Work In Progress: "Bentley Bear: Crystal Quest"

[DracIsBack]

...SMB worked the same.

 

Sort of. You held down the button if you wanted to do a super fast run or super high jump, but you didn't need to do that to jump over pipes, enemies etc. In that case, you just held the D pad and it the jump button.

 

In Bentley, you need to do the equivalent to leap over even basic things.

 

EDIT: I got myself in the habit of playing that way based on earlier builds when you couldn't really leap over a rock easily that it became a habit. The game is more tuned now, though still harder to jump than in Super Mario.

 

Withdraw the feedback for now.

Edited January 22, 2013 by DracIsBack

[DracIsBack]

Still wish there was a brief delay after you die before the enemies appear. I've lost a lot of lives scrambling to get my weapon with baddies showing up immediately.

[PacManPlus]

Thank you, as always, for the feedback.

 

Generally, thanks to Bob for explaining the things I brought up. One idea I'd have, because the level your weapon has so heavily changes the difficulty is that instead of going back directly to the weakest power after a life is lost, how about going back only 50%? So instead of being back to 1 hit when you lose having a 4 hit weapon, yo can immediately get back to 2.

I've been trying to put some more power ups sprinkled here and there (I paid the most attention to level 6) so that you aren't that way for very long. There's a penalty for dying, you know Try the new BIN when you get a chance and let me know if you feel the same.

 

Also, about the Zombies being vulnerable on the head I wonder... usually games make a weak point kind of stick out. Like having the head being relatively big, or make the enemy shake his head or something... kind of a visual clue where to aim. Because I like the idea of having the head as the vulnerability, but especially in an old school game like this I did not expect this, and actually never figured out quite why my other attacks did not seem to work.

I actually planned on stating this in the manual (about the head shots), but I see where you are going about the graphic. I'll have to figure out how to do that.

 

At the same time, and this is again very generally speaking as I have not yet tried the latest binary, having the enemies move forth and back may be good, instead of having them run towards you and go on even into pitfalls etc when you jump over them. In early levels this can be a good help while the player is getting acquainted with the game; he can stay standing on a safe spot and watch the enemies movements to plan how to proceed. At the moment it mostly requires quick thinking and correct reaction. This is especially difficult when there's pitfalls around. That's fine for higher stages, but I must admit early on I was a bit in it over my head with such challenges. It kind of stresses you having enemies rush at you like that with pitfalls around.

I had actually planned that out, with the more difficult enemies moving back and forth (i.e. the blob, witch (and witch boss), zombie, and ghost) and the bee swarm moves toward the player (forward or backward) once it drops to the same level as him/her.

BTW, what I intentionally did was introduce a new enemy at the end of a level so the player gets a 'taste' of the new enemy before including it in the arsenal, this way the player doesn't become overwhelmed too quickly.

 

Another suggestion, for one specific enemy is the one I mentioned who can jump high and even get up after practically falling into Pitfalls himself. For that one again maybe a little animation before he jumps so high would e neat, a little sign for the player to prepare.

I think giving the player a sign might be giving too much away. For instance, the 'hammer brothers' in SMB don't give any clues when they are going to jump (or fall) a level. Also, the turtles with wings have a set 'jumping pattern'... like the Gem Eaters (worms) do in this game. They jump every 64 frames, but a player would know them to jump approx every second. The tree, being the first enemy you encounter, does nothing but move toward you (I don't see the trees as moving around much) The skeleton jumps when something is in front of him, including if he is falling down a hole in the ground; if he comes in contact with the ground he will jump back up, as he does when walking normally. That actually was an unintended bonus; I was going to take it out, but he is the only one who does that so I kept it. The worms, as I mention below for the next point, have a set jumping pattern. The coyote and knight react to when the player throws jewels...

I guess my point is in any game, you have to learn the enemies' AI. I don't want to make this too easy by giving everything away... It's like trying to find the kind of frustration where you want to try again but not approach the kind of frustration where you put it down and never want to pick it up again. Every game should have at least a little frustration, no?

 

I hope I'm making some sense here - as you may have gathered from this post, I tried to get to the correct balance of game play but it's of course very possible that I might be leaning one way or the other because I'm not the 'end user'.

 

@DracIsBack = I'll see what I can do about getting the player visible for a few before the enemies...

 

That being said, I made a few more changes. New bin is below.

