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Anguna (WIP Homebrew) -- Feedback Wanted


gauauu

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After an hour of optimizing code to make space for it, I added an experimental setting where you can toggle between the sword positions using the difficulty switch. The default (easy) setting will be centered.

 

I'll post that build here later when I get a chance....

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I've spent a little time with the new versions now.

 

In general it seems smoother and more polished than before. I haven't studied the map but i can tell it is a bigger world and i've had some fun finding my way around the stream and in and out of a few castles.

 

I tried the centered sword version briefly. When I played this version the character walking animation was highly compromised. The feet barely seemed to move and it was a mostly static sprite moving around the screen. .. I thought the regular version was just as good if not better than the centered sword, even ignoring the animation problem.

 

The arrows worked well for me. No problem with the controls. Battle mechanics in general were fine.

 

I forget what you call the enemy green figure, i've been calling him Lizard King. .. I find this character too difficult for a frequently re-occurring character. The big dragon is easy in comparison, for me. It seems like the dragon is a boss and ought to be more difficult than the reoccuring green guy. .. I usually get the Lizard King by tricking him into a corner where i can stab him repeatedly without getting injured myself. I feel like this is cheating and not so difficult. .. So I guess if this is how you intend for this enemy to be taken then it isn't too difficult after all.

 

I had a problem continuing after a gameover in one spot. I respawned in the forest, stuck in a tree. I let the spiders kill me then continued again but respawned in the same spot. I didn't write down the password until after the next time, after shooting some arrows, (changes the password i think). But after this time i again respawned stuck, but this time in the mountain. .. I reset and tried entering the password and it again started me in the mountain:

 

C04011

201014

512019

 

I can't remember if i've previously mentioned, I'd really like to see the colors experimented with. Especially the dark greens and browns in the forest are kind of exhausting for me. .. The shades of grey that everything turns at game over are a much much more interesting color scheme to me. Even just trying different shades of the same colors. .. But I think there is zero chance we will not recognize trees, streams, boulders etc, even if they are pink, orange and black. You have many options i think.

 

I have an AtariVox i can try later to test the save function. Will have to look at the map and spend more time to get full assessment.

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When I played this version the character walking animation was highly compromised. The feet barely seemed to move and it was a mostly static sprite moving around the screen. .. I thought the regular version was just as good if not better than the centered sword, even ignoring the animation problem.

What platform? (Stella? Hardware?) I tried it in stella and on my Jr with my Harmony Cart, and didn't see these issues.

 

I find this character too difficult for a frequently re-occurring character.

You can kill him any way that works. Cornering him is legitimate. That being said, I'll think about making him easier.

 

I had a problem continuing after a gameover in one spot. I respawned in the forest, stuck in a tree. I let the spiders kill me then continued again but respawned in the same spot. I didn't write down the password until after the next time, after shooting some arrows, (changes the password i think). But after this time i again respawned stuck, but this time in the mountain. .. I reset and tried entering the password and it again started me in the mountain:

 

C04011

201014

512019

Thanks for providing the password, that helps. If you quit and re-enter the password, it should un-stick you. That being said, I'll try to address the core bug that lets you get stuck.

 

I can't remember if i've previously mentioned, I'd really like to see the colors experimented with. Especially the dark greens and browns in the forest are kind of exhausting for me. .. The shades of grey that everything turns at game over are a much much more interesting color scheme to me. Even just trying different shades of the same colors. .. But I think there is zero chance we will not recognize trees, streams, boulders etc, even if they are pink, orange and black. You have many options i think.

I really appreciate the feedback, but I'm pretty set on the overall palettes I have. If certain colors aren't working (ie don't contrast properly on a large set of TVs) then I'll change a color or two, but I'm probably not going to do a major color overhaul at this point.

 

I have an AtariVox i can try later to test the save function.

That would be awesome. I've tested it in stella, but haven't really put the save routines through heavy testing.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

Edited by gauauu
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Sorry for the delayed response, but I tried the latest version with the sword and really like it centered.

 

I played for a while and got a bunch of rooms in, but honestly I can't think of any suggestions/criticisms.

 

Just praise! ;)

 

I really enjoy playing it and it's on my homebrew radar if there's a cart run! :D

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What platform? (Stella? Hardware?) I tried it in stella and on my Jr with my Harmony Cart, and didn't see these issues.

Yes I was playing on hardware with Harmony cart. Black Vader VCS.

 

Tried it again and eventually had the same problem. When I initially power up the console and enter the code I start in the top of the room with the boulder, no problem, not stuck. But then dying with the same level of progress respawns in the room above, (two trees and mountain) stuck in mountain or trees. .. Powering off and back on seems to remedy this, resetting seems to not. This happened multiple times and I think I tried both current versions of the game. I definitely tried the sword centered version.

 

.. I've tried a bit now with Atari Vox, (hardware) I had problems and could not get the save to work.

 

The Vox makes a short beep noise which I have never heard before. When I press button to start game again it shows a password that is almost all zeroes and I respawn in a glitch screen, unable to move. I think it was a grey screen, indoors, with half of a white boulder near the center.

