Work In Progress: "Bentley Bear: Crystal Quest"

[+Yurkie]

I am late to this, but it is great to see you are working on this again Bob.

[PacManPlus]

Thanks guys!

 

Trebor - thanks for the help with the explanation (the 'P' version)

 

HammR25 - You can play with the right difficulty switch which will flip around the 'A' and 'B' buttons' functions.

 

KevinMos3 at al - Here is an updated version with the difficulty reduced in level 2 and I made level 2 'prettier'

Bentley.A78

Bentley.BIN

BentleyP.A78

BentleyP.BIN

[KevinMos3]

That looks downright gorgeous Bob! I love it.

 

I noticed the 1st warp has been moved. I looked all over and didn't find the new location. Any hints?

 

I also have some thoughts about it that might be worth hearing -- or not. The way I found the 1st warp was that I saw an interesting location and thought "I wonder if I can get up there..." It looked like it might be naughty, like a place maybe I wasn't intended to go. I made the jump and... wait, what just happened? Oh, a warp. Cool! I found the secret level the same way... just looking for a place to be naughty.

 

So here is a question and some thoughts. Since there didn't appear to be other interesting jump locations like that 1st one, what should we be looking for?

And, here are some thoughts. The 1st warp was indeed very easy to find, but maybe that's a good thing? So a person is new to the game and playing through... they see an interesting jump location like I did -- and they find a warp. That'll have them looking for other secrets throughout the game and keep interest peaked... "cause maybe, just maybe, there's something over......... HERE! Nope? Well, how about over HERE!? Hmm... I'll have to keep trying cause I know there are goodies in the game. I found the 1st one very early in Level One."

See where I'm going with this? If it's not easy to find, then a person could play for years never knowing the game even has these secrets, (kinda like most ppl did with Commando). Also, the 1st warp reminded me a lot of SMB; it was easy to figure out and get to, but also easy to avoid if you want to just play through the levels. I'm not saying it should be moved back to the same location (although it was a pretty good spot). I'm just sharing thoughts and a reason why you may not want the 1st one to be too obscure.

 

Anyway, love the changes. Love the game. Lovin' the graphics. Just thought I'd share those thoughts with you.

 

So, who else has played all the way through the game???

Edited January 13, 2013 by KevinMos3

[KevinMos3]

Aha! Found the new warp spot! Tried being naughty again.

 

I kinda like the placement of the old one better, but this one is cool too. I feel like the old one was more fitting for a warp... like where you might find a springboard in a SMB game or something. Anyway, not compaining... just thinking out loud.

 

 

BTW, does the enemy death jingle remind anyone else of Woody Woodpecker? Good times. ha ha ha hah ha

Edited January 14, 2013 by KevinMos3

[ChuckH]

I've finally been able to sit down and give this game a workout and I must say that this is one hell of a good game. I've never been a great fan of SMB type games but this is certainly a worthy effort of a game like this. I've only made it as far as the second level somewhere but there's nothing I can find that I would change about the game. The graphics, game play, difficulty and sounds are spot on. I'm not sure if some background music might help but that can get old sometimes. Think SMB. I'm sure glad there is a continue button in there though and the ability to save a game on Prosystem. Otherwise, I might have given up as this is not an easy game. Very impressive with great playback value. Great work, Bob.

Chuck

[Stun Runner 87]

2013 is gonna be a great year for the 7800.........keep up the goodwork atariage community.

[KevinMos3]

Who has a strategy for defeating the small witch boss, such at the end of Level 6-8? I'm currently stuck. I got past her before by standing in place and using turbo, but I'm not doing that now.

 

I can jump her the 1st time she passes, but when she comes back the other direction she raises up if I jump... and of course I die if I don't jump. Either way, I die. And yes, this b* um, witch goes all the way to the edge of the screen.

Edited January 18, 2013 by KevinMos3

[Trebor]

I made level 2 'prettier'

 

Quite possibly the most understated thing you've ever stated on these forums:

 

That is gorgeous Bob, an Atari 7800 work of art.

 

Another:

 

 

The screenshots don't really do the game justice though.

