A Double eagle is a score three under par on any individual hole. Double eagles are extremely rare, more rare, in fact, than aces. To record a double eagle, a player would have to ace a par-4 hole or make a 2 on a par-5 hole.Also Known As: "albatross" in the U.K.
Thanks for the comments, guys. I can confirm the title is a combination of albatross and atrocity, as Gasman suggests.
Regarding the graphics, they were left very simple deliberately, to make the screen editor as simple-to-use as possible. I didn't want lots of different blocks which looked very similar to each other, or items that were made up of combinations of blocks. The idea is that once you get bored with the game, you can design your own holes.
As for suggestions of a sequel or further enhancements, I think I'll step aside for now and leave that to Bob Smith, if he wants to have a go. I know he was thinking along the lines of a side-on golf game, but put the idea on hold when he found out I was writing one. For now, if you finish the game and want another challenge, feel free to design your own courses and share them around as snapshots (there's no other way of saving courses). If anyone wants to make other enhancements, PM or email me.
The editor keys are:
cursors to move
1/2 to select block
SPACE or 0 to set block
A to move arrow
B to move ball
F to move flag
K to move key
W to move nasty
N next screen
P previous screen
Bit late posting here , butive just got back off holiday and downloaded the game , fantastic , i think its fun and has a very retro feel , anyway its bloody fab and thanks a lot !!
jonathan, maybe it's nothing but visiting your sight threw a googly (Malware detected!) from the google chrome browser stating "The website at jonathan6.fortunecity.com contains elements from the site www.ukbest50.co.uk, which appears to host malware".
Not sure what it's all about but maybe worth investigating?
As for suggestions of a sequel or further enhancements, I think I'll step aside for now and leave that to Bob Smith, if he wants to have a go. I know he was thinking along the lines of a side-on golf game, but put the idea on hold when he found out I was writing one...
Yup, the suggestions made earlier of conveyors, crushers, obstacles & hi-scores probably fit in better with the ideas I currently have for a golf game, which I might have a stab at later this (new) year after I've finished what I'm currently writing. It's not going to be "Albatrossity II" however - it's a different idea to Jon's, not an extension - the closest think you can say is that they are both side-on golf games.
I just made a uniloader version of Albatrossity and compressed it to 30 kb. It works fine on my real hardware Spectrum 128+ with +D interface. A great game...
EDIT: Btw, did anyone find out more about the supposed "security issues" with the server Jonathan's website is on? I'd like a link to his site in my review but I'm not sure if his hoster has security issues. If someone can reassure me I'll edit the review and provide a link. :-)
I hadn't said anything so far, but I tried the game and it plays well, it's a funny game, which would be great to see in a cassette, maybe with Rally Bug in the same cassete??
I've had bug reports from a couple of sharp-eyed individuals - and they're right. It looks like I introduced a bug at the very last minute when the 48K sound effects were added.
When you finish a hole the game is supposed to give you a few extra shots for the next hole, and you see these being counted up. Unfortunately, you always start the next hole with 8 rubber balls, 4 steel balls, and 2 stickies. The multiplayer option doesn't seem to work either. After a bit of head scratching I've located and fixed the problem. Just about the first thing you learn when programming the Spectrum is that the ROM routine at 949 is one of the few which corrupts the IX registers. It seems I'd forgotten to preserve and restore them either side of the sound routine. Doh!
If anyone wants the updated version, I've uploaded it to my site. I'll upload it to WoS if no more problems are reported.
Comments
A Double eagle is a score three under par on any individual hole. Double eagles are extremely rare, more rare, in fact, than aces. To record a double eagle, a player would have to ace a par-4 hole or make a 2 on a par-5 hole.Also Known As: "albatross" in the U.K.
Regarding the graphics, they were left very simple deliberately, to make the screen editor as simple-to-use as possible. I didn't want lots of different blocks which looked very similar to each other, or items that were made up of combinations of blocks. The idea is that once you get bored with the game, you can design your own holes.
As for suggestions of a sequel or further enhancements, I think I'll step aside for now and leave that to Bob Smith, if he wants to have a go. I know he was thinking along the lines of a side-on golf game, but put the idea on hold when he found out I was writing one. For now, if you finish the game and want another challenge, feel free to design your own courses and share them around as snapshots (there's no other way of saving courses). If anyone wants to make other enhancements, PM or email me.
The editor keys are:
cursors to move
1/2 to select block
SPACE or 0 to set block
A to move arrow
B to move ball
F to move flag
K to move key
W to move nasty
N next screen
P previous screen
Egghead Website
Arcade Game Designer
My itch.io page
Not sure what it's all about but maybe worth investigating?
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
Thanks for pointing out ADJB. That clears matters up. :)
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
Yup, the suggestions made earlier of conveyors, crushers, obstacles & hi-scores probably fit in better with the ideas I currently have for a golf game, which I might have a stab at later this (new) year after I've finished what I'm currently writing. It's not going to be "Albatrossity II" however - it's a different idea to Jon's, not an extension - the closest think you can say is that they are both side-on golf games.
https://twitter.com/bobsstuffgames
https://www.facebook.com/bobs.stuff
http://www.bobs-stuff.co.uk
http://mattyongames.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/albatrossity/
EDIT: Btw, did anyone find out more about the supposed "security issues" with the server Jonathan's website is on? I'd like a link to his site in my review but I'm not sure if his hoster has security issues. If someone can reassure me I'll edit the review and provide a link. :-)
Cheers
http://maps.speccy.cz/map.php?id=Albatrossity
http://www.zx-spectrum.cz
I've had bug reports from a couple of sharp-eyed individuals - and they're right. It looks like I introduced a bug at the very last minute when the 48K sound effects were added.
When you finish a hole the game is supposed to give you a few extra shots for the next hole, and you see these being counted up. Unfortunately, you always start the next hole with 8 rubber balls, 4 steel balls, and 2 stickies. The multiplayer option doesn't seem to work either. After a bit of head scratching I've located and fixed the problem. Just about the first thing you learn when programming the Spectrum is that the ROM routine at 949 is one of the few which corrupts the IX registers. It seems I'd forgotten to preserve and restore them either side of the sound routine. Doh!
If anyone wants the updated version, I've uploaded it to my site. I'll upload it to WoS if no more problems are reported.
Egghead Website
Arcade Game Designer
My itch.io page