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Entry 2018: Princess Lydie


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Entry 2018: Princess Lydie


Hello all! This is my entry for the 2018 competition, Princess Lydie. Source code included.


You play as Lydie, and the objective is stomping/kicking enemies, then kick them out of the screen. There's a bonus of few extra seconds, chain/combo gains additional seconds.

You'll only lose a life when running out of time (unlike the previous release).


post-35249-0-59503100-1519814038.gif


Move Lydie with the gamepad (can be also held sideways). Any button to jump, and while jumping, again for a flying kick. Tip: Lydie can move a bit while falling (not when kicking), and can even float the opposite direction if you switch directions as soon as she starts to fall. Lydie won't always bump her head on corners when jumping diagonally, and on low floors she can just jump up.


To-do list:


- Time left bonus (to beat the impossible high-score), display bonus (chain) points

- Missing enemy behavior: monkeys won't jump, enemies won't stay on floor, etc.

- More music, add enemy behavior (I had to delete code)

- Better levels, more levels, enemy starting positions from level data.

- Intro between worlds, maybe a bonus stage?, Hi-score not shown at title.



Technical information:


- Enemy eyes are pre-drawn background characters, a look-up table gets the card(s) to use (1 or 2). So, 12 to 24 cards are drawn/erased every 2 frames.

- The background card eyes is the main reason enemies change directions quite far away.

- Enemy sourcecode is "duplicated" 6 times (m_Snake0_X.bas.bas) for each section... After initial programming, I realized IntyBasic arrays are quite slow (each use 15+ vars)

- The game run at 30fps, alternating card and sprite updates. 25fps PAL mode/easy mode is gone after removing assembly language.

- Level data is RLE compressed, converted from pictures (.ico), and will eventually indicate enemy starting positions.

- I'm aware enemies can "eat" floors and fall eternally. (Cocoons do disappear, but, no time bonus)



Enjoy! Feel free to comment about gameplay.


- Marco

PrincessLydie.zip

PrincessLydie_SourceCode.zip

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Hi, mmarrero,

 

Very cool entry so far! I like it very much. I played it a bit and I have some feedback, I hope you don't mind.

  • Some of the characters in your custom font set are very hard to read.
  • In the menu screen, it is hard to tell which music option is selected ("on" or "off"). I played a few times without sound because I thought I was turning it "on." Much later I noticed the little note symbol in the corner, but it is easy to miss.
  • The menu layout is a little strange: I would expect that the two "Start" options would be together. Also, there are two blank options (?), and returning to the "Title Screen" is in the middle. Perhaps this is just for debugging?
  • Hitting "Clear" on the keypad in the menu alternates the colour of the bottom line (from pink to tan, and back again).
  • The collision detection on the edges of the platforms seems to be too "loose."
  • The jumping mechanic is a bit strange: If I try to move+jump from rest, sometimes it doesn't work, as if it missed the move. It forces me to move a few steps first, which with the inertia, it takes a bit too long, giving the enemies time to kill me.
  • Since jumping is such an integral part of these sort of games, perhaps you should allow moving left/right while jumping, even if it was a vertical jump.
  • I don't understand what is the "flying kick." I hear a chirp when I press the button twice, but I can't tell what it does. It doesn't seem to do anything differently.
  • When you jump diagonally , your head can go through quite a bit of a platform on top if it hits it on one of the sides; but when you jump from underneath, your jump is arrested very early. This seems strange and non-intuitive.
  • The weird jumping can get a bit frustrating because it is hard to precisely control what you want to do. (It's the sort of strange jumping mechanic used in early games before designers figured out how to ascertain user intent and to make user input more precise.)
  • The countdown time seems a bit too short to complete a level.
  • When I run out of time, or finish a level, sometimes the girl doesn't necessarily start at a solid position; it's as if it tries to place her at the top, but on the same column she was on the previous screen. This means that a level may start and the girl immediately starts falling down.
  • Running out of time lands me in a new level. It says "Round 2" or "Round 3" but it looks like a completely different level. Is this correct?
  • I don't understand the sound test: Pressing any button or key, advances the sound effect number. Leaving a key pressed, advances it continuously. Anything above 12 seems to be just a default sound. I can't seem to be able to replay any of them.

