Print Page - Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha

Calculator Community => Other Calc-Related Projects and Ideas => TI Z80 => Topic started by: ACagliano on March 15, 2010, 08:54:49 pm

Title: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 15, 2010, 08:54:49 pm

I am working on a Star Trek game for the TI-calculator, in which each player gets control of a ship and fights to destroy the other, via the link cable. I will be using the vComm file suggested, at least at present. I will do the linking last, so there is time for suggestions and other ideas in that arena. If anyone has any suggestions for anything I should incorporate, please let me know. Here's what I plan on including already:

1. Shield Collapsing warning flashes when shields get low.
2. Depending on the area of the ship hit, different systems get damaged.
3. Locking onto enemy for photon torpedo fire only. Phasers only fire either forward or back.
4. Emergency evasive key (moves ship x spaces quickly to avoid a phaser or locked torpedo).
5. Warping away from fight (if enough power to launch warp drive). Enemy can follow by locking onto your coordinates and warping to you.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 15, 2010, 09:00:14 pm

Omg hax?

Mhmm, normally members are not even supposed to be able to post anything in this section, even less as topic. I guess there's a security hole in the Major Community Projects subforum x.x. I'll move this to other projects/ideas, since we only add certain projects there (and those that has been progressing for quite a while with screenshots and demos and stuff). Moving topic now.

Other than that, seems pretty nice. Will this use the home screen for graphics or some ASM lib like xLIB?

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: trevmeister66 on March 15, 2010, 09:04:40 pm

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on March 15, 2010, 09:00:14 pm

Omg hax?

Mhmm, normally members are not even supposed to be able to post anything in this section, even less as topic. I guess there's a security hole in the Major Community Projects subforum x.x. I'll move this to other projects/ideas, since we only add certain projects there (and those that has been progressing for quite a while with screenshots and demos and stuff). Moving topic now.

Other than that, seems pretty nice. Will this use the home screen for graphics or some ASM lib like xLIB?

lol that's funny.

Good idea so far. Can't wait to see it progress some more

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 15, 2010, 09:09:27 pm

This seemed the place to put it. Oh well. It will use the graph screen. I think. And, I probably will use xLIb, though someone needs to explain that Sprite function to me and its arguments, cuz i'm lost.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 15, 2010, 09:11:21 pm

Where exactly is this thread now, so I can find it next time?

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 15, 2010, 09:14:34 pm

Omnimaga: The Coders Of Tomorrow > Forum > Calculator Community Showcase > Calculator-Related Projects And Ideas

Actually, the Our Projects, Major Community Projects and Featured RPG Projects subforums were not intended to have new topics being posted in them, except in the sub-forums located inside. However, it seems a forum misconfiguration allowed your topic in. We fixed it now. We didn't notice until today because you are the first person to post a topic there

Actually all projects members who want to post on their own calc projects are posted in Calculator-Related Projects and Ideas.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Builderboy on March 15, 2010, 10:08:06 pm

Yep, but if they become major projects they can get moved :)

Sounds great! I know there is a lack of good multiplayer games in the archives, and half of them don't work :/ Good luck! :)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 15, 2010, 10:10:17 pm

Of course. Since it is really high end projects that goes there (like Axe parser for example and stuff everyone thought that was impossible on calc) it can be very hard for anyone's projects to land there, though. However, we never know, this game, or maybe one of his future game, might eventually manage to do it. Even if it doesn't, though, it doesn't mean the game is bad. ;)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 16, 2010, 11:59:14 am

Ok two things. I have the splash screen done. First it displays the game's name and draws the starship Enterprise on the screen. Then, the Enterprise fires off some phasers; the phasers throw the credits onto the screen. Then, three phasers from offscreen hit the Enterprise, and it blows up, before displaying "Press any key" to start the game.
Two Questions:

1. For the explosion, I currently am using:

For(Z,1,15,3
Circle(ship x, ship y, Z, {i})
End

*ship x and ship y are actually a set number for the ship's center. I just don't remember what they are.

Any ideas for a better explosion graphic?

2. How do you make animated screenshots of a program, and how do you upload them to here?

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Hot_Dog on March 16, 2010, 01:15:57 pm

You are speaking to the #3 (if not greater) trekkie fan on this site. I am SO eager to see this game and play it

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 16, 2010, 01:56:29 pm

I like the title screen idea, nice to see some intros before or after title appears sometimes :)

Also, I kinda like Star Trek too, altough not as much as some people like Hot Dog and Tifreak8x. Basically I liked to watch some of the movies as kid (my favourites being IV: The Voyage Home), but then they started airing them at like 12 AM, back when I had to go to bed at 9 PM :/ I also don't watch TV anymore so I don't follow the TV serie.

And I see you are using that nice fast circle thing. I wish I discovered this trick before 2006. Back then, everyone just used ASM libs to use Fast Circles, then the trick was discovered. Can be handy sometimes.

