Thanks but even better can be done on a plus.
let's say :
2 colours for the sprites (black + another...)
and 2 colours for the background (per rasterzones).
According to ths mockup, you get something like 8 rasterzone minimum...
including the upper and bottom HUD...
this alone enable something like 16 colours + 2 (sprites/border...) minimum... Not bad for a Mode1 game.
Properly done on PLUS this could be easily a 32 colours on screen Mode1 game... even more... as a few Hardsprites could even add +15 colours.
As Black is also a common colour, this puts all backgrounds in 3 colours and sprites in 3 colours but the 3rd colours is prone to change according to raster zone (so limited I guess...)
also hardsprites to add a few colours for some sprites (explosions, bonus)
Even DMA sounds...
thanks to PLUS super palette you may even get vertical raster gradiant effect Atari 8 bit style... but then this can get quite heavier actually...
Here I just simply sticked to CPC and EGA palette... But this is an exemple of what could be done even with just a mod of existing game...
The aim is the easier rasters on PLUS which would be betterly fit to backgrounds and would follow the vertical scrolling.
And of course the engine should include proper Hard smooth horizontal scrolling... which would be better and perhaps CPU friendly compaired to the actual scrolling.
such game engine can really be done easily (perhaps not that easily) thx to Demo methods... And PLUS extra features... I guess.
Even a shame Loriciel didn't released a proper PLUS cartridge version of this game.
This game was supposed to be programmed in Assembly on CPC... this explain the multiple raster effects and smooth and fast soft sprites and scrollings...
Anyway, the game is quite light for the CPC because the sprites aren't masked... (colour clashes...)
If you aim at Cartridge or 128K RAM version, this can keep the smoothness and fast pace...
Few mode1 horizontal games used rasters like this...
Perhaps one James bond game, Crypt of Trogan and Switchblade too perhaps ?
A rare exemple of usefull playfield rasters IMO.
My mockup manage to pull something like 17 colours, not bad for a mode1... but in mode0 you may even pull a really impressivbe amount of colours too...
The interesting part is that the gameplay is really made for the use of Raster effect.
Why not ?