Lilly's Saga - The Stones of Evergreen | MSX Resource Center (Page 9/23)

Paladin (747)

06-02-2022, 14:03

Manuel wrote:

You could change patterns if not both are on the same screen at the same time, right? Maybe you can do some tricks with that?

Such a thing is in theory possible! Absolutely

But, in a way, working within some design restrictions is good. And in the game, I've made a design and architecture decision where I do not change/update sprite pattern table between levels. So: one set of sprites for the whole game (+one set for the boss).

I admit that this made more sense earlier when the game was running from disk, as data storage and data retrieval ends up as waiting time for the player if not handled carefully. But still, after moving to rom, I stuck to the architecture and the goal is to have one set of sprite pattern table throughout the game. I need to be creative with the patterns/mechanics at hand

In general, I constantly need to consider which parts of the code that should *not* be updated - otherwise this game will end up as an everlasting project.

In another project, which starts off with rom, and a graphic artist that can pump out dedicated enemies / enemy animations "pr level", things can be different, and brought to the next level

By santiontanon

Paragon (1810)

07-02-2022, 04:50

As for "changing patterns if they are not both in the screen at the same time", what I did in XRacing is to mark this before hand. So, I had markers in the track placed by hand that indicated that after the scroll reached a certain point, I should overwrite tiles N1-N2 with this other set of tiles. In that way, the game does not need to do anything smart, since it's all baked in into the map data. Then while authoring levels, you just need to make sure to leave enough space in between the parts that need certain tiles or others (e.g., at least one whole screen), so that things become easy and no fancy tricks are needed.

By Bengalack

Paladin (747)

07-02-2022, 17:55

Good idea! In this case I was talking about sprite-patterns. But, yeah, the same idea could be applied.

But there are many things we can do. And it's not too hard to come up with an architecture for this. It just implies more work

--I might have passed a point where I should leave current working tech as is. Not sure, but things that, even if they are simple themselves, can often imply a lot of work given the whole content-pipeline. And if I open for lots more sprites-faces/patterns, I would like to exploit that in many other levels, which in turn would lead to a lot of other work -- and the deadline I've set for myself... can't be reached.

So... I'm a bit hesitant to adding more sprite patterns. Need to think more about this.

Currently working on boss - Chief Abaddon But of course, we need boss-fights

By santiontanon

Paragon (1810)

07-02-2022, 18:05

hahaha, indeed. Improving the engine is a never-ending spiral haha. As soon as you have what you need for the game you want to make, you should run with it!

By GhostwriterP

Paladin (683)

07-02-2022, 19:34

hmmm... with streaming the tiles and sprite pattern updates one could make the whole game "one level" or "open world" in a sense... Ikari comes to mind...

By wolf_

Ambassador_ (10109)

07-02-2022, 19:44

And then with different isolated levels, a game is equally fun. Usas, Vampire Killer and Psycho World come to mind...

By Bengalack

Paladin (747)

08-04-2022, 19:11

Show and tell.

It's been while since last game update. Surprise, surprise: I've been hard at work on Lilly's Saga. --Need to get all those details correct.

Here's one of the easy levels which is using the (last) theme: "Caves". Apart from new tile graphics and splendid music, I'm not sure what else is visually or audibly new here --well except for a few enemies and the time bonus wrap-up at the end of the level.

https://youtu.be/UKLyBpbi7Sc

By wimpie3

Champion (435)

08-04-2022, 19:21

Looking really cool!

What "bothers" me though, is that when you stand still and start going to the left or the right, the main character immediately uses the full walking speed. Wouldn't it be more natural if he starts slow and goes faster after a .5 seconds for instance? I think most platform games use this method, it gives a more smoother look to the game.

By valkyre

Hero (662)

08-04-2022, 23:54

Fantastic work. Can't remember if you have said, but how many levels are you planning?

By Bengalack

Paladin (747)

09-04-2022, 08:48

wimpie3 wrote:

Looking really cool!

What "bothers" me though, is that when you stand still and start going to the left or the right, the main character immediately uses the full walking speed. Wouldn't it be more natural if he starts slow and goes faster after a .5 seconds for instance? I think most platform games use this method, it gives a more smoother look to the game.

Thanks. We've been discussing whether I should add inertia. There are pros and cons. No inertia gives you 100% control (like a player likes), but it looks a bit less smooth. No intertia makes the game easier to play too.

As you mention, it gives a "smoother look". So, by being a mere viewer at videos gives a "worse" impression compared to if you are the one playing.

The game is fast, it is straight up to 2 pixels scroll per second, and especially in 60 Hz, it is a tad fast. I agree (I prefer 50Hz in this game).

I've always been in favor of no intertia due to player control, but I do see that my levels are possibly getting a tad too easy to play too.

If I have time, I guess it could make sense to test out at version with a minimum of inertia, just to cut off some of the "jerkyness" that appears when tapping the joystick. Maybe I can strike the right balance?