Homebrew game - Unlucky Pony (NEO Compo 2013)

[blabla]

Hello everybody , good news !
I did a 3DO game homebrew game called Unlucky Pony for the NEO Compo 2013 !
Unlike my previous 3DO games , i tried to be a bit more ambitious for this one
because this is my first 3DO homebrew game which has a story and multiple endings.
At first , i planned to do a 3DO port of Uwol quest for money but that would take me too much time !
So instead i did this small game that i hope you'll still enjoy.


You play as "Rinblow Trash" , a pony who is always in trouble.
In your quest , you will encounter falling poops from the sky and pony haters that want your death.
Will you be able to make it alive ?

Download link:
Version 1.31
Version 1.3
Version 1.2
Version 1.1 (NEO COMPO 2013)

Screenshots :



Neo COMPO 2013 post

Oh, and one thing...
Thanks Charles Doty , you deserve all the credits !
None of this would have been possible without you.

[blabla]

*sorry for the double post*
I have release a new version , the version 1.1.
This version adds one minigame and allows you to turn the poops into oranges so everyone can enjoy it !
This version will be the last one for the NEO compo 2013 , i hope you'll enjoy it !

[Martin III]

Very nice. I have downloaded and extracted, and as soon as I have the time I will burn to disc and play!

[3DO Experience]

Hurt my back so I haven't been able to pull out a 3DO to play this or the other one. But you can be sure I'll be jumping on these as soon as I can climb into my game room and dig out a system. Keep up the good work!

[Martin III]

Finally got the time to pop this into my 3DO and play it. It proved a most refreshing break from Wing Commander III. I've gotten as far as the airplane level so far, and have seen the "bad ending" in the castle.

Constructive crits:
1.You placed some important graphics too close to the edge of the screen; I can't read some pieces of the story because they're cut off on my TV. A huge chunk of the text on the castle computer is unreadable.
2.The first cut scene says Rinblow Trash is "one of the fastest pony".
3.If you fail level 1, the text says "didn't get enough shit" even when playing on orange mode. (Incidentally, I really like orange mode. Issues of taste aside, the oranges look cooler than the poops.)
4.It would be nice if there were a way to get extra lives, e.g. by getting 100 points.
5.Saving the most important for last: I think the hit detection needs tweaking. Specifically, Rinblow Trash takes up so much space that just two black clouds positioned in the right spot can make it so that she has only the narrowest safe passage. The difficulty is good on the first phase of the cloud level, and even the second one, but on the third phase the clouds come so fast that Rinblow Trash only has time to move about 1/6 of the way across the screen; combined with her large size, this means you often encounter black clouds which you can't avoid. Besides hurting the balance, the "feel" of it is wrong. What I mean is, when the top of Rinblow's head or the tip of her hoof hits a cloud and she goes down, while I can see that the hit detection was accurate, I don't feel like I just collided with a cloud. Hopefully that makes some sense. To clarify, I don't think a huge adjustment is needed, just a few pixels difference.

I have to say that after a half dozen game overs, I still found the game hard to put down. The variety of gameplay types and bite-sized levels make for a fun and varied experience. I get a kick out of the cutscenes, too, though I do thank you for making them skippable so I don't have to watch them over again every time I get a game over. Nice work.

[blabla]

I'm going to answer your critics :
1. Yeah , only CRT TV and some LCD screens do that. I will fix this , thanks
2. I'll fix this too. I really need to improve my english speaking skills...
3. Yup i know that , i was just too lazy to write another text for orange mode...
4. 8 lives are not enough ?
5. Looks like i'm the only one here who can finish this game in one setting.
I'll try to make the game easier and make the hit detection less unfair.

Thanks for your critics Martin , i appreciate it !
I'm happy to know my game works on real hardware !

If anyone else is willing to review my game , i would be glad to hear from you.

[Martin III]

4. 8 lives are not enough ?

Oh no, 8 lives is a good amount; it's just that I'm a sucker for the extra life mechanic in these sorts of games. When you die right near the end of the level, you're sent back to the beginning just as surely as you are when you die at the beginning, but the extra life mechanic means there's potentially some reward for getting that far.

It is a suggestion based on my subjective opinion, so hopefully someone else will chime in...

[blabla]

I have released a new update , here's the changelog :

Code: Select all

V1.2
Note : Version 1.1 was the last version submitted for the NEO COMPO 2013. (Version 1.2 is not for the NEO COMPO 2013)

- The hit detection is fair now
- The Clouds & Planes are much less faster when it's night
- You start with 9 lives instead of 8
- All the texts are centered so you should be able to see them on a TV screen now.
- Overall , this version is much easier than the previous one.

I have decided to not implement extra lives because i felt it was not needed considering how easy the game is now.
Version 1.2 : http://goo.gl/VWTVfF

[3DO Experience]

I should be able to burn a copy this weekend and try it. I can get to a 3DO now as my back is in good enough shape.

