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Development => Calculators => Calc Projects, Programming & Tutorials => Topic started by: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 10:26:33 PM

Poll
Question: Would you rather play Fallout on the TI-84+, or the TI-84+ CSE/CE?
Option 1: TI-84+ votes: 11
Option 2: TI-84+ CSE/CE votes: 3
Title: Fallout 84+
Post by: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 10:26:33 PM
Some of you may have caught me yesterday mentioning that I once was working on a semi-text based Fallout for the TI-84+, however it was lost in a ram clear. As JWinslow23 suggested, I have decided to revive the project, and I will document its progress here; however do not expect that this project will move forward quickly (I'm a slow programmer  :-[ ).

But first I have a question, should I make this for the TI-84+ or the TI-84+ CSE/CE? (I don't know whether or not you can do polls here or not. If you can do polls, I'd be happy to know how.) (Nevremind, thanks to Araidia fo telling me how) Doing it for the 84+ would be simpler, but the CSE would allow a more Pipboy-like interface (with the black and green colors). But in order to create a game for the CSE that is similar to other CSE games I will have to learn xLIBC, so if I do decide to do that I will need to learn how to use libraries.

As mentioned before, this is going to be semi-text based. Some elements like V.A.T.S. will be graphical, but other elements like traveling will be text based. Although I'd like this to be mostly graphical, I'm afraid that that's not going to be easy on the TI-84+/CSE.

So before I start, should I make it on my 84+ or my 84+ CSE?
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: Araidia on December 14, 2015, 10:36:57 PM
Right next to the "New Topic" box there is a "New Poll" box. It is exactly the same as the previous method but there's a poll too. Since I have a TI84+ CE, I would prefer it to be on there(but it's your choice). I like the Pip boy interface idea too. Good luck on making it! :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 11:16:47 PM
I think I will program it for the CSE/CE, I think a lot of people would choose that over the 84+. I'll start by making a demo version on the homescreen, later I'll learn to use libraries and use those. While I'm here, can I change the color of text on the homescreen, or only on the graphscreen? I've tried but I don't think I can. Wish me luck on the project.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on December 14, 2015, 11:22:23 PM
If you make it for the 84+CSE, speed might eventually become a problem and if you decide to stick with menu-based gameplay, then the text will fill up the lower RAM very fast. However, on other models it shouldn't be as bad, especially the 84+CE which has 150 KB of RAM.

Something you can do to add graphics that are somewhat fast is to learn xLIBC, while on the CE you can use colored ASCII and text with CE Textlib library. DCSE8 can also let you use ASCII/text in color.

That said, I am not too sure if making movement menu-based is a good idea, since those games tend to be hard to navigate through by people used to using the d-pad to move around. That's unless you actually use the arrows for commands (eg "GO LEFT" requires pressing Left like in a map-based game, rather than typing out the command or pressing [1] or [F1]). However, it might be better to start text-based at first then eventually move to graphical or ASCII/text sprites as you get closer to completion, so the game look more attractive (and less misleading to people expecting something closer to the real game)  in later versions.


Also @Araidia the New Poll option will create a new topic. What he needs to use is Add Poll instead.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: Araidia on December 14, 2015, 11:24:45 PM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on December 14, 2015, 11:22:23 PM
If you make it for the 84+CSE, speed might eventually become a problem and if you decide to stick with menu-based gameplay, then the text will fill up the lower RAM very fast. However, on other models it shouldn't be as bad, especially the 84+CE which has 150 KB of RAM.

Something you can do to add graphics that are somewhat fast is to learn xLIBC, while on the CE you can use colored ASCII and text with CE Textlib library. DCSE8 can also let you use ASCII/text in color.

That said, I am not too sure if making movement menu-based is a good idea, since those games tend to be hard to navigate through by people used to using the d-pad to move around. That's unless you actually use the arrows for commands (eg "GO LEFT" requires pressing Left like in a map-based game, rather than typing out the command or pressing [1] or [F1]). However, it might be better to start text-based at first then eventually move to graphical or ASCII/text sprites as you get closer to completion, so the game look more attractive (and less misleading to people expecting something closer to the real game)  in later versions.


Also @Araidia the New Poll option will create a new topic. What he needs to use is Add Poll instead.
My bad, I thought that there was no other way of getting the poll except for making a new topic. ;D
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 11:42:50 PM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on December 14, 2015, 11:22:23 PM
If you make it for the 84+CSE, speed might eventually become a problem and if you decide to stick with menu-based gameplay, then the text will fill up the lower RAM very fast. However, on other models it shouldn't be as bad, especially the 84+CE which has 150 KB of RAM.

Something you can do to add graphics that are somewhat fast is to learn xLIBC, while on the CE you can use colored ASCII and text with CE Textlib library. DCSE8 can also let you use ASCII/text in color.

That said, I am not too sure if making movement menu-based is a good idea, since those games tend to be hard to navigate through by people used to using the d-pad to move around. That's unless you actually use the arrows for commands (eg "GO LEFT" requires pressing Left like in a map-based game, rather than typing out the command or pressing [1] or [F1]). However, it might be better to start text-based at first then eventually move to graphical or ASCII/text sprites as you get closer to completion, so the game look more attractive (and less misleading to people expecting something closer to the real game)  in later versions.


