[New Game Uploaded] Worm Maze v1a03

[Nich]

File Name: Worm Maze v1a03
File Submitted: July 17, 2013, 2:00:08 PM

Worm Maze version 1a03, © Peter Lee 2010-2013.

This game was discovered after a chance encounter between the author, Peter Lee, and Nicholas Campbell at the Revival 2013 event held in Wolverhampton in May 2013. It was originally written for the TI99/4A and the author converted it to the Amstrad CPC.

Note that although there is an option to toggle sound effects on and off, there are in fact no sound effects in this version of the game.

Click here to download this file

[Peter Lee]

Hi.

I am the author of this game, and I thought it was a nice opportunity to say thanks to Nick for letting me release an almost-ready version for download, and it was nice to see someone play and enjoy an earlier version on a monochrome 464 at first hand.

As a game, it is Snake but in a maze, plus puzzles and monsters.

Use [P] to start play; in play, press [P] to pause (you might want some thinking time).

The goal of your "worm" (each snake you get to steer) is to eat all the eggs in that level. This gets you a bonus score, resets the length of the worm (almost) (since your worm grows each time it eats an egg, plus (for a long while) once more for every completed level). Then, your avatar is advanced to the next level. You *can* use the "Warp" feature (Press the [W] key) to jump forward a level, but it will cost you half of your score, and you won't get a bonus; use this at the start of a "practise" game to reach the level you want to practise, since repeatedly halving score of zero still means you have zero score. Using this "Warp" tool to skip past hard levels you haven't mastered yet gets very expensive on your score very quickly, so it is not a method to cheat your way forward (for long).


You do get three levels, and bonus lives if you get through levels by skill; you'll need them.


You also get an easy cop-out for the lazy; this is the "Undo" feature. Press and the current level will reset, but you have just lost 10% of your score. This might not seem much early on, but it also soon gets very expensive!


As you progress through the levels, either something new, or some new combination is presented; their are eight levels. There are various types of puzzle elements, two types of monsters (with different features so different strategies are relevant to each type).


The different levels each have a unique maze and an identifying name that means something; the level "Eggs" is just the introduction, which you could understand as this instruction: "Eat eggs" (It teaches you the basics of steering your worm around a maze; it is ok to bang into the walls, but other things might be a very good or very bad idea. And your worm is not fitted with a reverse so going forwards then backwards will cost you a life; so will heading left then trying to head right again or other "reversal" attempts. Worms have to stretch into a new space; they can't squash back into the space they just came from.)


Push: "Push away them blocks" (with a worm/snake you can only steer forwards, so you must plan ahead).


Meat: "Edible (but biting) monsters about" (You must steer the head of the worm onto these to eat them for a small bonus; but this is a risk as they could bite you and cost you a life, and they could go around the maze and bite you anywhere along your length. Consider the risk: A bit of score, maybe less things that might bite you, and an optional gamble in one combination. These monsters are more playing keep away, or taunting you to gamble, and are recognised easily in that they only have one eye.)


Bite: "These monsters BITE" (You can't eat these; just learn to recognise them, and avoid them; they aren't chasing you, but they might wander over and bite. These have two eyes.)


Flip: "Flip those switches" (Most switches cause static blocks to hide or return to view. Ram them with your worm to make the switch change state from on to off or back again. Ram the same one again if you did it in error. Or are just trying to work out which switch does what. Switches don't have to anything, so can be a distraction. You can control the movement limitations of monsters using deft work of these switches, which may help you get to awkward areas of a maze.)


The program is written entirely in BASIC so you could even modify the levels if you understood how I explained them in the program (they are "described" in program lines numbered 9000 onwards). With a guide, YOU could modify the levels, make more, etc. and tune the game how YOU want it! (How hard, easy, etc.) There are limitations, but with cleverer (usually tiny) adjustments, you can open them up. You can have more than eight "standard" levels, for example.
Once you have completed the eight levels, they are offered again, but your "basic worm length" (before you eat any eggs in this new level) is now considerably longer than when you last tackled this same level, which will make your strategy for handling the maze, the puzzles, and the creatures, very different this time round, as it has just become MUCH harder.


At the start of every level, and to help you pick your initial direction (sometimes a very important decision), your worm is climbing out of an unseen hole; you'll just see the head. As your worm moves, the tail section will be gradually revealed until it is fully revealed. Since you can reach a length of 16 segments at the start of a level (fortunately, never more than that!) things gets a bit more exciting from level 17 onwards as you are immediately very long and every egg (there are usually nine in a level) will add two more segments (though that "temporary / level growth" will disappear when you complete that level). So, you will stretch across the map, and a bit more...


Some of the designed-in limitations stem from the original game being written to work on a 16K TI99/4a; all the elements are there, and that is my model program that all other versions should copy as a minimum standard.


