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Zanac for the ColecoVision Super Game Module. Software done. Several improvements:

 

- Improved performance, the game hardly has any trace of slow down now. Super smooth...

- Added a title screen menu with "continue" and "option". Now you can continue from the last "round" you played.

- Option screen includes settings for game difficulty, auto fire and initial number of lives.

- Game difficulty will adjust the ALC system for normal and easy games. Number of lives let you select from 1 to 9 lives. Now even mere mortals can enjoy Zanac lol

- Auto fire offers normal, fast and faster speeds. Faster can make you a killer machine, but that will also send the ALC score through the roof, making the game harder. Ah, the beauty of Zanac...

- A nice "sound test" is also offered, so you can enjoy all the tunes and sound fx.

 

General info about the game=====

 

- This is Zanac 1, the game that came out before NES Zanac, which is actually Zanac 2

- Game has 8 rounds (well, actually 9)

- About one full hour of continuous gameplay

- Your goal is to destroy the mechanized defense system core

- Game difficulty is adjusted dynamically by the ALC (auto level controller) system

- 7 different special weapons

- dozens of different enemies and attack patterns

- experience bullet hell on your ColecoVision like never before... Zanac is both a technical and game design masterpiece...

 

 

 

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I just did some play testing, using easy mode, 9 lives, faster auto fire. I stopped playing midway through round 4, no continues, ALC score was near 0 all the time with occasional spikes. So it is now level Pixelboy of difficulty certified. :P

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I just did some play testing, using easy mode, 9 lives, faster auto fire. I stopped playing midway through round 4, no continues, ALC score was near 0 all the time with occasional spikes. So it is now level Pixelboy of difficulty certified. :P

LOL! Now I can buy this game without worry! Happy-Happy! Joy-joy! :D

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Ok, I can now officially announce that Opcode Games will be publishing Zanac for the Super Game Module soon. As usual, game will come with professionally printed box, manual and label, no laser printing here.

Since game dev is complete, I am aiming for a Q4 2014 release. Pre-orders to start soon. Pictures of the packaging soon...

 

So far Opcode lineup of Super Games looks like this:

 

- Zanac (Q4 2014)

- Penguin Adventure (Q4 2014)

- Donkey Kong Arcade (Q1 2015)

- Space Invaders and Pac-Man Arcade (Q2 2015)

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What about the Gradius you mentioned coming in a few months ?

 

Yes, but Gradius is coming after the 5 games I have announced so far. Two reasons:

 

1) I want to keep a balance between arcade ports and everything else.

2) I have something special planned for Gradius, a complete makeover, that will make it closer to the arcade original. So probably Q3 2015

 

Here is an example of the kind of graphic improvement I want to apply... (and in addition to that there is dynamic sync, which should give the game quite a performance boost)

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Excellent work on this, another must get, especially for bullet hell shooter fans (like me :)).

I dont have this one for MSX either, but do have Zanac EX which is the same as the NES version and only works on MSX 2 machines, so this one will fill a nice hole in my MSX shoot em up collection. Will look forward to the release.

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Excellent work on this, another must get, especially for bullet hell shooter fans (like me :)).

I dont have this one for MSX either, but do have Zanac EX which is the same as the NES version and only works on MSX 2 machines, so this one will fill a nice hole in my MSX shoot em up collection. Will look forward to the release.

 

Man, I didn't know this. Zanac NES isn't this Zanac? Ugh, should I get an SGM now or not?? :/ This more than anything else is tempting me.

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Man, I didn't know this. Zanac NES isn't this Zanac? Ugh, should I get an SGM now or not?? :/ This more than anything else is tempting me.

Yeah the original Zanac only came out on MSX 1 and this is the one Opcode is converting. It is extremely hard to get a MSX copy.

The sequel Zanac Ex was brought out for MSX 2 and Famicom/NES (but just called Zanac) - the MSX 2 version is better than the NES version (my opinion).

Having the memory the SGM offers allows much more complex and faster games as a lot more can be done in main memory and then copied to video ram in blocks. Plus of course the SGM has the MSX sound chip which uses far less of the CPU to produce sound.

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Hi Eduardo.

 

1 Will it be possible to save high scores for Penguin Adventure and Zanac. A.I. ?

 

2 Is Zanac a SGC 128 PCB game, or just MC 128 PCB. ?

 

;-)

 

1. Yes, it will be possible to save high score and setting on both games.

2. Yes, both games are SGC

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Might be true, but an MSX/MSX2 isn't cheap. I'm sure the NES suffices. :P

 

If this Zanac sells ok, I might port Zanac MSX2 to the SGM. With downgraded graphics, of course... But it should run with a lot less slowdown than the original..

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If this Zanac sells ok, I might port Zanac MSX2 to the SGM. With downgraded graphics, of course... But it should run with a lot less slowdown than the original..

Sounds nice, but if you're going to spend time porting an MSX space shooter, wouldn't it be better to spend that time on R-Type or one of the Gradius sequels? They look cooler IMHO and there's no graphic downgrading to do on those. :)

 

If you're not sure, perhaps you should run a poll to see which game people would prefer between Zanac 2, R-Type, Gradius II, Salamander and Gradius III, although it's true that several of those games use Konami's SCC for sounds so there would be some conversion work to do on the sound data/output...

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I don't have anything this old in my game library but zanac caught my eye :)

 

I love nes zanac and there is sooo much more in depth game play than you would expect.

 

However the psx zanac x zanac is fn awesome. I would love an English translation though. I used a sheet I found online to see what achievements I had got and had left. I think I had them all but two or so. Going through the entire game w/out dying wasn't as hard as I expected (especially since I basically did it twice in a row, hit a stray final boss explosion bullet at end game; forgot he did that).

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Sounds nice, but if you're going to spend time porting an MSX space shooter, wouldn't it be better to spend that time on R-Type or one of the Gradius sequels? They look cooler IMHO and there's no graphic downgrading to do on those. :)

 

Let's all pretend you didn't say such a blasphemy.... ;)

As for the Gradius sequels, I have something else planned for them...

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Ok, I can now officially announce that Opcode Games will be publishing Zanac for the Super Game Module soon. As usual, game will come with professionally printed box, manual and label, no laser printing here.

Since game dev is complete, I am aiming for a Q4 2014 release. Pre-orders to start soon. Pictures of the packaging soon...

 

So far Opcode lineup of Super Games looks like this:

 

- Zanac (Q4 2014)

- Penguin Adventure (Q4 2014)

- Donkey Kong Arcade (Q1 2015)

- Space Invaders and Pac-Man Arcade (Q2 2015)

 

Eduardo, will there be a pre-order subscription list for Zanac & DKA like you have set up for the other 2 releases?

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Eduardo, will there be a pre-order subscription list for Zanac & DKA like you have set up for the other 2 releases?

 

Just created one for Zanac:

 

http://eepurl.com/2nOKj

 

As for DKA, I don't think it is a good idea. However, if you subscribed to any of my lists, either in my website or my recent mailchimp list, you will be contacted when the time comes. ;)

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