Nerd Mentality

tepples

Development slowed down when I didn't get any feedback from you fellas.

Heh heh, sorry. I've been away.

But compared to the PSP version, I suspect that it might get hard too quickly.

Well, Lumines itself takes forever to get started, so I don't believe that will be a problem. Now that I have it, though, I should be able to comment in a more informed way.
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Koji

I suspect that with the needed hardware, I could hear the music, but since I don't have it, I can't hear it through VBA.

What version of VBA, and how fast is your computer? With an 866 MHz PC, frameskip set to 2, and VBA 1.8.0-beta, the music plays fine for me. Just make sure to run the .gba file instead of the .mb file if you want music.

Maxwell

Well, Lumines itself takes forever to get started

Compensating for the shorter loading time wasn't exactly the point. I wanted people to be able to see a decent number of skins during one play, and I also wanted scores to be at least roughly comparable between the games. A lot of people have reached 999,999 on Lumines, and I wonder why I can't do the same on my game. Is it because I made it too hard, or is my current average of 100,000 points because I just suck?

Now that I have it, though, I should be able to comment in a more informed way.

Now that you have which? Lumines for PSP? Or just the new build?

Speaking of new build, I've been working on the skin system. I've uploaded a build that has two skins and will periodically switch from one skin to the other. Try it and see if you notice any problems.

I have learned of a feature that I do not plan to implement: repeat. Normally, two bars of the song are played for each pass of the sweeper. But in Lumines, when the sweeper makes a pass without any deletes, the last two bars of music repeat.

tepples

What version of VBA, and how fast is your computer? With an 866 MHz PC, frameskip set to 2, and VBA 1.8.0-beta, the music plays fine for me. Just make sure to run the .gba file instead of the .mb file if you want music.

It's definitely not a specs issue, but maybe it WAS loading the .mb file, since I don't unzip the files before opening them. I'll try it once I get home.

Hurry up and get the skinner done.

EDIT: OK, I tried it and I loved it. Er, I'm not too keen on the second skin though, aurally and visually speaking... But it works incredibly well, and I actually played it quite a bit because it was pretty fun.

Your game is a lot harder than Lumines, I'd say, judging from the videos. It's a lot faster, and I'd say that the blocks start falling too soon. I don't know, whenever I watch a Lumines video, it all looks so laid back, but in Game Left you have to actually hurry to position your blocks before they start falling.

Koji

Hurry up and get the skinner done.

The skinner is done; all I need to do is clean it up. While you're waiting for me to release this, make yourself familiar with GIMP, BPMs, and music conversion. Download GIMP, StepMania, and GSM Player for GBA.

EDIT: OK, I tried it and I loved it. Er, I'm not too keen on the second skin though, aurally and visually speaking... But it works incredibly well, and I actually played it quite a bit because it was pretty fun.

The skin with "Catch Me" was made by my cousin using Microsoft Paint.

Your game is a lot harder than Lumines, I'd say, judging from the videos. It's a lot faster, and I'd say that the blocks start falling too soon. I don't know, whenever I watch a Lumines video, it all looks so laid back, but in Game Left you have to actually hurry to position your blocks before they start falling.

I'd imagine that Lumines itself gets faster in the later levels, as otherwise there'd be no difference in practice between getting to 99,999 and getting to 999,999, but the ramping is probably a lot slower.

tepples does some research
A comment by Jewl in gmasterflash's Lumines FAQ claims that Lumines eventually does speed up, but only at level 300 or so (the player advances a "level" for about every 25 pieces) does it match the speed of Tetris at levels 15-19, and the game has only enough skins for 100 levels.

tepples

The skinner is done; all I need to do is clean it up. While you're waiting for me to release this, make yourself familiar with GIMP, BPMs, and music conversion. Download GIMP, StepMania, and GSM Player for GBA.

I'm already familiarized with Photoshop, and I don't plan on making music for it, I'm no composer. I've tried your GSM player, though. And why StepMania...? o O I know what BPMs are anyway, if that's why.

tepples

Compensating for the shorter loading time wasn't exactly the point.

I didn't mean loading time, exactly. It's just that once you get halfway decent at Lumines, the ramp up in difficulty is verrrrrry sloooooow. (Yes, I have a PSP and Lumines now. Purchased both used with enough clearance from the retail price to get a 1GB Memory Stick, to boot )

I have learned of a feature that I do not plan to implement: repeat. Normally, two bars of the song are played for each pass of the sweeper. But in Lumines, when the sweeper makes a pass without any deletes, the last two bars of music repeat.

It's actually a cool effect in practice, for what it's worth.

