PictoBlitz

5% disappointed to not even have made finalist, 95% fired up to do better next contest :D. [Edit: now i'm around 85% disappointed and 15% confused. ] Pictoblitz will continue to improve as well. There are so few games on the forum that are actually complete that I feel it will gain appreciation with time. The post-contest update will be posted either 1/9/2018 or 1/10/2018, and the expansion update will be in the following February, featuring several new modes and hopefully multiplayer if I can obtain a 2nd 3ds by then. Thanks again to all who tried and supported this game :)

Not at all, I find there's a bit of a learning curve. The trick is getting used to anticipating the effects of where the ball hits the paddle. Once you can reliably keep it on its intended path, your multiplier is easy to raise and after it hits x5 it becomes almost laughably easy. I'm a bit ambivalent about the current difficulty and am constantly wavering between the decision to make it any easier or to keep it as is.. I believe the new paddles will achieve balance but time will tell.

Hoping to release the post-contest changes by tonight, but am stuck by a perplexing bug regarding my level editor. (It is also possible that I'm missing something simple)

VAR NM$="@CMAPTEST"
VAR A$=PRGGET$()
'---------------------------------------
?A$                'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?NM$               'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?STR$(A$==NM$)     'Returns '0'. Why?

Ugh. Does anyone know why SB is insisting that "@CMAPTEST" doesn't equal "@CMAPTEST"? Edit: Finally figured the problem out. Should anyone else be curious, PRGGET$() does NOT return the line as a string by itself, it decides to return the line as a string plus the new line character. Basically if the current line is "CODE ON THIS LINE", PRGGET$ will return "CODE ON THIS LINE"+CHR$(10). I haven't the foggiest why they made PRGGET$ append a new line character when it's already implied, but them's also the breaks. Unfortunately, this pushed the post-contest update until tomorrow due to exhaustion/frustration. My apologies to any disappointed by the delay...

VAR NM$="@CMAPTEST"
VAR A$=PRGGET$()
'---------------------------------------
?A$                'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?NM$               'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?STR$(A$==NM$)     'Returns '0'. Why?

check the lengths of the strings as well, maybe there’s some invis character at the end.

VAR NM$="@CMAPTEST"
VAR A$=PRGGET$()
'---------------------------------------
?A$                'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?NM$               'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?STR$(A$==NM$)     'Returns '0'. Why?

Each line usually contains a new line character at the end. It's possible for a line to not have one, but generally this never happens. I agree, they should've made PRGGET$() remove the line ending.

Well, I was late by 2 whole days, but the post-contest update is complete. I decided to hold off on releasing the new paddles for reasons that will become evident when Dungeon mode hits release. As usual, if you find any unreported bugs or have any ideas on how to improve the game, please let me know. Enjoy :) PS: Updating is going to remove all of your progress! This was done due to shuffling around of stage order plus some save-file structural changes. I apologize for the annoyance and will try to avoid this with any future updates. My bad!

VAR NM$="@CMAPTEST"
VAR A$=PRGGET$()
'---------------------------------------
?A$                'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?NM$               'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?STR$(A$==NM$)     'Returns '0'. Why?

@chicken: I had already figured it out, but you were correct, there was a totally unnecessary character at the end (CHR$(10)) @12Me21: They should also make CHKLABEL return the appropriate line number as opposed to a boolean. I wonder how one goes about suggesting such things...

Cool better get this before i leave on our trip!

VAR NM$="@CMAPTEST"
VAR A$=PRGGET$()
'---------------------------------------
?A$                'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?NM$               'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?STR$(A$==NM$)     'Returns '0'. Why?

sorry, i read the first half and commented, then my internet cut out as i went to delete my comment after i read the second half.

VAR NM$="@CMAPTEST"
VAR A$=PRGGET$()
'---------------------------------------
?A$                'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?NM$               'Returns '@CMAPTEST'
?STR$(A$==NM$)     'Returns '0'. Why?

Either way, great guess! I wish you were around before I spent 5 hours wracking my caffeine-addled brain figuring it out lol.

You can run "LVL_EDIT" from the start if Custom isn't unlocked yet, but Pictoblitz will not load your saved levels until you've cleared the game. For those of you who are more impatient and less fun, you can enter "UNLOCKED%=LEN(WORLDS$):SAVE_MEM" for instant gratification. *You run the game at least once, then go to the direct terminal to type it in and hit enter*

Oops! This newest update should correct the custom map error. lemme know if things go wrong

You can overwrite the PICTOBLITZ file to keep progress

I have received a complaint for having items related to other popular games as levels. My first release of this game did not, and the update added a few (such as the diamond pickaxe, pokeball, etc.), and somehow this violates other's feelings in some way? Well, sorry not sorry. Looking around this forum I see projects that do the very same, and even more than a few that are blatant rip-offs of commercial games. Notice how those projects have not been taken down... I intend to follow suit. It is my personal opinion that this game maintains it's own unique identity, admittedly similar in design to commercial successes as Break-out and Arkanoid, but painstakingly different from those commercial titles in every way outside of concept. I am neither making any money from Pictoblitz, nor preventing the sale of the aforementioned titles. The same logic applies to the subject of licensed material within its levels. In no way whatsoever does a diamond pickaxe level interfere with the sale and success of Minecraft products, nor does the inclusion of an obvious pokeball affect the pokemon franchise. I'd wager that apart from this message tipping others off, very few people have even seen those levels, and am utterly baffled how they could offend anyone in any way. I included the aforementioned levels due to my appreciation of the games they hearken from, and for no other reason. If I were milking the success of those titles for the sake of propagating Pictoblitz, don't you think I'd have pointed them out in its description or included screenshots of their inclusion? Give me a break. If you are complaining to other devs on this site over similar issues, I suggest you give them a break as well. I wonder if Kantackistan gets harassed over minigames that clearly show a nod to commercial titles such as fruit ninja... If so it's ridiculous. I would point out, again, that nobody is making any money for their projects here outside of the rare contest awards which are essentially chump change. What are you even upset about? In summation, I regret that you (I'm talking to any who somehow have this problem) have an issue with my design decisions, but they were intentional and this game's content will remain the way it is unless the game companies themselves ask me to change it. I wish you good luck, lots of love, and success with however much money it will cost for the surgery to remove your head from your backside.

woah dude that's not okay contest prizes are hard-earned ad revenue, not chump change

absolutely true, I apologize for the insinuation. What I mean is that nobody is posting content on this forum with the intent of making money. My point is that compared to what money could be made on other platforms, 40$ is nothing. Edit: nobody SANE is creating content on this forum with the intent of making money, considering its neither continued income or an amount even close to what professional game companies expect for a product. While it may take much effort to accrue that amount for the sake of a contest, it is a pittance considering the odds of even winning the contest in contrast to sales you could make on an e-site.

Come to think of it, this particular debate has zero bearing on my original post. Furthermore I would point out that the contest awards, whether one views them as a pittance or not, are not actually a payment for the game itself- they are an award for the contest's participation. If people were actually being paid for their Smile Basic contributions it would get shut down so fast your head would spin, as Ninty wouldn't stand for it.

DSM, I'm pretty sure this completely falls under fair use.