Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
Broke Studio
Formerly glutock
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 3:42 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons (working title)

Post by Broke Studio »

na_th_an wrote: It seems that you are using horizontal mirroring. Wouldn't vertical mirroring be more suited for a horizontal scrolling game, or are you planning 8 way scrolling or vertical stages?
I had a 4-way scrolling engine that I used for 1-screen mode. I wanted to use it quickly for the compo, so I disabled the vertical scrolling feature to do a horizontal side scrolling game, using horizontal mirroring. Not the ideal solution because of the attribute glitches on the right, but it's not that bad.
dougeff wrote:I could only get it to work with 1 emulator, FCEUX, (out of 4 that I tested)...I guess because it is mapper 28.

It's kind of hard to jump onto a small platform (box)...or rather, too easy to jump completely over it.

The music crashed after a minute or two.

Otherwise, looks good. Hope you finish it soon. :mrgreen:
The ROM works fine with FCEUX, Mesen, and puNES as far as I can tell. Also works ok on the AVS+Everdrive.
Maybe I got used to it, but I found jumping on a small platform was ok. Are you testing with keyboard or controller ?
However I can tweak the physics a bit to help.
I used a famitracker song from a friend for the music. It initially uses VRC6 expansion so that's why it may feels "empty" sometimes.
The song ends weirdly, but it's not a crash. There's no loop.
rainwarrior wrote: Though nes2edit.exe complains it has inconsistent/malformed data in the header? (Not sure why, though, the header looks OK?) Maybe it's the use of byte 9 to suggest PAL, which most emulators ignore?

(If you want FCEUX to automatically use PAL mode for it, you can put "(E)" on the end of the filename.)
Yes I tried to use the byte 9 for PAL but I guess I should set it back to $00.
I figured out that using "(E)" on the filename switch automatically the region in FCEUX (at least).

Thanks for the feedback so far !
My first game : Twin Dragons available at Broke Studio.
surt
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2014 6:02 am

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons (working title)

Post by surt »

Very cool.

Only issues I've found is the PCs walk animation seems to play a frame or two too long when coming to a stop and possibly related changing direction while walking has a jarring delay.
glutock wrote:I guess that Dinky will have to rescue Minky :).
The idea I had in my head was that the Dinky Drakes: Dinky and Minky (basically Mario and Luigi) are rescuing their absent-minded professor of archaeology father (their Peach/Henry Jones Sr.).
dougeff wrote:My only issue issue, is, the clouds look upside down. If you study cloud science, there's something called a 'ceiling', below it, the temperature and pressure aren't right for cloud formation. So, the bottom of clouds tend to have a flat appearance.
They were originally intended to be used as platforms.
User avatar
Broke Studio
Formerly glutock
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 3:42 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons (working title)

Post by Broke Studio »

Dinky can finally die, it brings you back to the title screen for now.
New ROM version attached

See OP for latest ROM.
surt wrote:Only issues I've found is the PCs walk animation seems to play a frame or two too long when coming to a stop and possibly related changing direction while walking has a jarring delay.
I think I can adjust that.
surt wrote:The idea I had in my head was that the Dinky Drakes: Dinky and Minky (basically Mario and Luigi) are rescuing their absent-minded professor of archaeology father (their Peach/Henry Jones Sr.).
If you have any detailed idea of what you expect the game to be or look like, feel free to share your thoughts.
My first game : Twin Dragons available at Broke Studio.
User avatar
Broke Studio
Formerly glutock
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 3:42 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons (working title)

Post by Broke Studio »

Quick update :

- a lot of bugs have been fixed
- 45° slopes are completely implemented
- player can jump down from one-way platforms / moving platforms by pressing down+jump
- background CHR is now full, and contains tiles for 2 worlds

Image

Image

Image
My first game : Twin Dragons available at Broke Studio.
na_th_an
Posts: 558
Joined: Mon May 27, 2013 9:40 am

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons (working title)

Post by na_th_an »

Beautiful, this is beautiful. Congrats.
User avatar
tokumaru
Posts: 12427
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:43 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Post by tokumaru »

This looks really nice! It looks a little strange how the mushroom simply disappears when it dies though... Maybe you could add a little explosion or something? The moving platform suddenly appearing and disappearing at the edge of the screen instead of smoothly scrolling in and out is a little distracting too.
User avatar
Broke Studio
Formerly glutock
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 3:42 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Post by Broke Studio »

tokumaru wrote:This looks really nice! It looks a little strange how the mushroom simply disappears when it dies though... Maybe you could add a little explosion or something? The moving platform suddenly appearing and disappearing at the edge of the screen instead of smoothly scrolling in and out is a little distracting too.
The mushroom will definitely have a death animation.

I struggled a bit with the moving platform for a smooth apparition but haven't found a good / clean solution for now ...
I'll have a deeper look at it if I have enough time.
My first game : Twin Dragons available at Broke Studio.
User avatar
tokumaru
Posts: 12427
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:43 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Post by tokumaru »

glutock wrote:The mushroom will definitely have a death animation.
Cool!
I struggled a bit with the moving platform for a smooth apparition but haven't found a good / clean solution for now ...
I'll have a deeper look at it if I have enough time.
This isn't the most terrible thing ever, and even some games from back in the day had objects "popping" near the edges of the screen. But your game looks very good, better than the average commercial NES game, so it'd be nice if all the action was as smooth as possible to top it off.