The major flaws of Lumines are these:

1) Skins are always accessed in the same order. This is rather dull. Randomization should be a gameplay mode; rather than single-skin mode, you should be allowed to pick a playlist.

2) Opponents in CPU Vs. are always accessed in the same order. Not much fun, especially when you keep losing on level eight and can't select that opponent to play.

3) Puzzle-mode/block challenges should allow the player to choose a skin, durnit.

Those are my major annoyances.

The puzzle mode of Lumines was a very great surprise to me, and wonderful fun while it lasted.

Keep in mind that there is significant tempo variations between songs, which is an important part of the game dynamic. Going from a fast song to a very slow song can throw off your timing, and vice versa can be fatal!

There is a noticeable change in the time you have before the block starts dropping as early as level 30 or so.

Edit: I suppose you'd like some comparisons and commentary on Game Left

Bug: the "detonator" block only shows up on the first screen, (and doesn't appear to work anymore, to boot). They're a crucial part of the formula, and may be why it's hard to break 300K.

EDIT 2: Not a bug, as it's listed on your "Not done" page. Still, I'd wager that's the reason for your low scores.
END EDIT 2

There may be subtle errors in the sweeper "valid block" selection mechanism, but I still haven't figured out all the rules Lumines uses, so I can't much comment.

I can't put my finger on it, but rotations feel very slightly "mushy" compared to the Lumines. Or is that my laptop keyboard? Heh.

All in all, though, you've produced a very fine piece of software. I really like skin 2.

I'm going to look into GSM. Everytime I've played Lumines recently, I've fantasized about a Boards of Canada scored version. I'd really like to make that fantasy a reality. Must the GSM tracks be included in the ROM image, though, or can your software access external files?
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Koji

I would've spent that PSP money in something else. :/

And could you have played Twisted Metal on it?

Eh, I've owned just about every handheld so far, and for $25 more than the DS the PSP seemed a good enough deal. I'm having lots of fun doing homebrew (trying out the OpenGL-like GU libraries this weekend). The NES, TG16/CD, Genesis, SNES, NeoGeo, Atari ST, Spectrum, arcade, etc. emulators make it one of the most cost-effective platforms in my collection. It's a convenient way to view photos I've taken on a larger screen than on my camera -- just pop the memory stick from the camera into the PSP -- and the music features aren't *totally* useless. At least full support for music playback doesn't require the media management app from hell.

So, I'm happy with it. Never would have paid $250, never gonna upgrade the bios, never gonna use it to watch movies, but I'm happy with it for what it is.
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Maxwell

It's just that once you get halfway decent at Lumines, the ramp up in difficulty is verrrrrry sloooooow. (Yes, I have a PSP and Lumines now. Purchased both used with enough clearance from the retail price to get a 1GB Memory Stick, to boot )

I've made a build of Luminesweeper where game left's ramping is 10 times slower than in the latest public build, and today I finally managed to break a million points. I plan to make the ramping speed selectable between a Tetris-style short game and a Lumines-style long game in a future version, perhaps after I get Da Bomb working.

I've learned that the key to scoring high in challenge mode is to get lots and lots of unicolors. At least in Kaikai's clone, the progression through the skins is based on the number of raw deletes, but raw deletes is defined in such a way that you always get 100 raw deletes for every 25 pieces you drop. Later skins drop the pieces faster than earlier skins. Therefore, in order to score more points before the pieces start falling too fast to manage, you have to score more points per piece. The easiest way to do this is to aim for 1,000 points per piece by getting unicolor after unicolor. In the next build, I'll include a VBA gameplay video (.vmv and .vm0) of me putting this technique into practice.

The major flaws of Lumines are these:

1) Skins are always accessed in the same order. This is rather dull.

Zoop for Sega Genesis, Super NES, PC, and Sony PlayStation was even worse. In Zoop, the skins are always accessed in the same order, but once you get to the 10th skin (which looks like clouds.bmp from Windows 95), it just stays there until game over.

Randomization should be a gameplay mode; rather than single-skin mode, you should be allowed to pick a playlist.

Problem with picking a playlist is that you'll always pick the skins with fast timelines, making it even easier to get unicolor after unicolor. Does single skin mode on Lumines save the high score for each skin?

2) Opponents in CPU Vs. are always accessed in the same order. Not much fun, especially when you keep losing on level eight and can't select that opponent to play.

I've read that the vs. mode is too dependent on getting an early start anyway, just like the vs. mode in Katamari Damacy, so I'll probably rework it completely if I include it.