 

.. I've never used the Atari Vox for game saving. Not sure if there is something I need to do to activate it or if it is supposed to be automatic. But I checked today before I played Anguna and it does have my high scores for Juno First, (seems to not matter between real Juno First cart and Juno First ROM on Harmony cart, keeps same scores).

 

.. I tried sword centered version again today and the walking animation worked fine. Not sure what was up with that the first time around.

Edited by gliptitude
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.. I've tried a bit now with Atari Vox, (hardware) I had problems and could not get the save to work.

 

The Vox makes a short beep noise which I have never heard before. When I press button to start game again it shows a password that is almost all zeroes and I respawn in a glitch screen, unable to move. I think it was a grey screen, indoors, with half of a white boulder near the center.

 

I'll do some more testing with it. I haven't really tested the save function much since originally getting it to work in Stella. (Although I don't actually have one, so I might pester you to try again)

 

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The Vox makes a short beep noise which I have never heard before. When I press button to start game again it shows a password that is almost all zeroes and I respawn in a glitch screen, unable to move. I think it was a grey screen, indoors, with half of a white boulder near the center.

 

 

Can you try something for me? Try starting a new game (don't select passwd), moving a few screens into the game, toggle the map/password screen (so it should save your password to the vox). Then turn off the Atari, and then turn it back on. At that point, see if it gives you a reasonable saved password that works.

 

(This is the behavior on Stella: if you try to resume from uninitialized saved data, it crashes like you described, but if you let it save from an actual game, it seems to work correctly. I'm hoping this matches what you experience on hardware)

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Heh I actually HAVE had the walking animation freeze up a couple more times. It seems to be sporadic. Has happened in both ROMs. But it is not the decisive problem it seemed to me to be when I first noticed it on the sword centered version only. As long as it usually works, the occassional freeze up is on par with occassional flicker and occassional enemy clumping etc. Just an artifact of VCS hardware and software. .. Other than that first time, (in which it was frozen from the beginning of my first game with that version, and remained frozen until game over), it has always started working again after I advance a screen or two.

 

Can you try something for me? Try starting a new game (don't select passwd), moving a few screens into the game, toggle the map/password screen (so it should save your password to the vox). Then turn off the Atari, and then turn it back on. At that point, see if it gives you a reasonable saved password that works.

 

(This is the behavior on Stella: if you try to resume from uninitialized saved data, it crashes like you described, but if you let it save from an actual game, it seems to work correctly. I'm hoping this matches what you experience on hardware)

Yes I have tried this now and it seemed to work fine. After doing this and confirming it works I actually tried to get it to crash again and couldn't.

 

I think before maybe I never toggled screens during the game to initiate a save? .. I think I remember that you can continue a game directly following a game over without manually entering a password, WITHOUT A VOX UNIT. .. But previously the Vox interfered with this. Now it doesn't.

 

The Vox saved password was interchangeable between the two versions. Progress saved in one version was also assigned to the other version and I was able to continue the same game.

 

......

 

RE: Green Enemy Difficulty

 

I just want to add that this enemy has a lot of character. It is a visually satisfying sprite. But also the movement and AI seem very distinct and awesome. "Fixing" the difficulty is not nearly as important as keeping what is awesome about it, in my opinion.

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Attached is an update with the following changes:

 

  • Savekey shouldn't initialize to bad/broken save data
  • Sword is now centered, but can be switched back to off-center with the p1 difficulty switch
  • Easier enemy in first dark cave (slime instead of Green Toady guy)

If you try it and notice issues, please let me know! (I haven't re-tested this build on my harmony yet)

anguna_b2_20160805.bin

Edited by gauauu
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As long as it usually works, the occassional freeze up is on par with occassional flicker and occassional enemy clumping etc. Just an artifact of VCS hardware and software. ..

 

LOL. I should remember that and try to use it at work as an excuse... for a frigging BUG!!!!

"It's not a bug... it's an artefact of the hardware and software!" -- Thanks for the laugh :)

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LOL. I should remember that and try to use it at work as an excuse... for a frigging BUG!!!!

"It's not a bug... it's an artefact of the hardware and software!" -- Thanks for the laugh :)

Eh? I was talking about display artifacts that are common on this antique platform, and considered acceptable to the users. If you somehow have a job in 2016 for which this is the case, then I guess you can use it as an "excuse" also.

 

I don't want to engage an off topic conversation but I'm responding so that my quoted statement is not misinterpreted as insincere and negative. It was not intended that way.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, here's the first release candidate. If I don't hear any new bug reports, this may be the final version. This version is very similar to the previous one, with only minor tweaks, mostly making enemies slightly easier.

 

We're working on label art now, and hoping to have a cart release ready before too long! Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, everyone!

 

 

 

 

anguna-rc1.bin

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Well, here's the first release candidate. If I don't hear any new bug reports, this may be the final version. This version is very similar to the previous one, with only minor tweaks, mostly making enemies slightly easier.

 

We're working on label art now, and hoping to have a cart release ready before too long! Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, everyone!

 

 

 

 

Great look forward to getting this on a cart.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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