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Bug in Empire! by Firebird?

ivanb303ivanb303
in Games
Hi
I got this game on a YS covertape years ago and really enjoyed it. It's a space shooting/trading type of thing like Elite but in a top down view. I tried playing it on my Android phone using Speccy or Marvin and the .tap file on WOS but the button for shooting your laser doesn't work! Pressing the fire button or X on the keyboard should fire your laser. I don't remember having this problem when I played it on my actual Speccy+ decades ago :)

Comments

  • FrankTFrankT
    I couldn't find a tap so removed the bleepload from the tzx and made one. This will load from 128 mode too.
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/lgp479c58cpdmib/Empire.tap?dl=1

    Fire 'X' works.
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • FrankTFrankT
    edited March 2017
    Been trying to play this game. I don't remember it being this hard back in the day.

    I've added the NO DEATH FROM ENERGY LOSS and FIX INTERRUPT VECTOR from the listing at tipshop.
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/7xyoa4yx5ukl0fj/Empire_cht.tap?dl=1
    Post edited by FrankT on
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • morphmorph
    This is one of those games I return to every so often to try and understand it. Then I fail to dock at the space station (Which is apparently those two enormous disks) and give up again.
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    Ok first thing you gotta do is dock which isn't hard once you learn it. You move between the two spheres then rotate till your nose points to one of the centers. You will get the menu and the bald lady from the first Star Trek movie (V'ger!). Choose the mission and find the pod and bring it back to the station. To carry the pod you need to use the grapples which you extend and retract with W and S. Bring back to the vicinity of the station and release the station will grab it. Now dock again and get your trading pass.
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    So I tried again and the fire button seems to work only on keyboard! But joystick fire does nothing still which is highly annoying. Anyone else find this?
  • FrankTFrankT
    edited March 2017
    @ivanb303
    There is a fix for Kempston fire in the tipshop listing. I'll remake a fixed version in a while.

    Edit:
    Added the Kempston fire button fix.
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/7xyoa4yx5ukl0fj/Empire_cht.tap?dl=1

    There is one bug that is most annoying. On leaving the docking station, the ship gets stuck in the base, and instant death. Happens often. That's why I added the no death on energy loss cheat. Though you can still get stuck in a base.
    empirebug.png?dl=1
    Post edited by FrankT on
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • FrankTFrankT
    I updated the tap. Now asks you if you want infinite energy after loading is complete. Kempston fire and interrupt vector fix always happens.
    Same link as above.
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    I'll give it a go :) Thanks for the help
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    Well that does weird things. The joystick works but the movement is jerky and does strange things to the gfx.
    I've tried it on Marvin, Speccy and Xpectroid on Android and the behavior is the same.
  • FrankTFrankT
    edited March 2017
    I've made all the pokes options in this tap.
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/nszubs57wvocme7/Empire_cht2.tap?dl=1

    I have weird things happen to the graphics with the tzx. Turning near the starbase, there's a point where the base moves, and the two spheres move further apart. At the same time, firing sends the bullets to the right instead of forward. Very weird.

    @ivanb303
    Edit: Scratch that! It seems the tzx on wos might be corrupt. I just used the tzx from the tzxvault and graphics don't mess up. So I redid the tap using the tzxvault version here:
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihfhtlfxzyoeowv/Empire_cht3.tap?dl=1
    Post edited by FrankT on
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    @FrankT

    Thank you for the help, now it works beautifully man this game was hard but I still enjoy it years later.
  • FrankTFrankT
    edited March 2017
    I think the no need for ore refueling cheat, breaks picking up pods. I wasn't able to pick up the first pod with that cheat enabled. I extended the ropes, but couldn't get the pod at all, so couldn't get the trading pass on the first mission.

    Best not to enable the 'Ore refueling' cheat.

    I played this back in the day too. From the YS covertape. Played it a lot. It's a good game, but too difficult...
    Post edited by FrankT on
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    I was having fun last night playing this last night and so much better when you have save states on an emulator. I got my trading pass, mined some planets and upgraded my ship. Then the mission in Maisge comes up and it's too bloody hard. Wandering pods, you set your marker on the map by the time you get to it, it's moved!! How do you do it?
  • FrankTFrankT
    edited March 2017
    Are you using the gravity drive cheat to get to maisge?

