MSXdev23 #15 Eggy's Maze

Paragon (1832)

30-08-2023, 15:58

Cool!! I've only given it a quick try (a couple of screens), but I like the many graphic details, like the way the beach-balls roll, etc. I'll be playing more of it tonight

By shalafi

Master (171)

30-08-2023, 16:27

Cool game. I'm definitely playing this one!

It shares a few mechanics with the game I'm making this year,

By aoineko

Paragon (1138)

30-08-2023, 16:38

A great game with nice puzzles and very detailed graphics!

I don't find it very difficult, but some areas are still pretty tricky.

By valkyre

Paladin (703)

30-08-2023, 17:02

Very nice game.

By gdx

Enlighted (6438)

30-08-2023, 17:06

Look nice!

There are a few graphic bugs and, I would have preferred to save on disk, GM2 or PAC as desired.

By Sandy Brand

Champion (309)

30-08-2023, 17:09

Looks very nice!

By Bengalack

Paladin (805)

30-08-2023, 17:50

Ooooh. This one is nice. I love all the details found here and there!

Good one!

By enribar

Paragon (1224)

30-08-2023, 18:47

Finished yesterday! Really an amazing puzzle game! Many rooms are really hard to solve but many compliments to the author!

By BlueCrystal

Expert (113)

30-08-2023, 21:15

Just love the world building animations all over. Birds, sharks, rounding edges, etc.!

By ARTRAG

Enlighted (6977)

30-08-2023, 21:58

Cool graphics and musics! How do you move the blocks ? I can only push them, can you pull them ?

By aoineko

Paragon (1138)

31-08-2023, 00:31

Crates and ballons can only be push.
Good luck with the puzzles!

By Micha

Expert (110)

31-08-2023, 07:19

Nice one! I like the concept of all levels forming a larger map!

By Briqunullus

Paladin (771)

31-08-2023, 21:10

Had a quick look on my phone in webmsx and I was already very impressed. Will definitely give this more play time when I'm I can enjoy it on a larger screen again.

By RealUnknownInfinite

Supporter (5)

31-08-2023, 23:18

Excellent game!

By gdx

Enlighted (6438)

01-09-2023, 17:17

Finished too! The game is enjoyable to play but too short.

By aoineko

Paragon (1138)

01-09-2023, 19:05

gdx wrote:

Finished too! The game is enjoyable to play but too short.

Hence the subtitle: A tiny adventure

Personally, I prefer quality over quantity.

By KdL

Paragon (1485)

01-09-2023, 18:43

It is a wonderful minigame. Congratulations!!

By shalafi

Master (171)

01-09-2023, 20:48

aoineko wrote:

gdx wrote:

Finished too! The game is enjoyable to play but too short.

Hence the subtitle: A tiny adventure

Personally, I prefer quality over quantity.

100% on this.

A 30 minutes long game that keeps you engaged until the end provides 30 minutes of enjoyment
A 5 hour long game that you drop after 10 minutes because it is boring, provides much less fun.

By gdx

Enlighted (6438)

02-09-2023, 11:16

aoineko wrote:

Personally, I prefer quality over quantity.

This is because the game is enjoyable I found it too short.

Anyway, I suppose that the game will be released in cartridge with lots of stages.

By ro

Scribe (5061)

03-09-2023, 14:58

updated to v1.4
https://www.msxdev.org/2023/08/30/msxdev23-15-eggys-maze/

By jbikker

Resident (45)

03-09-2023, 15:15

Changelog:

- Water animation no longer overwrites crate tiles (bug reported by users gdx and aioneko);
- Doors in final field (F-1) behave properly when E-1 or F-2 are not visited yet, blocking wrong order traversal of some fields (reported by DTensoMSX);
- The first t-junction now has a more clear visual indication of its function.

Thanks to all the testers and people that provided feedback! It is much appreciated.

