NES RoboCop with Arcade sprites

[minucce]

I can align the bottom hud per stage; would solve the different black bar heights.


Sprite flicker .. ????

Flame thrower guy (stage 2 start):
- Does he always flicker?
- Only flickes when blowing fire?
- Still flickers when right window shooter is gone?


Jetpack guy (stage 6 start):
- Does he always flicker?
- Only flickes when dropping bombs / blow up?

[SomeOldGuy]

It looks like they always flicker.  These aren't the best quality videos but should show you what I mean.

Flame Thrower
https://sendvid.com/4gful3sr

JetPack
https://sendvid.com/pewkmldq

2nd Floor Shooter - Level 3
https://sendvid.com/cmdpo609

[minucce]

Your videos are helpful. Unusual beast. They all seem to be sprites towards top of screen; flamethrower one appears to palette flicker instead of vanishing like others.


I'll likely have to create some test candidates since emulators don't emulate enough PPU hardware glitches (there's lots of weird triggers).


Changes from wip2 to wip3 would be:
- VBlank rewritten for faster response (important)
- Double scanline IRQs which maybe could be a trigger also (hud bounce)
October 23, 2021, 10:42:59 PM - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)
Here's my best guess
https://github.com/minucce/workbox/raw/f9475651b15a06a8df78729ba431ecbcda2d14c4/box3/wip4.ips

- Bottom hud will re-align based on level and room

- Try to avoid OAM corruption bug (*)
http://archive.nes.science/nesdev-forums/f2/t15818.xhtml
https://wiki.nesdev.org/w/index.php/Errata


(*)
Wip2/3/4 disables full rendering to avoid corruption lines from showing. This is actually very timing sensitive and can cause game to lose a few sprites every frame when done wrong.

Wip2 should've suffered from sprite flashing bug but I think real hardware pushed off timing long enough to avoid it, instead producing incredibly bothersome hud bounce

Wip3 used double irq technique to not go past time boundary, but this I think created the flashing as it was turning off too early now (to avoid bounce)

Wip4 keeps screen on to avoid OAM corruption; I now do a 4th hud split to draw some extra blank lines on top / bottom to avoid garbage lines from appearing
October 23, 2021, 10:57:12 PM - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)
In the goofball chance wip4 flashes,
https://github.com/minucce/workbox/raw/d3d514d3da89ecfab19ac12bb6c606064d103320/box3/wip4a.ips

which does normal split at very bottom also. Then I feel like I can release the source code properly.

[verme]

wow, it's getting better! great job!
A small suggestion: it's possible to make Robocop not move its legs when it's standing still and punching or shooting, so it would be even more arcade-like.

[SomeOldGuy]

Hey minucce!
Got a chance to test the two new patches on my NES ...and well, wip4 still flickers.  Wip4a eliminates the flicker but introduces two new issues.  The first, is a duplicate power bar being drawn at the very bottom of the screen.  The second, is that the screen shakes slightly (and for a split second) when enemies appears on screen.  Kinda like the effect used when Robocop punches through a wall, just not as pronounced.  It also seems to happen when Robocop takes damage, when shooting ED-209's cannon, and most noticeably on the conveyor belt at the beginning of level 6.

I have a video and you can clearly see the double power bar but the shaking screen isn't really noticeable. 
Can someone with a NES/Everdrive please verify that I'm not going crazy and the screen shake is actually happening?

https://sendvid.com/pb7jf4g9

Hey verme!
Yeah, I couldn't agree more!  All of the improvements minucce has been making are simply amazing! 

     

[gamingcat02261991]

I think that this hack should be complete with the addition of the iconic Game Boy title theme done in the NES's sound engine.

[minucce]

I think this will clean the bug house
https://github.com/minucce/workbox/raw/6623684c6f5e5a35c41e3cd81ab26115b696c22c/box3/wip4b.ips


x) Bar on very bottom will keep sprites on, bg off to avoid oam flicker corruption and stay black - black


x) Do not reload MMC3 until after VRAM access is done; r/w to vram can trigger the A12 watchdog and move the irq timer clock (the jitter bug)

[SomeOldGuy]

Hey gamingcat02261991,

Don't get me wrong, I like the gameboy theme, but I'd use the arcade music/sound effects if I could.

minucce,

That last patch definitely cleaned house.  No more jitter or duplicate power meter.     There is, in my opinion, a cool new glitch in level 3 though. When Robocop uses the elevator and transitions to the next screen you can see his sprites at the bottom of the HUD.  I think it would be cool if you could see the sprites that are blacked out(same plane as the power meter).  Check out the pic below, what do you think?     

[minucce]

I tried it and liked it also! Also makes bullets, grenades, explosions respect the ground level now.
https://github.com/minucce/workbox/raw/5743745b315d97344aa628268d1eaacb57b3658b/box3/wip5.ips


Also saw this during testing. May have been there before but unsure.
https://github.com/minucce/workbox/raw/5743745b315d97344aa628268d1eaacb57b3658b/box3/ed-206.gif


Wip5 Source
https://github.com/minucce/workbox/tree/210eb13a02d74d47d423de3d38f628aabe70fe79

[SomeOldGuy]

The newest patch is friggin awesome!  Love it. 

