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New build in my blog.

 

Climbed up on the roof to take a look at where the water came in. Directly below the 3 slopes meeting is where the wall to the office is located. In the past I'd had a problem with water coming in during a heavy rain storm and contacted a roofer. He said the problem was if the direction of the rain & wind was just right the water would pool in that area and eventually make its way under the eves and down the interior wall. He fixed it by peeling back the shingles and adding a piece of sheet metal (red arrow):

post-3056-0-99974000-1505089173_thumb.jpg

 

That fix has worked since then, but the wind and amount rain we received during Harvey was beyond normal so the water level on the roof most likely went past the sheet metal. Another possible issue was the short downspot (yellow arrow in above photo) was clogged:

post-3056-0-70345600-1505088820_thumb.jpg

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New build in the blog.

 

Also posted is a Sector Editor for the forthcoming contest as the 16 Sectors in the Δ (delta) Quadrant have been set aside for y'all to design.

 

I plan to announce the contest this weekend, though I need to make sure the program works as expected before doing so - so please make some test sectors if you can :)

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Lots of updates since the last homebrew topic build was posted. You can refer to the Draconian blog entries if you're interested in the specifics.

We're getting down to the wire for the release next month, so I now need some extra help from y'all!

  • Please give feedback on the level progression for the different difficulty levels.
  • Please report any issues not listed in the To Do list.
  • Please test on real hardware if possible and report if any level jitters - be sure to specify Quadrant, Sector and Difficulty Level you saw it on.

To Do:

  • fine-tune Level Progression
  • beginning of next sector (not new game) and next ship - slightly longer pause showing radar before the ship starts to move.
  • longer pause after player's ship is destroyed.
  • Nathan spotted a collision detection glitch, see details page 9 of Draconian Sound Effects PM have not been able to recreate
  • BUG: if your last star fighter crashes into the last station of a sector the game over message appears, but you'll also start the next sector with 0 lives remaining.
  • Remaining sound effects from ieposta
  • E-Type launched by station should be destroyed if it collides with mines or asteroids.
  • Lengthen duration of Mine Explosions
  • Bonus Lives
  • If Red Alert active when last ship is destroyed the Red Alert sound repeats in menu
  • If player flies AWAY FROM the side the spy-ship is exiting, condition red can be triggered right away even if the spy ship has additional passes remaining.

For Harmony or Stella (requires Stella 5.0.0 or newer)
draconian_20170920.bin

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as this is what it currently looks like:

attachicon.gifdraconian.png

So, I just got around to downloading Stella 5.0.2, as I was using Stella 5.0 pre9 version before, so the last couple of updates I had not tried out, until now. I am not liking the smaller Draconian logo at the top of the main screen at startup. I understand you added the last and high scores at the bottom and had to make room for that but, I have a suggestion. Can you go back to the original logo and title screen when the game starts, but after the player has finished the first game then display the smaller logo page with the last and high score at the bottom afterwards? Or will the cart store the high score (so then it will show the next time the cart is started up again)??? Just my thoughts..........

 

I still love the game and can't wait till it is available in the AA store. If I knew how to program, I'd enter your contest. Keep up the great work Darrell!!

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Even with advanced bankswitch schemes like CDF we still have to make the typical Atari tradeoffs - Logo [ was ] downsized to save 1.5 KB of ROM. I prefer the original logo as well, but the current free space is 761 bytes so it will no longer fit, plus there's still more things to add like sound effects.

 

Melody carts can save high scores, but it requires a 4K chunk of ROM to be dedicated to that. No way that'll happen. AtariVox support to save 16 high scores is on the wish list. It would save a high score for each combination of Quadrant and Difficulty Level, though only for games that were started at Sector 1.

 

No programing's needed for the contest, you just edit a text file with a list of X and Y coordinates, then type in a command in the terminal/dos prompt. The program includes a sample text file that you can edit.

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  • Bonus Lives at 20,000 then every 70,000
  • Jingle added to AtariAge Splash Screen
  • Revised formation appearances
  • * Sector 1 = I-Type only

    * Sector 2 = 50% I-Type, 50% P-Type

    * Sector 3+ = 37.5% I-Type, 37.5% P-Type, 25% E-Type

  • Fixed condition where Red Alert sound effect would repeat in the menu
  • Slowed down explosion sequences
  • E-Types launched from stations will now collide with stationary objects
  • Fixed bug where next level would start if you rammed the last station with your last star fighter

 

Due to deadlines for PRGE my goal is to be finished by October 8th, so please test on real hardware if at all possible and if let me know if you spot any issues.

Also a reminder that one week remains for the Draconian Δ Quadrant Sector Design Contest

 

For Harmony or Stella (requires Stella 5.0.0 or newer)

draconian_20170923.bin

 

 

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This is taking shape nicely.

 

I kinda miss the boomy explosions in the earlier releases. Maybe it could be used when a station explodes? I know the arcade version has the pipsqueek beeps for when you blow up the rocks and ships.

 

On the other hand, "BattleStations" sounds pretty good and I can be happy with it.

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This is taking shape nicely.

 

I kinda miss the boomy explosions in the earlier releases. Maybe it could be used when a station explodes? I know the arcade version has the pipsqueek beeps for when you blow up the rocks and ships.

 

On the other hand, "BattleStations" sounds pretty good and I can be happy with it.

I said the same thing about the "pipsqueek beeps"', but nostalgia won over changing them. (I have no nostalgia having never played the arcade version, or if I once did I don't remember. I thought I knew all the arcade games from the 70's & 80's, and I've seen some very obscure ones, but Bostonian escaped me. )

 

I like how Bosconian has similar sounds or the same sounds used in Galaxian, Galaga and Mappy.

