Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer [1st Runner-Up]

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lidnariq
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by lidnariq »

No bus conflicts.

Might be better to leave the prevention table present if you're targeting something that's just UNROM, though, and not using any other features.
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by Goose2k »

First off, here's a little preview of the new Title Screen for the game (by Zolionline).

witchnwiz_title_preview.jpg

Second, thanks to some amazing help from norill, the game has been ported to Mapper 28! It's still using 128 PRG, but should be able to easily trim down to 64kb (there is lots of padding right now).

nes2_mapper28.gif
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by Goose2k »

Progress is still coming along.

I've updated the game description in the original post to properly reflect the current technical details of the game:
Development Details:
  • Targets Mapper 28 (Action 53) directly, rather than one of the supported discrete mappers.
  • 64KB PRG-ROM + 32 KB CHR-ROM (CHR bank swapping for background animation, currently no plans to write CHR-RAM at runtime).
...
The full game is currently targeting Mapper 1 (MMC1) with 256KB of Memory (16 x 8KB PRG-ROM + 16 x 8KB CHR-ROM), so this compo build is a bit of a stripped down version of that long term target.
I have done an initial rough pass at getting all memory into the 64KB of PRG-ROM, and everything is working, with lots of room to spare actually.

mapper_28_memory.png

The title screen I teased in the previous post is now in game along with credits.

nes2_boot_flow.gif
nes2_boot_flow.gif (82.78 KiB) Viewed 12938 times
(or watch the whole thing running on real hardware: video)


My current todo list to get this to a shippable state (I hope to do more beyond this) is:
  • Polish "level complete" sequence.
  • Ending (cutscene or something).
  • Music and Sound.
  • Remove SRAM usage (and rework rewind system to not depend on it, as well as come up with a design for the game if there is no "best time" to work towards.
lidnariq
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by lidnariq »

Goose2k wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:38 pm current technical details of the game:
[...]
64KB PRG-ROM + 32 KB CHR-ROM
Just to be paranoid, because this isn't the fun kind of thing to find out later: you're eventually planning on compressing the CHR data so that you only use 64KB total, right?
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by Goose2k »

lidnariq wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 3:48 pm
Goose2k wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:38 pm current technical details of the game:
[...]
64KB PRG-ROM + 32 KB CHR-ROM
Just to be paranoid, because this isn't the fun kind of thing to find out later: you're eventually planning on compressing the CHR data so that you only use 64KB total, right?
No. From what I have read, that isn't needed, but maybe I misunderstood.

From tepples via discord:
norill01/09/2021
@PinoBatch question regarding compo, does the menu program handle decompressing and uploading CHR into RAM?

PinoBatch01/09/2021
Yes, if your game has CHR ROM.

mhughson01/09/2021
Oh, so the games don't need to be made using CHR RAM?

PinoBatch01/09/2021
Thwaite was in volume 1 and was NROM-128.
Quite a few of volume 1 and 2 were NROM. Official support for CNROM landed in volume 3.
Am I misunderstanding what this means?
lidnariq
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by lidnariq »

I believe you have a budget of 64KB total (after any CHR compression). Obviously, consult with someone who's actually in charge instead of going on my memory.
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by Goose2k »

lidnariq wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:32 pm I believe you have a budget of 64KB total (after any CHR compression). Obviously, consult with someone who's actually in charge instead of going on my memory.
Confirmed that you are correct. Thanks for catching that!
PinoBatchToday at 3:45 PM
If your PRG ROM plus CHR ROM exceed 64 KiB, then you need to do your own compression on the CHR data to fit it in PRG ROM.
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by Goose2k »

Image

I haven't been posting much, but work has continued! Thanks to @norill, the game is now running inside the 64kb limit, and makes use of CHR-RAM! Still not out of the woods since the game isn't done yet, but things are looking promising!

Tui has started getting sound and music into the game, and it's really starting to fell like a real game now (I'll share some music later, once he signs off on it).

Kenneth and Zoltan have continued to pump out great looking art for the game (mostly minor tweaks at this point).

I've started working on a key scene, "the magic mirror", featured above. Still not finished, but it's looking cool so far!

If you want to get more regular updates, with lots short behind the scene gifs and stuff, follow me on any of these social platforms:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthughson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2788404591447894
Discord: https://discord.gg/DenmA4ssPY
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by Goose2k »

For the NESDev Compo build of Witch n' Wiz, there will be no save RAM, so I needed to implement a password system. Along with that, I also flushed out all the flows in and out of the game. Take a look!

Image

The game is very close to being done, at least ready for Beta Testing. If you are interested in helping test the game, please come join the Discord where I will be posting information in the coming days.

https://discord.gg/WuYCW2SvHz

The only major feature work remaining is:

Code: Select all

* Polish "level complete" sequence.
* Add a proper ending (cutscene or something).
* Remove SRAM usage (rewind system and best times).
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nes2_password_flow.gif
LogDog
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by LogDog »

Great job!I like it.
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dink
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer

Post by dink »

The game looks absolutely wonderous, the magic mirror is a nice touch :)
I won't be able to test it due to also working hard on a project, but I will definitely find time to play the finished game!

best regards,
- dink
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer [CLOSED BETA SIGNUPS OPEN NOW]

Post by Goose2k »

Do you want to get a sneak peak of Witch n' Wiz?

I am currently putting the finishing touches on the 2021 NESDev Compo version of this puzzle platformer, to be released on March 1st, 2020.

I am looking for people who can invest some playtime over the next few weeks, and log bugs and feedback.

Sign up for the CLOSED BETA here:

https://forms.gle/sWfaPL3VuiKkh4gY7

Image
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vnsbr
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer [CLOSED BETA SIGNUPS OPEN NOW]

Post by vnsbr »

Game is looking really great and curious to know how you implemented the mirror effect. Looks really cool! Will it play part on puzzle mechanics or is for cutscene?
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer [CLOSED BETA SIGNUPS OPEN NOW]

Post by Goose2k »

Just a quick update to say that the game is basically done! The Beta has been going great! I thought it was going to be really hard to get people to play the game and log meaningful feedback, but it's been super fruitful from day one, and still is today. They even found a total game breaking bug in the first few hours!

Tui has been flushing out the sound effects and the music which the testers seem to really enjoy.

Zolionline has put together a nice ending screen to give the game a bit more polish, as well as proper graphics for "Level Complete".

I've just being going through all the feedback from tester, prioritizing bugs, and crushing them one by one. Nothing is left on the "must fix" or "should fix" list. Everything else is subjective or "nice to have", and likely won't be addressed for the competition due to risk of causing knock-on bugs.

Overall, the feedback has been quite positive! It's got me more excited than ever to release a more full featured version of the game later this year.

Memory is mostly filled at this point, although I have a little stashed away still, but it's getting harder to use due to dependencies it might create between banks. Luckily, everything is pretty locked down at this point, so I shouldn't need it.
witch53_mem.png
I'll likely have (hopefully) one final Beta build later this week, so if you want to check out the game, sign up here: https://forms.gle/sWfaPL3VuiKkh4gY7
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Goose2k
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Re: Witch n' Wiz - Puzzle Platformer !OUT NOW!

Post by Goose2k »

Witch n' Wiz NESDev Compo 2020/21 Edition is OUT NOW!

Image

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