242 replies to this topic

[Rob Mitchell]

Great fun! A winner! Now that you have a shark .. it should be a little more aggressive?

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Rob Mitchell]

Of course the final version should support the AtariVox .. bubble sound effects, nibble nibble .. and save high score.

Maybe add some small animated jelly fish?

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[vdub_bobby]

Rob Mitchell said:

Of course the final version should support the AtariVox .. bubble sound effects, nibble nibble .. and save high score.

Maybe add some small animated jelly fish?

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

More good suggestions...I'll add 'em to the list :)

[StanJr]

optional Atari Vox support, we aren't all made out of money.

[vdub_bobby]

StanJr said:

optional Atari Vox support, we aren't all made out of money. ;)

No kidding. Shameful as it is, I don't even own a 2600 (yet) :)

Saving my pennies for that. After I have that in hand, probably the Kroko Cart is next on my shopping list, and then maybe the Atari Vox.

Of course, once one of the emulators can emulate the AVox, I won't need to buy it to code for it =)

[Rob Mitchell]

StanJr said:

optional Atari Vox support, we aren't all made out of money.

AtariVox support included in a program does not take away from the game experience. See MGD which includes AtariVox features.

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[StanJr]

sure, I just don't want a game whose play is based around a sound effect or voice effect I can't hear because I don't have an add-on. Imagine Activision's Dolphin, but you can only hear the sonar via Atari Vox.

[Rob Mitchell]

StanJr said:

sure, I just don't want a game whose play is based around a sound effect or voice effect I can't hear because I don't have an add-on.  Imagine Activision's Dolphin, but you can only hear the sonar via Atari Vox.  

It is the programmer's choice or course. Personally I would welcome a game that used the AtariVox extensively .. including gameplay clues.

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[StanJr]

having a LOT more fun now! I love the new physics sans gravity! I love the sharks and the mean looking fish! Not so worried about only having the one life anymore.

Couple of observations, ideas.

First, is the game too easy? My first time out I got 740 pts and achieved what appeared to the be the biggest level of fishdom.

Could you start out moving slower, making it harder to catch and avoid being caught, but easier to manage the physics, then as you get bigger you get faster, making it easier to catch and escape, but more hazardous to manage the physics?

I see some of the fish move pretty fast, but even in the upper stages of the game, the majority of the fish are slow movers. Any chance of speeding more of them up?

I want to be a shark! Any chance of sneaking in a magical fish that could make me a shark? The limitation could be that I could eat anything, but other sharks could also eat me? Like say, if I attack a shark head on, he eats me, but if I get him by the tail he is mine!


I'm having a lot of fun with this game. What are you going to end up calling it?

Great work!

Stan

[Thomas Jentzsch]

StanJr said:

Could you start out moving slower, making it harder to catch and avoid being caught, but easier to manage the physics,  then as you get bigger you get faster, making it easier to catch and escape, but more hazardous to manage the physics?

Good idea. The larger the fish, the more inertia!

[Artlover]

yuppicide said:

Someone should make a port of this:

http://www.freshpulp...k/fishtank.html

It's a similar game, but you feed your fish food when he's hungry.. you buy more fish when they die.. you buy other stuff to protect your tank from predators. The fish poop out money and you gotta catch them.

Thats a pretty fun little java game. I spend like an hour on it last night.

I've still gotta try the 2600 fishie tho. It looks fun too.

[vdub_bobby]

Thomas Jentzsch said:

StanJr said:

Could you start out moving slower, making it harder to catch and avoid being caught, but easier to manage the physics,  then as you get bigger you get faster, making it easier to catch and escape, but more hazardous to manage the physics?

Good idea. The larger the fish, the more inertia!

Thanks for the suggesions and ideas, folks :)

Actually, the version you guys are playing (I assume) has inertia implemented - the bigger you are, the slower you accelerate (i.e., the slower you slow down and the slower you speed up). The effect isn't very big, though, so I'm not surprised that it wasn't obvious.

StanJr said:

I see some of the fish move pretty fast, but even in the upper stages of the game, the majority of the fish are slow movers. Any chance of speeding more of them up?

Yup.

StanJr said:

I want to be a shark! Any chance of sneaking in a magical fish that could make me a shark? The limitation could be that I could eat anything, but other sharks could also eat me? Like say, if I attack a shark head on, he eats me, but if I get him by the tail he is mine!

Heh heh. Maybe I'll let you be the shark...maybe an easter egg or something :)

Quote

I'm having a lot of fun with this game. What are you going to end up calling it?

I dunno. Anybody have any ideas?

Oh, and I am very very close to finishing the 1k version (have about 14 bytes left to trim :) and then I can get back to the 2k/4k version and add all those nifty features you all want. Right now, the request list is something like this:
-title screen
-animated fishies
-different/better physics
-sound effects
-better difficulty levels (starts easier, gets harder)

And, of course, I have my own list of modifications/improvements I want to add. Should have the 1k version done in the next day or so and hopefully a groovy update to the bigger version by the end of the week. I'm glad you guys like it!

[vdub_bobby]

Here's the 1k version. Has two free bytes - anybody have a suggestion for those two bytes? :D

Anyway, it's pretty stripped down; completely bare bones. But it was an interesting process to go through the code 100+ times in an effort to cut those 500 bytes.

Attached Files

•  fishies1k.zip   993bytes   129 downloads

[vdub_bobby]

Thomas Jentzsch said:

StanJr said:

Could you start out moving slower, making it harder to catch and avoid being caught, but easier to manage the physics,  then as you get bigger you get faster, making it easier to catch and escape, but more hazardous to manage the physics?

Good idea. The larger the fish, the more inertia!

You guys are talking about two different things, I think - but I like them both! I'll probably try to incorporate both things:

Small:
High acceleration (quick starts and stops)
Low top speed

Big:
Slow acceleration (slow starts and stops)
High top speed

It makes intuitive sense, plus it is an easy way to give it a natural difficulty curve. As long as I implement it right!

[Nathan Strum]

The upcoming changes sound great! It's very cool to see a game go through the development process.

Name-wise, how about holding a contest? Like "Name This Game", but this time around, there's actually a winner.

[Gateway]

This is a fun game!

vdub_bobby said:

Quote

I'm having a lot of fun with this game. What are you going to end up calling it?

I dunno. Anybody have any ideas?

As for a title, when I first tried this, the thought I had was hearing the voice of a mob boss say something like, "If you don't pay up, you'll be Swimmin' with the Fishes !"

[Rob Mitchell]

Gateway said:

Anybody have any ideas?

Fish Tank

Fish Tank Plus (Sears Version!) :wink:

Swim for your life!

Survival of the Fishes

Nibbles the Fish!

Swimming Survival

Fishy Soup

Eat or be Eaten!

Aquatic Food Chain

Aquarium Challenge

Oceanic Food Chain

Oceanic Challenge

Under the Sea

Fishy Food

Fishes for Brains

Herring Helper

Fish Bone Soup

Fish Fry

Fried Fish

Fish Gulp!

Bikini Bottom Feast!

Fish Feast!

How are those???

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Thomas Jentzsch]

vdub_bobby said:

Quote

I'm having a lot of fun with this game. What are you going to end up calling it?

I dunno. Anybody have any ideas?

Never ask that question before the game is finished!

Fish! Fish! Fish!
Too much fish
The winner eats them all
Eat or die
Gorge!
Big is beautiful
Fishing for life
A fish's life
Fish Mac
...

[vdub_bobby]

You guys crack me up. :)

[Nathan Strum]

See what you started?

Finding Nemo (copyright infringement version)
Eating Nemo (just asking for trouble version)
Fishing Derby II: Fishies' Revenge (Activision cease and desist version)
Ichthyology Gran Prix
Texas Goldfish Massacre
Fish 'n' Chips - hold the Chips
Lockjaw II (which would be immediately withdrawn, and renamed "Shark Attack II")
Even Funkier Fish
Under-Sea Battle
Die, Fish, Die!
Omega 3 (bonus points if you figure this one out)
Turbo (nothing to do with fish, but it would sell to collectors)
Swordquest: Fishworld
Dolphin-Safe Tuna
Cannibal Fish
You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish

I'll stop now, before I hurt myself.

[Nathan Strum]

Too late. I never should've found this site.

But these are just for the halibut...

Codbat
Target Fin
Herring Cannonball
Stellar Trout
Sturgeon's Apprentice
Guppy 500
Puffer Position
Troutlaw
Salmon Bomber
Kung Fugu Master
Snapper Command
Tomcatfish: The F-14 Fish Simulator

That's more than enough.

[vdub_bobby]

Here's the latest copy of the 2k/4k version.

Changes:
-some of the fishies are animated
-some minor graphical changes
-added reeds on the bottom where you can hide
-new (and improved?) physics
-ummmm...that's it, I think

Attached Files

•  fishies.zip   1.49K   131 downloads

[Nathan Strum]

Very cool. The animation is coming along nicely.

I like it that when you get to be a really big fish, all you can do is just kind of float lazily around and just grab whatever food passes by (I've spent many an afternoon just like that).

A few suggestions:

How about dying if you hit the surface. Fish + air = floater.

I'd be great to see little bubbles floating up when you eat another fish (maybe using missile graphics?).

It feels like there needs to be an incentive to keep eating, otherwise you can just sit in one row and move up and down until a suitable fish comes along. How about a life meter? If you don't keep eating, it goes down. As it goes down, you shrink. If you shrink too small, you're history.

Related to that, how about a "dart" feature, where if you hit the fire button, you can quickly dart out of trouble, but at the expense of some of your life meter?

It'd be cool if the shark's could double-back on you if you swim behind them. I like the sharks.

Do you grow faster if you eat bigger fish? It looks like you do, but I'm not sure.

How about adding an electric eel or jellyfish? It could come out and chase you if you go too long between eating fish. (Sort of like the pterodactyl in Joust.) Not sure if that would work without flickering though. Maybe it would just come out whenever you crossed an empty row.

Anyway, just some fishfood for thought.

[StanJr]

Loving the changes! Loving.

The new physics are great. The big ol' fish is slow to start, but picks up speed and is hard to control. I can't tell you how many near misses I had with the shark! Wonderful!

I love the seaweed! Beautiful!

I do think some kind of life meter would be good, so that once you get to the max fish size you have some reason to keep trying for fish. Optimally, like Nathan said, if you fail to eat enough in time, you will shrink back down to the next smallest size until finally you are back to little fish again (I don't think you should go so far as to die).

Absolutely wonderful. You have some major programming skills.

[Nukey Shay]

StanJr said:

(I don't think you should go so far as to die).

If that was done, when would the game end?

IMO what it needs is an additional random element to keep you on your toes...like a fisherman's line

Sprites are looking fantastic! Love the animation