By Briqunullus

Paladin (771)

03-09-2023, 21:30

Finished the game. It's not particularly hard, but it's good fun. It has captured the vibe of Eggerland nicely and turned it into something refreshing. The large map plays out great, it's a puzzle in itself. Using the cmos for saving may be a bit cheeky, and an option to clear the memory would be nice. Now when I open the game, it's already finished. On a technical note, it uses some MSX2 features in a cool way that adds to the atmosphere. And all of this is crammed into a 48K rom. Well done!

By jbikker

Resident (45)

03-09-2023, 21:44

You can reset the map by keeping ESC down during startup.

By theNestruo

Champion (430)

07-09-2023, 11:56

Nice game, indeed (I love puzzle games). Very interesting graphically wise! Congratulations.
The menu screen is perhaps the weakest point of the game: it is a little bit unclear (I still don't know what the "X?" bubble at the top right means, despite I have completed the 36 stages), and some of the graphics (bubble, keyhole, keys) are perhaps below the level of the rest of the game.

By Briqunullus

Paladin (771)

09-09-2023, 18:04

Haha, when we start cherry picking great games it means we want them to be even better. Love that. I have created a full size map of the game (there are 30 rooms by the way) and may have discovered a tiny bug. I expected each screen to be 256x256 pixels, but actually it's 256x255. I think the game could scroll down 1 more pixel.

By tfh

Prophet (3430)

09-09-2023, 18:36

Briqunullus wrote:

Haha, when we start cherry picking great games it means we want them to be even better. Love that. I have created a full size map of the game (there are 30 rooms by the way) and may have discovered a tiny bug. I expected each screen to be 256x256 pixels, but actually it's 256x255. I think the game could scroll down 1 more pixel.

Feel free to email me that map (and others if you have any more!)

By jbikker

Resident (45)

09-09-2023, 20:31

There's more than 30 rooms.

By jbikker

Resident (45)

09-09-2023, 20:45

Quote:

I expected each screen to be 256x256 pixels, but actually it's 256x255. I think the game could scroll down 1 more pixel.

You are correct; this will be resolved in 1.05. Also, all feedback is much appreciated! I am blessed with some particularly thorough betatesters (Aioneko, thanks!), and the game would have been in a different state without them.

By jbikker

Resident (45)

09-09-2023, 21:31

An improved version of Eggy's Maze (version 1.05) has just been submitted to MSXDev23. Changelog:

- Improved laser pyrotechnics.
- Version number on map screen.
- Already solved levels can now be replayed by holding CTRL.
- Missing pixel has been reclaimed: fields are now 256x256 (thanks Briqunullus!).
- Various levels have been replaced by more satisfying ones.

The updated levels are: B-1, C-1 (minor change and moved from D-1), D-1 (major changes). And: A-3, E-3, F-3 (all fully redesigned). And finally: D-4 (one extra block on the island) and A-4 (removed obstacles along main path; people tought they were supposed to indicate crate target positions).

I believe the improvements to some of these levels are substantial and I hope (returning) players will appreciate them.

By Briqunullus

Paladin (771)

10-09-2023, 11:45

jbikker wrote:

There's more than 30 rooms.

Wait? 6 times 5 does not equal 30? Oh dear, the quest is on!

jbikker wrote:

- Missing pixel has been reclaimed: fields are now 256x256 (thanks Briqunullus!).

Hail to the reclaimed pixel!

jbikker wrote:

- Various levels have been replaced by more satisfying ones.

Awaiting anxiously for updated version to be available at msxdev site :-)

By theNestruo

Champion (430)

10-09-2023, 12:12

Briqunullus wrote:

jbikker wrote:

There's more than 30 rooms.

Wait? 6 times 5 does not equal 30? Oh dear, the quest is on!

You have probably missed solving one screen; the same happened to me.
Greyscale thumbnails = not visited, colored thumbnails = visited, green border = solved. But the grey/green border is thin and not easily noticeable. Maybe a different style (e.g.: not visited = grey block, visited = greyscale thumbnail, solved = colored thumbnail) could improve the readability...

theNestruo wrote:

I still don't know what the "X?" bubble at the top right means, despite I have completed the 36 stages.

