Author Topic: Commodore 128 4k Game Coding Competition 2011 (Read 3258 times)

Blacklord · « **on:** July 14, 2011, 07:22 AM »

We are pleased to announce the Commodore 128 4k Game Coding Competition 2011!

RULES

- Entries must be original programs
- Entries must NOT be larger than 4096 bytes (4kb)
- The result must be playable on a real 128 and VICE
- The competition starts Saturday October 29th 2011 at 5pm EST (Australian, not US)
- Entries must be submitted on or before April 1st, 2012
- Entries must only be for the 128's 40 or 80 colum modes - CP/M & 64 modes will be ineligible
- There will be a competion page at www.commodore128.org with the submissions & you'll
have the opportunity to vote for your favourite game (which will determine the winners).
- All entries must be released under GPL & with the source included

SUBMISSIONS

- Submissions must be made by email to landover (at) tpg.com.au
- Format of submissions to be in either D81, D64 or PRG format & then zipped

PRIZES

- 1st prize of $AU100
- 2nd prize of $AU50
- 3rd prize of $AU25

Prizes will be paid via PayPal to the winners after voting has been completed & in the currency of the winner.
The amount paid will be determined by the exchange rate on the day the winners are announced.

Hydrophilic · « **Reply #1 on:** July 17, 2011, 10:40 PM »

Can we assume rule #5 listed above is a typo? I don't have a time machine, so I can't submit anything new before April 1, 2007.

Now if I had a time machine, and I did submit a new entry by the 2007 deadline, wouldn't it be old definition

... now my head hurts.

Blacklord · « **Reply #2 on:** July 18, 2011, 05:31 AM »

Quote from: Hydrophilic on July 17, 2011, 10:40 PM

Can we assume rule #5 listed above is a typo? I don't have a time machine, so I can't submit anything new before April 1, 2007.

Now if I had a time machine, and I did submit a new entry by the 2007 deadline, wouldn't it be old definition ... now my head hurts.

Oops - fixed the post

moiree · « **Reply #3 on:** November 09, 2011, 02:07 AM »

Quote from: Blacklord on July 14, 2011, 07:22 AM

- The competition starts Saturday October 29th 2011 at 5pm EST (Australian, not US)
- Entries must be submitted on or before April 1st, 2012

Anybody programming already?

wte · « **Reply #4 on:** November 10, 2011, 08:25 AM »

Yes, always, but unfortunately not for this compo.

But I hope I can start next year with a 4k game.
I need inspiration - transpiration will follow automatically.

Hydrophilic · « **Reply #5 on:** December 08, 2011, 05:59 AM »

Anybody else have some ideas?

I played around with some code back in October (or was it September?) that looks promising. The whole concept may be too big for a 4k game... I guess I need to play around with it some more and see what is possible...

Hydrophilic · « **Reply #6 on:** January 19, 2012, 09:35 PM »

*bump*

Just curious if anybody has something planned? I imagine tokra could port his Tron game to 128 mode; a single-player option would be nice (hint, hint, nudge, nudge)

I have an idea that I haven't started coding yet. I've done a few graphic tests and sketched a few ideas for level design, but still not sure if it could fit in 4K. I'll give you a hint: moob. OK, I'll give you another hint, it is not totally unrelated to the Tron concept.

Well if Lance's generous offer of money isn't enough to motivate everyone, I've attached a game I'm donating in the hopes to inspire some entries into the competition. The game is 3D Tic Tac Toe.

Note this is not an official entry, as it is a bit more than 4K (it is about 6K or exactly 26 blocks), but the code is pure BASIC. If someone were to re-write it in ML and compress it, it might fit in 4K... Also there is a tiny 0.5K (1 block) data file that contains two sprites.

Anyway, the game runs only in 40 columns, but it can be played by 1 or 2 players using a joystick or the keyboard. The program will auto-boot in drive 8, otherwise just enter

Code: [Select]

RUN"3DTTT",Un

where 'n' is another drive number.

The first screen shot is the title screen. 1991, ha ha! I know that seems a bit old for a C128 title, but this program is a 3D version of an older program written around 1987.

What was I saying... oh yeah, after the title screen, select 1 or 2 players (using keyboard or joystick). If you select 1 player then you also get to choose the skill level. Enter a value from 1 to 4. 1 is easy and 4 is hard. I recommend level 2 for beginners.

Then you and your rival (human or computer) take turns placing marks on the grid. Player 1 (joystick port 2) makes X marks on the grid and player 2 (joystick port 1) makes O marks on the grid. If using the keyboard, the numeric keypad is for player 1 and the cursor keys are for player 2. Anyway the object of the game is simply to get 4 marks in row: horizontally, diagonally, or vertically.

The second screen shot shows a diagonal win by the computer. That was on level 4 and I lost even though I wrote the program!

The third screen shot shows a horizontal/vertical win by the human (me). That was on level 3 because I've got a bit rusty over the years!

Well enjoy, and be sure to submit an entry to the competition!

