Jump to content
IGNORED

Solitare card games for the Lynx


karri

Recommended Posts

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Here is an updated binary with lots of automated play. You can also just keep the joypad down and the focus will jump from one pile to the next.

 

klondike.zip

 

The cart binary is compiled for a 256k chart (1024 bytes/block).

 

The size is far below half of the cart space and I have already included one piano tune.

 

--

Karri

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

I have a time problem with Freecell.

 

The cards take so much space that I cannot keep them in RAM. In Klondike there is only a small number of cards visible and he speed is tolerable. But in freecell ALL the cards are visible at the same time. It is not playable.

 

I was thinking to dislay one column at a time and do the complete refresh in the background. What do you think would this work?

 

Now Klondike is written in the old way

post-2099-1247393732_thumb.png

 

and freecell is in the new way. Comments?

post-2099-1247393744_thumb.png

This freecell is still work-in-progress. The background refresh is run by pressing B. And the cursor sucks. I need to develop some kind of xor cursor to save time. Should a xor cursor be one bit deep only? Or can I use all colors in some clever way.

 

And the cart image is here:

test.zip

--

Karri

Edited by karri
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got back from a week of camping and picking tics off my body, and this is a real treat to come back to!

 

I would suggest possibly also adding the game Hearts.

 

For background music, how about 3 choices? Ragtime, Classical, and Rock & Roll.

 

For music, what is the format you use to import it into the Lynx? MIDI? WAV? AIFF?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got back from a week of camping and picking tics off my body, and this is a real treat to come back to!

 

I would suggest possibly also adding the game Hearts.

 

For background music, how about 3 choices? Ragtime, Classical, and Rock & Roll.

 

For music, what is the format you use to import it into the Lynx? MIDI? WAV? AIFF?

 

For Music we (lynx-coders) need abc-notation

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got back from a week of camping and picking tics off my body, and this is a real treat to come back to!

 

I would suggest possibly also adding the game Hearts.

 

For background music, how about 3 choices? Ragtime, Classical, and Rock & Roll.

 

For music, what is the format you use to import it into the Lynx? MIDI? WAV? AIFF?

 

For Music we (lynx-coders) need abc-notation

 

Actually I am currently working on a MusicXML import module. It would make it easier than using midi.

 

--

Karri

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would suggest possibly also adding the game Hearts.

 

For background music, how about 3 choices? Ragtime, Classical, and Rock & Roll.

 

I planned to play most tunes on my arranger. This allows me to reduce voices to the 4 Lynx can handle. But the choices sound good. I like also swing...

 

--

Karri

Edited by karri
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For Music we (lynx-coders) need abc-notation

Actually I am currently working on a MusicXML import module. It would make it easier than using midi.

 

Just a clarification. I am still going to use abc-music as the format in the Lynx. The problem is just that my current way of doing a midi->abc->lynx conversion is poor. Converting directly from sheet music would make the quality much better.

 

I managed to buy an old Roland E96 keyboard and it has tons of great background styles. I also got tons of extra styles. The good thing with an arranger is that I can control the exact score for all the instruments and work on the music with a piano instead of a mouse. So now I am in the process of writing MusicXML import/export for the arranger and a simple MusicXML->LynxAbc that would produce perfect scores for the Lynx.

 

I also need to develop the waveforms of the abc player further to allow drums.

-

Karri

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice!

While playing the Klondike solitaire, I noticed that the title screen music slows down instead of stopping completely. Also, there's a bass note off at the end of the part that repeats.

If this were on a cart, this'd be a title I'd really think about buying, and I think Lynx homebrews seem to be VERY expensive for some reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice!

While playing the Klondike solitaire, I noticed that the title screen music slows down instead of stopping completely. Also, there's a bass note off at the end of the part that repeats.

If this were on a cart, this'd be a title I'd really think about buying, and I think Lynx homebrews seem to be VERY expensive for some reason.

 

Thank you.

 

The music is just a placeholder and I will remove the slowdown later. This cart is going to be priced like the Yastuna series. This means that you can play it for free in Handy. You can also buy a flash cart and put it there or buy an EPROM cart.

