Tempest WIP

[dr. kwack]

I put the Tempest BIN into Hack-O_matic in an attempt to make it better looking and a bit more user friendly. This is by no means finished (nor may it ever be!), but I thought I would give it a whirl.

 

So far:

 

Slightly changed the Shooter (it's funky angles were always confusing to me and now I think it's a bit easier to judge where you are).

 

Changed the Flippers a bit

 

Redesigned the Tankers so they aren't quite so ugly.

 

Changed the score to a "vector font".

 

Here are my questions though:

 

Can the playfield be made more "vector" (e.g. get rid of the solid blue chunks and change it to all black) and make the "hidden tubes" revealed so it's not so damn confusing?

 

Also- is there any way to change the playfield completely? Even if it were just one level (say for example Level 11 in the arcade the "all flat" or "bowling alley" style level) that would be cool. Anything but the "underpants" screen we have now!

 

I noticed in the bin file that towards the end, there is lettering for a title screen- can anyone tell me how to make it show up?

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated- Nukey? Are ya listenin'?

 

Feel free to add to this bin or alter it as I think it would be cool to have a working (or at least a better) version of this odd little proto..

 

Enjoy.

tempest7.zip

[Lord Helmet]

Nice so far. thsi will be a tough one to finish on the 2600. Good luck!

[sukotsu9]

I'd like to try this hack when I get home, but I'm thinking. Everyone points at this proto and says it's an idea that never should've been. Maybe so, the way it's been executed. Forget the diagonals and scalable enemies and hack something like Activision's Beamrider into Tempest. 2D fits the 2600 more, and switching to a paddle controller would help keep the feel of the game. Just some thoughts; I like the idea of working a 2600 Tempest up. Good luck.

[Vic George 2K3]

I don't think 2600 Tempest is an idea that should never have been, but looking at the proto pictures, it looks more like an idea that could have been done better.

[dr. kwack]

A new development!!

 

I think I may be on to something here. I found the tubes in Hack-O-Matic and "hollowed" them out.

 

IMHO this makes tracking enemies easier. You can actually tell what tube they are coming down. It also seems to make enemy shots more visible. The only down side is now the playfield looks even more underpants-like.

 

I have also modified the tankers again- after playing Tempest at VG Expo this weekend I noticed they don't spin as they come down the tube.

 

Also changed the direction of the shooters in reserve to match the Arcade design.

 

One more interesting thing. I am playing this on z26. I accidentally pressed the "-" (minus) key while playing and it changed the field color to purple. One more press rendered the field invisible. One more brought it back to normal. Weird.

 

Anyway, give this guy a try. I may be doing more mods in the next day or so. Thanks to all for opinions and support!

tubetest3.zip

[Lord Helmet]

That is quite an improvement. Much easier to see.

[sukotsu9]

I tried it on my 7800 in the CC2; great work! I should probably load the original rom and compare, but the open tubes is how the game should be. Still, the major factor I find in playability is the enemies' shots disappearing. I can guess which tube I'm at and where they might be, but their shots are constantly killing me. Even after they seem to have left the playing field. Might be a collision detection problem (I don't know much about it, but that sounds right)? Love the vector score, by the way.

 

About the underpants playing field (one look and my wife said: it looks like a bikini): I find it strange that the top border is about an inch higher than the enemies seem to generate from. And, I still think flattening out the field a bit would help the game (D shaped instead of bikini). I'm only a player, though, I can't help with programming. Happy to test any updates.

Edited November 14, 2005 by sukotsu9