194 replies to this topic

[Jess Ragan]

It didn't sink in at first, but now I get what you're doing with this game. You're trying to bring "synthestasia" to the 2600, aren't you? This is like an Atari version of Rez!

This is a fantastic game, by the way. Did you really design this with Batari BASIC?

JR

[Jess Ragan]

I just played the latest build of this game. The sense of synthestasia seems a lot stronger in earlier builds, where a musical tone plays every time you shoot an enemy, or dodge an asteroid. In the new builds, the music plays regardless of what you do, taking away from the experience. I haven't fully experimented with the options, but if you could offer one that assigns a tone to each onscreen event, I think it would greatly improve the atmosphere you're trying to create.

JR

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Jess Ragan, on Sat Aug 4, 2007 8:14 PM, said:

This is a fantastic game, by the way. Did you really design this with Batari BASIC?

100% agreed. But this is definitly not a bBasic game.

[r_type2600]

Nathan Strum, on Sat Aug 4, 2007 11:36 AM, said:

r_type2600, on Sat Aug 4, 2007 3:54 AM, said:

Love the dramatic text build-up - a small request though: would you mind dropping the "us" at the end? It somehow feels a bit too whimsical (poor little aliens begging for help) and does not fit well with the cool hardcore gaming atmosphere of the rest of the game, IMO.

I like the "us" part. Seems to fit the game perfectly, to me.

Allow me to elaborate a bit...forgive the slender
Dropping the "us" would add more suspense and even some mystique to it, I find, since the purpose of the "mission" and the ending would not be so obvious. More original than the tried "rescue mission" theme as well...
Also, since the player has to first fight the aliens before finally "converting" and leading them, it feels odd and unlogical that they should themselves call for his leadership right away..

In the end, it's kinda "Film Noir" vs. "Hollywood Blockbuster" or "Quentin Tarantino" vs. "Steven Spielberg" choice to be made here
Purely a matter of taste - I will accept the leader's decision in this quintessential question of Shakespearan dimensions

Quote

One other suggestion: When you get a ship upgrade, and lose all your smart bombs, it would be nice if you could choose to downgrade your ship in exchange for the effect of one more smart bomb. So if you had a green ship, but no smart bombs, you could still activate the smart bomb, but then your ship would turn red (with no smart bombs). Then, you could either collect more smart bombs, or downgrade again by activating the smart bomb. I've run into more than a few instances where I'd upgraded, and wish I still had a smart bomb to use, instead of the upgrade.

Good observation, and an excellent solution proposal - would feel perfectly natural and should not be too difficult to implement!

[Nathan Strum]

r_type2600, on Sun Aug 5, 2007 2:18 AM, said:

Dropping the "us" would add more suspense and even some mystique to it, I find, since the purpose of the "mission" and the ending would not be so obvious. More original than the tried "rescue mission" theme as well...

Awww... don't spoil the ending. I haven't seen it yet.

[r_type2600]

Nathan Strum, on Sun Aug 5, 2007 9:00 AM, said:

r_type2600, on Sun Aug 5, 2007 2:18 AM, said:

Dropping the "us" would add more suspense and even some mystique to it, I find, since the purpose of the "mission" and the ending would not be so obvious. More original than the tried "rescue mission" theme as well...

Awww... don't spoil the ending. I haven't seen it yet.

Uh - actually I didn't see it either, just speculating ... no worry thus, nothing spoiled...

[sandmountainslim]

Nognir, on Mon Jul 30, 2007 6:51 PM, said:

I hope we will get that on cart in the near future?

Ditto!
Sell this baby in cart form
WP

[godzillajoe]

Not really sure what you're supposed to do on each level but it looks promising and has a cool little soundtrack.

[Jess Ragan]

The continue feature seems a little wonky. Is there any way to make it work?

JR

[Nathan Strum]

Works fine here. You have to push fire before the game returns to the main menu.

[Jess Ragan]

You mean before the EKG flatlines? Yeah, I've been doing that, and it just takes me back to Stage 1. Could it be Stella's fault?

JR

[Nathan Strum]

What level are you getting to? The continue feature is similar to the one in Tempest, where you start a few levels back from where you died.

Edited by Nathan Strum, Tue Aug 7, 2007 6:36 PM.

[Freakservo]

Hey folks.

Been visiting AtariAge for some time, but more than anything I'm just following on the heels of my good buddy, Jess Ragan (Solar Plexus). He actually led me on to this particular game, which we both agree is quite phenomonal for what it does.

I do believe, if I may be one to offer a suggestion or two, that the difficulty on Stage 1 should be toned down just a bit. I know most of the gamers here are hardcore, but if I want to show this game to my sister (which I have full plans to do), I'd like a slightly easier lead-in.

The only other thing I want to mention is something that Jess also touched on. The continue feature should be more reasonable. Why couldn't it start me one stage back on the first continue, then each additional stage with each continue used. That way it allows the possibility to catch up to the later levels quicker, but you can't rely on overusing it.

Okay, so maybe I just suck at this game at the moment, and I'm not sure how much space you need to program something like the continue idea. I'm really not a programmer, and I can only imagine how difficult 8k of memory is to work with.

If I seem somewhat brash in marching in here and telling people what to do, I apologize. I only wish the best for Lead, and wanted to help by adding my own input. This really is the freshest game I've played in a long time, and can't wait for the day when I can play this game on an actual 2600.

Keep cool, everyone.

-TF

Edit: ...Then I read the Non-Programmer Idea Peddlers post and feel even more stupid. Please don't lynch me too hard.

Edited by Freakservo, Thu Aug 9, 2007 5:41 PM.

[Cybergoth]

Freakservo, on Thu Aug 9, 2007 11:31 PM, said:

Edit: ...Then I read the Non-Programmer Idea Peddlers post and feel even more stupid. Please don't lynch me too hard.

Feedback for running projects is ususally more than welcomed. The Idea Peddler message is targetted towards another kind of input

Welcome aboard!

[Jess Ragan]

Hey, Freakservo! Glad you joined the club!

I just finished a video review of this game, if you guys would like to watch it!



JR

[rheffera]

Great review Jess.
i am highly interested in purchasing this, should it come out on cart

[Freakservo]

'Tis a fantastic review, JR. This game certainly needs the exposure.

Oh, and thanks for the welcome, Cybergoth.

Edited by Freakservo, Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:54 AM.

[seemo]

Hi Everybody,
here's an updated version of Lead

Here's what I did:

- slowed down the title vertical movement

- doubled the length of the interval between game over screen and attract mode

- reduced the 'gap' for continue mode from 3 to 2 levels before the last played one

- you can now 'sacrifice' a power up, and activate a smart bomb as a result

- on fire and catch stages, enemies form small 'groups'
(this is - finally - an adaptation of the 'formation' concept suggested by Thomas and Bob, back at the beginning of the Lead 1k thread)

- volume for missed catches has been raised

- audio options: if you set score -> dawn, speed -> fast, envelope -> full (it replaces the 'square' setting),
you get something close to the first build (a small sequence is played whenever you score some points)
please note that the notes played have no direct relation to the horizontal/vertical position of the enemies

As always, many thanks for your Feedback and Support !

Simone

@Jess: Thanks a lot for the video review ! I'm glad you like Lead, and I really appreciate your creative work, it's both a pleasure and a honour to be featured in such an entertaining and well crafted review

@Freakservo: Welcome ! I'm glad to host your first posts here on AtariAge !
Thanks for your suggestions : as you can see by browsing this and the 1k version threads, Lead is 101% the product of a collective effort, and it's easy to see how much such a great (and welcome) feedback has contributed to the game.
The continue feature of this version reduces the gap from the last played level to two levels, making it easier to play through more levels. Moreover, the small 'groups' that enemies form now, should make the fire and catch levels easier

@Eric & Nathan: Sorry, but both smoother vertical movement, and ship/aliens collisions are a little too much for my graphic code...

Attached Files

•  lead_8k_20070812.bin   8K   128 downloads

[Brian R.]

That video review was really good.

I'm probably late to the Lead party. But this is a cool game. I like the idea and the simplicity of the concept and gameplay - a hallmark of this system. It's something I'd want on a cart, but... I suck so much at it, I don't know if I could get myself to put down money for it. The difficulty seems to be really up there. I haven't made it past the first dodge wave. And many times I don't finish the first fire wave.

Maybe it would be different with a joystick instead of the PC keyboard? I dunno.

But I'd recommend putting this in a double-hulled cart, because I can see it getting thrown against a wall in frustration!

[Jess Ragan]

You're probably tight on space as it is, but one suggestion I'd make is to add support for the Booster Grip or the ColecoVision controller's second button. When you're sweating bullets trying to dodge all those aliens, it's very easy to pull back on the joystick and activate a smart bomb by mistake. It'd be nice to assign the bomb to its own button for those gamers lucky enough to own a joystick with two buttons.

I'd also suggest using a "double-click" command similar to double-clicking with a mouse to activate the smart bomb. Since you can hold down the fire button for a continuous burst of fire, there would be no need to let go of the button unless you needed to use a smart bomb, and thus less chance of using the smart bomb by mistake. Iridion II on the Game Boy Advance uses a similar system... you hold down the fire button to fire, and tap the button twice to start charging an extra-powerful laser.

JR

EDIT: Where are my manners? Thanks for the compliments on the review, guys!

Edited by Jess Ragan, Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:55 AM.

[Nognir]

Jess Ragan, on Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:15 AM, said:

Hey, Freakservo! Glad you joined the club!

I just finished a video review of this game, if you guys would like to watch it!



JR

oh Rachael...
uhm.. sorry

Great video! Have to check it later at home, because I don't have sound support here at work ^^

[Freakservo]

Jess Ragan, on Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:54 AM, said:

You're probably tight on space as it is, but one suggestion I'd make is to add support for the Booster Grip or the ColecoVision controller's second button. When you're sweating bullets trying to dodge all those aliens, it's very easy to pull back on the joystick and activate a smart bomb by mistake. It'd be nice to assign the bomb to its own button for those gamers lucky enough to own a joystick with two buttons.

I'd also suggest using a "double-click" command similar to double-clicking with a mouse to activate the smart bomb. Since you can hold down the fire button for a continuous burst of fire, there would be no need to let go of the button unless you needed to use a smart bomb, and thus less chance of using the smart bomb by mistake. Iridion II on the Game Boy Advance uses a similar system... you hold down the fire button to fire, and tap the button twice to start charging an extra-powerful laser.

JR

EDIT: Where are my manners? Thanks for the compliments on the review, guys!

Gonna have to second that 'double-click' feature. It makes for less accidents when moving the joystick. "Goddammit! I pressed left, not up!"

Uhm, not sure I have anything else to add otherwise.

[SpiceWare]

Jess Ragan, on Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:54 AM, said:

You're probably tight on space as it is, but one suggestion I'd make is to add support for the Booster Grip or the ColecoVision controller's second button. When you're sweating bullets trying to dodge all those aliens, it's very easy to pull back on the joystick and activate a smart bomb by mistake. It'd be nice to assign the bomb to its own button for those gamers lucky enough to own a joystick with two buttons.

Not a bad idea. Cybergoth's got some sample code for reading other fire buttons in this blog entry.

[jboypacman]

Hey Jess i watch the video for this game on YouTube and it looks very cool any ideal if this ever going to be made into a cart?

[seemo]

Hi !

When I started coding this new version, I put into the game a 'safe' mechanism, that can be activated by moving ‘Difficulty P0’ switch to 1 (pro). (please read the instruction of your emulator to see how to do this).

If you activate this mechanism, a smart bomb can be activated as follows :

- on fire stages, release the fire button and press down (pressing down while the fire button is pressed has no effect)

- on dodge/scramble/catch stages, just press fire (pressing down has no effect)

So, the only thing you have to get used to is to release the fire button on fire stages, while on the other stages it should be natural to press fire only when you want to use a smart bomb (once again, thanks to Nathan Strum for suggesting this )

Hope this helps !
Simone