12 Hour Game : Solar Nexus

[MausGames]

I'm trying to see if I can finish a game with a short deadline, that meets or exceeds my original expectations. This is an unofficial sequel to the first bB game released on cartridge, Solar Plexus. I figured an update of an early bB game would be a good way to show off the many changes and new features that are available with version 1.0. I started on this an hour ago at noon central time, and I'm going to be finishing it up tonight at midnight.

 

Here is the first hours progress:

solarnexus.bas.bin

 

So far I have a ship that can move around the screen, and that goes faster when you press fire. You can also see the level one star.

Edited February 14, 2009 by MausGames

[Jess Ragan]

(raises eyebrow)

 

Yes, let's see where this goes. I'd be interested to see just how far bB has advanced in nearly four years.

[MausGames]

Hour 2; Added two playfield enemies that deflect the star, and slow your ship down. Added movement to the star.

 

solarnexus2.bas.bin

[MausGames]

Hour 3: Fuel meter and lives display added.

 

solarnexus3.bas.bin

[MausGames]

Hour 4; Changed the star to the largest possible size, added tractor beam

 

solarnexus4.bas.bin

[MausGames]

Hour 5; Added a score, worked on level start screen.

 

solarnexus5.bas.bin

[yuppicide]

Great idea! Unfortunately I can't test it right now as I'm going out to get food and some computer supplies. Will test it later on tonight.

 

Originally when I heard the title I screamed "Ripoff!" but reading the post proves to be a good idea.

[MausGames]

Hour 6; Added a few sound effects...

 

solarnexus6.bas.bin

[MausGames]

Hour 7; fixed minor sound issues

 

solarnexus7.bas.bin

[MausGames]

Hour 8; Needed a break

 

Any comments/suggestions on what I've posted so far or what else I can still add?

Edited February 15, 2009 by MausGames

[MausGames]

Hour 9; Increase credits by one, added level screen and extra life sprite.

solarnexus9.bas.bin

[Jess Ragan]

Hmm. Well, it's certainly flashier than Solar Plexus was, I'll give you that. However, I'm noticing a lot of additions that don't necessarily improve the gameplay. I don't really understand how the tractor beam is supposed to work... sometimes it seems to block the movement of the sun, and sometimes it doesn't. Also, the fuel cells seem to appear in random positions, and that's not supposed to happen. I had designed Solar Plexus to force the player to dash from the left side of the screen to the right, like a childhood game I used to play at school (relay race, I think). That way it takes genuine effort to collect the cells, rather than a lucky break.

 

It's interesting, though. You've definitely put forth a lot of effort in giving the game the variety that Solar Plexus lacked, and I think that's a step in the right direction. A suggestion I would make is to include a secondary pick-up, probably in the center of the playfield, that doubles the bonus for collecting a fuel cell. That would add an extra layer of risk/reward to the game.

[MausGames]

It's time for SNL, I have until it's over to finish this up. Mostly just have to divide it up into levels, add title and game over screens, and maybe add a little music.

[MausGames]

Hmm. Well, it's certainly flashier than Solar Plexus was, I'll give you that. However, I'm noticing a lot of additions that don't necessarily improve the gameplay. I don't really understand how the tractor beam is supposed to work... sometimes it seems to block the movement of the sun, and sometimes it doesn't.

 

It seems like it is only blocking the sun part of the time because it only effects the sun's movement if they are moving in opposite directions.

 

A suggestion I would make is to include a secondary pick-up, probably in the center of the playfield, that doubles the bonus for collecting a fuel cell. That would add an extra layer of risk/reward to the game.

 

I thought about doing something like that, and I changed it so that you get double the points if you pick up fuel before you've used over half of the last one.

 

I'm trying to find a post about how to split up the score into 3 variables, so that I can use the score for the level display in between rounds.

[Impaler_26]

I'm trying to find a post about how to split up the score into 3 variables, so that I can use the score for the level display in between rounds.

Is this what you're looking for?

 

If you plan to check to score, you will need to break out its 6 digits into 3 sets of two digits and check each one. One way to pull out the score digits is:

 

dim sc1=score

dim sc2=score+1

dim sc3=score+2

 

sc1 will contain the first two digits, sc2 the 3rd and 4th, and sc3 the last two. Since these are all BCD numbers, you need to place a "$" in front of any values you check. For example, to check if the score is less than 10:

 

if sc1=$00 && sc2=$00 && sc3<$10 then ...

 

To check if the score is greater than 123456:

 

if sc1>=$12 && sc2>=$34 && sc3>$56 then ...

 

Breaking out score digits is also useful for setting the score to display special values or custom graphics. You can modify score_graphics.asm to include definitions for digits "A-F" and set the score digits manually. How to do this is beyond the scope of this document, but it has been discussed in detail in the AtariAge 2600 Basic forum.

[MausGames]

Yes, thanks! Now I need to figure out how to add a blank space to the score; I tried downloading modified score_grapic files but trying to use them gets me compile errors.

Edited February 15, 2009 by MausGames

[gambler172]

Hi Maus

Would be great to see a finished game.

greetings Walter

[Kurt_Woloch]

OK, here's some ideas how the game could be improved:

 

- Start out with the difficulty a bit easier, that is, with the planet moving only half as fast as it does now, and then make it pick up speed gradually

- Display the player's score after the game is over (right now, it's reset to 000000 immediately when the "MAUS" screen gets shown again)