I can't think of an explosion idea at the moment, besides something like For(A,0,20:Circle(0,0,A,{i:End, assuming you have your window settings as this
Xmin 0
Christmas 94
Ymin 0
Ymax 62

Or some people just use lines to draw them, as squares, but to me, it doesn,t look too great, because explosions as squares...

As for animated screenshots, you have to use the emulator Wabbitemu animated screenshots features. Wabbitemu can be found either at our downloads section (latest stable build) or at http://group.revsoft.org/wabbitemu2.exe (not guaranteed to be stable, if it was updated after we add a copy on Omni). Just make sure to set framerate at 9 fps in options so your screenshot won't take too much space.

To upload, when you reply to a topic, click reply instead of using the Quick Reply box, or simply click Preview. This will bring another reply page, where you will see an "Additional Options" link below the text area. Click it and it will open more options, including an upload form, where 10 files can be uploaded per post, for a total of 16 MB (altough each files cannot exceed 8). Do not click anywhere while uploading and do not use your internet connection for other stuff, or any software taking a lot of computer ressources, while uploading. The uploader is very sensitive, so it could fail. If you have no success with it even after trying again, use Photobucket, Mediafire or Imageshack to host the image.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 16, 2010, 02:22:50 pm

Is there a working ROM dumping program for Mac OS X anywhere. Because the ones I find are either for windows or don't work or both.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 16, 2010, 02:28:04 pm

Oh you got mac? That can be a major issue x.x

The best way is to find a Windows computer somewhere and use it for calc dev, or Linux. I wonder if there is a Mac version of TiLP because if I recall correctly, the Windows and Linux versions got a ROM Dumper. However, if you are lucky and search hard enough, maybe you will manage to find ROM images somewhere, even if they are not legal. However, as clue, I think one of the english TI programming team even has a zip folder, hidden somewhere, in their projects folder.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Silver Shadow on March 16, 2010, 03:21:09 pm

"Xmin 0
Christmas 94
Ymin 0
Ymax 62"
lol
Is the forum configured to replace Xmax by Christmas?

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 16, 2010, 03:31:51 pm

Nah lol, it's cuz in almost the entire time I've been posting on calc forums, I always typed Xmas instead of Xmax (lol, I almost did again right here... x.x), so now I decided to type christmas on purpose :P

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ztrumpet on March 16, 2010, 05:20:57 pm

This looks cool. Good luck! :D

lol DJ. :P

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: tifreak on March 16, 2010, 06:50:51 pm

Interesting idea.

I too use the circles to show explosions. Man, this brings back a few memories, haven't touched the code to my star trek game in quite a while..

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 16, 2010, 09:39:39 pm

Thanks for the support. Anyone who is interested in helping me test the alpha release can email me at [email protected]. I won't be done for a while, but I'll be needing testers. You will need a TI-83+/TI-84+ or compatible and a link and a friend to play with.

Also, here is another feature I plan on adding:

Without another calc detected, the program goes to a repair section. This will be calc specific. There will be one release for the 83 and another for the 84:

TI-83: Winning fights earns you repair points, which you spend to repair systems damaged in battle.

TI-84: Repairing systems takes a specified amount of time. Repair time elapses while the program is running in repair mode (You should know why this can't be done on the 83).

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: trevmeister66 on March 16, 2010, 11:19:50 pm

Hmm nice ideas. One question: Will the be a single player mode? Because I don't have the capabilities to get a 2nd person to play against, so I will be at a disadvantage when it comes to playing this game.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 17, 2010, 12:57:50 am

That makes me wish someone else where I live cared about calcs so I could play this :(

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 17, 2010, 02:13:07 am

The first release will not have a SP part. In subsequent ones, AI is a goal.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 17, 2010, 02:21:37 am

Nice to hear :)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 17, 2010, 09:19:28 am

Can someone please explain how to use the "sprite drawing" command in xLIB. Or is it possible to do it any other way, easier?

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 17, 2010, 02:01:36 pm

Unfortunately, it is pretty much the only way in Celtic III and xLIB. I think Celtic III has another sprite command, though:

Code: [Select]

|05             | identity(5,"HEXSTRING",x,y,w,h,logic,flip,update_lcd)
|               | 
|  PUTSPRITE    | Works just like the xLIB command real(1,...) except that 
|               | the Pic and the coordinates on that Pic file are not
|               | defined.
|               | 
|               | Instead, a string consisting of hex digits is used to
|               | define the sprite as inline data. For example, if you
|               | wanted to draw a black 8*8 block at the top-left corner of
|               | the screen with XOR logic and drawn immediately...
|               | 
|               | identity(5,"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF",0,0,1,8,3,0,1)
|               | 
|               | Useful for those that want to display sprites without the
|               | use of bulky image files.
|               | 
|               | For large sprites, each byte goes LEFT first, then DOWN,
|               | so specifying "80FF0180000180000180FF01" would relate to
|               | such a perfect box 3 bytes wide and 4 pixels down.
|               | 
|               | 
|               | 
|               | 
|               | 
|               | 
|               | 
|               | Note that any missing arguments will default to the value
|               | of zero (0) instead of 32 as in xLIB.