 

The problem with the hardware is that making very small hw runs is expensive. I play my homebrews on a flash cart. You need only one cart and can change the content whenever you want.

 

--

Karri

Edited by karri
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice!

While playing the Klondike solitaire, I noticed that the title screen music slows down instead of stopping completely. Also, there's a bass note off at the end of the part that repeats.

If this were on a cart, this'd be a title I'd really think about buying, and I think Lynx homebrews seem to be VERY expensive for some reason.

 

Thank you.

 

The music is just a placeholder and I will remove the slowdown later. This cart is going to be priced like the Yastuna series. This means that you can play it for free in Handy. You can also buy a flash cart and put it there or buy an EPROM cart.

 

The problem with the hardware is that making very small hw runs is expensive. I play my homebrews on a flash cart. You need only one cart and can change the content whenever you want.

 

--

Karri

 

If there is a complete CardGames package like Megacart or Yastuna, i think lynxman will do an special boarddesign for it if someone ask him :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys. The 20th anniversary of the Lynx is approaching. If you want to get your name in the credits of the all-time-top-Lynx-card-game-release so now is the time to become a playtester.

 

In this binary the known bug is that freecell rules are missing completely. It accepts any moves and uses klondike definitions for the piles.

 

Download cart solitare_2009_07_19.zip

 

The plans are:

 

Create a Wurlizer jukebox screen where you can buy tunes using Lynx coins.

post-2099-1247990276.png

 

You get Lynx coins by solving card games.

 

I also plan to have a hall of fame for fastest times to solve a card game.

 

So I am interested in midi files with nice music.

Feedback, ideas, bug reports, suggestions.

 

I also planned to have 3 ladies with card decks (klondike, freecell, spider) at the front page. And the same ladies appear in the options screens and hall of fame screens.

 

--

Karri

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Downloaded and testing. How quickly do you need all the testing results?

 

I will release versions every now and then until September 1st. Hopefully the code is correct by then.

 

And there is no spider yet. Klondike is "ready". Freecell is "playable, but does not enforce rules".

 

--

Karri

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some of the notes in the music on "The Entertainer" get kind of high. Maybe you should put them down an octave? Also, there's an off-key note at the end of the bass section before it goes into the B part. Also, I liked Klondike the way it was before all the changes. This new setup is a bit confusing, mainly because once a card is deselected, it stays up for a few seconds before it goes back down. This makes it hard to put new cards on. Also, the automatic aces on the four parts are OK, but IMO players should have the option to, for example, put a three on top of a four, or put it in the aces section. Other than this, nice work!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some of the notes in the music on "The Entertainer" get kind of high. Maybe you should put them down an octave? Also, there's an off-key note at the end of the bass section before it goes into the B part. Also, I liked Klondike the way it was before all the changes. This new setup is a bit confusing, mainly because once a card is deselected, it stays up for a few seconds before it goes back down. This makes it hard to put new cards on. Also, the automatic aces on the four parts are OK, but IMO players should have the option to, for example, put a three on top of a four, or put it in the aces section. Other than this, nice work!

 

The Entertainer will not be on the cart. It was on MegaPak with all these flaws ;)

 

I will change Klondike display system back to what it was.

 

This automatic logic for not-needed cards is like:

 

//  This function returns true when it is certain that the card t is no longer
//  needed on any of the play piles. This function is recursive but the
//  recursion will not get deep.
//
//  To determine wether a card is no longer needed on any of the play piles we
//  obviously must know what a card can be used for there. According to the
//  rules a card can be used to store another card with 1 less unit of value
//  and opposite color. This is the only thing that a card can be used for
//  there. Therefore the cards with lowest value (1) are useless there (base
//  case). The other cards each have 2 cards that can be stored on them, let us
//  call those 2 cards *depending cards*.
//
//  The object of the game is to put all cards on the target piles. Therefore
//  cards that are no longer needed on any of the play piles should be put on
//  the target piles if possible. Cards on the target piles can not be moved
//  and they can not store any of its depending cards. Let us call this that
//  the cards on the target piles are *out of play*.
//
//  The simple and obvious rule is:
//	A card is no longer needed when both of its depending cards are out of
//	play.
//
//  But using only the simplest rule to determine if a card is no longer
//  needed on any of the play piles is not ambitios enough. Therefore, if a
//  depending card is not out of play, we test if it could become out of play.
//  The requirement for getting a card out of play is that it can be placed on
//  a target pile and that it is no longer needed on any of the play piles
//  (this is why this function is recursive). This more ambitious rule lets
//  us extend the base case with the second lowest value (2).
static bool noLongerNeeded(Rank r, Suit s)
{
unsigned char a = Clubs - 1;
unsigned char b = Spades - 1;
Rank depending_rank = r - 1;

