HELL YEAH! - arcade platform shooter (my first Z80 game!)

[presh]

Right, time to resurrect this thread

I found some unused code and binned it, giving me enough space to fix the platform "bug" (so the player "sticks" to them instead of having to run alongside them!)

I've also got some engine improvements lined up thanks to [mention]cmal[/mention]'s suggestion here.

There may be a few cosmetic updates too, to make things look a bit snazzier (if what I have planned looks ok!)

May even get some AY music in there! If I can get it sounding ok without interrupts...

[presh]

Made some good progress last night with engine optimisation... one of the main drawing routines now uses stack-based reading plus some self-modified code to make things a bit quicker.

Still need to optimise the other drawing routines but getting one of them working like this is a big step for me

[Ast A. Moore]

Are you going to post an updated version for us to try out?

[lovebug]

totally amazing, congratulations

[presh]

Are you going to post an updated version for us to try out?

Eventually!

[presh]

New version now available

https://zx.preshaudio.co.uk/hell-yeah/

• Improvements to background graphics and HUD
• Platforms behaviour improved
• Controls are more responsive
• Bonus points on level completion
• New enemy variations
• First stage difficulty reduced slightly
• Some checkpoints repositioned to be fairer
• Rocket launcher causes more damage
• Significant engine optimisations

[Ast A. Moore]

Okay, I managed to get to the part of Stage One depicted on the screenshot above. Woot!

[cmal]

Great job on all the updates. I played it for a while then went back to the original. The latest release definitely feels slicker and more responsive. I really like the fact that you move with the platforms now.

Now I just need to get good at the game so I can pass the first level.

[gdh48k]

This is mighty impressive! And inspiring...

[Ast A. Moore]

I keep getting hoisted by double jumps: I make a diagonal jump, make sure I release all the control keys, and yet when I land on a platform, the character performs a second jump, as if I keep holding the jump key down.

[presh]

I keep getting hoisted by double jumps: I make a diagonal jump, make sure I release all the control keys, and yet when I land on a platform, the character performs a second jump, as if I keep holding the jump key down.

Thanks for the info. Anyone else experiencing this issue?

I can only replicate it by holding jump until just before the player lands.

It's because I added some more input scans between the "heavy lifting" tasks (buffer scrolling, copying, etc) as I noticed my play testers were tapping the fire button (rather than holding it like I did) and the button press would frequently get "lost" due to input only being scanned once per frame, which was approximately every 120ms. Needless to say, it's frustrating if you press fire and nothing happens!

But it's the first time I've attempted multiple input scans per game frame, so I wouldn't be surprised if I haven't got it 100% right first time

Best advice I can give at the moment is to tap jump rather than holding it! Hope that's of some help anyway.

[Ast A. Moore]

Got it. I pretty much always just tap the jump key. I guess as far as your control polling routing is concerned, my tapping is just not quick enough.

I’m still plowing through (with frequent, and sometimes plentiful, save states).

[Ast A. Moore]

Um, yeah . . . It’s the beginning of Stage 4 and there’s a great deal of jumping here.

[Ast A. Moore]

Hmm. Is this a glitch, or am I just being thick? I can’t get out and parts of a blue platform appear underneath me when I jump up.



If I go left until the area with the blue platform is off-screen and then return, the platform is no longer there.

[presh]

Hmm. Is this a glitch, or am I just being thick? I can’t get out and parts of a blue platform appear underneath me when I jump up.



If I go left until the area with the blue platform is off-screen and then return, the platform is no longer there.

Well congratulations on making it that far and thank you for persisting!

There's a hint in the instructions, however...

Spoiler

The blue checkerboard platforms only appear when you land on them... *sigh* yes, I know, I hate hidden platforms too. And you will hate them even more by the time you figure out the way to the top, I'm sure.

[Ast A. Moore]

Oh, shoot! Instructions. I knew I was missing something. D’oh.

[Ast A. Moore]

Hell, yeah!



But, let me tell ya, if I were playing this on real hardware back in the day, I’d have rage-quit at Stage One.

[presh]

Oh wow... didn't realise you had it on Medium!

You should be able to breeze through it on Easy though now...

[Ast A. Moore]

You should be able to breeze through it on Easy though now...

Easy is for sissies. I’mma kick some butt on Hard!

[Nienn Heskil]

It's a good thing you've fixed the moving platforms, but in some ways they behave not as one would expect I think. For instance, it seems like the camera doesn't follow the hero if you move left or right while standing on one. Or e.g. with that hidden one at the beginning, it looks weird if you ride it all the way to the left edge of the map (the hero falls down when it switches direction).

I like the addition of the extra backgrounds as well, although I do find them somewhat busy/repetitive in places, making things a little harder to see. Perhaps this can be toned down a bit somehow.

Lastly, if the engine is now noticeably optimized, how about getting rid of port #FF based sync entirely, using regular HALT+delay instead. I don't think there's any real reason to use #FF in a game like this anyway (games with attribute based movement need not run too fast to begin with), and on the other hand it makes it incompatible with various unofficial clones out there.

[Ast A. Moore]

Hell, yeah!

[presh]

Easy is for sissies. I’mma kick some butt on Hard!

A man of his word Congrats!!