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Game Design > GORF stage 1

#169948 - ArugulaZ - Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:48 am

Hey, everyone! Thanks to your help, I was able to code a game in Dragon BASIC... or at least 1/5th of a game, anyway. The version of Dragon BASIC I've got on my laptop refuses to compile programs larger than 128K, so the rest will have to wait until I track down the complete release.

Still, I'm very proud of what I've done so far. I've got the introduction from the Midway arcade game GORF as well as the first stage, Astro Battles. Most of the subtle nuances from the arcade game have been faithfully reproduced, like the little point labels that pop up after some enemies are destroyed and the Gorfian robot which spits out aliens at the start of the round. Other features are missing- the player's ship can't be destroyed and there's none of that goofy Stephan Hawking speech from the arcade game- but all that stuff can be included in a later revision, once I find the full version of Dragon BASIC.

Anyway, you can download the binary from this link:

http://www.lakupo.com/grblitz/gorf_part1.zip

Please post comments and suggestions for improvement if you have them. Thanks again for all the help!

#169950 - gauauu - Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:58 am

Well done. It's pretty good so far. I never managed to kill the little guy at the top of the screen :(

My only thoughts: running into the 128K limitation is annoying, but is the result of the tool you are using. Since it's your hobby, and you're likely doing it for fun, I'm not going to go as far as to say "forget that tool, use C!" If you are comfortable and happy with Dragon BASIC, then more power to you. But C IS the preferred way of doing development around here -- you'll likely get more help from people here, as well as better supported tools (with less limitations) if you do so.

Of course, that might mean learning a new language, which may or may not be worth it to you.

Anyway, good job so far and good luck with the rest of it.

#169953 - dantheman - Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:11 am

Years ago, when DragonBASIC was abandoned, the creator gave out the registration code for free. Unfortunately I believe the forums are long gone, so I can't prove this, but I assure you it was posted there at one point.

Put the following line at the top of your "gba.dbc" file (in the "include" folder):
Code:
#REGISTER "Jeff Massung:ZVGOJNG-ORSNDPG-SPMUTUI-ZNKQNF-PULOOQ-IRLZNQ-HTRPECG"


Shazam, instant registered version.

#169958 - ArugulaZ - Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:03 pm

Thanks, guys! After an exhaustive search last night, I found that very bit of code hidden in the version of Dragon BASIC another member of this forum had posted in the Beginner's section. It was in TXT format, but switching the extension to DBC and setting it in my INCLUDE folder did the trick. Having the user add the key as an include file in his code is a rather novel approach to software registration... my hats off to the developer of Dragon BASIC for his creativity.

I actually did take a C class in college back in the early 2000s, but I'm still not sure how I managed to get through it. That crap is frustrating... like BASIC shorthand or something. (Dammit, it's not C++, it's C = C + 1!) The sheer number of libraries you need to get your programs to run doesn't exactly improve its appeal with a scatterbrain like myself, either. I may give it another chance someday, but right now, I'm a lot more comfortable with BASIC.