ACTris! 1.2 Released

[atx4us]

* ACTris! 1.2 by Hayden Doan *

Introduction:

Finally! It has been quite a few years since I have been able to get back to programming on the beloved Atari 800. During a brief moment of inspiration, I continued working on my CTetris program. I think that the new name ACTris! 1.2 is the most appropriate for the program. It's short for Atari Tetris in Action! (my favorite Atari language). Since the program already has one of the best and most responsive gaming engine (IMHO) for the Atari 8-bit Computers, I concentrated on making the refinements that have been on my list for a long time now. There are quite a bit of history in the previous release notes below. But, I'll highlight the important points here for quick reference.

So when you have the urge to get into some solid Classic Tetris action and stack endless falling Tetriminos to set a new high score, please give the new ACTris! 1.2 a spin for a fun and exciting challenge

Thanks:

ACTris! 1.2 was developed on the excellent Altirra 2.80_test38_x64 Emulator which substantially improved compilation time with the CPU = 65C816 (21.48MHz) and other various acceleration options. Thank you, phaeron for your dedication to the Atari community and for your great support. You're the best!

Thanks to pps for his suggestion to adjust the Game Speed to NTSC/PAL computer systems way back in 2009!

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/147244-ctetris4d-release-pre-final-version/?do=findComment&comment=1794690

And, thanks to flashjazzcat for his prompt help with my PAL detection questions.

What's New in ACTris! 1.2:

* Improved the Title Screen
* Improved the High Score Screen
* Muted the Bass Pedal Notes which can cause disharmonies with the Bass Lines
* Two consecutive identical Tetriminos are now allowed by the improved Random Generator
* Adjusted Joystick Auto-Repeat Delay and Repeat Rate for a faster response
* Added some new Sound Effects for even a better gaming experience
* 2x Draw Speed improvement of the Game Screen & the Atari Fuji Logo Segments
- Nothing will slow the game down now!
* NTSC/PAL computer detection for automatic Game Speed adjustment
- It should work for standard build computers by reading the PAL Register at address $D014
- You must restart ACTris! for the program to recognize an NTSC/PAL system change
- Speed adjustment is not perfect since PAL systems are by design 12% slower than NTSC
- I learned from flashjazzcat and phaeron that a more robust method is to use VCOUNT
- But, I'm not going further with the VCOUNT method at this time
* The Atari Fuji Logo Segments can now only be completed with the exact number of Lines
- For example, if there are three segments left on the Atari Fuji Logo,
- exactly three lines of connected Tetriminos will be needed to complete the logo.
- If Sound Effects are On, a "Chirp" alert will sound when the Atari Fuji Logo is four or less segments within completion
- A Bonus of 500 points will be awarded for the completion of the Atari Fuji Logo
- Once the Atari Fuji Logo is completed, the (P)ause command will display a "Rainbow" effect for the Atari Fuji Logo
- If Sound Effects are On, a "Warble" sound that I borrowed from "Fill'Er Up" by Tom Hudson will also play
- The "Rainbow" effect is one of my favorite graphic effects on the Atari
- Also, the "Warble" sound is one of my favorite sound effects on the Atari
* Fixed the memory reservation for the Custom Fonts which may have caused a program crash
* Please experiment with the Color Palette Presets (on Emulators) for the best color results
- I prefer the "Authentic NTSC" Palette Preset on the Altirra Emulator

Key Features:

* Ultra Fast & Responsive program written mainly in OSS Action! with emphasis on game playability
* Some graphics subroutines were written in OSS MAC65 Assembly for optimum speed and performance
* Automatic High Scores Load & Save (Please leave disk in drive for updates)
* Full Color with Sound Effects & Background Music
* "Dissolve" graphics effect for connected line(s) in the color of the last played Tetriminos
* Keyboard Commands for Program Options
* Automatic Joystick recognition (by Joystick movement detection) for additional Joystick Configurations
* Automatic NTSC/PAL computer detection for automatic speed compensation
* Game Pause / Resume feature
* Custom Fonts

Minimum System Requirements:

* 48KB RAM Atari Computer with GTIA Chip for Graphics Mode 10 support
* Disk Drive for saving High Scores
* Joystick (Recommended)

Controls Summary:

Move Left - Keyboard: 'Left' | Joystick: Left
Move Right - Keyboard: 'Right' | Joystick: Right
Rotate - Keyboard: 'Up' | Joystick: Up
SoftDrop - Keyboard: 'Down' | Joystick: Down (Configurable as 'Hard Drop' or 'Soft Drop')
HardDrop - Keyboard: 'Space' | Joystick: Fire Button (configurable as 'Rotate' or 'Hard Drop')
HardDrop - (Continued) | Joystick: <Down & Fire Button> (at the same time)

Joystick "Rotate" is user configurable as 'Single' or 'Auto-Repeat'

Pause - Keyboard: 'P' or 'Esc' (Toggles Pause / Resume)
Next - Keyboard: 'N' (Toggles Next Block Display)
Quit - Keyboard: 'Q'

Drop Sound - Keyboard: 'D' (Toggles Object Drop Sound On/Off)
Sound Effects - Keyboard: 'E' (Toggles Sound Effects On/Off. A 'Chirp' sound indicates Sound Effects are 'On').
Background Music - Keyboard: 'M' (Toggles Background Music On/Off.)

