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Amstrad multi-player games?

Started by mr_lou, 08:16, 16 September 12

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mr_lou

Despite having an insanely bad back from lifting tables and 14" TV screens, we've just held a successful retro-gaming event yesterday.

3 Amstrads, 3 C64's, 2 Amigas and one Nintendo NES.

I introduced "Dead on Time" to one of the Amstrad participants, and he got very hooked on it very fast.

It was also very interesting to see the same games on the various platforms and compare them. This made me rather puzzled though, as to why the NES was so popular. All the well-known games were mostly crap on the NES, and they almost always had other levels.

Of course, the Amstrad fell way behind too on some of those games, where every platform except the CPC always had fullscreen with high framerate and smooth movement, the CPC used a small screen and chunky movement.

Anyway, the game of the day was Dynablaster on the Amiga. The 4-player and 5-player battles we played during the day must have been the most funny part. I'd bought an adapter so we could connect 4 joysticks, and then we threw the picture onto big screen using a projector. Great fun.

I also had 2 different adapters I thought I could use for my CPC464, for connecting two joysticks, but no. BASIC output'ed a Z when I turned the CPC on after connecting these adapters.

And this brings us to the point of this thread.

Question 1: Does such a thing as a 2-player or more-player adapter exists for the CPC?

Question 2: Which games do we then have for the CPC in which you can play more than 2 players?

Question 3: The CPC+ machines have two joystick-ports, right? Can you then somehow use adapters to connect 2 additional joysticks so that you connect 4 in total?

MacDeath

#1
QuoteQuestion 1: Does such a thing as a 2-player or more-player adapter exists for the CPC?
Yes that's an Y spliter, some joysticks also had it integrated.
Sadly it wasn't often used because the CPC has only 1 joyport so developers made joystick+keyboard gameplays.
It is also to notice the "controller clashes".

But most of all, games with simultaneous 2Player mode were not so numerous because this means more controler scans and more sprites to handle.
QuoteQuestion 2: Which games do we then have for the CPC in which you can play more than 2 players?
1943, Target Renegade, Flying Shark, forgoten worlds, Lotus Turbo Esprit challenge, Tennis Cup...

some footies games too I guess and most collective sports ?

Batty is a brickbreaker (Breakout ?) with a 2p mode.

IK+, Barbarian (not sure it support 2 joysticks though)
QuoteQuestion 3: The CPC+ machines have two joystick-ports, right? Can you then somehow use adapters to connect 2 additional joysticks so that you connect 4 in total?
the 2 ports are 2 because the splitter is already included, you can't split twice.
But you have an analogic controler port that could be used to add 1 joystick (need some adapter or proper software "drivers") and it can certainly be splitted.

a Digital joystick splitter converter for the analogic port could be a great thing to develop for the PLUS/GX4000 range, sadly nobody really cares nor support this range and no new game/cartridge is seriously in development at the moment.

The "NetCPC" (virtualnet96 ) has a Bomberman clone that can enable 4 players, perhaps even more.

Rampage is quite notorious as it enables 3 simultaneaous Players (and is quite fun)
but I think the setting is for 1 joystick and 2 keuboards controls... playing 2 on the keyboard was a bit painfull and in my memory the game was notorious for frequent keyboard clashes.



Perhaps someone will explain the keyboard clash to you if you don't know about it (I don't have time to recall this atm)

SyX

Quote from: mr_lou on 08:16, 16 September 12Question 1: Does such a thing as a 2-player or more-player adapter exists for the CPC?
I think there isn't a more-than-2-player adaptor  for CPC (at least we talk about VNet96, always fun when Mikel bring to the spanish meetings), but the same was true in C64 and Atari 800 (well the Atari 400 and 800 has 4 joyports, because that the new adaptors for this machine add 8 or 16 ports :P ) until they fix that and as you can see in the links, they are made new games or patched old games to support these new adaptors.

Quote from: mr_lou on 08:16, 16 September 12Question 2: Which games do we then have for the CPC in which you can play more than 2 players?
Games with support than more than 2 players simultaneously (no simultaneously there is a few ones, from sport games to pinballs) in this moment i only remember the Megablasters battle mode and Rampage... i always suspected that IK+ should not be difficult to fix :P

sigh

I remember sending Bryce this cool little info on the speccy joystick adapter.

