Chip's Challenge

[ducttape_87]

Are you suggesting I make my own level? uh... I leave that to you. But I was thinking of having a level making contest for Lode Runner. Maybe you should do that for Chip's Challenge.

Hey Jedd, I got aim name: ducttapeprograms

[iMatt]

hahaha....using the ti-83plus se flash debugger the screen loads real fast!

but trying to move chip? around is kinda difficult on the debugger!...

neways, nice game, and i hope u can put together some really challenging levels!

[Jedd]

Hey I found this kinda interesting. Looks like someone started to make a TI-BASIC version of this game back in 1999. Some people responded 4 years later which is kinda funny. Check it:

http://www.ticalc.org/programming/upcoming...es/83p.html?p=2

[Duck Man]

Hey I found this place. Muahaha. Im an idiot! Ohh well.

[shadowing]

Are you going to add the password program? I hope that the levels will be more challenging. Will there be some special weapons?

[Jedd]

I'm not sure about passwords yet, but I can tell you that the first version of CC will not have a password program. It will either allow you to play any level you want, or work your way up level by level (and have the ability to save, of course). I'll use a list to store the level number, making it very easy to hack and thus you can play all levels if you really want to.

Don't worry, the levels will be much more challenging. The demo is not supposed to be for playing, just to show people my game and meet a large number of requests. I'm going to take a lot of ideas for levels from the Microsoft version, since those levels are pretty awesome in my opinion.

There aren't any weapons in Chip's Challenge.

[shadowing]

How about a time freeze chip? No, a nuclear bomb chip. No, no, how about a nuclear giga bomb chip?

[DigiTan]

Have you decided on how the lock and key system will work? Since they won't be in color?

[shadowing]

I think he has. I think he's using the direction of which key faces.

[Jedd]

[shadowing]

Ahh!! oh well, maybe I could alter your source code. Just kidding! I'm only intermediate in programming in basic. Anyways, how many levels?

[Jedd]

That is the question I am wondering myself. I would assume less than 16 screens per level, so maybe 20 levels max? It all comes down to memory. I could make endless levels with enough memory.

[iMatt]

16 screens per level!...

wow that seems like a lot of memory!

just make a few really challenging levels and maybe one or two introductory levels?

will there be a timer?

neways nice demo...i ended up just ungrouping it and loading them seperately into the flash debugger

[Jedd]

16 is the max. I'll just make levels until I run out of memory.

Yeah, the first release will have probly 5 levels or so, then I'll make some more and even accept some for the next release.

No, sorry, there will be no timer. That's just another thing that would slow the game down, and I don't think it's worth it.

[sgm]

About all this talk about how to make decent monochrome versions of the color tiles:

1. Start Chip's Challenge.
2. Click Options.
3. Click Color.
4. Problem solved.

[X1011]

I noticed that too.

For the key thing, B&W chips uses dots to show what type of key it is:


Also, you should consider using strings for your levels, it could reduce the size by 75%

[Jedd]

I'm using matrices right now since they are easy to edit and use. But you are right, strings are the best form of memory for games like this.

[Adm.Wiggin]

Duck Man's Readme is very very rude :lol:


i thought i had Chips Challenge on this computer (me and my sis used to play it 24/7), but it turns out, its gone off this one!

oh well, i guess i will have to play it on the XP one

[Jedd]

Update time! I've been working on CC quite a bit for the past week (ish). Here's some stuff I've done:

-More optomized code, especially in the screen loader. On an empty calc (no big games that take up tons of RAM) the screen loader takes under 10 seconds. Not great, I know, but it's just about as fast as it can be with Codex.
-Directional (arrow) tiles work. They will force you in a certain direction, and you can fight against it to a certain extent (just like the computer version).
-"Dirt Blocks" can be pushed around. Hit detection is pretty good, but they can't yet move on the directional tiles. Water doesn't work yet (it shouldn't be too hard) but placing a dirt block on water will create an empty tile.

Even with all that, the game runs just as fast (partly due to some optomizing).

Still to do:
-Fire, ice, and water tiles.
-Boots, skates, flippers, and suction shoes
-Table on the right side that shows your keys and shoes
-Multi-screen levels
-Levels for the actual game
-Convert levels from matrices to strings
-Pop-up messages, menu, etc
-Some little stuff, more stuff im probly forgetting, and of course, lots of optomizing

Ice tiles are proving extremely difficult. Seems like a simple thing, but it's hard to get them to work right let alone work with speed.

The level I'm using to test all these tiles is pretty boring, but I can throw something together if you guys would like a screenshot. I don't want to give a release date, since I know I'll probably be way off. I can assure you there will be another release or an animated screenshot within the next two months, probably sooner, but I really don't want to say any sooner just to be safe. School is winding down as my senior year comes to a close, and I have more time than before to work on calc programming.

[sgm]

Looks like you caught a piece of CalcCapture.