metalbabble Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 (edited) Hi all, I just wanted to share a new homebrew I just finished up - Bit quest II. If you played the original, then I would say Bit Quest II is a logical evolution of that idea - it's much bigger and has more variety. It's an adventure-type game with an overworld and several dungeons with hidden items. It's sort of inspired by the original Zelda, along with games like Venture and Adventure for the 2600. It also incorporates a lot of feedback I received around the original. In any case, hope you enjoy! Some notes: * Joystick to move, fire button to attack. (Full instructions included) The premise is, the hero from the first Bit Quest is captured, so you have to rescue him. There are 4 keys hidden throughout the world which will unlock the final dungeon. * Uses DPC+ so you'll need to play in a compatible emulator, like Stella. * Max hearts can be increased by finding heart containers, and you can continue after a game-over. * (NEW) Sub-screen with Game Select switch Attached are some screenshots, and the download link is below. If you're interested in checking out my other homebrews including the first Bit Quest, my Atari page is here: http://atari.metalbabble.com/ Thanks & have fun! UPDATE: I've made a few tweaks to the game since the initial post, thanks to some great ideas and feedback. I'm taking the attachments off the post - to help streamline things. The up-to-date latest version of the ROM is up on my site. Direct download link below: ** CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ** Edited January 14, 2019 by metalbabble 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifan88 Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Thanks for sharing! I will give this and some of your other games a try on my FB9 this weekend. Love the Atari 2600 homebrew scene! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhodgeshvs Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 (edited) Thank you for sharing! This looks great! What about that Snow Dogs game?? Any way to get the rom or option to buy a cart? Hi all, I just wanted to share a new homebrew I just finished up - Bit quest II. If you played the original, then I would say Bit Quest II is a logical evolution of that idea - it's much bigger and has more variety. It's an adventure-type game with an overworld and several dungeons with hidden items. It's sort of inspired by the original Zelda, along with games like Venture and Adventure for the 2600. It also incorporates a lot of feedback I received around the original. In any case, hope you enjoy! Some notes: * Joystick to move, fire button to attack. (Full instructions on my website and attached below.) The premise is, the hero from the first Bit Quest is captured, so you have to rescue him. There are 4 keys hidden throughout the world which will unlock the final dungeon. * Uses DPC+ so you'll need to play in a compatible emulator, like Stella. * Max hearts can be increased by finding heart containers, and you can continue after a game-over. Attached are some screenshots, the label, instructions, along with the ROM. If you're interested in checking out my other homebrews including the first Bit Quest, my Atari page is here: http://atari.metalbabble.com/ Thanks & have fun! Edited January 11, 2019 by mhodgeshvs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevKelley Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Cool. I saw your website mentions other games as well. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 Thanks for the feedback, it's great to hear! I saw the question about Snow Dogs, I actually had taken that down because I found it to be kinda buggy and sub-par, but I would be happy to send anyone the rom, just message me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Bit Quest II looks great, awesome job metalbBabble! I can't wait to play it on ZeroPage Homebrew! I noticed that when you move from one screen to another the line count isn't stable and may cause issues on non-CRT hardware such as the Framemeister and non-analogue TVs to drop signal temporarily or completely. The line count jumps up from a stable 262 lines up to 278, 279 or 269 (in/out of a dungeon) lines for one frame. You can check your line count in Stella by pressing Alt+L in Windows (Cmd + L on Mac) and watch for red flashes in the line count. You can also see it frame by frame in Debugger mode. I'll be eagerly following the development of this! :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 That's great info, thanks for providing all that. I didn't know about that feature in Stella, I'll definitely check it out. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Thanks for the feedback, it's great to hear! I saw the question about Snow Dogs, I actually had taken that down because I found it to be kinda buggy and sub-par, but I would be happy to send anyone the rom, just message me. PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 Cool, so I've just posted an update which will hopefully resolve this line count flicker issue. I played through a few times with the debugger set up to bark if I crossed the 262 count, so hopefully I've caught all of the places that would happen. At this point, I've gotten pretty efficient at speed-running it, lol! In any case, thanks again this was really valuable info. The updated version should be attached to the original post above. It's also on my website, where you can always grab the guaranteed latest version. Direct download link here. I have a few next steps / refinements in mind, so definitely don't hesitate to let me know if you run into any more glitches! Bit Quest II looks great, awesome job metalbBabble! I can't wait to play it on ZeroPage Homebrew! I noticed that when you move from one screen to another the line count isn't stable and may cause issues on non-CRT hardware such as the Framemeister and non-analogue TVs to drop signal temporarily or completely. The line count jumps up from a stable 262 lines up to 278, 279 or 269 (in/out of a dungeon) lines for one frame. You can check your line count in Stella by pressing Alt+L in Windows (Cmd + L on Mac) and watch for red flashes in the line count. You can also see it frame by frame in Debugger mode. I'll be eagerly following the development of this! :-) Bit Quest II-Line Count.PNG 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Thanks so much metalbabble, looks like you squashed all the line count bugs that I've been able to find so far. I've added Bit Quest II to next Wednesday's line up for ZeroPage Homebrew! :-) Cool, so I've just posted an update which will hopefully resolve this line count flicker issue. I played through a few times with the debugger set up to bark if I crossed the 262 count, so hopefully I've caught all of the places that would happen. At this point, I've gotten pretty efficient at speed-running it, lol! In any case, thanks again this was really valuable info. The updated version should be attached to the original post above. It's also on my website, where you can always grab the guaranteed latest version. Direct download link here. I have a few next steps / refinements in mind, so definitely don't hesitate to let me know if you run into any more glitches! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Philsan Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Big improvement, good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1980gamer Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Looks good MB. Darn you making me pull out the 2500 again.... I've been dragging my feet on upgrading stella, I'll try it on settla 6.0 first.... But nothing like the real thing! Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lewis2907 Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Great game I like it not too hard or difficult to play on a cell phone. Reminds me of Zelda some. Are you able to incorporate a map screen using the Select bw/color? Also the collision into the walls is a little bouncy as RT would say can you do smooth gliding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 That map suggestion is a neat idea. I was trying to think of a way to do some kind of inventory screen where you could review the keys you found, etc. Maybe I'll have to upload a deluxe version Great game I like it not too hard or difficult to play on a cell phone. Reminds me of Zelda some. Are you able to incorporate a map screen using the Select bw/color? Also the collision into the walls is a little bouncy as RT would say can you do smooth gliding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Attached is a notebook sketch of the world map for Bit Quest II, if anyone's interested. I really like that map sub-screen idea, I think I'm going to try and add it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) Ok, sub/map screen it is! I really did like that idea, thanks again Lewis2907. Use the "Game Select" switch to bring up the sub-screen. Shows map position and keys collected. The only minor issue with it I'm aware of is that when you return to the gameplay, the monster locations reset. Not a huge deal, but somewhat annoying and I'd like to fix it still. Also nit-picky, but if you play around with the switch on a real system it is possible to get it to bounce back and forth between the game and sub screen. Also not a big deal, but I plan on taking a second pass on it. In Stella, it's completely fine. I'm probably going to end up taking the attachments off the initial post and just use a link to my website, because as it is, the download count resets each time. Edited January 14, 2019 by metalbabble 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lewis2907 Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I was able to pause or slecet and the sprites stayed in PacMan Eat N Run DPC. The source code is below. http://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_id=582959 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 I was able to pause or slecet and the sprites stayed in PacMan Eat N Run DPC. The source code is below. http://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_id=582959 Yeah, I think my plan is to move each sprite to y=200 and try and retain the old y positions for when you come out of the sub-screen. If I don't have enough memory left I might add ~100 to their y values then subtract it to bring them back.... Something along those lines. I could also try and just blank out the sprite data, I'll see. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Map/Sub-screen now working without having to reset enemy positions. Should be all good! I ended up just storing a bit value (really is a quest of bits) that basically told my initialize room routine to skip over the code that sets the enemies' initial positions. No crazy variables needed Hopefully no new bugs are introduced, the line count should still be stable. The ROM is officially at version 1.2 now with the working sub-screen. By the way, anyone complete the game yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I was playing around with the game in Stella and found a wall warp bug. If you press in the direction of a wall and toggle between the map screen over and over you can push your way through a wall. Also, would it be possible for you to either date or version # your file names? It's a little hard to tell when it's been updated as they're all the same name, bitquest2.zip I always want to make sure I've got the latest version of the game while testing it out. :-) Map/Sub-screen now working without having to reset enemy positions. Should be all good! I ended up just storing a bit value (really is a quest of bits) that basically told my initialize room routine to skip over the code that sets the enemies' initial positions. No crazy variables needed Hopefully no new bugs are introduced, the line count should still be stable. The ROM is officially at version 1.2 now with the working sub-screen. By the way, anyone complete the game yet? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lewis2907 Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 That was pretty fast to incorporate. Probably would have took me a few days if not longer. Another request for the map. Is it possible to put 1 or change color so you know what Floor your on? That would probably help the person remember if they are on the 1st or 2nd. Another reason is that now the Select can be used as a pause if the player needs to go do something and comes back then they would know which floor they were on. I like the game a lot that KS for making this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 I was playing around with the game in Stella and found a wall warp bug. If you press in the direction of a wall and toggle between the map screen over and over you can push your way through a wall. Also, would it be possible for you to either date or version # your file names? It's a little hard to tell when it's been updated as they're all the same name, bitquest2.zip I always want to make sure I've got the latest version of the game while testing it out. :-) I'll definitely check it out, thanks for the catch. That was pretty fast to incorporate. Probably would have took me a few days if not longer. Another request for the map. Is it possible to put 1 or change color so you know what Floor your on? That would probably help the person remember if they are on the 1st or 2nd. Another reason is that now the Select can be used as a pause if the player needs to go do something and comes back then they would know which floor they were on. I like the game a lot that KS for making this. I want to (maybe) try and figure out a way to show which dungeon you're specifically in. Each one was supposed to be sorta themed around the area it's found in. E.g. an island, a pyramid, an icy cave, etc. I'd like to do a proper manual at some point and maybe I could list their titles there. I'm literally down to under 10 bytes left of graphics bank memory, lol! (But y'know, there's always a way...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Looking forward to trying this out later tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalbabble Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 I was playing around with the game in Stella and found a wall warp bug. If you press in the direction of a wall and toggle between the map screen over and over you can push your way through a wall. Also, would it be possible for you to either date or version # your file names? It's a little hard to tell when it's been updated as they're all the same name, bitquest2.zip I always want to make sure I've got the latest version of the game while testing it out. :-) I just pushed up a version which should resolve the wall jump issue - another good catch there! The ROM is officially at 1.3 now! As far as tracking the latest version, I've included revisions.txt inside the zip with a list of all the changes since the initial posting. This is how I've been trying to keep it organized, if the zip file mentions 1.3, it's the latest (as of this posting). I suppose I could still rename the files if that's helpful. (I'm just nit-picky about the file names when browsing them on my harmony cartridge, haha.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZeroPage Homebrew Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Can't go through walls any more, woohoo! Thanks for the quick update! The next time I play it will be on the show on Wednesday, I'll be ready for some more bug hunting. I just pushed up a version which should resolve the wall jump issue - another good catch there! The ROM is officially at 1.3 now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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