95 replies to this topic

[Vorticon]

I am the biggest procrastinator in the world!!! I have started working on Ultimate Planet in January 09, but have not done any work on it for at least 6 months... I just have too many other interests competing with the project, with Owen's XB contest being the icing on the cake. Nonetheless, I really want to finish that project in time for the Chicago TI Faire, and I thought if I started some kind of development blog here it may force me to work on it more frequently. We shall see...

Ultimate Planet is a space themed wargame set in the far future where resources have become very scarce in the known galactic space, and warring factions constantly fight for the few remaining planets that still harbor some. Ultimate Planet is one of those, and you control one of the four competing space fleets trying to get your hands on it. Besides your less than amicable neighbors, the planet is also defended by an asteroid belt as well as deadly defense satellites, and rogue meteorites randomly roam its immediate vicinity. It will take all your tactical skills and probably a bit of luck to succeed in your mission.

Here are a few screen shots of the current state of the game:









The game is being programmed completely in assembly and using the full bitmap mode, which means that everything you see on the screen including the text has been put there pixel by pixel. Luckily, I had previously developed several subroutines for SkyChart which also used the bitmap mode, and that helped reduce the amount of work needed. The game space takes 4 full bitmap screens which can be scrolled, and all objects are stored in an array. The background hex field is static, and the location of the objects is updated in real time when the screen is scrolled.
The object array contains the following information:

Status (in space, stowed, or dead), unique ID, Y coordinate (global), X coordinate (global), character definition array offset, color. The offset points to the location of the character definition in a separate array, which saves space since many objects have similar shapes. The fleets consist of cruisers, fighters, infantry and armored units. The planet has several production centers as well as geographic features such as mountains, rivers, and plains. Six defense satellites orbit closely.

The visible screen acts as a window over the world map, and the objects' global coordinates are always checked against the local coordinates to verify visibility. Movement is via a cursor. Locating the cursor over a movable object will turn it from cyan to red, and the object's attributes are displayed, along with any cargo (only applicable to cruisers). Movement is not all or none, and one can move an object a fraction of its movement potential, leave it, then come back to it again later and move it some more. This should provide more tactical flexibility.

I have yet to create the combat tables, as well as the AI which is likely going to be challenging given the rich tactical environment. The game will consist of 15 turns, at the end of which the side who has conquered the most production centers on the planet wins.

Edited by Vorticon, Tue May 4, 2010 7:09 PM.

[Opry99er]

I am VERY glad to see this game on here, Vorticon!!! I have watched the TI Faire video of the demo for this game several times... It's a wonderful premise, and a slick looking game!!! Full bit-map mode? That's exciting! Any chance to see this on a Guidry cartridge? I bet you'd move a few!! I'm currently building my array schema for Beryl Reichardt Items/Statistics, etc... I'd love to hear about how you're implementing your array trackers. If you get the time to write about it here. Thanks

[The Codex]

Fab stuff Walid! I've loved hex-based gameplay since the glory days of Avalon Hill and Metagaming wargames, and this looks to have a lot of potential. Hope you get it done by the Faire!

[InfernalKeith]

Walid, this game looks incredible! Please do keep us posted on its progress here. I think you're going to surprise a lot of folks with this one, especially some of the non-99'ers who poke their head in here and see those screenshots. Great work so far!

[Vorticon]

InfernalKeith, on Mon Apr 26, 2010 10:54 AM, said:

Walid, this game looks incredible! Please do keep us posted on its progress here. I think you're going to surprise a lot of folks with this one, especially some of the non-99'ers who poke their head in here and see those screenshots. Great work so far!

Thanks I am programming this project on a real TI console outfitted with an IDE drive, and the graphics are "softer" on my composite monitor than under emulation (screen shots are from within v9t9). The color bleeding inherent to the TI's graphics limitations is not nearly as apparent on the real thing. My software tools consist of the standard TI assembler, Funnelweb and Super Bug II. Call me a masochist, but as far as I am concerned nothing beats the feel of a real TI keyboard

[Vorticon]

The Codex, on Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:15 AM, said:

Fab stuff Walid! I've loved hex-based gameplay since the glory days of Avalon Hill and Metagaming wargames, and this looks to have a lot of potential. Hope you get it done by the Faire!

