BASIC Games: Pocoro Legends & Shape Switcher.

[SuTeKH/Epyteor]

- Hi all, 1st time poster!
I've been a long-time CPC games player and 8-bit music lover! I have enjoyed keeping up with all the new games and demos released by the CPC-scene over the years.
 
 
I wanted to give something back to the community, but my programming ability is, at best, infantile! So, in light of my serious lack of talent, I decided to create some RETRO DEMAKES; new games written in an olde-skool style. And, because my only contribution to the CPC-scene is a tiny part of the ACU TYPE-INS PROJECT, I thought I'd create a few CPC magazine type-in style games.
 
These programs were written using WinAPE 2.0 A17 and not tested on a real CPC.

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The first game is called 'POCORO LEGENDS', and is a remake of puzzle-game POCORO (http://pocoro-thegame.com/site/) for the X360 and mobile platforms.



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The second game is 'SHAPE SWITCHER', a remake of the web-game of the same name (http://www.addictinggames.com/puzzle-games/shapeswitcher.jsp)
 
   

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And, as a final insult, I decided to update and reprogram the Videlectrix masterpiece, 'THY DUNGEONMAN'  (http://www.homestarrunner.com/dungeonman.html)
(I plan to do a proper assembler version of this at some point, as well as the two sequels! And yes, AMSOFT didn't release this.)
 


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I hope you guys enjoy them, but please DO NOT have any expectations of these being anything other than dire! You will only be disappointed! Honestly! No, really, I mean it!
 
- JTMS...
 

[arnoldemu]

welcome to the forum.

I like the games

Always good to see new games.

[Axelay]

Heh, I seem to recall back in high school I when I was still doing games in BASIC I 'borrowed' the amsoft intro for my own loaders a couple of times for that 'professional' look!   


Will the assembly versions of Dungeonman have less annoying parsers?  Like being able to use N instead of North.

[arnoldemu]

Heh, I seem to recall back in high school I when I was still doing games in BASIC I 'borrowed' the amsoft intro for my own loaders a couple of times for that 'professional' look!   

So are there some hidden Axelay treasures we have not seen yet?
Some early games you coded?

[Sykobee (Briggsy)]

Great to see some new games! Better than not achieving anything or changing your plans every three months (i.e., about every time I get enough time to sit down and do some work).

[SuTeKH/Epyteor]

Will the assembly versions of Dungeonman have less annoying parsers?  Like being able to use N instead of North.

I deliberately left out N, S, & D (DENNIS) as the original game doesn't support single letter verbs. I was trying to be as true to the original as possible... but I will re-introduce them if I get to do an assembler version!
 

[arnoldemu]

I deliberately left out N, S, & D (DENNIS) as the original game doesn't support single letter verbs. I was trying to be as true to the original as possible... but I will re-introduce them if I get to do an assembler version!

have you considered coding in C?
Using z88dk or sdcc?
You may find this is easier.. it compiles to reasonable z80 code too.
there is the great cpcrslib which helps.

[SuTeKH/Epyteor]

have you considered coding in C?
Using z88dk or sdcc?
You may find this is easier.. it compiles to reasonable z80 code too.
there is the great cpcrslib which helps.

Ervin did recommend, a while ago, to use C and it sounds like a pretty good idea.
I did try the 'BASIC to Z80' compiler, but it doubled the program size and really hated arrays! Not useful when your BASIC program is already hitting 28K and the ASCII file you're trying to import is hitting HIMEM! (A problem I originally had with POCORO before I cut the levels into chunks of 5)

[arnoldemu]

Ervin did recommend, a while ago, to use C and it sounds like a pretty good idea.
I did try the 'BASIC to Z80' compiler, but it doubled the program size and really hated arrays! Not useful when your BASIC program is already hitting 28K and the ASCII file you're trying to import is hitting HIMEM! (A problem I originally had with POCORO before I cut the levels into chunks of 5)

I am sure that writing a parser in asm would be a lot more hell than writing it in C.
And if you really need to use asm you can, keeping a lot of logic in C and the bits that need speed in asm.
Go on try it

EDIT: If you need any examples, look at my blue angel 69 source code. I made it using C and z88dk.
full source and build stuff is there... ready to be hacked for others to use

[MaV]

Welcome tastefulmrship!

I like the games!