3) Puzzle-mode/block challenges should allow the player to choose a skin, durnit.

That's called cheating. See above description of unicolor after unicolor. Or would you rather have the game restrict the player to skins within plus or minus 5 percent of the speed of the recommended skin?

Keep in mind that there is significant tempo variations between songs, which is an important part of the game dynamic.

Go find a DDR Extreme machine, and try the songs "Max 300" and "Be in my paradise". Yes, my game's engine supports 300 BPM (faster than anything in Lumines), 63 BPM (possibly slower than anything in Lumines), and everything in between.

There is a noticeable change in the time you have before the block starts dropping as early as level 30 or so.

Which seems to match the current logic of game left: the drop delay is equal to the time it takes for a piece to fall six rows.

[The bomb is] a crucial part of the formula, and [its lack] may be why it's hard to break 300K.

You broke 300K on a fast build? Damn. Perhaps I should send you my gameplay video so that you can help me find what I'm doing wrong.

There may be subtle errors in the sweeper "valid block" selection mechanism, but I still haven't figured out all the rules Lumines uses, so I can't much comment.

Do you mean when you make a square whose left side overlaps the sweeper? If so, that matches the behavior of Lumines and of Kaikai's clone.

I can't put my finger on it, but rotations feel very slightly "mushy" compared to the Lumines. Or is that my laptop keyboard? Heh.

Modern keyboards are almost always mushy. Play on a Model M keyboard like mine, or plug in an N64 controller through a USB adapter like I do when I test my GBA programs, or play on an actual GBA like I do when I test nightly builds.

All in all, though, you've produced a very fine piece of software. I really like skin 2.

You mean the skin with "catch me if you can"?

I'm going to look into GSM. Everytime I've played Lumines recently, I've fantasized about a Boards of Canada scored version. I'd really like to make that fantasy a reality. Must the GSM tracks be included in the ROM image, though, or can your software access external files?

VisualBoyAdvance emulates a GBA with a flash cart inserted. This flash cart has 256 Mbits (33,554,432 bytes) of ROM and up to 512 Kbits (65,536 bytes) of battery-backed SRAM for savegames. The CPU can't see any memory other than the cart, main RAM (256 KB), fast RAM (32 KB), video RAM (98 KB), and I/O registers, and a GBA doesn't have a hard drive. So yes, you'd have to build a ROM image containing the skin files and the GSM files.

Koji

I would've spent that PSP money in something else. :/

Then we wouldn't have an informant with access to a copy of Lumines for PSP.

Maxwell

I'm having lots of fun doing homebrew (trying out the OpenGL-like GU libraries this weekend).

Be aware that PSP homebrew will have a very limited audience. All new units are 1.51 or later, which won't be cracked in the near future, and there exists a finite supply of used units with 1.50.

As for emulators, the GBA and Nintendo DS already emulate quite a few platforms themselves; for more info see Pocket Heaven.

just pop the memory stick from the camera into the PSP

Presupposing you bought a Sony camera, right? I've been told that "Sony" is Japanese for "cheap toy" compared to some of the better brands.

never gonna upgrade the bios

What happens when you buy a game and it prompts you to either upgrade the BIOS or exit the game?

On another note, are any Stanley Kubrick fans reading this?

tepples

Problem with picking a playlist is that you'll always pick the skins with fast timelines, making it even easier to get unicolor after unicolor. Does single skin mode on Lumines save the high score for each skin?

Nope. It would be nice to have a per-skin high score table, but I'd like the ability to play through a list of my favorite skins more.

That's called cheating. See above description of unicolor after unicolor. Or would you rather have the game restrict the player to skins within plus or minus 5 percent of the speed of the recommended skin?

You do have a point there, but the grey backgrounds forced on you in Lumines are somewhat tiresome. I wish they'd gone the Meteos route and assigned skins to each of the block challenges, at least. Puzzle mode should be kept simple.

The only reason I mentioned tempo variation is that it seems like drop speed is partly pegged against it. It could be an AV illusion, though.

You broke 300K on a fast build? Damn. Perhaps I should send you my gameplay video so that you can help me find what I'm doing wrong.

I think I made it to 120K. I thought you'd made it to 300K
My Lumines hiscore is 380K, for comparison.

Do you mean when you make a square whose left side overlaps the sweeper? If so, that matches the behavior of Lumines and of Kaikai's clone.

No, I know. I don't remember what I did mean, though, heh.

Modern keyboards are almost always mushy. Play on a Model M keyboard like mine, or plug in an N64 controller through a USB adapter like I do when I test my GBA programs, or play on an actual GBA like I do when I test nightly builds.

