Estece Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Congratulations! Tyrian , The Level Very good game play dynamic! Tak trzymaj Szanti!!! Dziękuję! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 (edited) On 11/15/2020 at 4:15 AM, shanti77 said: If someone has a joystick compatible with SEGA, he has a 2 button at his disposal, which also allows you to fire a special. Strange...I attempted to use my original Genesis/Megadrive 3-button controller with the game and only one button worked. So I thought it must only be for the DIY 2-button joysticks... Edited November 16, 2020 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMontezuma Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Congrats! 10 points also from me ? This year all games are really outstanding and when you consider a very small difference in the number of points between the games, you can see that each ABBUC voter had a chance to change the winner ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanti77 Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 39 minutes ago, Gunstar said: Strange...I attempted to use my original Genesis/Megadrive 3-button controller with the game and only one button worked. So I thought it must only be for the DIY 2-button joysticks... You must modify pins 5<->7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_joystick_port Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Great game, absolutely commercial quality. Thanks! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, shanti77 said: You must modify pins 5<->7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_joystick_port Ok, I just thought it would work as-is since there are one or two other A8 games that are programmed to work with it as-is. (though I don't recall which ones off the top of my head) Edited November 16, 2020 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 (edited) On 11/15/2020 at 4:36 PM, shanti77 said: @MrFish I am eager to listen to your suggestions, previously after commenting on the video, I shared the code with GadZombiE user and took some of his tips. I always need a fresh look, of course the last sentence belongs to me;) OK, you asked for it. Suggestions of varying levels of importance, listed in no particular order. Improvements • Protagonist hit sound I see the protagonist's plane will change colors momentarily when shot by an enemy; but it would be nice to have some sort of sound effect for it too. The reason I say this is that my focus is most often on the enemies and other objects coming up ahead; so, I'm not always sure when I've been hit or not; and it takes away from my focus if I have to continually look up at the health meter to see where I'm at. • Continue from last spot after game over (and possibly use of continue codes) • Make protagonist more distinctive graphically The protagonist looks the same as the other planes on screen. Generally speaking, it's fine (I don't lose track of who I am on screen); but it's nice to have some sort of special graphic, for instance, like how 1942 has the bi-plane graphic, which is different from all other planes in the game. • On screen point displays for certain objects This would be more for eye candy; but it's also nice to know what kind of points you're getting for certain objects. I don't know exactly how the scoring goes for the game, but maybe the higher point items could be shown. As an example, the occasional points shown in Atari Blast are really nice (they used a really nice graphic for it). Options • Difficulty level For me, the regular gameplay difficulty is just about right; but the bosses seem a bit over the top difficult. So maybe a setting to tone down the bosses a bit; or maybe there could be settings for bosses and gameplay that are separate. • Music on/off With music off there could also be room to add more sound effects, since more voices would be available for use. • Option to use unmodified Sega Genesis controllers I don't have one at the moment, but I'd been using one before. The unmodified controllers are simple to program for; and, as stated by Gunstar, there are other games that use them; therefore I think there would already be an audience of Atari users who have them unmodified and would like to use them. Expansion • Bombing & special bomb targets Well, bombing just rules. It's one of the fun things to do in Blue Max. • More alternate gun shot types Another good feature in Atari Blast, with a great array of shot types. I know Last Squadron isn't a space ship game, but I think more variety would be nice, especially if you can add some bonuses that get you the special shots/guns. One example would be: double shots/bullets at 2-pixel width. Edited November 16, 2020 by MrFish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxl Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 On 11/15/2020 at 10:36 PM, shanti77 said: @rensoup The game uses xBootDOS from XXL, maybe that's the problem. new xBootDOS (boot sectors) - replace bootsectors and rename AUTORUN to AUTO now works under AltirraOS xBootDOS.obx 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CharlieChaplin Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Gunstar said: Ok, I just thought it would work as-is since there are one or two other A8 games that are programmed to work with it as-is. (though I don't recall which ones off the top of my head) Afair, these two games are Gem Drop and Tetricize (sp?) Would be nice if Last Squadron would also work with two buttons on a standard (unmodified) Genesis/MegaDrive controller - maybe the author could make it selectable in the menu / options screen (1 button, Joy 2B+, Sega) ? And as always, +1 for music on/off selection... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwilove Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 I'm one of those for the use with an unmodified Genesis controller for 2 buttons working with it. It looks like a fine effort and I hope to try it out soon - when I can. Would Homesoft add the Genesis controller hack, if you don't do it? Harvey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 3 hours ago, xxl said: new xBootDOS (boot sectors) - replace bootsectors and rename AUTORUN to AUTO now works under AltirraOS xBootDOS.obx 384 B · 6 downloads You are the master of compact code - I will give you that! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 3 hours ago, MrFish said: • Continue from last spot after game over (and possibly use of continue codes) • Make protagonist more distinctive graphically The protagonist looks the same as the other planes on screen. Generally speaking, it's fine (I don't lose track of who I am on screen); but it's nice to have some sort of special graphic, for instance, like how 1942 has the bi-plane graphic, which is different from all other planes in the game. I didn't mean bi-plane here, I meant that they used some type of twin prop aircraft. The main point, though, is something unique in the game, whatever it happens to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, MrFish said: • More alternate gun shot types Another good feature in Atari Blast, with a great array of shot types. I know Last Squadron isn't a space ship game, but I think more variety would be nice, especially if you can add some bonuses that get you the special shots/guns. One example would be: double shots/bullets at 2-pixel width. Going back to 1942 / 1943 again: 1942 used a "back loop" for its action when pressing the second button. This would help you get out of tight spots and prevent you from being hit by any enemy fire for a short time; 1943 used a "kill all enemies on screen" for its action when pressing the second button. Both of these actions worked for a limited number of times, but were repowered at various points. So, this type of behavior (or anything else that might be suitable) is something else you might want to consider. Edited November 17, 2020 by MrFish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNameOfTheGame Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 4 minutes ago, MrFish said: Going back to 1942 / 1943 again: 1942 used a "back loop" for its action when pressing the second button. This would help you get out of tight spots and prevent you from being hit by any enemy fire for a short time; 1943 used a "kill all enemies on screen" for its action when pressing the second button. Both of these actions worked for a limited number of times, but were repowered at various points. So, this type of behavior (or anything else that might be suitable) is something else you might want to consider. Some good ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanti77 Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 (edited) How does the unmodified Genesis / MegaDrive controller work, how can I read the second button in it and how to simulate it under Altirra? I use https://www.8bitdo.com/retro-receiver-genesis-mega-drive/, it requires power on pin 5, Atari is on pin 7, so I made an extension with swapped wires. I am currently using a PS4 pad to play it, it works very well. Edited November 17, 2020 by shanti77 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobo Cujo Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 6 minutes ago, shanti77 said: How does the unmodified Genesis / MegaDrive controller work, how can I read the second button in it and how to simulate it under Altirra? I use https://www.8bitdo.com/retro-receiver-genesis-mega-drive/, it requires power on pin 5, Atari is on pin 7, so I made an extension with swapped wires. I am currently using a PS4 pad to play it, it works very well. @shanti77 It turns out you already support them. ? Unmodified Genesis/MegaDrive/Master System controllers effectively pull Pin 9 low, causing POT0 (not POT1) to return $E4 if the button is pressed. Your game already does that, from what I can tell: 95D5: 8D 0B D2 STA POTGO ;-------------------------------------------------- 0EF9: AE 00 D2 L0EF9 LDX POT0 <--- button B read here 0EFC: AD 82 0B LDA $0B82 0EFF: D0 01 BNE $0F02 0F01: 60 RTS ;-------------------------------------------------- 0F02: AD 30 18 L0F02 LDA $1830 0F05: D0 FA BNE $0F01 