Champ Games - Qyx (aka Qix) for the Atari 2600

[+johnnywc]

On 9/3/2020 at 4:54 PM, sramirez2008 said:

Oh I can't wait to see on the 2600. But I'd like to see Lunar Lander ahead of this one. 

That reminds me; I forgot that was shown on James' ZeroPage Homebrew show and since it's completely playable, I should at least list it as a WIP.  

 

EA is one of my favorite arcade games from back in the day so if the BUS issues can be resolved, that will quickly move to the top of my priority list.  

[+johnnywc]

Back to Qix; any experts out there that can tell me what the 'rules' are for what paths the sparks follow?  

• I know two start the level at the top and one moves clockwise and the other clockwise around the border
• If an area is filled in the middle by your marker, the sparks will follow the new outside border of the un-filled area
• If a spark is caught on a border that becomes an inside border after an area is filled, it seems to follow the previous outside border trying to get to the new outside border (if that makes sense)
• If planned carefully, you can 'trap' a spark by having it get stuck following an inside path that has no way to get to an outside path based on their movement.  An example of this can be seen in this YT video.
• If you place the 'trap' on the top middle, when the spark timer (the red timer) runs out and new sparks are spawned, they are also stuck in the trap

Any help or clarification would be appreciated!   

 

Thanks,

John (a casual Qix player  )

 

[Jase]

You've summed the sparx rules up quite comprehensively John!

The only other thing I would add is that when they change to super sparx, they chase you up your stix as you are drawing. Once you have completed the line the super sparx continue on their path. Suffice to say that a spark is designated to move either clockwise or anticlockwise around the perimeter and cannot change its direction.

You probably knew that already!

One of the first things I do on a new wave is make up the trap as you described at the top of the screen to trap the new sparx. Somehow, occasionally one or two do actually escape eventually. No idea how, and it can take a while (sometimes I can spend ages completing a wave the way I play, trying to maximise my score).

 

More than happy to answer any other questions!

 

Jase

[+johnnywc]

On 9/7/2020 at 5:05 PM, Jase said:

You've summed the sparx rules up quite comprehensively John!

Oh good, I'm glad I understand it somewhat.   

On 9/7/2020 at 5:05 PM, Jase said:

The only other thing I would add is that when they change to super sparx, they chase you up your stix as you are drawing. Once you have completed the line the super sparx continue on their path. Suffice to say that a spark is designated to move either clockwise or anticlockwise around the perimeter and cannot change its direction.

I've never gotten far enough to see the SUPER sparx!  It sounds like they act like a fuse except they'll come after you even if you're not moving while drawing stix (which I think is what triggers the fuse).

On 9/7/2020 at 5:05 PM, Jase said:

You probably knew that already!

Yes, I figured each sparx is designated as clockwise or counterclockwise and that will determine which direction the sparx will follow along the outside border or if there are multiple options (ie. a clockwise sparx heading left will turn up if it can vs. turning down).

On 9/7/2020 at 5:05 PM, Jase said:

One of the first things I do on a new wave is make up the trap as you described at the top of the screen to trap the new sparx. Somehow, occasionally one or two do actually escape eventually. No idea how, and it can take a while (sometimes I can spend ages completing a wave the way I play, trying to maximise my score).

Yes, I've seen that strategy taken on that YT video.   Once I get a playable POC, I'll see if the limited horizontal resolution (40 PF pixels) takes away too much from the Qix experience; if so we'll probably abandon the project.  I'm hoping a Qix-like game will be good enough for players so we can continue on! ?

On 9/7/2020 at 5:05 PM, Jase said:

More than happy to answer any other questions!

 

Thanks!  At some point once I have something playable I will post a demo here and any feedback will be appreciated! 

 

 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

5 hours ago, johnnywc said:

if so we'll probably abandon the project. 

There always is the option for a hires sprite kernel. Qix could be done in 2 colors if necessary.

[Hydro Thunder]

IDK how you keep picking all my favorite games that never came out or came out poorly.   Qix is just so different from other games...can't wait for this!!

[+sramirez2008]

Guaranteed to Qix some *ss when it comes out?

[Prizrak]

I'm positive[mention=30]johnnywc[/mention] will make an awesome port of this game for the 2600. I was playing the PSX version the other day and it left me disgusted. Had to play the Lynx version to get a good feel for the game.

