After finally getting my 84+C last night, I decided to try and display a (small) splash screen. Here's the first working version. Currently it's an uncompressed 16-bit BGR image. The image is 82x42 pixels, thus 6888 bytes.

http://youtu.be/8vDO5Zvj6Ik

The next step I plan to take is compressing the image and then having the program decompress and display it.

Many years ago I made a game called Thunderbirds, which was based on the Amiga game of the same name, which was of course based on the 1960's TV series (if you haven't seen the original TV series, you're missing out - no matter how campy the puppets & dialogue are, it's amazing!). It's basically a "platform puzzle/rpg" type game.

Early last year I started reprogramming Thunderbirds from scratch, but I never finished it. I've decided to pick up where I left off and see how it goes. This isn't a sequel to the last version, but is essentially the same game redone, programmed much better. I'm doing this mainly for 2 reasons:

- The previous version was all hardcoded in terms of the existing mission, so that it was near on impossible for me to expand on the game and include the remaining three missions.

- The gameplay & controls were very clunky.

Version 2.0.0 will still be for the TI-83 / 83+ / 84+ series of calculators. Coding is probably around 50% completed at a guess. Some of the improvements are:

- Graphics have been touched up, in particular I'm no longer "borrowing" the earth tiles from Sqrxz, I've drawn new ones that look more like the original Amiga game.

- Missions (or levels) and all their applicable code & data are stored in external files, so that if I decide to go back and add any of the remaining three missions later on, it's fairly straight forward.

- Controls have been adjusted and simplified.

- Gameplay is no longer so stop/start all the time when text hints come up.

- Items sitting about the place now flash so that they're easier to identify, instead of just blending in with the background.

I'll post updates as I get more done and probably some screenshots, here and also on http://www.jvti.org.

It's just over 10 years since I released Alien Breed IV, but there were a few things that I wasn't really happy with about it.

So, I'm now in the middle of making ALIEN BREED 5, which if all goes to plan, will finally be an AB game that I can be satisfied with

AB5 will be for the TI-83 / TI-83+ calculators.

Here is a list of planned improvements that AB5 will feature over previous installments. Not all are definite yet, but I'm determined to fulfil as many of them as possible:

• Mission objectives/text displayed before each level (already implemented)
• Better weapon variation, both functionally & graphically. AB5 has a flamethrower! (already implemented)
• Bigger levels. Currently planned at up to 60x48 tiles, as opposed to 32x32 in previous version (implemented but may need to be reduced if memory issues arise)
• Dynamic passcodes that will store your progress including ammo supplies, weapons, etc. In the previous version if you used a passcode, it only saved your level number, so you would start on a later level with basic weapons, which made it hard (still to be programmed, but will be definite)
• At least two difficulty levels, "normal" & "tough" for more of a challenge (still to be programmed, but will be definite)
• Enemy triggers will work more similar to how they did in the Team 17 Amiga versions, ie. triggers don't deactivate after spawning an enemy, they trigger each time the screen edge scrolls over the trigger point (still to be programmed, but I can't see it being a problem)
• A couple of extra enemy types. The initial release will most likely have the same enemies from the previous installment, but other types will be ready for additional levels down the track - this is a story thing (not programmed yet)
• Intex consoles (computers) have been reprogrammed to work more similar to the original Team 17 game, printing text the old terminal way (like the text in the teaser program, albeit printing the lines much faster) (already implemented)
• Graphics touched up in various ways. I found AB4 had too many random wall & floor variations that just made the screen look cluttered, so this time I've gone for the "less is more" approach to make things clearer. Also things such as power domes, intex consoles & alien eggs have been redrawn: power domes are now 16x16 as opposed to 8x8; intex consoles are 16x8; alien eggs are 16x16 (already implemented)
• Fire doors have been reprogrammed so that they don't automatically close when you walk through them. This was one of my biggest pet peeves in the past installments, which was really just lazy programming on my part. They are now activated to close by pressing [ALPHA] when facing them (already implemented)
• During boss fights, the screen will scroll so that the player is towards the bottom of the screen at all times so that it's easier to see the boss coming at you (not yet programmed, but shouldn't be a problem)
• When the player is hurt or picks up first aid kits, a health bar will temporarily appear at the left of the screen (not yet programmed but should be fine)

There are also a couple of other ideas from the original Team 17 games that I'm hoping to implement, although they're only concepts in my head at this point, so I won't bother bringing them up as I'm yet to attempt coding them whilst jugging with limited RAM.

I'll post a demo video soon showing some stuff that's already programmed I'll also be posting updates on my web site, http://www.jvti.org.