I don't know how your meta-sprite system works, but as long as you work with 16-bit coordinates when generating the OAM entries, it should be easy to tell when individual sprites are off screen so you can skip them. You also need the "active area" to be a bit wider than the screen, so objects are activated a little ahead of time, and deactivated after they're entirely off screen.
User avatar
Lazycow
Posts: 105
Joined: Tue Jun 11, 2013 1:04 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons (working title)

Post by Lazycow »

Very adorable graphics! And the gameplay looks very polished, too.
How do you handle these 45 degree slanted blocks and these moving platforms, collision-wise? (platforms are sprites, right?)
User avatar
koitsu
Posts: 4201
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 9:28 pm
Location: A world gone mad

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons (working title)

Post by koitsu »

glutock wrote:I had a 4-way scrolling engine that I used for 1-screen mode. I wanted to use it quickly for the compo, so I disabled the vertical scrolling feature to do a horizontal side scrolling game, using horizontal mirroring. Not the ideal solution because of the attribute glitches on the right, but it's not that bad.
Then these posts/threads might interest you:

viewtopic.php?p=102614#p102614
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7844

I swear I saw a post from Bregalad (I think it was him, could be wrong -- edit: ah yes, it's here) with a demonstration of this in effect; basically the "glitching" is seen on both sides of the screen (vs. entirely on the right), and visually it's a lot more tolerable (less noticeable). But then again, the "glitching" in question is something that does have a kind of "NES feel" to it, that is to say, it has a nostalgia associated with it.
User avatar
Broke Studio
Formerly glutock
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 3:42 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Post by Broke Studio »

tokumaru wrote: I don't know how your meta-sprite system works, but as long as you work with 16-bit coordinates when generating the OAM entries, it should be easy to tell when individual sprites are off screen so you can skip them. You also need the "active area" to be a bit wider than the screen, so objects are activated a little ahead of time, and deactivated after they're entirely off screen.
My "active area" is 64px wide on each side. Objects are only spawn in those zones, and deactivated/destroyed if too far. As long as they're on screen or in the active zones, they're processed (still moving, colliding, etc).
Lazycow wrote:Very adorable graphics! And the gameplay looks very polished, too.
How do you handle these 45 degree slanted blocks and these moving platforms, collision-wise? (platforms are sprites, right?)
I'm using height map for slopes.
Here's how I dit it :

Code: Select all

// horizontal collision :

if the actor's hotspot collide with slope for the first time then
    decrement actor Y position
    set on-slope flag
    never collide with slopes
else
    do normal collision checks
end if

// vertical collision :

if the actor's hotspot collide with slope then
    if the player is jumping, then 
        don't collide and return
    else // here the player is walking or standing or falling
        if the player's Y position is 'under' the height map value or 3px above, then
            'glue' the actor to the slope using the height map
            return
        else
            don't collide and return
        end if
    end if
else
    do normal vertical collision checks
end if

// gravity :

if player is on slope and going down the slope then
    add X speed to gravity (or instead gravity or juste double gravity)
    // it avoids jerky movement from a slope tile to an other
end if

koitsu wrote: Then these posts/threads might interest you:

viewtopic.php?p=102614#p102614
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7844

I swear I saw a post from Bregalad (I think it was him, could be wrong -- edit: ah yes, it's here) with a demonstration of this in effect; basically the "glitching" is seen on both sides of the screen (vs. entirely on the right), and visually it's a lot more tolerable (less noticeable). But then again, the "glitching" in question is something that does have a kind of "NES feel" to it, that is to say, it has a nostalgia associated with it.
Yes, I read those threads before, and thought about doing something like this. However, like you said, it has a "NES feel" so I won't change it for now. But I'll definitely try something if I've got spare time before deadline !
My first game : Twin Dragons available at Broke Studio.
User avatar
Broke Studio
Formerly glutock
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 3:42 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Post by Broke Studio »

Lazycow wrote:Very adorable graphics! And the gameplay looks very polished, too.
How do you handle these 45 degree slanted blocks and these moving platforms, collision-wise? (platforms are sprites, right?)
Sorry I forgot to answer the second part of your question about moving platforms.

Yes platforms are sprites.
Before updating actors, I update platforms first (2 max on screen at the same time in my engine for now but can be more).
This way, their position is updated, and if there are actors on platforms, their position is updated too.
After that I update actors, and check for actor/platform collision if needed.

I don't know if it's the best way to do it, but it works for me.
Tell me if you need more details.
My first game : Twin Dragons available at Broke Studio.
User avatar
Broke Studio
Formerly glutock
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 3:42 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Post by Broke Studio »

Item collect and enemy death animations, and a lot of bugs fixed !
Next step : flying enemies !

Image
My first game : Twin Dragons available at Broke Studio.
User avatar
FrankenGraphics
Formerly WheelInventor
Posts: 2064
Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2016 2:55 am
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Post by FrankenGraphics »

Nice! The button press widget is a nice touch, too. I wonder if it would feel a little more natural if the powerup/red chili would move to the north-east corner instead of the north-west? Not that i think either is right or wrong; it's just something i reflected on.

Will there be a sound effect when taking out enemy objects? The plucking sound in SMB always felt satisfying.
tepples
Posts: 22708
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 11:12 pm
Location: NE Indiana, USA (NTSC)
Contact:

Re: Progress Thread - Twin Dragons

Post by tepples »

I think that particular "button press widget" is part of the emulator. I remember seeing it in FCEUX.
Post Reply