MMLL Development Diary

spacefractal · **Reply #510 on:** October 02, 2009, 08:15:14 pm

I mean I have posted this eailer as well when the flip feature was just made :-D.

Just sent a another (simple) tune inspirated from a Space Taxi tune which works well here as well.....

spacefractal · **Reply #511 on:** October 02, 2009, 10:39:09 pm

in "the channel tunnel"

I gonna think the thumbstone should stay when dying in the water intead fall down very fast, floating or Willy got drown?

flash · **Reply #512 on:** October 02, 2009, 11:13:45 pm

The death animations are not level specific. Perhaps I could stop them falling onto tiles that kill you - that would stop them falling off the screen. But on some levels I need it to, like rocky horror?

So, not sure what is best there?

Lobo · **Reply #513 on:** October 02, 2009, 11:44:26 pm

I propose a simple solution, we all go to the cemetery, grab the tombstone, throw it in the lake and see what happens?

As long as things are floating on conveyor belt, which is the funniest thing ever (next to the jumping while dead), everything else is fine. I would probably vote for drownin' though

.

Also, just played (and finished, hah!) the blagger map, pretty cool methinks.

spacefractal · **Reply #514 on:** October 02, 2009, 11:58:29 pm

Its one level title I really do not like, its "Tokyo uh oh". Instead it could been somewhere "uh oh, my town" for a more nautral picture of the main game?

There is some levels without music (not taken end game etc here), not sure can fit them all, here is the list missing...

The Channel Tunnel:
underground.xm? (I sent that one soon and might need more work and more instruments)

Tokyo uh oh! (read above):
not sure really for now.

The Space Shuttle:
shuttle.xm (finished today)

The Meteor Storm:
toccata.xm (need more work, but useable on that level)

The End?
not sure really for now.

The Final? Barrier:
not sure really for now.

This is the Last Cavern:
W.I.P.

The Horror Picture:
W.I.P.

Lobo · **Reply #515 on:** October 03, 2009, 01:55:22 am

Unfortunately, 'Tokyo, Uh-Oh' is the actual title from gba (I think) version so it's probably not Ok to change these titles.
Plus, it is kinda funny Toe-Key-Oh-Uh-Oh, you know?

Well..Ok, not that funny.

spacefractal · **Reply #516 on:** October 04, 2009, 08:49:14 am

For the hiscore tune, it could been Prelude No.2 in C minor (BWV 847)? (the tune is also used in C64 Space Harrier hiscore, a tune that was not a part of the arcade game)

sverx · **Reply #517 on:** October 04, 2009, 12:02:54 pm

Quote from: spacefractal on October 02, 2009, 03:46:53 pm

Names for song is also nice and found out some songs was still missings a title. I send when new songs is done, no need to doing that now.

Actually we can ignore the song name stored inside the XM... so it's up to you if you want to store a title in the file or not. There are 20 chars, btw.

spacefractal · **Reply #518 on:** October 05, 2009, 06:38:45 am

I use "SF - " for first 5 chars, so I just call these as I did called the filenames. Its nice to doing that allready to show correctly name in example xmplay. The XM titlenames do not have any use in the game (only if they got memory ripped).

Lobo · **Reply #519 on:** October 07, 2009, 12:50:05 am

Ahaha, just played the latest, ending is rather bloody!

sverx · **Reply #520 on:** October 07, 2009, 07:47:44 am

SF: now that you're able to test homebrew on hardware, I think you should download xm7Play and test with it the 8 bits versions of your XMs: if the optimizer works (you can see it because it writes "+Sample n of instrument m optimized 8xy") then it means that you should take care of that sample because it won't play perfectly -as it is- with libXM7.

I'm here to help if you need

Bye!

spacefractal · **Reply #521 on:** October 07, 2009, 02:28:13 pm

I look into this sooner and later before game release, so I hear the last remaining sample problems, even I did fix most of them. I think its only few issues left (Egyptian example still have some problem left, but could been much worse). I do not torch the 16 bit one, since they are not used in the game.

I need to get last tunes done first

.

-----

Heard tunes on the real hardware. Speakers seen only play on the middle freqens and all high pitch and bass instruments is missing. For the most it playable on most songs, most problem is in the egyptian.xm where the main flute is hard to heard. I do fix that and also checking out in the xm7play soon. Its should been stated the game is best played with the heardphone and I generally trying to turn up samples. Noise is not a problem on real hardware using 8 bit at all

Sokurah · **Reply #522 on:** October 07, 2009, 06:24:43 pm

Quote from: spacefractal on October 07, 2009, 02:28:13 pm

I do not torch the 16 bit one, since they are not used in the game.

If they're not used it's okay to torch them.

flash · **Reply #523 on:** October 07, 2009, 07:01:52 pm

Quote from: Sokurah on October 07, 2009, 06:24:43 pm

If they're not used it's okay to torch them.

They would be nice to release as mp3's at a later date though... they should not be torched.

Seriously though..

SF's music in the game is damn fine even in 8 bit. When the game is finished it may be worth using some of the music in 16bit IF there is room in 3.8 megs... Who knows?

spacefractal · **Reply #524 on:** October 07, 2009, 08:12:59 pm

16 bit versions is not used, but its really easy to convert them using milky Tracker, so I work on 16 bit version, due I plans to release a game soundtrack as a christmas gift with full coverart. Hope Lobo would do that, even I might down tune the Lobo09 signature a bit, but still got credited of course, which is a bit too big to been use as a music coverart, but have no problems with that on the DS coverart (which is AWESOME).

