Lightning Strikes

[Lonewolf10]

Target system: A600, OS 2.05
CPU: 68000
RAM: 2MB minimum (should work with fast RAM too)


Game Controls
Joystick: Move = Left/right; Climb = Up/Down; Fire = Run
Keyboard: Move = Left/right cursor keys; Climb = Up/Down cursor keys; Control = Run

Menu Controls
Joystick & Keyboard: Select = Fire/Control button; Change menu option = Left/right; Select option = Up/Down; Return to menu=Escape; Exit game (on main menu)=Escape


Development page on my website: http://www.aliensrcooluk.com/mysite/...igagames2.html

Download ADF here
Download LHA here


After working on this for some time I have decided to release it as is in order to find out if it is worthwhile continuing on this project: another year (maybe more) to create more graphics and my original target of 100 screens (15 currently available).

Honest opinions appreciated.

[Pyromania]

Always good to have new Amiga games. I'll check it out, thanks for the early release.

[hipoonios]

Weeee... Happy to see another new game for the Amiga in development!

Took a quick look... And I really like it how it look and plays so far

The walking anim could look better. But the running animation looks really smooth and great.

I think the problem is that you moving a bit too fast. As it is now so you are moving no faster just because you run.

Good luck with your game.

[Gzegzolka]

ADF saved I will check it later.

[Predseda]

Will try it over the weekend on my real Ami, I am really excited.

[spud]

I will too - it looks good!

[Predseda]

Doesnt work for me. It immedietelly says Level Completed, without any interaction. I press a fire and Level 2 is completed. Then Level 3 Etc, etc up to 15

[Lonewolf10]

Oh dear... I overlooked something. It works on WinUAE (2.0.1), but I shall take a closer look.

It shouldn't activate the level completed bit until UD (main character) is in a specific location.


Edit:

Please see my PM.

Also, was this run from workbench (and which OS), or from boot-up? (I suspect the former as you are using real hardware)

[Predseda]

Started from wb 3.1 on a1200 with mk IV blizzard. Unpacked your lha and doubleclicked the icon.

[Lonewolf10]

Urgh, just been doing some further testing on WinUAE. It doesn't like OS 3.1 at all (timer and interrupt issues among other problems), which isn't suprising since I have been developing it on OS 2

Predseda, can you try on OS 2? You should (finger crossed) have better luck on it.


PS. Edited requirements in my first post.

[spud]

Tried it on my Amiga 1200 and as you probably expect it exhibits the same behaviour. I blizkicked a 2.04 rom and 1.3 rom and both crash on the menu. I plan to get my A600 out later to test with.

[Gzegzolka]

I have test it on winuae 3.0.0 on quick A1200 config and game first time allow me for control character and after I press fire it show "level complete". I restart it and now it always show "level complete". If You are targeting to make game that looks like 8bit try to make first logo screen also 8bit and menu also could look simpler. You have nice idea for game and I like that kind of exploration oriented games. You have some potential.

[spud]

Tried it on my A600 and it got as far as the menu screen before crashing again. perhaps it doesn't like the Vampire 600 in there!

This is the problem with developing for the Amiga - too many different configurations !

[Predseda]

Originally Posted by spud

Tried it on my A600 and it got as far as the menu screen before crashing again. perhaps it doesn't like the Vampire 600 in there!

This is the problem with developing for the Amiga - too many different configurations !

Still much better than 90s PCs I think.

Anyway - I will have to pull our my A600 finally, I think this game is a good reason to dust her off

[Lonewolf10]

Originally Posted by spud

This is the problem with developing for the Amiga - too many different configurations !

That's exactly why I develop for the Amiga - the classic hardware doesn't change!

Unfortunately, this is the first time I have played with interrupts and written my own interrupt routine. I will have to examine that part very closely.

[Leffmann]

I played all the levels through, I think it could be a decent game if you add more levels, and more contraptions and thingies to kill the player.

[Lonewolf10]

Originally Posted by hipoonios

Took a quick look... And I really like it how it look and plays so far

Thanks

Originally Posted by hipoonios

The walking anim could look better. But the running animation looks really smooth and great.

Yeah... originally it was just going to be tap left/right and walk a little bit. Then I decided that if the player held the button down then UD (main character) he should walk further, but this is done by looping the 'walk a little bit' anim at a specific point if left/right is still pressed.
Not sure that would be easy to fix.

