AGMSI've added tutorial levels to #NthPongWars. Easy, except that I needed walls to separate the new players, and that meant perfecting the physics simulation so players couldn't get through the walls. Longer story with video tours of the new levels is on my blog at https://web.ncf.ca/au829/WeekendReports/20240207/NthPongWarsBlog.html#2026.01.16
@SpindleyQ And of course, I use a lot of those RetroNet APIs in #NthPongWars for reading game graphics and level files off the network (much faster than CP/M which does sector by sector disk emulation).
Or you could point it at my Nabu Internet Adapter server at www.agmsmith.ca and try out the local source for a recent version of #NthPongWars.
I didn’t realise that there was another #Nabu emulator out there. I’ve been using the MAME one for developing #NthPongWars for the Nabu.
Should be amusing having it in the web browser. It’s only 1000 times faster (4Mhz vs 4Ghz), with 1000000 times more RAM (64KB vs 64 GB).
I'm planning on going to the #VCF Vintage Computer Federation's Montreal convention (January 24, 25 2026), to see a couple of #NabuPC talks by Leo Binkowski and D.J. Sures. https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal has show info.
I hope to be in the audience, since I'm writing #NthPongWars initially for the #Nabu. I might be able to demo it.
I also hope to see CuriousMarc of Apollo guidance computer restoration fame demoing his recreation of the space radio data transmission system.
Looks like a fun weekend!
Had fun adding the first power-ups to #NthPongWars, a game for the Z80 #NabuPC. Of course, got many more ideas. The challenge is fitting them in 64K of memory, and making overall game-play coherent.
Details, discussion and video script in the longer blog post at http://web.ncf.ca/au829/WeekendReports/20240207/NthPongWarsBlog.html#2025.09.03
More #NthPongWars progress - now with AI players. One is trying to draw "N" while the others bounce around the sides, until they spot a Human player.
Blog post about it at
https://web.ncf.ca/au829/WeekendReports/20240207/NthPongWarsBlog.html#2025.08.19
Procrastinating again, I added player vs player collisions to #NthPongWars rather than working on the AI.
The collision part was easy, it's the aftermath that needed fixing. The players just kept on colliding and getting stuck on each other. After a hack didn't accomplish much, I figured out the root cause - players bouncing off the tile the other player had laid down and heading back into the collision.
That and a Z80 ldir opcode disappointment are in my blog at http://www.agmsmith.ca/WeekendReports/20240207/NthPongWarsBlog.html#2025.07.24
Finally had time to get back to #NthPongWars #Nabu Z80 programming. I've started the AI, making the players harvest / thrust to maintain speed. Steering is next. But I had to fix the harvest sound effects, since they're used so much now! The sounds are now much shorter (1 frame) and customised to each player by changing the pitch of the Tracker's Instrument setting for that sound. So now you can tell when harvesting / thrusting is being done and who is doing it.
https://web.ncf.ca/au829/WeekendReports/20240207/NthPongWarsBlog.html#2025.07.16
Now it's time to integrate the #CHIPNSFX Z80 CPU music player for the AY-3-8910 sound chip into my #NthPongWars game code. Fairly straightforward, added a sound priority override system, and avoided a channel silencing bug.
Now you can move at super speed while harvesting your tiles. Yes, the game engine has fractional velocities so you can move less than one pixel per frame, or more than one! Some pain doing 32 bit math on the Z80.
See the blog post for details at https://web.ncf.ca/au829/WeekendReports/20240207/NthPongWarsBlog.html#2025.04.15