Quadron, a uMIA from 1988... that you can buy now!!

People are still making stuff for the Sinclair related machines. Tell us about new games and other software that runs on the Spectrum, ZX80/ZX81, Pentagon and Next.
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Alessandro
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Re: Quadron, a uMIA from 1988... that you can buy now!!

Post by Alessandro »

I decided to encourage the developer (his games were among the first I ever played on the Spectrum, 35 years ago!) and purchased the game. Looks and plays quite nice, it's simple enough to grasp but not shallow, there are several nice touches in both appearance and gameplay, like the different weapons and items.
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Rorthron
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Re: Quadron, a uMIA from 1988... that you can buy now!!

Post by Rorthron »

Rorthron wrote: Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:17 pm 3. The entry mentions an Atari licence, but I can see no evidence of an official licence.
This change is no longer necessary now that licence information is presented differently.
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Re: Quadron, a uMIA from 1988... that you can buy now!!

Post by PeteProdge »

ChinnyVision has done a video review of Quadron...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-F9fOT6ByE
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Re: Quadron, a uMIA from 1988... that you can buy now!!

Post by Cosmium »

Free demo version of Quadron is available now - as a download at itch.io - for anyone who'd like to give it a try! :D

https://cosmium.itch.io/quadron
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Re: Quadron, a uMIA from 1988... that you can buy now!!

Post by Cosmium »

R-Tape wrote: Fri Dec 28, 2018 3:07 pm I've finally had a chance to play this properly.

Apart from the choice of keys and no redefine option, I think this is a great game.
I know it was a long time coming, but I just put the finishing touches to a redefinable keys option for the game. I kept the option of the 'Ultimate' style keyboard layout for those who prefer the original, and then there's the new choice to redefine. I also included this update in the demo version, which has also been uploaded to itch.io.

Was a bit of a battle finding the space to fit the new routine but I think this addition along with the recently added +2A/+3 compatibility (thanks to Ast. A. More pointing out common +2A/+3 gotchas) mean I feel the game is satisfyingly complete (well, enhanced from its 1988 form, really) and I'll be able to move on to the next (ZX) thing. :D
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Ast A. Moore
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Re: Quadron, a uMIA from 1988... that you can buy now!!

Post by Ast A. Moore »

Cosmium wrote: Mon Feb 10, 2020 12:28 am I just put the finishing touches to a redefinable keys option for the game.
Awesome! However, yours accepts the same key for all controls. If you’re interested, I wrote a (fairly) compact routine a while back that checks for, and rejects, the same key for different controls.

Another usability issue you might want to address is the fact that you don’t show all the controls at once. It’s not always easy to judge which keys you want to select, if you don’t know how many a game requires. Best to show all the available controls at once, and let the player plan ahead, especially if your game’s controls go beyond the standard LRUDF.
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Re: Quadron, a uMIA from 1988... that you can buy now!!

Post by Cosmium »

Ast A. Moore wrote: Wed Feb 12, 2020 11:51 pm
Cosmium wrote: Mon Feb 10, 2020 12:28 am I just put the finishing touches to a redefinable keys option for the game.
Awesome! However, yours accepts the same key for all controls.
...
Another usability issue you might want to address is the fact that you don’t show all the controls at once.
You're quite right. Trouble was, it was hard enough squeezing in this existing code without these extra frills let alone with them! So given the space limitations it seemed like a decent compromise that if the player makes a misstep whilst redefining the keys, they can press '2' again from the menu and quickly redo them :)
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