Overall, a very good concept and solid execution. The game didn't crash or show any signs of critical bugs (other than the quirks I mentioned above, but those seem to be by design). Great job!

 

-dZ.

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Hi Dz-Jay, thanks for the usual (and extensive!) feedback.

  • Music on/off: Agreed. I only noticed recently when I was re-testing.
  • Menus: I had to delete a few (no asm), might return later. "Clear" not bug, moves to the 1st + clear digit entered. "Insane" is semi-hidden option.
  • Font: It was worse before, and it's neater than my handwriting, so let me know which letters. Some are hacks: 7N=M, VV=W, 4=Y, 9=G, etc.
  • Loose diagonals/jump up: I only test #backtab each 8th Y coordinate. I'll try 4th and see if it doesn't eat too much CPU.
  • Flying kick: It's slightly faster, ian catch-up falling enemies. Any faster was buggy, it might work now with other bugfixes so i'll re-check.
  • Front jump: I can try. If works, maybe both jump styles, assigned to different buttons?
  • Countdown: Intentionally short to encourage "chain combos" (extra bonus second) and playing aggressively. Secs + bonus : 2+0, 2+1, 2+2, 2+etc.
  • Continuing: Yes, it's a bug. As far as I know, it's a recent bugs I prefer to know why than just fixing it.
  • Running out of time + new level: Yup. I could eliminate it if I add password/save functionality. Helps with 2 tricky levels, especially
  • Sound test: It was quickly added to test "chain kill" sounds (they barely differ). On the emulator it works. Any control B0 or B2 replays, B1 exits.
Thanks!

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I look forward to your next revision. Here's the list of the letters I find hard to read:

  • D - hard to read
  • G - hard to read, looks like an "O"
  • H - very hard to read
  • T - looks like a "Z"
  • L - vertical trace too short, looksl ike a "2"
  • M - needs more finesse on the top-left stroke, looks like a "T" with something next to it.
  • Number 1 - perhaps should have a right-side serif at the top ("1" usually has a serif going to the left on top)

 

Some of these look fine in isolation, but look crooked or strange when put in context with others. For example, the word "Copyright" on the title screen is very hard to read. It looks to me at first glance as "copyrionx." In that word, you can see that the letter "i" is very slanted, more so than the rest.

 

It looks like the font set may need some manual tweaking to make them look more cohesive.

 

I know this is hard due to the resolution. It still beats the original ROM font!! :)

 

-dZ.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Hello everyone, thanks for the feedback!. About the enemies, mutated pookas? radioactive sno-bees? alien goombas? Not really... Enemies were designed to use the same "eye background" in different ways, to make it less apparent it's the same card. The unofficial enemy names (source code) are snake, walker (the angry walking eye), spinner/demon (the zombie pacman one), Birdo (SMB2. New code broke its beak), Jumper/Monkey.

 

Update, June 2018:

- Improved level intro screen, divided in Worlds. Also, password start (for each World).
- Time Over doesn't skip level
- Time left bonus
- On-screen display of bonus (chain) score and bonus time
- Additional time for chain bonus, somewhat faster death
- Enemy starting positions from level data
- Bonus stage (some are probably impossible to get 100%)
- Fixes: Font letters, initial state, kick
- Maybe fixed: Improved diagonal collision
- 3 new songs, with CrunchSfx tech (drums interferes with sound)
- Some enemy behavior
- Sound test plays music
- Additional levels

To Do List:
- Menu layout
- Missing enemy behavior: monkeys won't jump, etc.
- Hi-score not shown at Title and Menu
- Release source: music converter (VB.NET), Level to data (C#)