Otherwise, if you absolutely want to stick to xLIB here's the xLIB command in more detail, explained in Celtic III readme (since Celtic III offers 99% backward xLIB compatibility):

Code: [Select]

|01             | real(1,x,y,w,h,pic_n,pic_x,pic_y,logic,flip,update_lcd)
|               | 
|  DrawSprite   | Draws a sprite on the screen at (x,y), being the top-left
|               | corner of the sprite.
|               | 
|               | W = width in bytes. i.e. 1=8pixels, 2=16pixels, etc to 11=.
|               | H = heigth of sprite in pixels.
|               | 
|               | pic_n refers to the pic # to source the sprite from. Pic1=1
|               | , Pic9=9, Pic0=10. Use your imagination for other numbers.
|               | 
|               | pic_x and pic_y are the top-left coordinates to start
|               | sourcing the sprite from. pic_x MUST be 0 thru 11 as they
|               | are "aligned". On-screen, this is a multiple of 8.
|               | 
|               | "logic" is a number 0 thru 3, refers to sprite drawing
|               | method to employ.
|               | 0:Overwrite
|               | 1:AND
|               | 2:OR
|               | 3:XOR
|               | 
|               | If 4 is added to "logic", the sprite will be inverted.
|               | 
|               | If "flip" = 1, horizontal flipping is applied to sprite.
|               | 
|               | If update_lcd is set to something other than zero, the LCD
|               | will be updated along with the sprite draw.

Also keep in mind xLIB doesn't work on OS 2.53 MP or higher on the 84+. Celtic III does, however.

http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=479

Also avaliable on United-TI forums, but you must register an account to download their copy.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 17, 2010, 03:00:14 pm

Ok. I am against making pics, as I've had bad experiences with pics as subroutines. What would the hex string be for this sprite:

0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

this is aiming down. I will need a hex code for each of the four cardinal directions (or can someone tutor me on how to do it).

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 17, 2010, 03:17:27 pm

Well pics are not that bad, except for the fact you can easily overwrite them. The trick is to group them. A game that use pics doesn't necessarly make the entire game bad, if that's what you imply. In fact, as proof they aren't that bad, 7 of them made Ticalc.org front page news before:

http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/14/145/145426.html
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/14/142/142801.html
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/13/139/139347.html
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/13/131/131953.html
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/12/124/124432.html
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/12/122/122186.html
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/news/articles/11/119/119577.html

If you absolutely don't want to use pics in your own, though, I think Celtic has hex commands. However, I never used them. For hex conversion, you would need to use a hex converter like this:

http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;id=520

There's an on-calc one somewhere that someone recently posted on the forums but I forgot its location due to the post rate, I'll try to find it later. There's also the sprite editor included with Axe Parser, which converts sprites to HEX.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 17, 2010, 06:12:02 pm

how are you coordinating movement and such between calcs? because i heard that one calc has to be paused or stopped while action is happening on the other or something like that.

oh, and i'll test for you. me and my friend play games on our calcs together all the time during class. could you send me a pm here with the link though, because i can't open zips on any other site besides this one and TI's site

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 17, 2010, 06:25:02 pm

Thanks Gale. Once the program is done and uploaded, I will provide the link. Also, to coordinate movement between calcs, I will be using an assembly subroutine, not the calc's TI-Basic commands, for exactly the reason you say.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 17, 2010, 06:27:18 pm

okay nice. and may i ask what the subroutine is? unless you made it yourself of course. i'm just curious, because i wanted to make a multiplayer Battleship game, but with simultaneous animation on both calcs

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 17, 2010, 06:33:14 pm

Well, of course, for the most seamless linking, you would be better to write your entire code in assembly. But, if your like me and cannot program in assembly, the one I'm using is vComm. You can find it in the TI-file archives.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 17, 2010, 06:35:57 pm

yeah, i can't write assembly, nor do i have the desire. thank you :) and yeah, send me the link when you're ready. i can't wait to test it

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 17, 2010, 06:36:29 pm

To DJ, I have a prog on calc to turn sprites into hex. IDK what the file name is, but the program name is HEXPIC.8xp

To Gale: When you do, I am interested to know how smooth the gameplay is (how much the linking subroutines slow it down), and I will need to know of any bugs that occur. I will be unable to test the 2-player part myself, as I have no link, so I'll be relying completely on 3rd party testing.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 17, 2010, 06:41:35 pm

could you send me the link to where on the ti website vcomm is? i can't find it in the archives or in search.

oh, and HEXPIC.8xp is in the zip file with Axe parser i'm pretty sure.