Notes:

1) The Default Sound settings are: Music ('On'), Sound Effects ('On'), and Drop Sound ('Off').
2) Setting Music 'Off' will also turn both Drop Sound & Sound Effects back to 'On'. You can still use the "D" and "E" keys to individually set your sound effects preferences.
3) The user input cursor will wrap around from End to End (instead of remaining at the End positions).
4) The "Next" object window is defaulted to 'On'. Use the "N" key to toggle the "Next" object display window On/Off.
5) The High Score Screen will flash the "HALL OF FAME" text ONLY if the the player sets a new High Score.

Scoring Summary:

Maximum possible points for the Tetriminos:

|Levels | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9|
|Points | 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42|

One point is subtracted for each timed drop (Beep) and also for each SoftDrop. Therefore, the sooner you HardDrop the blocks into place, the more points you'll get for that block.

Bonus Points:

When three or four lines are connected at one time, you will hear chime sounds counting the number of connected lines and receive the following Bonus Points:

Three Lines - 50+50+50 = 150 Bonus Points
Four Lines - 50+50+50+100 = 250 Bonus Points

Also, the completion of the Atari Fuji Logo will yield 500 Bonus Points.

Level Changes:

|Levels | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9|
|Lines | 0 10 10 10 15 15 15 20 20 20|

 

The number of connected lines needed for the next game level is displayed within the "[ ]" brackets.

Have Fun!
Hayden

ACTris! 1.2.zip

[Mclaneinc]

Thanks Hayden, nice Popcorn mix and silky smooth gameplay....

[+therealbountybob]

Looking forward to playing the new version of Actris, CTetris was one of the best I had played. I wish a few more people would give some of there old games a coat of polish

[+Ripdubski]

* ACTris! 1.2 by Hayden Doan *

 

Introduction:

 

Finally! It has been quite a few years since I have been able to get back to programming on the beloved Atari 800. During a brief moment of inspiration, I continued working on my CTetris program. I think that the new name ACTris! 1.2 is the most appropriate for the program. It's short for Atari Tetris in Action! (my favorite Atari language). Since the program already has one of the best and most responsive gaming engine (IMHO) for the Atari 8-bit Computers, I concentrated on making the refinements that have been on my list for a long time now. There are quite a bit of history in the previous release notes below. But, I'll highlight the important points here for quick reference.

 

So when you have the urge to get into some solid Classic Tetris action and stack endless falling Tetriminos to set a new high score, please give the new ACTris! 1.2 a spin for a fun and exciting challenge

 

Thanks:

 

ACTris! 1.2 was developed on the excellent Altirra 2.80_test38_x64 Emulator which substantially improved compilation time with the CPU = 65C816 (21.48MHz) and other various acceleration options. Thank you, phaeron for your dedication to the Atari community and for your great support. You're the best!

 

Thanks to pps for his suggestion to adjust the Game Speed to NTSC/PAL computer systems way back in 2009!

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/147244-ctetris4d-release-pre-final-version/?do=findComment&comment=1794690

 

And, thanks to flashjazzcat for his prompt help with my PAL detection questions.

 

What's New in ACTris! 1.2:

 

* Improved the Title Screen

* Improved the High Score Screen

* Muted the Bass Pedal Notes which can cause disharmonies with the Bass Lines

* Two consecutive identical Tetriminos are now allowed by the improved Random Generator

* Adjusted Joystick Auto-Repeat Delay and Repeat Rate for a faster response

* Added some new Sound Effects for even a better gaming experience

* 2x Draw Speed improvement of the Game Screen & the Atari Fuji Logo Segments

- Nothing will slow the game down now!

* NTSC/PAL computer detection for automatic Game Speed adjustment

- It should work for standard build computers by reading the PAL Register at address $D014

- You must restart ACTris! for the program to recognize an NTSC/PAL system change

- Speed adjustment is not perfect since PAL systems are by design 12% slower than NTSC

- I learned from flashjazzcat and phaeron that a more robust method is to use VCOUNT

- But, I'm not going further with the VCOUNT method at this time

* The Atari Fuji Logo Segments can now only be completed with the exact number of Lines

- For example, if there are three segments left on the Atari Fuji Logo,

- exactly three lines of connected Tetriminos will be needed to complete the logo.