Also @Araidia the New Poll option will create a new topic. What he needs to use is Add Poll instead.
What I had in mind for text based movement was using Y= through GRAPH to change your location, and in each location there were things to do, such as look for ammo, etc. But I thought about it, and I might make it so that you have regular, graphical movement, from a top-down perspective.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: DarkestEx on December 14, 2015, 11:50:54 PM
Nice game idea :)
Do it for the 84+ please as you will reach a way higher audience as not many people have a color calc (I don't own one nor will I ever get one). Also speed is better on the 84+.

Quote from: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 11:16:47 PM
I think a lot of people would choose that over the 84+.
I'd also recommend doing a long term poll. Or let it run for atleast a week. The 84+ has already more votes.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 11:58:41 PM
Quote from: DarkestEx on December 14, 2015, 11:50:54 PM
Nice game idea :)
Do it for the 84+ please as you will reach a way higher audience as not many people have a color calc (I don't own one nor will I ever get one). Also speed is better on the 84+.
I will probably make the program cross compatible, don't worry. I think that the newer CE will have pretty good speed, but I don't own one and I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: DarkestEx on December 15, 2015, 12:03:10 AM
Quote from: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 11:58:41 PM
Quote from: DarkestEx on December 14, 2015, 11:50:54 PM
Nice game idea :)
Do it for the 84+ please as you will reach a way higher audience as not many people have a color calc (I don't own one nor will I ever get one). Also speed is better on the 84+.
I will probably make the program cross compatible, don't worry. I think that the newer CE will have pretty good speed, but I don't own one and I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon.
I wish you good luck then. Writing it cross compatible basically means programming it twice. They are not that compatible. Also what language are you doing it in?
I'd recommended Axe over Assembly or BASIC if you have enough Axe knowledge when it comes to he 84+ as you will have way more speed.

Note to me, finish TwoStep finally.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: 123outerme on December 15, 2015, 12:04:26 AM
You can make it cross compatible, but it requires a lot of features and advantages of newer models to be ignored. Meaning you only have a 16x8 homescreen character screen.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on December 15, 2015, 12:42:40 AM
Quote from: DarkestEx on December 15, 2015, 12:03:10 AM
Quote from: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 11:58:41 PM
Quote from: DarkestEx on December 14, 2015, 11:50:54 PM
Nice game idea :)
Do it for the 84+ please as you will reach a way higher audience as not many people have a color calc (I don't own one nor will I ever get one). Also speed is better on the 84+.
I will probably make the program cross compatible, don't worry. I think that the newer CE will have pretty good speed, but I don't own one and I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon.
I wish you good luck then. Writing it cross compatible basically means programming it twice. They are not that compatible. Also what language are you doing it in?
I'd recommended Axe over Assembly or BASIC if you have enough Axe knowledge when it comes to he 84+ as you will have way more speed.

Note to me, finish TwoStep finally.
It depends. @123outerme once made a BASIC game that adapts to the screen size (Source Seekers). I don't know how he did the automatic detection, though, and it lacked colors.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: JWinslow23 on December 15, 2015, 12:49:54 AM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on December 15, 2015, 12:42:40 AM
Quote from: DarkestEx on December 15, 2015, 12:03:10 AM
Quote from: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 11:58:41 PM
Quote from: DarkestEx on December 14, 2015, 11:50:54 PM
Nice game idea :)
Do it for the 84+ please as you will reach a way higher audience as not many people have a color calc (I don't own one nor will I ever get one). Also speed is better on the 84+.
I will probably make the program cross compatible, don't worry. I think that the newer CE will have pretty good speed, but I don't own one and I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon.
I wish you good luck then. Writing it cross compatible basically means programming it twice. They are not that compatible. Also what language are you doing it in?
I'd recommended Axe over Assembly or BASIC if you have enough Axe knowledge when it comes to he 84+ as you will have way more speed.

Note to me, finish TwoStep finally.
It depends. @123outerme once made a BASIC game that adapts to the screen size (Source Seekers). I don't know how he did the automatic detection, though, and it lacked colors.
I believe I had discussed a method with him using DeltaX. If you set Xmin to 0 and DeltaX to 1, then Xmax would be 94 iirc for monochrome, else it's color.

Also, a bit unrelated, if you do that on the CSE, it sets the screen dimensions incorrectly. I noticed that back when I make Cookie Clicker +C. That's why I never knew the real size of the CSE screen :P
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: 123outerme on December 15, 2015, 01:05:59 AM
Quote from: JWinslow23 on December 15, 2015, 12:49:54 AM
I believe I had discussed a method with him using DeltaX. If you set Xmin to 0 and DeltaX to 1, then Xmax would be 94 iirc for monochrome, else it's color.

