Pyramid Plunder Public Beta

[Arkhan Asylum]

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Necromancer,

I have uploaded what is now known as the Pyramid Plunder Public Beta (pppb). 

It can be found at

http://www.aetherbyte.com/downloadables/pppb.iso
This is a public beta. 

Pass it around, put it on a real disc, in a real unit, and play it.  Discuss any issues here.

The goal is to find any goof-ups and get them fixed so it's in good shape for a real release.

There is a bug that causes a full-hang of the game.  If you can track down, and recreate it 100% of the time, you've earned a free copy of the game when it's released.

You may notice other oddities, probably related to it being a debug mode of the game.  Post em here too.  Just in case.

[T2KFreeker]

Oooh! This is awesome!

[Opethian]

brb gonna print up some awesome arwork and spine cards and sell on YJA... erm I mean thanks!

[Arkhan Asylum]

brb gonna print up some awesome arwork and spine cards and sell on YJA... erm I mean thanks!

lol k!

[Bernie]

I like it, the tunes are neato as well.  One thing I noticed right away is that sometimes when you walk over the little bits you are supposed to be picking up, I guess they are gold bars, that sometimes they dont pick up and you have to backtrack.  Specially when you hold down button I for walking fast/running. 

[Arkhan Asylum]

That's supposed to happen.

Running = cant pick up items.

 

[Bernie]

That's supposed to happen.

Running = cant pick up items.

 

Yeah, I kinda figured that, but didnt know for sure.  I did notice that sometimes it happens with just walking tho.  Thats how I first noticed it.  Maybe its cuz I am using Ootake for it, maybe cuz its beta, I dunno.    Either way, bring it on. 

[Arkhan Asylum]

O_O, you miss pickups while just plain-walking?

That's new.  Can you poke at that some more and confirm it??

[OldMan]

There is a bug that causes a full-hang of the game

That's a debug halt. If you press button II, you should be able to continue playing, but wierd things may happen

you miss pickups while just plain-walking?

Did you make sure to pass the center of the tile? It's not a pickup if you don't ....
You can't reverse too soon, or you miss the bar.

[Keranu]

Excellent job, Pyramid Plunder feels very professional! The controls are perfect and smooth, everything looks and sounds great!

I have a couple of suggestions/reports.

Firstly I agree with what Black_Tiger said in another post about the teleports: at the current speed, it interrupts the flow of the game. Also for safety's sake, it might be wise to halt the enemies during teleportation so the player doesn't have an unlucky run-in with the enemy upon arrival.

One potential problem I ran into was where I had one Ankh left on the screen but it was trapped by a mummy that kept repeating the same movement pattern. I tried running across the screen but he didn't seem to nudge. I died shortly after, not sure if there was anything I could do.

There is a bug that causes a full-hang of the game

That's a debug halt. If you press button II, you should be able to continue playing, but wierd things may happen

I encountered that too, thought it was a bug.

you miss pickups while just plain-walking?

I thought this may have happened to me too on the first level. I don't think I was running, but I may have without noticing.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I love me some PP.  I agree with Keranu's statements.  Also, I'm wondering if there's a little bit nicer way of showing the names of the characters in those boxes.  Maybe some kind of simple border.  I know the names can't be there without the box, atleast, in those colors.  Also....I sware there was a mummy called Leon!  How did I see that, now all I get is the last mummy being called Hinky!  Also, I was totally expecting one to be called Minkey, as Inspecter Inspector Clouseau calls monkies.

[esteban]

I found the platinum Ankh that leads to the mini-game (a Zookeeper clone).

Hats off to you! That was totally unexpected and I really was impressed.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Ok, just figured out how to get Leon

[OldMan]

Ok, just figured out how to get Leon

He pops out randomly one the title screen.....

I found the platinum Ankh that leads to the mini-game

Nope, not a zookeeper clone. And leon is involved...

but it was trapped by a mummy that kept repeating the same movement pattern.

That happens. But if he's following a known pattern, you should be able to trail behind him
If not, don't take so long to get all the bars

I encountered that too, thought it was a bug.

What were you doing? What board were you on? What numbers showed up n the screen????

That's the bug we're trying to find, and the more info on it, the better.
...................
And, until we figure out what is causing the bug, everything else is frozen. I'm not changing things until I know the bug is gone, because I don't want some minor change to throw off reproducing the bug. Once we can reproduce it, we can fix it.

[Keranu]

Here's a screenshot the first time I encountered the bug. I believe it happened out of no where.

/im6psp.jpg

And here's another instance that just happened to me. All I was doing was walking up. It looks as if the tile he's about to step on glitches or changes graphics, it reverted back to normal after I walked past it.

/2lllqqd.jpg

[ParanoiaDragon]

Seems like he always pops up whenever I hold I during the loading & Title screens.  Haven't tested it further to see if it's only during the loading, or only during the Title screen, but he pops up every time for me.