[3DO Experience]

Finally got out a 3DO and played this. Definitely my favorite of you games for the 3DO. It was nice to see the sky change from times of day and the poop mode really changed level two for me, I was really laughing out loud on that part. Oh and the Uninvited instant death reference was priceless!

[blabla]

Finally got out a 3DO and played this. Definitely my favorite of you games for the 3DO. It was nice to see the sky change from times of day and the poop mode really changed level two for me, I was really laughing out loud on that part. Oh and the Uninvited instant death reference was priceless!

I'm glad you liked it !
I think i will release a new version with co-op & an endless mode with up to 8 players , the 3DO doesn't have a lot of multiplayer games so why not. What do you think guys ?
It's too bad nobody wants to make homebrew games for 3DO. It's a very good platform for 2D games and plus i think it's the only 32 bits console (with the Amiga CD32 & PCFX) that can play homebrew games without a modchip or swapdisk so i can sell my homebrew games if i want to.

[Martin III]

I think i will release a new version with co-op & an endless mode with up to 8 players , the 3DO doesn't have a lot of multiplayer games so why not. What do you think guys ?

The 3DO doesn't have a lot of interactive multiplayer games? No way!

Now that I have that out of my system: I can't really give an opinion here, first of all because I don't have anyone to play 3DO games with me, but more importantly because I don't understand how co-op would work in this game.

I just tried out the new version last night. Not out of lack of interest, just laziness about downloading and burning; I'd been continuing to play the old version pretty frequently. Anyway, I hit seven more game overs on the airplane level, so it's still plenty challenging. I really don't think I've ever had so much trouble putting down a game where I keep dying on the same level. Part of it's the brevity of the levels, since of course each time I get a game over I only need three minutes to get back to where I was. But also, I'm addicted to nabbing those white clouds. There's just something about making clouds go "pop". The modification to the hit detection really helps, too; I find I'm having a lot more fun with the levels, even if I'm essentially dying just as often.

[blabla]

Hey guys , guess what ? I lost
Link
There was too many good games so they had to choose 5 winners and i'm not one of them.
Plus there was no reviews and the public poll is joke , it's completly useless.
Oh well , i guess i expected too much from them.

To sum up :
No cash -> No 3DO for me -> Bad homebrew games
dis is sad

The 3DO doesn't have a lot of interactive multiplayer games? No way!

pls gimme all the good multiplayer games for 3do , thx

Now that I have that out of my system: I can't really give an opinion here, first of all because I don't have anyone to play 3DO games with me, but more importantly because I don't understand how co-op would work in this game.

I was thinking of something like this :

But yeah , there are not a lot of people playing multiplayer games on 3DO but it could be a great showcase of the system.
I mean on PS3 you can play up to 7 players while the 3DO can go beyond that. (The only limit is the bandwidth if i'm correct)

Anyway, I hit seven more game overs on the airplane level, so it's still plenty challenging. I really don't think I've ever had so much trouble putting down a game where I keep dying on the same level. Part of it's the brevity of the levels, since of course each time I get a game over I only need three minutes to get back to where I was. But also, I'm addicted to nabbing those white clouds. There's just something about making clouds go "pop". The modification to the hit detection really helps, too; I find I'm having a lot more fun with the levels, even if I'm essentially dying just as often.

So nobody was able to reach the good ending ? Damn , i thought my game was pretty easy...
I'm glad you're still having fun with my game...

Offtopic : My next game will have no or almost no ponies , that's for sure.
Nothing was really done but i plan to put some FMV in my game and it'll be a little more longer.
I'll let you know when i made some progress.

[3DO Experience]

So nobody was able to reach the good ending ? Damn , i thought my game was pretty easy...
I'm glad you're still having fun with my game...

Offtopic : My next game will have no or almost no ponies , that's for sure.
Nothing was really done but i plan to put some FMV in my game and it'll be a little more longer.
I'll let you know when i made some progress.

I haven't beaten it either.

Good to hear about FMV!

[Martin III]

The 3DO doesn't have a lot of interactive multiplayer games? No way!

pls gimme all the good multiplayer games for 3do , thx

I was just making a little joke about the 3DO's full name, actually.

Anyway, I finally beat the plane level! I focused on learning the rhythm at which the planes appear, and after several attempts I got it down enough to beat the level. Man, did I cheer. I had Rinblow Trash keep on running, and enjoyed that ending. Can't quite place where the music is from, though.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems to report:
1.The sound effect that plays when Rinblow Trash takes off isn't working in this version. There's a split-second of static in its stead.
2.After reaching the on-the-run ending, I started a new game and beat the plane level again. When I select "take a rest", Rinblow Trash has one line of dialogue and then the game crashes, going back to the 3DO logo.
3.I'm not sure this is a problem, but Rinblow Trash says "Saunique Shitbloom" where in the original version she says "Saunique Rinbloom". While this does make sense (if I ate over 30 oranges in one sitting, I'd expect to be doing a shitbloom at some point too), in the context of the game it seems more likely that you intended this phrase to appear only in poop mode. I'm seeing it in orange mode.

