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New game Sea Dragon (beta)

Tom-CatTom-Cat
edited February 2011 in Games
Hi. Over at zx.pk.ru there is a lot of talk of a new game for spectrum called Sea Dragon. It is a VERY nice underwater side scroller... technically VERY well done (full screen scroller that fast on the zx... possibly the first?). Anyway, the latest beta is here for you to try :

http://pc.sux.org/tomcat/qsave1.zip

TC
Post edited by Tom-Cat on
«13

Comments

  • na_th_anna_th_an
    edited September 2010
    Does it need to be ran with an especific russian clone? 'cause the submarine flickers a lot when loaded on a normal (emulated) spectrum.
  • psj3809psj3809
    edited September 2010
    Very nice game ! Just been playing on Spectaculator, flickers a bit but nothing too bad. Pretty tricky as well, good effort
  • RalfRalf
    edited September 2010
    I have seen this project before. It is a conversion from Atari, I believe and the author is the same man, who created Preliminary Monty.

    The game is technically very impressive with its quick scrolling.

    I just hope that the author abandons his love for Atari styled graphics and makes it all in fine high Spectrum resolution :)
  • ShiruShiru
    edited September 2010
    Most of russian games were made for Pentagon, so you make no mistake if you run it in Pentagon mode.

    For this game there is an important reason behind the Atari-styled graphics: it could not be done in one frame (50 Hz update) otherwise. I personally think it is very correct decision, because fluid and fast gameplay with simple graphics is much better than high-res graphics with jerky movements and scrolling.
  • Tom-CatTom-Cat
    edited September 2010
    I dont get any flicker in Spectaculator 48k emulation. Also runs fine on my real +2A...

    And yep, it is 50Hz goodness perfect smooth scrolling. If this means we need to live with blocky background graphics then I am still satisfied... it is very authentic to the original version. Great work really. Can't wait for the final.
    btw. how the hell do you get out of the narrow tunnel after level 1 ?

    TC
  • LCDLCD
    edited September 2010
    Wow. I remember a old version I downloaded a alpha version half year ago. It was slow, jerky and buggy, but the beta version is a giant leap ahead. Thanks for pointing me again at this.
  • AlarmAlarm
    edited September 2010
    I've been following this project on http://zx.pk.ru/ and it is nice to see improvements with each work in progress snapshot.
  • na_th_anna_th_an
    edited September 2010
    The scrolling is awesome.

    Just interested, how the Atari styled graphics help with speed?
  • Tom-CatTom-Cat
    edited September 2010
    na_th_an wrote: »
    The scrolling is awesome.

    Just interested, how the Atari styled graphics help with speed?

    Well, not sure if it is a correct assumption, but all the graphics are repeated each other line, so it might have to do with that...

    TC
  • na_th_anna_th_an
    edited September 2010
    Oh, I see. The blitting routine just reads once and writes twice. Clever :)
  • GrazGraz
    edited September 2010
    Like the Das Boot theme. ;)
  • RalfRalf
    edited September 2010
    I understand it now too. It's a tradeoff between speed and graphics.

    By the way, is anybody able to survive in the tunnel for longer than 10 seconds? :)
  • Tom-CatTom-Cat
    edited September 2010
    Ralf wrote: »
    I understand it now too. It's a tradeoff between speed and graphics.

    By the way, is anybody able to survive in the tunnel for longer than 10 seconds? :)

    10 seconds ? U some kinda of a superhuman ? :) Checking the original thread over on zx.pk.ru people came faaar far further... but HOW ? Google translate doesn't help :(

    http://zx.pk.ru/showthread.php?t=11233&page=41

    Edit:

    R - Invincibility (hold it !)
    L - Menu
    S - stop the scroll

    But still no idea how would one pass that cave without invincibility.

    A looong and hard game though ! :) NICE !
  • fogfog
    edited September 2010
    I like it , the font is very atari 800 ish :) Adventure International used that font

    errm Rally Speedway and preppie have the same one IRC

    game is nice.. and yep I prefer smooth scrolling with less detail then juddery colourful things.

    game is rock though..
  • joefishjoefish
    edited September 2010
    I think technically it's hugely impressive, but as a game I'm sorry but I find it completely unplayable. If there was some attempt to make it easy at the start then raise the difficulty as you go it would be much more fun.

    The way the mines are released from below you at random, and rise too fast for you to dodge, is just completely unfair on the player. There's a big difference between a game that is hard, and a game that is unfair.
    Joefish
    - IONIAN-GAMES.com -
  • ShiruShiru
    edited September 2010
    joefish, you should address the issues about the gameplay to Wayne Westmoreland & Terry Gilman in 1982. A lot of people have played the game since, and loved it despite all these issues. This love is the reason why you can see the game 28 years later on ZX, you know.
  • AlarmAlarm
    edited September 2010
    joefish wrote: »
    I think technically it's hugely impressive, but as a game I'm sorry but I find it completely unplayable. If there was some attempt to make it easy at the start then raise the difficulty as you go it would be much more fun.

