+save2600 Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 29 minutes ago, Asmusr said: I'm not sure what to do to increase the speech volume, except relatively by lowering the music volume, which would make the music less dynamic. I have already increased the volume of the samples I converted using Python Wizard to the maximum possible without clipping. Is it a general issue that speech is lower than PSG sound? Can you hear the speech clearly in Alpiner while the music is playing? Background music in a pinball game like this doesn't need to be at the forefront, "loud" or dynamic IMO. Prefer effects (ie: anything that scores points like targets, etc) and speech to be slightly louder and take priority over BGM. Just enough to stand out, as a kind of 'feedback' mechanic and affirmation of scoring or completing an objective. And yes, Alpiner is nicely balanced. Has quiet BGM, and speech is clearly heard. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XLERB Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 Amazing! I love all the little references to different bits of TI99 history in the game. Very nice motion, sound, and graphics. Can’t wait to try it on real iron now that we have our power back! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted June 17, 2022 Author Share Posted June 17, 2022 (edited) Here is a new version that deals with most of the issues you have reported: Make background red I don't think it should look like an extension of the board, but I agree that grey was a bad color, so I made it black. Joystick up to activate both flippers Added. In keyboard mode the key B works the same. Activate rollovers in lanes near flipper They now give a few points, but I haven't implemented any special functions. I'm thinking of adding a "ball captured" function based on the color of the stars. Remove transparency from ball The only way to do this would be to stack two sprites, which is difficult because it would introduce more than 4 sprites on a line in most of the board, or make the whole ball grey, which I don't like. I decided not to do anything. Reduce slingshot area Only the middle area now has the full slingshot effect. Reduce ball action near flippers Desirable, but any change I have tried making to the physics breaks lots of things, so I decided not to. 16-bit fixed point numbers seem to be quite fragile to changes like that, and using floating point numbers would be too slow. Gate sprite at left side After a lot of moving around in Magellan, I manged to arrange the sprites to allow the new sprite without more than 3 sprites on a line (the 4th is the ball), so this has been added. Rotation of gate blades Possible in theory, but not done. The gates are now blinking because that was easy to do. The ball exit, maybe the ball should disappear from the screen, before shooting a new one? The ball now rolls out of the screen. Speech volume too low The music volume is now lowered during speech. Sounds fine on my real TI-99/4As, but see below. Add a spinner at the top of the SAMS lane Not done. I'm not sure what the suggestion was, and anyway the limit adding for new scrolling graphics has been reached, so I'm not going to add new components. Bug passing through right flipper I have seen this before, but it appears to be very rare, so I haven't done anything about it. Most likely it's a problem with the collision map, so I could attempt a 'blind' fix if it happens when you play. Bug not saving high score I haven't seen this. Could be related to starting a new game immediately after completing the old game, but I don't see anything in the code that could explain this. Reaching Parsec game bug I haven't seen this either, but it took me something like 50 attempts to get one shot into that lane, so it's difficult to test. In my own cheat mode it works fine. Things to look out for: When trying this version on real hardware it crashed a few times, but I think that could be because of my flaky FinalGROM99 cart. In emulation, sometimes the speech stops working during the game, and the music volume gets stuck on low. Could be an error in my emulator. The one-way gates at the top of the board are difficult to make right. If the ball sometimes passes through one of them in the wrong direction, I'm OK with that, but it should not get stuck. Enjoy! pinball99.rpk pinball99-8.bin Edited June 17, 2022 by Asmusr 5 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 Thanks for taking the time to address some of the issues Rasmus! Had a chance to play a few games of your latest build and could tell an improvement in some areas right away. Lowering the volume of BGM when speech plays was one of them, and is a good compromise. ? I don't know if the added graphic of the left side one-way ball gate would/could/should affect ball movement, but it seems the ball is a little more bouncy up there, which is fine actually... greater variance in lane travel as a result. Not sure why those top most gates flash alternatively though... outside of a desired personal effect on your part, not necessary. And if it takes up resources that might be better used elsewhere, I'd just make them static images for sure. Lower playfield rollover return lane and outlane's score double whatever you have them set at, which is odd. You can hear a sound being triggered twice and scoring reflects that. Btw: makes sense that outlane's normally score a little more than inlane's as something of a consolation prize for "going down". haha Reduced slingshot action helps with uncontrollable chaos by the flippers. But is it possible to enable only half the kickback on the upper and lower registers of the slingshots surface area? That might be preferable vs. total deadness upper/lower. Really strange ball trajectory (still) while flipping when ball at the end of the flipper. Don't believe this has been addressed or acknowledged yet I guess. I did notice ONCE that the ball passed through the upper left gate, but that's not totally uncommon in a real machine. There's times where a ball can hit a gate just right, gate flips up and allows the ball to pass - no big deal. As with the previous build, speech can be funny at times. Funny in a taunting or humorous way! You'll get the "Kapow" or "great shot" signaling when you haven't actually made a great (accurate) shot at all. And when the ball drains... the game verbalizes it. It's like 'No Shit Sherlock'! lmao Just having fun here. ? Game never crashed on me (real hardware) and I played about a dozen times. As always nice job, and thank you for your efforts! Even as it sat, easily the best pinball game ever made for the TI-99/4A! ? ? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted June 19, 2022 Author Share Posted June 19, 2022 9 hours ago, save2600 said: Really strange ball trajectory (still) while flipping when ball at the end of the flipper. Don't believe this has been addressed or acknowledged yet I guess. Is that the narrow end of the flipper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 3 hours ago, Asmusr said: Is that the narrow end of the flipper? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 On 6/19/2022 at 1:31 PM, save2600 said: Yes. I was using the normal vector of the flipper to calculate the push from the flipper, but that fails at the end of the flipper where the normal becomes almost horizontal. In the attached version I'm using a normal vector that has the same direction across the length of the flipper, but changes with the rotation of the flipper, of course. I haven't tested it a lot, but it feels easier to make precision shots and hit some of the top lanes. I also removed the blinking of the gates and fixed the issue with the bottom lane rollovers. pinball99.rpk pinball99-8.bin 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 4 hours ago, Asmusr said: I was using the normal vector of the flipper to calculate the push from the flipper, but that fails at the end of the flipper where the normal becomes almost horizontal. In the attached version I'm using a normal vector that has the same direction across the length of the flipper, but changes with the rotation of the flipper, of course. I haven't tested it a lot, but it feels easier to make precision shots and hit some of the top lanes. I also removed the blinking of the gates and fixed the issue with the bottom lane rollovers. Only had time to quick test a few games (will play more soon), but the flipper action feels sooo much better now! Still hearing the double-point tones in the return and outlane's, but not 100% sure they're actually scoring double. Will try again in the next day or two. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ti99iuc Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 (edited) I have tested the game on the real TI99 with F18A, PEB and the Speech Synthesizer internal to the PEB. Already with the penultimate version, I had experienced game freezes and problems with speech (sudden interruptions during a sentence, glitches on the voice that you no longer understand words, alterations in the pitch of parts of sentences or words). I waited to reply because I wanted to try a different configuration and maybe with a sidecar speech and not internal to the PEB (even though the one I have in use, has never given me such problems). Just to be sure that it could not be a incompatibility though given the very advanced techniques Rasmus uses in his code. Unfortunately, I currently find myself without the simple 32k sidecar expansion and would also have to modify a speech to power the eventual expansion. Is anyone trying the game on a real computer with FG99 and Speech? at least to get some feedback. Anyway.... always thanks you Rasmus! It is always so appreciate every single progress you make with this beautiful pinball game Edited June 22, 2022 by ti99iuc 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 5 hours ago, ti99iuc said: Is anyone trying the game on a real computer with FG99 and Speech? at least to get some feedback. Yes, real computer with 8-bit 32K internally, FG99 and SS. Thought I heard garbled speech and different pitch at one point. The higher pitch/annunciation struck me as funny though. Game never froze on me. None of the versions have. Nor has the ball ever gotten stuck IIRC. Sure hope a shake feature gets implemented though! Times where the ball kinda diddles the center play-more post between the flippers before finally draining is irritating. lol If you could bump/nudge the playfield, could stand a chance to save the ball more often. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 5 hours ago, save2600 said: Yes, real computer with 8-bit 32K internally, FG99 and SS. Thought I heard garbled speech and different pitch at one point. The higher pitch/annunciation struck me as funny though. Game never froze on me. None of the versions have. Nor has the ball ever gotten stuck IIRC. Sure hope a shake feature gets implemented though! Times where the ball kinda diddles the play-more post between the flippers before finally draining is irritating. lol If you could bump/nudge the playfield, could stand a chance to save the ball more often. The "game over" speech sounds a bit funny. It was the same with the two different voices I tried. The nudge key is the same as the launch key (space/fire). It's just a little push, so I don't think it can be used for saving the ball (just for getting it unstuck), but you never know. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted June 29, 2022 Author Share Posted June 29, 2022 Here is version 1.0. It's almost the same as the last beta version except for added clean-up when pressing quit. pinball99.rpk pinball99-8.bin 6 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyPilot Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 38 minutes ago, Asmusr said: Here is version 1.0. It's almost the same as the last beta version except for added clean-up when pressing quit. pinball99.rpk 27.42 kB · 2 downloads pinball99-8.bin 256 kB · 3 downloads Very good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneMultitasker Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 Here's a quick video (mp4) of PINBALL 99 version 1.0 running on my Geneve. There are a few more things I want to complete: replace the keyboard CRU scan with a Geneve-compatible scan, do a bit more work on the cartridge 'emulation' routines, and learn how to fork my changes in GutHub. Rasmus has given me permission to release my changes when I am ready to do so. If you have specific questions about the Geneve emulation, PM me so that we don't clutter up this topic, or use an existing Geneve-specific topic (I thought one was created not too long ago but I cannot seem to find it now). IMG_3423.mp4 Edit: overview added to thread below, thanks @Ed in SoDak 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed in SoDak Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 (edited) Edited July 4, 2022 by Ed in SoDak 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globeron Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 On 6/30/2022 at 12:02 AM, Asmusr said: Here is version 1.0. It's almost the same as the last beta version except for added clean-up when pressing quit. pinball99.rpk 27.42 kB · 15 downloads pinball99-8.bin 256 kB · 28 downloads There is still a bug with the high score. It seems to remember the last high score 20220707_234055.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted July 7, 2022 Author Share Posted July 7, 2022 54 minutes ago, globeron said: There is still a bug with the high score. It seems to remember the last high score I think I see the bug in the code. It only affects scores higher than 32767, which I have never accomplished myself. I will post an update. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globeron Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 But this high score sticks correctly 105,530 Also had the ball stuck at this point. Spacebar moves it again. (In my case to the left down the drain) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted July 8, 2022 Author Share Posted July 8, 2022 This version (1.1) should fix the high score registration issue reported by @globeron. pinball99.rpk pinball99-8.bin 7 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneMultitasker Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 (From a Geneve perspective) I noticed that every now and again when I first start the game, the ball gets out of position in the bottom-right corner just above the plunger. It wiggles above the plunger then gets out of position, above or to the left. Sometimes I have noticed the ball drifting into the left side of the shooter lane while it is moving upward, up to one third of the ball width. I do not know if these happen with the TI version or if it is a Geneve-specific aberration. I tried to run PINBALL 99 in js99e.net using the above binary so that I could compare but after I press '2' the screen clears and nothing else happens. Is there a trick to running the game in the emulator? Edit: Edge doesn't seem to work well with any carts on the software menu so I tried FireFox and was able to run Pinball and Flying shark. I recall an Edge update got pushed to my machine last week, maybe MS broke something. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 9 hours ago, InsaneMultitasker said: maybe MS broke something. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 10 hours ago, InsaneMultitasker said: (From a Geneve perspective) I noticed that every now and again when I first start the game, the ball gets out of position in the bottom-right corner just above the plunger. It wiggles above the plunger then gets out of position, above or to the left. Sometimes I have noticed the ball drifting into the left side of the shooter lane while it is moving upward, up to one third of the ball width. I do not know if these happen with the TI version or if it is a Geneve-specific aberration. I tried to run PINBALL 99 in js99e.net using the above binary so that I could compare but after I press '2' the screen clears and nothing else happens. Is there a trick to running the game in the emulator? Edit: Edge doesn't seem to work well with any carts on the software menu so I tried FireFox and was able to run Pinball and Flying shark. I recall an Edge update got pushed to my machine last week, maybe MS broke something. I don't think we have that issue on the TI-99/4A. When the ball is launched the position and velocity is explicitly set so it shouldn't touch the edges of the shooter lane. Maybe it's detecting a false collision on the Geneve? This could happen if part of the collision map has been corrupted, which could easier happen in RAM than in ROM. BTW, https://js99er.net works fine for me in Edge. AFAIK Edge is essentially Chrome in other clothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globeron Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, Asmusr said: I don't think we have that issue on the TI-99/4A. When the ball is launched the position and velocity is explicitly set so it shouldn't touch the edges of the shooter lane. Maybe it's detecting a false collision on the Geneve? This could happen if part of the collision map has been corrupted, which could easier happen in RAM than in ROM. BTW, https://js99er.net works fine for me in Edge. AFAIK Edge is essentially Chrome in other clothing. Do you mean like this ? that it exits on the left side (and also get stuck on the right side, see video, then press the spacebar) It happens in JS99er.net and MAME-Batocera (I have not been playing on the real TI yet). Also going through the "wumpus" lane it accelerates the ball I like the recording part in JS99er.net, it saves to webm format, then I use Any Video Converter for MP4 js99er-20220709080539_x264.mp4 Edited July 10, 2022 by globeron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globeron Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Here are more points where the ball got stuck amd have to use the spacebar to get it moving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmusr Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, globeron said: Here are more points where the ball got stuck amd have to use the spacebar to get it moving. Well that's why the nudge function exists. ? Edited July 10, 2022 by Asmusr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.