Asteroite pre-orders OPEN NOW

[Songbird]

31 minutes ago, PFG 9000 said:

Carl, do you think you might have the updated version available at the Midwest Gaming Classic?  Or is that too soon?  I think I'll hang on to my copy and buy one of the new ones there.

Best case I'll have a few on hand for MGC, but only if we're 100% through the testing at that point.

 

27 minutes ago, leech said:

Where does it actually crash usually?   I only managed to get to the first boss and then died pathetically.

The crash tends to happen at the very first save tube, or also at the first "ice blocks" level right above the save tube. It's within the first 10-20 minutes of gameplay, particularly if you travel straight from the first powerup to the save tube.

[+CyranoJ]

How about a digital replacement to avoid paying int'l shipping twice? Many of us have GD Boards now?

 

I can assist with lockout code if required.

[leech]

4 hours ago, Songbird said:

The crash tends to happen at the very first save tube, or also at the first "ice blocks" level right above the save tube. It's within the first 10-20 minutes of gameplay, particularly if you travel straight from the first powerup to the save tube.

Ah, I've played past that without issues.  I have a revision on my Jag, as I bought it the same time I got the JagCD, in case that matters.

[vrocko]

Just wondering does it happen more on J versions than M versions of the Jag and how come? Is there a hardware difference in the two versions that's causing this or is it a software issue, not in the game mind you but the Jaguar software? I've got the M version and didn't have an issue but only played up to 25% so far, haven't had time and the Outlaws update on NMS dropped Wednesday so been involved with playing that. ?

[Welshworrier]

On 4/14/2022 at 2:02 PM, phoboz said:

Yes, but only on a few Jaguar K-series consoles, that's the reason it slipped trough validation (because it did not manifest on my development console, nor on @Songbird's test console).

 

Lesson learned: Test the game on a few different Jaguar consoles that are know to behave differently. 

 

I had the same experience from the Vectrex scene, but thankfully there was a person who collected these out-of-spec consoles and were glad to test games on these different consoles. Due to the more analogue nature of the Vectrex this was a well known problem (e.g. mainly due to scattering in the actual capacitance of the integrator capacitors), but I was surprised to see this on the Jaguar as well?

So what was the actual bug - it sounds as if you are suggesting it was a hardware effect that triggered it.

 

It would be useful to future developers, knowing what they have to look out for to cater for the various models.

[phoboz]

This was indeed a real bug in the game code. However, on a very specific platform there might be a series of fortunate circumstances that prevent the bug from becoming a problem.

 

For example, in every case I have been involved in porting a piece of (non trivial) software from one platform to another, previously undetected bugs in the code have manifested as themselves as problems on the new platform.

 

Apparently the differences between most of the Jaguars vs. a small portion of the K-series Jaguars are large enough to enable previously unknown software bugs to manifested themselves as problems.

 

So the issue in this case was not that certain consoles had out-of-spec behavior, rather it was indeed a software problem. That is normally not an issue as you are supposed to detect these during validation, but both the platform on which the game was developed, and the platform it was tested on, did not reveal the bug, as it didn't lead to a problem.

 

The actual bug was in this case that I attempted to continue iterating over the elements in a linked list, after the current node was invalid (or re-used for something else). A NULL element would terminate that operation, which I belive was the reason why it was working on most consoles.

Edited April 15, 2022 by phoboz

[Songbird]

It appears that Jaguar RAM is being initialized to zeroes on some Jaguars and not on others. So naturally this can lead to all sorts of latent bugs and crashes if you didn't realize variables were set to zero / NULL by the Jaguar, instead of by the code (where it is supposed to happen). For example, at one point we completely disabled the DSP, but that had no impact on the failure rate for the original crash symptom. So we started looking harder for code bugs rather than esoteric hardware fringe conditions.

 

Once @phoboz identified and fixed several bugs in the source code, those early crash symptoms have disappeared completely during our tests over the past two days. Now we need to test the entire game on multiple flavors of Jaguars, to ensure there are no remaining latent bugs.

[ColecoGamer]

My work schedule has been interfering with my playtime on the Jaguar (i.e. it’s been non-existent). 
 

I’m surprised to hear that a game breaking bug exists in Asteroite. @phoboz is an excellent coder, and he is very thorough at finding bugs/glitches. It sounds like a random bug slipped below his radar, which is uncommon. But considering the type of game Asteroite is - and how big it is in comparison to most Jaguar releases - I can see how a random bug could have made it through unnoticed. 
 

I have faith in @phoboz’s skills in eventually stamping out the issue.

 

Now if I could only find enough time in my own personal life to game, I would be one happy gamer! 

Edited April 15, 2022 by ColecoGamer

[ColecoGamer]

@Songbird, will you be issuing cartridge replacements once the issue is rectified?

[phoboz]

2 minutes ago, ColecoGamer said:

But considering the type of game Asteroite is - and how big it is in comparison to most Jaguar releases -

Yes, Asteroite is the most complex game I worked on so far maybe not because of the looks, but because of the size of the game, and the variety of different enemies, items, skills, bosses etc.

 

More complex software will of course have a higher chance of containing bugs.

[Editorb]

 

1 hour ago, ColecoGamer said:

@Songbird, will you be issuing cartridge replacements once the issue is rectified?