    The way the mines are released from below you at random, and rise too fast for you to dodge, is just completely unfair on the player. There's a big difference between a game that is hard, and a game that is unfair.
    You can change the difficulty setting. I don't have an emulator to hand but from memory, the game defaults on the hardest setting (Admiral).
  • joefishjoefish
    edited September 2010
    Shiru wrote: »
    joefish, you should address the issues about the gameplay to Wayne Westmoreland & Terry Gilman in 1982. A lot of people have played the game since, and loved it despite all these issues. This love is the reason why you can see the game 28 years later on ZX, you know.
    What a dumb thing to say. Why would they care if they wrote it 28 years ago?
    I just put down my opinion of it, having played it. If you enjoy it, good for you; I really don't care. Just because you like something isn't going to make me like it any more.
    Alarm wrote: »
    You can change the difficulty setting. I don't have an emulator to hand but from memory, the game defaults on the hardest setting (Admiral).
    OK, thanks, I'll try that later. I don't think it gives a great first impression to set the game up like that though.
    Joefish
    - IONIAN-GAMES.com -
  • ShiruShiru
    edited September 2010
    joefish wrote: »
    What a dumb thing to say. Why would they care if they wrote it 28 years ago?
    I just put down my opinion of it, having played it. If you enjoy it, good for you; I really don't care. Just because you like something isn't going to make me like it any more.
    Guessing someone's opinion about the game and expressing your attitude to this imaginary opinion is surely a smart thing.

    I don't care about your opinion too. I didn't say you have to like the game, I just pointed to the fact that it is proved by time that the issues you have mentioned aren't that important and they aren't made the game unplayable and unfair for a lot people.
  • Neil ParsonsNeil Parsons
    edited September 2010
    How can someone pass through that narrowed cave? Nice game, but a bit crazy, even if playing under captain level! :-?
  • RalfRalf
    edited September 2010
    The game default difficulty level is the hardest one. I'd suggest that it should be the easiest one or normal like it usually happens in other games.

    The game is quite playable at the beginning. It becomes frustrating hard in the tunnel :)

    I can't survive there, even playing on lowest level when the scrolling speed is slowed down. Even when I don't crash into the ground I will get killed by turrets fire.

    Not to say about decreasing air supply. I haven't experienced it but I guess it's a serious challenge too.

    Well, it's a clone of 1982 game. In those times, games were much harder, because if they were easier, you would complete them in 10 minutes. so you were supposed to tame your frustration and play it again and again and again :)
  • BiNMaNBiNMaN
    edited September 2010
    it has a proper 'old school' feel to it simple graphics that are so early 80's and i love the font for the scores
  • joefishjoefish
    edited September 2010
    It certainly has an old-school look and feel to it. Yes, it's more playable on the easier setting - I presume the default hard setting is to show off that it can run at 50Hz.

    But I think it still has the problems of an old-school game. There's a bit too much random death going on, and if you are going to make a point of forcing the player to negotiate such a tight space as that cave, then your collision detection needs to be spot-on pixel-perfect.
    Ralf wrote: »
    Well, it's a clone of 1982 game. In those times, games were much harder, because if they were easier, you would complete them in 10 minutes. so you were supposed to tame your frustration and play it again and again and again :)
    For me it was more like I didn't have much choice of anything else!
    Joefish
    - IONIAN-GAMES.com -
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited September 2010
    Well, there's nothing that a couple POKEs can't solve. :razz:

    *waits for Pavero to show up*

    j/k

    Haven't tried it yet, but who knows, maybe the final version will have adjustable settings, or maybe someone will come up with a modified version, just like they did with Manic Miner.
  • Tom-CatTom-Cat
    edited September 2010
    zxbruno wrote: »
    Well, there's nothing that a couple POKEs can't solve. :razz:

    *waits for Pavero to show up*

    j/k

    Haven't tried it yet, but who knows, maybe the final version will have adjustable settings, or maybe someone will come up with a modified version, just like they did with Manic Miner.

    Just press and HOLD "R" while playing and you will have invincibility...
  • Neil ParsonsNeil Parsons
    edited October 2010
    Ralf wrote: »
    Well, it's a clone of 1982 game. In those times, games were much harder, because if they were easier, you would complete them in 10 minutes. so you were supposed to tame your frustration and play it again and again and again :)

    Sure. Or I'll kill myself in the try. ;)
    zxbruno wrote: »
    Well, there's nothing that a couple POKEs can't solve. :razz:

    *waits for Pavero to show up*

    Let's call him with a great slice of cheese cake.
    Tom-Cat wrote: »
    Just press and HOLD "R" while playing and you will have invincibility...

    Good!!! Thumbs over it.
  • deadpan666deadpan666
    edited October 2010
    Just got round to playing this...nice wee game, but it is a bit tricky! :)

    Can remember playing the original back in the day, but can't remember on what system...
    The Black Cauldron (PC)
  • TMRTMR
    edited October 2010
    i really like this, but i'd have said it's noticeably harder than the original having just played them side by side; the sub on the Spectrum is a little wider, so with the same pixel-perfect collisions that the A8 version uses the entrance to that first cavern and taking out the mine on the floor at that point is a bugger. The torpedoes also move a little slower and can't pass through explosions, so trying to clear the mines in the second tunnel section is much more difficult.
  • AlarmAlarm
    edited December 2010
    This has now progressed to the alpha stage. Tape version, Kempston mouse support, and more. :smile:
  • Tom-CatTom-Cat
    edited December 2010
    Alarm wrote: »
    This has now progressed to the alpha stage. Tape version, Kempston mouse support, and more. :smile:

    Wow... MUCH better playability now. One can actually go through stage two without being killed at the start of the caves. Great. Does feely very finished too... not alpha at all :)
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