To Mr. Cagliano (xD): okay! i'll make a running diary on my experience with your game, and send it to you everyday afterschool, since almost all i do in every class is use my calc xD

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 17, 2010, 06:48:16 pm

http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/368/36828.html

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 17, 2010, 06:51:04 pm

ahh. thank you!

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 18, 2010, 12:11:32 am

Quote from: ACagliano on March 17, 2010, 06:36:29 pm

To DJ, I have a prog on calc to turn sprites into hex. IDK what the file name is, but the program name is HEXPIC.8xp

Aaah ok I see, I should maybe try to search for it, since it might come useful. Is it in assembly?

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 18, 2010, 12:34:51 am

It comes with the Axe parser download. Now, another question: the zcomm file-the send command. What does it do at the other calc? If I use

"L1
Asm(prgmZSEND

Would it take the contents of L1 and store it to L1 in the other calc? And, does ZGET need to be running on the other calc? I hope not.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 18, 2010, 12:25:40 pm

Mhmm I'm not so sure about that. I remember Omnicalc links functions required that one calc runs get and the other send, which required them to be ran several times in a loop to ensure good detection, slowing things down, but if it's the case of this lib it might be best to get an alternative, because this method is not the most reliable. It's best if you can get a routine that lets you receive a variable from another calc without having the other calc trying to send it at the same time or the ability to send a variable to another calc without having the other in receive mode.

Unfortunately I cannot help much though since I never did two-player games before and these libs were not existing when I worked on potential multiplayer games

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 18, 2010, 12:37:21 pm

Ok. Request to the assembly community. Can someone please write me a subroutine in assembly that will send to another calc, without the other being in receive mode. The variable to be sent should be written into Ans at the sending calc. So for instance:

"L1
subroutine

would send the variable L1 to the other calc and store it as L1. I hope this is possible and quick to do. Thanks all.

Now, a question of preference for game play. I can use one of two methods for viewing the battle:

1. Bird's eye: both ships are fully visible and viewed from above.

2. Window: Only a small section of the real battle is visible, through a window. All other locating is done via sensors and locking onto targets. Note: This is how it is actually done in the movies.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 18, 2010, 12:47:01 pm

You might want to post this ASM request in the Assembly Subroutines subforum, actually, as it might be easier for other members to notice, especially those who are not trekkies and don't check this project:

http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?board=85.0

As for #2: do you mean it would be kinda 3D ish view? That might actually look cool

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 18, 2010, 12:52:46 pm

I dont know. I wont until its coded and i look at it.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ztrumpet on March 18, 2010, 04:47:39 pm

Quote from: ACagliano on March 18, 2010, 12:37:21 pm

Now, a question of preference for game play. I can use one of two methods for viewing the battle:

1. Bird's eye: both ships are fully visible and viewed from above.

2. Window: Only a small section of the real battle is visible, through a window. All other locating is done via sensors and locking onto targets. Note: This is how it is actually done in the movies.

I think 1 would be easier to program, but 2 sounds neat too. Does anyone else have an opinion? :)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 18, 2010, 05:38:49 pm

i would prefer option #1, especially since coordination between calcs is difficult enough. Also, dont want people getting lost and not being able to find the enemy ship P: but, that's just my opinion.

and yeah, i did some background on zcomm yesterday, and i'm 90% sure BOTH calcs need zcomm. should be easy to transfer zcomm between calcs though ( i mean, the calc-calc cord is already there... xD )

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 18, 2010, 07:35:21 pm

Quote from: Gale on March 18, 2010, 05:38:49 pm

i would prefer option #1, especially since coordination between calcs is difficult enough. Also, dont want people getting lost and not being able to find the enemy ship P: but, that's just my opinion.

Well, know that regardless of which method I use, phasers will be a direct shot. But, photon torpedos can be locked onto target. Once locked, there is no way to shake them, as they constantly get your coordinates and recalc their trajectory. And, you would always be able to find your enemy, regardless of the method I use through the sensors, so long as the sensor system has not been destroyed.

Also, as an important note for gameplay (and strategy): A ship with sensors knocked out cannot lock weapons onto an enemy.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 18, 2010, 07:39:09 pm

ahh. in that case, option 2 would be neat to try :)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 18, 2010, 07:44:03 pm

If my mental code writing is correct, method 2 would be easier as well.

*Yes, I plan out the major parts of the code in my mind before I code them.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 18, 2010, 08:09:25 pm

I don't remember if this was awnsered before, but do you plan to have AI, randomized enemy movement/shooting or will they move/shoot in a pre-defined pattern? The later would take more space since each movement would be pre-stored in a list, string or whatever for each kind of ship/possible patterns. It would also be easier for expert players to beat the game in the end, since they would know in advance how enemies move and when they shoot exactly. However, the good side is that you would not lose speed that you would if you used randomizing or artificial intelligence.