CRASH 8 - Comcoction

arnoldemu

Quote from: mr_lou on 08:16, 16 September 12
Question 1: Does such a thing as a 2-player or more-player adapter exists for the CPC?

Question 2: Which games do we then have for the CPC in which you can play more than 2 players?

Question 3: The CPC+ machines have two joystick-ports, right? Can you then somehow use adapters to connect 2 additional joysticks so that you connect 4 in total?
keyboard/joystick clash is a problem, it happens on gauntlet, careful choosing of key combinations may be possible to minimise it.
It's all down to the keyboard/joystick sharing the same "matrix"/electronic connections.

The CPC+ may be better because there is extra electronics on the joysticks which may reduce the clash.

But what would be ideal is one player on keyboard, and one on analogue joystick, this should not cause a clash.

There are a few 2 player games:

ikari warriors
gauntlet
gauntlet 2
victory road.

there are more but these are the ones I remember.

I also have a 2 player game in development, halted temporarily because work is very busy, and because levels need to be designed for the 2 player mode.
(The game features 2 player co-operative play and 2 player versus each other).
My games. My Games
My website with coding examples: Unofficial Amstrad WWW Resource

arnoldemu

Quote from: mr_lou on 08:16, 16 September 12
Question 3: The CPC+ machines have two joystick-ports, right? Can you then somehow use adapters to connect 2 additional joysticks so that you connect 4 in total?

theoretically yes, it should handle 2 analogue joysticks with an appropiate adaptor.

this means, in theory you could have 2 people on digital joysticks, 2 on analogue joysticks and one on keyboard.

don't know how much the clash would cause a problem here ;)
My games. My Games
My website with coding examples: Unofficial Amstrad WWW Resource

Gryzor

Off topic, but I agree with the statement about the NES. I've played quite a few titles, none gripped me and most were off-putting to tell the truth. Still mystifies me. The SNES was a totally different story, though.

MacDeath

#7
I hate the NES sounds and the graphics are somewhat... not good to my tastes.


also the engine is always the same : the hardware sprites.


Anyway I guess a good move could be to actually double the Keyboard plug so an additional external Keyboard plug if fitted.


Then you design some thing so you can fit joysticks that would use those matrix in a way the less keyboard clash possible.
Where could we have a complete study about those keyboard clashes and the combinaison that avoid them ?


With such system i guess any game with redefine keys option can then use those keys for a joystick (or more) so peoples don't have to play on keyboard.
This could also be used to have an extra keyboard. ;)


GX4000 should really have been fit with a keyboard plug... and an extension port too...




A game like Gauntlet 3 with virtualnet96 support could really feel like some sort of Diablo game.
Of course it would need to be far less speccy porked to death.


QuoteThe SNES was a totally different story
Funny detail is that the SNES suffered from a far too feeble main CPU.
I mean it is 16/16bit while SegaMD had a 16/32bit.
SNES CPU wasn't overclocked enough, but the console had some sweet "3D" effects on the other hand.


Final Fight can't play 2player because of the sluggishness of the CPU, many games slow down, in some way it is like the Amstrad CPC I guess... ;D

TFM

Odiesofts MegaBlaster has a 4 Player Mode. Check it out!
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

ukmarkh

Quote from: TFM/FS on 19:47, 16 September 12
Odiesofts MegaBlaster has a 4 Player Mode. Check it out!


Best game I've ever played on the CPC

Gryzor

Quote from: ukmarkh on 20:04, 16 September 12

Best game I've ever played on the CPC


Dunno if it's the best, but it's certainly forgotten unfortunately...

TFM

Not here - and it will never ever be :P
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

MacDeath

We're having a discussion at CPCrulez about CPCpower...


Thx to this topic i found their engine wasn't well done for the search "by multiplayer"... this should be upgraded in the futur perhaps...
You can follow the discussion (in Français) there :
http://cpcrulez.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4928&p=21004#p21004


feel free to come and give you suggestions on the matter too.

