Devin

Hey all, I'm getting pretty close to finishing this project. In this release, I refined a bit of the gameplay and added the final two boxers. The only things left are some music and sound effect tweaks. I also plan to add rematch logic (which takes a few secs). This version contains a special screen where you can select your opponent. This will be removed in the final version. I need some very critical feedback on the opponents. Added the last two boxers. The first is an egomaniac from Madrid, Spain named K.C. Nova (yes, bad pun). He thinks he is "god's gift to women". His specials include "Disco!" where he dances and hits you with each pass and "I am so great!" where he can recover life. The second is a farmer from Topeka, Kansas named Russ Tick. He has a special called "Smackdown". I made the final changes to the internal macro engine. I won't have to update it ever again! Modified the block logic (well, the macros). Now when you block a punch, your block is "broken" and you have to re-block. This is the behavior in the Punch-Out series. When you are knocked down, your char flashes when you mash the button. When you get close to recovering, your character begins to shake. The title screen now supports joystick input .... and the reset button works on the rest of the game. I added some special behavior to the game. Knockdown Tomato Ken (first char) during his "Backup and Ketchup" for some fun. I implemented the difficulty logic. The game currently starts at level 2. Level 1 slows the computer down by half and doubles your punch power. Don't ask about Level 3... I modified the block graphic so your character crouches. The final line-up is as follows: Tomato Ken - Sacramento, California K.C. Nova - Madrid, Spain Wally B. - Canberra, Australia Rod Ickle - London, Britain Russ Tick - Topeka, Kansas Major Concussion - Annapolis, Maryland The to-do list: New title music New music for K.C. Nova's disco dance Start music for Russ Tick, and K.C. Nova Rematch logic Some more customized sound effects KO_Cruiser_WIP_2009_02_17.bin

They look so sad! It might be interesting to see how the angry eyebrows look.

Does your version have ghosts that can "see" Pac-man? If there is room for both designs, perhaps do both. The ghosts could use the Clay graphics when then are locked on. (Devin instinctively ducks for making an 11th-hour suggestion)

Thank you. Its always good to keep an eye on that brick wall heading towards our precious code!

I have a quick question. I want to keep track of the number of bytes left in a bank. When using ORG and RORG, which of the two values do I use. This is part of the code from a 16k cartridge: ; Bunch of code ECHO "---- BANK 1: ",($FFE8 - *) , " bytes left" ORG $DFE8 RORG $FFE8

I personally like the 5200 sprites a bit better. The Clay eyes are very artistic, but perhaps too complex for rapid gameplay.

Wow. Very impressive!

That might make an interesting idea!

I need to create more "time is running out" type effects. Perhaps I can create a different song for the last minute of a round or the final round. Right now, I have the pixel-per-second speed of most of the computer opponents set pretty high. I think I can get rid of the barrier feel by slowing down the computers and having the player be able to advance with the punches. I have this implemented with with Tomato Ken. I could also modify each character's script code to have them move back every now and then. That's an interesting idea. That could be added in a sequel.

I agree. Whether or not sprite is monochrome has little to do with the quality of the game. Some games, simply do not need multicolor sprites - they might not need to be colored or the "gradient" might distract the user from the gameplay. Take, for instance, the Homebrew Go Fish. It has monochrome sprites, but it is fine work of art.

Mashing the button will do the trick, but I don't have a nice visual indication. I will make the player's color flash and him twitch a bit I need to think of a sad tune... and I am not musically gifted! I'm sure when I try to come up with a better title song, I will create a melody, that when played at a lower octave, will be quite depressing.... I'm not to optimistic I can make that fit. I need to check into a 48-pixel trick using indirect addressing.

I just reassemble it! ... but I see your point. The next version will be hackable again. I haven't hooked them in yet. But what about that poor Select Switch.... doesn't it need love too? That would be cool. The bank I use for the title's and main loops has about $350 left. I got the 48-pixel trick to work. Is there a way to use indirect addressing for the 48 pixel and still keep in the time constaints? The button is used to recover, but i don't give any visual indication as of yet. In the Commodore 64 version, that would "bump" the opponent. However, I don't know if it is really needed. I can tie up+button to block. That is very doable - actually quite easy. I have the room in the player buffer for a victory image - and the "You Win" macro can be changed. The banks are getting a tad full. I have some space in the sound bank. I might be able to after everything else is done, but, I am not too optimistic. I am using the four banks as follows: bank 0 is for the title/win/lose screens and main program loops. Bank 1 is for the macro engine and the various computer scripts. Everything is controlled by the macros - and it gives some nice flexilibity. Bank 3 is the fight screen and main graphics. Bank 4 is sound. I call it during overscan. It has some room left - the sounds don't take much room. The jazzy fight music is about 22 bytes.