Also saw this during testing. May have been there before but unsure.
https://github.com/minucce/workbox/raw/5743745b315d97344aa628268d1eaacb57b3658b/box3/ed-206.gif

Yep, it was there before.  Ed 209's walking cycle is a bit messed up at the moment.

[SomeOldGuy]

Merry Christmas Everybody!

After a ton of help form Minucce, I think this hack is just about ready to upload to the site.  Could you guys test this patch out and let me know if you spot any errors/fixes that need to be made.  Can't promise that everything will get fixed but I'll do what I can.

For the best results turn off the 8 sprite limit in your favorite emulator.  And use the default palette from FCEUX 2.3.0 (this is the emu used when choosing colors for the game). 

Release Candidate(maybe) Patch below:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/z3m3ko5zwl2jnsm/RoboCop+(USA)+-+Edit+21.ips/file

[stevebarn]

Hello SomeOldGuy,

Thank you very very much for all you hard work and all you helpers too.
For this candidate release, I tested the game from beginning to end without any major problems with Mesen emulator 0.9.9.

I noticed a couple of small things :

- In the the scrapyard level, when Robocop begins the stage, the first dog is misplaced, Robocop take out his gun and cannot avoid this attack.
- In the the scrapyard level, the boss : man with a shotgun, have a strange inverted sprite when you hit him.
- The flying armor enemy, when you defeat him, he disappear without explosion or any effect (perhaps it's normal...)
- There's no difference with the Robocop weapon when you take three way bullets or shotgun (perhaps it's normal...)

Otherwise I noticed, no bugs, crash, freeze or anything else, the game is quiet enough challenging without being too hard,
it's a fantastic and great enhancement of this game, beyond our expectations, a professional and high standard work.

I'll test the game in real hardware soon,

I wish you a merry Christmas,

Kind regards
Stephane

P.S. I wanted to join some screenshots but I don't how to do...sorry

[KingMike]

You need to upload screenshots to a separate file hosting service such as imgur.
Once uploaded, look at the link options for one to create a BB link. One with "[img]" in the link. Copy and paste that.

[stevebarn]

Thank you very much KingMike!

[SomeOldGuy]

Hey Stevebarn!

Thanks for the feedback! 

- In the the scrapyard level, when Robocop begins the stage, the first dog is misplaced, Robocop take out his gun and cannot avoid this attack.
The cheap dog attack has been fixed.

- In the the scrapyard level, the boss : man with a shotgun, have a strange inverted sprite when you hit him.
This is fixed to the best of my ability (the sprite has been updated).

- The flying armor enemy, when you defeat him, he disappear without explosion or any effect (perhaps it's normal...)
The explosion graphics are now displayed when you defeat him.  Also, the helicopter sound effect that plays while he is on screen has been muted.

- There's no difference with the Robocop weapon when you take three way bullets or shotgun (perhaps it's normal...)
Not sure what you mean that there is no difference?  Can you post a picture?  Maybe I can make the difference more noticeable.

So...

Are there any more changes that need to be made guys/gals?

[nosynose]

@SomeOldGuy
Just an info. Under the very old FCEU 0.98.12:
-Edit 21: lower HUD ("Power") still bouncing 2-way to its lower left
-Edit 19 + Minucce's WIP5 : similar problem
-Edit 19 + Minucce's WIP4b: similar problem
-Edit 19: works fine

[SomeOldGuy]

Hmmm interesting, nosynose.

I guess the emulation in FCEU 0.98.12 just wasn't as accurate as more current Emus.  The ultimate test, for me, is if the hack will work properly in a real NES.   

[ShadowOne333]

Are my eyes deceiving me?
Or did I see the submission queue correctly?

[stevebarn]

Hello SomeOldGuy,

You are welcome 

I updated the review with pictures (thank you KingMike)
This is an awesome game (thank you SomeOldGuy and all other contributors!)


Stage 1 : ok




Stage 2 :

The man with flamethrower disappear when hit, in original game he stands with arms raised then disappear progressively.










Stage 3 : ok




Stage 4 :

Scrapyard : the first dog come when Robocop pulling out his weapon, he cannot avoid this attack :





flying armored man, the sound is present when he appears, when Robocop defeat him he disappear without explosion / and no sound explosion :





1.The Boss sprite's entirely black when appears, and stay black if Robocop stay at the same position, if Robocop move then the boss sprite take his normal colors.
2.When the boss is hit, his damaged sprite appears in a shifted place during a second.




Stage 5 : ok




Stage 6 : OCP headquarters

same things as the stage 4 for the flying armored man




Weapons : There's two options three bullet icon and Cobra Gun but when you take one of these options there's no change with the weapon icon in the hud
and no difference with Robocop sprite / and no special effect (upgrade weapon)




Shooting Stages : All the shooting stages are ok.



I finished the game without problem, breaking bug or freeze, for my part all is good and this game is awesome compared to the original.
All those things I noted do not interfere with the fun of the game, and are small aesthetic details.

[sics]

What good news for the beginning of the year, congratulations and thanks to all who made this launch possible, happy 2022!