Edit
I just noticed the uploaded D64 was corrupt. I removed and re-attached it, and downloaded it to make sure it works. Sorry for any trouble.

wte · « **Reply #7 on:** March 11, 2012, 08:26 AM »

I hope this competition is still alive?

I've tried to make a hires game - much to slow. Then I've tried to code a VDC game (an old project that I'd like to finalize anyway) but it won't work on crapy VICE. Other possible projects are too big (needing charsets or a lot of code).
Finaly I've exhumed an old never publiched PET game, so it's new for all but me
I'm still working on it to reduce the file size. Not really a coding highlight but bettet than nothing.

Any other entries?

Hydrophilic · « **Reply #8 on:** March 12, 2012, 12:50 AM »

I've got one I'm working on, still don't know if I can fit it into 4k. It will be quite a squeeze...

I used hi-res graphics for initial testing, and converted it to use charsets for speed. Or rather I am still converting it...

RobertB · « **Reply #9 on:** March 12, 2012, 04:13 PM »

Hey, if you guys have those demos in time for the July 28-29 Commodore Vegas Expo, we could have a mini-demoparty there and award prizes!

Recovering from R.J. Mical's dinner party,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug

wte · « **Reply #10 on:** March 17, 2012, 09:50 AM »

Finalized today

4096 bytes

Maybe someone will be so kind and check my non native speaker english instruction text?

Code: [Select]

***  Instructions  ***

Isola is a 2-player strategy board game.
The game board is a 6x8 grid of squares.

The colors of the pawns are  'white' and
'black'

Only the white squares of the game board
can be used for a move by the pawns.
Black sqares (including both starting
fields) are off-limits!

Each move consists of two actions.
First: move the pawn.
Second: remove a free square.

The object is to isolate the opponent so
they cannot move. The player who cannot
make any move loses the game.

To move the pawn use the numeric keypad.

After moving the pawn a flashing cross
appears. To remove a square select it
with the cross (use the numpad) and push
numpad key '5' to execute!

Do you play with me? y

Black begins!

Do you prefer the black or the white 
pawn (b/w)?

Thanks & Regards
WTE

RobertB · « **Reply #11 on:** March 17, 2012, 11:29 AM »

Quote from: wte on March 17, 2012, 09:50 AM

Maybe someone will be so kind and check my non native speaker english instruction text?

Ah, proofreading... O.K., below is the text with my corrections.

Code: [Select]

***  Instructions  ***

Isola is a 2-player strategy board game.
The game board is a 6x8 grid of squares.

The colors of the pawns are  'white' and
'black'.

Only the white squares of the game board
can be used for a move by the pawns.
Black squares (including those on both
starting fields) are off-limits!

Each move consists of two actions.
First: move the pawn.
Second: remove a free square.

The object is to isolate the opponent so
he cannot move. The player who cannot
make any move loses the game.

To move the pawn, use the numeric keypad.

After moving the pawn, a flashing cross
appears. To remove a square, select it
with the cross (use the numpad), and push
numpad key '5' to execute!

Do you play with me? y

Black begins!

Do you prefer the black or the white 
pawn (b/w)?

wte · « **Reply #12 on:** March 18, 2012, 09:30 AM »

Thanks Robert.

Looks like my text has not been as bad as I thought.

Regards WTE

wte · « **Reply #13 on:** March 27, 2012, 09:05 AM »

Today I have sent my zip file. Any competitors?

Hydrophilic · « **Reply #14 on:** March 28, 2012, 05:26 AM »

Maybe, if I can meet the deadline. I got the graphics working on mine at a reasonable frame rate, but it is still a bit glitchy... and the game play will need to be scaled back to meet the 4K rule...

wte · « **Reply #15 on:** March 28, 2012, 08:17 AM »

Looks like it's time for a "no limits" C128 game coding competition?

4k is nice for code but bad for graphics, charsets, sprites, tunes ...

RobertB · « **Reply #16 on:** March 29, 2012, 04:20 PM »

Quote from: wte on March 28, 2012, 08:17 AM

Looks like it's time for a "no limits" C128 game coding competition?

That would be good!

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug

Hydrophilic · « **Reply #17 on:** April 14, 2012, 06:20 PM »

Besides missing the deadline, I could not fit my program into 4K, even if I stripped out many of the features and crunched what remained. Double fail! It really pains me to let wte win by default...

I put too much work into MOOB not to release it, and you may enjoy it if you like maze games. If you have no strong feelings for / against maze games, then give it a try. If you hate maze games then avoid MOOB like the plague because that is the whole point of the game.

Features:

Fast and simple 3D maze
40 Column or 80 Column display
Joystick or Keyboard input
Identical timing on NTSC and PAL systems when using a joystick

The scenario:

You are an electron inside the BASIC ROM of the Commodore 128 Computer. Navigate through the code in the silicon to find an exit door (an RTS opcode), without getting confused by the various branches and loops. When you pass through an exit, you make a quantum leap to a higher level in the code (you can not return to a lower level). The AREA (code size) grows with each new level, making your job more difficult as you progress.

