Orbital Sniper 2x

[sol_hsa]

I managed to finally port orbital sniper to the gp2x. Some folks may remember the port I did to Tapwave Zodiac all these years ago. Temporary download location for the test version:

(url of the preview removed, see final somewhere below)

There's still some shutdown/cleanup issues, and controls could use some tuning, but it's pretty much done. Comments appreciated*.




*) as in, if I don't get any feedback on this, I don't really see the point in developing it further.

 

[Gruntfuggly]

I'll give this a go tonight. Had a look at some reviews of the PC version and it looks quite interesting. Have you made any improvements to the game or is it a straight port?

 

[sol_hsa]

I'll give this a go tonight. Had a look at some reviews of the PC version and it looks quite interesting. Have you made any improvements to the game or is it a straight port?

Pretty straight port at the moment, with small tuning to make it playable on the gp2x.. basically:
- resolution dropped from 640x480 to 320x240 (similar to zodiac port)
- mouse control out, digital button input in
- drop pedestrian count to lower cpu load (same as with zodiac port)
- slow down AI movement to make it possible to hit them without mouse
- gp2x specific hacks added (input not keys but joystick buttons, exit launches menu app)

As I said, there's still some shutdown/cleanup issues (so it's best to reset the gp2x after playing). I'm also not entirely satisfied with the controls yet..

 

[sol_hsa]

Okay. Final version (unless something happens):

http://iki.fi/sol/files/os2x_1_0.zip (edit: new version below)

- Cleanup seems to work now
- Volume controls added
- Controls tuned

Feedback still appreciated.

 

[Manjuu]

I tried it. Very good port.

I do find that the controls tend to lock up on certain direction combinations. The movement stops when I first press a diagonal direction then transition to a straight direction (without letting go of the controls).

It locks up in the following combinations:
- Up-left or Up-right then Up
- Up-right then Right
- Down-right then Down
- Down-left then Left

The movement also won't move diagonally (on certain combinations) if I press a straight direction first, then a diagonal direction.

I also played the PC version to compare.

It seems you didn't include the Score, FPS, & Zoom indicators.

The number of zooms also seems to differ; the PC has 6 levels of zoom, while this has 8 levels. I find that it's too slow to zoom around compared to the PC, as the zoom buttons needs to be constantly tapped and can't be held down. How about a instant zoom in/out button?

The scrolling around the map also is kind of slow, so how about a button to speed it up when held down?

I maybe asking too much; those aren't really necessary. The important thing for me is to have those lock ups fixed.

P.S. I have a F-200, if it matters.

 

[Draken]

Awesome, played this hell of a lot on the zodiac, will try it tonight.

 

[jbrodack]

good port. had the same problems with controls kind of locking up or not responding when moving from straight to a diagonal. also agree that there should be a button to increase the speed of the cursor. I was thinking touchscreen support would be good but after playing it probably wouldn't work well.

 

[sol_hsa]

Thanks for the feedback.

New version:

http://iki.fi/sol/files/os2x_1_1.zip

- Doubled the pedestrian count as there seems to be cpu to spare
- Fixed the diagonals
- Increased the max. speed of movement
- Amount of zoom on one keypress increased 1.5x
- Displaying score, zoom and fps on screen

I tried it. Very good port.

Thanks.

I do find that the controls tend to lock up on certain direction combinations. The movement stops when I first press a diagonal direction then transition to a straight direction (without letting go of the controls).

Fixed. I find the way gp2x handles those directions totally weird. Why not just consider the four buttons as separate? Now I have to add rather stupid amount of code just to handle the diagonals correctly.

I also played the PC version to compare.

It seems you didn't include the Score, FPS, & Zoom indicators.

Good catch; I was printing them, only outside the screen.. =)

The number of zooms also seems to differ; the PC has 6 levels of zoom, while this has 8 levels. I find that it's too slow to zoom around compared to the PC, as the zoom buttons needs to be constantly tapped and can't be held down. How about a instant zoom in/out button?

I made zooming faster. You still need to tap the zoom buttons several times, but it's more tolerable now. The increased number of zoom levels is so that you can see more of the map on the smaller screen.

The scrolling around the map also is kind of slow, so how about a button to speed it up when held down?

I incresed the movement speed a bit.

I maybe asking too much; those aren't really necessary. The important thing for me is to have those lock ups fixed.

They should now be fixed.

P.S. I have a F-200, if it matters.

So do I, so it'd be interesting to hear from F-100 users as well.

 

[Gruntfuggly]

Well I've just played the latest version, and I must say it's very good! My only criticism would be the sound effects seem a little bit pants, but I guess this is a port so you didn't have much control over that.

It would be cool if the zooming could be somehow smoother instead of jumps...

 

[sol_hsa]

Well I've just played the latest version, and I must say it's very good! My only criticism would be the sound effects seem a little bit pants, but I guess this is a port so you didn't have much control over that.

Heh, well, I'm also the original author, but didn't feel like tuning the sound effects. They are just plain .wav files if someone wants to replace them.

It would be cool if the zooming could be somehow smoother instead of jumps...

This is by design - when I was making the game, I first had the zoom to be continious, but that just felt wrong.

 

[Gruntfuggly]

Hehe - no offence intended regarding the sound effects!

Could the zoom be done in steps, but smoother in between?

 

[Manjuu]

Plays great now. The movement is so smooth that it feels like you're gliding.

It seems that the zoom levels when zooming out aren't consistent. If you zoom out from 2000x, the 100x zoom level is missing, instead 67x would be present. If zooming out from other zoom levels, the 100x is present, while the 67x is gone. Furthermore, the zoom levels 67x and 57x are too close with each other.

It would be nice to have a highscore, but it's not really necessary.

I didn't realize that you're also the original author of this game. Thanks for making and porting this.

 

[senquack]

This is a fun game, thanks a lot for bringing it to the GP2X.

 

[jbrodack]

fun game cool that you're the original author too. this latest version feels perfect.

 

[Alex.]

I just gave this a go and I'm hooked, very fun and original! I like the zooming in steps, it feels very clean and precise this way. My only suggestion is to add a pause button, Start (Home on F-200) would make a good choice.

Also thanks for your many tutorials Sol, it's great that someone with your talent has picked up the GP2X

 

[Watcher]

Love the game, though if you are looking for ideas for future versions perhaps including several different maps to choose inbetween with variations in population density ect.

 

[sol_hsa]

Love the game, though if you are looking for ideas for future versions perhaps including several different maps to choose inbetween with variations in population density ect.

You woudln't believe how many ideas I have on it.. which pretty much means that the "sequel" is suffering from a second-system effect, and requires so much work I haven't yet started it.