Those are all good suggestions but unfortunately none very feasible. I'm planning on picking up an EZ Flash II one of these days.

You mean the skin with "catch me if you can"?

Yes.

So yes, you'd have to build a ROM image containing the skin files and the GSM files.

Alright.

Be aware that PSP homebrew will have a very limited audience. All new units are 1.51 or later, which won't be cracked in the near future, and there exists a finite supply of used units with 1.50.

All homebrew has an unfortunately small audience. I believe 1.51/1.52 have been cracked now. My local retailers still have 1.5 units in stock -- they're easily identifiable by barcode. Units with no letter or A after the model barcode are 1.5; B units are 1.52.

As for emulators, the GBA and Nintendo DS already emulate quite a few platforms themselves; for more info see Pocket Heaven.

The DS is far better than GBA for 16-bit platforms (for the better aspect ratio alone), but the PSP can do a lot with brute force that the DS can't.

Presupposing you bought a Sony camera, right? I've been told that "Sony" is Japanese for "cheap toy" compared to some of the better brands.

Sigh... Sony makes a LOT of cameras. The Cybershot line (arguably the most popular line around) are cheap toys, sure (and so are Canon Elphs and the like). Mine is a DSC-W5, which is ranked very well so far as digital camera go. It's easily the most useful camera I've ever owned.

What happens when you buy a game and it prompts you to either upgrade the BIOS or exit the game?

FastLoader happens. It works up to BIOS 2.0 forced upgrades now, and there's little reason to believe that they'll figure out a way to break it until they add new API functionality to the BIOS and issue new SDKs (as they did between 1.0 and 1.5). Besides, actual PSP games aren't the most compelling things around, are they?

On another note, are any Stanley Kubrick fans reading this?

Do you know me or something?
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tepples

Thanks. I can't wait to see if it's scored by Wendy Carlos, Penderecki, or the Ray Noble Orchestra...

game left: Now 10 times easier (might be too easy now); the bomb works; 3 new skins.
game right: No changes. It worries me that I'm neglecting this side. What exactly could I do here?

Stop worrying, it's Minesweeper? I'm sort of at a loss myself, but I do find it enjoyable as it is.

As for puzzle mode, I think I may need some help designing new puzzles so as not to copy the official ones which may be copyrighted.

I highly doubt it (can you copyright a plus sign or a square?), but I'd love to help with this. The puzzle mode in Lumines was great but way too short.

BTW: The "Catch Me" skin from the 0904 build was made by a 10-year-old.

Congratulate him for me
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Maxwell

I think I made it to 120K. I thought you'd made it to 300K
My Lumines hiscore is 380K, for comparison.

Yeah, now after playing a bit more, perfecting my technique at getting 'monochrome bonus 1000pts', and routinely breaking a million on the slower version before breaking a sweat, I'm beginning to think that I should have bumped the difficulty down by a factor of 5 instead of 10.

My local retailers still have 1.5 units in stock -- they're easily identifiable by barcode. Units with no letter or A after the model barcode are 1.5; B units are 1.52.

I knew about how to identify a PSP without opening the box, but then the stores 1. don't know how to check a barcode over the phone and 2. turn out to have permanently run out of Model ' ' or Model 'A' PSPs by the time one has used expensive gasoline to get there.

Thanks. I can't wait to see if it's scored by Wendy Carlos, Penderecki, or the Ray Noble Orchestra...

What happens when you say the title of the film several times in a robot voice?

Stop worrying, it's Minesweeper?

Had people said "stop worrying, it's Tetris", we would never have The New Tetris or Tetripz.

Congratulate him for me

Will do.

tepples

new build
game left: Now 10 times easier (might be too easy now); the bomb works; 3 new skins.

Too easy now. The bomb seems to appear at odd intervals, but the same is true of Lumines. Also, the piece selection seems too easy -- it's much harder to maintain the unicolor strategy for as long in Lumines and much harder to clear the screen of pieces, as well. Maybe it's just the slower speed, though.

It took me a long time to hear "shinin'shinin'shinin" bleeding into "johnnyjohnnyjohnny," but it really cracked me up

Awesome job, and I'm really looking forward to the skinner.
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havoc_012

P.P.S. Anything related to megadeth would rock!

Hey, awesome. I'll try and make it nice.

edit:



The skin I was working on before. You can get the ROM too. It's designed to be clean and contrasted. The font is not very legible, I'm working on that. I wanted it to be as structured and reductive as the blocks, and started with simple and rigid modules (even more than how it is right now) but ended up tweaking it a lot.