On a final note, I've forgotten to mention that I love all the little Game Over screens in this game. I actually went through the trouble of having Rinblow Trash go suicidal just so I could see the Game Over screen for the falling oranges level.

[blabla]

Hello ,
Thanks for your feedback Martin !
I have updated my game again , you can see the changelog below :

Code: Select all

Version 1.3 :
Some of these improvements come from my Sega CD port. 
I had to improve a bit the Sega CD version due to the negative feedback , i thought i could
improve my 3DO port as well. 
(Link here if you want to know more about : http://gendev.spritesmind.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1571)

- There is now a parallax effect in the third minigame. I think it looks better but i had to lower the size 
  of the hills. (Only 1MB of VRAM and all the sprites/backgrounds are uncompressed)
- I have added more challenge. (Like my game was not hard enough xd , i'm a real bastard)
  A black cloud in the third minigame moves up and down and trust me , 
  you'll want to destroy that cloud after this.
- The plane and its explosion looks a bit better.

Download it here

2.After reaching the on-the-run ending, I started a new game and beat the plane level again. When I select "take a rest", Rinblow Trash has one line of dialogue and then the game crashes, going back to the 3DO logo.

I hope this version will fix this because otherwise i have no idea how to fix it...

Can't quite place where the music is from, though.

Yeah when you have already played Final Fantasy 6 , i think you might think that's unfitting or even insulting.
I thought it was fitting for what i wanted to do but maybe i am seriously wrong.

[Martin III]

Hello ,
Thanks for your feedback Martin !
I have updated my game again , you can see the changelog below :

Code: Select all

Version 1.3 :
Some of these improvements come from my Sega CD port. 
I had to improve a bit the Sega CD version due to the negative feedback , i thought i could
improve my 3DO port as well. 
(Link here if you want to know more about : http://gendev.spritesmind.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1571)

- There is now a parallax effect in the third minigame. I think it looks better but i had to lower the size 
  of the hills. (Only 1MB of VRAM and all the sprites/backgrounds are uncompressed)
- I have added more challenge. (Like my game was not hard enough xd , i'm a real bastard)
  A black cloud in the third minigame moves up and down and trust me , 
  you'll want to destroy that cloud after this.
- The plane and its explosion looks a bit better.

Download it here

Nice. I'll try it out when I get a chance.

Can't quite place where the music is from, though.

Yeah when you have already played Final Fantasy 6 , i think you might think that's unfitting or even insulting.
I thought it was fitting for what i wanted to do but maybe i am seriously wrong.

Ah yes, I was thinking it was from one of the Super Nintendo Final Fantasies, but it's been so long since I played those games (and I've only played them once each) that I thought I couldn't possibly be remembering that.

Nah, I thought it was appropriate, though original music is generally best in my opinion.

Incidentally, I just realized... Your forum name comes from the level select cheat code for Total Eclipse, doesn't it?

[Martin III]

Well, I got around to trying out version 1.3. The good news is the glitches with the takeoff sound effect and "Saunique Rinbloom" text are both fixed. The bad news is the game still crashes when I select "Take a rest". In fact, it now crashes without even the single line of text I got in version 1.2. What's more, it now also crashes when I select "keep on running"! I've been trying to see if this problem exists in version 1.1 as well, but I just can't beat the plane level in that version. I think I'll try it on 4DO so that I can abuse save states; obviously that's not the same as on the hardware, but it still might tell us something.

Anyway, as to the other changes: The exploding plane graphic is indeed better, and the vertically moving cloud makes for a much more lively challenge. A problem I always had with the scrolling levels in version 1.1 is that you have to have Rinblow Trash hug the near side of the screen to have even a chance of avoiding obstacles. In version 1.2 it's no longer necessary, but still the most sensible thing to do. No biggie, since that's the way it is in many professionally published games. But version 1.3 actually encourages Rinblow Trash to move horizontally as well as vertically. It gives you more of that sense of flight, and the challenge, while tougher, is still fair.

[blabla]

Well, I got around to trying out version 1.3. The good news is the glitches with the takeoff sound effect and "Saunique Rinbloom" text are both fixed. The bad news is the game still crashes when I select "Take a rest". In fact, it now crashes without even the single line of text I got in version 1.2. What's more, it now also crashes when I select "keep on running"! I've been trying to see if this problem exists in version 1.1 as well, but I just can't beat the plane level in that version. I think I'll try it on 4DO so that I can abuse save states; obviously that's not the same as on the hardware, but it still might tell us something.

Thank you Martin , i think i was able to find the problem.
I'm not really sure why but using the function InitializeDisplay() right after DestroyDisplay() crashes the 3DO.
In version 1.1 in the bad ending , i added these code lines. (The Bad ending in v1.1 and v1.2 was unreachable)
In version 1.3 , these code lines were in the good ending as well.

It should work now. (I'm still not sure because i don't own a 3DO , they are very expansive in France...)
Version 1.31