WIP - mystery port #1: Chaos

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Vic Porter
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WIP - mystery port #1: Chaos

Post by Vic Porter »

I'm working on the next port and could use some help. The port is about 75% done and needs more work before the first WIP release. The game needs some sound effects and I am not fond of fiddling with them. I find my time better spent (relatively speaking) on code instead, hence the attached editor and this call for help.

I'm not outright telling which game it is. Bonus points for anyone guessing correctly :)
I think of this as an experiment in
a) half-blind project participation
and
b) diminishing the influence of the original material.
I do not think the original sounds are that good or pivotal to the experience. Some may consider b) quite the heresy, but this will not be a bug-by-bug faithful port in any case.

Want to play along? Grab the attached sound editor and make some effects! Post the new d64 (or extract the prgs) here and state if/how you wish to be credited if the sounds get used.

The descriptions of the needed sound effects (with approximate lengths):

S0 ($18): whack
S1 ($30): shooting magic beam
S2 ($08): generic "select" blip
S3 ($18): computer turn jingle
S4 ($18): electric zzap
S5 ($18): burning
S6 ($18): slimy splorch/splat
S7 ($40): magic mayhem
S8 ($04): generic "move (cursor)" blip
S9 ($18): prepare shot jingle
Sa ($18): scream of pain
Sb ($18): spell windup
Sc ($18): spell hit
Sd ($18): oof (death)
Se ($18): few footsteps

The included example sounds are unrelated and whipped up in a minute during the editor development.

[edit 2017-02-26] added game title to subject

[edit 2017-03-08] The experiment was a complete failure. The game is released, see here instead.
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sfxedit_v1.zip
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Last edited by Vic Porter on Wed Mar 08, 2017 5:44 am, edited 2 times in total.
Neo-Rio
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Neo-Rio »

Could it be....

.....Archon?
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by hasseapa »

Makes a lot of sense!

I enjoyed it very much on the C64, but I haven't played it in 30 years.
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Ola H
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Ola H »

Yes of course, now I see it. You are right, it must be Archon!
Great choice for a Vic port :D
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Vic Porter »

Good guess, but no bonus points given yet ;)
Were I to port an early EA release, I'd probably tackle some labor elements of multiple use.
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Mayhem
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Mayhem »

Ah hah... MULE! :D

If you did port Archon, you'd really need to implement the two player mode. On that note, MULE can be four player so... how you doing that? ;)
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Neo-Rio »

Hmm... well I must be been close...

Will it be a Vic-20 port of GAUNTLET? At long last?
Or perhaps Wizard of Wor?
Also occurred to me that Montezuma's Revenge, Bruce Lee, and even Spy vs Spy could be candidates.
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Vic Porter »

Mayhem wrote:If you did port Archon, you'd really need to implement the two player mode.
When have I not? I fear the battle phase of Archon would be difficult to port due to the large changing bitmap arena.
Mayhem wrote:On that note, MULE can be four player so... how you doing that? ;)
MULE needs simultaneous input only on the auction phase (and only two buttons per player). I think 6 well chosen keys + joystick is not an issue. But I said "were I", so the point is not relevant (yet).

...

No correct guesses this round. No sound contributions either, so it's time to unveil this mystery. For your collective disappointment: the port is of Chaos - the Battle of Wizards. WIP 1 is attached; beware of bugs.

I still have a lot of debugging to do, but this version should demonstrate what kind of game it is. I could use help with two things: the sounds and joystick input. For the sounds, see the first post. For joystick input, see game.asm:irq_handler and input.asm and implement concurrent joystick reading that mimics the key repeat.
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vichaos_wip1.zip
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by orion70 »

Great idea! For everyone to get their feet wet, here's and excellent introduction to the game, and the reasons why it's a classic.
Thank you Vic Porter for it.
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Vic Porter »

orion70 wrote:For everyone to get their feet wet, here's and excellent introduction to the game, and the reasons why it's a classic.
Can't get that URL working for some reason; it either times out or complains about an internal error.

Here is WIP 2. Now it should be playable without major issues. Still on the bug hunt and seeking help.
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Neo-Rio
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Neo-Rio »

Vic Porter wrote: No correct guesses this round. No sound contributions either, so it's time to unveil this mystery. For your collective disappointment: the port is of Chaos - the Battle of Wizards. WIP 1 is attached; beware of bugs.
I had a muck about with the sound editor, but without good instructions for what I was doing, I just put in random numbers and ended up with a few clicks and not much else unfortunately.

I thought you were only porting C64 games. Didn't realize you wanted to take a crack at a Speccy game. All the better though, cause I never played this one :)
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1: Chaos

Post by Mayhem »

I haven't played Chaos in so long, I've probably forgotten it all heh.

Now a Vic-20 version of Laser Squad would be ace. Always like the Gollop brothers games...
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by orion70 »

Vic Porter wrote:
orion70 wrote:For everyone to get their feet wet, here's and excellent introduction to the game, and the reasons why it's a classic.
Can't get that URL working for some reason; it either times out or complains about an internal error.
It works here. Sorry for that, it was a good intro to the spirit of the game.
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vicist
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1: Chaos

Post by vicist »

I can't get past the opening screen - (vice 2.4 on mac).
Yes, I've tried loading with and without the ,1 and ram set to both 16k and 24k - no luck.
Joystick settings are set correctly and I've tried all the keys on the keyboard.

Advice please.
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Re: WIP - mystery port #1

Post by Vic Porter »

Neo-Rio wrote:I had a muck about with the sound editor, but without good instructions for what I was doing, I just put in random numbers and ended up with a few clicks and not much else unfortunately.
Thanks for trying. The editor requires knowledge on the VIC-I register; can't explain much further than the readme without spouting (even more) gibberish. Try loading the existing sounds and editing some of the values.
Neo-Rio wrote:I thought you were only porting C64 games. Didn't realize you wanted to take a crack at a Speccy game.
Nobody expected one from the Dark Side ;)
orion70 wrote:It works here. Sorry for that, it was a good intro to the spirit of the game.
Nah, thanks for the link. It's probably their anti-anonymity measures clashing with my anti-anti-measures.
vicist wrote:Joystick settings are set correctly and I've tried all the keys on the keyboard
Press return. Joystick support has not been implemented yet (any takers?). Note that if you have mapped your return key to joystick fire then this would fail to work; if you can't press return in BASIC, it won't work in the game either.

...

Here is WIP 3. Now it should be (port specific) bug free. Reports on the contrary welcome.
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