Oh, it has no music yet. If someone has a suggestion, I'd like to hear about it.

Oh, it has no music yet. If someone has a suggestion, I'd like to hear about it.

If you are still looking for a song, may i suggest She Wolf by Megadeth. It kinda fits the skin, IMO.

Looks like some people have got the skinner working. I havent had any luck yet. Did anyone else get an "alleg40.dll could not be found" error when they went to create the lumines with music rom?

Angels Lead ALCS 1-0

havoc_012

If you are still looking for a song, may i suggest She Wolf by Megadeth. It kinda fits the skin, IMO.

She-Wolf? Hmm, not metal, I don't think so. As a genre, it's too noisy, dark and dirty, and I'd say my skin is the exact opposite of that. I was thinking ambient, or um, I'm not too knowledgeable in electronica, but something a bit mathy, slow and artificial. Maybe some Autechre... I don't know. Thanks for suggesting though, at least it helped me think about it a bit deeper. And hey, you can put whatever music you like when I finish it. And don't forget about that Hangar 18 skin I'm already working on.

havoc_012

Looks like some people have got the skinner working. I havent had any luck yet. Did anyone else get an "alleg40.dll could not be found" error when they went to create the lumines with music rom?

Yes, I just downloaded the Allegro DLL. Just put it in the same folder as the rest of the files and you're done.

Koji

Tepples, are you planning on 'fancying up' the graphics to be more or less on par with Lumines? I mean, Lumines sports lots of little animations and effects here and there, but I don't know if all of this is possible on GBA. I guess that background animations are not possible, but how about the top cursor and animations for sweeped blocks, etc.?

Yes. I'm planning on adding at least "form BLAWK" and "explode BLAWK" animations, and I'm going to need to watch a lot of videos to do this. Is the top cursor that important, given it's not present in Tetris and the like?

tepples

Yes. I'm planning on adding at least "form BLAWK" and "explode BLAWK" animations, and I'm going to need to watch a lot of videos to do this. Is the top cursor that important, given it's not present in Tetris and the like?

That's great! And no, it's not really important, it works as it is.

I just remembered an inconsistency in game left. When a falling block touches ground or the top of another block, you can't keep control of it for a while, unlike Tetris, Puyo or every falling pieces puzzle game I've played, including Kaikai's PC conversion. It makes it very unforgiving of mistakes.

But on the other hand, I really like how fast it controls. The triggering time and the speed when you hold left or right are on the spot.

Oh, I just realized, by watching a video, that there's a sound effect when you hold left or right in the original Lumines. Yep.

Yes, I just downloaded the Allegro DLL. Just put it in the same folder as the rest of the files and you're done.

Thank you so much!!

And don't forget about that Hangar 18 skin I'm already working on.

Sorry, I picked a Megadeth song becuase i thought they were a safe bet. Maybe that song by "The Postal Service" would be cool. I don't remember the name, but it was their biggest hit, if you could call it that. It fits the lumines vibe and kinda has an elctronic sound to it. And it sounds pretty clean to boot.

Maybe this is nickpiciking, little tile animations in the PSP Lumines really do extend the production values. In the PSP Lumines when a square is made a little box is "ghosted" around it and fades away. Little things like this help make the game much more exciting to look at.

Otherwise Luminesweeper is about as close to a gba port of Lumines as were gonna get. Great work, as always, Tepples.

ALCS tied 1-*1 Umipre Doug Eddings just robbed us
Go Angels!!

Koji

Oh, it has no music yet. If someone has a suggestion, I'd like to hear about it.

Why not "DeltaMi-1=aSigman=1Di(n)(SigmajEC(i)Fij(n-1)+Fexti(n-1))" (as Amazon so memorably renders it) by Aphex Twin?
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havoc_012

Maybe that song by "The Postal Service" would be cool. I don't remember the name, but it was their biggest hit, if you could call it that.

Sorry, but you'll have to be more specific, since I've never heard The Postal Service. :/ I don't listen to radio/watch eMpTyV.

Maxwell

Why not "DeltaMi-1=aSigman=1Di(n)(SigmajEC(i)Fij(n-1)+Fexti(n-1))" (as Amazon so memorably renders it) by Aphex Twin?

I sampled it and it wasn't bad, although a bit too upbeat, but I still want to try it once I get the zomg illegally downloaded thru a p2p network mp3 file of the song.

Yes, I just downloaded the Allegro DLL. Just put it in the same folder as the rest of the files and you're done.

