Star Hawk

[s0c7]

My entry for this year's minigame compo.

Edited August 27, 2007 by s0c7

[vdub_bobby]

Pretty cool. A lives counter and/or a score would be a huge improvement though.

 

EDIT: A few other things...

 

- I like the sound effects

- It is too easy to start a new game without meaning to (i.e., I'm shooting frantically at an alien, I miss it, and all of a sudden my game started over)

- When the aliens increase in size, you should reposition them a little to the left so that it looks more natural - so they expand in all directions, not just to the right.

Edited August 20, 2007 by vdub_bobby

[s0c7]

EDIT: A few other things...

Thanks. If I bumped it up to 4k I would do all of that and have your home planet in the background, etc. But for the compo I want to keep it at 2k, mainly as an exercise to try to cram the most into the least.

 

At the moment I'm out of space, but I have been several times during the creation of the game. So far, I've always been able to figure out a way to squeeze out a few more bytes every time. As I'm writing this I think I may have thought of a way to get ~ 20 bytes back.

 

I still have plenty of time before the compo deadline (I think, you never know for sure with them). I'll see what I can do.

 

Glad you like the sfx. Sound is one of my biggest weaknesses.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

One suggestion:

 

It would be nice if the cursor indicates when you are about to hit the enemy ship. Currently it looks like the collision detection is weak, but probably it is all bad aiming by me. A changing cursor color woud sure help herr.

[s0c7]

One suggestion:

 

It would be nice if the cursor indicates when you are about to hit the enemy ship. Currently it looks like the collision detection is weak, but probably it is all bad aiming by me. A changing cursor color woud sure help herr.

That should be easy enough (assuming I free up enough space). The targeting is very picky (as mentioned in the docs). That might help. Thanks for suggesting it.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

That should be easy enough (assuming I free up enough space). The targeting is very picky (as mentioned in the docs). That might help. Thanks for suggesting it.

NP.

 

Maybe changing the cursor shape would make targeting more obvious too.

[vdub_bobby]

That should be easy enough (assuming I free up enough space). The targeting is very picky (as mentioned in the docs). That might help. Thanks for suggesting it.

NP.

 

Maybe changing the cursor shape would make targeting more obvious too.

I think color-change is better, and a good idea.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I think color-change is better, and a good idea.

Me too.

 

But I meant a general change of the cursor shape. Not sure though.

[s0c7]

Ok. I've made several changes:

The cursor is now shaped differently.

The target area in the cursor is now larger.

The cursor changes color if a enemy is in the "kill zone".

Longer delay before the fire button will register when game over.

Tweaked the resizing (probably needs more work).

 

Opinions? It seems to work better like this. Seems to make it easier though (will have to think about that).

Edited August 27, 2007 by s0c7

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Yup, plays better now.

 

Though some kind of scoring would sure help. Maybe just counting the waves with PF dots?

[+Nathan Strum]

Though some kind of scoring would sure help. Maybe just counting the waves with PF dots?

Or maybe a playfield line running across the screen, which counts down how many ships you have left to destroy?

 

The game is definitely too easy at this point. You can just place your cursor about halfway up the trench, and you only need move back and forth slightly to kill all three enemies. Having them follow more different paths would help.

 

It's a really nice start at a Star Hawk port though. Hopefully you can make a full-fledged version at some point.

Edited August 21, 2007 by Nathan Strum

[s0c7]

It's a really nice start at a Star Hawk port though. Hopefully you can make a full-fledged version at some point.

Thanks. There will probably be a 4k version when I'm done with the 2k. In 4k, everything everybody is asking for will be simple. For the time being though, I'm not done with the 2k. I'm learning a lot. Just want to see how far I can push it with the limited space.

[vdub_bobby]

The expanding positioning looks much better, except when the alien is coming from left to right; it makes a little juke move right before it expands. Looks like it is repositioned one (or more) frames before it is doubled in width.

[s0c7]

The expanding positioning looks much better, except when the alien is coming from left to right; it makes a little juke move right before it expands. Looks like it is repositioned one (or more) frames before it is doubled in width.

Thanks. I'll have to look at that a little more closely. I'm rewriting a few of the routines. Some of the aliens will skim the surface and some will fly off into space. I've added a progress indicator too (kinda like the one in vanguard), so you can see how far away you are from the exhaust port. The good news it's no longer super easy like the last bin. Hopefully I'll have something post in the next day or two.

[s0c7]

Numerous changes:

New alien movement (there should be no "impossible" shots - although some may be close).

Progress indicator on the left side of the screen (you are the small dot moving up the line).

Removed left difficulty switch settings (odds are you're going to want all 7 misses).

The game no longer speeds up after the 15th alien.

This may be too subtle, but the aliens change color with each miss (from gray to solid white).

Edited August 27, 2007 by s0c7

[Thomas Jentzsch]

New alien movement (there should be no "impossible" shots - although some may be close).

I like that. More variation.

 

Progress indicator on the left side of the screen (you are the small dot moving up the line).

Perfect.

 

The game no longer speeds up after the 15th alien.

I didn't like the jump in speed anyway. But if the speedup would happen gradually...

 

This may be too subtle, but the aliens change color with each miss (from gray to solid white).

Pretty subtile, yes. Instead of gradients, color changes might be better (e.g. green, yellow, orange, red, GAME OVER).

[Impaler_26]

Nice Game, i really like it! I've always been wondering what someone can do with only 2K in bB so i'm looking forward to see how this one turns out

[+Nathan Strum]

Much improved! Definitely more challenging. It's starting to feel quite a bit like Star Hawk now.

 

The progress bar is a very welcomed addition. It makes for a nice little mini-map of the trench that you're in.

 

I didn't like the jump in speed anyway. But if the speedup would happen gradually...

A gradual speed up would be good. I'd like the cursor to move a little faster though.

 

Pretty subtile, yes. Instead of gradients, color changes might be better (e.g. green, yellow, orange, red, GAME OVER).

Or gradients until the last three misses. Then green, yellow, and red for the last ones.

Edited August 23, 2007 by Nathan Strum

[s0c7]

Thanks guys. The game wouldn't be what it is if you hadn't nudged me in the right direction.

 

I'm going to step away from it for a day or two and come back to it with fresh eyes. Barring any major brainstorms, the game (at least the 2k version) is probably pretty much how it is going to be. There may be minor tweaks to what's already there, but I doubt I can get any major new elements in. I think the compo deadline is the end of the month, so I've got a week or so to experiment.

[vdub_bobby]

The progress bar is perfect. I like the idea of indicating how many misses, but I don't like the aliens changing colors. Why would they change color? Be better, IMO, if something else changed color, like the gunsight or some other indicator. Maybe just change the whole background color! Maybe for just the last three hits, Yellow-Orange-Red or something. Might be too much...

 

And I'll put in another vote for gradually increasing alien speeds. On the other hand, I think the gunsight speed is perfect right now; if alien speed increased much you'd have to change that as well.

 

One major thing: I can consistently reach the exhaust port, but I when I try to shoot it I can't tell if my game is over or if I beat it. The whole screen goes blank except for the gunsight until I hit the trigger, then the game starts over. It's kind of confusing.

 

Overall: Very good 2K game! Honestly, though, it feels more like a 1K game, but using bB does impose costs, I suppose. Well done.

[s0c7]

One major thing: I can consistently reach the exhaust port, but I when I try to shoot it I can't tell if my game is over or if I beat it. The whole screen goes blank except for the gunsight until I hit the trigger, then the game starts over. It's kind of confusing.

Guess I might need to explain that in the docs. You'll note the exhaust port turns yellow and the "death star" turns red when you hit the exhaust port. That's it blowing up. Yeah, I know... but with the limited space that was the most cost effective way to do it. Game over. The gunsight is still there because you're flying back to your home planet.

 

I guess more importantly, do you find it too easy in its current state?

 

Overall: Very good 2K game! Honestly, though, it feels more like a 1K game, but using bB does impose costs, I suppose. Well done.

Thanks. It's definitely not as efficient as something done in pure asm, but I do hope it at least shows the bB crowd the possibilities of what can be done with bB in a limited space.

 

As for the rest, there will probably be one final tweak before the compo. I may figure out something different than the color changing aliens. My original thought was to have your planet in the background moving across the screen with each miss until it lined up directly across from the trench, at which point the "death star" would fire a laser and destroy it. Game over. That will have to wait for the 4k version though.

 

EDIT: Speaking of which. These are some of the preliminary plans for the 4K version:

- score

- progressive levels

- more varied alien movement

Any other suggestions?

Edited August 24, 2007 by s0c7

[s0c7]

Just a quick note - there is a fairly serious bug in the previous versions.

 

So my tweak has turned into a rewrite. The good news is I've been able to add in several more things - levels, a better way to keep track of how many misses you have remaining, etc. Right now I'm fighting with it over the last 20 bytes or so. Hopefully I'll have a final version in a day or two.

[s0c7]

starhawk.bin

starhawk_pal60.bin

[+Nathan Strum]

Nice improvements!

 

I think I won. I shot the exhaust port and then the death star turned red. Then it disappeared.

 

If possible, any chance of making the ending a little more... interesting? Like when you shoot it, it color cycles (or flashes) while the explosion sound effect repeats a few times? Then have it disappear?

 

Edit: I just noticed - you added more levels! I didn't know my game hadn't actually ended, until I pressed fire again, and another station appeared. Very cool.

Edited August 27, 2007 by Nathan Strum

[s0c7]

Edit: I just noticed - you added more levels! I didn't know my game hadn't actually ended, until I pressed fire again, and another station appeared. Very cool.

Surprise! The color changes and the trench gets longer.