A BONUS timer is initialized at the start of each section of code, and it steadily decreases with time until it reaches zero. The BONUS is added to your SCORE when you pass through an exit, so find the exit as quickly as possible. Because the higher levels are generally more difficult than the lower levels, the initial BONUS also grows with each higher level.

I've attached some screen shots and a ZIP containg: a disk image (MOOB.D64), a raw 6K binary (if you don't like disk images), a ReadMe file, a developement BASIC program (not a game -- the actual game is in assembly), and the source code. Enjoy!

Now maybe I can get back to coding Media Player 128, but first I would like to try wte's game. When can we get our hands on that?

RobertB · « **Reply #18 on:** April 15, 2012, 09:22 AM »

Quote from: Hydrophilic on April 14, 2012, 06:20 PM

Besides missing the deadline, I could not fit my program into 4K, even if I stripped out many of the features and crunched what remained. Double fail!

Ah, you are a winner in my book. Let me see if I can squeeze this game into the agenda of this month's FCUG meeting.

Too bad my SCPU 128 is being repaired...
I would have tried it at 20 MHz!
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug

wte · « **Reply #19 on:** April 18, 2012, 08:49 AM »

Quote from: Hydrophilic on April 14, 2012, 06:20 PM

You are an electron inside the BASIC ROM of the Commodore 128 Computer. Navigate through the code in the silicon to find an exit door (an RTS opcode), without getting confused by the various branches and loops. When you pass through an exit, you make a quantum leap to a higher level in the code (you can not return to a lower level). The AREA (code size) grows with each new level, making your job more difficult as you progress.

Wow, nice game description! "you are an electron..." ROFL
I've played the game, excellent idea!

You should keep the gameplay for the "no limits C128 game coding competition" comming soon You have already described the still outstanding features in your read.me ...

One question: the maze is from the ROM. Therefore, it should be different on a "normal" C128 and on a SuperCPU-C128, shouldn't it?

Regards WTE

Hydrophilic · « **Reply #20 on:** April 19, 2012, 05:47 AM »

I wanted to have a random map every time I played, but the code for that was getting a bit big/messy so I quit working on that and instead used the ROM as a (terrible) random seed. Of course if I knew it wouldn't fit 4K when finished then I would have coded it... So as it stands there are over 50 levels. Although they never change, there are so many I have not memorized them all even after many many games of play testing.

As long as the first 4K of the BASIC high ROM ($8000~$8FFF) is the same, the game should play the same. I don't own a SCPU so I can't say for sure.

I do know it runs on my C128 with original (buggy) 1985 ROMs and the same in VICE which uses the newer 1986 ROMs. Although the updated ROMs made several patches to the KERNAL and BASIC Low ROM (which contains high-level code for things like CHAR and DRAW), I don't think many changes were made to BASIC High ROM (contains mostly low-level stuff like string handling and floating-point routines which I imagine were simply ported from C64 / VIC-20).

Anyway if the ROM is different, there is a good chance the game could be un-winnable. Hopefully I won't hear a report about that!

Thanks for your feedback; I think this is just a proof of concept. It is begging to be expanded. Throw in some SS Trops and treasure chests and you could have Castle Wolfenstein 3D. Or throw in some monsters and magic spells and have yourself Dungon Slayer 3D. Or expand the paths and throw in some cars and you have City Delivery Service. Or whatever with a little creativity. And of course it needs some sound and music ... a charset designed specifically for the VDC would be nice too...

Still waiting to play your game, WTE.

wte · « **Reply #21 on:** April 20, 2012, 07:33 AM »

Quote from: Hydrophilic on April 19, 2012, 05:47 AM

Still waiting to play your game, WTE.

Dunno what the Blacklord is waiting for. Maybe the date was wrong and the deadline is on 1st of April 2013? Or all has been an April Fool's joke?

Another theory: he is working hard on a high sphisticated compress algorithem to fit you 6k prog into 4k? Beacuse we need more competitors to get a real competition!?

Blacklord · « **Reply #22 on:** April 20, 2012, 10:28 AM »

Quote from: wte on April 20, 2012, 07:33 AM

Quote from: Hydrophilic on April 19, 2012, 05:47 AM
Still waiting to play your game, WTE.
Dunno what the Blacklord is waiting for. Maybe the date was wrong and the deadline is on 1st of April 2013? Or all has been an April Fool's joke?

Another theory: he is working hard on a high sphisticated compress algorithem to fit you 6k prog into 4k? Beacuse we need more competitors to get a real competition!?

Or my bad - change of jobs and move of state - zip free time until the end of the month

wte · « **Reply #23 on:** July 04, 2012, 09:24 AM »

Month over month is passing away ...

wte · « **Reply #24 on:** August 18, 2012, 07:37 AM »

Dudeldei dudeldum

I know I'm on the last place (and the last one will never get any prize) but you should finalize this competition so that we can start a new one ;-)