old QB Defender game - anyone want to try to bring this up to speed?
#8
(03-31-2023, 09:48 PM)mnrvovrfc Wrote: Looking at the "QBDEFEND_v2.BAS":

"FNRND" function name (at very end) should be changed to "Random0" or something else througout the program. Maybe QB64 reserves "DEF FN" and anything that starts with "FN" and if not, it looks ugly calling anything starting with "FN".

One suggestion is to turn the string of "COMMON SHARED" to "DIM SHARED". "CHAIN" and "COMMON" are outdated. If this program uses another source code file it should be made part of one file, either physically or as '$INCLUDE. Using "COMMON SHARED" usually means more than one source code file with a group of the same variables to share information. But QB64(PE) requires us to bundle up those small parts into one file if at all possible, it's an inherent limitation it's had since the beginning.

I agree with all you said. I'm pretty sure it's just the one file.

From what I saw in the code so far, it isn't a 100% exact copy of Williams' arcade game, like the pixel-perfect recreations that TerryRitchie and RokCoder have spoiled us with! (Not to mention, MAME!)

Maybe it was just never finished but I noticed there is no hyperspace function, what graphics still work in QB64PE don't look exactly like the original (more like the 8-bit home versions from back in the day), and in the code the different aliens aren't named what us old time Defender/Stargate fans know by heart - Baiters, Pods & Swarmers are called by different names for example.

But the game rules are close enough, the radar screen displays correctly, and the general game logic seems mostly decent, which is why I don't think it's a lost cause. Of course, any one of our star QB64/PE programmers (and there are a few - you know who you are!) would do a much better job than someone like me hacking around, but I think it would be fun for any fan of the original game to tinker with.

I'll post the code I got semi-working later when back at the PC.
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RE: old QB Defender game - anyone want to try to bring this up to speed? - by madscijr - 03-31-2023, 11:24 PM



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