- If Sound Effects are On, a "Chirp" alert will sound when the Atari Fuji Logo is four or less segments within completion

- A Bonus of 500 points will be awarded for the completion of the Atari Fuji Logo

- Once the Atari Fuji Logo is completed, the (P)ause command will display a "Rainbow" effect for the Atari Fuji Logo

- If Sound Effects are On, a "Warble" sound that I borrowed from "Fill'Er Up" by Tom Hudson will also play

- The "Rainbow" effect is one of my favorite graphic effects on the Atari

- Also, the "Warble" sound is one of my favorite sound effects on the Atari

* Fixed the memory reservation for the Custom Fonts which may have caused a program crash

* Please experiment with the Color Palette Presets (on Emulators) for the best color results

- I prefer the "Authentic NTSC" Palette Preset on the Altirra Emulator

 

Key Features:

 

* Ultra Fast & Responsive program written mainly in OSS Action! with emphasis on game playability

* Some graphics subroutines were written in OSS MAC65 Assembly for optimum speed and performance

* Automatic High Scores Load & Save (Please leave disk in drive for updates)

* Full Color with Sound Effects & Background Music

* "Dissolve" graphics effect for connected line(s) in the color of the last played Tetriminos

* Keyboard Commands for Program Options

* Automatic Joystick recognition (by Joystick movement detection) for additional Joystick Configurations

* Automatic NTSC/PAL computer detection for automatic speed compensation

* Game Pause / Resume feature

* Custom Fonts

 

Minimum System Requirements:

 

* 48KB RAM Atari Computer with GTIA Chip for Graphics Mode 10 support

* Disk Drive for saving High Scores

* Joystick (Recommended)

 

Controls Summary:

 

Move Left - Keyboard: 'Left' | Joystick: Left

Move Right - Keyboard: 'Right' | Joystick: Right

Rotate - Keyboard: 'Up' | Joystick: Up

SoftDrop - Keyboard: 'Down' | Joystick: Down (Configurable as 'Hard Drop' or 'Soft Drop')

HardDrop - Keyboard: 'Space' | Joystick: Fire Button (configurable as 'Rotate' or 'Hard Drop')

HardDrop - (Continued) | Joystick: <Down & Fire Button> (at the same time)

 

Joystick "Rotate" is user configurable as 'Single' or 'Auto-Repeat'

 

Pause - Keyboard: 'P' or 'Esc' (Toggles Pause / Resume)

Next - Keyboard: 'N' (Toggles Next Block Display)

Quit - Keyboard: 'Q'

 

Drop Sound - Keyboard: 'D' (Toggles Object Drop Sound On/Off)

Sound Effects - Keyboard: 'E' (Toggles Sound Effects On/Off. A 'Chirp' sound indicates Sound Effects are 'On').

Background Music - Keyboard: 'M' (Toggles Background Music On/Off.)

 

Notes:

 

1) The Default Sound settings are: Music ('On'), Sound Effects ('On'), and Drop Sound ('Off').

2) Setting Music 'Off' will also turn both Drop Sound & Sound Effects back to 'On'. You can still use the "D" and "E" keys to individually set your sound effects preferences.

3) The user input cursor will wrap around from End to End (instead of remaining at the End positions).

4) The "Next" object window is defaulted to 'On'. Use the "N" key to toggle the "Next" object display window On/Off.

5) The High Score Screen will flash the "HALL OF FAME" text ONLY if the the player sets a new High Score.

 

Scoring Summary:

 

Maximum possible points for the Tetriminos:

 

|Levels | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9|

|Points | 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42|

 

One point is subtracted for each timed drop (Beep) and also for each SoftDrop. Therefore, the sooner you HardDrop the blocks into place, the more points you'll get for that block.

 

Bonus Points:

 

When three or four lines are connected at one time, you will hear chime sounds counting the number of connected lines and receive the following Bonus Points:

 

Three Lines - 50+50+50 = 150 Bonus Points

Four Lines - 50+50+50+100 = 250 Bonus Points

 

Also, the completion of the Atari Fuji Logo will yield 500 Bonus Points.

 

Level Changes:

 

|Levels | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9|

|Lines | 0 10 10 10 15 15 15 20 20 20|

 

The number of connected lines needed for the next game level is displayed within the "[ ]" brackets.

 

Have Fun!

Hayden

 

Well done!