You have to see the parallax scrolling effect while playing the game to fully appreciate it.

 

The cloud movement is SWEET!

[gorfcadet]

So pretty!

 

Do want!!!!

[Stun Runner 87]

Id like to place an order.

How much will this game cart cost?

[the.golden.ax]

Bob, I'm sending you a PM. Think about it okay?

[KevinMos3]

Whew! Just finished playing through the game with no save-states or turbo buttons. Some of these levels are tough as nails, but it's worth it.

 

I've found a few warps, but still have more to find.

 

Here's a tip for after you defeat the end boss... DON'T jump toward the door too early!!! If you jump toward it and it hasn't opened all the way, you just fall to your death. Yeah, I made that mistake after making a zillion attempts to get through the level and beat the boss. I couldn't believe I finally succeeded only to die from such a stupid move. I was able to beat her again in just another couple tries though. Once the game ended, I chose continue so I went back and beat her once more for good measure.

 

 

 

 

BTW, the difficulty balance in Level 2 is pretty good now. It's definitely challenging, but it's very doable. I was at level 2-7 before I used my first continue... and I felt like I was playing really good at that point, so it wasn't that it was too easy.

 

 

Here are a couple more thoughts:

- I agree with whoever posted that more powerups would be good. It seems like weapon powerups are too far-and-few between. It's great having the green or red weapon, but it seems like once you lose it, you may not see another powerup for several more rounds. I think that's why I couldn't beat the level 6 boss. I didn't have a weapon upgrade & there wasn't one available on that round.

- More cowbell! Always more cowbell!

 

 

 

 

Bob, I'm sending you a PM. Think about it okay?

 

Now you KNOW, you just made everyone really curious about what this could be.

Like whispering in front of ppl.

Edited January 20, 2013 by KevinMos3

[PacManPlus]

Thanks, Kevin, Trebor, Ax, StunRunner, Yurkie, Chuck, gorfcadet - and everyone

Thanks for the kind words, and suggestions.

 

I've added the bonus at the end of the game. You get the highest bonus if you don't use any continues. The more continues you use, the lower your end-of-game bonus.

 

If the gameplay / difficulty seems ok now (aside from the addition of powerups as mentioned by Kevin), I will consider it done and start working on the music.

 

Bentley.A78

Bentley.BIN

BentleyP.A78

BentleyP.BIN

[gambler172]

Hi Bob

The new version looks really great,especially Level 2

The water looks much better,than in older versions.Although i am no Jumpnrunner,the gameplay is ok.Not too easy,but not too heavy

Great work,my friend....

greetings Walter

[KevinMos3]

Found the remaining warps last night. I'll definitely spend a lot more time with it now that I won't have to play through 40 rounds, or (48 counting the secret level). I'm REALLY glad for the warps so that I can focus on particular levels that I'm in the mood for. I really like the locations of the warps BTW. The new location for the 1st warp makes it easier, but I still think the original location was "cooler."

 

I played up to level 5-something on the latest bin and decided to give it a rest instead of playing through. I'll finish another time. If I'm ever going to get a good bonus, I think I'm going to have to go to Staples and get one of those "easy" buttons though. I sure burn through continues on the last level! That's no problem though... I do remember SMB 3 being really hard on later levels, so you're in good company.

 

Anyway, it looks great and plays great. Definitely a showcase game for the 7800 library... the game I've been waiting over 20 years for. I've probably embarrassed myself telling others about this game, (no one else I know plays Atari). Of course, when I say "Atari" they all think of 2600 Asteroids, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders. This would probably blow their minds.

Edited January 21, 2013 by KevinMos3

[PacManPlus]

Thank you

 

I'm trying to make this the best game I can within my abilities.

 

I'm going to go back to my Korg X5D -> Serial MIDI Interface -> converter to Pokey/TIA data and see if I can't get the delay shorter. I'm going to need it to compose the music for this game. If I can get it working at a usable level, I will post it in case anyone else can use it.

 

Thank you again, you guys are too kind

Bob

[DracIsBack]

If the gameplay / difficulty seems ok now (aside from the addition of powerups as mentioned by Kevin), I will consider it done and start working on the music.

