Donkey Kong Advanced

[Ophelius]

Here's a Donkey Kong arcade game I've made. It's meant to be more difficult than the original giving players new levels and new challenges.


Video Clip:

It's programmed from scratch and is pretty close to feeling like the real game. It's not a rom hack. There's a few differences in how the game feels, but nothing a novice would notice. Even though you can play this on a pc, it's meant to play in a mame/PC-based arcade cabinet. It comes with a config tool that allows you to map keys, rotate the screen, make it free play, etc. I'm pretty satisfied with it. I'm not sure if it needs more levels or features. It's challenging enough that a regular DK expert might need a bit of time to get through the first 4 levels. After a bit of practice, you can get pretty far.

If anyone actually puts this game in their Mame cabinets, send me a screenshot or video and I'll post it on the game's homepage . Thanks for any feedback.

[Version 1.1.0]: https://ophelius.itch.io/dk-advanced

[Bug Reports] Contact me at justinbohemier@gmail.com if you find a bug. Please try to be as detailed as possible and include system specs and your configuration settings.

[Updates]
-Added an attract screen demo
-Fixed Rendering bug which made the aspect incorrect in full-screen mode when rotated on certain monitors
-Fixed key-mapping issues
-New Render options in the config app for more screen control.
-Fixed Heart bonus item bug. If you were on your last life and you got the heart and died without completing the level, it wouldn't be there in level 1 if you started a new game.
-Added 16-bit support for older video cards
-Added the option in the config tool to manually enter a specific resolution.
-I included a tool to map out keyboard keys if you're using a joystick.

[Changes from the original]
-Obviously the levels look different, some completely new, and others have the same level structure with some differences
-New switch, laser, and key system to save Pauline.
-Mario can jump off high platforms and land without killing himself(c'mon, he's mario)
-New heart bonus items are worth 2000 points but are tricky to get.
-No intro scene, I might add one though.
-Barrels rebound off the floor higher than before
-Hitting barrels with the hammer doesn't pause the game during the explosion
-Level 4 is icy, with a shoe item you can get that makes it not slipery
-and some other stuff

[Possible Future Changes]
-More levels. I'm tempted to have 1 long game that doesn't repeat. Instead of repeating every 4 levels, you might have 12 levels with an actual end to the game.
-Bonus level if you collect all the hearts.
-Intro to the game when you push start.
-Cut scenes

[wp34]

That looks really cool. I like that you Incorporated some other Mario elements in the game.

[thomas_surles]

Looks fun. When can I have it?

[Ophelius]

Looks fun. When can I have it?

As soon as I polish up a few things I'll release it. I'll post it on this thread.

[pbj]

This looks well done and way too hard.  Don't fall into the same trap that Donkey Kong II did.

[Ophelius]

This looks well done and way too hard.  Don't fall into the same trap that Donkey Kong II did.

I agree, making a game too hard will deter some people. And as a game developer it's difficult to find that balance since as you're developing it, you're also getting really good at it. For me it's a good challenge right now because of that, but someone who never played it won't last a minute at first. It is meant for expert DK players which they'll have an easier time with. I might release it as a Beta version first to get people to test it so I can fine tune the difficulty.

[jmike]

Looks like a lot fun can't wait to give it a try.
I vote for adding more levels but let us try and figure them out
You'll get more posts from members on how they got passed the next boards.

Great job so far

 

[mafiafan123]

This looks so cool! A lot more work than some of the other hacks! Keep it up!

Ill happily be waiting for the release :-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Wyo]

Holy crap dude! This is amazing!  I have a feeling this is gonna be right up there with d2k and remix! Have you posted this on KLOV yet? Nevermind, I'll do it for you!

[wp34]

-Mario can jump off high platforms and land without killing himself(c'mon, he's mario)

You have a lot of cool changes but this might be my favorite.   

[FrizzleFried]

Awesome... will be going in to my vertical MAME for sure when available...

[WunderCade]

Clearly this is an awesome creation. If you are open to recommendations though, how come Mario can walk right over the missing rivets in the Rivet stage? On the original he'd die if he didn't jump over them.

[Ophelius]

Clearly this is an awesome creation. If you are open to recommendations though, how come Mario can walk right over the missing rivets in the Rivet stage? On the original he'd die if he didn't jump over them.