I have always been extremely jealous of the other classic platforms for their amazing classic wargames, and I was ecstatic when adamtyr started working on Western Front, but was devastated when he decided to drop the project, so I vowed to created my own wargame. It took a few years, but it's starting to take shape. The good news here is that the subroutines developed for this project could be easily ported to other hex based wargame projects I have in mind, such as the armored battles of Rommel in North Africa. I actually have a solitare tabletop wargame based on that which I could try to replicate for the TI at some point.

[The Codex]

Vorticon, on Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:38 AM, said:

I have always been extremely jealous of the other classic platforms for their amazing classic wargames, and I was ecstatic when adamtyr started working on Western Front, but was devastated when he decided to drop the project, so I vowed to created my own wargame. It took a few years, but it's starting to take shape. The good news here is that the subroutines developed for this project could be easily ported to other hex based wargame projects I have in mind, such as the armored battles of Rommel in North Africa. I actually have a solitare tabletop wargame based on that which I could try to replicate for the TI at some point.

Yes indeed. I've a number of old wargames as well, including quite a few solitaire sci-fi and fantasy ones, that I've considered "remaking" as computer games. I do hope you'll tackle the Rommel game after you've completed this beauty.

[Vorticon]

Opry99er, on Sun Apr 25, 2010 9:18 PM, said:

I am VERY glad to see this game on here, Vorticon!!! I have watched the TI Faire video of the demo for this game several times... It's a wonderful premise, and a slick looking game!!! Full bit-map mode? That's exciting! Any chance to see this on a Guidry cartridge? I bet you'd move a few!! I'm currently building my array schema for Beryl Reichardt Items/Statistics, etc... I'd love to hear about how you're implementing your array trackers. If you get the time to write about it here. Thanks

Although a cartridge would be definitely feasible, I'm not sure I will have the time resources to produce a run of carts. Besides, a disk drive would still be needed for game saves. We can discuss this more once the program is complete

My array trackers are nothing but simple pointers. I like to stuff my arrays with a lot of information then use offsets to access particular data. Not sure though if this is as efficient speed wise than using multiple small arrays...

[Vorticon]

Quote

Yes indeed. I've a number of old wargames as well, including quite a few solitaire sci-fi and fantasy ones, that I've considered "remaking" as computer games. I do hope you'll tackle the Rommel game after you've completed this beauty.

You should bring a couple to the Faire this fall. Maybe we can have a wargaming session before or after (or both!)

Edited by Vorticon, Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:56 AM.

[Opry99er]

I'm a big fan of war games myself!!! I know it's an old classic cliche, but some of my most vivid memories as a kid are getting my ass handed to me by my dad over and over playing Risk and Dogfight!!! Ahh.... Risk. . Walid, I'm very happy you have started this thread.... I have a feeling I'm going to spend quite a bit of time reading and asking questions here.

[The Codex]

Vorticon, on Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:55 AM, said:

You should bring a couple to the Faire this fall. Maybe we can have a wargaming session before or after (or both!)

Good idea! I'll go through my box o' games and see what might make good choices.

Is the date for the Faire still up in the aire? I'm moving in a couple months, but if it's later in the year then I hope to make it.

Oh, and Owen, have you ever played Ace Of Aces? The old "paper computer" dogfighting game? I bet you would enjoy it.

Edited by The Codex, Mon Apr 26, 2010 12:50 PM.

[Vorticon]

The Codex, on Mon Apr 26, 2010 12:48 PM, said:

Vorticon, on Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:55 AM, said:

You should bring a couple to the Faire this fall. Maybe we can have a wargaming session before or after (or both!)

Good idea! I'll go through my box o' games and see what might make good choices.

Is the date for the Faire still up in the aire? I'm moving in a couple months, but if it's later in the year then I hope to make it.

Oh, and Owen, have you ever played Ace Of Aces? The old "paper computer" dogfighting game? I bet you would enjoy it.