[Roydea6]

* ACTris! 1.2 by Hayden Doan *

 

Introduction:

 

Finally! It has been quite a few years since I have been able to get back to programming on the beloved Atari 800. During a brief moment of inspiration, I continued working on my CTetris program. I think that the new name ACTris! 1.2 is the most appropriate for the program. It's short for Atari Tetris in Action! (my favorite Atari language). Since the program already has one of the best and most responsive gaming engine (IMHO) for the Atari 8-bit Computers, I concentrated on making the refinements that have been on my list for a long time now. There are quite a bit of history in the previous release notes below. But, I'll highlight the important points here for quick reference.

 

So when you have the urge to get into some solid Classic Tetris action and stack endless falling Tetriminos to set a new high score, please give the new ACTris! 1.2 a spin for a fun and exciting challenge

Also, the completion of the Atari Fuji Logo will yield 500 Bonus Points.

The number of connected lines needed for the next game level is displayed within the "[ ]" brackets.

 

Have Fun!

Hayden

This is a great game been playing for about an hour. Never get past level 3 yet but I am still trying.

 

And it does play better than CTetris...

Thank You

[Dmitry]

I thoroughly enjoyed it, it really is smooth and polished.

[Yautja]

Would it be possible to have it as a XEX file?

 

Regards,

 

- Y -

[atx4us]

Would it be possible to have it as a XEX file?

 

Regards,

 

- Y -

You can copy and rename the "AUTORUN.SYS" file to "ACTris! 1.2.xex". But, the program also needs the "ACTRIS12.FNT" and "HSC.DAT" support files. All three files must reside on the D1: drive for the program to work properly.

 

On the Altirra Emulator, you can also map the H1: drive as a D1: drive in the Devices Option.

Edited June 7, 2016 by atx4us

[atx4us]

Thanks Hayden, nice Popcorn mix and silky smooth gameplay....

 

 

Looking forward to playing the new version of Actris, CTetris was one of the best I had played. I wish a few more people would give some of there old games a coat of polish

 

 

 

Well done!

 

 

This is a great game been playing for about an hour. Never get past level 3 yet but I am still trying.

 

And it does play better than CTetris...

Thank You

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed it, it really is smooth and polished.

Thanks guys for your feedback and for giving ACTris! a try. What are your high scores / levels? I've managed to reach level 9 starting from level 0 but I erased the high score data file during the program development. I'll try again sometime in the near future when I'm not so burned out on Tetris

[+therealbountybob]

 

Thanks guys for your feedback and for giving ACTris! a try. What are your high scores / levels? I've managed to reach level 9 starting from level 0 but I erased the high score data file during the program development. I'll try again sometime in the near future when I'm not so burned out on Tetris

13,250 reached level 9 before I lost it. I stopped hard dropping somewhere around level 6-7! I need to play more to see if it's possible to recover when you are in real trouble (I was a bit rusty!). (130XE PAL)

 

Some feedback... I liked the control selection options at the first go - perhaps an option to have space as pause or drop as I found it hard to hit P when I was under pressure.

I liked the music but thought it soon got annoying as it was too fast - I think it's much too fast for the levels so perhaps it could slightly get faster each time. I was quite relaxed say on level 5 but the music was too hyper. Hope this makes sense!

HSC - some sort of beep when you select a letter and leave the bar on between letters, it flashes off when you press fire.

 

Nice work Hayden

[atx4us]

13,250 reached level 9 before I lost it. I stopped hard dropping somewhere around level 6-7! I need to play more to see if it's possible to recover when you are in real trouble (I was a bit rusty!). (130XE PAL)

 

Some feedback... I liked the control selection options at the first go - perhaps an option to have space as pause or drop as I found it hard to hit P when I was under pressure.

I liked the music but thought it soon got annoying as it was too fast - I think it's much too fast for the levels so perhaps it could slightly get faster each time. I was quite relaxed say on level 5 but the music was too hyper. Hope this makes sense!

HSC - some sort of beep when you select a letter and leave the bar on between letters, it flashes off when you press fire.

 

Nice work Hayden

Thank you for the feedback. That's an impressive score for a "rusty" guy!

 

Pause - I originally didn't intend it to be used for under pressure - only to answer an important call or something of an urgent matter. Thanks for letting me know but I'm not focusing on extra command options anymore.

 

Music - I agree that the music can get annoying. It was supposed to give rise to tension as the game speeds up. I've been turning it 'Off' with the 'M' key option and only listen to the sound effects. My next (and most likely the last for this GTIA 10 version) release will have a "Thud" sound for the Hard Drop. I like to hear that sound without the distraction of the music. I will consider your suggestion to change the music tempo more gradually. With the current version, what speed / level do you suggest should be the maximum tempo for the program?

 

HSC - I'm not sure of the issue as I've never seen it. Is it possible that you send a short video clip of the issue and how to recreate it?

 

Thanks,

Hayden

Edited June 25, 2016 by atx4us