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Oscar G.

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Posts posted by Oscar G.

  1. Posted

    Hello,

     

    I am happy to know that the HSC is running again. Thanks to Liduario and Ignorama for the heads up and to Jacob for taking over as moderator.

     

    I am enclosing my first score. Mission X is a fun game and one of my favourites. Seems that all the Data East conversions on the Intellivision are fantastic! We should organise a special "Data East mini-tournament" ;)

     

    Cheers and I look forward to playing the next games...

     

    Oscar Guerra (1st submission)

    Score: 54,040

    Hits: 251

     

    post-34781-0-69166100-1458972150_thumb.jpg

     

     

    • Like 3

  2. Posted

    Good to see you back Oscar :D Any comments to multiple scoring or the scoring itself (look at my suggestion for the new point system which rewards the win higher)?

     

     

    I agree with you Ignorama, the scoring system has to be even across the games. In terms of the scoring table that you propose, it totally makes sense to me. There should be a reward for aiming to be at the top spot of the table.

     

    Your scoring system reminds me the changes that Fifa, the football (soccer) governing body, implemented sometime in the 90s: giving 3 points for a win (instead of 2). Similarly in F1 there is a point system that rewards winning the race by relatively giving more points for a victory.

     

    Thanks for looking into this topic and cheers.

  8. Posted

    Extremely interesting read. Thanks mr_me for sharing this knowledge!

     

    It is very interesting to know that the glitches are originated by simultaneously pressing the side buttons and the keypad. Indeed this may explain the strange behaviour while running and shooting in AD&D.

     

    On a different note, I have not played Space Hawk in many years so I will give it a try.

     

    I am eager to know what Nurmix tests will result in. Thanks again and cheers to all!

  11. Posted · Edited by Oscar G.

    I am happy to inform that I have received my copy of Piggy Bank and I played it during the weekend. This is a great game and reminds me a little bit of the Mario vs Donkey Kong series of puzzle-platformers. Great job and thank you for developing it. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

     

    I am looking forward to future BBWW releases. Cheers.

  13. Posted

    Wow, thanks for the thorough and detailed write ups, Oscar.

     

    It definitely changes the play mechanics of these classic games. In a sense you have to re-train your brain to NOT lift up on the disc while shooting. But once you do, I feel like it does enhance the playability of the games.

     

    I did notice a glitch in Cloudy Mountain.. not so much the arrow going through an object, but that sometimes while running (one of the side buttons held down) you might fire off an arrow. Seems like it only happens when using a lower side button, not the upper ones.

     

    I do recall seeing this when playing with a normal controller too, although it seemed to happen a bit more with the Dual Action. Not sure if this is because the Intellivision is getting simultaneous input from both controller ports, and isn't 'expecting' that, or what. But if you load the test cartridge, and watch what is being sent from the controllers while moving and running, it does send a lot of signals down the wires, so it's probably just 'confusing' the Intellivision from time to time.

     

    I didn't notice any issues like this on the other games though.

     

    I am happy to know that you also found the glitches and that it was not my mind playing tricks on me ;)

     

    Same with me, I did not notice any other similar issues / glitches in the other games. Perhaps this has to do with the way AD&D is programmed (the random dungeon, the appearing paths, the multiple inputs including the side buttons, etc). The Mattel programmers were breaking new ground here.

     

    I am happy that these kind of issues / glitches are documented here for any potential programmer of Dual-Action games to take notice ;-)

     

    Cheers.

    • Like 1

  14. Posted · Edited by Oscar G.

    Hello there, I only want to let you know that I have received and tested my copy of the Dual Action controller and suffice to say I am extremely happy with the final product. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

     

    I have decided to start a new topic with some of my first impressions and gameplay ideas (with a couple of high scores thrown into the mix ;-)) to avoid hi-jacking this thread. The topic can be found here.

     

    I think that Dual Control may be a good idea for original and fun gameplay in future games. I thank Nurmix and all the people that had the vision to make the Dual Controller dream a fun to play reality.

     

    Cheers!

