Sprybug

Thanks for letting me know about the music/sound effect toggling issues. This is something I'm going to have to revisit on how I'm tackling it. I don't have any flags/bits set for it and rely only on the switches themselves to toggle it, since I really didn't have any more bits to spare. Well if there's no way to compare what it was before if you switch a toggle switch in the middle of the game, then I can't tell it make certain adjustments since it doesn't know if it was on/off before. I may make it that you have to have them set at the beginning and then not switch it after if I am going to do this, or else it's going to do what you are experiencing. So far now, just not mess with that and decide if you're going to have music and sound effects on or off. I may end up having to remove this option in the future, if I can't find a few extra bits to reserve for this option.

Yeah it's worth a shot, because I'm not sure what else to try. I'll try a few things after work and if it works out, I'll quickly send it over to James in time for the show. I omit the goto on short jumps because it saves on cycle time and/or ROM space, and on a project like this, every tiny bit helps!

Any help would be appreciated. I looked throughout the rest of the code and there's nothing that else checks for the up/fire button other than the main menu when you press up, so I don't know what's going on. Early in the code it checks and sets the bit if INPT1{7} then Genesis_Controller=1 else Genesis_Controller=0 Later on in the controller check section I do this if Genesis_Controller then GenButton if !joy0up then Zed_Shoot=0 : Shoot_Debounce=0 if joy0up && bally=Reset_Object && !Shoot_Debounce then gosub ZedFire bank6 goto EndControlCheck GenButton if INPT1{7} then Zed_Shoot=0 : Shoot_Debounce=0 if !INPT1{7} && bally=Reset_Object && !Shoot_Debounce then gosub ZedFire bank6 EndControlCheck joyup works just fine, however the exact same checks for button C just makes it act like your fire button is stuck. Also, INPT1{7} works in reverse. When it is high, it is not pressed, and when it is low, it is pressed.

Hey James, thanks for all your feedback and testing for me to let me know what was going on with my scan line count. I've done some work tonight. I fixed the scan line count on the autoscroll and the no music freezing on the boss should be fixed too. Couldn't fix the Genesis Controller problem for now. It's a tiny part of the code, and I've stared at it so long, I can't see why it's not working. It's programmed in almost the same way that Princess Rescue was programmed for it. It doesn't make any sense to me. I'm going to take a look at it this weekend and see if I can figure out. Maybe I can get some help with it. It just makes absolutely no sense why it's acting stuck. It did work when I demo'd it for PRGE, so I don't know why it's not now. So for now, I've disabled it, and you play it just like you would a regular atari controller where up is fire. As for the jump and scroll, I found that it also happens when falling or just in the air in general during screen scrolling. There's a lot more conditional checks going on for the area around you to know if you're going to land, hit the ceiling, a wall, etc, and that's adding to the cycle time. I cleaned it up a touch and even took out a line of redundant code that wasn't needed anymore. It's better now, but it still goes to 263 here and there. I haven't seen it go above 263 since these changes. I'm really close to getting it within parameters. A few more goes at those routines should do the trick. I'll give that another look through this weekend, but for now it's better than it was, so here you go! Hopefully, even with the occasional 263 line count, it'll play nice with your capture. RobotZed_26.bas.bin

A configuration option could go like that with the b&w / color switch. I used the difficulty switches already for the sound/music options. I'm still considering options and trying to figure a few things out. Right now, the Genesis controller option isn't working properly and I can't figure out why. I programmed it just like I did with Princess Rescue, but it's acting as if the C button is stuck and I've stared at the code for so long and can't see what is causing it. I hope to figure out what's causing it, because it's kind of important. XD

This is interesting. I know that I configured Stella to break out if it ever exceeded the 262 line count. Then I double checked my configuration file and noticed it was missing. I then checked my laptop and found it on there. I must have forgotten to configure Stella for my home PC, which I had been using to work on Zed for the past year. So I put the new autoexec configuration file where it was supposed to go and it loaded in stella but it still didn't break out. I noticed that I was using an older version of Stella, so then I updated it to the latest version and then noticed that the autoexec configuration file name had changed so I made sure to match it and it still doesn't break out when I exceed the line count. I went into the debugger to check things out and it loaded the autoexec.script file which only has breakif {_scan>#262) in it, but it still never broke out. Then I went into the debugger on jumping while scrolling and I saw that it was breaking the 262 line count there, but it still isn't breaking out of stella when that happens. Not sure if this script command has changed in the newer version or not. I'll have to see in which half of my game cycle that line count exceeding is happening, since I have 2 drawscreens per game cycle. I noticed it was only happening half the time when I jumped on scroll, so it's happening in one half of it somewhere. I made some additions in the recent months for special interactions with background elements for the new levels, and maybe all the additions I made exceeded my count. I'll see if I can get to the bottom of this. Also, I noticed that Stella now autoconfigured for the Genesis controller now and it is acting like I am not depressing the shooting button. Not sure if it does that on the real machine or not. I have no way to test on a real machine as I have an original Harmony cartridge and not the latest one that can do 64K Roms.

