Turbochop [Lexaloffle Blog Feed]

Sweet Home Lobby Music

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 06:46:28 UTC

Het all!

It seems I'm on a cover kick.

Here is the lobby theme from Sweet Home by Capcom!

sweethome

by Turbochop

[Click to Play]

This is one of my favorites. It's a real shame this game never saw a release outside Japan, until fans translated it years later.

As always, let me know how you like it!

Super C Boss Music

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 03:21:00 UTC

I was playing around with Pico-8's music editor, and put this song together from memory.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, and decided to make some art for a release!

Let me know what you think.

Updated 12/22/22

I was always somewhat dissatisfied with the song's composition, so I did another pass: Making some parts less shrill, adding some reverb, and re-arranging the transition into the second part of the song. I also cleaned up the logo a bit. I feel like it sounds and looks way better now! Let me know what you think.

(No, I'm not working on Super C. This song has just been bouncing around in my head, begging to be covered, so here we are. I still need to finish Castlevania, if and when I find time to allocate to it.)

supercboss

by Turbochop

[Click to Play]

Picovania (Updated 11/22/22)

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 15:30:12 UTC

Hey all!

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

I have a new Pico-8 project brewing. Anyone care to guess what it could be? (Edit: people guessed quick! It's a Castlevania Demake)

Picovania

by Turbochop

[Click to Play]

I will update this post to keep everyone up to speed when I upload a new cart. Check out the spoiler below if you're interested!

Change Log:

(11/22/22)

I've decorated the map a bit, using assets and ideas provided by @HeyNetters. Many thanks go to them for the art! This is all preliminary for now, but these just looked too good to not include them.
Chain upgrade has been added. The chain graphics reflect the first upgrade, and the added length reflect the second. Collect the whip powerup to upgrade.
Gameplay pause added upon collection of the whip powerup.
Whip has been fixed so that you can no longer hit things behind you. Still need to look into that janky
animation...
Thanks to suggestions from @dw817, Simon's walk speed has been increased a bit, with matching animation. The whip also stays out for just a bit longer.
Minor changes to small heart to keep it from flying around so much.

Tweaking pass on SFX.

(8/26/22)

Sorry for the long delay, guys. I recently started a new job, and I have less time to work on this project now. I do, however, fully intend to see this project to completion. I need to work on some systems that can cut down on repeated code in here, as the token count is getting dangerously high. Despite that, I'm happy with where it is at so far. Let me know how you guys like it!

Candles have been added. Until I can work out a feasible spawning system, these are hard coded. Whip them to make
items come out.
I have mocked up a status bar along the top of the screen. This is all subject to change as I figure out what will
fit and what will not.
A game clock is in place. It ticks down in seconds, and once it reaches zero, you're dead. There isn't much you
can do about it at the moment, but I thought it would be fun to add, and it was really simple to implement. The
clock will even start to beep after awhile, just to give you some unnecessary stress.
Hearts have been added. You now have a limited stock of ammunition. Whip candles to find more.

(7/21/22)

Boomerang can now be caught. Small reason to post an update, but I thought it was important.
Boomerang graphics rearranged so it animates like in the original game.

This may be the last update for a little bit. The code for climbing stairs MUST be rewritten before I will
continue. While it works great as it is, the code is just too darned bloated right now.

(7/20/22)

All throwable weapons have been added. Hold ❎ and press ⬆️ or ⬇️ to cycle through them,
and press ⬆️ and 🅾️ to throw one. Like before, you can throw 3 at a time!
Holy water was redrawn to not be so huge.

(7/19/22)

Holy water has been added, press ⬆️ and 🅾️ to throw it. You can throw 3 at a time.
Simon's sprite has been redrawn to make him more detailed and look a lot less scrawny. Many thanks go to the
Discord community for their feedback on this matter!

(7/18/22)

Stairs now work in all 4 directions.
Plenty of stairs have been added to the map, so play around and let me know if anything breaks horrifically.
It is no longer possible to jump when a block is directly above the player.

(7/16/22)

Commented out the code and formatted it so anybody could take a look and decipher it all...
Taking a hit will now interrupt your attack.
Player can no longer warp through the ceiling when hurt.

(7/15/22)

Player health, hurt state and death are implemented. There aren't any enemies yet, so for now you
can press ⬆️ and ❎ to beat yourself up. These are disabled while on stairs...
Continue screen has been added
Made a pass on music and sound effects. I feel like the music instrumentation is way better now, and many of the
sound effects are improving as well!
Initial HUD elements added. There are here only for a visual to pair with testing health and lives for now.

(7/12/22)

Changes to walk and stair climbing movement and animation speed. It felt just a tad sluggish before...

(7/11/22)

Stairs are in progress. Right now there is only up-right and down-left movement, but this is a pretty good proof of concept. Whip is disabled for now while climbing them until I flesh out that aspect.
The bottom of the screen is now a bottomless pit, and you will die and be reset.
A small map to test out the mechanics and play around in.
Preliminary artwork has been added to make the view a little more interesting

(7/10/22)

Jump physics have been reworked and the jank is now gone for the most part. I feel like the jumping is in a pretty good spot now.
Initial work on the whip has been started. The animation is just a little janky, but I'm working on that :)
I am currently prototyping ideas for stairs. I haven't added stairs yet, so don't try...