 

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[+johnnywc]

On 10/22/2020 at 1:11 AM, Curious Sofa said:

IDK how you keep picking all my favorite games that never came out or came out poorly.   Qix is just so different from other games...can't wait for this!!

Thanks!  I must admit I'm not the biggest fan of Qix.. I don't think I ever played the arcade game but did enjoy playing on the Atari 5200.  It certainly is a different type of game from what we've previously worked on so we're looking forward to the challenge!

15 hours ago, sramirez2008 said:

Guaranteed to Qix some *ss when it comes out?

Good one Steve, sounds like a good marketing tagline!  

14 hours ago, Prizrak said:

I positive@johnnywc will make an awesome port of this game for the 2600. I was playing the PSX version the other day and it left me disgusted. Had to play the Lynx version to get a good feel for the game.
 

Thanks for your confidence!   The biggest challenge is the limited horizontal resolution if we use the playfield, so the playable area becomes 38x96 which is much less than the arcade.  We (well, TJ) have done some experiments with bitmaps to try to achieve 96x96 but it flickers pretty bad.  We are looking into maybe a monochrome version with patterns that would flicker less, but IMO wouldn't look that good vs. a PF version with sprites.  I think that a 38x96 playfield would play similar to Qix with different strategies and may be 'Qix enough' for players, but until I can put together a POC it's all speculation.  I plan on working on this a bit in early 2021 as right now our focus is getting Gorf Arcade playable by 11/27 for it's reveal and finishing up Robotron (aka RobotWar) for an early 2021 release.  

 

[+SpiceWare]

2 hours ago, johnnywc said:

We (well, TJ) have done some experiments with bitmaps to try to achieve 96x96 but it flickers pretty bad.  

 

You can bump that to 128 across, see the 128 pixel demo. It's using Bus Stuffing, but the original 128 pixel implementation was DPC+ so it can be done with CDFJ.

 

 

The older 128 pixel demos use the PF to hide extraneous pixels that would show up on the left in Stella.  Stella's TIA emulation has been improved, so using the PF to hide that is no longer needed.

 

I find that the less difference there is for LUMA between the background and foreground color helps a lot to reduce perceived flicker.  Also repeating each row, so drawn full-screen as 128x100 instead of 128x200, helps as well.  The Sprite Blitter test does reveal odd looking motion artifacts, which can be distracting.

 

NOTE: The 128 pixel demo uses an older version of the BUS driver so it only works on the Harmony, not Stella.  I'm working on updating it to use the latest BUS driver, but no ETA.

[+sramirez2008]

4 hours ago, johnnywc said:

right now our focus is getting Gorf Arcade playable by 11/27 for it's reveal and finishing up Robotron (aka RobotWar) for an early 2021 release.  

Yes!!!!!!

[+johnnywc]

Hello all,

 

It's been a year since I've worked on this, and this week I was inspired to pick up the Qix POC and see if I can get it to a point where it's an official "WIP":   

 

• Added in option to use the 3 color PF blend technique for solid lines (similar to Lady Bug Arcade).  Can be disabled using a difficulty switch for those sensitive to 'shimmer' (it doesn't exactly flicker).
• All paths are now white (combo orange/blue) so they are distinct from the filled areas.
• Sparks follow the paths as they are drawn (still need to fix this so they eventually make there way out to the open area).
• Updated the draw logic so lines do not intersect and no adjacent lines to existing paths can be drawn.
• Updated control so you now tap the button and move to draw fast (blue) or press and hold the button and move to draw slow (orange).  I will be adding in Genesis gamepad 2 button support soon where 1 button will be for fast draw and the other for slow draw.
• Added in flood fill routine with proper detection of what area to fill (it always fills the area where there is no Qix).  When there are 2 Qix and they are split the level will end with the 2x "split Qix bonus" (not implemented yet)
• Added in prelim fuse.  Appears at start of new path if you stop moving and will follow the path to your marker unless you resume movement.
• Added in % CLAIMED detection (there are 3,420 squares that can be filled) and prelim scoring (although I'm not exactly sure how it works except that an orange square is worth 2x a blue square).
• Added in prelim Qix, but for now it's only a line that doesn't move (I needed it on the screen so I could detect what area to fill).

