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#Marble Madness

17 messages in this thread
#27601From: Tom DrobnakJul 23, 1986 8:48 PM
I just bought the Marble Madness program today. I was very impressed with it. You duplicated it exactly. Although I think it is the best computer game out for a microcomputer, I have a few complaints. I wanted to know why you did not have it auto boot like Archon or One-on-One. I would, and I think most other people would like it to auto boot since going through Workbench is somewhat of a pain. Also, is all the disk access necessary? I listed the files sizes, and most of them are under 50 Kilobytes. I am worried that with all the disk access that my diskette will wear out very soon since I cannot make a backup of the diskette. I also noticed some color changes and flicker at the beginning of the third level. Will any of these things I mentioned be fixed in future releases of the game? One last question. Were there any instructions supplied with the game besides the small cardboard card? I did not seem to get any with my copy (such as an explanation of who you are and what you are doing there?).
#27635From: Steven BennettJul 23, 1986 10:02 PM
Really? They allow you to run MM from the workbench??? Does it take over the entire machine? If not, then they fixed one of the things I hated most about their earlier games — You couldn't run anything else at the same time. You might not think this was important until you get something that would be real useful in the background. (Like a screen printer.) Anyway I can hope.
#27635From: Steven BennettJul 23, 1986 10:02 PM
Really? They allow you to run MM from the workbench??? Does it take over the entire machine? If not, then they fixed one of the things I hated most about their earlier games — You couldn't run anything else at the same time. You might not think this was important until you get something that would be real useful in the background. (Like a screen printer.) Anyway I can hope.
#27663From: Steve AhlstromJul 24, 1986 12:48 AM
I only got the 'small cardboard card' too — was wondering if there was anything else. What is suggested retail on it? I don't trust the people at the store I bought it from. Also, I'm not sure, but I think part of the protection on that program is writing to the WCS. What leads me to believe this is that after I've played MM, if I just warm start the machine other software does not run correctly. If I power down, they other stuff runs fine (just like it always did).
#27731From: Fadi Khulusi/MicroP TechJul 24, 1986 8:39 PM
Just wondering, did you notice the glitches in the third screen, in the animation of the Mechanical Waves as they call them (you can look at the package for a picture of what the mechanical waves are.) What do you think this is from? I saw it on other games, too. Is it a hardware problem? By the way, I have a trackball that has a joystick mode and a real trackball mode. In MM, only the Joystick mode works. I always thought that a mouse is an inverse trackball, and since MM supports a trackball that works like a mouse, it should work. What gives?
#27786From: Steve AhlstromJul 25, 1986 12:36 AM
I noticed some glitches on the 3rd screen but at the beginning (where you're guiding the marble thru the tight corridors). It appears they're not using hardware sprites for the marble and there are problems with collision detection. I've not noticed anything at all with the waves.
#27839From: Fadi Khulusi/MicroP TechJul 25, 1986 9:07 PM
Humm. When did you buy your machine? Maybe some hardware problem was fixed since I bought the two Amigas I have… Look closely at those waves, you should be able to see a diagonal glitch above the base of the wave, as it is moving forward to the bottom left corner of the screen. By the way, I get those glitches in the corridor animation, too. Do you think it is a hardware sprite problem, or a problem in the sprite routines in Kickstart?
#27864From: Steve AhlstromJul 25, 1986 10:19 PM
I don't see any problems (other than the one I mentioned) on any of the 3 developer machines I have.
#28120From: Steven BennettJul 27, 1986 10:45 PM
I have noticed a few problems with the marble's color in the two player mode… Also a little flickering with the acid blobs on level 3. But the waves were solid. (My machine, by the way, was bought in October.)
#28131From: Steve AhlstromJul 27, 1986 11:40 PM
I noticed some glitches near the acid blobs too — marble turns green (and closest acid blob turns red) when you go near them (but not in them). Also got hit by a hammer once then broke the marble immediately after. Don't know how to describe the graphic effect but one of the effects from being hit followed above the marble until the end of the game — when the marble got killed off the effect stayed on screen and the new marble materialized under it. After looking quite closely I see no problems at all with the waves — my machines showed up in early September.
#28131From: Steve AhlstromJul 27, 1986 11:40 PM
I noticed some glitches near the acid blobs too — marble turns green (and closest acid blob turns red) when you go near them (but not in them). Also got hit by a hammer once then broke the marble immediately after. Don't know how to describe the graphic effect but one of the effects from being hit followed above the marble until the end of the game — when the marble got killed off the effect stayed on screen and the new marble materialized under it. After looking quite closely I see no problems at all with the waves — my machines showed up in early September.
#28120From: Steven BennettJul 27, 1986 10:45 PM
I have noticed a few problems with the marble's color in the two player mode… Also a little flickering with the acid blobs on level 3. But the waves were solid. (My machine, by the way, was bought in October.)
#27864From: Steve AhlstromJul 25, 1986 10:19 PM
I don't see any problems (other than the one I mentioned) on any of the 3 developer machines I have.
#27839From: Fadi Khulusi/MicroP TechJul 25, 1986 9:07 PM
Humm. When did you buy your machine? Maybe some hardware problem was fixed since I bought the two Amigas I have… Look closely at those waves, you should be able to see a diagonal glitch above the base of the wave, as it is moving forward to the bottom left corner of the screen. By the way, I get those glitches in the corridor animation, too. Do you think it is a hardware sprite problem, or a problem in the sprite routines in Kickstart?
#27786From: Steve AhlstromJul 25, 1986 12:36 AM
I noticed some glitches on the 3rd screen but at the beginning (where you're guiding the marble thru the tight corridors). It appears they're not using hardware sprites for the marble and there are problems with collision detection. I've not noticed anything at all with the waves.
#27731From: Fadi Khulusi/MicroP TechJul 24, 1986 8:39 PM
Just wondering, did you notice the glitches in the third screen, in the animation of the Mechanical Waves as they call them (you can look at the package for a picture of what the mechanical waves are.) What do you think this is from? I saw it on other games, too. Is it a hardware problem? By the way, I have a trackball that has a joystick mode and a real trackball mode. In MM, only the Joystick mode works. I always thought that a mouse is an inverse trackball, and since MM supports a trackball that works like a mouse, it should work. What gives?
#27663From: Steve AhlstromJul 24, 1986 12:48 AM
I only got the 'small cardboard card' too — was wondering if there was anything else. What is suggested retail on it? I don't trust the people at the store I bought it from. Also, I'm not sure, but I think part of the protection on that program is writing to the WCS. What leads me to believe this is that after I've played MM, if I just warm start the machine other software does not run correctly. If I power down, they other stuff runs fine (just like it always did).