Great! I'll be sure to make this one. I've been able to catch a few of your streams here and there. I'll be sure to attend! I'll also do that quick fix tonight and upload it here and replace the old binary, in case you decide to turn the music off.

Ah, yes! That would explain it then. I'll just need to add code then to just do my screen transition after the explosions instead of waiting for the music to end since there is none.

Nice. I didn't know Stella had that ability. I manually configured it on my end for it. You can define what key/controller button is that 2nd Genesis controller button and use that button for fire.

I had run across this before in the past occasionally and my issue was with how it was dealing with how it was attempting to load up the victory music. Sometimes it would pull up the wrong song and start cycling through a few other songs instead and would stay there. The program looks for the end of the victory song to continue, and if that doesn't play it will stay here. Is that what happened? If so, it looks like what I had done didn't fix it after all and it's back to trying to figure out what is actually happening here. Thanks for the response!

I developed my own system. I did try to make a program to help aid me in generating the code on the PC, but I had a difficult time with the libraries I was using making the sound work correctly, so I did it the old fashioned way. I made a more rom space friendly optimized data format for the music/sound data by taking the standard way of doing it, which was Channel0:volume,instrument,frequency,Channel1:volume,instrument,frequency,length and made changes to the soundtrack playing routine to do some "decompressing" by changing the format a little bit. I still use the above format, however if the instrument and frequency do not change, but the volume does, then all I do is add 16 to the volume number and omit the instrument and frequency for each channel. The routine sees that the value of the volume is above 15, subtracts the value by 16 for the correct volume number, leaves the instrument and frequency alone and then reads the next byte in the data statement for channel 1's data and then does the same thing there. It's saved me over 1K of space on a couple of the songs! So for example instead of: Data Song 8,4,10,4,12,20,3 6,4,10,3,12,20,3 4,4,10,4,12,22,6 .... You can do Data Song 8,4,10,4,12,20,3 22,21,3 20,4,12,22,6 ... etc,etc. I also have a few pieces of paper I printed out with music keyboard keys on them and I have written in what each note pertains to by instrument and frequency for quick reference. Also on these sheets, I wrote down the length value for each timed note. I made 3 different charts for 60 FPS (1 drawscreen per game cycle), 30 FPS (2 drawscreens PGS = Zippy and Zed), and 20 FPS (3 drawscreens PGS = Princess Rescue). The original songs I wrote on my music keyboard and then used my cross reference sheets to translate it into data to type in. I had some old songs that I had written in ModPlug Tracker many years ago that I used for the game as well, and that was easier to convert because I could visually see what was going on and then do the converting manually. Yes, it did take quite some time to figure it all out and type it in.

Finally after many, many hours of programming, debugging, problem solving, experimenting, designing, etc, I have finally released the latest playable Beta of Robot Zed! The full game is also close to being completed as well. I decided to release a beta version that allows you to play 2 levels that I have tested many times and feel comfortable releasing. You can play the introduction level, and 1 of the 8 regular levels. The regular level you can play is Ice Land. I've fixed many of the bugs that were in the last release and worked on a lot of different aspects since then. You no longer exit through the top or bottom of the level, instead you progress by going right and the new section of the level will scroll in once you reach the end of a section. Once you progress far enough, you will reach the boss that you will have to defeat. The game still has rogue like elements to it. With the limited amount of ROM space there is, you will notice some repeating patterns, but it will be different in parts every time you play it. The first level, Base Area, is the introduction level to get you familiar with the game play. Your robot base has been taken over and you have to regain control of it. This is why if you lose all your energy in this level, you will start over since you don't have access to your energy rejuvenation machine. Once you beat the boss here, you will have regained control of your base and will have access to all of its functions. The next mission is to rescue all 8 of your robot friends in 8 different lands, but in the beta release you will just be able to play Ice Land. Once you defeat that and rescue your robot friend there, the game will restart. Game Controls: Regular Joystick - Left & Right Moves - Up Shoots - Action Button Jumps - Down Ducks and puts you in power change mode - Down and Action Button will change to your next available power. Genesis Controller Controls are the same except C Button Shoots and B Button Jumps or you use in conjunction with down to change power. (I sometimes get these mixed up, if it's reversed I blame my faulty memory XD ) Console Switches: Reset Switch Resets the game Difficulty Switches - Left turns soundtrack on/off, Right turns sound effects on/off (UNTESTED, may not work properly). If you're missing sound effects and or soundtrack, check your difficulty switch settings. Each Enemy has their own life bar indicated on the bottom right of the screen. Each hit with a regular shot will subtract it by 1, but hitting them with a special weapon can decrease it by two. When defeated, an enemy may give you a power item. Some enemies will give you an energy powerup, while other special enemies will give you an ability power up which will allow you to obtain their power for you to use. The first time you receive an enemy bot's power, your power meter will increase by 10. All other times if will increase by 5. Every time you use a special ability, you will drain power. Once you get down to zero, you will automatically return to normal Zed. Special Power Bots (Beta Version): Hopper - Bouncy Drop Shot (Yellow) Shield - Major protection from projectiles, shoots regular shot. (Red) Stomp - Cascading Falling Shot that goes through walls. (Purple) Boomerang - Boomerang Shot that will follow where you go and can go through walls. Limited range however. (Green) Note on Shield Power. Every hit you take from a projectile will drain 4 power units and 1 energy unit. Shield power will NOT protect you from running into an enemy or an exploding enemy. Once you defeat the boss in the Base Area, you will regain control of the base and have access to the Main Menu console. From here, you can transfer energy to power or vice versa, View how many Robots you have rescued, and select which level to go to next. In this release, only Ice Land will be available. If you end up losing all your energy in Ice Land but do have Power, you will be taken back to the base and have some of the power transferred back into your energy to revitalize you. From there you have access to the main menu again. If you have no power when you lose all your energy, your game will be over. So if you're running low on energy, be sure to stock up on some power and use your power wisely! UPDATE 03/30/2021 Fixed the No music selected freezing when defeating boss bug (I think XD) Cleaned up code to reduce going over scanline count. Hits 263 occasionally when in mid-air on screen scrolling, but is much better than the last version. Will work on getting that to 262 for the next update. The Genesis controller for now has been DISABLED. Genesis C button will not work. I'm trying to figure out why this isn't working properly as it is programmed the same way as it was with Princess Rescue, so for now it's disabled. I hope to get it fixed with the next version. RobotZed_26.bas.bin