Any tip about this?

Briqunullus wrote:

Awaiting anxiously for updated version to be available at msxdev site :-)

I will also replay the game when the newer version becomes available!

By Briqunullus

Paladin (771)

10-09-2023, 12:46

theNestruo wrote:

You have probably missed solving one screen; the same happened to me.

No, I think I already found it. The map is 6 by 6 after all.

By Briqunullus

Paladin (771)

12-09-2023, 21:42

New version is online now. I have completed the map and sent it to tfh. By the way, I found E1 and E4 also altered. Their routing has changed to fit the path of D1 and E3 respectively. I love this game, I hope the judges will like it too.

By shalafi

Master (171)

16-09-2023, 14:13

Very nice game. I'm almost at the end, but I got the last key and I don't seem to be able to get back to the top left corner. The only way up is blocked by a ball.

I think we're meant to be able to access the map and move freely from there, but in my emulator, when I press ESC it resets.

Edit: yes, I found the configuration, disabled esc to exit and I could access the map and get to the end. Still, a pity that you can't walk your way back there.

I found one minor bug, the sound for picking up a key plays again when you get back to the screen and stand on the tile where the key was. Super minor, but with the attention to detail this game has, I thought the developer might want to address it.

Thanks for this game, is fantastic.

By jbikker

Resident (45)

16-09-2023, 20:16

Thank you for the kind words, and the suggestions shalafi.

The game should not reset when you press ESC, so that's a bug as well. May I ask you which emulator you used?

I will see if it is possible to make the whole map accessible from the top-right so you can move freely; this may be tricky with some of the puzzles, which are quite carefully layed out.

The bug with the key collection sound should be easy to fix. I'll make sure it works correctly in v1.06!

- Jacco.

By jbikker

Resident (45)

16-09-2023, 20:19

Quick question: I tried to run the ROM from disk via DOS using SROM (latest version, 3.2 I believe, from SofaRun). I tried setting the AI level to 0, experimented with the preffered device (I am using an OCM), and tried various setting for /R (megarom type), mostly R9, R10, R11. But no matter what I do, the game doesn't start... It works fine with Carnivore, and in emulators, but so far I failed to produce a working disk with the game. Did anyone manage to start it with a rom loader?

By shalafi

Master (171)

16-09-2023, 20:28

jbikker wrote:

Thank you for the kind words, and the suggestions shalafi.

The game should not reset when you press ESC, so that's a bug as well. May I ask you which emulator you used?

I will see if it is possible to make the whole map accessible from the top-right so you can move freely; this may be tricky with some of the puzzles, which are quite carefully layed out.

The bug with the key collection sound should be easy to fix. I'll make sure it works correctly in v1.06!

- Jacco.

I was using BlueMSX, on top of libretro / EmuELEC, which defaults ESC as "close emulator", I just needed to go into settings to change that, if instead of ESC it would have been F2 or something else, it would have worked without any issues.

Great game. I think you'll like Shyre when I release it (I am thinking sometime this week) it is fun how we both used very similar design ideas although with very different results.

By aoineko

Paragon (1138)

17-09-2023, 09:41

jbikker wrote:

Did anyone manage to start it with a rom loader?

As the game is a 48 KB ROM with interrupt handler replacement in page 0, it should be tricky to convert it to disk program.

That said, if the program loads the 3 pieces of 16 KB ROM into 3 RAM segments (page 0 to 2) and executes the program based on the 4000h header, it should work.

shalafi wrote:

I was using BlueMSX, on top of libretro / EmuELEC, which defaults ESC as "close emulator", I just needed to go into settings to change that, if instead of ESC it would have been F2 or something else, it would have worked without any issues.

ESC is a more than legit shortcut button for leaving a page in a MSX game. You should rather change your shortcut in the emulator so it don't interfere with a button of the emulated machine.

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