You're also active in the xbox360achievements.com forums. I remember having seen your walkthroughs to Monkey Island and a lot of other adventure games. Very helpful. Thanks for them too!

[SuTeKH/Epyteor]

I am sure that writing a parser in asm would be a lot more hell than writing it in C.
And if you really need to use asm you can, keeping a lot of logic in C and the bits that need speed in asm.
Go on try it

EDIT: If you need any examples, look at my blue angel 69 source code. I made it using C and z88dk.
full source and build stuff is there... ready to be hacked for others to use

The assembler parser looks a little too daunting for me, even if I just use Firmware calls to simulate the BASIC commands. C seems to be the better choice!
 
 

You're also active in the xbox360achievements.com forums. I remember having seen your walkthroughs to Monkey Island and a lot of other adventure games. Very helpful. Thanks for them too!

Yeah, the adventure scene has kinda died out and there's nothing else worth playing out there other than Portal 2!
 

[ervin]

And, because my only contribution to the CPC-scene is a tiny part of the ACU TYPE-INS PROJECT, I thought I'd create a few CPC magazine type-in style games.

Don't discredit yourself. 
Your contribution to that project was HUGE, absolutely massive.
You typed in several programs, and you put together and sent out gazillions of dsk files... that is a tremendous contribution.
 
I WILL get back to the project eventually... so many other things have happened in real life, but it's always there in the back of my mind. It's very dear to me. 

[AMSDOS]

The assembler parser looks a little too daunting for me, even if I just use Firmware calls to simulate the BASIC commands. C seems to be the better choice!

Welcome, interesting programs.
 
Some C Compilers will also translate your code into Assembly which can be handy thing to have if you want to poke around in enhancing Assembly routines at a later date. I presume your referring to CPC Basic which is a PC program which can transform Locomotive BASIC programs into Binary files.
From memory in the past I never really saw a program on the CPC which could selectively use parts of a Library File for the main program - perhaps the best language I've seen which would let you include or exclude what you want in a library file is a component for SmallC which allows you to compile programs for AMSDOS. I would imagine that if you used something under Linux, Windows or DOS, which can let you produce Binary Files or Assembly Source for the CPC, then they may exclude components your program isn't using, thus reducing the size of your program.
 
At least that seems to be the hurdle when it comes to using Compilable High-Level Languages.

[Axelay]

So are there some hidden Axelay treasures we have not seen yet?
Some early games you coded?

No, not really.     Thinking about it, most of 'my' games went unfinished or if they were finished, were other peoples type-ins I'd 'upgraded' with UDGs and so on.  The only finished playable thing I could call my own was this joyless maze navigating thing that plays a bit like Airwolf without the gun.  Not a patch on any of the games tastefulmrship just released here!

The assembler parser looks a little too daunting for me, even if I just use Firmware calls to simulate the BASIC commands. C seems to be the better choice!
 
 

 
With the parser, have you considered using a tool like GAC? (But perhaps that isn't the point?)

[SuTeKH/Epyteor]

With the parser, have you considered using a tool like GAC? (But perhaps that isn't the point?)

I originally tried GAC and QUILL, but the hap-hazard structure of the TDM (ThyDungeonman) adventures, especially with differing 'movement' text between locations, I was forced to write a bespoke parser... not unlike the Type-In adventures from ACU!
 
I might use GAC to write TDM#3, but I would prefer to use a simple compression routine to store all the graphics on one disc. I've already scanned 45 background pictures (at 280x112 resolution), though I think I've missed some out! Add all the text, items and parser, plus a doody mini-game finale and it's looking more and more daunting by the second.
Should really stick to TDM#1 in assem/C for now... maybe.
 
 
Here's links to all three games for reference;
http://www.homestarrunner.com/dungeonman.html
http://www.videlectrix.com/thydungeonman2.html
http://www.homestarrunner.com/dman3.html
 

[demoniak]

You can also create adventure games simply with PJA : http://cpc-pja.forumactif.com/t45-what-is-pja#149

[SuTeKH/Epyteor]

You can also create adventure games simply with PJA : http://cpc-pja.forumactif.com/t45-what-is-pja#149

This could be my ultimate saviour... I'll check it out, thanks! ^_^

[Gryzor]

I realise I had not properly thanked you when you first posted... Allow me to rectify that