New interpretation of Pitfall! for PAL Vic + 16K

[Victragic]

I knew Mike would know what was happening right away.

Btw, yes - the game takes into account the one bit screen displacement.. otherwise I could have used character masking and raster shifting to hide the edges of the ladder to make it look thinner. Was disappointed I couldn't do this.

There are parallels between this game and the graphics modes that Mike and Tokra have been developing, I wanted to show that it is feasible to create a reasonable game on the Vic using similar raster effects, and hopefully inspire other programmers to try similar techniques.

[tokra]

Speaking of which, I'd like to ask whether it might be feasible to change the jump width a bit. At the moment it looks like it is ~18 pixels, which allows to jump across the smaller pits (albeit barely), but gives a lot of problems when jumping over the crocodiles. Even though one can stand on their heads when their mouth is open, after a jump you come out 'misaligned'. Is that the same behaviour on a 2600? Maybe it would be nice, if the jump width could be set to 16 pixels instead, with an extra pixel of tolerance allowed at both sides of the small pits (after all, you still stand with one foot on the edge ).

After playing the game for some time and comparing to the Atari-version I agree with Mike on this one. On the original you can jump over all 3 crocs in one go. In this version the crocs are VERY difficult to manage, to the point of making it annoying. If there is a way to make this easier, maybe as Mike suggested, this would really help playability.

Also I noticed that the jumps over the small pits need to be timed much more accurately than on the original. I realize they must look wider on the VIC due to the technical constraints, but maybe extra tolerance when jumping over those is possible as well?

[orion70]

Hey guys, you're starting to ask for cheat modes

spend countless hours 'racing the beam', trying to fit all the operations in the allotted number of system cycles, and coming up with ways to solve problems with the hardware restrictions I had set myself.

See also HERE

From a technical point of view, to say this is bleeding edge really is an understatement. It is more like a shot across the bows directed at the so-called 'demo sceners'.

I always wodered why all the technical achievements of demos were not used for games. Now I have the answer: not all the programmers were (are) as good as Victragic and many others here. I know I repeat myself, but just imagine how the VIC would have been considered if some jewels like this one were availbale back in the day...

There are parallels between this game and the graphics modes that Mike and Tokra have been developing, I wanted to show that it is feasible to create a reasonable game on the Vic using similar raster effects, and hopefully inspire other programmers to try similar techniques.

[drooling]Go on guys, who's next?[/drooling]

[Victragic]

Speaking of which, I'd like to ask whether it might be feasible to change the jump width a bit. At the moment it looks like it is ~18 pixels, which allows to jump across the smaller pits (albeit barely), but gives a lot of problems when jumping over the crocodiles. Even though one can stand on their heads when their mouth is open, after a jump you come out 'misaligned'. Is that the same behaviour on a 2600? Maybe it would be nice, if the jump width could be set to 16 pixels instead, with an extra pixel of tolerance allowed at both sides of the small pits (after all, you still stand with one foot on the edge ).

After playing the game for some time and comparing to the Atari-version I agree with Mike on this one. On the original you can jump over all 3 crocs in one go. In this version the crocs are VERY difficult to manage, to the point of making it annoying. If there is a way to make this easier, maybe as Mike suggested, this would really help playability.

Also I noticed that the jumps over the small pits need to be timed much more accurately than on the original. I realize they must look wider on the VIC due to the technical constraints, but maybe extra tolerance when jumping over those is possible as well?

Thanks for the feedback, that's a fair criticism - the gameplay is not identical, and the pits and crocs are more difficult than on the Atari. (It is possible to jump across all three in one go, however).

When you work on a game, you become very adept at it's nuances through constant testing and don't realise just how difficult the learning curve can be. My daughters (8 and 11) play the game and still struggle on the crocs - less so on the pits.

The scorpion, cobra and fire obstacles should be easier to navigate though?

One of the game-design issues with Pitfall! was that there was no increasing level of difficulty, so by screen 5 you've come across the most difficult screen you'll encounter..

Will tinker a bit and see what I can come up with.

[e5frog]

I noticed a glitch here on the rope, turns brown when you're in that position:

(Click it)


I'm sorry about the vertically striped picture, my video grabber card doesn't seem to like my home made s-video mod and I was too lazy to look for the composite video cable.

[Victragic]

I noticed a glitch here on the rope, turns brown when you're in that position:

(Click it)


I'm sorry about the vertically striped picture, my video grabber card doesn't seem to like my home made s-video mod and I was too lazy to look for the composite video cable.

Thanks - there are a few glitches with the colour on the rope, I have an idea how to rewrite the colour 'control' on that - on my list when I get a chance to fix it.

I'm guessing that is a shrinking pit, and when you jump off slightly early, the colour leaves a trace of itself on the vine bitmap area.. my current colour replacement is a little too 'economical'

[e5frog]

Aren't all the shrinking pits black? I don't think this one was a shrinking one but the rope was all dark when I was on the right side and it only shifts when swinging to the left.

Not a big problem, I just thought I should mention it in case you had a simple solution to it.

A visually wonderful game, I thought it was easier than on the C64 but I haven't played that in years so...

[Victragic]

Aren't all the shrinking pits black? I don't think this one was a shrinking one but the rope was all dark when I was on the right side and it only shifts when swinging to the left.

Not a big problem, I just thought I should mention it in case you had a simple solution to it.

A visually wonderful game, I thought it was easier than on the C64 but I haven't played that in years so...

I've fixed this problem now, and uploaded the latest version (initial post also updated).

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BypQg4Q ... sp=sharing

In addition, I've changed the sounds to sound more 'authentic', fixed a couple bugs.

The only thing I haven't done is change the jump patterns, still needs a bit of thought..

..oh, and I have an idea to allow users to choose the screen and player colours 'Omega Race' style on the 'game over' screen.

Once again, thanks to everyone for their comments and feedback.. I really appreciate this, and I'm taking everything on board.

Edit: How could I forget? A HUGE thanks to Tokra and Mike. Tokra is sending me an SD card reader so I can see this game on a real Vic. I can't wait to see this and other recent creations from Denial members, particularly some of the new graphic modes!

[orion70]

I see you have released it in the appropriate thread, but currently I can't download it (file not available)... Too many downloads?

[e5frog]

Works for me, comes up an icon in the middle of the screen saying "No preview available" and it has a "Download"-button.

Maybe Google doesn't like Italy or you have to have a google-account?

[Victragic]

I see you have released it in the appropriate thread, but currently I can't download it (file not available)... Too many downloads?

Sorry, I may have been playing around with the file on my Google Drive when you tried to download it.. it seems to be working okay now.

[orion70]

Still can't download it neither on my desktop pc nor on the tablet - maybe it's really google having issues with Italy? Anyway, could someone please upload it somewhere else? TIA

[pallas]

Works for me and I'm Italian.

Try this: http://db.tt/CXBHkHoz

[orion70]

velocissimo! Thank you!

[Kananga]

Great work! I can't wait to present it at the next Commore Meeting in Graz