Secret Quest Remake - COMPLETED

[Colxfile]

SECRET QUEST REMAKE IS NOW FINISHED.
Please visit the Announcement thread in the Completed Announcement board for more.

Secret Quest - Remake
Based on the original game for the Atari console.

The Game:
Secret Quest Manual - 1989
"First there was one alien space station, then there were three. Now there are eight. If left unchecked, laser gates, dragons, and other evil creatures will wipe out the human race.
To destroy each station, you'll have to confront the aliens in face-to-face combat and discover the secret destruct code. Once you have the code, use it to activate the station's self-destruction mechanism. Then the race begins. Can you get to the teleport room before the station explodes into the vacuum of space?
Are you ready? Remember, you'll need precision battle skills, a keen sense of direction, speed, and pure guts to save the human race."

Screenshots:
http://www.geocities.com/colxfile/Pics/scr7.jpg
Projectile weapon fails to reach the foe.
You'll need to stand a bit closer than that, Jimmy.
http://www.geocities.com/colxfile/Pics/scr8.jpg
Actually, it's not a good idea to stand there.
http://www.geocities.com/colxfile/Pics/scr9.jpg
The status screen. Here betraying the fact that the
eighth station has a pink/purple motif.
http://www.geocities.com/colxfile/Pics/scr10.jpg
Behold! The dragon.
It doesn't do much besides shoot fireballs.
Progress As of Today
'Tis finished.

Anything Else:
It's FINISHED!!!
Set up to run at 640x400 at 256 colours. Looks quite nice windowed.

Download
Don't download from here. Download from the Completed Game Announcement Thread.

[Colxfile]

Well, I was so deafened by the silent enthusiasm for this project, I had no choice but to continue.Ã, 

The most progress has been made over the last month (Mainly because I wanted to do something apart from exam revision) during which time some bugs were squashed, the scoring system has been added, as well as half of the passcode system. In addition, the manner in which enemies roam around rooms has been meddled with. Hopefully, they won't stand in the corner doing nothing until the random number generator says otherwise. The main priorities left include:
+Further tweaking the wandering-ness of enemies;
+Implementing resumption based on correct passcode;
+Implementing death by asphyxiation;
+Better respawing (Probably requires more sprites. Actually, it could do with being kicked up the backside.)
And, of course, the rest of the game. The next station is drawn up and ready to be converted, leaving 4 more to be designed. That's the good news. The bad news is that each station has an extra floor, within which there are 25 rooms. So that means I have 650 rooms ahead of me.

But still, progress has been made and will continue to be made! Theres over a thousand lines in the global script of this game, but that won't stop me coding another thousand. Even if I end up straitjacketed and chained to a bed...

The game has only been playtested by myself thus far, so although I'm continuing to find things here and there that need to be addressed (The game also feels a little unbalanced at the moment...) a second pair of eyes would be a great help. So, if - after having a little play - anyone has further pointers for me, (Beyond 'Don't bother') I'll certainly take them on board. Having said that, if anyone actually downloads this game it'll be a bonus.

I can't think of anything funny to finish with, but here's an accurate display of my limited photoshopping skills that illustrates what a potential downloader has in store for them:
"Make my game"

For my next trick I shall start an argument in an empty thread...Ã, 

[Chicky]

Looks cool pal. I don't time to download right now though 

[AlbinoPanther]

This is good ATARI rules.

You have our support now finish it

[Elliott Hird]

Sorry, but it doesn't look much like a remake to me... a port maybe, but nothing seems to have changed from it's Atari roots... not even shading...

[Colxfile]

You're right in that respect. But re-doing the graphics will be the last thing I do before finishing. I want to get it all working before I invest time in making it look better. That means lots of lovely, lovely coding... I like toast.

Yeah, re-doing the graphics will be mandatory.

[R4L]

I had an idea like this... except it was for Activision's Boxing on the Atari...

[Darth Mandarb]

But re-doing the graphics will be the last thing I do before finishing.
...
Yeah, re-doing the graphics will be mandatory.

If these aren't the final graphics that are going to be in the game you should have waited until you had some of the final graphics before posting.  If these are just stand-in graphics then they don't represent the game.

Having said that, I think you should keep the graphics as they are ... but that's me,  I like retro-gaming.

[Erenan]

I agree. I think it looks great the way it is. Also, what you said about the sound makes me wonder what exactly it sounds like. I would think with a game like this, cheap and electronic would be what you want. I'd think that they would fit in.

[Nikolas]

I want so much to download the demo but Yahoo tells me that it can't find the file! 

