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Tomy Sky Attack

A topic by Itizso created May 07, 2024 Views: 1,168 Replies: 97

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Itizso277 days ago (1 edit)

Cosmoguy2k suggested increasing the difficulty progression for Sky Attack.

I've updated the dev build to increase the enemy speed by 20% for each level up to Level 7. After Level 7, the speed remains the same as Level 7 as per the original game.

I've also increased the frequency of enemy fire for Level 7 (and beyond) so the chance each enemy fires is now increased from 1 in 3 (33%) to 1 in 2 (50%).

I've set the dev build to start at Level 7 for testing purposes.

Let me know if this change should be released into production.

Cosmoguy2k277 days ago

I've had a bit of a tester go and it's definitly better but i still feel ship speed & fire rate needs upping a little more :) Yhanks for the superfast response lol. I have also tried a version someone made for download but that goes too far the other way and they have like 10 or 11 rounds which is way more than the original of 7 and the speed is impossible and i'm very skilled at this game lol

Itizso277 days ago

Remember you can always increase the speed even more through the game settings menu [F3] :)

Cosmoguy2k277 days ago

Totally forgot about that lol, just quickly tried it and that makes it impossible lol 🤣🤣

Itizso277 days ago (1 edit)

ooh, yeah, way too fast ;)

okay, I've upped the speed a bit more in the dev build and increased the chance each enemy fires to 1 in 1.5 (66%) . This does mean you can get 3 enemy missiles on screen at once, but at least one of these should be a step behind the other two.

Cosmoguy2k277 days ago (3 edits)

The speed is spot on now mate :D I have noticed a bug though as my bonus activated at 705 instead of 700, im guessing this is because i destroyed 2 in 1 which can happen occasionally even on the original but the original always stops it dead on the 50/00. Also on the original when you destroy a ship on the bonus round it plays a higher pitced note after the 2 low notes. Cheers Matt 😀

Itizso276 days ago

Thanks Matt. It should be easy enough to clamp the score to ensure a round ends on a multiple of 100. I'll do that when I have some free time. Thanks again for helping to improve this simulation.

Cosmoguy2k276 days ago

also thankyou for been so fast with your responses, let me know when these changes have been made and the main version has been updated, cheers 😀

Itizso276 days ago

Okay, fixed the issue with the scoring if there's a double enemy hit just as you qualify for the bonus round.

Also, thanks for your note (pardon the pun) about the missing lower pitched chime in the bonus round. I completely missed that. Also, in adding that, I realized I was awarding the 50 points immediately, but it should actually be awarded only after the enemy explodes and when the lower pitch note chimes. So thanks for that.

I've promoted the dev build to production with all the changes.

Here's the change log for the release:

Enemy speed is now 30% faster than the previous release for each level. The speed does not increase after Level 7.
The probability of an enemy firing increases with each level, starting with 33% chance in Level 1 and increasing to 66% in Level 7.
A bonus round starts exactly after scoring 100 points in any level.
The 50 points for an enemy hit in the bonus round is awarded after the enemy explodes.
A lower pitched note plays when points are awarded in the bonus round.

Thanks again for your notes on this simulation. I've credited you on the game page for your contribution :)

Cosmoguy2k276 days ago

ah yes, that was another thing i overlooked as the original awards the points after the ship explodes, it is soo much better! I won't be rolling the score over any time soon lol. Did you have any plans on making the shark attack version? It uses the exact same mechanics as sky attack but with sharks and your diver is at the top of the screen shooting down. Thanks for updating the game in quick time, also recommended retrofab games on my social media so hopefully will send more players playing these classics. My highest ever score on the original handheld shark attack is 6145 which i haven't beaten for some time lol

Itizso276 days ago

I would love to add Shark Attack.

I already have all the assets to do it, including the screen artwork and packaging. Just need to find better scans of the manual.

If you know of anyone who can help with better quality scans, please let me know.

