Astrosmash Arcade

[Ophelius]

Hey fellows,
My name is Justin. I'd like to showcase my newest creation. It's a remake of the classic intellivision game astrosmash. I kept the same feel, but added some new elements and made it more arcade-like. I'll be building an arcade to house this game soon.

If you want to play on your PC on a regular basis, select the PC version. It has options like joystick support, sound options etc. The Arcade version is the one ready to place in an arcade cabinet. Just re-route the keyboard keys to the joystick, pushbuttons, coin slot etc using a JAMMA board or similar. If you already have a MAME arcade cabinet, let me know so I can send you a custom game with the Keys you specify(because your 'Fire' pushbutton might not be linked to the game's 'Z' button, etc). I guess I'll come out with a config tool to map out the keys how you want.

Let me know if you actually use this game in your arcades.

www.astrosmashproject.com

[IG-88]

Well, I don't know about anybody esle but I think this is pretty cool!     I'm going to download it and try it out!

OK, just played it and I love it    I will definately be putiing this in my cab. And I agree you need a keybaord config tool. Be alot easier than refigurin it for everyone else.

[Epyx]

I will definitely include this!  One of my fav Intelivision games!
 

[Ophelius]

Alright, the current version now has the ability to map any keys to any action. Just follow the instructions in the 'Key Map.txt' file. Remember to send me pictures if you give my game a home 

[Silas (son of Silas)]

I am VERY happy to report that this works perfectly under Ubuntu Linux with the WINE Emulator

Kind of cool.... a game simulator running on an emulator

OK... Edited to add: I have just been playing this. It is definitely going in the cab.

[Ophelius]

To those interested in using my game in their cabinets, please don't use it right now. I'm re-working some important updates and want the current/older version discontinued. The new version should be available within the next day or two. Thanks

[wp34]

I'm real anxious to try this once you have it posted again.  Astrosmash was one of my favorite Intellivision games.  I'd like to try playing it with a spinner.  Will you have mouse support?

Thanks for doing this.   

[Ophelius]

Major Update!

Version 1.0 (Current)

-Released March 24, 2010

This version has been transformed from the ground up. It includes major bug fixes, improvements, face lifts, and changes.

[New] - The game is arcade ready, which means it can easily be ported into an existing PC-based arcade, or put into a dedicated one.

[Changed] - Before there was the PC version and the Arcade version of this game. There's only one version now which can be suited for both worlds.

[Fixed] - Major syncing issues. Before I was relying on the system clock to control timing such as item spawn delays, monitoring events for recoding/playback, etc. This means that if the game ran on machines incapable of achieving 60 FPS, then you would start noticing unwanted timing behavior(too many items would spawn at a time, bad recording playback, etc). To use the system timer to control the game's timing was simply not the right approach to use. The game now uses a Frame-based counter to regulate everything. A game played on a slower machine will now only have the disadvantage of a lower frame rate. Because of this, the game, including demos and recordings, can be played perfectly on any machine.

[Added] - Mouse support!

[Added] - Replay Mode, which can playback a game you've played as if it were a video. Look at the Readme file or the About page to read more about it.

[Added] - A lot more options in the config tool.

[Changed] - The game overall is a bit more challenging.

[Fixed] - a lot of minor bugs, too many to count

www.astrosmashproject.com

[TOK]

Definitely going to check out... I was a 2600 kid, but my buddy had Intellivision.
We took half hour or so turns playing a single game of Astrosmash for probably 5 hours. Really cool game.

My favorite was still Advanced Dungeons and Dragons though. 

[Encryptor]

Any plans for doing any other games? Any other platforms? I'd love to see Sub Battle for Intellivision and Tunnel Of Doom for the TI-99.

Encryptor

[Ophelius]

Someone found a strange bug where if played in Hardware mode the game doesn't cap at 60, but goes as fast as possible(he was getting 140 FPS). He said it capped at 60 FPS if he ran it in Software mode.

If the game seems too fast for you, you might have this problem too. In the Config tool, check 'Show FPS' too see how fast the game is being ran at. If it's higher than 60, try changing the Rendering option to see if that fixes it. I'll see what I can do to solve it. Let me know if you experience this as well. Thanks

Encryptor: I might remake Lock 'N' Chase. I'll look into those you mentioned because I never played them before.

Edit: I added a 'Force 60 FPS' option in the Config tool. This allows you to force the game in 60 frames per seconds if it isn't doing so automatically. The only reason the game wouldn't cap at 60 I found out is if you have your vsync settings turned off in your video card settings. For optimal game play turn on your vsync instead of using this option.

[wp34]

I played your game a little tonight using the spinner.  That is a lot of fun.  Thanks for adding mouse support.   

[Ophelius]

I played your game a little tonight using the spinner.  That is a lot of fun.  Thanks for adding mouse support.   

No problem. I never thought about Mouse/Spinner support, but it's a good idea to support it. I thought about a problem if someone needs to enter a highscore. Right now with the mouse on, you would use either the keyboard arrows(or joystick) or the Mouse scroll wheel to change letters. I guess there's no way of changing letters if you only have a spinner, buttons and nothing else(maybe some simple cocktail design). In my next update I'll make it possible to change letters by moving the mouse left and right(The same as rotating the spinner? Is how how they work? Rotating is the same as moving the mouse left/right?).

[Encryptor]

Encryptor: I might remake Lock 'N' Chase. I'll look into those you mentioned because I never played them before.

Thanks. It would be cool to be able to play them again without having to set up an emulator for one or two games.

Encryptor

[wp34]

Right now with the mouse on, you would use either the keyboard arrows(or joystick) or the Mouse scroll wheel to change letters. I guess there's no way of changing letters if you only have a spinner, buttons and nothing else(maybe some simple cocktail design). In my next update I'll make it possible to change letters by moving the mouse left and right(The same as rotating the spinner? Is how how they work? Rotating is the same as moving the mouse left/right?).

That's how mine is set up but I believe you can configure the spinner for the X or Y mouse axis.

[Ophelius]

Minor Update

Version 1.0.2 (Current)

-Released March 26, 2010

[Fixed] - The game now forces 60 FPS no matter what. If your monitor is not refreshing at 60Hz and/or you have your vsync turned off in your video card settings, it will still refresh at 60 FPS, but the game won't run as smooth as possible and you might experience some unwanted graphical side-effects like jerkiness. This is because instead of allowing vsync to sync to a 60Hz refresh rate perfectly, the engine would have to time and adjust a delay to force it to 60FPS which isn't perfect. Most people have it set the right way, but some people don't.

***So for optimal gaming experience, turn on your vsync and run your monitor at 60Hz.

[Added] - the ability to change the letters at the highscore entry by moving the mouse left or right if you're using the mouse.