Bentley.A78

Bentley.BIN

BentleyP.A78

BentleyP.BIN

[gorfcadet]

HAHAHAHAHAHA! I just turned off the XP. I was playing an earlier rev, but decided to come lurk the boards for a while on my mac! I'll be sure and try it out tomorrow. I finally got Prosystem up on my PC. Up till now, I would just wait for a cart to play things, but with DKXM and BB, I finally broke down and tried to emu route. Of course, someone's Gorf rom had something to do with me trying Prosystem as well.

[PacManPlus]

Fixed that for ya, Bob!

Seriously, the game is amazing. I need to get a chunk of time where I stop looking at 7800 colors and focus on playing...It's kinda sad though to see and play this and then try Scrapyard Dog. Wish they would have taken more time (and money) to do that right.

Then again, you're Pac-Man Collection/Ms. Pac-Man port compared to the original holds the same tune. Tep's DK already sings that song as well.

I think though, I'm not going to play this too much through until the final product. Yes, I'm greedy that way...I want Bentley in its full glory before a complete start to end play through. Then again, the game is sooo good, I may just not be able to resist.

I'm in awe of how large this game is. Really reminds you that the Tramiel's were really cheap given how little they used the 144K format and (more importantly) how they seemed to chince on game development time.

 

I apologize for not addressing these huge compliments earlier.

 

Thanks, guys, for being so nice about this. That is part of the reason I wanted to come back to finish the game.

 

Not wanting to sound like 'the boy who cried wolf' (i actually *was* gone for 3 months while trying to pick up what I could about my job), I try to do what I can with what seems right at the time. I felt like my hobby was distracting me from learning what I could at my job, until I realized that the healthcare field is just a very difficult field to be in (at least to me), especially if you've had no exposure to it previously.

Anyway, this hobby pulls at me. I start thinking, "I wonder if I could port off 'Astro Blaster' on the 7800?" (just using that as an example) and it doesn't leave. Kind of like getting a song stuck in your head and it won't go until you listen to it.

 

I do appreciate the *very* kind comments, and it helps me continue to do this.

 

Thank you * 100,000 - I've said it before and I'll always say it: you guys are the best.

Bob

[gorfcadet]

You're the man Bob. I played Gorf three times through before I realized I couldn't die. Its really pretty. I just dodged and weaved as if I was at my old cabinet I had to give away because I couldn't afford to fix it anymore. Off topic I know, but long story short, love your work man.

[PacManPlus]

...ummm thanks, but Gorf isn't me. It was done by another user here (his handle was also Gorf) and the source code given to me to complete. I have not been able to get to it as of yet. I'm guessing his demo rom must be floating around.

[7800 Emucoder]

...ummm thanks, but Gorf isn't me. It was done by another user here (his handle was also Gorf) and the source code given to me to complete. I have not been able to get to it as of yet. I'm guessing his demo rom must be floating around.

Gorf posted the demo ROM shortly before his flare up and eventual exit.

[8th lutz]

...ummm thanks, but Gorf isn't me. It was done by another user here (his handle was also Gorf) and the source code given to me to complete. I have not been able to get to it as of yet. I'm guessing his demo rom must be floating around.

 

http://www.atariage....75#entry1897100

 

That post has demos of UFO!, Warbirds, and Gorf.

 

Groveybee posted the CC2 bins for those also. Found: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/154871-a-mea-culpa-and-some-penance-to-7800-fans/#entry1897149

Edited January 24, 2013 by 8th lutz

[gambler172]

Hi Bob

Maybe we GUYS are great,but YOU are the GREATEST,the best 7800 gamemaker eveThe new Bentley version works great......

We do not want to loose you

You are not only a good programmer,you are also a good friend

greetings Walter

[gorfcadet]

Oh, sorry Bob. Don't know where I got Gorf in my head. Nice BB revision. Very glad to have a modded nes pad to use on the real 7800. I couldn't imagine using a Proline for this. My usb Saturn pad was doing the trick nicely on the pc.

 

So embarrassed.

[PacManPlus]

No worries - I really need to finish that up for him; it's so close and he did a great job with it.

 

@Walter - thank you; right back at ya!

 

8th lutz and 7800 Emucoder - I forgot he released it Thanks

[desiv]

Just throwing out my "great job" here too..

I'm not much of a platform guy, so I've been watching and impressed, but hadn't tried it..

But I tried it the other night...

 

45 minutes later, I realized I really liked this game..

 

I'm still really bad at platformers, but this one has kept it fun for me...

 

Great job!!

 

desiv

(I still have a bit of trouble with the long jumping with the Europad, but I think I'm getting better (slightly) at it.)