[OldMan]

Here's a screenshot the first time I encountered the bug. I believe it happened out of no where.

Thank You. Now for some explanation of what you see....

The leftmost number is the ghost id. It happens on both ghost 1 (Blinky, I think) and 0 (Inky), so it is not
something ghost specific....
The next number is the tile value (024c). Note that it happens on the same tile both times.
The next two numbers are the tile coordinates (on the big map). So the ghosts are trying to walk through
the wall at 17,10. That happens to be the right side of the ghost house.

So the working theory (and glad you contributed evidence to it) is that there is a problem when the ghosts go to spawn. I suspect it has something to do with the ghost house being only 2 squares wide (Hey, I didn't make the boards) causing problems when a reverse event occurs....
The only other report I've had of this was on 2-4, where the ghost house is 2 squares wide, also.
.................................
Okay, we have a start. I will put in a full debug screen, so we can see everything I need next week.  In the mean time, see if you can repeat it with a particular pattern. If we can do that, I can get it fixed for good
Look for a newer release later in the week, at aetherbyte.

[For those who are interested, ghosts going through walls due to reversals has been a long-standing problem in the game. It's a large part of why it's not out yet ]

[Vecanti]

Suck!  I haven't had it freeze once.  Guess I'm not going to win the free copy.  This has sucked hours from my life.  Haven't found any bugs yet.

Only thought is that the you have to get really close to the edge of the screen before it starts scrolling so you can't tell whats coming.  Get's my heart rate up!  Maybe an easy mode so it scrolls sooner?   Keeps it exciting though! (i know there's a map) 

[touko]

Eh i like it ..

This pac-man remake has great ideas, like run,teleport and radar, and i was surprised by sfx   ..
However the in game music is too reptitive i think ..

I applaud the big effort to renew the genre, which (with sound fx) is for me the great part ..

[Keranu]

However the in game music is too reptitive i think ..

I like the song, but I was wondering if there were plans to add new songs for each level to reduce the repetition. At least you can turn the music off with the select button.

[touko]

Yes, but I prefer by far the insanity, or atlantean in game musics, more likely to show the squirrel capabilities .

[Vecanti]

brb gonna print up some awesome arwork and spine cards and sell on YJA... erm I mean thanks!

http://pcedev.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/megaman-complete-casemanualgame/#comments

Somebody just did that to Megaman SCD that was release like a week ago.

[grahf]

Sweet. I gotta pick up some CD-Rs. I don't think I own any anymore.

I was thinking about ordering Insanity, but I might hold off until this is released - if it will save on shipping that is.

[OldRover]

Got a few pretty big gripes with this.

1. I'm not entertained. It's interesting at first but because the levels are so big, it gets redundant. Fast. Smaller maps would help a lot. I had to shut it off after the second level.
2. Scrolling thresholds are too wide. This is the same problem Exile II has.
3. Music gets irritating quickly.
4. No pause button.
5. The sprites aren't very impressive-looking.
6. The "teleport" detail looks amateurish. It would look better if you did some kind of melt-and-vanish effect rather than just having the screen scroll.

On the positive side:

1. The backgrounds are nice. The tilework is pretty damn good.
2. The sound effects are good. I don't think I heard them all though (never died).
3. The ability to run in the game is a very nice touch. Gives ya an additional sense of strategy.
4. The control scheme works beautifully. Y'all got that one spot-on.

[esteban]

OK, who is willing to send me a copy so Rover isn't the only one with a constructive critique .

I'll be playing it on many hardware configurations TG-16+TG-CD, US DUO, JP DUO, CG+SCD.

I'll pay for shipping/materials.

[roflmao]

OK, who is willing to send me a copy so Rover isn't the only one with a constructive critique .

I'll mail you a copy.  PM me your address and I'll try to get it out tomorrow.

[Arkhan Asylum]

I guess I could make the ghost houses bigger and see if it fixes things, lol.

1. I'm not entertained. It's interesting at first but because the levels are so big, it gets redundant. Fast. Smaller maps would help a lot. I had to shut it off after the second level.

If you aren't entertained by the concept of Pac Man, this won't help you either.

3. Music gets irritating quickly.

It's a beta.  There are going to be more songs to mix it up, lol.  Wouldn't be very useful to release a beta with the entire soundtrack!

4. No pause button.

It's coming.  Fixing the crashbug has to be done before any other things get added.

5. The sprites aren't very impressive-looking.

Aw, I thought Keranu did a good job on the stuff.  I drew the hero-guy, and the mummies though.  The mummies are kinda special looking.

6. The "teleport" detail looks amateurish. It would look better if you did some kind of melt-and-vanish effect rather than just having the screen scroll.