Hey everyone. Time for a big update on Robot Zed! All the levels have been made, all the enemies have been programmed and most of the power ups have been implemented. I'm still working on the boss battles. Then after that, I need to go back and do a lot of debugging work. Around that point I'm going to need some beta testers, but not quite yet! The past 3 or 4 months, I've been writing and programming all the music for each level. All the songs are original. Some of the songs, were songs I wrote over 20 years ago and decided to put them to use in the game. To work on the Atari, I had to slim them down significantly, but I think I made them work for the most part. There are 9 songs & levels in total. Press the joystick up or down to advance to cycle to the next level soundtrack. The title of each level will show on the screen so you know which one you are listening to. Enjoy! Zed_Music.bas.bin

Oh, since this is the Robot Zed update thread, thought I would say that Robo City now has a finished musical soundtrack and the level designs are finished and implemented along with a new flying enemy. Testing is underway ATM on the level and there are plenty of bugs I am working out.

Thanks RT. I wanted to use AtariVox for both it's saving/loading and speech abilities. I mainly just wanted the load and save feature, but the robotic speech was just a nice bonus for my game since it fits in perfectly with the theme.

Thanks RT. I wanted to use AtariVox for both it's saving/loading and speech abilities. I mainly just wanted the load and save feature, but the robotic speech was just a nice bonus for my game since it fits in perfectly with the theme.

I'm not sure what the permission difference would be, since I just put a different version in place of the newer one. What is AV BTW? The only definition I know of AV is Audio/Video. I've been using v38 all this time anyway on my laptop so it should be sufficient enough. What's the difference between 38 and 40 BTW?

Using Win 7. There's an Atari Dev Studio?

Hey Rev, I might have something for you to check out. On a whim, I gave something a try. I was using v38 of your 2600basic program on my laptop. Was trying v40 on my desktop. So I renamed the folder on my desktop to bB.1.1d.reveng40_OLD, copied v38 from my laptop to my desktop. Then I renamed that folder from bB.1.1d.reveng38 to bB.1.1d.reveng40 (because the variables and path were already set to it.) AAANNNDD It worked. There's something with v40 that's causing it not to compile.

Thanks! Trying hard to get it out of WIP, this year. If you've been looking at the Batari BASIC forum, you can see I'm currently trying to get Visual bB to work on my desktop! GRRRRRRR

Oh wait! I put in the name of the BAS to do after the bat and it worked....buuuuut.... It's just sitting there waiting for me to enter something like it has before.

Well, it was set for sure Here's me trying And there it is!

Okay, so in command it will run 2600basic.exe from any directory, but will NOT run 2600bas.bat from any directory. Checked the PATH in command, and c:\Atari2600\bB.1.1d.reveng40 is in there.

Yep. Ran it. It permanently set the path. I rebooted the whole computer. Now instead of giving me a 0K file, it just doesn't even output a file and actually deleted the bin. XD Same results in the messages. At least now, when I try to compile a version of the game I know that has compiler problems, it at least tells me now, but it still won't compile a known working version. I'm about to give up and go back to my laptop.

You can't do it like that because the dos exe (and bat) path isn't set for that directory. It won't find 2600bas. I ran it in the directory it's in, and put in the directory path and file of the bas after as a parameter to pass to the program. (in the C:\Atari2600\bB.1.1d.reveng40 directory ) 2600bas c:\atari2600\Zed_Final\RobotZed_15.bas And what I described is what it does. Says game and waits for me to do something. I reran the wizard in Visual bB again just to make sure it was all configured correctly, restarted, and still the same results. Here's what the message window shows when Visual bB starts: