Lady Bug

[lovebug]

We need more stuff ported back to the Beeb

@Tricky has some amazing ports of arcade games, he's a genius for sure

[lovebug]

to be honest im not sure why I wrote this release window in the first place ?, its probably something from a really early build before I had the enemy release flag ? and could possibly be removed completely

Now I realize why

I really need to document my thoughts as much as I document my assembly code

[tricky]

We need more stuff ported back to the Beeb

@Tricky has some amazing ports of arcade games, he's a genius for sure

That's lovely of you to say, but I wish I had your dedication to go back and improve them.

Maybe fwibbler is after ports from other micros. I didn't play games other than in the arcade, so don't have any attachment to them other than ouchi Mata (spelt wrongly I'm sure) which was the only game I played on my c64 (upgrade of my first computer the vic-20).
I have been thinking of doing something but have no idea what would be worth it.

[fwibbler]

To be honest, I'm grateful for any new games whether they're arcade ports or from other systems or entirely new games.
I've enjoyed playing Ladybug, Frogger and Carnival in the highscore challenges.

[tricky]

One that a go back to now and again is my asteroids and occasionally missile command with a ps/2 trackball.

[lovebug]

heres one for you @tricky lol

[tricky]

I had heard about that, but assumed that it wasn't real!
Have you played my not so secret game?

[lovebug]

heh another update

Build 003370

Added a test at line 717 in .updateEnemyTimer (ladybug.asm) to fix another enemy early release bug

Removed a call at line 7980 to updateObjectTimer in .drawBonusScreen (ladybug.asm) as it is not rerquired, no objects (hearts/letters) are displayed on the bonus screen so there's no need to update the object timer/mode/palette

Now setting the skull color to red before drawing the special bonus screen in .drawBonusScreen line 7720 (ladybug.asm), previously the color was set after drawing the screen so there was a possibility of the 3 skulls being displayed in the original skull palette for a couple frames before changing to red
 

Lady Bug.ssd

(51.25 KiB) Downloaded 20 times

 

[lovebug]

I wish I had noticed these issues 2 years ago !

I had heard about that, but assumed that it wasn't real!
Have you played my not so secret game?

@Tricky I don't think I have

Can you link me up, thanks

[tricky]

Link sent, no login required.

[lovebug]

Link sent, no login required.

thanks, I had to login with google to get the file !

great stuff, impressive work tricky

[lovebug]

Thanks again to bbcmicro.co.uk for updating ladybug to the latest build

[tricky]

Link sent, no login required.

thanks, I had to login with google to get the file !

great stuff, impressive work tricky

I wonder what was going on as I could get it with just the link, but maybe they have changed their policy since I last checked.

[lovebug]

I moved the red skull palette code into .drawBonusGraphics as it is a more logical place to put it, its such a minor change so i'll not bother posting the .ssd here

the new source code and .ssd is on my github, click the purple icon in my signature if you really need it

[lovebug]

I posted about the latest mod but forgot to push it to github, Its there now

sorry about that

[lovebug]

Build 003375 fixed the horrible mess in the enemy release code

I've removed all the bodged code in there and now the enemy release should function the way I originally planned
 

Lady Bug.ssd

(51.25 KiB) Downloaded 18 times

 

[lovebug]

The enemy release is controlled by two flags and a delay from vsyncCounter

When a round starts or continues after ladybug dies; both flags (enemyReleaseEnable, enemyTimerZero) are cleared

When the timer hits top left corner and if all enemies are not yet active then enemyReleaseEnable is set and the enemy release warning is sounded

When the timer hits top center (zero) and if the enemyReleaseEnable is set then enemyTimerZero is set

In the game main loop there is a call to enemyRelease function which does the following

checks if both flags are set and then checks if vsyncCounter and 15 = enemyNumber (0-3) * 4 and if so releases the enemy from the center box and clears both flags

then if all enemies are not visible it spawns another into the center box else it enables the center bonus item

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think this logic is sound and should function as I originally intended but if anyone spots a mistake please let me know thanks

[jms2]

Just had a go with the latest version. Individually, your refinements are not obvious to me, but taken together the sheer quality of the complete game really shines through. This is by far and away the best "classic arcade" type game on the Beeb I reckon.

[lovebug]

Just had a go with the latest version. Individually, your refinements are not obvious to me, but taken together the sheer quality of the complete game really shines through. This is by far and away the best "classic arcade" type game on the Beeb I reckon.

Thanks, very kind

[lovebug]

Build 003380

There was a tiny bug in previous builds that caused the hearts and letters to be cyan for a fraction of a second before turning red at the start of a level so I fixed that, somehow I hadn't noticed this bug until now

Also tidy up on some comments and code here and there (see the source code on github)
 

Lady Bug.ssd

(51.25 KiB) Downloaded 10 times

 

[lovebug]

To be honest that last bug fix really wasn't necessary but you know I cant help it

[tricky]

We know

[lovebug]

im still constantly thinking about fixing that turnstile issue where a piece of the turnstile center spinner gets erased if you close the door while an enemy is passing through it

I think this is the only issue remaining

[tricky]

Do you have any other projects planned?

I really wish I could go back to things like you do.

[lovebug]

I've been having extreme fatigue since the stroke , waking up tired and after a day at work doing repairs I can hardly stand up so I haven't planned anything yet

Well that's the bad news but the good news is that just these last 2 days I have been feeling much better so I'm hoping that soon I'll be feeling fit enough to take on another game project but I'm not sure yet which game to make

I had an idea of making an isometric version of silent hill but that might be a little too much to take on

[fwibbler]

Aha! So you're looking for suggestions...

[tricky]

Glad to hear that things might be easing.
Silent Hill sounds adventurous

[lovebug]

I've always been fond of UNIWAR S for some strange reason and this might be one I would have a go at
 

[leenew]

Ooh! I used to love Uniwar S!

Lee.

[tricky]

It was outside on the pavement of a bucket and spade/ice cream shop in Teignmouth, Devon when I was at school there.