The running animation uses alot more animation frames than the walking one, which is why he moves much slower and it looks alot better

Originally Posted by Leffmann

I played all the levels through, I think it could be a decent game if you add more levels, and more contraptions and thingies to kill the player.

More levels and contraptions to kill player - no problem, already planned if I decide to spend more time on this (arrows and fireballs going sideways, along with a ghostly spirit).


hipoonios and Leffmann, I'm guessing you both played this in WinUAE?

[spud]

I tried it on my A600 without the Vampire... but I don't have enough RAM! Next try will be on my CDTV I think!

[phx]

It's a very nice game project. Congratulations!
The character and the controls remind me a lot on Prince of Persia.

I have tested with E-UAE (68000, 2MB Chip), A3000/060, A4000/060 and Minimig (Kick1.3, 1.5MB Chip).

Issues I have noticed:

• You forgot to stop the disk drive motor, after the game has been loaded. Either add a delay before switching off interrupts or turn it off yourself.
• The Digital Dalmatian scroller is a bit jerky.
• On my 060-machines I counted 25 seconds from the DD-scroller until the menu appears. What is happening there?
• When started from a 060 WB3.1 the game freezes when selecting START. Screen has turned black. It works when booted from disk, though.
• START also makes the Minimig with 1.5 Chip RAM freeze. But this time the screen does not turn black but the menu remains visible. Maybe insufficient memory. You said 2MB, but the Minimig has no more.
• Freeze when returning from OPTIONS via EXIT (060). Screen is black.
• Freeze in the Game Over screen (060). The skull and the Game Over is visible, but Level, Score and Game Time are missing.

With "Freeze" I mean the system becomes completely unresponsive. Also interrupts are no longer serviced (you see that my hitting the caps-lock key a few times and the LED stays on).

[Lonewolf10]

Originally Posted by phx

It's a very nice game project. Congratulations!
The character and the controls remind me a lot on Prince of Persia.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by phx

You forgot to stop the disk drive motor, after the game has been loaded. Either add a delay before switching off interrupts or turn it off yourself.

Drat!

The start-up code is basically the same as used for my All-Square demo from 3 years ago. It was on my list of things to fix, but got forgotten
There is code in there that is supposed to switch it off, but maybe I need to add in a VBL delay or something...

Originally Posted by phx

The Digital Dalmatian scroller is a bit jerky.

Yes, it is something I noticed when using faster CPU's than a 68000. Unfortunately I didn't spot this until after I released the demo. I suspect it needs a VBL delay between each scroll - or I need to learn to code for CPU's with caches

Originally Posted by phx

On my 060-machines I counted 25 seconds from the DD-scroller until the menu appears. What is happening there?

Urgh... it should be inflating the graphics onto a (hidden) screen. For the demo I disabled bitplane DMA (probably sprites and copperlist too), but for development version I have them enabled so I can see graphics are inflating correctly.
Or it could be a interrupt related issue * as on a 68000 CPU each image takes about a second to decode, then a few more to actually draw it. Shouldn't be longer than 10 seconds (guess, I haven't actually timed how long it takes to inflate the 3 images - one for UD (all 120 animation frames, one for everything else (all 180 animation frames) and the one used for the title screen)

Originally Posted by phx

When started from a 060 WB3.1 the game freezes when selecting START. Screen has turned black. It works when booted from disk, though.

Urgh... again using code from 3 years ago. Only designed for OS 2 I believe

Originally Posted by phx

START also makes the Minimig with 1.5 Chip RAM freeze. But this time the screen does not turn black but the menu remains visible. Maybe insufficient memory. You said 2MB, but the Minimig has no more.

Freeze when returning from OPTIONS via EXIT (060). Screen is black.

I have seen these only this week. Seems to be related to running on faster CPU's. *

Originally Posted by phx

Freeze in the Game Over screen (060). The skull and the Game Over is visible, but Level, Score and Game Time are missing.

With "Freeze" I mean the system becomes completely unresponsive. Also interrupts are no longer serviced (you see that my hitting the caps-lock key a few times and the LED stays on).

Yes, seen this too. *


* These issues seem to be related to my interrupt routines. I clear the INTREQ flags (twice in a row, to be safe!) at the end of my interrupt routines, but on faster CPU's the same interrupt (timer, I think) gets serviced repeatedly and appears that the machine has locked up.