Changing Player 1 sprite during gameplay?

[ColecoGamer]

I'm currently working on my first project for the Intellivision. Right now, I am in the planning phase. I have the foundation already laid out on paper - what the player will do; enemies and their mannerisms ; level design, etc. But there is one aspect of my design that I'm not sure is possible on the Intellivision, which is why I decided to post this thread.

 

A big part of the gameplay is being able to transform into another character with different abilities. For example: the player 1 sprite will always have a default sprite. But say, during level 2 - the player grabs a power up that turns them into a Golem. The player can keep this form as long as they don't die. If they die, the player starts back with the default player sprite. Is this doable as long as I limit the number of enemy sprites on-screen?

 

Also, instead of having scrolling levels, I have decided to chop the levels up into static, non-scrolling screens. Is this a good memory saving technique or is it better to have a scrolling background?

[+DZ-Jay]

Are you asking if you can redefine the graphic of the player's sprite in the middle of the game action?

 

If so, this is perfectly possible.

 

If you are asking if you can combine multiple MOBs to create a larger or more complex player sprite during gameplay, then this is also possible.

 

Once you start coding, post back if you need help and we can provide some examples on how to do this.

[ColecoGamer]

Are you asking if you can redefine the graphic of the player's sprite in the middle of the game action?

If so, this is perfectly possible.

Yes, this right here. Think Magician Lord for Neo-Geo, for example.

 

Thank you! I look forward to any asistance the community provides!

[mr_me]

I prefer scrolling screens. It might be a bit more work to implement.

[+DZ-Jay]

Yes, this right here. Think Magician Lord for Neo-Geo, for example.

 

Thank you! I look forward to any asistance the community provides!

 

Here's a bit more context: Each sprite object has a set of attributes that describe it. Among these is a "picture card number" which represents the index of a picture card (the Intellivision nomenclature for "tile" or character block) within Graphics ROM (GROM, which are graphic picture cards statically defined in ROM) or Graphics RAM (GRAM, one of 64 custom picture cards available in RAM).

 

You can change the card index for each sprite at any time, although IntyBASIC buffers updates until the next Vertical Retrace (VBLANK) interrupt when the sprite attribute registers are accessible.

 

dZ.