I do NOT have plans to release mp3's due size of them compared with the 16 bit xm, instead the soundtrack would been the xm's. Instead winamp, xmplay or such software can been used to convert to wav or to mp3. Only problem is id3 tags... Let see what I do.

By now there is the jukebox screen, which can been used too.

flash · **Reply #525 on:** October 07, 2009, 08:17:01 pm

Oh, cover art!!!

Isn't Lobo wonderful, fluffy, and so so ? Er... Something!?

(I should have posted this here ages ago..)

SF... We need MP3!!!!

spacefractal · **Reply #526 on:** October 07, 2009, 08:32:18 pm

I can not read which instrument that got optimized due the screen got blackout few sec after start. I want that screen to been stay so I can listen carryfull in XM7Play and eventuelly fix problem samples so it not need to been optimized, but it seen it not a very big problem to fix these. The Egyptian got somewhere fixed with the low flute. I checking these on real hardware of course.

The quality of xm 16 bit versions might been better than compressed mp3's and only few studio versions is ever finished...... That why I want to stick to XM, even samples etc got ripped or such (which I do NOT have any problems with that).

flash · **Reply #527 on:** October 07, 2009, 08:38:42 pm

I take it you are talking about xm7play?

spacefractal · **Reply #528 on:** October 07, 2009, 08:44:22 pm

yes, that link sverx gave. The Xm7Play (I guess the name can been confusion with the other XmPlay I sometime talk about?) player "blackout" (but still play the song) the screen soon after it start (when I testing the 8 bit versions), but the tunes got played and does not crash. I just want to see how the sample got optimized (and how it did), length of the instrument etc.... So I can fix the most problem ones. Not all samples might not require it and most modules load fine without optimizing.

For the 16 bit release the files can been converted to mp3, ogg (or what they need) by software like winmap, xmplay or such (here its NOT xm7play, but that one from http://www.un4seen.com).

For the release plan my and Flash talked about the game would been released 1. nov, so the game can been polished and got the music finshed and eventually got fixed some xm. 1. nov is still great date.

Lobo · **Reply #529 on:** October 07, 2009, 09:13:02 pm

Yeah, he did mention November to be the month of release. As he keeps adding stuff like crazy, it might be November.....2024!

As for the xmass tunes cover, yeah, it can be done...even though I prefer Halloween but close enough.

spacefractal · **Reply #530 on:** October 07, 2009, 09:25:17 pm

It was me that choiced that date (I think), so I can do the last tunes finished they. One is soon finshed today. The last movie I missing, which is some mix of some original (the bass) and Im Going Home.

For the xmas it was just something a present I want to give when I release my song in 16 bit, and there is soon december (which mean we need a least a xmas level with xmas music, but nor important).

Lobo · **Reply #531 on:** October 07, 2009, 09:29:30 pm

You can never tell with release dates, let's hope for November.......2009!

Sokurah · **Reply #532 on:** October 07, 2009, 09:35:03 pm

Lovely cover art.

spacefractal · **Reply #533 on:** October 07, 2009, 09:40:46 pm

its somewhere november about 5 years

.

No I guess the Halloween day, October 31, 2009 would been great day for the MMLL release (beta or not, its near final now). Some levels do have somewhere Halloween over it, so why not use that day for the release.....

Lobo · **Reply #534 on:** October 07, 2009, 10:08:37 pm

Yesh, October 31st would be just fine, just before midnight~cause it's a witching hour.

spacefractal · **Reply #535 on:** October 07, 2009, 10:16:26 pm

even the first level have some witch :-D

flash · **Reply #536 on:** October 07, 2009, 10:50:00 pm

I am glad that you lot have picked a release day for me LOL

You guys!!! HA HA

I will see what I can do for the end of the month, but there is STILL a lot of little things I want to add, and sometimes they take more time than the big things!.... Some of the coupe levels need the game to be altered for them to work... and let's not mention China Miner.

I have done the first level of that for inclusion (there is a lot of bits in the code ready for stuff) but I could not even clear the first level - I could not collect the key? Walked over it 100 times and it just sat there? (in the original)

flash · **Reply #537 on:** October 07, 2009, 10:53:06 pm

Oh, and I am still waiting for Rev Stu to come back with the modified story!

Lobo · **Reply #538 on:** October 07, 2009, 11:32:13 pm

Quote from: Flash on October 07, 2009, 10:50:00 pm

I am glad that you lot have picked a release day for me LOL

It was spacefractal, he did it - guilty!!
As far as I'm concerned, you can release it whenever you want

Whenever meaning Monday, of course.

What modified story are you speaking of? I thought you're following the original story from those screenshots you posted, from some magazine?

spacefractal · **Reply #539 on:** October 07, 2009, 11:35:26 pm

Some story on later levels is missing, they need to been finished first.

If 31. okt is too early we just move it a week or when done, but would been fun since the game contain Halloween levels as well. No problem with me, but the game is very much done. Orignally plan was actuelly 1. Nov which seen was accepted by Flash (if possible of course).

China Miner is not really needed since its a clone and not 100% gameplay suitable to Manic Miner (its might play somewhere diffecent)? I remember I did not have problem with China Miner? It seen I need to test the game again, since its some time ago I played the last.

Sam levels is funnier, since its really a Manic Miner game and hence more suitable for the Lost Level Theme as hidden levels. I found a very good sid C64 version tune of the MM theme (yes its just a old classic tune) which I can use in the bonus level(s). Its very great aggresive, and since most bonus levels use original graphics, the music should something been retro here as well. Howover I can not record sam sounds seperated channels. so I might use that C64 tune instead.