[+AtariNerd]

Great stuff. And glad to see you popping back in.

 

I'm on the list, I think?

[+Trebor]

In an attempt to make up for this atrocity from several months back here are some correct color screen captures – starting first with Level 1:

 

 

Sorry for the 'MESS Window' border, it is just a lot quicker to take captures this way under the limited time I have to do this right now.

[+Trebor]

Bob,

 

Something I noticed when taking this recent round of screen captures, and not sure how fine tuned this can be or perhaps even isn't worth looking over; however, when Bentley is jumping with the invincible hat on, he does not appear to ever take a true jumping pose:

 

 

No matter how many times I tried, he either looked like this:

 

 

Or this:

 

 

My thought is he should always 'look like he is jumping when jumping' (and sometimes does not even without a hat), but found it especially 'stiff' looking (If I am relating this properly) to never take a jump pose while jumping with the hat on.

 

Again, not sure if it is done purposely like this or a system limitation, or "Trebor just shut the hell up with your OCD crap"

 

But wanted to throw it out there just in case it is something to be or you wanted to address before a final cart release.

 

The other thing going back to some previous comments/thoughts by others in giving Bentley a window of opportunity after dying and re-spawning before being attacked. Perhaps similar to just when the hate wears off and starts blinking/becomes semi-transparent, maybe Bentley could blink/be Semi-Transparent for 3-5 seconds after re-spawning from death to allow the player a little more time.

 

I personally don't have an issue with no 'invincible' window after death, but can see the fairness to give somewhere between 3-5 seconds without it allowing the player too much 'free time' to round progress.

[PacManPlus]

Hey Trebor:

 

Thanks for the screenshots!

 

As far as the jumping sprite with the hat on, I actually know about that - I ran out of sprite definitions, so I couldn't make one:

 

Regarding giving the player a few seconds when starting a new life, I am actually working on that one. It will most likely be as you described; the player flickering for a few seconds.

Thanks!

Bob

[+Trebor]

Hey Trebor:

 

Thanks for the screenshots!

 

As far as the jumping sprite with the hat on, I actually know about that - I ran out of sprite definitions, so I couldn't make one:

 

Regarding giving the player a few seconds when starting a new life, I am actually working on that one. It will most likely be as you described; the player flickering for a few seconds.

Thanks!

Bob

 

Thanks for the info...Very cool.

 

Last thing, any chance of changing the depleting bar name from "LIFE" to "ENERGY". I think it better fits the notion that 'Honey' gives Bentley energy, and if he runs out of energy he cannot finish a round. Also running into and bumping into objects also takes away from his energy...

 

It is a very minor thing, again just noticing some stuff as I am trying to take more captures - nothing real earth shattering, game is fantastic as it currently stands.

[+Trebor]

Level 2:

 

[+Trebor]

Pretty cool 'feature' happened right here (won't give the whole section away):

 

 

Bounced off the rocks, while mid-air spinning bees tried to attack, they became 'confused' and went to the right flying off the screen...NICE.

[KevinMos3]

Bounced off the rocks, while mid-air spinning bees tried to attack, they became 'confused' and went to the right flying off the screen...NICE.

 

I've actually used those obstacles to my advantage a few times to avoid a difficult situation. Sometimes, running into those can be just what you need to get out of a seemingly no-win encounter.

 

There's a spot in Level 5 (I think) where you can use one to bounce to the right and avoid one of those sneaky medusa heads that flies up as you fall.

[kyle]

With out reading through the whole thread. Is the game gonna be sold straight through you Bob and if so are you taking pre orders and are the pre orders done? I would love a copy if I'm not to late. Or is it going to be sold in the AtariAge store? Looks awesome Bob I love your games man.

Edited January 27, 2013 by kyle

[+Trebor]

Level 3:

 

[+Trebor]

Bob,

 

Not sure if this is a bug or intended. The enemy went charging straight into and stuck inside the wall/platform:

 

*POOF* Screenshots disappeared!

 

I easily just shot its head and continued, or I could have just jumped over him, but wanted to bring it to your attention in case this is something you did not want to occur with enemy behavior.

 

This is the first and only time it has happened.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Trebor

[PacManPlus]

All I can say, is that you found a clue about something

 

 

Regarding pre-orders, I'm not doing that, or even keeping a list, at the moment. Once I'm done, I'll figure out how I'm going to do this, as I can't use normal carts for this game...

I *really* wish someone would make that 144K board again...