I have Ace of Aces, and it's a great game, especially if you play it on the advanced level. I actually programmed a game for the TI 74 that attempts to recreate it on a one line text field, and it was actually not bad at all. My favorite game is Campaign, a recreation of war in Napoleonic times. I will bring it with me to the Faire. The rules are pretty straightforward and allows up to 4 players. I'll bring Ace of Aces too I have several more advanced wargames, but these can be difficult to learn in a short time.

[Opry99er]

I can bring Dogfight and BattleCry... By the way, Battlecry is an amazing game... TI NEEDS this game....

[The Codex]

I've got the photographic version of Ace of Aces, and the complete run of the Metagaming Microgame series, as well as a large set of SPI games. Virtually all of them are sci-fi, fantasy, or abstract, and most are easy to pick up for quick play. I also have the classics Cosmic Encounters and Settlers Of Catan, both of which would be ideal for a group of us to play together. I get very treacherous at Cosmic Encounters though and tend to lose friends.

[Vorticon]

The Codex, on Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:55 PM, said:

I've got the photographic version of Ace of Aces, and the complete run of the Metagaming Microgame series, as well as a large set of SPI games. Virtually all of them are sci-fi, fantasy, or abstract, and most are easy to pick up for quick play. I also have the classics Cosmic Encounters and Settlers Of Catan, both of which would be ideal for a group of us to play together. I get very treacherous at Cosmic Encounters though and tend to lose friends.

OOOHHH! Someone is getting boisterous over here... I may just have to put you back in your place Sir! Have you ever heard of the sci-fi game Kroll & Prumni by International Team (this company had the most gorgeous wargames ever devised by the way)? I was able to get my hands on a copy after many years of searching, and I highly recommend it if you can find it.

[Opry99er]

Walid, as you progress through the development of this game, I would greatly love to see a video or two surface on YouTube... You'd be surprised how many people watch YouTube videos of TI games!!! Some videos have tens of thousands of hits!!! It might help spur some of those guys/gals to come over to Atariage and check us all out. With a game this slick looking and a title screen as nicely done as this one, it's BOUND to drum up a bunch of interest. Anyway, just my 2 cents. Thanks for sharing this game with us.

[Vorticon]

Opry99er, on Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:13 PM, said:

Walid, as you progress through the development of this game, I would greatly love to see a video or two surface on YouTube... You'd be surprised how many people watch YouTube videos of TI games!!! Some videos have tens of thousands of hits!!! It might help spur some of those guys/gals to come over to Atariage and check us all out. With a game this slick looking and a title screen as nicely done as this one, it's BOUND to drum up a bunch of interest. Anyway, just my 2 cents. Thanks for sharing this game with us.

That's not a bad idea, but I still have some ways to go. Today I continued working on the units movement routine, and it is taking me a lot longer than expected as there are a lot of details to account for... So far the ships can be moved within their movement potential and basic checking for target squares is complete. Cargo contents display accurately for cruisers and movement potential remaining updates with movement. Today I implemented the movement take back function which required a new small array for storing the selected unit's movement data. Still to do in that routine is combat target identification and jettisoning cargo (infantry and armored units) from the cruisers.

After that I will tackle meteorite movement and planetary satellites firing with appropriate damage checking. Then will come the enemy AI design and implementation then the combat resolution tables.

The trick here is not to step away from the game for too long because it is becoming quite complex and it is real hard to go back and try to understand overall flow and game logic...

[Opry99er]

There are some questions I have about your gamespeed--- how fast does scrolling go in full bitmap mode?I had heard (perhaps erroneously) that full bitmap mode is slow... But for this kind of strategy game, I guess maybe it's not that important? Curious about the different modes, really... Thanks

[Vorticon]

Opry99er, on Mon May 3, 2010 12:38 PM, said:

There are some questions I have about your gamespeed--- how fast does scrolling go in full bitmap mode?I had heard (perhaps erroneously) that full bitmap mode is slow... But for this kind of strategy game, I guess maybe it's not that important? Curious about the different modes, really... Thanks

