer colors - Even closer to the arcade than before...Excellent!

 

2. I lost my last life thanks to a fireball coming down an "invisible" ladder. I do not believe the fireballs can go down the ladder path unless it is connected to the platform above on the pie factory level.

 

Everything else appeared flawless.

[tep392]

Hmm. Looks like a missed a detail in the fireball logic. They are never supposed to go down a ladder once they reach Kongs level on the Ramps or Conveyor screens. Thanks for catching that.

[Trebor]

Along those same lines came across another bug, not sure if fixing the first will fix this one. The fireball came down the area just directly right of the ladder onto the next ladder and got me. Literally floated down from the top with no ladder at first to the next platform, then down that ladder.

 

[Trebor]

Sorry Perry...but another bug.

This time on the elevator level. I was constantly going up and down the first few top most steps in trying to fool the fireball to go down his section of the boards ladders, when the graphics garbled for a second for Mario and then the colors in a strip/section of the area and near it are wrong for Mario:

 

 

EDIT: After I died the colors for Mario in the affected section returned to normal. I have not been able to replicate this issue and it is the first and only time it has happened.

[kenfused]

In both this one and the demo it looks like there is a bad colored pixel in bottom of the "O" in the word Order in Screen Order (at least in ProSystem).

 

And for the demo, which setting is harder "A" or "B", I think one is "B"=Expert and "A" is Insane?

Edited April 17, 2013 by kenfused

[ChuckH]

Am I right that you can't see the high score table?

Edited April 17, 2013 by ChuckH

[tep392]

I have two of the reported bugs figured out. Should be able to fix them tomorrow.

1) The change in mario's color and sprite at the top of the ladder. When you keep going up and down while Mario's animation sequence is "bending over", the sprite pointer get's out of sync and corrupted. The code thinks he's something else and changes the color in that zone. Not sure how to fix it yet, but I can get it to happen consistently which will help me track it down. In the meant time, just be more decisive about what direction you want to go.

 

2) blue pixle in the work "order" is just a font error.

 

I could not get the fireball on the cement screen to go down the "invisible ladder". I had fireball's running all over the place but they never went somewhere they shouldn't have. I have from time to time seen a fireball get stuck in a gap between two adjacent platforms, but it's pretty rare.

[tep392]

Am I right that you can't see the high score table?

 

You will need a High Score Cart or the XM module for the high score table to work. I'm not sure if it will work with the CC2. Can HSC functionality be enabled on the CC2 at the same time as a 144k cart?

[GroovyBee]

Can HSC functionality be enabled on the CC2 at the same time as a 144k cart?

 

Nope! There isn't a banking file for that hardware configuration.

[Trebor]

I could not get the fireball on the cement screen to go down the "invisible ladder". I had fireball's running all over the place but they never went somewhere they shouldn't have. I have from time to time seen a fireball get stuck in a gap between two adjacent platforms, but it's pretty rare.

 

Just happened again here:

 

The Fireball was on the top platform. Ladder was all the way down. Fireball went down the ladder not connected to the top (Not there) and is current positioned where circled with the ladder just starting to rise to the top platform again.

[Trebor]

Happened again. This time a before and after captures.

 

Fireball was stationed at the top, ladder is already down, and fireball makes it way down a "invisible" ladder:

 

[tep392]

Yes, all I need to do is comment out a few lines and the fireballs won't be able to go down from the top level. I'm a bit busy at the moment though with a foot of water in my basement.

[Trebor]

Yes, all I need to do is comment out a few lines and the fireballs won't be able to go down from the top level. I'm a bit busy at the moment though with a foot of water in my basement.

 

Sorry to read the Perry...that sucks.

 

I am not trying to rush or push the issue to be fixed. I was only trying to provide proof of its existence and regular reoccurrence, since when you tested and tried your results showed there is not a problem with the fireball behavior.

[tep392]

Thanks and understood.

 

I have seen the fireball go down the ladders when they are down. What I never saw happen was the fireball going down while aligned with the ladder below and right of the top ladder. It does look like the fireball is a little misaligned with the ladder horizontally. Might be that the body of the fireball isn't centered with the sprite.

[+Defender_2600]

Perry, I'm sorry for the water in the basement, this is an unpleasant nuisance.

 

On the screen of the girders, I've seen other things pertaining to the fireballs.

The 3rd fireball does not bounce but it is always attached to the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the 3rd fireball is on the top floor, often manifests a bug.

 

 

 

 

 

The fireball is blue but Mario does not have the hammer (it happened only once)

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you.

[Trebor]

What I never saw happen was the fireball going down while aligned with the ladder below and right of the top ladder. It does look like the fireball is a little misaligned with the ladder horizontally. Might be that the body of the fireball isn't centered with the sprite.