Cosmoguy2k276 days ago

H have the game in its original box but sadly didnt come with the instruction manual, I don't know anyone but i think your best bet is to search the game on ebay and ask them if they could send you a high res image of the manual. Might be a long shot but I couldn't find much on google.

Cosmoguy2k267 days ago (1 edit)

Hiya, me again lol. With the original sky attack when you get a situation where all 3 spaces are taken up you can sometimes get out of it as there is a slight delay before the laser hits you (fraction of a second), not sure if it can be done but if it can this will be very close to the original :)

Itizso267 days ago

Hey there. Thanks for the feedback. I'll take a look.

Cosmoguy2k267 days ago

Cheers :)

Itizso265 days ago

Okay, I took a closer look at the code and figured out the issue.

The check for a hit on the player was being done as the enemy's missile arrives at it's last position on the screen. The check should actually be done when the missile is about to leave it's last position. This will then give the player 1 extra game tick to get out of the way.

I've patched the public release with this change.

Thanks again for your contribution and helping to improve this simulation!

Cosmoguy2k264 days ago

Nice one thankyou :)

Cosmoguy2k264 days ago (1 edit)

Just tested it out and indeed you can get out of the situation where all 3 spaces are taking up. The draw back it has unbalanced the game a bit and i just scored north of 6,500 and feel i could roll it over so to compensate maybe turning the enemy speed up by a full 40-50% at level 7 :). The speed its at now is perfect for level 6 though

Itizso264 days ago

I think the problem is the speed of the enemy missiles, which remains the same throughout the game. So what I've done now is made the enemy's missiles speed up slightly with each level. You can test it out on the public release.

Cosmoguy2k263 days ago (1 edit)

Ah yes even I totally overlooked that, well spotted, its defo made a big difference, still easier compared to the origina but i dont think I can roll the score over at least, not had 4k yet lol

Itizso263 days ago

Cool. Thanks again for your help.

Cosmoguy2k255 days ago (2 edits)

Hiya, enemy missiles seem to come down at the same speed through levels 5,6,7 but seem to speed up quite a few bonus rounds after level 7, usually when im somewhere between 2,500 & 3,000 also it seems the missile kills you almost straight away instead of lthe frame where it disappears of the screen. I know the site was down all day not long ago so i wander if thats got anything to do with it. Cheers :)

Itizso253 days ago

Hmm... that's strange. Not sure what might have happened. Perhaps an older version got reloaded by itch.io somehow. Anyway, just to be safe, I've uploaded a new build. Thanks for the letting me know about the issue.

Cosmoguy2k253 days ago

No problem :)

Cosmoguy2k250 days ago

Hiya, I really hate being a pain but just had a tester go and its still doing the same thing as my previous message, regards Cosmo

Itizso250 days ago

Not sure what the problem might be. I just tested the latest release and it works for me. I tested till level 8 and the enemy missile speed increases with each level. I wonder if it might be a caching issue with your browser? Can you confirm the build date on the splash screen is 2024.05.30 when you launch the game. Thanks.

Cosmoguy2k250 days ago (4 edits)

I will try with a incognito mode on a different browser and clear cache in the morning, level 8? level 7 is full speed on these :) Just tested on level 1 to makesure it isn't me, enemy fire doesn't kill me instantly but deffo before as its leaving the frame and also just checked and I am on the correct build cheers

Cosmoguy2k249 days ago

Tried with duck duck go browser and its way better! tbh I really like the missile speed is increased after every level beyond 7 as it's more of a punishment for missing ships on your bonus rounds, this build is perfect mate, cheers. As I owned the shark attack and sky attack the shark attack does run faster but the players fire rate is increased to compansate to keep the same difficulty but thats up to you if you want to do that :)

Itizso249 days ago

Ah great! Thanks for letting me know.

Itizso246 days ago (1 edit)

I thought I'd try throwing together a quick simulation of Shark Attack :) You can play it here. I've reused most of the code from Sky Attack, so it has the exact same difficultly progression. This includes the increase in speed with each level of the sharks that rise up to attack the player, which correspond to the enemy missiles in Sky Attack. The instructions are still not great, but it's probably going to have to do for a public release until I can find better scans. I was also inspired by your Sky Attack gameplay video to add the level number to the RetroFab version of the artwork. Let me know what you think.