Also, a bit unrelated, if you do that on the CSE, it sets the screen dimensions incorrectly. I noticed that back when I make Cookie Clicker +C. That's why I never knew the real size of the CSE screen :P
Yeah, I used this. Although the product wasn't that good, the wide range of devices it could run on helped boost downloads. If at all possible (and works well), making it compatible with other devices when you make a graphically simple game is usually the best.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: alexgt on December 15, 2015, 03:55:26 AM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on December 15, 2015, 12:42:40 AM
Quote from: DarkestEx on December 15, 2015, 12:03:10 AM
Quote from: kegwaan on December 14, 2015, 11:58:41 PM
Quote from: DarkestEx on December 14, 2015, 11:50:54 PM
Nice game idea :)
Do it for the 84+ please as you will reach a way higher audience as not many people have a color calc (I don't own one nor will I ever get one). Also speed is better on the 84+.
I will probably make the program cross compatible, don't worry. I think that the newer CE will have pretty good speed, but I don't own one and I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon.
I wish you good luck then. Writing it cross compatible basically means programming it twice. They are not that compatible. Also what language are you doing it in?
I'd recommended Axe over Assembly or BASIC if you have enough Axe knowledge when it comes to he 84+ as you will have way more speed.

Note to me, finish TwoStep finally.
It depends. @123outerme once made a BASIC game that adapts to the screen size (Source Seekers). I don't know how he did the automatic detection, though, and it lacked colors.
In BASIC there is a trick that you set the graph size to fit the screen (so every time you moved the cursor in the graph screen it would increment the position by one) then you would use a command to get the current graph size (I think) then you would have the screen size. You could run a BASIC program within Axe with an Axiom @Cumred_Snektron made and then with some Axe magic that I forgot to do you could store that home variable into a pointer in Axe. (I probably got half those things wrong tho :P)
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on December 15, 2015, 07:48:17 PM
Quote from: 123outerme on December 15, 2015, 01:05:59 AM
Quote from: JWinslow23 on December 15, 2015, 12:49:54 AM
I believe I had discussed a method with him using DeltaX. If you set Xmin to 0 and DeltaX to 1, then Xmax would be 94 iirc for monochrome, else it's color.

Also, a bit unrelated, if you do that on the CSE, it sets the screen dimensions incorrectly. I noticed that back when I make Cookie Clicker +C. That's why I never knew the real size of the CSE screen :P
Yeah, I used this. Although the product wasn't that good, the wide range of devices it could run on helped boost downloads. If at all possible (and works well), making it compatible with other devices when you make a graphically simple game is usually the best.
Thanks for the trick. I think it should be shared in the calculator tutorials section. :)
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: kegwaan on December 17, 2015, 01:21:01 AM
So I took some advice and I am starting to learn Axe. I've gotten simple grayscale sprites and the ability to move them around the screen:
(http://i.imgur.com/zbymwlG.gif)
(It looks better on calc, jsTIfied behaves a little weird. I also didn't know how fast I was moving the sprite because recording a GIF slows the emulator down)
I might stick with that sprite, based on this image:
(http://i.imgur.com/xdhnJ5B.png)
however I might change my mind.

I also discovered that Fallout 1 had a demo (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_Demo (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_Demo)), that took place in only one town and had a shorter story line. I'm going to first recreate the demo, and maybe after that I will add to it. I've also seen that making a checklist helps a lot of people, so here we go:

       
  • Add map and tiles
  • Collision detection
  • Add other characters (with movement)
  • Dialogue
  • Combat system
  • S.P.E.C.I.A.L., traits, and skills
  • Title screen
That's kind of a long list, but I tried to organize it by importance.
If you see anything missing from that list, let me know. See you soon, hopefully with number 1 on the list close to finished. ;)
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: alexgt on December 17, 2015, 02:55:32 AM
That seems like a great idea, glad you are learning Axe. Asm programs are much more enjoyable than BASIC since they are almost always faster ;).
And good luck as always.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on December 17, 2015, 08:28:15 AM
Recreating the demo within the calculator limits would probably be a good idea. Also glad to see you are learning more :)
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: alexgt on December 17, 2015, 02:05:12 PM
And once you have the engine down you can just add more to the game ;)
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: kegwaan on December 17, 2015, 02:13:55 PM
Quote from: alexgt on December 17, 2015, 02:05:12 PM
And once you have the engine down you can just add more to the game ;)
Maybe I could include a program to make your own maps for the game  ;)
But before I get into the complicated stuff, I need to get the basics down first. So does anyone have some good tips and resources on how to tilemap in Axe? I haven't found any good resources on the tilemapping techniques.
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: alexgt on December 17, 2015, 02:36:02 PM
Go here if you want to find out more of ask a question https://codewalr.us/index.php?topic=165.msg2970#msg2970
Title: Re: Fallout 84+
Post by: DarkestEx on December 17, 2015, 03:27:52 PM
First, making your game for the 84+ in Axe using grayscale deserves a big thumbs up  :thumbsup:

Second, I used time maps in two step. It supports compression to save RAM, allows changing the current level in RAM and has some other important features such as portals. I am more than willing to give you my code.
Note that you can only use 16 different tiles when using compression. I also made a scriptable level editor for it (in axe too and right on calc). It uses a very fast way to translate tiles into sprites by using a lookup table to work with the tiles. Gray scale support can be added relatively easy.