0F07: 20 BD 0E JSR $0EBD ;[expand] 0F0A: AD 30 18 LDA $1830 0F0D: D0 F2 BNE $0F01 0F0F: AE 00 D2 LDX POT0 <--- button B read here 0F12: E0 14 CPX #$14 0F14: B0 01 BCS $0F17 0F16: 60 RTS ;-------------------------------------------------- I admit I didn't think it was working the first time I played it, as I was expecting it to do some other type of attack. Just a moment ago, I realized that what it's actually doing is enabling a more powerful (wide) shot for a limited time - the counter at the lower-left of the screen shows how many times the player can do this. Awesome game BTW ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilheim Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 14 hours ago, xxl said: new xBootDOS (boot sectors) - replace bootsectors and rename AUTORUN to AUTO now works under AltirraOS Here is an ATR patched with the new xBootDOS. Thank you, XXL! lsquadron_xBootDOS_patch.atr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irgendwer Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 14 hours ago, MrFish said: For me, the regular gameplay difficulty is just about right; but the bosses seem a bit over the top difficult. So maybe a setting to tone down the bosses a bit; or maybe there could be settings for bosses and gameplay that are separate. IMHO a progress indicator for the boss (which you can find in many games) would already help to keep the motivation up... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNameOfTheGame Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 3 hours ago, Wilheim said: Here is an ATR patched with the new xBootDOS. Thank you, XXL! lsquadron_xBootDOS_patch.atr 130.02 kB · 7 downloads Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowman Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Congratulations on first place. In my opinion, Last Squadron is the best vertical shooter on the Atari XL/XE. It's a little easy for me. I played through all 4 levels several times. If you have defeated the first end opponent (not the small opponent in the middle part of a level), you can use the same tactic on every end opponent. Shanty, thank you very much for this great game. I'm looking forward to an extended cartridge version. In the next ABBUC magazine, I will publish a game test about Last Squadron. Again to the Mega Drive / Genesis controllers. This game works on rebuilt Joy2 + and on unmodified controllers. With a converted Sega joypad, button A is the fire button and button B triggers the extra weapon, but this must still be operated with button A. On an unmodified Sega joypad, button B is the "normal" fire button. Button C triggers the extra weapon. Please note the following!! The Atari has + 5V on pin 7. These are always on the multiplexer chip in the Sega joypad. At some point, if the multiplexer is broken, the buttons on the joypad no longer work. See also here: Converting a Sega Genesis controller (model number 1650 made in China) is pretty easy. Even I did it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 6 hours ago, Irgendwer said: IMHO a progress indicator for the boss (which you can find in many games) would already help to keep the motivation up... Yes, agreed. A lot games also used models where the boss would either change colors or lose pieces of himself as his strength diminished. These are all useful indicators that progress is being made towards defeating him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milpool^tired Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Wow! I just played it and it's really the best vertical shmup on the 8bit! It has a very modern look and feel to it, it's hard but not unfair and the controls are very responsive. And even background music + fx. I was actually dreaming of having a shooter that good on the atari for years If there will be a cart version, i'm going to buy it without thinking! Really great game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milpool^tired Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 On 11/15/2020 at 12:16 AM, MrFish said: maybe only eclipsed by Bosconian. Maybe it's a matter of taste, but i think this one is better. It's probably one of the most playable and best looking shooters on any 8bit. I'm just so glad that i have something to let off steam on the atari8 now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 9 minutes ago, milpool^tired said: Maybe it's a matter of taste, but i think this one is better. It's probably one of the most playable and best looking shooters on any 8bit. I'm just so glad that i have something to let off steam on the atari8 now!! I was partly joking, because Bosconian was made by the same author as Last Squadron -- hence the "wink" at the end of the message. They're quite different games, so a bit difficult to compare, actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 On 11/16/2020 at 5:33 PM, xxl said: new xBootDOS (boot sectors) - replace bootsectors Hate to sound like a noob but how does one do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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