New Game in Progress...Needs a name

adric22 · Post by **adric22** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:56 am

For any who have been following me over in the programming forum, this is old news. but now that I'm getting a little further, I thought I'd share a screenshot and talk about what the plans are. I'm writing a new version of Flash Attack for the VIC-20. First, for those who are unfamiliar, here is an original screenshot of Flash Attack on the PET:

And Here is what I have made so far on the VIC-20:

Now, I didn't learn about flash attack until I played it on the PC (which I can't currently find a screenshot) and it featured 4 tank windows for 4 separately controlled tanks, plus the larger BASE screen. It was all in ASCII characters, but it was very fun to play, since it worked with up to 8-players on a multi-line BBS. I think somebody started a port to the C64 at one point too.

Now, where I am currently on the VIC-20 version is what you see in the screenshot. You can actually drive around the map, but that is about it at the moment. This version will only allow for 2 tanks because there just isn't enough room on the screen. I have planned several new additions to the game that were never featured in the originals. For example, it will no longer be necessary to type in angles and distances to drop a bomb. Instead, you will drop one directly over the area of your tank, except to make it fair, the bombs won't be very accurate. I am also going to allow the building of bridges over water, and when the bridge is shot, it will return to being water. Also I am working more towards a single-player game with some kind of computer AI for opponents. I am also thinking about hiding objects around the map that you can pick up to give you extra abilities, such as invisibility, ability to build a bridge, or to build different types of walls. Also maybe some kind or radar that will put a high-res monochrome image where your tank's viewscreen is showing a rough outline of the area around you for a few seconds.

Right now the map is 128x128 which is pretty large actually. It takes a while to drive across it even at full speed. But after some additional improvements to the way the map is stored, I think I can eventually double that number.

Obviously, this requires a VIC-20 with 24K of RAM.

Also, I am currently using PETSCII characters (which don't look half-bad) but eventually these will be redefined to something more realistic.

nbla000 · Post by **nbla000** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:01 am

why not Vic Flash Attack ?

Post by **Jeff-20** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 3:13 am

adric22 · Post by **adric22** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:31 pm

I have been getting a lot of work done. Here's an updated screenshot with better graphics.

adric22 · Post by **adric22** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:49 pm

Got a lot more work done.. One thing you won't be able to tell from these screenshots is that I've added a lot of animation in now. In this first screenshot, TANK1 is entering the city shrine. Tank2 is exploring a lavaflow.

In this next screenshot, Tank1 is visiting the main city-center, while Tank2 is crossing a bridge over a river.

And in this last screenshot, Tank1 is visiting a farm while Tank2 is looking at a stream cutting through some rocks. I also have the "GPS" function turned on in this screnshot, showing the letters in purple of where you are located.

At this point in the game, you can basically just drive around. and somewhat interact with the landscape. In the next few days I'll be adding the bad guys and your weapons to fight them. Now, keep in mind this game is starting to look more and more like an "ultima" or D&D style game.. and I was going for that look. But make no mistake, this is an action game and it will be closer to "warcraft" than anything else, except you'll be limited to the 3 units you can control here. You're going to have bad guys approaching your main base, which when destroyed will end the game. So you'll want to keep 1 tank near your base for protection and building walls, laying mines, etc.. You'll go out exploring with your other tank and try to hunt down all the bad guy's and destroy their bases with various weapons. Oh.. and everything works really FAST because it is all in RAM.. it isn't like Ultima where walking down paths takes for ever and the disk drive loads every 3 seconds..

If anyone would like a copy of this so far, I'd be happy to send it. Believe it or not, I haven't tried it on a REAL VIC-20 yet... it has only been run in VICE and Power20.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 8:12 am

What does it look like if player 1 gets close to lava? I fear you change the auxillary colour (upper nybble of the volume register) based on raster line. In that case I see it working for player 2, but the base window has a multicolour graphic in white, red, blue that may conflict with player 1's window.

Perhaps I misunderstood your code, in that case I apologize.

adric22 · Post by **adric22** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 8:38 am

carlsson wrote:What does it look like if player 1 gets close to lava? I fear you change the auxillary colour (upper nybble of the volume register) based on raster line. In that case I see it working for player 2, but the base window has a multicolour graphic in white, red, blue that may conflict with player 1's window.

Perhaps I misunderstood your code, in that case I apologize.

I'm not entirely sure what you are asking. It doesn't look any different for player 1 or player 2. I would point out that the units change colors depending on which one is selected. So if you are currently driving around unit 1, then it is white and unit 2 turns yellow, and vice-versa. That was to help me when both units are on the same screen to realize better which one was which. The only multi-color characters in the game are all designed to use the same 3 auxiliary colors, the only change being the primary color stored in color-ram. The tanks themselves are actually monochrome characters.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:25 pm

I mean does lava in player 1's window look like red with white or yellow waves in it? It seems water in player 2's window always is blue with white waves. I suspect there could occur a colour clash if player 1 gets close to lava compared to the white-red-blue graphic in the middle of the base window. But if no problem occurs, everything is fine and you can ignore me.

adric22 · Post by **adric22** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:29 am

carlsson wrote:I mean does lava in player 1's window look like red with white or yellow waves in it? It seems water in player 2's window always is blue with white waves. I suspect there could occur a colour clash if player 1 gets close to lava compared to the white-red-blue graphic in the middle of the base window. But if no problem occurs, everything is fine and you can ignore me.

Yep.. everything is fine. The blue and white is water. The water won't kill you like the lava does, but you can't drive over it.

Also, There is no "player 1" and "player 2" It isn't like spy vs. spy or something where there are two players on the same screen. You control BOTH tanks.. you have to switch between them with the function keys.

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:40 am

adric22 wrote:Also, There is no "player 1" and "player 2" It isn't like spy vs. spy or something where there are two players on the same screen. You control BOTH tanks.. you have to switch between them with the function keys.

You should include missions, where both tanks are necessary to achieve the goal - even though you might need to leave the base alone in that case.

IMO, nothing beats two tanks going parallel at nearly twice their shooting distance, but still the complete range between them is covered.

Michael