Thanks for the feedback. The collision points on mario when checking for floors are a bit wider than the original so he ends up just walking over. At first I thought I should change that so he can fall through like the original, but since mario now doesn't get hurt when jumping off high ledges, it made it more fun to just walk right over it. But it's worth putting more thought, I'll modify it and test it out to see if it's better when falling through and not dying. Some people might not like the fact that this means you can now jump off the ledge at the top of the rivet stage and land at the bottom without dying, but it also adds different strategy elements because of it.

Edit: Some more thoughts on the rivets. Since you don't die from jumping from high platforms, if you could pass through the rivet holes you could simply just go to the top one, jump through, and land on the rivets below which would take away from the challenge. Also, the surface is icy so it would be a lot harder to not fall in those holes since you accelerate slowly and would need to start running further away if you want to make that jump. So I'll probably leave it as it is, it's not a big loss.

[Le Chuck]

Watched the video start to finsih.  I'm a fan.  Post that shiz up for the community have a crack at.

[vwalbridge]

Watched the video start to finsih.  I'm a fan.  Post that shiz up for the community have a crack at.

I'm with Le Chuck.

[Wyo]

Will you be building a cabinet for this project?

[Ophelius]

Will you be building a cabinet for this project?

I designed another unique arcade game a while back that I built a cabinet for, so I might just put it in that one with a menu selection. I don't feel like buying and designing a second cabinet for this. I would be more interested in seeing this game in other people's cabinets 
What I would love to see is Billy Mitchell play this game one day 

[romshark]

Looks great! I look forward to adding this to my cabinet.

Hope Nintendo doesn't shut this one down (such was the fate of things like AM2R).

[Ophelius]

Added version 1.0 to my 1st post. Check back there for updates.

[thomas_surles]

This does support full screen on a vertical monitor right?

[Ophelius]

This does support full screen on a vertical monitor right?

Yes, use the config tool for that. You can also rotate the game 90 deg or 270 deg so it fills up the entire screen.

[Le Chuck]

My 9yr old approves but got really frustrated lol

I also totally approve, although having barrels sneak under the hammer is dirty pool. Fun game, thanks for sharing. Will definitely add it to the lineup.

No weirdness or bugs found yet. Plays clean. Nice job!

[pbj]

Fun game, a few suggestions.

Needs joystick support.  I think a lot of us have moved away from keyboard encoders.  I think default mapping should have credit as 5, start as 1.

Get rid of the space on dk config.exe.  Typing that in a command line environment fires up the game unless you put it in quotes.

Cannot get it to go full screen on my Konkey Dong cabinet.  Gives some graphics mode error.  Granted, the computer inside is a piece of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- and I think it might be running Windows 98.



Would love to get this game added to my Konkey Dong....

[Ophelius]

Fun game, a few suggestions.

Needs joystick support.  I think a lot of us have moved away from keyboard encoders.  I think default mapping should have credit as 5, start as 1.

Get rid of the space on dk config.exe.  Typing that in a command line environment fires up the game unless you put it in quotes.

Cannot get it to go full screen on my Konkey Dong cabinet.  Gives some graphics mode error.  Granted, the computer inside is a piece of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- and I think it might be running Windows 98.



Would love to get this game added to my Konkey Dong....

Sorry you can't get it to work.
-I haven't tested it on Win 98, but that's as outdated OS known for problems. Try installing DirectX 9, it might work then. I suspect the game library I use needs DX9, but I could be wrong.
-For now just rename dk config.exe to dkconfig.exe to save you the hassle. It's a good idea, I will remove the space in the next update.
-I will look into adding joystick support, although there are lots of utilities out there that can map your joystick buttons to keyboard presses.

Edit: I uploaded a new config version which might help you. See the update on my first post.

I would also love to see this work on your cabinet

[Rattus]

Looks awesome, thanks ☺ I can't wait to get home and try it out on my mame cab - Astro City. I will let you know how I go with it.

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[Ophelius]

My 9yr old approves but got really frustrated lol

I also totally approve, although having barrels sneak under the hammer is dirty pool. Fun game, thanks for sharing. Will definitely add it to the lineup.

No weirdness or bugs found yet. Plays clean. Nice job!

I'm glad it works well and you're both enjoying it. Tell your son not to feel bad since this game is made for DK pros. It takes practice 

[8BitMonk]

Just gave it a try, very fun, nice work! I ran it on my desktop PC at 2560x1440 with Xpadder/Xbox 360 controller and no problems. Thanks for sharing.

[romshark]

I hooked up a PC with Arcade VGA and ran this, so here it is on an arcade CRT.

Note that I don't have a permanent setup for using a PC with an arcade monitor, so that's why it's not a perfect fit on the screen, and there's some distortion near the top (I'm running the Arcade VGA through my Naomi Jamma adapter.)