 

On 4/14/2022 at 7:09 AM, Songbird said:

@phoboz has been doing a great job of providing multiple ROMs with debug messages and potential fixes. It looks like we have a solid fix for the game crash (already validated on multiple Jaguars which previously hit the crash right away), and a potential fix for the corrupted background graphic at the end of the game (need to validate). Other minor visual glitches are being investigated and we'll fix them if the fixes are simple and low risk.

 

Once we have the final ROM candidate, we'll validate the entire game start to finish on several Jaguars which were known to exhibit the failure. This process will likely take a couple weeks, but it's worth it to ensure the original bugs are fixed, and no new bugs introduced.

 

For anyone who ordered direct from Songbird and needs a replacement cart, here is the process:

1. Return the cartridge only (you keep the box and manual) to:
   Songbird Productions
   1736 Chippewa Drive NW
   Rochester, MN 55901
   USA
2. Provide a brief written or printed note with the cart including your name, email, and order number.
3. Wait patiently for a new cart to arrive.

I will gladly replace everyone's cart, regardless if you hit the crash or not. That way you'll get to have the most reliable version of the game possible. Note that if you receive a cart from another vendor, then you should work with that vendor directly to get a replacement.

 

Thanks to everyone for being so understanding during this process! Really appreciate your patience.

 

 

[Editorb]

I was relieved to learn the problem was not with my hardware, and also relieved the majority of people have not had problems. I am more than relieved to learn bugs were squished and replacements will be available. I had fully resigned myself to getting a variation of "We looked for problems, and your Jag(s) just suck, leaving you crap outta luck."

 

Kudos to all involved for getting after it!

Edited April 15, 2022 by Editorb

[Mikebloke]

You guys are still awesome for going to the trouble of fixing the game and swapping them out, my copy is nearly here but I'll see how it goes.

[K3V]

Beat it today! No glitches or errors during main gameplay but I did see the graphical glitch during the end game screen on my first completion. I then loaded back into the game, explored one room I had missed and beat it again and the final screen displayed properly. Still at 98% so I missed something along the way…

I played it on a K series Jaguar, for the record.

Loved the game! Great addition to the Jaguar’s library. Left me hopeful for a sequel someday

[Songbird]

Very nice, congrats!

Spoiler

You likely either missed a small room somewhere, or a couple of missile upgrades. Some of the missiles are off the beaten path and require some creative exploration to locate them.

 

[+Saturn]

Mine is on 98% as well. I assumed it was bc of the last save point and the boss fight(s) equaled the remaining 2%.. unsavable.

I don't remember the total # of missile upgrades I found. Will check my notes on Discord.

 

Quick edit

Spoiler

Found 15

 

[Songbird]

On 4/12/2022 at 10:34 AM, PFG 9000 said:

I finished it!  Asteroite was a really enjoyable experience...

 

 

Well, someone made it to 100% so it's doable.

 

[phoboz]

3 hours ago, Saturn said:

Mine is on 98% as well. I assumed it was bc of the last save point and the boss fight(s) equaled the remaining 2%.. unsavable.

I don't remember the total # of missile upgrades I found. Will check my notes on Discord.

 

Quick edit

  Reveal hidden contents

Found 15

 

Spoiler

Once you beat the final Boss the game will automatically save giving you the extra percentage you gain for finalising the game. I think it was +1%, but you also get an additonal +1% for visiting the room of the final Boss (e.g. it becomes filled on the map), but this you can also do if you get back to the last savepoint after entering, and exiting the Boss room.

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by phoboz

[+Saturn]

Ty, i see at least one place I need to revisit near the start. Noticed this during my current re-play through. Will switch game slots in a bit and make the trek back.

I didn't notice PFG's pic said 100%. Thanks for pointing it out

[K3V]

3 hours ago, Songbird said:

Very nice, congrats!

  Hide contents

You likely either missed a small room somewhere, or a couple of missile upgrades. Some of the missiles are off the beaten path and require some creative exploration to locate them.

 

Question!

 

Spoiler

I found 26 missiles -- is that correct or did I miss some?

 

[phoboz]

12 minutes ago, K3V said:

Question!

 

  Hide contents

I found 26 missiles -- is that correct or did I miss some?

 

Spoiler

Looking at the code, I count to 32 missiles.

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by phoboz
Update actual count

[MetalKnuckles]

If we haven't received our copy yet, are we still likely to receive the bugged version?

[Mikebloke]

1 hour ago, MetalKnuckles said:

If we haven't received our copy yet, are we still likely to receive the bugged version?

If it's already been posted then yes, I imagine they'll announce when any new copies get sent out which will be the patched ones.

[Songbird]

Correct, if it's already shipped, then it is not the fixed version. If the order is still held / awaiting shipment, then it will need to wait for the fixed ROM before we can fulfill it. We're still chasing down one last bug right now, so no one has a fixed ROM yet.

[ColecoGamer]

7 hours ago, Songbird said:

Correct, if it's already shipped, then it is not the fixed version. If the order is still held / awaiting shipment, then it will need to wait for the fixed ROM before we can fulfill it. We're still chasing down one last bug right now, so no one has a fixed ROM yet.

I guess instead of playing my copy, I’ll wait to upgrade to the fixed version instead. I see no reason to spend time with the game (investing hours of gameplay), just to lose my progress by exchanging the cart. I’ll just wait patiently for the bug free version.