Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

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R-Tape
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Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by R-Tape »

Image

It's that time again. If anyone wants to submit minigames (or games), game/code/music/graphic demos, utilities or anything, then they'd be most welcome. Remember - the yardstick is anything just above CGC quality.

I'm not after content for the magazine itself, as I don't know what form that's going to take yet (i.e. I've left things late).

Ideally I'd like to get things ready around the 12th December.
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Van_Dammesque
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Van_Dammesque »

RE: I actually have that jumper! :D

Carry on....
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R-Tape
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by R-Tape »

If anyone wanted to submit and was struggling for ideas. It might be cool to get a few more programs in the archive that run from code entirely on the screen (Scumball 2).

Image

Also - if anyone isn't familiar with the mag and wants to know the kind of stuff I'm after, see last year's Woot. Even if you just have an idea for something, feel free to share it via PM and I might be able to realise it.
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TMD2003
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by TMD2003 »

As you know, I'm on the case already. Expect 48K's worth of stocking filler! (That will only run on 128K models...)
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Features my own programs, modified type-ins, RZXs, character sets & UDGs, and QL type-ins... so far!
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Joefish
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

Working on something. Will PM.
May need some public help in level design, but more on that when I'm ready...
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R-Tape
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by R-Tape »

And the first submission is in!

I'm just bumping this as a reminder. Pretty much anything is welcome, so if you've got an old project, some scraps of old code, a collection of screens or mockups, music demos, utilities then consider sending it in.

The deadline is 13th December, but if you have something and think you'll miss that, just get in touch and something can be worked out.
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Ast A. Moore
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Ast A. Moore »

I’m really pressed for time these days, but I too might contribute something (hopefully) of value to W00t 2020.
Every man should plant a tree, build a house, and write a ZX Spectrum game.

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and zasm Z80 Assembler syntax highlighter.
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by uglifruit »

Is there any over arching theme to this years woot?
Just in case I might be planning contributing something.
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R-Tape
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by R-Tape »

uglifruit wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 11:51 am Is there any over arching theme to this years woot?
Just in case I might be planning contributing something.
There's no compulsory theme (can be xmassy or not), but it would be good to have some referencing of this rather unusual year. As with Pepys' diaries, maybe Woot! can in part be a chronicle of the great pandemic of 2020.

That reminds me - I need to go and bury a block of Cathedral City in the backyard.
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Joefish
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

A little bit more progress. I'm going to need some volunteer level designers shortly...

Of course, you realise if this means BunnyGun is late, it's all your fault. :mrgreen:

Ooh, anyone want to do a loading screen? I can't be @rsed.
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Joefish
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

OK, I'll try and put together a (Windows) level-editor for this Trailblazer alike multicolour-runner this weekend. I'll need volunteers to do levels.
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Einar Saukas
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Einar Saukas »

Joefish wrote: Fri Nov 20, 2020 1:31 pm OK, I'll try and put together a (Windows) level-editor for this Trailblazer alike multicolour-runner this weekend. I'll need volunteers to do levels.
I volunteer!
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Joefish
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

OK, thanks. We have a partial editor. I'm doing it in Borland and GUI stuff always takes WAY longer than you think...
The game now has a sprite, beeper FX, movement, jumping, speed control, and a clock. But it's still not refereshing the road from map data nor animating or reacting to tiles yet.
It's ruddy hard work turning a demo into a game, even one with as few options as this...

(I'm a bit worried I might not have time to add the colour clash that all Speccy games are supposed to have, or else the NEXT lot might start to think that it's one of theirs...) :lol:
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Joefish
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

Can anyone do me a loading screen if I send a few notes and sketches?
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Einar Saukas
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Einar Saukas »

Joefish wrote: Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:16 pm Can anyone do me a loading screen if I send a few notes and sketches?
You have a PM :)
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

Thanks, but I need someone who can do something with a sort of colourful cartoon character.
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by R-Tape »

Joefish wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:57 am Thanks, but I need someone who can do something with a sort of colourful cartoon character.
Thread calling [mention]Andy Green[/mention] thread calling [mention]Andy Green[/mention] thread calling [mention]Andy Green[/mention]...
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Quantum Sheep
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Quantum Sheep »

I'm just working on a Xmas game and was kindly directed here by @zxdev2015 on Twitter!

Here's a small look at 'A Very Sheepy Xmas': https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep/statu ... 4942581762

I'm planning on releasing this on itch.io for free, but don't mind contributing it to you guys if you want it! :D

QS =D
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by R-Tape »

Quantum Sheep wrote: Sat Nov 28, 2020 1:02 am I'm planning on releasing this on itch.io for free, but don't mind contributing it to you guys if you want it! :D
That would be fantastic. I've sent you a PM.
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

OK, super-flaky first version of my road map editor is up for grabs:

http://railtron.com/files/spectrum/RoadEditor_v0-3.zip

There might still be bugs in it, so don't commit your magnum opus to it just yet, but give it a try. I've yet to get the game engine running off a file in this format, but I hope it contains everything I need. It all fits in a 1K data chunk, and it seems I can save and load these blocks without data loss.
It's done in Borland C++ on Win7, but hopefully it shouldn't need any extra run-time files. If it does, let me know and I'll re-compile it.

