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Bubbler - ripe for modding?

SokurahSokurah
in Games
I kind of like Bubbler...but mostly for the technical achievement I guess (not that it's that superb, but that's another discussion) but the gameplay experience unfortunately doesn't do the graphics justice.

Two main things are wrong with it as it is imho - primarily the terrible controls, but also the slow speed of it.

Has anyone ever looked into it to see if there's enough room to change things? I was thinking that if the controls were rewritten and if there's room to replace the routine that move the backbuffer to the screen with a faster one, then it might be more playable?
Website: Tardis Remakes / Mostly remakes of Arcade and ZX Spectrum games.
My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
Twitter: Sokurah
Thanked by 1DavidB

Comments

  • grey keygrey key
    A copy went for £120 the other day !
    Every time I read that the oldest person in the world has died, I have to do a quick check to see it isn't ME..........
  • MatGubbinsMatGubbins
    Bubbler is brilliant... only when the control system has been mastered. Played it, mapped it.
    There are the stupid time limits to cork the bottles, a shortage of extra lives and too many nasties onscreen to cope with.
    I too would like to have the game a little faster, easier directions (QWEADZXC keys) that move in the correct direction without having to look at the spinner gauge on screen to confirm the way the bubble should move.
    Bomb Munchies on WOS thread
    Download the latest version of Bomb Munchies Ver2210 4th July 2020
  • BedazzleBedazzle
    You mean this?

    Distribution denied, so it will be a tricky to do improvements.
    Heavy on the disasm
  • SokurahSokurah
    Bedazzle wrote: »
    You mean this?

    Distribution denied, so it will be a tricky to do improvements.
    Of course - what other games are you thinking about when I say 'Bubbler'? (rhetorical, don't answer).

    It's not a problem to make improvements - just make a diff patch or supply the source code. If it worked for Jet Pac it'll work just fine for Bubbler too. ;)


    Website: Tardis Remakes / Mostly remakes of Arcade and ZX Spectrum games.
    My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
    Twitter: Sokurah
  • DavidBDavidB
    You know what I'd like to see? A map editor for this and other Ultimate titles.

    Obviously people would have to own the originals.
    No one important.
  • MatGubbinsMatGubbins
    I've made map editors for Nightshade, Gunfright and Martianoids - download from WOS Cyberun can be done but it will be quite difficult to move the platforms, pickups, crystals and the other bits of scenery around because they are not part of the same map.
    Bomb Munchies on WOS thread
    Download the latest version of Bomb Munchies Ver2210 4th July 2020
  • BedazzleBedazzle
    Sokurah wrote: »
    It's not a problem to make improvements - just make a diff patch or supply the source code. If it worked for Jet Pac it'll work just fine for Bubbler too. ;)

    What do you mean "worked for Jet Pac"? Were there unsuccessful claims?
    I'm interested with reason described in my signature. ;)

    Heavy on the disasm
  • SokurahSokurah
    I've just played a bit around with Bubbler and it seems that there's an unused chunk of memory just after the backbuffer. Roughly about 816 bytes at 61883 that doesn't seem to get corrupted even after restarting the game several times. Hmm, not too bad. ;) :)
    Website: Tardis Remakes / Mostly remakes of Arcade and ZX Spectrum games.
    My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
    Twitter: Sokurah
  • MatGubbinsMatGubbins
    ooohh... bung some 255 bytes in there and see what, if anything happens.
    Bomb Munchies on WOS thread
    Download the latest version of Bomb Munchies Ver2210 4th July 2020
  • SokurahSokurah
    Bedazzle wrote: »
    What do you mean "worked for Jet Pac"? Were there unsuccessful claims?
    I'm interested with reason described in my signature. ;)
    Claims? No, but the source (or at least something compilable) to Jet Pac Advanced was released to mod the game without distributing the whole game.

    Website: Tardis Remakes / Mostly remakes of Arcade and ZX Spectrum games.
    My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
    Twitter: Sokurah
  • SokurahSokurah
    MatGubbins wrote: »
    ooohh... bung some 255 bytes in there and see what, if anything happens.
    I made this picture and converted it to Spectrum format and loaded it into memory at 61883 and even after several games it was still untouched.

    bubbler.png
    ...I wouldn't have claimed there was room if I hadn't tested. ;)
    Website: Tardis Remakes / Mostly remakes of Arcade and ZX Spectrum games.
    My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
    Twitter: Sokurah
  • MatGubbinsMatGubbins
    That's good enough, the game is now yours to edit. Good luck in your quest.
    Bomb Munchies on WOS thread
    Download the latest version of Bomb Munchies Ver2210 4th July 2020
  • SokurahSokurah
    Haha, I have enough other things to do, so that's not going to happen.
    ...but it was fun to see if there was any room. :)
    Website: Tardis Remakes / Mostly remakes of Arcade and ZX Spectrum games.
    My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
    Twitter: Sokurah
  • HikaruHikaru
    Sokurah wrote: »
    MatGubbins wrote: »
    ooohh... bung some 255 bytes in there and see what, if anything happens.
    I made this picture and converted it to Spectrum format and loaded it into memory at 61883 and even after several games it was still untouched.

    bubbler.png

    Pen-pineapple-apple-pen?
    https://intenseofficial.blogspot.com/
  • Einar SaukasEinar Saukas
    Sokurah wrote: »
    I kind of like Bubbler...but mostly for the technical achievement I guess (not that it's that superb, but that's another discussion) but the gameplay experience unfortunately doesn't do the graphics justice.

    Two main things are wrong with it as it is imho - primarily the terrible controls, but also the slow speed of it.

    Has anyone ever looked into it to see if there's enough room to change things? I was thinking that if the controls were rewritten and if there's room to replace the routine that move the backbuffer to the screen with a faster one, then it might be more playable?

    Interesting idea. I will see what I can do about it...
    Creator of ZXDB, BIFROST/NIRVANA, ZX7/RCS, etc. I don't frequent this forum anymore, please look for me elsewhere.
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