ZorrO

Where can I find a list of two-player games?
Preferably for two joysticks.
CPC+PSX 4ever

dodogildo

Mine is a very short list but I need no others:
1) Dr. Destructo
2) Ikari Warriors
M'enfin!

Ygdrazil

Quote from: ZorrO on 11:52, 16 February 24Where can I find a list of two-player games?
Preferably for two joysticks.

Sattelite Warrior.. Played this alot with a friend back in the day!

Don't know if you can redefine keyboard to support two joystick.


Sattelite Warror on CPC-power

The game could need a revamp!

Regards,
/Ygdrazil

trocoloco

Quote from: ZorrO on 11:52, 16 February 24Where can I find a list of two-player games?
Preferably for two joysticks.

CPC-Power search engine includes a feature to find 1,2,3,4 and even 5 or more players, alternative turns, cooperating...

eto

Quote from: Ygdrazil on 14:44, 16 February 24The game could need a revamp!
Agreed. The game idea has SO much more potential and the computer AI is just too stupid. At least with just a single solar system it's so easy to beat it. With 2 solar systems it's much more of a challlenge.

But still one of my all-time favorites.

cwpab

Can someone explain how to play Satellite Warrior in very few words? Because the game looks cute as hell.

ZorrO

@trocoloco - I was looking for something like that there and didn't find it. 
How can I write it or mark it in CPC-Power?
CPC+PSX 4ever

trocoloco

Quote from: ZorrO on 18:14, 16 February 24@trocoloco - I was looking for something like that there and didn't find it.
How can I write it or mark it in CPC-Power?
Just click on the loup and you will see right away, here's a screenshot

https://ibb.co/3F5xktk




ZorrO

What a blind person I am. Thanks.
CPC+PSX 4ever

eto

Quote from: cwpab on 16:50, 16 February 24Can someone explain how to play Satellite Warrior in very few words? Because the game looks cute as hell.
I'll try...

Two opposing powers (the players) try to control one or two planetary systems. In each round they can send an unmanned space probe to one of five moons around the main planet. If a space probe is orbiting a moon, the player has control over the resources of those moons. These resources can be used to build further space probes.

The resources are of three types
- basic construction and movement
- weapons
- armor

Each round starts with trading with one of three different life forms that are specialised in trading in one of the these resource types. The round starts with one life form offering to visit one of the players. The players can bid for the life form to visit (or not). After the bidding, the winner gets visited by that life form, and the loser by another life form.

After the bidding, the life forms visit the players and you can start selling/buying resources.

Once finished, you send away the life form and can then build a space probe. Once finished, you select the target moon and the space probes starts. Then both players control their space probe to reach the respective destination. (Pay attention to direct it correctly: If you run out of fuel, your space probe explodes!)

As soon as a space probe reaches its destination and the destination is controlled by the other player, a fight starts immediately where the space probes can be controlled by the players. They move around the playfield (if they have motors) and can use their different weapon types. The fight lasts until one player has no more space probe.

Once all probes have reached their destination (or exploded) and all fights are finished, the resources from the controlled moons are collected and the next round starts.

Overall I really like this game. It's quite a challenge against a human opponent and even against the computer it can be a challenge, when you are playing with two planetary systems. I would love to see an improved version with better AI and better trading options, as the prices e.g. often don't make sense at all.

Also I haven't figured out yet if armor makes any impact at all as the effect of a weapon seems to be totally random.


skylas

Quote from: ZorrO on 11:52, 16 February 24Where can I find a list of two-player games?
Preferably for two joysticks.
I really enjoyed Matchday 2, Bubble bobble,  and Ping pong in my childhood with a friend of me, playing 2 player games
Web: https://amstradsakis.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmstradSakis
My programs (only BASIC):
RETRO-LOADSHEET ON AMSTRAD CPC!
PENALTY KICKS!
CAPITAL QUIZ!
CAPITAL QUIZ 2! (Reverse edition)
HEADS OR TAILS (ΚΟΡΩΝΑ/ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ)
HEART CHASER 1,2,3!
BARBOUTI!
STROOPIE!
BUDRUMI!
ART WAR!
BATTLE OF LENINGRAD!
AMSTABOO!
RODOLFO SKYLARRIENTE!

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