Well, i got the .dll file and now the custom game works properly. And I edited a skin already available on luminesweeper (so the file size and other parameters will be correct). Now i just gotta figure out how to compile the .bmp files into a readable file for luminesweeper. I looked in command prompt and the readme, but i couldn't figure it out. Any help would be greatly appriciated.

Sorry im pretty much computer illiterate.

havoc_012

Well, i got the .dll file and now the custom game works properly. And I edited a skin already available on luminesweeper (so the file size and other parameters will be correct). Now i just gotta figure out how to compile the .bmp files into a readable file for luminesweeper. I looked in command prompt and the readme, but i couldn't figure it out. Any help would be greatly appriciated.

Sorry im pretty much computer illiterate.

Did you read the readme.txt file? Well, basically you need to create a .Lspec file in the skins directory that points to every image you made for the skin, with a few other parameters that are necessary. Just copy one of the supplied .Lspecs and change their values, and you're done. Just run the .bat file and you should get two files created, a .mb.gba and a .gba (the former with no music) with the skins integrated.

Did you read the readme.txt file? Well, basically you need to create a .Lspec file in the skins directory that points to every image you made for the skin, with a few other parameters that are necessary. Just copy one of the supplied .Lspecs and change their values, and you're done. Just run the .bat file and you should get two files created, a .mb.gba and a .gba (the former with no music) with the skins integrated.

I tried editing the first background (da_bomb) and then i wrote the .gba program. Now, it skips the skin I edited, and starts on the second skin. If i replace the edited skin, with the original one, it starts back on the first skin. I wasnt sure what you meant by editing one of the .lspecs, because my computer doesnt know what kind of program can read it. So I've been editing the *-bg and *-pf files, leaving them in the skins folder, and finally running the mkskins.bat to convert them. However, the edited skins don't show up in the skinscache. I'll keep working on it.

You're not kidding when you say you're computer illiterate. Well, the .Lspec files are text files, just open them with Notepad to edit them. Also be sure that your blocks and background meet the color limit (details in readme.)

I finally got it working. Thanks again.

Now that I know how to do it, I don't know how I could be so oblivous. When you think about it, its actually pretty easy. Anyways the skin builder is a lotta fun. And now that I know how the skin builder works, I'm pretty confident that Luminesweeper is superior to PSP Lumines.

Now, if we could just get a skin selection mode, to jump right to those new skins.

havoc_012

And now that I know how the skin builder works, I'm pretty confident that Luminesweeper is superior to PSP Lumines.

Um.

I've done my first background. The process is nice and easy, but the sixteen color limit makes my beautiful picture unrecognizable. I really like the Zodiac/Anubis skin. My next attempt at a background will be more abstract.
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Maxwell

Um.

I've done my first background. The process is nice and easy, but the sixteen color limit makes my beautiful picture unrecognizable. I really like the Zodiac/Anubis skin. My next attempt at a background will be more abstract.

I got the same problem. Importing a picture and making it look good is really tough. Google and yahoo image search don't have filters for 16 color images .

Right now im just adding image filters and using the airbrush or pencil tools to edit existing backgrounds. I've actually been able to make some cool backgrounds as long as i dont import any images. Next, I think im going to import a simple black and white image and try to color it in myself. I'll see how that works out.

UPDATE: I found a much better way of converting images to 16 color bitmaps. Instead of paint, now i use MGI PhotoSuite. It's like a poor man's photoshop, but it works. If you got it, Go->image->decrease colors->optimal palette. It looks pretty good on a gba emulator.

"Koji"

When a falling block touches ground or the top of another block, you can't keep control of it for a while, unlike Tetris, Puyo or every falling pieces puzzle game I've played, including Kaikai's PC conversion. It makes it very unforgiving of mistakes.

There's a difference between row-by-row movement and "keeping control of it for a while".

Many games, such as Tetris for Game Boy and NES, as well as Dr. Mario for Game Boy, NES, Super NES, and N64, as well as Puyo for Super NES and Lumines for PSP, use row-by-row movement. In these, the pieces fall row-by-row instead of pixel-by-pixel, and the piece will appear to "float" above the row for the same time as it does for the piece to fall one row. Other games, such as Blastris A, Blastris B, Puyo, Super Puzzle Fighter II, Vitamins, and The New Tetris, use pixel-by-pixel falling. The collision testing in these games usually "rounds down", such that in games with overhangs (not Puyo or Blastris B), a piece can often slide under an overhang such that the top of the piece overlaps the bottom of the overhang.

