Joe Musashi Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 From my inspection of the code, I believe the jump length and height is a constant. Just a single table is used to define the path. What changes is the starting x position of the first jump as it comes out the left side of the screen. It's a random value from -8 to 7. The rate at which they are spawned increases with each level. Level 5 and above are the same as level 4. Regards, Perry Thanks Perry! That's basically what I assumed: within a level there's just a phase shift as variation. One question I would have: is the random number distribution (approximately) uniform, or is there an intentional non-uniform distribution. I was wondering because one startegy guide I found assumes two types of springs. But that may be just a coincidence. I would have some more qustions about the other enemies, but let's wait with that until I've done the hammer, so I know if I even have memory left to make the enemies more flexible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tep392 Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 The random number generator uses a combination of several counters so the value returned depends on when you request it. I'm not really sure if it's a uniform distribution but I think it is. The guides I have seen have you run under the spring that has started most right, so you have more time to avoid getting hit in the rear as you climb the ladder. But you still have to watch the next spring. If the next spring to come out is also far right, you have to back track and wait for another chance. It's very difficult at level 4. I had to play around with the collision boundry's and alter staring positions and distribution to get the difficulty to feel right. I think it might even be a little easier than the arcade. The youtube video's I've seen show the spring cliping Mario's head pretty good without killing him, so the collision detection is pretty generous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YANDMAN Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I just stumbled over this on youtube last night and rushed here to see what developments have been made, This is an incredible achievement and i definitely wish to buy a cartridge version of this.....Excellent work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tep392 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I would have some more qustions about the other enemies, but let's wait with that until I've done the hammer, so I know if I even have memory left to make the enemies more flexible. I have the enemy behavior pretty well documented. PM me if you want the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Musashi Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 I just stumbled over this on youtube last night and rushed here to see what developments have been made, This is an incredible achievement and i definitely wish to buy a cartridge version of this.....Excellent work Thanks! I have the enemy behavior pretty well documented. PM me if you want the details. PM sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roryjr Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 I knew I'd seen those fireballs try to climb ladders!! I put myself on a ladder between levels and thought I was safe. The fireball went under me twice and then he got me. I wasn't sure, so the next time on this screen, I waited on a ladder and sure enough the fireball climbed far enough up the ladder to get me. I could see the space between it and the floor it was just on. I suppose there is room as long as it doesn't overlap horizontally with the fireball above? I just assumed the programming wasn't there due to the sprite limit per level. Don't know if I asked this before, but would Spiceware's 50 sprite demo thing allow you to get more barrels and fireballs per level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 And now for your amusement: "He was like the Donkey Kong boy throwing crap down at the Donkey Kong man." youtu.be/tZYmdPtfLOk?t=26m3s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Musashi Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 I knew I'd seen those fireballs try to climb ladders!! I put myself on a ladder between levels and thought I was safe. The fireball went under me twice and then he got me. I wasn't sure, so the next time on this screen, I waited on a ladder and sure enough the fireball climbed far enough up the ladder to get me. I could see the space between it and the floor it was just on. I suppose there is room as long as it doesn't overlap horizontally with the fireball above? I just assumed the programming wasn't there due to the sprite limit per level. Exactly, the fireball cannot follow you to the next floor, but it can go high enough up the ladder to burn Mario's ass. You are not safe on the ladder (Try with the invincible Mario version, and you can see how high the fireball can go.) Don't know if I asked this before, but would Spiceware's 50 sprite demo thing allow you to get more barrels and fireballs per level? I would asume that demo uses dynamic flicker, i.e., it flickers when there are more than two sprites in a row. Since I alreade use 30Hz flicker that would reduce it further to 15Hz. That would not look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Musashi Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 And now for your amusement: "He was like the Donkey Kong boy throwing crap down at the Donkey Kong man." youtu.be/tZYmdPtfLOk?t=26m3s "Donkey Kong man" That's even more hilarious than "Jumpman". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter83 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I got to play this game yesterday at the monthly NAVA meeting in NJ. Amazing doesnt start to describe the game. I love the game play the controls and the color on the barrels. The whole US and Japan settings and the difficulty settings are a nice touch. Im sold on this when its finally done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 I've been missing out on all the goodness... Damn you facebook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodrigo Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I can't believe I didn't notice this before. Joe, congratulations, it's an amazing creation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Bump for moar updates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Musashi Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Um sorry, there's nothing new. I'm taking a break from this for now. To add more stuff I need to rearrange large parts of the code, for which I haven't been in the mood yet. But I will get back to it soon, because I want to have that hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivil Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Very nice, but something feels wrong about the jumps. In the arcade you could jump on the spot, without moving left or right, and jump over a barrel, which is impossible here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Very nice, but something feels wrong about the jumps. In the arcade you could jump on the spot, without moving left or right, and jump over a barrel, which is impossible here. It's that the collision detection is too strict. If Mario's foot grazes the barrel by only a single pixel, he's KO'ed. In the Arcade version, the bounding boxes were actually smaller so Mario could overlap a spring or barrel by a small amount without dieing. The way the VCS works, using bounding boxes instead of sprite collision may add complexity to the program, I don't know. Nearly every other 8-bit game system besides VCS could use bounding boxes that could be a different size from the original sprites. Maybe a workaround would be to increase the jump height by a couple scan lines making it easier to clear enemies, but that may in fact lead to other issues or anomalies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 http://kotaku.com/after-30-years-donkey-kong-gets-a-proper-port-to-the-a-851576160 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 This is very impressive... it's much more palatable than the original 2600 game, although it's clear the machine is being pushed well past its limits. So much flicker! I'd say it was fine as is, although there are a few things that vex me. The elevator stage is much tougher with only one lift active at one time, and getting past the fireball in the first stage is a challenge unto itself. Technically, that shouldn't even exist until a barrel has fallen into the oil drum, but if that's the only way you can put it in there, I can live with it. What I really like about this version of the game is the stuff you've added to it. The girders falling down to spell "Donkey Kong," with the screen shaking violently after each layer is dropped, is a fantastic visual and makes the game more exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 (edited) Just I've discovered this and is absolutely awesome to see finally title screen, intros and animations (AND MUSIC) of Donkey Kong in Atari 2600 Congratulations for your amazing work!!! Any chance we can see Pauline in top of level 1? the diagonal floors would be also great. With these two things it would be the greatest ever Donkey Kong 2600 Edited July 27, 2013 by nanochess 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightytodd Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 This is very impressive... it's much more palatable than the original 2600 game, although it's clear the machine is being pushed well past its limits. So much flicker! If you play it in Stella, use Alt P to enable "Phosphor Effect" and get rid of the flicker... I'd say it was fine as is, although there are a few things that vex me. The elevator stage is much tougher with only one lift active at one time... I agree that the elevator stage needs to be re-worked, but if you just ignore the elevators and jump across the platforms, it's easy... ...too easy. I made a new video of this game and posted on YouTube, since the other video there is several versions old. I shot video off of my computer monitor running Stella with TV effects so it looks like it was recorded off of an actual CRT. I recorded the sound directly though, and it is in STEREO. Well done Joe! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njr4ZJEPahU 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Without these two things it's already the greatest ever Donkey Kong 2600 FTFY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmervine Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 It has been some time since I looked at this thread...wow...this is really amazing work!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Awesome work, Joe. Highly impressive; eagerly look forward to this being completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpaul Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 I can't believe how great this looks on the video! Holy crap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 If you play it in Stella, use Alt P to enable "Phosphor Effect" and get rid of the flicker... Oh man, that makes a huge difference. Thanks for the tip! Once you play this, it's very hard indeed to go back to the original Donkey Kong for the 2600. I tried playing it again, and it was like some fever dream with Fyvush Finkle battling Ritz crackers and gingerbread men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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