(6/26/22):

Basic movement is implemented; Walking, ducking, jumping and hard landing are in. There is one little niggle
with collision and platforming. I'm sure you guys will know when you find it. (Edit) I've created a temporary workaround
for this. Please let me know if you like how it handles. Collision is still not perfect, and you might still get
hung up, but I'm working on that.
First draft of music has been created. Let me know how you like it! I might need to shift things around a bit
before I release: I've not included everything I'd like to, and I've run out of room due to some initial (less
than optimal) SFX layout choices.

(6/27/22):

I've tweaked the jump physics to more closely match the original game.
Invisible walls have been added. I wanted a way to create impassible areas without changing the collision.
You can test this out near the lone block on the right.

Now is the time where I sit down and take a class on Picomap by @JadeLombax. I may as well get this figured out
and implemented now, since stairs will likely rely on it...

Contra Demake (Version .73 fixed) Updated 2/11/23

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 15:30:01 UTC

Contra version .73

by Turbochop

[Click to Play]

Be sure to check the change log to see what's new!

I really thought version .51 would be the last major version, but somehow I managed to scrape out every last token and add a few new features! That said, this WILL be the last major version, though I will still support the game post release.

Change log

Contra version .73 (fixed)

The latest Pico-8 update evidently changed the way the (--[[) switch works, breaking the game! XD
This is fixed.

Contra version .73

This version could be considered a bug fix/polish release...

Tweaked the machine gun sound to give a more "auto-fire" feel to it.
fixed underwater behavior so that your gun Actually won't fire. Somehow I missed that the feature was broken
all this time...
Changed the behavior of the continue cursor. Now it will only make a sound if you switch to the other option
Tweaked the runner enemy so that they cannot kill you when they fly back after being shot.

Contra version .72

This version has been sitting on my computer for some time now, And I figured it has enough changes to warrant a release.

More sprite edits by ReeceGames.
Machine gun sprites changed to better set it apart from the Pea shooter
Boss bullets will now fall straight to the ground, making him a little more difficult.
Fire sounds have been changed to more closely match what is happening.

Contra version .70

Special thanks go to ReeceGames for their contribution to the graphics work!

Sprite edits to player, enemy, turret and shutter graphics to improve quality.

Contra version .68

Thanks to the PICO-8 Discord community for offering suggestions on how to trim down my code and how to improve the graphics, this update would not have been possible without them!

Turrets were completely rewritten, and can now track you in all 8 directions. They are still quick, but they have a limited range of motion...
Fire Weapon fully implemented! It's not the greatest for crowd control, but it is highly effective against
emplacements.
Soldier drones have been reworked. Only 3 drones can spawn at a time now (usually), they run a little slower, and any drone that goes for a dip will instantly drown...
Another pass on map and object graphics to improve detail and readability.
It is no longer possible to soft lock the game by taking damage from two things at the same time.

Contra version .63

Detail pass on map graphics

Contra version .62

Tweaks to sound effects playback to reduce clobbering
New explosion sound for turrets, shutters and cannons to help them stand out a little more and make blowing them up
just a little more satisfying.
Adjusted collision so you can't scale the Base exterior

Contra version .61

fixed cannons not clearing out after a game over.

Contra version .60

Turrets have been added. They have pretty good servos, so don't think you can slip past them so
easily. A healthy dose of gunfire ought to short their circuits.
The boss now has some defenses in two cannons. They just kind of spew bullets on the ground, but they are still
lethal. Blow them up if they are bugging you.

Contra version .51

Changed powerup collision so they pass through semi-solid platforms correctly
The first Rapid and Machine Gun powerups have switched places.

Contra version .50

Boss has been added. There are no defenses for it, but he did finally show up.
Runner enemy type has been added. They move fast, so you have to be on your toes. At least they are easy to kill...
Powerup shutters fully implemented. Shoot them to receive an item!
Victory state implemented.

Contra version .30

Capsules are fully implemented! they can be shot for a powerup, and I have sprinkled a few through the level
Powerup behavior is implemented. Available powerups are: Machine gun, Spread, Fire, Laser and Rapid Shot
Machine gun fires in full auto, like a Machine gun should!
Collect Rapid Shot to nearly double the speed of your bullets!
Sound and partial graphics in place for all weapons
Adjustments made to some sound effects
Minor changes to title music

Contra version .25

Phase one of capsules added. You can't shoot them yet, but if you press ⬆️ and 🅾️ one will spawn from Bill's location.
I also have one capsule setup to spawn in as a script
Initial work on items started
Initial work on spread gun started.
Small explosions added. Press ⬆️ and ❎ to make a capsule go boom!

Contra Version .22

Adjusted wipe speed to more closely match the NES version
Map filled out with initial artwork
Player spawn delay now consistent
Code commented out a little more, and formatting changes
Minor alterations to music

Contra version .2

Submitted to BBS

Here is my "One Level Concept" Demake of Contra for PICO-8!

Enough about that! Let's get down to the nitty gritty...

Controls:

Press ⬅️ to move left
Press ➡️ to move right
Press ⬇️ to go prone
❎ will make you jump
🅾️ will fire your weapon

More detailed controls in the spoiler...

Game Details

Known Bugs

Final Words and Thanks!

I'd like to thank Lexaloffle for this fantastic program, and Konami for my childhood memories and this inspiration. Also, mad props to the PICO-8 community, you guys are amazing!