Some games, such as Puyo, Pac-Attack, Super Puzzle Fighter II, The New Tetris, Tetris The Grandmaster, and Tetanus On Drugs, add an additional delay once a piece has hit bottom before it locks into place. This delay is separate from the time it takes the piece to fall through the last row, and the player keeps control of the piece during this time. In fact, the player in the infamous "Tetris Japan Finals" video relies on this effect, which has become more pronounced in Tetris brand games over the years.

We know Lumines uses row-by-row falling. But does it have "keeping control of it for a while" in addition to the time it takes for a piece to fall through the last row? If you let a piece fall, especially on one of the faster levels, does it hesitate longer than one row time at the bottom before locking into place? It doesn't on Kaikai's version, but then Kaikai's version never speeds up.

"Koji"

Oh, I just realized, by watching a video, that there's a sound effect when you hold left or right in the original Lumines. Yep.

Is this sound effect different from a repeated version of the move left or move right sound effect? It is in Kaikai's version.

"havoc_012"

Maybe this is nickpiciking, little tile animations in the PSP Lumines really do extend the production values. In the PSP Lumines when a square is made a little box is "ghosted" around it and fades away. Little things like this help make the game much more exciting to look at.

Such an "enclosing" animation on mark_blawks() is planned for a future version, and so is the other animation (squares exploding after delete_swept()).

Here are some more skins by headspin, but without any custom music.

"Koji"

Tepples, any chance that you can make it so that I can input beats instead of sweeper passes for looping times, or something to that effect? I want to make Hangar 18 loop within 40 passes and 5 beats. :/

All the songs in Lumines loop on 8-beat boundaries, right? There's a single measure pause after the middle eight in the radio version of "Catch Me If You Can", and I audio-edited that part to confirm to the 16/8 time signature restriction. If you wanted to change time signature for a measure, I'm not sure how that would work, as would the sweeper stop in the middle and jump back to the left?

"havoc_012"

now i use MGI PhotoSuite. It's like a poor man's photoshop, but it works.

I use GNU Image Manipulation Program, if you haven't already guessed.

tepples

We know Lumines uses row-by-row falling. But does it have "keeping control of it for a while" in addition to the time it takes for a piece to fall through the last row? If you let a piece fall, especially on one of the faster levels, does it hesitate longer than one row time at the bottom before locking into place? It doesn't on Kaikai's version, but then Kaikai's version never speeds up.

I honestly didn't stop and realize that your game's pieces fall pixel by pixel rather than row by row. And since I'm a big Puyo fan and that'd be my latest and most prominent memory of a falling-pieces puzzle game, I found it unforgiving that the piece locks into place the instant it makes contact. I wouldn't know about how the original Lumines works in regard to what you're saying, though, but maybe Maxwell can tell us?

tepples

Is this sound effect different from a repeated version of the move left or move right sound effect? It is in Kaikai's version.

It is, and it's in Kaikai's. It's a 'swoosh' sound in Kaikai's, and different sounds in different skins in Lumines, but they're mostly faint 'swooshes,' if I remember correctly.

tepples

All the songs in Lumines loop on 8-beat boundaries, right? There's a single measure pause after the middle eight in the radio version of "Catch Me If You Can", and I audio-edited that part to confirm to the 16/8 time signature restriction. If you wanted to change time signature for a measure, I'm not sure how that would work, as would the sweeper stop in the middle and jump back to the left?

Well, it would just keep on the beat and continue to the right, it's not too crazy, now, is it? But if it's too complicated to accomplish, I understand. It's just that not every song is that standardized. In fact not much of the music I listen to stays in a single time signature for that matter, or as far as I can tell from my limited knowledge. But I guess that's a game design limitation that's our (the skinners) task to hurdle.

BTW, I'm working on three skins. I'm going slow because I've been busy, but they're coming. And speaking of which, Tepples, I stumbled upon what I think is a bug in the skinner. I had a 15 colored sweeped block and the skinner wouldn't accept it, and I had to lower it to five colors in order for it to work.

And while we're on the subject of colors, they look different in VBA for me, grayer than they're supposed, and I don't know if this is how they'd look in a GBA/NDS screen. And I do mean grayer, not just unsaturated: white looks darker too. I checked VBA's options to see if it's meddling with the colors to make them look more 'authentic' or something, but I found nothing that could be doing that. Meh.

tepples

Here are some more skins by headspin, but without any custom music.

Wow, these are all really good. Whenever I make my skins and convert them to bmp, they usually turn out blocky and discolored. Headspin is a good graphic designer. Some of my skins look passable, but they're no where near the visual quality of the ones posted.

tepples

There's a difference between row-by-row movement and "keeping control of it for a while".

