Official 'Marathon Quest' help thread

[Mik's Arcade]

18 minutes ago, Sinjinhawke said:

Best of luck on your marathon.  Unfortunately age finally caught up to my knees so I will only be doing a 10km race this month but grateful to be doing that.

 

Didn't mean to sidetrack the discussion.  Carry on.

No worries, I don't really want to post about this game unless I'm stuck because I don't want to waste anyone's time.  To be honest, I'm in over my head on this game so I've been working on a couple of smaller games until I can get IntyBasic coding under my belt. There are too many things I just don't get and my ideas for this running game are too ambitious at the moment.

 

But thanks for the well wishes. This has been a long journey. I signed up for a marathon in 2020 and it was cancelled 1 week before we were going to run it due to COVID. Prior to this, I've only run 4 half marathons and decided to ring in my 50th year being on this planet by going for the full marathon. Now I'm 51 and have been training for 18 months.  I'm tired....I'm sore all over and this stuff is HARD.  But, my training period is over and now it is 5 days until I run it. It won't be the best marathon because there will be less fanfare and flash, but it is what it is. After this marathon, I am totally retiring from long distance training. I'll keep running as long as MY knees hold up, but sticking to 10k and half marathons from here on in.

 

 

then I will more time to figure out all this trick IntyBasic stuff......and I'll start playing bass again

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by Mik's Arcade

[Mik's Arcade]

since the thread has been bumped I have a simple question....

 

Is there a way to  assign a constant to the reverse image of a BITMAP statement like you can do with a sprite?

 

I'm creating a bunch of 8x8 BITMAP and have a lot of these reverse BITMAPS and want to try to save on the DEFINE overhead as I am creeping up on the 64 limit.

 

example

 

mik_example:

BITMAP:

"10000000"

"11111111"

"10000000"

"10000000"

"10000000"

"10000000"

"10000000"

"10000000"

 

DEFINE 0,1,mik_example

 

CONST B1 = $0802 + 0 * 8

 

is there any way to get a 2 for 1 sale and DEFINE CONST B2 equal to the reverse of this, ie...

 

"00000001"

"11111111"

"00000001"

"00000001"

"00000001"

"00000001"

"00000001"

"00000001"

 

i feel like I can change a bit in the $0802 to do this?  I think I've seen an example somewhere in Oscar's book yet cant find it.....

[carlsson]

Aha, you mean mirroring. That unfortunately is a feature only available with MOBs, not BACKTAB cards.

 

When you wrote reverse, at first I thought inverse: 0 = 1, 1 = 0 which of course can be done by swapping background and foreground, within the colour limitations of the mode you are operating in.

 

There is the directive BITMAP MIRROR_X but it is only shorthand for you when defining GRAM, i.e. it doesn't save any definitions. It is used in case you have drawn a graphic and want to mirror it but don't feel like redrawing the bitmap pixels.

 

Besides, shouldn't your constant B1 be $0402 + 0*8 if you want your MOB flipped in X, red and where 0*8 sets the GRAM? Check the constants file for FLIPX, FLIPY and MIRROR, all which operate on MOBs only.

Edited May 10, 2021 by carlsson

[Mik's Arcade]

7 minutes ago, carlsson said:

Aha, you mean mirroring. That unfortunately is a feature only available with MOBs, not BACKTAB cards.

 

When you wrote reverse, at first I thought inverse: 0 = 1, 1 = 0 which of course can be done by swapping background and foreground, within the colour limitations of the mode you are operating in.

 

There is the directive BITMAP MIRROR_X but it is only shorthand for you when defining GRAM, i.e. it doesn't save any definitions. It is used in case you have drawn a graphic and want to mirror it but don't feel like redrawing the bitmap pixels.

 

Besides, shouldn't your constant B1 be $0402 + 0*8 if you want your MOB flipped in X, red and where 0*8 sets the GRAM? Check the constants file for FLIPX, FLIPY and MIRROR, all which operate on MOBs only.

It must have been wishful thinking....I was hoping to be able to 'flip' a defined BITMAP.   I'm using a bunch of them to draw lines and corner shapes and was hoping to save some real estate.  But yes, I should have said mirroring....I was not trying to switch the 0 and 1.

[carlsson]

From the bright side, not that many other architectures have built-in hardware support to flip sprites at all so you already have a small advantage with the Intellivision.

