- Welcome to Vectrex32.
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#41
Game Swap / Re: Star Trex
Last post by jgkspsx - January 18, 2021, 01:46:02 PMThe video shows the level being completed, though, with a "Sector Cleared" message. I may poke around a bit more later. I didn't see any errors being logged.
#42
Game Swap / Re: Star Trex
Last post by Vectrex32 - January 18, 2021, 08:08:53 AMI certainly wouldn't expect the Klingons to be self-destructing. Sure, it's always a good day to die, but that's just plain dishonorable.
I would expect you to run out of energy and torpedoes: I've always found ST to be a very difficult game.
And then, powering down your system I suppose just means that game re-starting hasn't been implemented in the program. I said this is beta software, but that's probably too generous. It's not really even at alpha stage yet. It was just posted as a basis for other people to continue development on.
I would expect you to run out of energy and torpedoes: I've always found ST to be a very difficult game.
And then, powering down your system I suppose just means that game re-starting hasn't been implemented in the program. I said this is beta software, but that's probably too generous. It's not really even at alpha stage yet. It was just posted as a basis for other people to continue development on.
#43
Game Swap / Re: Vecalabeth - Beta
Last post by Pix - January 18, 2021, 08:08:27 AMYes, I just about remember fixing that one. I do have a newer version of the code but won't be releasing it publicly here until after the backers of the Kickstarter I mentioned above have received their copies which should be in a couple of months or so. Covid has kept pushing things back or it would already have happened.
I've made a few small fixes and improvements like a title screen, always reachable maze exits and persistent mazes that don't move every time you go to a new floor. You aren't missing too much with the version on here though. I'm just waiting on playtesting now - I've been holding out for months for my playtester to get set up with a Vectrex + Vectrex32 which he finally sorted out today as it happens.
I've made a few small fixes and improvements like a title screen, always reachable maze exits and persistent mazes that don't move every time you go to a new floor. You aren't missing too much with the version on here though. I'm just waiting on playtesting now - I've been holding out for months for my playtester to get set up with a Vectrex + Vectrex32 which he finally sorted out today as it happens.
#44
Game Swap / Re: Star Trex
Last post by jgkspsx - January 17, 2021, 10:36:30 PMHahah, I probably should have thought to do that. It looks like the Sgn helper function it defines on line 3666 collides with a platform function. I commented it out and it runs! However, it seems like the enemies self-destruct pretty quickly and I am then quickly left without any energy to move or photon torpedoes to shoot, and then I have to power down my system. Is that expected?
#45
Game Swap / Re: Star Trex
Last post by Vectrex32 - January 17, 2021, 09:07:40 PMQuote from: jgkspsx on January 17, 2021, 08:48:32 PM
I'm sorry to say that mine freezes up as soon as I launch the game. It's possible that my Vectrex is not supplying enough power to the cartridge. Is it working for anybody else on version 1.27?
I also saw your post on the Vecalabeth thread. Both Star Trex and Vecalabeth are beta software, so I would suspect bugs in their code first, especially if you've been able to play the games included with V32 with no problem.
I'd suggest connecting your PC to the V32, bringing up a terminal window, playing the game until it crashes, and seeing if any error message comes out on the terminal.
- Bob
#46
General Discussion / Re: Introduce Yourself
Last post by jgkspsx - January 17, 2021, 08:56:20 PMHowdy! I got mine late last year and played around with the games that came with it, but have finally gotten around to hooking it up to my computer and trying to understand the development lifecycle for it. I am looking forward to playing around with it more.
#47
Game Swap / Re: Star Trex
Last post by jgkspsx - January 17, 2021, 08:48:32 PMI'm sorry to say that mine freezes up as soon as I launch the game. It's possible that my Vectrex is not supplying enough power to the cartridge. Is it working for anybody else on version 1.27?
