Playing around.

[IRF]

I did download the file last week and played all the introductory screens and up until the end of the Central Cavern, but didn't get chance to post yet due to 'real life' work pressures.

 

Anyway, what I saw was excellent, and I'm intrigued by the one cavern in the first post's screenshots which I didn't manage to reach yet - the kind of Spiral Staircase affair.

 

Thanks for posting this project, NS, and for the detailed description of the collision logic as well. I have a question:

 

I notice that not all of the master pixel buffer is copied to the working pixel buffer during each pass through the main loop - instead, only those elements of the screen that have had their pixels changed since the previous pass are updated. I presume this is primarily to speed up the game.

 

My question is: could the same logic not be applied to the attributes (admittedly for a more marginal improvement in speed)? i.e. Instead of copying all of the master attribute buffer to the working attribute buffer during each loop-pass, just update those parts of the screen where Willy or a guardian's attributes have changed things since the previous pass?

Edited May 21, 2020 by IRF

[MtM]

I have downloaded and played Manic Panic on my Next - and for that matter many of the

remakes mentioned around here.

 

I really like it. Here is some feedback though, which is applicable to many

recent MM / JSW clones.

 

I find them _all_ far too hard, especially at first, to be as enjoyable as they deserve. I realise that I am perhaps

not the master MM / JSW player here compared to the rest of you, but their difficultly level puts

me off playing. I get enjoyment from exploring in the MM/JSW universe.

 

Please take that in the spirit it is intended. I have finished MM & JSW without pokes, albeit with snapshots

on emulators, so I am not completely useless. I appreciate all your efforts with these games, I know you

have all slaved over writing them over many years, I do love them and thank you for your efforts. I would just

like something with the difficultly level of the original MM or JSW though. Even JSWII gets overly hard in places,

and I battled to finish that without pokes and did. How about something a bit more pastoral?

 

I know that you all no doubt relish the challenge of very hard MM / JSW remakes. As a good example, although

I have not finished it yet, I thought that the recent Perils of Willy struck a good balance between difficulty and enjoyment

so far, I am on level 14 I think.

 

I hope that helps, not criticism at all, please continue with your efforts, I will enjoy seeing how it turns out.

[Spider]

@Mtm , we all have our own playing skills/abilities

 

I'm not in my own opinion that "good" a player. The point being we all (or should) enjoy it, no matter how good or bad we are! That's the important part. :)

Edited May 21, 2020 by Spider

[Norman Sword]

The copying of screens.

 

Yes I could update just the areas changed. Just a lot easier to just block move.  If you remember, the original logic as penned by a certain M. Smith.  In that It was deemed fast enough to LDIR everything.

 

For screen updates we have to update other areas as well . So it took a few goes at just updating the pixel area. Most routines were changed to update both at the same time. for example the conveyor routine draws to both the master and the working screen. The collapsing floor draws to both the master and the working screen. Wall removal as done by Kong's association is done on both the master and working screen.  The instances were glitches showed an update was not being fully copied, forced the dual draw. Getting the code to work was enough to curtail enthusiasm to extend to the attributes as well.
 

 

feedback.   Update the slow attribute copy routines. :D  


The spiral room, which is around screen 24, is not in the file I uploaded. The final screen has been changed as well. The screens as seen can/could all be changed.

 

 

 

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final game version accessible This Link

Edited July 20, 2020 by Norman Sword

[Norman Sword]

Level of difficulty:-

 

 

The screens seen are just outline screens from screen 5 onward.  I can do most of the screens easily. The ones I can not do easily I will redo. I tend to not use the obscure Manic Miner movement quirks and prefer to just set a task which can be seen and attempted in an more or less obvious manner. 

Since the Title is Manic Panic, I had intended to set the Oxygen level to near the time taken to do a casual run. In a move towards ease I will allow the player to set an easy level. (already done)  where the oxygen is set to full for every cavern. Rather beats the sense of Panic if each room can be done whilst drinking a cup of tea and reading the newspaper.  The game as written does allow sprite contact and many other instances that should result in Willies demise, with lots of oxygen at the players disposal. It will make a lot of screens complete-able whilst doing the crossword in the paper as well. 

Programs by me.  I am responsible for nothing else.

Manic miner by Bug byte and software projects. Which plays exactly the same as the original.

Manic 40 Miner - a demo of 40 screens for Manic Miner- it was just to show it could be done.