What I mean, basically, is like Touhou shoot-em-up or CaDan, except more simple of course.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 18, 2010, 08:12:19 pm

if i recall correctly there's no single player mode and it's all multiplayer with just two ships in play

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 18, 2010, 08:13:20 pm

oh wait right forgot x.x, darn my memory is so bad sometimes x.x

But for single player, I think this could be an idea in future versions, since AI can be pretty difficult

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 18, 2010, 08:17:16 pm

yeah, i think a single player version should be made also. of course, multiplayer gameplay will be the focus ^^

but every once in a while a calculator user may find themself in a lonely position where they can't play with anyone... so then they would wish they cuddle snuggle up with their calc and play a nice game of star trek xD

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 18, 2010, 08:29:31 pm

Yeah the major issue is that so few people find calcs interesting in a school that sometimes you may be two people out of 2000 students who will care enough to play calc games x.x. In my case, I did not have this problem in the year before graduation, but since I had a Silver Edition, I couldn,t play Ztetris with people since it only worked between the same calc models.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 19, 2010, 12:21:55 pm

In my first version of the game, there will be only multiplayer. In subsequent versions, there will be AI, though perfecting it will take time and it will probably be several releases before the AI is even a challenge.

################################

Also, there will be strategy loops programmed in, in both MP and the later SP. There will be two shield sections, a rear shield and a forward shield. You can transfer shielding power between them if one gets low. Also, different systems will be in different portions of the ship. For example, if you wanted to knock your enemies sensors offline, you would aim at the rear of the ship. If you wanted to knock out their warp drive, you would hit the front (these are examples-im not yet sure where each system will be).

Edit (quite a fast double-post)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 19, 2010, 01:50:40 pm

That sounds interesting, I like how you will have weaknesses and strong points for ships. Adds more challenge to the game than just shooting everywhere on the enemy ship

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 19, 2010, 02:57:38 pm

try not to make it too complicated for the player though. if there are too many things to do at once, somebody new to the game would get easily confused

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 21, 2010, 10:04:23 pm

Reading some of the stuff about maps has led me to wonder. Instead of making the game so that I would have to manually code in sectors and stuff for use with warp drive and battle locations, would it be easier to create a map? And any suggestions for how I should do this?

And to clarify something about AI, I never store conditions and predefined movements in lists. I always code the AI's algorithms and conditionals directly into the program code. Hope that clears stuff up a little.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 22, 2010, 01:20:14 am

Here's a pretty old upload, but it's all the visual I can provide as of now.
http://www.mediafire.com/?jrmwcnkzt0x (http://www.mediafire.com/?jrmwcnkzt0x)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 22, 2010, 02:20:19 am

I kinda like the title screen and the effects when text appears.

As for the game I am unsure yet about maps. If it helps coding the space map, I guess it migth be good to go with that instead, but if it's much taller than one screen, watch out about memory, since large maps can be massive, especially if you use matrices

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 22, 2010, 09:03:06 am

Actually, I don't really need maps for this.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 22, 2010, 09:14:54 am

Does the getCalc( command need the sending calc to be in a low power state?

Edit: And what about the Omnicalc Get/Send commands?

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 22, 2010, 02:03:48 pm

Mhmm you need to use the EDIT button when there are so short amount of time between your posts.

As for getCalc( it only works when the calc you get the data from is in Pause mode, Input mode or outside a program not busy graphing/calculating.

I am not experienced with Omnicalc sending commands, though.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: SirCmpwn on March 22, 2010, 02:05:35 pm

Quote from: ACagliano on March 22, 2010, 09:14:54 am

Edit: And what about the Omnicalc Get/Send commands?

Those send/receive via the IO port. Check out the Omnicalc docs for more info.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 22, 2010, 02:20:19 pm

I remember someone (I always forget who) saying that for these two commands, the send command needs to be ran at the exact same time as the other calc runs the get command so it's easy for transfer to fail. To prevent this as much as possible, people generally have both commands executed repeatdely for a certain amount of time (generally it has to be long enough, and the result is very slow game) so eventually the data is sent successfully

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 22, 2010, 08:29:20 pm

This project is killing me. It is stressful. I am progressing slowly and all of the intertwining systems that I need to code get more complex and mind-boggling as I go on. But I'm not giving up. I plan on doing this, regardless of the cost to my sanity (or whatever is left of it). Would anyone mind if I do a testing release before the actual alpha release, so I can weed out any runtime errors?