[Mik's Arcade]

3 minutes ago, carlsson said:

From the bright side, not that many other architectures have built-in hardware support to flip sprites at all so you already have a small advantage with the Intellivision.

always look at the bright side of life!!!  (insert whistling)

 

I could always try to PRINT the lines directly on the screen as opposed to using the cards (like Oscar does in his pong game sample in his first book), but I have a feeling this might cause more headaches then it is worth....the game I am working uses about 12 bits per "floor" so it does not conform to the intellivision 8x8 card logic.  I got all the space and lines worked out (I actually drew the thing out on graph paper), but I had to create more BITMAP statements than I wanted to, and was just trying to reduce the count and save the rest for the actual MOBS.  It looks exactly like the original game.....I don't want to reveal it just yet.....haha

 

 

 

 

[carlsson]

As far as I know, you have three methods to put things onto the screen (not counting MOBs): PRINT for strings and individual graphics, SCREEN to paste a big chunk and #BACKTAB (which is syntactic sugar for POKE directly into STIC memory) to plot individual characters. In particular the later two require you to use the right offsets or hard coded values, but depending on what you want to put on the screen they all may have pros and cons. In terms of GRAM usage the method doesn't matter.

Edited May 10, 2021 by carlsson

[Mik's Arcade]

Anyways, here is a "bullshot" of the special secret project I have been working on while I get my act together on marathon quest.

 

I'm sure someone has done this before but oh well.....

 

The original game let you input a name in place of all those "?" but I am doing away with that and have a new idea on what those will be used for....

 

 

[Mik's Arcade]

so of course I just saw this....haha''

 

oh well, still not an IntyBasic version....lol.

 

[+Lathe26]

I misread Pick Axe Pete as Pixel Pete. ??

 

 

[Mik's Arcade]

Actually, the Pick Axe Pete editor was actually good because I just so happened to have the ROM and opened it up in that editor so I was able to use it to reverse engineer all 10 levels of the original game into my IntyBasic version.  I may add some original levels later.

 

What amazes me about the game is that there is SO MUCH going on in it. Pete has all sorts of different animation and moves. To be honest, it is kind of a mess but a good mess. Plus, there are actually so many moving pieces on the screen at once, more than the 8 sprite limit of IntyBasic.  I'm going to have to work some magic because having a LOT of rocks on the screen at the same time is critical to the gameplay.

[+DZ-Jay]

On 5/10/2021 at 2:27 PM, carlsson said:

As far as I know, you have three methods to put things onto the screen (not counting MOBs): PRINT for strings and individual graphics, SCREEN to paste a big chunk and #BACKTAB (which is syntactic sugar for POKE directly into STIC memory) to plot individual characters. In particular the later two require you to use the right offsets or hard coded values, but depending on what you want to put on the screen they all may have pros and cons. In terms of GRAM usage the method doesn't matter.

One very minor correction:  the BACKTAB is in system RAM, not "STIC memory."  It just happens that the STIC uses it as a screen buffer.  It still needs to assert the bus with a recurring interrupt and wrestle for control of it from the CPU, to process a frame progressively.  That just happens automatically behind the scenes, though, during active display.

 

If you disable the display, or if you don't care about what garbage shows up on the screen, you could just put whatever you want in there.  It's just 16-bit system RAM.

 

    dZ.

[Mik's Arcade]

hey all -

 

My marathon quest in real life has been completed.  My first (and probably only) 26.2 at the old age of 51.  Completed it in 4 hours and 23 minutes.  This was the hardest thing I ever did. The last 6 miles were brutal but my pace didn't suffer that much except for the last mile when I finally hit the wall...haha.

 

Fortunately, the Mrs. had a great run and qualified for the Boston marathon (and also came in 2nd place for her age group) so I get to return to my home state next year so we can all cheer her on.

 

Now that this training is over, I should have more time to code IntyBasic !!!!

 

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Mik's Arcade

[wolfy62]

13 hours ago, Mik's Arcade said:

hey all -

 

My marathon quest in real life has been completed.  My first (and probably only) 26.2 at the old age of 51.  Completed it in 4 hours and 23 minutes.  This was the hardest thing I ever did. The last 6 miles were brutal but my pace didn't suffer that much except for the last mile when I finally hit the wall...haha.

 

Fortunately, the Mrs. had a great run and qualified for the Boston marathon (and also came in 2nd place for her age group) so I get to return to my home state next year so we can all cheer her on.

 

Now that this training is over, I should have more time to code IntyBasic !!!!

 

 

Congratulations! 

That is a really good time,especially for a first,and even if it is your last Marathon.

What a great accomplishment and personal achievement. 

The camaraderie and encouragement you get out on the road or trail and from the bystanders cheering you on is something I know I will always cherish from my running days, and I know you will never forget for the rest of your life!?

Plus,the medal that you got is really cool too.

Congratulations to your Wife as well,did she have to get a time of 3:40 -3:50 or below to qualify for Boston? That was a little beyond the pace I could run for sure,even as a male.

Now on to your next great achievement,make us all a fun Intellivision game!!!?

Edited May 16, 2021 by wolfy62
Adding info.

[carlsson]

Cool. If I start jogging tomorrow, I'll have 5 years to go to get to the shape to participate in a marathon race. Not that I can ever see me getting nowhere close to that.