[Colxfile]

Well, I've just come back to the thread. I intended to only update it when a new demo came out or something big happened. Had I done that, I wouldn't have noticed that you couldn't actually download the demo.

Having said that, if anyone actually downloads this game it'll be a bonus.

Yeah, it would indeed be a bonus given that it was impossible to download.Ã,  :o I'd be better off with a performing seal as webmaster rather than myself. Luckily, Dante the wonder seal has it fixed. Just incase, however, you can click HERE for great justice and a swift download. ('Swift Download' is dependent on your connection speed, obviously)

Erenan - Not that I condone such a thing, but if you want to know what the original sounds sound like, you could always, ahem *cough*downloadanemulator*cough*.Ã,  I'm largely dissatisfied with the sounds I've included because they aren't electronic enough. They are the best I could do with some wave files I found on the net and my copy of Audacity.Ã,  I have no idea how I could get near to the required sounds without just ripping them from the game. For example, for collecting an item / weapon of some kind the Atari sound sounds like this:

Atari: Bloooorrooop!

My sound sounds like this:

Computer: bong.

The countdown sound, that's a different matter:

Atari: Thrrp.
Computer: Thhrrp.

Oh yes! That sound is staying in for certain.Ã, 

[Erenan]

Okay, I played it. I don't think you should change the graphics. I see what you mean about the sounds, though. Some of them don't fit in. Anyway, I was wondering about the stairs. In the original version, did the stairs place you in the center of the room? It seemed to me that it might be better to appear next to the stairs in the next room.

Overall, it's pretty solid. Nice job!

[Colxfile]

Yes, in the original you are moved into the centre of the room after using the stairs. I prefer having it that way, myself. Not just because it hapens in the original, but also because you can freely go in any direction from the room you land in without needing to extricate yourself from the corner first.

[Colxfile]

Bump. Progress report. (Not a new demo, sorry.)

Well, the eighth and final station has been added. It just needs the respawning array and the array of colours sorting out. I also need to go back to the seventh station and colour that one in. (DONE!) In addition, resumption based on passcode has been implemented and I think it works a charm. My copy of the to-do list includes the following comment on this matter:

"WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Also, you don't get quite the same 'Titty Biscuits' line you get in the demo if you don't escape the station. Instead, you get the now cliched 'Game Over' screen. And, the title screen is nicely animated.

But do not be fooled, for the finish line is still some way away - I'd say at least another 400 metres yet: I need to do lots of things. Here's the check-list so far:
To do:

ADDITIONS:
* Make the enemies appear instead of just being there when you walk in.(1)
* Respawncount for station 8.
* Pallettes for 7 and 8.
* Ending for completing the game.
FIXES:
* Make one enemy stand still and shoot fireballs. (2)
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Improve respawning.(1)
* RATIONALISE THE CODE(3)
* Ending for running out of Oxygen.
* Better Sounds
* Improve wandering.
TESTS:
* Thoroughly test resumption
* See if it can actually be completed.

1 - These two entries will probably involve much the same basis
2 - Yes, there always has to be one exception that requires it's own circumstances coding in...Ã,  :
3 - The global script clocks in at 1,935 lines of code as it stands. (And 3263 semicolons. If you include the room script, then that's an extra 226. They breed like rabbits.) Some of that is for line breaks and comments, so they can be expunged at the end, but I'm looking to trim it down as far as possible.

That's all the news for now. Except that I return to University for the second half the second year of my degree course, so after next week, progress and updates will grind to a halt. I will suggest a not-too-serious date of late May for it to be finished (That's exam revision time for me, and I don't like revising much...)

[Colxfile]

Your eyes don't deceive you. I am now ready to start play testing this game. I know I should be doing my maths degree. But frankly, my learning about difference equations, discounting cash-flows, compiling crosswords and my semi-lucrative poker career can wait.

It won't be an open play-test, however. I have already PM'd some people Offering their Services and will be doling out the play-test editions to a few people who are interested. Unless, of course, no-one responds. In which case, the situatiuon will be "For the love of God, someone play my game: I've spent a year coding it and I might be going insaaaaaaaaaaaane..."

Are you interested in play-testing this game
Please bear in mind that:
This is NOT an adventure game;
The graphics are 8-bit;
Would-be play-testers would need to be able to second-guess how the game is working, and devise new ways to break it (Short of corrupting the files and pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete.
And I may say "Thank you for the interest, but I've assembled my army of play-testers already"

Still interested? Then send me a PM.

(Demo 2 is still available... Note two new screenshots in first post)