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: trevmeister66 on March 22, 2010, 08:45:58 pm

I would like to test it for you, but I don't have a second calc to test with :/

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 22, 2010, 09:04:23 pm

Well, I'm not saying anyone in particular has to use it. I just plan on releasing a test version first. Whoever has what is needed to test is free to do so. Thanks everyone for your support. I know you guys are looking forward to a good game. I will do my best not to dissapoint.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Hot_Dog on March 22, 2010, 09:13:22 pm

I'm looking forward to testing it. I can't do the maximum since I don't have two calculators, but I plan on running software that can simulate two connected calculators.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 22, 2010, 09:14:46 pm

where do you get that? I'll download it too.

(and does it work on Mac?)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Hot_Dog on March 22, 2010, 09:25:36 pm

Quote from: ACagliano on March 22, 2010, 09:14:46 pm

where do you get that? I'll download it too.

(and does it work on Mac?)

http://wikiti.brandonw.net/index.php?title=Emulators:PindurTI. I don't think it works on mac, and it's difficult to use, but I've been testing multiplayer with it. I also heard that wabbitemu can do multiplayer, but I don't know how to do that.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 23, 2010, 01:30:22 am

isn't there a build of Wabbitemu for Mac on Revsoft forum? I think this is pretty much the only 83+ emulator for Mac

Also, I own 3 compatible calcs, altough one is a 83+, one a 83+SE (slightly defect) and the other a TI-Nspire. I wonder if Nspire + 83+SE would work...

I wish there was a !call BBCode for SMF forums, this is very useful on yAronet forums when you want to notify someone he's wanted in a topic in particular. I think Builderboy used Omnicalc linking routines. Or maybe I am wrong. But I swear someone on Omnimaga recently posted he had some experience with them. Maybe he could help.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 23, 2010, 08:32:05 pm

Here is the text of the Star Trek game thus far. Only the initial splash screen and the powering of systems is accounted for. Any comments, suggestions, insults, ect?

Code: [Select]