 

Overall, it's still feeling like Qix even with the lower resolution so I think this will be upgraded to a WIP soon.  I hope to have a playable demo in the next month or so.

 

Here is a screenshot of the current progress showing the working flood fill with the distinct white paths, blended solid colors, updated status, sparks, marker, fuse and Qix:

 

 

 

Thanks,

John

 

 

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

Looks amazing John and I love Qix so I'm really looking forward to playing it.

 

The resolution is more than enough to have really great gameplay and it looks incredible in the screenshot!

 

- James

[+johnnywc]

13 minutes ago, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

Looks amazing John and I love Qix so I'm really looking forward to playing it.

 

The resolution is more than enough to have really great gameplay and it looks incredible in the screenshot!

 

Thanks James!  Once I have a playable WIP (yes, I've decided to upgrade it to WIP  ) I'll be sure to send it over to ZPH if you wouldn't mind playing it on your show.  

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

12 minutes ago, johnnywc said:

Thanks James!  Once I have a playable WIP (yes, I've decided to upgrade it to WIP  ) I'll be sure to send it over to ZPH if you wouldn't mind playing it on your show.  

Woohoo WIP upgraded status! I will gladly play it on ZPH when it's ready, CAN'T WAIT!! Thanks John!

 

- James

[Thomas Jentzsch]

@johnnywc How did manage to create that many PF colors/row? Or is that (interleaved) flicker merged together?

[+johnnywc]

34 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

@johnnywc How did manage to create that many PF colors/row? Or is that (interleaved) flicker merged together?

Hey TJ!  Yes, it's using the interleaved flicker approach I'm using in Lady Bug.  Like LBA, it can be disabled using a difficulty switch:  

 

 

 

[themushroom]

First: Excellent to see Qix 2600 in WIP status!

 

Second, I read this line...

Quote

Updated control so you now tap the button and move to draw fast (blue) or press and hold the button and move to draw slow (orange).  I will be adding in Genesis gamepad 2 button support soon where 1 button will be for fast draw and the other for slow draw.

...and wondered is it possible to use a ProLine stick's buttons as the fast and slow? Does only the 7800 detect the buttons as separate functions or can the 2600? If only the 7800, would the Qix cart when plugged into a 7800 be able to use a ProLine for the two functions? ;-)

[Gray Defender]

Looks amazing!  You never cease to amaze!

[TrekMD]

Wow, that looks awesome!

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

4 hours ago, themushroom said:

...and wondered is it possible to use a ProLine stick's buttons as the fast and slow? Does only the 7800 detect the buttons as separate functions or can the 2600? If only the 7800, would the Qix cart when plugged into a 7800 be able to use a ProLine for the two functions?

I don't think that's possible, plus you might be one of a select few who would choose a PainLine over a Genesis controller. Here's a couple of links with more info.

 

- James
 

 

 

[Jase]

I am beside myself with joy by the fact that this is now WIP!!!! I have always dreamed of a QIX cart for the VCS, and this is looking AMAZING!!!!

GORF and QIX, my favourite games finally on the Atari, and looking AMAZING... off the scale happiness!!!!

Thanks again to you guys for your incredible work, I can't imagine what future projects will unfold!

[+johnnywc]

Here is a sneak peek at the gameplay for Qix for the 2600:  

 

 

Special thanks to @Nathan Strumfor the cool graphics (particularly the very cool warp in/ death animation) and Bob D. aka @PacManPlus for the arcade-like sounds!  This is the first collaboration for all 3 of us since the original Lady Bug released in 2006; it was good to have the team back together!  (Bob also graciously provided the sounds from his port of Scramble for the 7800 that we used on the 2600 version and of course Nathan did the graphics for that one too  ).

 

This is the demo that will be available to play at this year's Music City Multi Con in Nashville, Tennessee at the end of October.  We estimate the game to be about 80% complete, with a release planned for mid-to-late 2022.  Other possible features include numerous 2 player modes such as alternating turns, co-op alternating (players take turns after each fill) and full co-op (each player controls their own marker), as well as a CHALLENGE mode with additional game play elements.

 

We will be posting a playable demo on our Champ Games downloads page the first week of November.

 

[+sramirez2008]

Awesomesauce!

[Prizrak]

Amazing progress, I've played Qix a few times on various platforms and looking to see how well it turns out for the 2600

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