if (r <= Two) return true;

if (s == Clubs || s == Spades) {
	a = Diamonds - 1;
	b = Hearts - 1;
}

return
  (((target_tops[a] >= depending_rank)
	||
	((target_tops[a] >= depending_rank - 1)
	 &&
	 (noLongerNeeded
		  (depending_rank, (a + 1)))))
   &&
   ((target_tops[b] >= depending_rank)
	||
	((target_tops[b] >= depending_rank - 1)
	 &&
	 (noLongerNeeded
		  (depending_rank, (b + 1))))));
}

 

The question here is that should I remove the recursion? In my opinion this algorithm is pretty clever.

 

--

Karri

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Karri,

 

I finally got around to using my FlashCard, and I have began to play your Solitare game. :)

 

I wouldn't mind being a playtester. I have some free time right now, (in the downtime of writing my novel), so I can help.

 

However, while I like (and understand) Klondike well enough, I can't be much help on Freecell. I just don't get that game. Frankly, I like the way you have it now, in that all moves are accepted. This way, I was able to beat it! :D

 

Here's my thoughts/opinions on Klondike:

 

I think the way you have the card setup (small cards that magnify when you select them) is acceptable, but does take some getting used to. I can't think of a better way. Though if you could find a card set that is a bit easier to identify when they are smaller, that would be nice. There were many times where I'd have to roll over the cards to see what they were. (It could be one of the alternate card sets you refered to earlier, not replacing what you have already. I like the traditional card set you are using.)

 

I also agree that the magnifying, in some cases, seems to linger too long. This was especially noticeable on Freecell. For the most part, it's not a problem and it is something I mostly got used to. However, Maybe you could try a version where the enlarged cards go back to normal as soon as the player moves away from that card. I have no idea if this would be better or worse. No way to know until it's tried, I guess.

 

Someone mentioned not liking the automatic placement of cards. I don't necessarily have a problem with it, but I did notice on Klondike, it doesn't always do it. I had the ace and 2 of clubs placed, and when I flipped over the next card as a 3 of clubs, it did not automatically place it. Was this on purpose or a glitch? (I just read your explanation form an earlier post, and for clarification, in my above scenario, there was NOT a red 4 open. So, the only play for the 3 of clubs was to be played on the 2 of clubs. So, shouldn't it have automatically been placed there?)

 

Perhaps the automatic card placement could be an option the player can choose. This isn't a big deal, but it would be nice.

 

One glitch: when I flip a new card over, then select it, then try to place it anywhere, it will disappear from the pile where I just placed it, and will pop up back on the discard pile. If I move the "cursor" around before I pick it, it will be fine. It's only when I pick it immediately after flipping it.

 

Karri, I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. It plays well on a real Lynx.

 

I look forward to Spider! I love that game!

 

Cheers,

Smeg

 

PS - I helped Lynxman with his English version of the FlashCard manual, and I offer the same services to you, if you need it. At the very least, I can proofread your pre-release version and offer any assistance if necessary.

Edited by Atari Smeghead
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The magnifying is really in need to help.... even though it times out, you need to make it immediately revert to a small sized card if you are moving around between cards. What you end up with are a bunch of large cards and a messy screen, but if you could make the large card immediately turn back to a small card if you move to another card, the problem is solved.

 

I also am not too fond of the card set.... you can't tell the difference between a Queen and a Jack, for example, but if there was a card set that just showed a red Q and and black J, for example, I would probably use that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...