::"STAR TREK 2P a
:ClrHome
:FnOff 
:ClrDraw
:AxesOff
:GridOff
:0→Xmin:94→Xmax
:0→Ymin:62→Ymax
:Text(‾1,0,20,"STAR TREK"
:Text(‾1,10,0,"The Great Battle"
:StorePic 0
:ClrDraw
:{38,41,39,41,40,41,51,41,52,41,53,41,38,40,39,40,40,40,51,40,52,40,53,40,38,39,39,39,40,39,51,39,52,39,53,39,38,38,39,38,40,38,51,38,52,38,53,38,38,37,39,37,40,37,51,37,52,37,53,37,38,36,39,36,40,36,51,36,52,36,53,36,38,35,39,35,40,35,51,35,52,35,53,35,38,34,39,34,40,34,51,34,52,34,53,34,38,33,39,33,40,33,51,33,52,33,53,33,38,32,39,32,40,32,51,32,52,32,53,32,39,31,40,31,51,31,52,31,39,30,40,30,45,30,51,30,52,30,39,29,40,29,42,29,43,29,44,29,45,29,46,29,47,29,48,29,51,29,52,29,40,28,41,28,42,28,43,28,44,28,45,28,46,28,47,28,48,28,49,28,50,28,51,28,39,27,40,27,41,27,42,27,43,27,44,27,45,27,46,27,47,27,48,27,49,27,50,27,51,27,52,27,38,26,39,26,40,26,41,26,50,26,51,26,52,26,53,26,38,25,39,25,40,25,43,25,44,25,45,25,46,25,47,25,48,25,51,25,52,25,53,25,38,24,39,24,40,24,42,24,43,24,44,24,45,24,46,24,47,24,48,24,49,24,51,24,52,24,53,24,38,23,39,23,40,23,42,23,43,23,44,23,47,23,48,23,49,23,51,23,52,23,53,23,38,22,39,22,40,22,42,22,43,22,48,22,49,22,51,22,52,22,53,22,38,21,39,21,40,21,42,21,43,21,48,21,49,21,51,21,52,21,53,21,38,20,39,20,40,20,42,20,43,20,44,20,47,20,48,20,49,20,51,20,52,20,53,20,38,19,39,19,40,19,42,19,43,19,44,19,45,19,46,19,47,19,48,19,49,19,51,19,52,19,53,19,38,18,39,18,40,18,43,18,44,18,45,18,46,18,47,18,48,18,51,18,52,18,53,18,38,17,39,17,40,17,41,17,50,17,51,17,52,17,53,17,39,16,40,16,41,16,42,16,43,16,44,16,45,16,46,16,47,16,48,16,49,16,50,16,51,16,52,16,40,15,41,15,42,15,43,15,44,15,45,15,46,15,47,15,48,15,49,15,50,15,51,15,41,14,42,14,43,14,44,14,45,14,46,14,47,14,48,14,49,14,50,14}→∟XT
:For(Z,1,dim(∟XT),2)
:∟XT(Z→X
:∟XT(Z+1→Y
:Pt-On(X,Y
:End
:DelVar ∟XT
:StorePic 1
:RecallPic 0
:DelVar Pic0
:For(θ,0,1000
:End
:Line(45,21,26,61
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(45,21,26,61,0
:RecallPic 1
:DelVar Pic1
:Text(‾1,0,0,"                                   "
:Text(‾1,0,0,"Designed"
:Line(45,21,71,59
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(45,21,71,59,0
:RecallPic 1
:Text(‾1,0,60,"                        "
:Text(‾1,0,70,"by"
:Line(45,21,22,49
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(45,21,22,49,0
:RecallPic 1
:Text(‾1,10,0,"                       "
:Text(‾1,10,0,"Anthony"
:Line(45,21,69,49
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(45,21,69,49,0
:RecallPic 1
:Text(‾1,10,45,"                 "
:Text(‾1,10,45,"Cagliano"
:For(θ,0,1000:End
:Line(45,21,26,61
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(45,21,26,61,0
:RecallPic 1
:Text(‾1,0,0,"                     "
:Text(‾1,0,5,"Blast"
:Line(45,21,71,59
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(45,21,71,59,0
:RecallPic 1
:Text(‾1,0,50,"                               "
:Text(‾1,0,45,"Programs"
:Line(45,21,41,49
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(45,21,41,49,0
:RecallPic 1
:Text(‾1,10,0,"                                                     "
:Text(‾1,10,10,"Incorporated"
:For(θ,0,1000:End
:Line(60,‾4,40,25
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(60,‾4,40,25,0
:Line(60,‾4,52,18
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(60,‾4,52,18,0
:Line(20,‾2,46,24
:For(θ,0,150:End
:Line(20,‾2,46,24,0
:For(C,1,15,3
:Circle(45,21,C,{i})
:End
:Text(‾1,52,0,"Press any key"
:0→G
:While not(G
:getKey→G
:End
:ClrDraw
:
:20→dim(∟YSHIP
:∟YSHIP(19)+200→∟YSHIP(19)
:2→dim(∟STREC
:
:If ∟YSHIP(1)=0:Then
:1→∟YSHIP(1)
:200→∟YSHIP(2):FSHIELD
:200→∟YSHIP(3):RSHIELD
:200→∟YSHIP(4):POWER
:50→∟YSHIP(5):GENERATOR
:100→∟YSHIP(6):TRANSPORTER
:100→∟YSHIP(7):REPAIR
:100→∟YSHIP(8):WARPDRIVE
:100→∟YSHIP(9):IMPULSEDRIVE
:100→∟YSHIP(10):PHASERS
:100→∟YSHIP(11):PHOTONS
:100→∟YSHIP(12):LIFESUPPORT
:0→∟YSHIP(13):SHIELDSRAISED
:0→∟YSHIP(14):WEAPONSARMED
:0→∟YSHIP(15):TIME
:0→∟YSHIP(16):SHIPX
:0→∟YSHIP(17):SHIPY
:0→∟YSHIP(18):FIRING
:0→∟YSHIP(19):REPAIRPOINTS
:100→∟YSHIP(20):SENSORS
:0→∟STREC(1):WINS
:0→∟STREC(2):LOSSES
:End
:While ∟YSHIP(12)>0
:∟YSHIP(12)-1→∟YSHIP(12)
:If ∟YSHIP(4)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(4)-1→∟YSHIP(4)
:∟YSHIP(12)+1→∟YSHIP(12)
:End
:If ∟YSHIP(6)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(6)-1→∟YSHIP(6)
:If ∟YSHIP(4)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(4)-1→∟YSHIP(4)
:∟YSHIP(6)+1→∟YSHIP(6)
:End
:End
:If ∟YSHIP(7)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(7)-1→∟YSHIP(7)
:If ∟YSHIP(4)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(4)-1→∟YSHIP(4)
:∟YSHIP(7)+1→∟YSHIP(7)
:End
:End
:If ∟YSHIP(8)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(8)-1→∟YSHIP(8)
:If ∟YSHIP(4)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(4)-1→∟YSHIP(4)
:∟YSHIP(8)+1→∟YSHIP(8)
:End
:End
:If ∟YSHIP(9)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(9)-1→∟YSHIP(9)
:If ∟YSHIP(4)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(4)-1→∟YSHIP(4)
:∟YSHIP(9)+1→∟YSHIP(9)
:End
:End
:If ∟YSHIP(10)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(10)-1→∟YSHIP(10)
:If ∟YSHIP(4)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(4)-1→∟YSHIP(4)
:∟YSHIP(10)+1→∟YSHIP(10)
:End
:End
:If ∟YSHIP(11)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(11)-1→∟YSHIP(11)
:If ∟YSHIP(4)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(4)-1→∟YSHIP(4)
:∟YSHIP(11)+1→∟YSHIP(11)
:End
:End
:If ∟YSHIP(20)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(20)-1→∟YSHIP(20)
:If ∟YSHIP(4)>0
:Then
:∟YSHIP(4)-1→∟YSHIP(4)
:∟YSHIP(20)+1→∟YSHIP(20)
:End
:End
:200-∟YSHIP(4)→R
:If R≤∟YSHIP(5)
:200→∟YSHIP(4)
:If R>∟YSHIP(5)
:∟YSHIP(4)+∟YSHIP(5)→∟YSHIP(4)
:End