 

Hey Bob - will you be waiting until the XM is released before letting this puppy out into the wild or will it come beforehand, since it doesn't 'need' the XM to run, but rather is enhanced by it?

[PacManPlus]

The version posted is the TIA version... I won't be adding any music to it (so basically, the sound for it is already done). The XM version I will be working on will be using the Yamaha sound chip, so I will be waiting for the XM first.

 

Thanks

Bob

[svenski]

Good to see you back Bob!

[KevinMos3]

I sometimes wonder if the bee swarm sound (muted a bit) from the 2600 Crystal Castles would be too annoying -- along with some other of those sound effects.

[Trebor]

I'm trying to make this the best game I can within my 7800 god-like abilities.

 

Fixed that for ya, Bob!

 

Seriously, the game is amazing. I need to get a chunk of time where I stop looking at 7800 colors and focus on playing...It's kinda sad though to see and play this and then try Scrapyard Dog. Wish they would have taken more time (and money) to do that right.

 

Then again, you're Pac-Man Collection/Ms. Pac-Man port compared to the original holds the same tune. Tep's DK already sings that song as well.

 

I think though, I'm not going to play this too much through until the final product. Yes, I'm greedy that way...I want Bentley in its full glory before a complete start to end play through. Then again, the game is sooo good, I may just not be able to resist.

[DracIsBack]

I'm in awe of how large this game is. Really reminds you that the Tramiel's were really cheap given how little they used the 144K format and (more importantly) how they seemed to chince on game development time.

[108 Stars]

Hi guys,

 

sorry for the absence after my last post here. I was inaware Bob had returned to finish this up, so I never checked the thread again. I will try the latest binaries soon.

 

Generally, thanks to Bob for explaining the things I brought up. One idea I'd have, because the level your weapon has so heavily changes the difficulty is that instead of going back directly to the weakest power after a life is lost, how about going back only 50%? So instead of being back to 1 hit when you lose having a 4 hit weapon, yo can immediately get back to 2.

 

Also, about the Zombies being vulnerable on the head I wonder... usually games make a weak point kind of stick out. Like having the head being relatively big, or make the enemy shake his head or something... kind of a visual clue where to aim. Because I like the idea of having the head as the vulnerability, but especially in an oldschool game like this I did not expect this, and actually never figured out quite why my other attacks did not seem to work.

 

At the same time, and this is again very generally speaking as I have not yet tried the latest binary, having the enemies move forth and back may be good, instead of having them run towards you and go on even into pitfalls etc when you jump over them. In early levels this can be a good help while the player is getting acquainted with the game; he can stay standing on a safe spot and watch the enemies movements to plan how to proceed. At the moment it mostly requires quick thinking and correct reaction. This is especially difficult when there's pitfalls around. That's fine for higher stages, but I must admit early on I was a bit in it over my head with such challenges. It kind of stresses you having enemies rush at you like that with pitfalls around.^^

 

Another suggestion, for one specific enemy is the one I mentioned who can jump high and even get up after practically falling into Pitfalls himself. For that one again maybe a little animation before he jumps so high would e neat, a little sign for the player to prepare.

 

Damn, I wish I had a real 7800 at home to test the game better, but the emulator will hve to do for now.

Edited January 22, 2013 by 108 Stars

[DracIsBack]

I'm still struggling to get a handle on the controls of this. I'm used to "jump with button A; shoot with button B; run with the joystick" paradigm, like Scrapyard Dog, Super Mario Bros and Alex Kidd.

 

Holding the control pad and pressing the button at the same time is pretty awkward when you also need to fire. Guess I never played Adventure Island.

[The Usotsuki]

I'm still struggling to get a handle on the controls of this. I'm used to "jump with button A; shoot with button B; run with the joystick" paradigm, like Scrapyard Dog, Super Mario Bros and Alex Kidd.

 

Holding the control pad and pressing the button at the same time is pretty awkward when you also need to fire. Guess I never played Adventure Island.

 

...SMB worked the same.