Also ran the program in vertical mode, to see how it looks.



I haven't actually played much, but looks great so far!

[Ophelius]

I hooked up a PC with Arcade VGA and ran this, so here it is on an arcade CRT.

Note that I don't have a permanent setup for using a PC with an arcade monitor, so that's why it's not a perfect fit on the screen, and there's some distortion near the top (I'm running the Arcade VGA through my Naomi Jamma adapter.)

Also ran the program in vertical mode, to see how it looks.

I haven't actually played much, but looks great so far!

Haha, looks great on a crt monitor  I'm glad that people like yourself are enjoying this game and are taking the time to place it in their cabinets. That's what I designed it for. I am curently living my childhood dream seeing this. Thanks a lot

[pbj]

After spending over an hour yesterday trying to find a mouse, and constant headaches with the USB ports, this game prompted me to run to Microcenter and grab a powered hub and a couple mice.  Should have done that like two years ago.

Anyway, the PC is running a stripped down installation of XP service pack 3.  I installed DirectX 9c.  Tried various resolutions.  Cannot get this thing full screen.  Graphics are some onboard Intel thing, I'll try updating those drivers next.

[Ophelius]

After spending over an hour yesterday trying to find a mouse, and constant headaches with the USB ports, this game prompted me to run to Microcenter and grab a powered hub and a couple mice.  Should have done that like two years ago.

Anyway, the PC is running a stripped down installation of XP service pack 3.  I installed DirectX 9c.  Tried various resolutions.  Cannot get this thing full screen.  Graphics are some onboard Intel thing, I'll try updating those drivers next.

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble. Did you try manually setting the resolution from the config tool? I uploaded a new version which allows you to do that. Make sure you use the same resolution your desktop is set to and you don't have the Auto-Detect Res option selected. If that's not the problem I would make sure you have the correct video drivers installed. The graphics engine had been tested on Windows XP without any problems. If you do find a solution, let me know. Thanks

Edit: If you continue to have trouble, I can send you a very bare-bone graphics test. It would be the most-minimal code possible to get a full screen going. If you can get it to work full screen with minimal code, the we know there's problems in my graphics engine. If we can't even get the bare-bone version working, then it's your computer. Send me a private message if that interests you. Thanks

[cj138]

This awesome! Thanks for making this game!

[DarakuTenshi]

Do you have any footage of the game running? Looks interesting.

[Ophelius]

Do you have any footage of the game running? Looks interesting.

There's a youtube link on the first post

[Le Chuck]

Do you have any footage of the game running? Looks interesting.

! No longer available

There's a youtube link on the first post

Which if you take the "s" off the http peeps won't have to jump off the site to watch FYI. 

[pbj]

Been browbeating the poor author of this game, and now it's running great on my 15 year old PC!



Right now I've got this set so it fires up Joy2Key and then this game, so it's basically a dedicated cabinet.

 

[Ophelius]

Been browbeating the poor author of this game, and now it's running great on my 15 year old PC!



Right now I've got this set so it fires up Joy2Key and then this game, so it's basically a dedicated cabinet.

 

Awesome man, I'm glad we got it working. It looks awesome in there! 
You should stretch out the screen in the config so it fills it up. The original donkey kong resolution wasn't a 4:3 aspect, it was 8:7, so on a 4:3 monitor you'll have little black bars at the top and bottom. If you use the Stretch feature in the config, it'll fill up the screen nicely. The distortion is very minor on a 4:3 monitor after stretching.

[pbj]

I've spent the last four hours barefoot on a concrete floor... And those black bars didn't bother me until now.

 

Had some fun in Level 1.  You can leap of faith off the second floor onto the single block by the turtle.  Getting that heart is brutal but turns out it's not mandatory.  And thank god you keep the key even if you lose a life in Level 2.  (This may all be in your video, I watched just enough to determine I wanted to play this game and quit watching).  Didn't survive the first jump on Level 3.

[Le Chuck]

Gotta say, this is one of the best homebrews I've seen. What's next? (Do Popeye!)

That game desperately needs a fight Bluto level like on the Nintendo Tabletop version.

[Ophelius]

Gotta say, this is one of the best homebrews I've seen. What's next? (Do Popeye!)

That game desperately needs a fight Bluto level like on the Nintendo Tabletop version.

Popeye would be cool to remake, especially with the Bluto fight. I checked out the table top version you mentioned and I would for sure add something like that. We'll see. DK was more sentimental to me which is why I made this.