    From tipshop:
    How does the instant gravity drive work?

    Enter the galaxy map by pressing G, and you'll see the message "YOU MAY USE 0 TO JUMP TO MARKER"
    Move the cursor to the system you want to go to
    Press fire and you'll see the message "READY TO USE GRAVITY DRIVE"
    Press X to leave the galaxy map and you'll see a 10 second countdown in the top left corner of the screen
    Wait, and then you'll end up in the map of the system you selected

    There is a pause mission/stardate timers cheat as well, but I didn't add it to the tap yet.
    Post edited by FrankT on
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    I will do that at least save you time by flying through the bloody asteroids. I was only using the health cheat. Try the Maisge mission see how you go. Maybe I chose the wrong upgrade at the first starbase.
  • FrankTFrankT
    edited March 2017
    I've added the pause mission timers cheat, and fixed the kempston and interrupt vector by default.
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/1xmrfhpt0ciqz4m/Empire_fixed.tap?dl=1

    From tipshop:
    How does the timer pause hack work?

    Pause the game by pressing CAPS-SHIFT and BREAK-SPACE - you can see when the game is paused as the energy and shield levels will stop "bubbling"
    Then press CAPS-SHIFT to return to the game and this will swap the timer modes (i.e. pausing them)
    When you need to have the timers behaving as normal, pause the game again, press CAPS-SHIFT and this will swap the timer modes back
    If you're playing through a game with the timers paused, and you do somehow die, then when you start a new game the timers will still be paused...it's easy enough to swap back to normal though

    Edit:
    It doesn't work!
    There's a mistake in the pokes for the timer pause on tipshop. I'll try to fix it.
    2nd edit:
    Fixed! Same link.
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/1xmrfhpt0ciqz4m/Empire_fixed.tap?dl=1
    Post edited by FrankT on
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    Ok so I gotta give a go at disassembly I want to turn off that annoying flashing when energy is low. So now when I load it up the options I use:
    Energy Y
    Gravity Warp Y
    Ore Refueling N
    Pause Timers Y
  • FrankTFrankT
    edited March 2017
    I played this for a few hours last night. Completed about 5 missions, got a few upgrades, then went to a new system for a mission, and they stole all my upgrades. Bloody alien system. Those wandering pod missions are a real pain. I've made a savestate with a handy upgrade, press 'F' to flip the ship 180 degrees. I'll try to make it a cheat, as it helps getting those wandering pods.

    By the way, the ore refuelling cheat works ok now, it was broke on the corrupted WOS version. Though I still play without it. I'll have a look to see if I can stop the screen flash when energy is low. Should be easy enough to find, just put a write memory breakpoint in the attributes play area. Should stop it from slowing down too, if it doesn't have to keep filling the attributes with a new colour every second.
    Post edited by FrankT on
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • FrankTFrankT
    It doesn't just fill the attributes, it sets the paper/border to flash in the interrupt routine. Haven't found it yet.
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • FrankTFrankT
    I finally got a mission is Maisge, but it's impossible to complete. It's not a wandering pod mission.

    It's asking me to bring back the mission pod from Onne. But I'd already completed the mission in that system, and they have no pods or missions.

    I haven't been able to stop the red flashing screen when energy is low either. :(
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • WeyounWeyoun
    The annoying flashing can be disabled with:

    POKE 47640,0
    POKE 47641,0
    POKE 47642,0
    Thanked by 2ivanb303 FrankT
  • FrankTFrankT
    edited March 2017
    I've added it to the infinite energy option.
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/1xmrfhpt0ciqz4m/Empire_fixed.tap?dl=1

    Thanks Weyoun.
    Post edited by FrankT on
    WIP Tritone Demo
    My ZX Art Music Page
    Carlos Michelis Theme
  • ivanb303ivanb303
    Thanks Frank :)
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