I have been quite productive - mostly thanks to the help I got in the Programming Forum. Anyway, this version is still "nerfed" for testing, but is pretty much complete. Added a title screen. The background music was the old knockdown music, but slowed down. I will make something a tad more interesting. The difficulty feature is not yet implemented. New knockdown music Added a You Win screen Added a sad Game Over screen New background for Major Concussion Major Concussion's cannon punch cannot be blocked or dodged (and will eventually will be a guaranteed knockdown). However, before he throws it, he starts laughing (yes, that's a laugh sound ). You can punch him and stop the super. I will now work on the last two boxers for the game. Afterward, I can work on the final difficulty settings and, then, well, I guess I am finally done! EDIT: I just uploaded a fixed binary. Before, I made a last-minute mistake and I forgot to set a variable to check if the button was released. As a result, it zipped through the Game Over screen before you can see it. KO_Cruiser_WIP_2009_01_14_fix.bin

Looks great!

Looks great. Perhaps the Spider can be after an aphid ... which does look like a little dot. Aphids are also eaten by lady bugs, hoverflys and wasps. Perhaps these can be your enemies.

Yes - at least in the emulator.

Thanks for all your help guys!

Hello again. I've attached a file that contains some possible start screens for the application. I would greatly appreciate your feedback and comments. Cheers!

Whoops. Bad typo on my side. I fixed the thread title.

Hey all, Does anyone have a link to a template on how to pull off the 42 pixel-wide sprite trick? Thanks.

Hello once again. I wanted everyone to know that I am still working on this project. Now that I have a nice break from teaching, I have been able to put some major effort into the program. I've attached the latest binary. There are huge number of changes. Some of the more noticeable are as follows: 16k now! Added 2 characters: Rod Ickle and Major Concussion Added some background music The main screen will allow you to select the 4 different boxers. This is only for testing. The final version will not have this feature. This is a nerfed version! The characters do not hit very hard. Mainly, I want to get your feedback on the scripts - what is good and what is bad about each boxer. Also please note that: I made the background a tad lighter than I plan to have it. Major Concussion's hair vanishes in pure black. Eventually, he will have a different background. The system will hang (loop forever) after the fight is over. I just haven't gotten around to the "Next Contender" logic. Major Concussion's "Cannon Punch" cannot be dodged. I will tweak the script later. The "specials" occur quite frequently. This was another tweak for testing. Anyway, I can't wait to hear your feedback. Have a great day! KO_Cruiser_WIP_2000_01_09.bin

You could have a graphical painter run around the screen. At the bottom, you can have 5 paint buckets - red, yellow, blue, white (make things lighter), black (darker). The character could run over to the can, hit the button, and that would increment the color level. It might be easier to just implement a lookup table rather than try to solve the problem algorithmically. This way, you can just index into a buffer and retrieve the correct color. The main task would be to keep track of the values of the different base colors (before they are "mixed"). Adding a color can simply increment its counter. If its counter is maxed, the rest are decremented. White and black can use the same variable, one increments, the other decrements. This is kind of how we did it in school, we just kept adding a colors until we got the right shade. Sometimes, we might add too much of one.. and then we just added a TON of the others to make it "go away". We were so wasteful as kids!

Interesting idea. The Atari 2600 does excel at colors. How about a game about a crazy painter? The character would have to mix paint to create the right shade - maybe to fix a missing spot on a wall, match some other object, etc.... The character naturally would have to match the color quickly, do the work, and go onto the next job. It might be better not to use RGB in this case. When people mix paint, they do it just like we all did in elementary school: red, yellow and blue paint! ... and perhaps white for brightness. That's my two cents.

There is not much to report at the moment. I did some experiments on the kernal code - to see if I could use pointers and still have enough RAM. I tried a few tricks, but, ultimately, I just don't have either enough RAM or clock cycles to use "workarounds". So, my upper limit of characters is 7 - which is plenty! Anyway, I am also working to make it ready for the move to 16k - which is almost is. When that happens, the development should speed up significantly.

Impressive! ... and a tad crazy... If I ever truly (and completely) go insane, I think this is what I will see.