#48
Game Swap / Re: Vecalabeth - Beta
Last post by jgkspsx - January 17, 2021, 08:44:16 PMI'm sad to say that I get to the character class selection, and it locks up after that. I think my Vectrex is struggling to supply the V32 with enough power (based on the fact that the screen flickers violently on and off when copying files to and from it), so maybe that's part of the problem? I have not recapped the power board and I wonder if that's an issue.
EDIT: Looks like it was a change in the system libraries. ^ has been redefined to mean a bitwise XOR:
At line 130, column 56: E166: Illegal operand. '^' is now bitwise XOR, not exponent; use pow()
So I edited line 130 to say:
outsideMap[x, y] = INT(POW((Rand() MOD 101) / 100.0, 5) * 4.5)
After that, I was able to play a game without any issues except getting lost trying to do the stupid "kill a rat" quest.
EDIT: Looks like it was a change in the system libraries. ^ has been redefined to mean a bitwise XOR:
At line 130, column 56: E166: Illegal operand. '^' is now bitwise XOR, not exponent; use pow()
So I edited line 130 to say:
outsideMap[x, y] = INT(POW((Rand() MOD 101) / 100.0, 5) * 4.5)
After that, I was able to play a game without any issues except getting lost trying to do the stupid "kill a rat" quest.
#49
General Discussion / Re: Introduce Yourself
Last post by Lardo Boffin - November 28, 2020, 01:54:11 PMHello all 
I really wanted a Vectrex as a kid (I saw one in a posh department store) but it never happened sadly. I did however get one earlier this year. Its a very early one I think - the AY chip is soldered in and the buzz is really bad. Or at least it was until I fitted a buzz-off kit and now it much better.
I saw the Vectrex32 on a popular auction site and then got a reduced price offer and bought one.
I should really have waited until after Christmas but never mind...
Thanks also for the good postage rates.
Shame our post office charges a £8 fee just for handling paying import taxes. Hey ho.
Anyway looking forward to getting to grips with programming this! I have a couple of things in mind to have a go at so will see if I can get anywhere.
I really wanted a Vectrex as a kid (I saw one in a posh department store) but it never happened sadly. I did however get one earlier this year. Its a very early one I think - the AY chip is soldered in and the buzz is really bad. Or at least it was until I fitted a buzz-off kit and now it much better.
I saw the Vectrex32 on a popular auction site and then got a reduced price offer and bought one.
I should really have waited until after Christmas but never mind...Thanks also for the good postage rates.
Shame our post office charges a £8 fee just for handling paying import taxes. Hey ho. Anyway looking forward to getting to grips with programming this! I have a couple of things in mind to have a go at so will see if I can get anywhere.
#50
General Discussion / Re: Can Stdin be non-blocking?
Last post by Miasma - September 18, 2020, 02:26:45 PMThanks for the info Bob, I guessed that a notification probably hadn't gone off!
I'd like to send MIDI data via the serial connection. Pretty standard three byte groups describing note on/off, pitch and velocity. The Vectrex32 would then interpret these and instruct the AY-3 using the Sound command accordingly.
A very basic version of this could work with the existing functionality, but I'm keen to have software envelopes and an arpeggiator (and maybe even generated visuals on screen), which means I need a free running event loop to handle all this. I have this up and running so far, but just without a way to externally input sounds.
Previous people have done this and used the button inputs 1-4 on both controllers to send 8-bit values, but I haven't got this to work so far, and thought it would be great if I could just use the serial cable to the Vectrex32.
I'd like to send MIDI data via the serial connection. Pretty standard three byte groups describing note on/off, pitch and velocity. The Vectrex32 would then interpret these and instruct the AY-3 using the Sound command accordingly.
A very basic version of this could work with the existing functionality, but I'm keen to have software envelopes and an arpeggiator (and maybe even generated visuals on screen), which means I need a free running event loop to handle all this. I have this up and running so far, but just without a way to externally input sounds.
Previous people have done this and used the button inputs 1-4 on both controllers to send 8-bit values, but I haven't got this to work so far, and thought it would be great if I could just use the serial cable to the Vectrex32.