I'm not actually doing any scrolling. The background hex field is stationary and I simply update the visible objects based on the local viewing window. This is still a slow process, especially when there are many objects on screen, because first I have to erase every one of them then redraw them at their new location making sure first that they are still visible. Given that every bit map screen requires 12K for the color and pattern tables, and the fact that my game field comprises 4 full screens, I would have had to use disk access to implement scrolling, which would probably be as slow as simply updating object locations, not to mention that the bitmap files would need constant updating everytime objects moved, adding multiple disk accesses. For minimal scrolling, one could store a sliver of the game field outside of the viewing window in RAM, but that would not eliminate the need for disk access. I could have used the SAMS card to store all the bitmap files, but that would leave out a number of TI users out there. I do hope that in the future I will write a game that will take advantage of the SAMS card, and I have a real flight simulator in mind. So many prospective projects, so little time

As you said though, in this type of game, speed is not particularly important.

[Vorticon]

Finally forced myself to get on the TI keyboard last night. I have recently discovered the game Star Fleet I for the PC and have been playing it quite a bit lately. It's essentially an ASCII based Trek-like game but much more expanded with a multitude of options, and I have found it to be very addictive! It is definitely a project I would like to port to the TI at some point, probably using XB possibly augmented by some assembly video routines.
Back to Ultimate Planet. I coded the interaction of the units with "terrain", taking into account variable adjustments to movement potential, and set up a battle table that will "schedule" battles as the player units encounter enemy forces. This is all complicated by the fact that the master object table contains absolute "World" coordinates and these have to be transformed into local coordinates within the current viewing window any time the units need to be moved or otherwise interact with the environment. Furthermore, I am using a sprite as a unit marker, and for some obscure reason the top screen row is addressed as row >99 instead of >00, which can lead to puzzling program behavior if one does not remember that fact (I lost a fair amount of hair over that issue ). I will leave battle resolution for a later date. I now have to figure out a way to overlay the units over terrain tiles so that the player can tell more or less what terrain any particular unit is on, and this is a project for tonight (I hope ). I will post updated screen shots when I am a little further along.

[Opry99er]

Thanks a million Walid! Look forward to those screenshots!

[Opry99er]

Hey Walid--- just wanted to check in with ya. You're a busy guy I know. But I was just curious about the game. . Forgive me if i bother ya---I'm just really looking forward to this one. Any chances to see a demo video or something? I offer my services to make up a nice video. you demo'd my "Lemonade Stand" game at the Faire last year... Id be happy to demo yours on YouTube.

[Vorticon]

Opry99er, on Mon May 31, 2010 1:04 AM, said:

Hey Walid--- just wanted to check in with ya. You're a busy guy I know. But I was just curious about the game. . Forgive me if i bother ya---I'm just really looking forward to this one. Any chances to see a demo video or something? I offer my services to make up a nice video. you demo'd my "Lemonade Stand" game at the Faire last year... Id be happy to demo yours on YouTube.

Thanks for the offer Owen and I will definitely take you up on it as soon as I have a little more to show. This program is getting quite complex and as you said my time is rather limited. A lot of the work is behind the scenes currently with little more to show on screen other than what I have already posted earlier. BUT, I still plan on completing it by the time of the Chicago Faire Now time to fire up the grill and burn some hot dogs!!!

[Opry99er]

Hey buddy--- just checkin' in... How are things? Anything to update us on---graphically or "behind-the-curtain"?

[Vorticon]

Opry99er, on Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:15 PM, said:

Hey buddy--- just checkin' in... How are things? Anything to update us on---graphically or "behind-the-curtain"?

Nothing I'm afraid. We had huge nursing labor issues in the Twin Cities over the past couple of months along with a 1 day strike, and dealing with this completely consumed my time. Then I went on a much needed vacation for 2 weeks and just got back yesterday. I'm going to try to get back into it soon I hope, but I am no longer promising a completed product by Faire time, because our hospital is having significant financial issues with the recent Medicaid cuts and the large Minnesota budget deficit, and so yet again I will likely be extremely busy dealing with this...
Such is life I suppose

Walid