[File] Manic Miner - DarkLight Modification

[Spider]

Some good points. :)

 

Please bear in mind I'm not the author of this, my "work" was simply to build a tidy loading screen/loader and turn the instructions into two game files. The credit for the 'modification' and idea itself goes completely to Pgyuri.

 

In regard to teleport yes the TYPEWRITER does function just as well as 6031769 , I felt it prudent to build one for each main variant simply as instructions were provided for each. Should be noted the "patch code" block itself, the tzx file in the instructions zip is the same for both. The manual POKE's are obviously slightly different given the different addresses.

[Spider]

Meant to say the only immediate change I'd probably think about (myself anyway) is to expand -slightly- the visible area, perhaps by just one or two blocks both horizontally and vertically.

 

All credit where it is rightly due though as Pgyuri has applied this effect so that you have a blue 'shadow/darkness' on the edge which shows care/thought in its inception imo. :)

[Norman Sword]

I have other things to do at the moment. Which will stop any further looks or comments on this.
 

[Spider]

I have other things to do at the moment. Which will stop any further looks or comments on this.

 

Well it will be here for as/when you wish to :)

 

I've informed the 'modification author' of this topic via email so he may have some comments I can post perhaps at a future date.

[IRF]

Good stuff Norman, although there is a quirky thing going on whereby the cells behind Willy are drawn in black INK, meaning that you can move around progressively 'erasing' the cavern as you go - see the attached recording.  By the time Willy reaches the portal at the end of the Central Cavern, the whole cavern has reverted back to how it is in the 'Dark Light Modification', and your initial 'gloomy blue cavern' effect has been erased!

 

One more POKEs seem to do the trick!  Try POKE #9378, #01 (or POKE 37752,1 in the antiquated decimal system).

 

Like Norman Sword's POKE, this should be applicable to both the Bug-Byte and Software Projects variants of the game.

 

If you only apply the above POKE, the cavern is revealed as you explore, but then the parts you have seen stay revealed.  In conjuction with Norman's POKE (#9365,#70 or 37733,112), the whole cavern is shown in black PAPER / blue INK throughout, except the cells in close proximity to Willy at any given time, which are revealed in their 'proper' colours whilst he is nearby.

 

EDIT: Both of the above POKES are applied in the attached snapshot.  Makes things a bit easier!

 

FURTHER EDIT: Following discovery of additional glitches, it turns out that eight more POKES are needed to completely implement the alternative 'gloomy cavern' effect (so that's ten in total):

 

POKE #9417, #01

POKE #941E, #01

POKE #9421, #01

POKE #9424, #01

POKE #9427, #01

POKE #942E, #01

POKE #9435, #01

POKE #943C, #01

 

I don't pretend to completely understand how this works!  :blush:  :D

Gloomy Cavern.sna

Edited June 19, 2020 by IRF

[Spider]

Slightly confused. :) Is the above snapshot meant to stay 'light' in area's he's visited ? :unsure:

[IRF]

Slightly confused. :) Is the above snapshot meant to stay 'light' in area's he's visited ? :unsure:

 

The area immediately in front of Willy is illuminated by his headtorch, so appears as normal (conveyor green, Central Cavern guardian yellow, etc).  Whilst the rest of the cavern (that isn't directly in Willy's field of vision) is gloomy and only visible in non-BRIGHT blue INK on a black PAPER background.

 

It makes the game a bit easier because you can see where the guardians are, but it still adds more difficulty compared with the original MM, because it's harder to distinguish the crumbly platforms from the solid ones, and the portal only FLASHes when Willy is in close proximity to it.

 

EDIT: I've just noticed that not everything is right though - in 'Attack of the Mutant Telephones', the wall/ceiling [and portal] at the top left doesn't stay visible in gloomy blue INK.  :unsure:  

Edited June 18, 2020 by IRF

[IRF]

Andy, please re-download the 'Gloomy Cavern' snapshot (from the post three above this one), as I've edited it again to fix a problem.

Edited June 18, 2020 by IRF

[Richard Hallas]

I really like these mods!

Gloomy Cavern restores the difficulty to being the same as the unmodified Manic Miner

[Spider]

:) I did wonder about that too, perhaps extending the "visible area" by say 2 blocks which would in theory give M.W just enough time in hopefully most cases to avoid too much trouble!

 

One twist on that perhaps would be to set the 'previously seen' areas in blue. By this I mean when a cavern starts, its dark however once M.W has moved over an area that turns blue rather than black, but his 'immediate area' remains lit as per now. I'm not sure how well that would work out.

 

I'll point the mod author towards this topic (they are aware of it anyway) to read the latest feedback and thoughts.