PrincessLydie.rom

PrincessLydie_SourceCode.zip

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Looks very good! I love the music, it's awesome, especially the one in the "Game Over" screen -- I wish it were in the "Title" screen too; it seems like a great "theme" for Princess Lydie. :)

 

Here's some feedback (sorry):

  • I still find the jumping mechanic a bit weird. I still cannot seem to jump diagonally from rest in a consistent manner.
  • In some platforms, the jump is cut too short (when you hit the platform above), which makes it feel like you're trapped and can only walk out. If enemies are in the same platform, then you're screwed. Perhaps you should permit a bit of leeway in the collision with the platform above -- there should be a minimal amount of jump height, and I think right now it is too short.
  • I think the term "Time Over" seems stilted. There's perhaps a better way to express this, but I really can't recall right now what older games used to say. Maybe something like "Time's Up!" would seem more natural. :)
  • The sprites seem too "jerky."

    For example: every time I press the direction disc, the girl starts the animation to walk in an advanced frame of the sequence (very different from the "rest" frame); and when I let go of the disc, it returns back to the "rest" frame immediately. Since both frames are so different, if I try to "tap" the disc to move slightly, it looks like a glitch, like the girl is twitching unnaturally. Perhaps a smoother animation sequence, or some damping in the animation would help.
  • The same happens to the enemies: It seems that during the AI, they can change direction multiple times in a very short time. This causes them to flip their directions back and forth. When it happens many times at once, they look like they are twitching. This gives the game an "unpolished" and "unstable" look.

    One way to address this in the enemies is to have a minimum amount of time for them to "commit" to a direction and not let them flip directions in consecutive frames. Another, more fancy, way could be to allow them to change directions of movement, but don't immediately flip the sprite until after a few frames. This is similar to the way Mr. Do does it. The change is perceivable but pleasant. The idea is to avoid jerky motion that occurs within single frame transitions.
  • I still do not see any difference in the kicking mechanics when I press the button multiple times. (I really suck at this game, apparently.)
  • One other thing that could improve the jumping mechanic is to allow horizontal movement after the jump: If I press the jump button, the Princess jumps upwards, but if I press the direction disc, it should arc to the side.

It's a very nice game and it has great potential. I really wish this game to get some severe polish and lots of fancy features because it has the potential of turning into an original classic for the Intellivision*. I love that the game has character and personality, and it's not just some blob jumping up and down: it's Princess Lydie, and she has a mission. That, to me, is worth a lot. :)

 

Keep up the good work! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

-dZ.

 

 

* I've never heard of "Princess Lydie" before, so I do not know if it is a port from another platform. This is why I think it's an original title for the Intellivision.

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Hey Marco been playing this a bit and I think it has potential, my biggest issue is the 30 second timer,

I think it should be longer, i'm trying to figure out the whole jumping kicking moving but it seems like every time i run out of time before i can,

it's quite frustrating to be honest. How about a practice mode with unlimited time?

or no timer - just have to kill a certain number of enemies to move to next level?

 

I want to enjoy this but just can't yet.

 

Cheers, Steve

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Played til I died in world 4-1

My thoughts:

There are times I had a second to get that last egg before the time run out. I would have the timer run out at 255 instead of 0. I think starting with more time could help since there's monster that run away from you when you're trying to kick them.
Control of your jump when you're in the air when jumping straight up. I couldn't get to the last platform because I would miss the platform. Alternately, I could have use the fireball to warp me to the top of the screen.
Extra lives either by getting specific amount of points. I would start the lives count at 3 instead of 2 lives. And the extra lives to be added every 10,000. You could cap the lives at 6 or 9.
Platform that let you pass through from jumping up.

Sometime the enemies in the game got hungry and ate some part of the stage.

or

do a continue option since it does give you new passwords for a world you completed. It would be available at the selection screen below start after game over after world 1.

I really enjoy playing this game, keep up the good work.

Edited by Kiwi
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  • 3 years later...

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