---

You can start on the 'Information' tab and enter a level name (11 chars) and author name (17 chars). It auto-pads them with spaces, which is why it might seem a bit of a fiddle to edit. You can click on the colour pad to change the 4 colours your text will be displayed in (2-line multicolour). You can also set the time limit for the level. I hope to be able to supply you with a test version you can compile and try out to get a better idea of setting time limits, so don't worry about it for now.

---

On the 'Palette' tab you can see the colours 0-7 on the left. Black is an empty square, White is jump, Green is go-slow, and you can click on the radio buttons to decide which colour is 'Boost' (speed up and pause the clock). By default, it's yellow. You can set it to black if you don't want speed-boosts on your level. Note that 'Jump', at normal speed, should clear the next two rows and land on the third.

Click on a colour, then click on a cell in the 'Road Palette' area. This scrolls up and down and lets you define 44 distinct row patterns (numbered 0-43). Note that 'Bright' is selected by a tick-box, and affects the whole row.

Remember, you can't just define the map colours willy-nilly. You can have 44 distinct row patterns, and the roadway is made up by repeating and re-using these patterns. If you subsequently change a row pattern, all rows using that pattern on the road map will change. So use them sparingly, and pick a basic colour theme or two to stick to. You can always do more than one level; don't stick all your best stuff in just one!

The first five palette rows are semi-fixed, as follows:

0 is all-black and can't be changed.

1 & 2 are the run-up markings for the start of the road. None of the special colour codes work on these rows, so you can use whatever colours you want. But you must have two alternating colours down the sides, and the central section all the same colour, so it looks like rumble strips. You can have these the same, or alternating brightness.

3 & 4 form a chequerboard pattern and must both be the same brightness.

5-43 are for your own designs, and can contain anything. But use them sparingly.

---

Finally on the 'Road' tab you edit the actual road. Select a row from your recently edited palette on the left, with either the left or right mouse button, then click on the roadway to set a row to that pattern. Note that you can't edit the first 10 run-in rows or the last 2 finish rows.

Also, when you save, the editor will automatically flood-fill any undefined level data (from the last row you drew right up to the end) with the finish-line pattern, or, if you've placed a row of the finish-line pattern anywhere in the level, it'll flood-fill from that point to the end of the level with finish line. So DO NOT use the finish-line rows willy-nilly, as anything you place after them will be lost.

You can always over-write the finish lines with the blank (zero line) if you need to make more room, but remember not to leave even 1 row of finish line amongst your level data, or everything after it will be lost.

You can click the 'SAVE' button, then abort, if you want to just check the process out. Note there's no way to save without going through this process, as it's necessary for the game engine, and for calculating the length of the level.

---

As for timing, when running at normal speed, 6 1/4 rows of squares pass by per second (currently), so the full 750 rows gives you 2 whole minutes of play, if you need it. The player has a boost gauge and can speed up for short periods, or use it for limited emergency jumps. Again, I'll try to get a simple demo version for you to test your levels before you have to commit.
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Einar Saukas
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Einar Saukas »

Joefish wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 10:15 pm It's done in Borland C++ on Win7, but hopefully it shouldn't need any extra run-time files. If it does, let me know and I'll re-compile it.
It says "The program can't start because Vcl40.bpl is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."
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Joefish
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

Argh, that's the one thing I hate about Borland. Always trying to trip you up into needing one of their run-time packages. Almost as bad as blwdy Mathworks. I turned off all the run-time and DLL options in the Linker, but there's still another filled-in list of exceptions of DLLs it'll rely on anyway after the build, that you have to remove.

Try this link. The file looks bigger so maybe it'll finally work on its own:

http://railtron.com/files/spectrum/RoadEditor_v0-4.zip


(NOTE: If you just tried to download it before reading this footnote, get it again. Slight bug in setting the colours of the finish line resetting the BRIGHT value, now fixed. But I don't think I can get the mouse wheel to work on the scrollbars though. Might be too old a version of the Borland Windows components. This is starting to feel too much like WORK!).
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Einar Saukas
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Einar Saukas »

It's working now. Thanks!

I will start working on it ASAP :)
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by R-Tape »

The official deadline for Woot submissions is the 13th December, but I'm running late myself, so if you've got something and think you'll miss the 13th, let me know (if we haven't already spoken) as it'll probably be extended.

Things are coming together. If you have something to submit then please consider chipping in (demos, minigames, anything). It doesn't have to be AAA standard, just fun/funny/interesting. Can be xmassy or not.


*in fact hardly anything so far, including the magazine, is xmassy. I suppose it's been that kind of year!
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Joefish
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Re: Woot 2020 - submissions wanted

Post by Joefish »

I'll try to get things finished next weekemd, if people can make a few levels for me.
Updated version of editor, along with try-out code (including PASMO to build it). You can try out my test level from this download too.
Any old level designs should be loaded into this new version of the editor and re-saved.

http://railtron.com/files/spectrum/RoadEditor_v0-5.zip

I've set up this thread for comments, bugs, etc.:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3799
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