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 23, 2010, 08:55:44 pm

Can this be copied and converted to 8xp in SourceCoder? Cuz I did, saved in 8xp then loaded in Wabbitemu and got an ERR:UNDEFINED on one of the Recallpic1 command

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 23, 2010, 09:04:53 pm

I've got a better idea, actually. Stand by.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 23, 2010, 09:08:07 pm

http://www.mediafire.com/?mz2mj2hyjdy (http://www.mediafire.com/?mz2mj2hyjdy)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 23, 2010, 09:26:46 pm

I still get ERR:UNDEFINED on that one :(

it either misses Pic1 or something :/

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: SirCmpwn on March 23, 2010, 09:28:20 pm

I just optimized the hell out of your code (hanged lines in bold):

Spoiler For Spoiler:

The key to really good optimization is in the simple things, especially with lists. For example:
_L1(2)+1->_L1(2)
Can be changed to:
1+_L1(2->_L1(2
Thus saving two bytes. Also, anything over zero evaulates to true in a conditional, so:
If A>0
Can always be optimized to
If A
And
If A<0
can always be optimized to
If not(A

Ask me if you have questions!

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 24, 2010, 01:17:39 am

Thank you for that. I will use all of those optimizations with the exceptions of the splash screen credits (designed by...Blast Progs, Inc). There, the display strings are included because only a PART of the line must be covered. As such, I believe the closing quote in those Text statements must be closed to define the length of the space being cleared.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 24, 2010, 05:23:42 pm

just reminding you that i'm still willing to test the program for you once it's ready, as i have access to two calcs

and no, i'm pretty sure you don't need closing quotes. even with spaces, i've never used them and my programs work perfectly fine

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 24, 2010, 05:58:33 pm

I know Gale. I haven't forgot. But, look at the progress stats at the very bottom of anyone of my posts to see how far I am.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 24, 2010, 06:07:01 pm

yeah, i can imagine how difficult this must be. coordinating linking would make me go crazy enough to start pulling hair out.

and i wasn't rushing you. i just saw earlier posts, so i didn't know if you forgot about me. i know how long these things can take. :P

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: SirCmpwn on March 24, 2010, 06:18:47 pm

Quote from: ACagliano on March 24, 2010, 01:17:39 am

I believe the closing quote in those Text statements must be closed to define the length of the space being cleared.

You never, ever need closing quotes. Trust me, I have used spaces to clear part of the screen, too, and it works without quotes.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: _player1537 on March 24, 2010, 06:22:14 pm

personally, I use closing quotes when using spaces to clear parts of the screen, it makes it a lot easier to know where the end of a text statement it.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 24, 2010, 06:22:24 pm

ok. ill take your word for it.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 24, 2010, 07:55:18 pm

Change in plans. I think I will release the SP version first, then learn asm for the MP version.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: Gale on March 24, 2010, 08:28:46 pm

okay nice! that way you could get more testers. good luck! ;D

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: trevmeister66 on March 24, 2010, 09:02:28 pm

Sweet, now I get to play it :)

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 24, 2010, 11:49:09 pm

Aaah ok, personally, sometiems it's better to not set yourself too many goals. It's good to be ambitious, but not too much. If you realise something is near impossible at the moment, it's better to try somethign slightly different for now, then come back at it later. Plus, maybe by that time, someone will have made a nice routines for you, allowing you to also make the MP version in BASIC with libs, or maybe Axe in future Axe Parser versions

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: ACagliano on March 28, 2010, 10:29:02 pm

Work on both projects is currently on a standstill. In the first release, transporter ability will not be functional. So avoid using it, please. I may even code an error if it is used. Currently writing out AI routines for the enemy ship. For your knowledge, the AI will be programmed to continually hit first the sensors (so you can't see your enemy or lock onto him to fire), then will target your generators, then life support. Generators supply the ship with power and all systems fail without it. Life Support is the crucial system. Once life support is knocked out you lose the game. Similarly, if you knock out your enemy's life support, you win. Different systems are either in the front or back--targeting one half of the shit will only hit systems in that half. I'm not telling where everything is--it's up to you to figure that out as you play.

Title: Re: Star Trek 2 player v0.1 alpha
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 28, 2010, 11:04:53 pm

Interesting, I kinda like how you ships got strong and weak points. In most calc shooters, it was very basic, as you just shot anywhere on the ship and it lost energy/shield. I hope you finish this :)