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.
There's a snazzy new Pac-man game out. Ivan mentions the download link here.
Bloody hell it's amazing. Smooth as silk, 50 fps, fast, good AI, good sound. If it has any faults then you might say background ghost colours get left behind occasionally, but I actually like that—it's a reminder that you're playing on god's own computer.
Is it a demo, or a finalised release?
And could it possible be the best Pac-man on the speccy?
p13z wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 4:13 pm
Being a bit of a purist - I don't think anything can top Obo's version of Pacman on the Soeccy. This does look cool though.
This looks like something off Cassette 50 compared to Obo's Pacman. Nice try, but nobody's gonna beat that.
[mention]p13z[/mention], [mention]ZXDunny[/mention] I know what you mean. Colour clash aside it probably has to be the gold standard. Should it even be included as a comparison though?
Juan F. Ramirez wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 7:55 pm
Anyway, good version, but I still go with Z-Man (a nostalgia thing, I suppose).
Aye it's great, and I'm certainly not averse to character movement, but there's something 'Whoa!' about this Pac-man. It must be the speed and smoothness.
I do prefer the wider-jawed Pac-man graphic in Z-Man tho.
I like it! It's quite different to the emulator, but still scratches a certain Pac-Man itch for me. The emulator runs at 50Hz, but the downscaling and the fact that the arcade movement speeds change means you won't get the glossy 50Hz animations you get with this one. The single pixel animation does make a massive difference over the older official games.
It'd be good if the new version supported diagonal inputs, without favouring one axis over the other. Currently you have to be very quick to release and press keys to avoid stumbling with direction changes. It can implemented by ignoring control inputs for the direction you're facing, as well as any movement options that aren't available at the current position/junction. I had to implement that for the emulator too since the original game uses a 4-way joystick and doesn't expect diagonals.
Hi guys, thanks for the comments. This game is in fact the first game (along with Tetris) that I thought i'd actually show off.
Normally i'd just lurk in the shadows and read to try and gain knowledge. I've never been in the games industry but always loved the idea of making them. My first computer was a 48k and grew up with it but only now thought i'd go back and try and make something proper. I dabbled with Unity but got annoyed with using someone elses code. I saw in RetroGamer about it being Pacmans birthday so thought i'd have a go at making a classic but wanted it to run really fast so kept the sprite sizes down. I didn't want all the clashes so thought the ghosts could 'slime' the pellets.
I actually started my journey just over a year ago with a 50hz platformer, but that got sidetracked with a horizontal shootemup. Then i needed to actually finish something so along came tetris and pacman. I'm currently trying an isometric space themed gauntlet! It will even have a torch option for more atmosphere.
I'll have to have a look into the eyes that kill bug. I tested it for days and days to find as many bugs as i could.
I wanted to have original levels, but if i kept adding more and more, it would never be 'finished'. It has the option of slow tunnels anywhere and the warp at any position, so can be expanded if needed.
Oh, and i'm absolutely terrible with sounds/music, so thats the reason the effects are bad/sparse.
and here's a quick 'in progress' early version of the iso adventure. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vevxvh ... sp=sharing
not good with graphics, but do have some walls done. The idea is to clear each room of aliens and the air locks (doors) will open for the next rooms.
and the shootemup https://drive.google.com/file/d/19qRFy5 ... sp=sharing
This got to the point of never going back to finish off populating levels, or different scenery, but has a lot of pre-def'd scripts for movement/control.
I always seem more interested in proof, rather than populating.
scoppack wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:33 am
Here's tetris
and here's a quick 'in progress' early version of the iso adventure.
and the shootemup
The only thing about the tetris is when you press 'down' to drop the block, the rapid drop effect carries over to the new block too quickly. IMO this effect would be better with a debounced key.
I like the shootemup the most. I hope you get that finished, in fact, it's not far off now.
They are just placeholders. i'm not a good artist or musician. I googled isometric and found a spritesheet to get me started.
The plan is to have a spacestation, with eggs that sprout spider-type things and call it Aliun-ISO-lation.
And the darkness is just a flag i can turn on/off. Might even do it for a flickery light type effect too.
Ah, they were just perfect for the angles of walking to get everything working, soz. Not sure how far it will progress tbh, as i'm looking to see if a procedural room generation would be possible, or worthwhile to keep level data down. It started at 160 bytes per room, and is currently 20-40 depending what is in it. I don't get that much free time.
scoppack wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 7:22 pm
Ah, they were just perfect for the angles of walking to get everything working, soz. Not sure how far it will progress tbh, as i'm looking to see if a procedural room generation would be possible, or worthwhile to keep level data down. It started at 160 bytes per room, and is currently 20-40 depending what is in it. I don't get that much free time.
Oh no worries! Fire away using them as placement graphics until you get something better!