 

I had it happen again twice more. It is so fast and hectic, with all the other fireballs, I am just missing capturing it (On the third level). The fireball only does it when (ironic enough) the ladder is fully extended to the top, then the fireball goes down an "invisible" ladder to the right of it.

 

It is not an alignment issue. The entire fireball is clearly to the right of the extended ladder.

 

I'm determined to get a screen cap of it...lol.

[Trebor]

GOT IT:

 

 

What I noticed (at least on the last three times it has happened), it occurs around when things are real fast and furious with Bonus ~1900-1500.

 

EDIT...Then again, when it first occurred...looking at the screenshot I took above in the thread, the Bonus was all the way only down to 4700. So the Bonus/Timer is not a factor. Maybe the Level...Looks like the first time it was Level 3 as well. Maybe it has something to do with the number of fireballs present (?)

[+Defender_2600]

Along those same lines came across another bug, not sure if fixing the first will fix this one. The fireball came down the area just directly right of the ladder onto the next ladder and got me. Literally floated down from the top with no ladder at first to the next platform, then down that ladder.

 

 

 

...in your screenshot, I also see a piece of the hammer near the head of Mario:

 

 

 

 

 

And while I was playing, I also saw Mario completely change colors (sorry I do not have the screenshot).

It happened while Mario was climbing the last ladder under Pauline on girders screen.

 

 

[tep392]

Thaks guys. I'm noting all the things that need to be fixed but it might be several days before I can do anything.

 

Water is still seeping into the basement but flood is gone. Main issue was the sewer system backing up through the bathroom, which damaged everything I didn't get moved up stairs in time. I had two sump pumps running but they couldn't keep up. I have bathroom pipes plugged now so no more sewage can come in. New funace and water heater will be installed tomorrow morning. Now I'm trying to decide if I call in a cleanup crew or just order a dumpster and do it myself. Disinvection is my primary concern. This is coming out of my owm pocket so I'm being frugal. Fortunately my dog woke me up at 3am yesterday and I discovered it just as it was starting to come in. I was able to save a lot of things, most of which is kept in tubs. Saved all the Atari collection including the parts for DK XM production.

 

Getting back to the mystery invisible ladder, the code that checks ladder positions is specific for that screen. I'm checking for the fireball x position to be one of two values centered on the ladder. If the fireball is moving more than two pixels in a step, which is possible at the highest speed, it might not see the ladder. So I'm confused why it thinks there is a ladder. Unless it's moving after the ladder is detected so is misaligned when it starts to go down. I'll take a look at the timing of the animation updates and ladder detection code.

 

Here's how the speed works for the curious. The speeds are a function of a parameter I call difficulty. The value ranges from 1-5 so there are 5 possible speeds. The value of difficulty starts equal to the level number and increments by one every 23 seconds until it reaches a max of 5. The difficulty value is also used for other things like probability a barrel will go down a ladder. On level three it would start at 3 and reach 5 after 46 seconds. It takes the bonus timer about 99 seconds to count down to zero, regardless of starting value. edit: this is, of course, how it is done on the arcade machine.

 

Thats all for now. I need to get back to the basement.

 

PS. I know that no one has tested on a PAL system in hardware because they would have noticed some major graphical errors at the top of the screen. I'm working with Grooveybee to get that figured out.

[PacManPlus]

Ugh - good luck with the basement... Hope it doesn't end up costing you too much

 

BTW, your work is absolutely outstanding here. Wonderful job! You probably know the original code inside and out at this point - if there's any of it left.

[Trebor]

Perry,

 

Glad you caught the flood before things became worse. It reads like you have the bases covered - especially with disinfection being the primary concern. I hope a speedy, but more importantly safe and clean, home recovery from this. I wish you the best of luck.

 

Thanks for the info and looking into the issue(s) mentioned; it's appreciated.

[tep392]

Ugh - good luck with the basement... Hope it doesn't end up costing you too much

 

BTW, your work is absolutely outstanding here. Wonderful job! You probably know the original code inside and out at this point - if there's any of it left.

 

Thanks Bob. I would say about 10% of the code is untouched. Everything else has pretty much but modfied or replaced.

[bfollett]

Hardly worth mentioning (but I will). The left and right side of Donkey Kong's mouth don't quite match (where the lips are curled down on the ends). There are a couple of other less obvious differences from the left to right side, but that's the one I first noticed. Maybe it had to do with having to originally scale the graphics, but it looks to be an easy fix.

 

Bob

[Jinks]

I am waiting to play this when its done on cart.. I dont want to spoil it with emulators.. The screenshots look amazing.

We got record snowfall this year and its just going above freezing barely this year(record cold) We are expecting a flood when spring ever comes...its supposed to snow more for a couple weeks.. I got two sump pumps in floor basement when melting time comes and moved 4 feet of snow away from the house.. It should be 20cel out but its -4..sorry for the story needed to vent..