gbadev.org forum archive

This is a read-only mirror of the content originally found on forum.gbadev.org (now offline), salvaged from Wayback machine copies. A new forum can be found here.

DS homebrew announcements > Missile Command DS (Updated Feb. 08, 2009)

#164016 - Kayvon - Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:55 pm

MISSILE COMMAND DS - by B. Perry

It's the classic Missile Command game, rewritten for the Nintendo DS! Shoot down the incoming missiles and protect your cities. Earn a new city every 10,000 points or, if you already have all four, get a huge point bonus.

High scores are automatic if you have DLDI patching. Most modern cards do this automatically, but if you don't see high scores showing up, you need to manually DLDI patch. The scores are stored in the \DATA directory, if one exists. Otherwise they're stored in the root directory.

* * *

I made this game from scratch in three weeks. The first week was learning how to program for the DS, which I had never done before. The game itself was programmed during week two. The third week was simply playtesting.

If you're aspiring to program games, the best thing you can do is take math classes. Take all the math classes offered in high school and learn as much as possible. It makes programming much easier and your games will be fast and more efficient. I have a solid math background (I'm an engineer), but I still wish I had paid more attention in my college Linear Algebra.

UPDATED Feb 08, 2009
* All Rumble Paks should be supported now
* Added "heartbeat" rumble to missile launches

UPDATED Oct 28, 2008 (A friend loaned me a slot-1 flash cart!)
* Rumble Pak now supported
* Flash cart icon created
* Minor bug fix

Screenshots:
[Images not permitted - Click here to view it]
[Images not permitted - Click here to view it]

Download:
Click here to download [Feb. 08, 2009]

Last edited by Kayvon on Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:25 pm; edited 3 times in total

#164044 - progds - Sun Oct 19, 2008 8:11 am

Hi,

I like this game. Nice remake but a bit simple.

Do you agree to improve the game?
I think it is more interesting to do as the original for the gameplay (ex: touch a gun to select it and limited bullets).
I can do graphics like it:
[Images not permitted - Click here to view it]
_________________
DSL + DSone

#164050 - Pac - Sun Oct 19, 2008 3:17 pm

Good job, I've also liked it. Missile Command is one of my absolute favourite classic games. I liked the title screen and the top screen during gameplay but the gaphics of the action clash a bit with each other. I also liked the fact that it's not an exact remake and plays a bit different. That said one of the most interesting things of the original was that the explosions could affect the other missiles, that is present here but not really used. The explosions die too fast I think, I think it was an important gameplay element.
Anyway, don't leave it here, keep improving it, however you see fit. It's already prety nice.

#164259 - Kayvon - Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:44 pm

Thanks for the feedback.

The game plays differently than the original, of course. I wanted something a little more fast-paced than the old version so people wouldn't get bored quickly.

The main difference is that tapping the screen instantly produces an explosion. (In the original, you had to wait for a missile silo to launch a missile and for that missile to reach the point you picked before the explosion started.)

To balance this change, the explosions don't last as long. You can still string explosions together, but if the explosions lasted longer the game would be too easy.

The result is a quick-paced game that takes around 5 or 10 minutes to play. If you try it out, please post your high scores. I'm curious how good or bad I am at playing the game.

#164343 - Kayvon - Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:07 am

A friend loaned me his slot-1 flash cart today, so I was able to see the game under some different hardware.

First off, I had no idea that there was this ugly icon. My trusty SuperCard SD doesn't show icons, so I had to make a pretty one instead.

And second, I can finally try the rumble pak from my Metroid Prime Pinball game! I added some rumble when your cities get hit. It's not much, but I didn't want to go overboard with the rumble. It's just enough to add to the shaking screen when you lose a city.

Feedback is appreciated. Positive feedback doubly so!

#164344 - another world - Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:31 am

i tested on my acekard rpg and ak2.1 with the official rumble pack and it does nothing. i can not find an option to turn on rumble so i assume its on by defult?

-another world

#164356 - Kayvon - Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:31 pm

It's on by default. I only tested on an iTouch without problems. I can borrow an AceKard 2.1 from someone, but it'll probably take a few weeks.
Does the rumble work in other homebrew games on the AK2.1?

#164365 - another world - Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:06 pm

yes it does. i just spoke to someone to tested it with the m3 rumble pack using the m3 real and an ak with the same results as me. i don't know if getting the official rumble up and running is different than the m3 expansion as far as code is concerned.

cheers,
-another world

#164375 - Kayvon - Wed Oct 29, 2008 10:40 pm

That's good to know. I'll borrow a friend's AK and reproduce the problem. Hopefully, if I fix it for the AK it'll also work on your friend's m3.

Truth be told, the game runs fine without rumble. But rumble is just so much fun!

#164389 - another world - Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:26 am

oh yea i've been enjoying it. just thought a bug report would help =)

-another world

#164427 - progds - Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:05 am

I tested on my EZ5 with the 3in1 and it does nothing.

#166479 - Kayvon - Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:23 pm

As was reported elsewhere in the forum, the rumble pak detection code doesn't work correctly. I believe this was the source of the problems.

So I finally got around to simply overriding the detection code and hard coding the rumble pak to "on." Please let me know if you catch any unintended side-effects.

Also, post your high scores here. I'm interested to hear how awesome people are. I got 36,900 points (level 15) this morning while I was testing the changes!