[Mik's Arcade]

6 hours ago, wolfy62 said:

Congratulations! 

That is a really good time,especially for a first,and even if it is your last Marathon.

What a great accomplishment and personal achievement. 

The camaraderie and encouragement you get out on the road or trail and from the bystanders cheering you on is something I know I will always cherish from my running days, and I know you will never forget for the rest of your life!?

Plus,the medal that you got is really cool too.

Congratulations to your Wife as well,did she have to get a time of 3:40 -3:50 or below to qualify for Boston? That was a little beyond the pace I could run for sure,even as a male.

Now on to your next great achievement,make us all a fun Intellivision game!!!?

yes, the wife finished at 3:38:21 so she had a full 12 minutes to spare. We both had great runs. She had tweaked her back and took the entire week off before the marathon and was not sure if it would flare up.  And during my training I had a tough time keeping pace after the first 13 miles but for the race my second half was only 3 minutes slower than the first half so I kept a very steady pace.

 

There was not as much fanfare as usual because of COVID restrictions, but most of the support was on the back 13 were it was needed the most.

 

I'm going to go for a 50's trifecta:

 

1) Marathon -  DONE

2) Make Intellivision games - getting there

3) Play bass in a band at a bar/club - very doable. I was in a band a couple years ago but they split up 1 week before we were supposed to play a small gig. That's when I put down the bass and started running again

Edited May 16, 2021 by Mik's Arcade

[carlsson]

So instead of playing walking bass, you went directly to running bass?

[Sinjinhawke]

On 5/15/2021 at 8:07 PM, Mik's Arcade said:

 

Excellent job.  Congrats.  
 

Not nearly as impressive as you but still a minor accomplishment for me.  I finished my 10k run this weekend.  It’s a big deal because I have pressure on my sciatic nerve and crunchy knees.  Instead of running with 1000’s of other people I was with a handful of other runners at a park.  Everything should be back to normal next year.  No more virtual runs.  I want closed off streets, angry drivers and a real finish line.    
 

[Mik's Arcade]

On 5/16/2021 at 4:28 PM, carlsson said:

So instead of playing walking bass, you went directly to running bass?

 

haha

 

insert drumroll.....

[nesrocks]

Pick Axe Pete is more complex than it looks! Glad that the editor helped

You probably already know all of these, but it can be good to make sure. There are some unspoken rules to the game:

- There can never be more than 5 boulders on screen. The player can pay attention to this and know that it is then safe to get close to or jump over doors because none will spawn there.

- The screen can't have both a key and a pickaxe.

- Ladders will keep reappearing at the floor you're on if you have a key or a pickaxe. Otherwise they appear in a loop from the bottom floor, going up one at a time.

- Each door color leads to the next level having that color. I've read somewhere that each color has something to it, the obvious one being the black that turns floors invisible. I'm not sure about the other ones! I'd like to know if it's true that the other ones have differences.

- If you jump and die you'll continue moving. If you have a key and fall on a door while dying it'll save you and safely take you to the next level.

- Each beaten level removes 1 floor ramdomly. For some reason it takes a long time to remove floors from the top left section.

[Mik's Arcade]

9 minutes ago, nesrocks said:

Pick Axe Pete is more complex than it looks! Glad that the editor helped

You probably already know all of these, but it can be good to make sure. There are some unspoken rules to the game:

- There can never be more than 5 boulders on screen. The player can pay attention to this and know that it is then safe to get close to or jump over doors because none will spawn there.

- The screen can't have both a key and a pickaxe.

- Ladders will keep reappearing at the floor you're on if you have a key or a pickaxe. Otherwise they appear in a loop from the bottom floor, going up one at a time.

- Each door color leads to the next level having that color. I've read somewhere that each color has something to it, the obvious one being the black that turns floors invisible. I'm not sure about the other ones! I'd like to know if it's true that the other ones have differences.

- If you jump and die you'll continue moving. If you have a key and fall on a door while dying it'll save you and safely take you to the next level.

- Each beaten level removes 1 floor ramdomly. For some reason it takes a long time to remove floors from the top left section.

 

I've been playing a lot of pickaxe pete lately to help me and you are right - the game is WAY more complicated than it looks.  I'm surprised at just how many different movements and animations the game uses for Pete.  You can jump and dive in multiple directions  I read the manual a few times to get as many rules as possible, but those unspoken rules help.  I have a new idea on how I want to better manage the keys and level warps, and it will use the ???? spaces that would otherwise be used for the high score name.

 

I'm working on 4 different games. Since I am new to programming I keep getting stumped and work on a 'simpler' game.  Right now, Pickaxe Pete is number 2 on the list...haha. I'm going to have to make a couple of simple ports before I can move on to my more ambitious titles.