     

    post-34781-0-88670200-1447592260_thumb.jpeg

     

    post-34781-0-77551100-1447592274_thumb.jpeg

     

    post-34781-0-78326600-1447592394_thumb.jpeg

    • Like 1

  15. Posted · Edited by Oscar G.

    CONCLUSION

     

    In conclusion, the Dual Action Controllers delivers flawlessly the promise of moving and shooting (in any direction) simultaneously. It greatly improves the playability of three of the most important and beloved Intellivision exclusive games. By doing so, it cements the Intellivision’s reputation as one of the most important retro consoles in terms of originality and innovation. As Ms Night Stalker proves, new games could benefit from the added functionality. I only hope that this functionality encourages programmers to include Dual Action features in their new releases. Dual Action is not only technically impressive on an almost four-decades old console, but is also a fresh idea for original and fun gameplay in future games. I thank Nurmix, the Blue Sky Rangers, INTVDave, Dr Clu and all the people that had the vision to make the Dual Controller dream a tangible and fun to play reality.

    • Like 1

  16. Posted · Edited by Oscar G.

    4) Ms Night Stalker

     

    This recent addition to the Intellivision catalogue is a revamp of Night Stalker that addresses many of the issues of the original game improving it greatly. It not only adds new dungeons, obstacles and enemies to the mix but also, central for the topic of this thread, it improves on the speed and responsiveness of the main lady character.
    Indeed, Ms Night Stalker is a great game that is made even better with the addition of the Dual Action functionality. In fact, I am led to argue that Ms Night Stalker is the first game programmed for the Dual Action controller despite the fact that the game was released before the controller. INTV Dave (the game’s developer) has to be commended for his attempts to include Dual Action functionality into a normal controller. He did so by mapping some of the shooting buttons to the side action buttons of the normal Intellivision controller. Although this is a welcome and original addition, in practice it is a tad bit cumbersome and counterintuitive (for instance, there are only 3 action buttons to cater for 4 different shooting directions). Fortunately, these issues all get addressed with the use of the Dual Action Controller and the end result is that an already impressive and fun game gets even better. All hail Ms Night Stalker, the first game of the Dual Action Series!
    post-34781-0-12010500-1447590426_thumb.jpeg
    Ms Night Stalker
    Shoot and Scoot Level
    19,300 points
    • Like 1

  17. Posted · Edited by Oscar G.

    3) Night Stalker

     

    This is a classic scenario, you are in a long corridor running away from a robot and suddenly have to face the following dilemma: shall I shoot the robot or shall I try to run towards the next corner in order to escape a robot’s bullet? Unfortunately, with a normal controller you cannot shoot and escape, it is an either-or situation. You cannot have both, as shooting may require you to stop, taking away the invaluable second that you need to turn the corner and escape the robot’s bullet.
    Well, you do not have to face this dilemma anymore as you now get away with both: shooting and escaping. I always thought that Night Stalker was a slow game and the action of stopping to be able to shoot broke down the pace of an already slow game. Now, thanks to the Dual Action function the game is more playable and fun.
    post-34781-0-10134800-1447590297_thumb.jpeg
    Night Stalker
    Highest difficulty (disc setting)
    16,600 points
    • Like 1

  18. Posted · Edited by Oscar G.

    2) AD&D Cloudy Mountain

     

    This is my favourite Intellivision game and it is also one of the most difficult games to beat in the hardest level setting. The Dual Action functionality greatly improves your chance of survival in the difficult dungeons, as the game is unforgiving in the high levels of difficulty as even smaller enemies like rats or spiders can inflict great damage or steal your arrows in the blink of an eye.
    In fact, Dual Action is a blessing when fighting spiders and rats, as it gives you enough time to run away from them while finishing them off. Nice! The same applies to monsters although I have to point out that I found what probably is a programming glitch while fighting the snake. The second arrow went through the monster without inflicting damage while shooting and fleeing. This happened on three different occasions and probably is a glitch originated due to the large amount of characters moving at the same time on the screen.
    I still did not manage to finish the game in the most difficult setting, but I definitely advanced way more in the map than what I would have with a normal controller. I managed to collect more arrows and completed more dungeons (eventually, I died next to the final dungeon).
    post-34781-0-55994700-1447590216_thumb.jpeg
    AD&D Cloudy Mountain
    Highest difficulty (disc setting)
    Close to finish the game but not there yet!
    • Like 1