JSW128VK  128 rooms in 48k (changeable speed)

 

JSW128VL  128 rooms in 48k Double speed and portals (changeable speed)

JSW128VM 128 rooms in 48k -triple speed and a whole host of game options (changeable speed)

In JSW128VM the game has a built in rewind function (via portals).

Manic Panic is just an idea to demonstrate the capability of the game engine stretched further than Matthew accomplished. The demo as seen is one weeks work.

 

 

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Final game version accessible This Link



 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Norman Sword

[Norman Sword]

I have had a thought which I will implement tomorrow sometime. I will set three levels of play.

1) trainer- How willy imagines he will breeze through the caverns. Lots of air .

2) the reality version, Just enough air to get through a cavern with no sight seeing on the way.

3) Deadly. The same time limit as 2 but where every contact kills willy instantly.

 

- 

With only versions 2 and 3 actually getting to completion of the quest,

 

 

Addendum 

 

6 hours later (after a sleepless night, and I am very tired)

 

I have implemented the 3 modes. "Trainer", "Normal" and "Expert". (terminology as used in the game text) 

 

 

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Final game version accessible This Link

Edited July 20, 2020 by Norman Sword

[Spider]

The difficulty / skill levels are a good idea. :)

 

We did something vaguely similar in MM10CC where there were in effect three separate games, same levels but an 'easy' mode with more air per cavern, less nasties etc, the 'normal' mode which played as per original and a 'difficult' version with a few more hazards.

 

By your description so far I think you've about covered something for all playing abilities! Looking forward to seeing it at hopefully not a too distant point in the future.

[MtM]

I have downloaded the 10CC version (I am a huge fan of 10cc!) so will give that a go too.

 

I think that the different versions is a fair compromise for people with Manic Panic, I am looking forward to its next

release.

 

Has anyone ever considered the idea of a crowdfunded official Jet Set Willy III? With the ability on this forum, and the very

outside chance of getting Matthew Smith's blessing if not contribution too, it might be a goer? Just a pipe dream...

[Spider]

I'll post a recording tomorrow if I can of the next few levels. I did have a vague recording of the following two however my playing was so bad I decided to not keep the .rzx.

 

The 'Menagerie' is quite interesting :)

[Norman Sword]

Version beta 3.

 

Not changed a great deal, that can be seen. But underneath the exterior is a lot of code change. 

This looks pretty much the same as before. Only casual difference would be that on loading it now displays the word "Trainer" on the title screen. Plus a change in the scrolling message about the version and the date.

 

Game changes.

 

While the title screen is displayed , pressing the keyboard letter "T" will change the word "Trainer" to "Normal", another press of "T" will change the word "Normal" to "Expert". And yet another press will change the "Expert" back to the original wording of "trainer".

 

Those three words are describing the game play.   The graphics of each room will not be changed by the differing level of play but other changes will take place.

 

 

1) trainer mode: Here the oxygen level is set to full, and the game depletes the oxygen counter very slowly. The number of sprites in a room is reduced by two. The game can not be completed in this mode.

 

2) Normal mode. Here the oxygen level is set to a level where the room can be completed at a casual pace. The oxygen depletes a lot faster. The number of sprites in a room is reduced by 1

 

3) Expert mode. Here the oxygen level is set to a level where the room can be completed at a brisk pace. The rate of oxygen depletion is very fast, Now all contacts with sprites/baddies/fall etc will result in Willies demise.

 

Each mode has its own high score. The trainer mode will give excessive score due to the remaining oxygen left at the end of each cavern.

 

 

The above is an outline of what is intended.... The rooms themselves have not be fully defined. in terms of graphics/sprites/events/ and the oxygen level


At present around 25 screens:- that, like every other aspect, is subject to change.

 

 

 

 

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Addendum:-

 

The size of the file is a good indicator of how much ram is set aside for those giant screens in memory. The real screen is 6656 in size. For this game variant we also have a Working screen and a Master screen. Those 3 screens are using 19968 bytes of memory.  So nearly 20k is dedicated at the start for game screens, leaving just 28k from the 48k for the program and all its data. I am at present at the point where I  need more memory to do the things I want. I will probably do a major memory reconfiguration and data compression. (something that will not be seen)

 

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Deleted obsolete download

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Final game version accessible This Link

Edited July 20, 2020 by Norman Sword