I never really gave it much thought before, i just figured that some falling piece games were very "forgiving" while others were not. Pretty cool though.

tepples

I use GNU Image Manipulation Program, if you haven't already guessed.

I might have to try that. . .

tepples

Here are some more skins by headspin, but without any custom music.

That mouse skin is very, very close to an original Lumines skin.

I will check into how Lumines handles blocks landing.
___________________

Koji

Well, it would just keep on the beat and continue to the right, it's not too crazy, now, is it?

Then the sweeper would fall out of sync with the music over time.

Koji

And speaking of which, Tepples, I stumbled upon what I think is a bug in the skinner. I had a 15 colored sweeped block and the skinner wouldn't accept it, and I had to lower it to five colors in order for it to work.

Please post the bitmap so that I can diagnose the problem.

Koji

And while we're on the subject of colors, they look different in VBA for me, grayer than they're supposed, and I don't know if this is how they'd look in a GBA/NDS screen. And I do mean grayer, not just unsaturated: white looks darker too.

Actually, the skin builder lightens all the colors so that shadowy parts won't suffer from Castlevania syndrome on a real GBA. It does slightly reduce the contrast in the highlights. But part of the problem is VBA's fault, as VBA uses #F8F8F8 for white, not #FFFFFF.

Maxwell

That mouse skin is very, very close to an original Lumines skin.

A lot of those are, from what I've gathered by looking at screenshots and videos.

tepples

Then the sweeper would fall out of sync with the music over time.

No, because the music would loop accordingly.

tepples

Please post the bitmap so that I can diagnose the problem.

Sorry, I tried but now I can't recreate the bug. :/ Dismiss it, I guess, unless somebody else gets the same error.

tepples

Actually, the skin builder lightens all the colors so that shadowy parts won't suffer from Castlevania syndrome on a real GBA. It does slightly reduce the contrast in the highlights. But part of the problem is VBA's fault, as VBA uses #F8F8F8 for white, not #FFFFFF.

Ah, thanks for clarifying.

tepples

I use GNU Image Manipulation Program, if you haven't already guessed.

Thats a really nice program. I'm not really familar with it, but it has already replaced my other image editing programs. Quick newbie question; Is there a way to send an image to the foreground or background without using opacity? It would really come in handy for setting up the grid so its visible, without having to desaturate the colors in the background.

tepples

Actually, the skin builder lightens all the colors so that shadowy parts won't suffer from Castlevania syndrome on a real GBA. It does slightly reduce the contrast in the highlights. But part of the problem is VBA's fault, as VBA uses #F8F8F8 for white, not #FFFFFF.

Id much rather have lightened colors than the "castlevania syndrome." Having played the original gba castlevania, i found it near impossible to play that game in anything but the best lighting conditions.

My skins are starting to look alot better, maybe in the next few days i'll post them on photobucket or something similar.

havoc_012

[GIMP is] a really nice program. I'm not really familar with it, but it has already replaced my other image editing programs. Quick newbie question; Is there a way to send an image to the foreground or background without using opacity? It would really come in handy for setting up the grid so its visible, without having to desaturate the colors in the background.

You can move a layer up or down in the stack with the up and down buttons in the Layers palette. There are several blending modes that don't cause saturation loss; make a new layer and try some.

GIMP.org links to a few more tutorials.

And if you want, you can specify separate images for the outside (240x160) and the inside (192x120) of a skin; use the BG= and InnerBG= directives. In some image editors, it might be easier to use separate palettes if you save them that way.

tepples

You can move a layer up or down in the stack with the up and down buttons in the Layers palette. There are several blending modes that don't cause saturation loss; make a new layer and try some.

GIMP.org links to a few more tutorials.

And if you want, you can specify separate images for the outside (240x160) and the inside (192x120) of a skin; use the BG= and InnerBG= directives. In some image editors, it might be easier to use separate palettes if you save them that way.

Thanks, that helped a lot.
And I can make some pretty cool skins now.

But wait...
There's more...

Edit: I started on the music today and i have made good progress. I converted an mp3 which i named "Da Bomb" to wav and made a "gsmsongs.gbsf" file. I haven't edited the first skin (Da_Bomb) and I havent changed the Lpsec or Lskin files. I copied and pasted the name "Da Bomb" from the lspec file to the .wav file and then wrote the .gbsf file. Anyways, the song doesnt play for me during the game. However, the stand alone .gba music file does work. Is there more to it other than making a .gbsf file placing it in the folder with mkskins.bat and creating the file?

If anyone has gotten skins with music working, what did you name each file? That info would be very helpful, and I could use that info as a template for making future custom luminesweeper games. Thanks for reading.