Trying to reproduce (about) the same types of sound on different computers has held up the sound routines on computers that aren't a TI99/4a, but I am getting there, so please be patient with the lack of the sound. I want it in there; I am no sound engineer (please don't laugh to hard) but the brutal and simple "soundscape" does actually give useful feedback information, so I want to get that part right too.


I also like the "font" that was in use of the TI99/4a which is a little skinny and square but lacking lower case letters which is compensated for by a nice "small caps" font instead. So far, the not-yet published newer version for the Amstrad CPC 464, and the Dragon 32 edition, does reproduce it very accurately; other 80s computers (to the limit of their/mine ability) will do too.


There are other versions being constructed. The Dragon 32 edition has five different modes (and no sound, yet) will be released shortly. The TI99/4a original version shall be available for download once I can find someone to host it. There are supporting documents (in Word 95-2003 format) available to host, if someone wishes to.


And lots of other stuff.


I am learning how to program the Android compatible equipment like your phone; it should be available on that "soon" (by my time scales) but don't hold your breath as this project is taking a long time!


Enjoy; I made this game because I enjoyed the idea and I like playing it. Knowing other people enjoy it makes it worth while for more reasons, too!


Regards.
Pete
(AKA "Mad Pete")

File Name: Worm Maze v1a03
File Submitted: July 17, 2013, 2:00:08 PM

Worm Maze version 1a03, © Peter Lee 2010-2013.

This game was discovered after a chance encounter between the author, Peter Lee, and Nicholas Campbell at the Revival 2013 event held in Wolverhampton in May 2013. It was originally written for the TI99/4A and the author converted it to the Amstrad CPC.

Note that although there is an option to toggle sound effects on and off, there are in fact no sound effects in this version of the game.

Click here to download this file

[Gryzor]

Oh, what a great write-up, thanks so much Peter!!! Really lovely little game too, mazes are hard but well thought-out...

PS edited the post a bit to make it more readable.

[Peter Lee]

Just a quick update, for those that might be interested; I have been moving on this project throughout the interim time, though not very quickly due to the unbelievable life circumstances (neither topic relevant nor very positive to discuss those, so I those omit details from here).

Having used CPCDroid v1.5.1 to enable my Sony Experia M phone to host a convenient Amstrad CPC 6128 emulator, I have been play testing it on there; I will be supplying some recommendations and files to help other users play the game in a similar setup, if they wish. For reference, once set up, I have found the emulator to be ok, but it does sometimes crash unexpectedly though that does seem to be when I have parked a running instance, and not when I am actually playing it. I also have found that "v1a03" (in "stretched 40x25 screen mode") does tend to hide the game controls (the "joystick" buttons seen as a virtual touch-screen D-pad) which are blended in a half-opaque mix between the "keys" and the game play area. Due to that, in "va104" (still in production, but getting there quickly) I have provided an option to position the screen (treating it as a 32x25 space within a 40x25 area) so you can arrange the game display around your emulator's overlap with the user interface on other touch screen devices; currently, just "stretched", "left", "middle", and "right". I am also working on a "full screen maze mode" which provides the game with much more colour choice including matching (pretty closely) with the original TI99/4a colour scheme (a long term goal).

For those that also love other 80s retro computers, the other editions are starting to come together, such as the Dragon 32 edition which (due to display limitations, to be honest) has eight view modes (this has been a time consuming hurdle to get working to a standard I am beginning to accept, but was a necessary hurdle to help me with the newer Amstrad version).

I have also started a FaceBook page, simply named "Worm Maze", as a means to communicate the project status, release project relevant files and information, and to help people find all of that; all links are being directed here, because I am so grateful for Nich and his efforts to provide access to the game, and who has created an audience who seem to enjoy it (thanks, everybody; it was created to be enjoyed, and I like that people are enjoying it).


This should create more traffic to your excellent site, which I will be spending more time with, when I get proper internet access from home (paid for by my next employment opportunity, is my plan). My love of the Amstrad CPC 464 started when my parents bought one as the family colour computer; our old TRS80 Model 1 Level II got us into computers in 1980 but we were hungry for more powerful and more interesting computers! I want to spend a lot of time in here, because of my love of the CPC range, and I am sure I will be among many new friends who share the same passions.

Once I have finished working out how to make the Amstrad shriek like the TI99/4a edition I should be able to provide the original soundscape features, which will improve player experience; please be patient, I am trying to make the game work across a lot of platforms and it is taking me ages to learn (mostly re-learn) about all the retro kit involved, especially how to make them work very similar when they are so different and most are very quirky (especially compared to the Amstrad which is so much easier to program on; always been a joy to work on the real ones). And there is so much testing to do... not that I mind that bit, when it is working, of course!

Thanks to everyone.
(Pete)

[Gryzor]

Thanks for the update man, much appreciated!