Cosmoguy2k246 days ago (2 edits)

This is really good mate! However lol, the sharks that go down the sides always come up if they don't move to the middle in the original, another thing is the font is really good and what im about to suggest isn't really important but the 9's are straight and the 6's are bent over in the original :) To make it slightly different from the sky attack i would suggest increasing the speed of the sharks but also increase the players rate of fire a little just so it feels a little different :) Also would it be possible to have the view a bit more centered? as it seems im looking through the left eye peice and feels a bit wierd lol. Glad my video helped in some way, i will also do a video on the shark attack most likely same target score :D

Itizso245 days ago

Thanks for the great feedback. I've updated the dev build with the following changes for you to try out. Sharks in the left and right channels now always attack upwards. Overall game speed is increased by 10%. Any more and I think us mere mortals wouldn't be able to get past level 5 ;-) The speed of the sharks as they attack upward will still continue to increase (like Sky Attack) beyond level 7 so pros like yourself should still find it challenging in later levels. Thanks for highlighting the non-standard 9 in the score. I've fixed it now. As for the artwork not centered, this was a challenge since the image is always taken through one of the eyepieces so it's hard to find one that is centered. But I've made my best attempt to manipulate it manually so it's more centered now. It's still not 100% but any more and it would start to look too distorted.

backtobox245 days ago

Hi Itizso , I have left you some messages but I can't reach you. I really want to give you something you need a lot, and that is all the Remastered Nintendo boxes. Please contact me at IG @backtoboxofficial and info@backtobox.com.

Itizso245 days ago

Hi there. Thanks for the offer but I'm good with the scans of the originals I already have.

backtobox244 days ago

Hi, thanks for responding.

Are you really sure you don't want all the boxes and all the instructions 100% remastered like new?

I mean, it's an incredible job that would greatly highlight your spectacular work with the Game & Watch.

It's a great pity, but I suppose you have a reason for not accepting such a great gift and sticking with such old images.

We send you a big greeting and remain at your disposal.

Let us know if there's anything else you need help with!

Itizso244 days ago

Thanks! I will definitely keep your generous offer in mind when I'm ready to do a major refresh of the G&W collection on RetroFab. Wishing you all the best with your website and keep up the great work!

Cosmoguy2k245 days ago (2 edits)

Thankyou :) I also forgot to mention that it would be better if the retrofab background was a darker blue as it would better contrast the sharks and the score. Just tried it out and its centered enough and loads better, the sharks going down the sides that don't jump to the middle still dont always come up, to compensate the difficulty for normal players between levels 1 to 6 would it be possible to reduce the chance of 1 shark coming up as a 2 then from level 7 its as they are now. Would you be willing to increase the speed of the sharks upto level 12? This would benefit more skilled players but won't hinder the less skilled as I feel they are still a little on the slow side at level 7 :) Cheers

Itizso245 days ago

Thanks again for the feedback. I'll see what I can do regarding the speed, but as I mentioned earlier if I'm having trouble at level 5 and 6 then I think more casual players will too. I'll look into why the sharks going down the sides don't always come up, but I suspect it's because of the constraint that doesn't allow all channels to be attacking the player at once (otherwise they'd have no chance to escape). Thanks again for taking the time to review the build. I'll work on the updates and let you know when it's released.

Cosmoguy2k245 days ago (4 edits)

Here's a suggestion, maybe revert the speed back as it was from level 1 > 7 and then maybe one more speed increase maybe like 20% at level 15, this also gives less skilled players a chance to get past 2k and slow the players fire rate down a bit as its a bit fast :) End of the day it is entirely your choice what you do and do what you think is best, I feel a bit bossy but totally not as these are only suggestions :D

Cheers

Itizso244 days ago

Your input is greatly appreciated mate. Especially given how familiar (and insanely skilled) you are with the game. I especially like your suggestion of having one rate at which the speed increases from level 1 to 7, and then have a different (faster) rate after level 7 which will ramp up the speed much quicker.