 

I have an explosion sample that the arcade game uses.

If we manage to squeeze that in, then it can be used at 2 or 3 different speeds and this game will have explosion sounds like no 2600 game before it.

 

I always say I'm kind of tired of hearing the same sounding explosions due to the limited TIA choices, but then you have examples like Yars' Revenge that use volume and echo and string along a massive sound. (Note: Yars' Revenge is another experience altogether through a large subwoofer!)

 

If the samples now in the game get too terrible with a small decrease in rate then there will be no room for an explosion sample. I hoped to increase the sample rate and "blow everyone away" with spectacular samples, but not in this game's 32K size.

 

Future games can be made with fantastic samples because the Melody board can be made with higher capacity chips, but again, it didn't happen with this game.

 

Quite a piece of art to make Draconian do all that it does in only 32K!

 

You can dream of a fantastic game, but then you would have to put it on a Harmony Encore cart without the flash card slot. How many would sell at a cart cost of $80-something dollars, plus $20-something for box and manual and shipping? Star Castle 8K was a successful Kickstarter for a $150 boxed game, but I really doubt we will see that again.

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I don't have nostalgia for the original arcade game. Played it once or twice, and it was too hard. As most arcade games were for a tiny kid back then. I prefer this version actually. And Boomy-Echo explosion sound is rewarding if you don't overdo it, that's why I think it would fit in with stations blowing up. Big stuff, big sound. I think the arcade should have been done this way too.

 

As far as the voice effects go. I don't think I'd change them. They're right there on the edge and should be fine. In other words don't do anything to reduce the quality even the slightest.

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  • Keeping track of High Scores (but only for Sector 1)
  • Revisions to when Spy Ship appears
  • Revision to Spy Ship to hopefully prevent Condition Red from occurring when additional passes remain
  • Condition Red now triggered if player is actively avoiding the stations
  • Fixed a bug with the bonus lives, was earning next life after 70,000 at 100,000 instead of the expected 140,000

On the high scores you can now change QUADRANT and LEVEL and the correct high score will be displayed - but only if you've selected SECTOR 1.

 

Due to deadlines for PRGE my goal is to be finished by October 8th, so please test on real hardware if at all possible and if let me know if you spot any issues.

Also a reminder that one week remains for the Draconian Δ Quadrant Sector Design Contest

 

For Harmony or Stella (requires Stella 5.0.0 or newer)

draconian_20170924.bin

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  • ​Shrank the text in the menu:

    post-3056-0-82563400-1506568155.png

  • To make space for:

    post-3056-0-12981500-1506568161.png

  • Increased the time it takes for Condition Red to be triggered if the player is actively avoiding the stations
Note: the new CONTINUE feature is not fully implemented. While it works, it does not reset timers used for Formations, Spy Ships, etc. so they'll appear much sooner than expected.

 

For Harmony or Stella (requires Stella 5.0.0 or newer)

draconian_20170927.bin

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You've made a fantastic game! Though it's a bit jarring to hear the theme song and NOT have it followed by "BLAST OFF!" once your game ends.

 

So, erm ... okay, I hear "RED ALERT" and "BLAST OFF" super clearly. What does the third voice say??

The theme song should be different. That is the game end song.

 

Alar! Alar! Is Alert Alert (the t drops out sampled at low quality.)

And "Condition Red" if you don't take out the Spy Ship which is announced "Spy Ship Sighted."

Edited by iesposta
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There's still some debate, but supposedly the voices say:

 

Blast Off!

Alert! Alert!
Battle Stations!
Spy Ship Sighted!
Condition Red!!
That's what we're going with in the manual.
However, I think "Alert! Alert!" is supposed to be "Alarm! Alarm!", and "Spy Ship Sighted!" is supposed to be "Fighter Sighted!" But everyone hears them a little different.
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You've made a fantastic game!

 

Thanks! Sector Design Contest is running through tomorrow night if you'd like to be part of it. Just need to edit a text file with X and Y coordinates, then run a command line program which patches the ROM with your layouts.

 

Though it's a bit jarring to hear the theme song and NOT have it followed by "BLAST OFF!" once your game ends.

 

ieposta's still working on the theme song so I'm currently using the end of game song as a placeholder.

 

So, erm ... okay, I hear "RED ALERT" and "BLAST OFF" super clearly. What does the third voice say??

They are a bit difficult to understand. Per StrategyWiki they're this:

  • BLAST OFF! Spoken at the start of each new stage, and each new life.
  • ALARM! ALARM! Announces the presence of an enemy missile in your vicinity.
  • BATTLE STATIONS! An enemy formation has left an Enemy Base and is headed for you.
  • SPY SHIP SIGHTED! A Spy Ship has appeared in your sector of space and will report your location if you do not destroy it.
  • CONDITION RED! You have entered the red condition, and the enemy will assault you with as many fighters and missiles as possible.

Wikipedia lists Alert! Alert! instead of Alarm! Alarm!

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Throw the Arcade machine into Service Mode via dip switches...SOUND 15 thru 19 cover the speech phrases.

Just created the below, performing several (5x) cycles through the phrases within 90 seconds...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcD8AgmWJ5M

 

My take:

 

SOUND 15 = Blast Off!
SOUND 16 = Alert! Alert!
SOUND 17 = Battle Station!
SOUND 18 = Spy Ship Sighted!
SOUND 19 = Condition Red!
When compared, the StrategyWiki entry originally stated "Alert" in 2008, instead of someone's "Alarm" update in 2013. Not sure how authoritative either entry is though. Especially when in-game playing, people indeed may hear different things. :)
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