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Cart #shipbattlezx-0 | 2022-04-17 | Code ▽ | Embed ▽ | License: CC4-BY-NC-SA
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Here it is, my first completed cart for Pico-8

ShipBattle ZX is a singleplayer Battleship clone that I recreated based on a ZX spectrum game originally written by my Dad back in the 80's. Had a lot of fun 'unpicking' the Spectrum Basic and working out how to recreate the game logic in Pico-8.

Unit Placement Controls:
Arrow Keys: Move
X: Place Unit
Z: Rotate (Where Possible)

Units cannot be placed directly adjacent to each other.

Game Controls:
Arrow Keys: Move Cursor
X: Attack
Z: Show remaining enemy units

P#110373 2022-04-19 08:47

Not bad. I've not previously seen a "battleships" game where you have land and sea at the same time with different units for each.

I really liked seeing the computer make its move. That was a great feature that adds a lot to the game

The game is quite slow though. I think it would really help if it was just a bit faster.

The ending would benefit from showing how much you won (or lost) by. I played it once (and won!) but it would have been nice to see both final boards - a key to flick between them or they could just alternate over time ?

P#110470 2022-04-19 11:03

Thanks for playing! 😁

Yeah, in hindsight being able to speed up (maybe holding a button) the computer moving its cursor would be a good quality of life improvement. Also, I like the idea of a final review of the board. Will keep it in mind for the next version 😁.

Having the land and sea units does add some variety to the game. Also the coastline is generated each play to mix it up further. As far as I can tell, the idea is taken from a pen and paper version of the game published by Waddingtons in the late 60's that's very similar.

P#110502 2022-04-19 16:39 ( Edited 2022-04-19 16:40)

Hmm ... I'm more familiar with the water only version, @Hundstrasse. And for a good reason. With this version you are guaranteed to know the shapes and sizes of land targets versus water targets.

That makes the game much easier. Still a well-written game that. Here. Let me show you one of my favorite Battleship type games which I think is more challenging. I play this at least once a day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAY2Q0DU6cE

Would love to see someone demake this in Pico-8 - and with the same AI brain for HARD level and develop your own ships and their shapes, saving them for future battles.

And yes those are some non-standard shapes for your ships. That definitely mixes the game up and keeps it vibrant and fun.

P#110514 2022-04-19 18:33 ( Edited 2022-04-19 18:54)

Thanks for playing - looks like an interesting version of the game.

Tbh I hadn't thought too much about Battleship (from a AI/tactics point of view) before putting this together, but kind of an interesting problem. Part of me wants to write now write the best AI I could manage and see how difficult it is to beat.

P#110961 2022-04-27 18:27

Let me know if you want to give it a really strong brain. I have methods I've learned over the years that make it easy to locate the enemy ships wherever they may be - and I can explain how to do this.

P#110963 2022-04-27 18:46

This is a good implementation, but I would prefer if moving the cursor off the edge of the screen had it wrap around to the other side.

On the tactics side, I like that the units can't be touching, as that does put in a level of strategy that the base game doesn't have. (in that you can be more efficient by choosing spots that maximize the number shot by an downed ship)

P#111001 2022-04-28 12:51

Thanks! Yes, wrapping the cursor is a good idea. Repeatedly targeting squares in the ocean is pretty annoying as it stands. I wanted to basically get the whole thing working, but I might go back and do a second version with some of these quality of life things.

The main reason that it doesn't wrap is that I reuse the same code to move the cursor and the units during placement. Having the cursor wrap during placement would've been a bit awkward (although, not very awkward), so I kept it simple. But a quick fix would be the have it wrap when attacking, but not during placement.

P#111016 2022-04-28 22:32

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