I've updated the dev build so you can try it out. I've increased the speed between level 1 and 7 so that by the time you get to level 7 it's a little faster than it was in the previous build. I've also made the rate of the player's shots faster to balance out the increase in the speed for novice players. After level 7, you should notice the enemy attack speed increase a lot quicker with each level since I can now set a different rate from that of level 1 to 7. Just let me if you think the speed in the levels after level 7 ramps up enough, or if I should increase the rate some more. Should be lot easier to increase the rate now if needed since it won't affect the speed for levels 1 to 7.

I didn't change anything specific to fix the issue where sharks in the left and right channel sometimes don't attack upwards, but I didn't get it while testing the latest changes. Perhaps I changed something inadvertently with the latest updates, or maybe it still happens but I just didn't notice. Let me know if you still find some sharks don't attack upward when they should.

If all goes well I'm hoping to release Shark Attack on Monday.

Cosmoguy2k244 days ago (2 edits)

Hiya, had 4 to 5 goes at it, i really like this change but lol:

1. Because of the increased fire rate I can literally stay on one side and stop 90% of the sharks coming up so I think the speed of the sharks need increasing by about 20% at level 12 then staying at that speed.

2. I've really noticed the speed increase of the sharks coming at the player and I feel the speed they come up at level 11 is perfect, anything past that and even I can't react in time lol

3. The font on the original game with the number 7's they are like hooked over the top (See image) Also the score usually starts with one "0" and yours starts at "00"

Conclusion, what I think may be best
Levels 1 > 7 are fine the way they are. From 8 > 11 the sharks swimming towards the diver is increased upto level 11 as this is plenty fast enough. At level 12 the sharks at the bottom speed up by 20% ish but stay at that speed throughout if this can be done :)

Cheers

7 font in the original game

Itizso244 days ago

Thanks for testing. Sounds like we're much closer now. Yeah, it should be possible to increase the speed of the sharks at the bottom by 20% at level 12 and then remain constant. And thanks for the note on the number 7. As for the score having a minimum of 2 digits displayed, this is only on the RetroFab enhanced artwork mode so it's more visually balanced with the added level display. If you switch to the original artwork mode it always starts with 1 digit as per the original game.

View more in thread

Cosmoguy2k249 days ago

I found an ai tool for making text sharper, its definetly made a difference

Cosmoguy2k249 days ago

wouldnt let me upload 2 images so had to do it in 2 msgs

Itizso249 days ago

Thanks! I'm still hoping to find someone who can scan the original so it's closer to the Sky Attack scan quality. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Cosmoguy2k249 days ago

Mee too mate, the shark attack is the one i grew up with and still an excellent game today

Itizso249 days ago

I'll be sure to let you when I start working on it so you can contribute... especially with testing.

Cosmoguy2k249 days ago

Made a video of me attemping 4,000 :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtxIQApzA70

Itizso249 days ago

Level 18! That's impressive! I'm getting better after all the testing but no where as good as that.

Cosmoguy2k249 days ago (1 edit)

Thanks! It's all thanks to you that this video happened as the desktop version is very buggy and impossible :) I've had the shark attack since I was 10 and after all these years my skill has just stuck with me. I was under soo much pressure on level 18 as i was on what i call "full risk" where you have to hit all 20 to get to the next thousand and "half risk" when your bonus ends at ,950. Cos I was being super quick at reacting i pressed left one time too many and thats what ended me lol. Whats your highest score? My highest ever on the original shark attack is 6,145, don't think i'll ever get that again lol

Itizso248 days ago

Not sure what my highest score is, but I've never made it past Level 11. And I suck at the bonus rounds... way too slow reaction times. I'll stick to coding ;-)

Cosmoguy2k248 days ago

Thats not bad, if you suck at bonuses I would say thats around 1,500 ish, the average person wont even get beyond level 4/5 :)