Another detail to be worked out after the crashbug.  I anticipate blinking him and scrolling him over, faster. 

Freezing the enemies while scrolling is a definite no-go.  That's part of the gamble of teleporting.

[Keranu]

Yeah I only designed the enemy sprites from level 2 and up. I was thinking though Arkhan, I can touch up on your player and mummy animations if you want so they don't look so "waggily" when they move. You know, like I did for Insanity X.

[esteban]

OK, who is willing to send me a copy so Rover isn't the only one with a constructive critique .

I'll mail you a copy.  PM me your address and I'll try to get it out tomorrow.

You rock . PM forthcoming.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Yeah I only designed the enemy sprites from level 2 and up. I was thinking though Arkhan, I can touch up on your player and mummy animations if you want so they don't look so "waggily" when they move. You know, like I did for Insanity X.

if you want to, lol.

I'm pretty shitty at animating.

[esteban]

Yeah I only designed the enemy sprites from level 2 and up. I was thinking though Arkhan, I can touch up on your player and mummy animations if you want so they don't look so "waggily" when they move. You know, like I did for Insanity X.

Could we have two or more selectable character sprites? Or, even better, make this unlockable.

And, for once in a video game, let's do something beyond "Stout Indiana Jones Plunders the Pyramids". Let's have a goddamn FELINE (he/she has to be CUTE) plundering the pyramid! And, for achieving certain milestones on each board, our hero should meow/purr.

And, I want FELINE MUMMIES (this is actually historically accurate!).

I AM SERIOUS. Seriously, I'm not kidding.

I'm sure other playable characters would be sweet, too (e.g. the goddess Isis, a 1972 Honda Civic Hatchback, a 5 1/4" floppy diskette, "Slinky" from Somer Assault/Mesopotamia, Seabloon, Anto, Ghostcloth or any of the characters/enemies from Neutopia (or Dungeon Explorer),  an undulating block of tofu, a crayon, a snowman, La Pinta, La Niña, La Santa María, a hopping cup of coffee that is always splashing, etc.)

Anyway, I'm so serious it hurts.

[Arkhan Asylum]

lol, well, the idea was kinda to keep one character for this, named Alabama Smith or something.

[esteban]

lol, well, the idea was kinda to keep one character for this, named Alabama Smith or something.

I hear you.

Hmmm, would you consider a hopping Moai as a playable character? I like the whole "Easter Island meets Egypt" mashup.



Alternatively, if you want to keep the existing sprite, can you refer to him as "Herr Doktor Veelgüd" (a German national) in the documentation and have him addicted to morphine (his backstory).

[Arkhan Asylum]

lol.  wow.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I like Alabama Smith, I fully approve!

[OldRover]

If you aren't entertained by the concept of Pac Man, this won't help you either.

Every time you give me an answer like this, I wanna hit you with a bag of Clue board games. The Pac Man concept isn't the problem. Pac Man is fine. The problem is the large maps... it draws out the levels too much and it gets stale. Of course, this is just my personal impression... others' mileage may vary.

Aw, I thought Keranu did a good job on the stuff.  I drew the hero-guy, and the mummies though.  The mummies are kinda special looking.

I don't know which ones were drawn by who. I just know that the main character and the enemies you run over after you touch the ankhs are rather dull-looking and could use improvement. Those are the ones I was referring to. Everything else looks fine.

Freezing the enemies while scrolling is a definite no-go.  That's part of the gamble of teleporting.

Good design strategy, though I wasn't suggesting making the game freeze... just making it look less amateurish by implementing a more impressive technique. Making him just float up or down, through solid walls, looks terrible. And give it a sound effect! hehe

[Arkhan Asylum]

Every time you give me an answer like this, I wanna hit you with a bag of Clue board games. The Pac Man concept isn't the problem. Pac Man is fine. The problem is the large maps... it draws out the levels too much and it gets stale. Of course, this is just my personal impression... others' mileage may vary.

The only reason I give this response is because some Pac Man fans have a different opinion on the fun-factor of the game...  So that leads me to believe pac man fans will like it, and pac man "eh its ok, I guess" people won't find much fun.

Plus, the large levels are part of the reason there is a dash button.  Backtrack with ease!

I don't know which ones were drawn by who. I just know that the main character and the enemies you run over after you touch the ankhs are rather dull-looking and could use improvement. Those are the ones I was referring to. Everything else looks fine.

Those are palette swaps when you hit the ankhs. 

Good design strategy, though I wasn't suggesting making the game freeze... just making it look less amateurish by implementing a more impressive technique. Making him just float up or down, through solid walls, looks terrible. And give it a sound effect! hehe

I wasn't responding to anything you had said there, lol.  Someone else said make the enemies stop moving when you teleport.  Adding an effect is jerkoff polish.  same with the sound effect that would go with it.