  19. Posted · Edited by Oscar G.

    1) Tron Deadly Discs

     

    This is perhaps the first obvious use of the Dual Action feature; earlier attempts of achieving Dual Action functionality by manipulating one normal controller in each hand is stuff of legends (the classic Blue Sky Rangers' anecdote can be found here). I personally tried to do this balancing act when I was first drawn to this topic many years ago. Well, I am happy to inform that the Dual Acton Controller works like a breeze and holds like a normal Intellivision controller; so no more juggling skills on top of Intellivision skills are needed to shoot those blue enemies while running away from them. Actually, while playing I noticed that the game’s enemies have already Dual Action capabilities as they shoot as they are running away from the player. Gameplay is really improved and the action of the game is more fluid; during the boss fight there are more chances to shoot the Recogniser while running away from the nasty web.
    post-34781-0-47214400-1447590129_thumb.jpeg
    Tron Deadly Discs
    Highest difficulty (disc setting)
    98,950 points
    • Like 2

  20. Posted · Edited by Oscar G.

    Well, finally it’s here, courtesy of Nurmix (and the Intellivisionaries) a dream has come true for many Intellivision players: The Dual Action Controller has been released! Thanks to Nurmix’s kindness, I have been lucky enough to be the first one to receive a copy of this device and I would happily share my first impressions with the rest of the community.

     

    In this thread, I will concentrate on gameplay (more information on the controller can be found here). In a nutshell, the Dual Action Controller allows the player of certain Intellivision games (like AD&D Cloudy Mountain, Tron Deadly Discs, Night Stalker and the recently released Ms Night Stalker) to move AND shoot at the same time (due to technical constrains a normal controller requires the player to first stop, then shoot and finally continue moving). Even better, Dual Action functionality allows the player to shoot in a different direction to the one where the player is moving!
    Moving to one direction while shooting in a different one (as seen in the arcade classic Robotron 2084) radically changes the gameplay of a shooting game. This functionality was achieved in the arcades with dual joysticks and was almost impossible to implement on home systems until the appearance of the Playstation Dual Analog controller in the late 90’s.
    So, having these features in some of the best and most popular Intellivision games in my perspective is a big, big deal! I have decided to start this thread to not only attract other gamers’ attention but also programmers’ in the hope that new games with the Dual Action feature could be created for our beloved console. So please feel free to share your Dual Action gameplay impressions and ideas below. I am also adding a couple of high scores so we do not forget about the really important things :) .
    By the way, I am playing using a RGB modded Intellivison II with a Dual Controller connected via a pair of Nurmix’s Intellivision Flashback Controller Adapters (see photo). Please note that the Dual Action controller needs to be connected to BOTH controller ports.
    post-34781-0-75626800-1447589904_thumb.jpeg
    • Like 8

  22. Posted

    The first pic from Gunoz are most definately the series 1 overlays. I can tell by the lack of labels. Plus, i used a stamp on the original first 20 sets. The pic of the set from Scalpel are a later version of series 1, just before the first yellow boxes were made. (lets call those late version of series 1).

     

    Another way to tell would be the actual Stormtrooper logo in between Psycho & Stormtrooper. The earlier series had the stormtrooper image with mohawk. In the later series I changed them to a silouette of a stormtrooper with a fan-type image on his head. I did this to stay away from copyright issues.

     

    *Interesting fact i noticed... When Intellivision productions (Keith) used the overlay images for the new game console, they used both series1 & series 3 images. Look at the stormtrooper image on the different overlays.

     

     

    Hey Roger, it is a pleasure to read you. I am a big fan of your work. Good luck with all your projects. Cheers. O

  25. Posted

    Hi,

     

    I just wrote an article how how to bowl and share many useful bowling tips. I hope it will help you. Check it out. http://ikeephealthy.com/how-to-bowl-step-by-step/

     

    Thanks for sharing the article. It seems very comprehensive. Bowling is such a fun game in Reality and also extremely fun on the INTV. I have not played in ages but I used to get scores above 200 (with the Tchaikovsly fanfare which I found very cool). I used to play the spares games and enjoyed it a lot. Cheers to all!

    • Like 1
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