Wilheim Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 45 minutes ago, Mr Robot said: Hate to sound like a noob but how does one do this? I just did it in post #42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 (edited) On 11/16/2020 at 5:19 PM, MrFish said: 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. Maybe it would be asking to much, but I'd like to expand on MrFish's Expansion requests: Super Bombs like in Raiden that can take out a large radius or motherships. Now I realize that might seem to be asking the impossible with the A8's P/M graphic capabilities, but I think it would be something cool to have even if the explosion was just made larger with quadruple wide pixel versions of the double-wide explosions used in collisions, or, if they are already quadruple-wide sprites, maybe just using four of those collision explosions clustered together. even if it's still a fraction of the size of Raiden Super-bombs, it would still be a very cool effect, but maybe only granted one super-bomb if you manage to take out 100% of several consecutive enemy formations in a row or hidden targets like the extra life flags in Xevious, maybe both ways. Giving an extra incentive to players not to miss any targets and an extra game play "wow" factor. As to MrFish's suggestion of alternate gun shot types, I'm always partial to the 3-way expanding type. Edited November 18, 2020 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxl Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, Mr Robot said: how does one do this? hexeditor or dir2atr or ... run this: xBootDOS_initializer.xex --- remember to rename the file "autorun" to "auto" Edited November 18, 2020 by xxl remember to rename the file "autorun" to "auto" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilheim Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 10 hours ago, Mr Robot said: Hate to sound like a noob but how does one do this? Didn't get the question right. My bad, I still need to learn english. I did it using an hex editor, XVI32 in this case. I replaced bytes $10-$190 (remember the first 16 bytes are the ATR header) with the OBX provided by XXL and then went to sector $169 (361 in dec, $B410 in the ATR file) and renamed the file AUTORUN to AUTO, filling with spaces (byte value $20) over the "RUN" string. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 12 hours ago, Wilheim said: I just did it in post #42 Thank you for doing it for me, but that just means I still don't know how it's done! 6 hours ago, xxl said: hexeditor or dir2atr or ... run this: Ah I was overthinking it, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 3 hours ago, Wilheim said: Didn't get the question right. My bad, I still need to learn english. I did it using an hex editor, XVI32 in this case. I replaced bytes $10-$190 (remember the first 16 bytes are the ATR header) with the OBX provided by XXL and then went to sector $169 (361 in dec, $B410 in the ATR file) and renamed the file AUTORUN to AUTO, filling with spaces (byte value $20) over the "RUN" string. Just what I needed, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 (edited) @shanti77 Just a little petition from me for a PAUSE option (e.g. on space bar or P) in final version. Especially that after losing life the game restarts itself immediately and requires constant play. So either a pause option, or wait-on-fire on respawn. Edited November 20, 2020 by Jacques 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetboot Jack Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 Outstanding - really nice work! sTeVE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Jacques said: @shanti77 Just a little petition from me for a PAUSE option (e.g. on space bar or P) in final version. Especially that after losing life the game restarts itself immediately and requires constant play. So either a pause option, or wait-on-fire on respawn. There have definitely been quite a few times for me already when I really wished it had a pause, as much as I've been playing it (a new favorite). This game is the only reason I finally decided to do a Joy 2B+ (Joy 3B on my Sega controller) mod to my Genesis pad. Of course I've been enjoying many other Joy 2B enhanced games now too. How about a space bar pause and also a button 3 pause option for those of us with 3 buttons or more. Edited November 20, 2020 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari8guy Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 (edited) This is a great game. My compliments. Edited November 20, 2020 by 8bitguy1 Apparently I couldn't write 7 words without a spelling mistake. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nysavant Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Just tried it out, really nice game. One of the best arcade shooters I've seen on the 8-bit. I like the explosions, very meaty looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gury Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Excellent game with technical/programming perfection! I tried it out and it really plays well, graphics and music/sounds, playability... It would be great if it is explained in some detail how all this was done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yautja Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 In "Terra Cresta", you got parts to complete a giant space ship. But can't realize how to use the pieces in Last Squadron. @shanti77 could you please explain the power ups in the game? - Y - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanti77 Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 @Yautjapost #15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yautja Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 3 hours ago, shanti77 said: @Yautjapost #15 Oh #13 On 11/15/2020 at 5:15 AM, shanti77 said: It's nice that you liked the game A few words on mechanics. We shoot by holding fire instead of pressing it (it's hard to press fire throughout the game;) A special shot is limited in time, the more empowered the shot, the longer the second shot will be used. The remaining number of uses is in the bottom left corner of the screen (max = 3), it's best to save something for the boss. If someone has a joystick compatible with SEGA, he has a 2 button at his disposal, which also allows you to fire a special. There are three types of improvements: 1) speed, make our plane faster 2) covers, strengthens the cover of the aircraft, additionally speeds up its regeneration and restores all energy 3) speed of the shot, additionally extends the duration of the special shot Each gathering of an upgrade adds one use of a special shot. Each Boss consists of two parts, each of them must be shot down separately, this is indicated by the black color of the given half. There are 4 levels, each with its own music. Extra life for every 10 000 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 On 11/16/2020 at 6:19 PM, MrFish said: 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. I'll add to this that there should be a sound when the enemies are hit too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanti77 Posted December 4, 2020 Author Share Posted December 4, 2020 Thanks for your support, I read all the posts, I don't promise to use everything, but I consider all posts. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 (edited) For those who haven't noticed yet, we just started round 23 of the HSC which features this game. Unfortunately I must report some problem, which probably is more due to my PAL 130XE than the game itself, since I've had a bunch of other games acting up on this computer before. Every now and then, in particular when I'm losing my last life, instead of going to the Game Over screen, the game freezes with one line of garbage graphics in orange/yellow at the top and rest of the screen black. Nothing happens after that, I have to reboot. It doesn't happen every time, but often enough. I'm loading it from a SIO2SD and of course with BASIC disabled. My joystick is a Starplex Deluxe Video Controller, rebuilt with electronics removed and a Suncom type joystick cable. Did anyone else spot this behavior, or is my 130XE having some weird RAM (??) issue that only shows up on every 20-30th title I'm trying to play? Previously we played L.A. SWAT and it would freeze almost all the time, until I switched to a Tac-2 and the issue disappeared. I'll try it on this game too, in case the joystick sends some signals like multiple directions at the same time that would cause the game to crash. Edit: A different joystick made no difference in this case. ? The actual crash screen looks different every time. Sometimes a solid line, sometimes garbage graphics. Sometimes orange/yellow, sometimes grey etc. Edited December 10, 2020 by carlsson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwilove Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Any chance of a version running on a standard 800XL? Then that makes 2? worthwhile games that run only on a 130XE (the other being Prince of Persia). Any other 130XE only games out there (the enhanced International Karate game?) that makes getting a 130XE worthwhile? Harvey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CharlieChaplin Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Which version of the game "Last Squadron" are you using ? There are these: - 64k/XL version with XBootDOS loader (bootsector-loader/DOS, memlo $980) by XXL, e.g. released here at Atari Age or atarionline.pl as a multifile version, unpacked -64k/XL version with uDOS loader (bootsector-loader/DOS, memlo $938) by S.Dorndorf, used on the Abbuc diskette (instead of XBootDOS), multifile version, main file packed with Superpacker/Exomizer using page 4 and page 5 as buffer/depacker - 128k/XE version from the Homesoft page, "converted" by Homesoft into a stand-alone XEX fileversion (most-likely packed) Then we might be able to find out if it is an issue with the version and/or loader or if it is an issue with your hardware or if the game simply has a bug. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 5 hours ago, carlsson said: The actual crash screen looks different every time. Sometimes a solid line, sometimes garbage graphics. Sometimes orange/yellow, sometimes grey etc. Not sure if you have a spare or can swap chips to check, but it looks like something is going on with a row of character graphics. This could be a problem with the ANTIC chip, or a support logic chip on the address or memory buses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 I downloaded the version Fandal has put on his site, not sure which of the ones you list it best matches. Unfortunately I don't have any spares (well, I do have a XEGS on a long term loan to somebody with the intention to fix another 65XE, but it all ended up with him breaking my XEGS as well... and he is a professional electronics repairman). I'll try some of the other versions to see if it changes how my computer acts up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 I'm a bit late to the party but nice game guys, thank you all, and yes like carlsson said now playing in the High Score Club along with Sector Wars if anyone wants to wet their feet before next season starts now's the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CharlieChaplin Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 7 hours ago, carlsson said: I downloaded the version Fandal has put on his site, not sure which of the ones you list it best matches. Unfortunately I don't have any spares (well, I do have a XEGS on a long term loan to somebody with the intention to fix another 65XE, but it all ended up with him breaking my XEGS as well... and he is a professional electronics repairman). I'll try some of the other versions to see if it changes how my computer acts up. The download on Fandal's webpage is the 64k version with XbootDOS loader (multifile-version, main file is unpacked). Here is the single fileversion for 128k machines by Homesoft. You can find uDOS in the Abbuc forum and simply replace the XBootDOS loader with it, if you want. (Load UDOS.COM or UDOSINIT.COM and write the loader onto the 64k version of Last Squadron.) There are german and english instructions available on the disk for uDOS. As always, do not forget to boot witout Basic (e.g. hold down the Option key). If all three versions do show the same gfx problem, then either the game has a bug or your hardware... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 FWIW, I tried the Homesoft XEX version and the exact same happens when I lose a life. Given how many other people successfully played this game on real hardware, I'm willing to chalk it down to a hardware issue on my computer like DrVenkman described. I don't have any spare parts or the skills to fix it, and only a handful of games crash out so it must be doing something special with the hardware. Right now I'm not in a position to send it away to an Atari specialist for repair anyway, so I'll continue enjoying this game in emulation for the time being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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