[OldRover]

The only reason I give this response is because some Pac Man fans have a different opinion on the fun-factor of the game...  So that leads me to believe pac man fans will like it, and pac man "eh its ok, I guess" people won't find much fun.

Plus, the large levels are part of the reason there is a dash button.  Backtrack with ease!

Fair enough, I suppose. Doesn't seem to keep my interest though. Ah well... maybe I should try it again.

Those are palette swaps when you hit the ankhs.

I figured that part out already. The character designs are rather lacking, that's what I'm saying. They don't look as good as they could.

I wasn't responding to anything you had said there, lol.  Someone else said make the enemies stop moving when you teleport.  Adding an effect is jerkoff polish.  same with the sound effect that would go with it.

"Jerkoff polish"... hehe. Such "jerkoff polish" can make the difference between a "meh... it's alright" game and a "hey this is cool" game.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Keranu said he could give the hero and mummies some treatment, so, we'll  have to see how that goes.  But, you only played two levels so you didn't even see the other enemy types... you're missing out.

"Jerkoff polish"... hehe. Such "jerkoff polish" can make the difference between a "meh... it's alright" game and a "hey this is cool" game.

Jerkoff polish is best left for when the core of the game is operating properly.  Otherwise you just jerked off all over a pile of shit.  etc.

[futureman2000]

If you hold button I with turbo on (middle selection on the turbo-switch), then you can get a decent speed boost while still picking up the gold bars.

[Keranu]

I like the way the teleports look as is, I just think they should be faster or more instantaneous to not interrupt the flow of the game. I love the arcade look of the game. The main character looks cute and 80's, Arkhan did a great job on his design!

I agree with Nod though about the boards being big, it does feel like a drag when you're on the other side of the board collecting gold without a enemy in sight; it takes away from the Pac Man feel. And when there's five stages of this for each level, it does make me want to quit playing after the first couple screens. I don't think it's necessarily a problem with the board size, maybe the ghosts need to pursue the player more (and I assume they do as the game progresses).

[Keranu]

If you hold button I with turbo on (middle selection on the turbo-switch), then you can get a decent speed boost while still picking up the gold bars.

Yeah I noticed that too by tapping the button! Fun technique.

[Arkhan Asylum]

If you hold button I with turbo on (middle selection on the turbo-switch), then you can get a decent speed boost while still picking up the gold bars.

Yeah I noticed that too by tapping the button! Fun technique.

I was waiting for people to catch it.    It's like the pussy-way to play, but still fun!

I notice myself that the ghost-AI is semi-retarded at times and doesn't chase you much.   The diabolical level maps later on kind of make up for it, but I could see the ghosts getting a bit smarter/harder.

I'm glad the "arcade look" is achieved successfully, as that is the idea.

[Keranu]

For what it's worth, I caught the bug on 1 - 4 yet again.

/6qyz9i.jpg

[Vecanti]

Just had my first crash.  Maybe the mummy half out of the spawn area is telling?  I don't know.

EDIT:
Just thought I'd add that after the crash I kept pressing I and it went frame by frame. Slowly the mummy walked through the wall and eventually came through the wall and back on the main game screen.  The game un-froze and started playing again!  It takes like 16 key presses (frames)  I just added 3 frames after the initial freeze.  I happened to do a save state when it first froze. 

This is how it first froze: /2rh1fd5.jpg

This was later when I pressed the I button several times: /2w32o01.jpg

Several more I button presses: /noysg5.jpg


Here it starts playing again, you can see "High Score" comes back but the 2 on Wal 024C error is still there.

/5agdb8.jpg

[Vecanti]

Reproduced it on 1-5 again.  Same thing, freezes when the mummy is stuck in the wall.  If I keep pressing I the mummy, frame by frame, walks through the wall and then the game resumes. 

/zkhle1.jpg

Just adding a 2nd pic as it further through the wall.

/121cv29.jpg

[Keranu]

Yeah it unfreezes for me too after pressing I like 5-10 times.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Yeah, so we see here, it is a case of mummy-on-wall + me making tiny ghost houses.



In other news, how are you people liking the maps?  Are they too douche-tastic?  Things that seem like a good idea to me, may be a punch in the dick to everyone playing.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Just had my first crash.  Maybe the mummy half out of the spawn area is telling?  I don't know.

EDIT:
Just thought I'd add that after the crash I kept pressing I and it went frame by frame. Slowly the mummy walked through the wall and eventually came through the wall and back on the main game screen.  The game un-froze and started playing again!  It takes like 16 key presses (frames)  I just added 3 frames after the initial freeze.  I happened to do a save state when it first froze.  

That is neither a crash, nor a bug, it's a feature!!

[Arkhan Asylum]

lol.

BEST FEATURE EVER.