Subs

[Shockman]

Subs was the first multi-monitor game. It was also the first add-a-coin game.

Like the original this is best with two monitors (windows span mode) when playing two players. You could always drape piece of card stock down the center of the screen with a hook on top.

Radar works and is needed to find the other player if he is not shooting.

press F1 to see key and joystick assignments.

Press 5 to add game-time with 1:30 added each 'coin'

Press 2 to start a two player game. Instead of radar just look over at the other players' screen to see where they are (unless you do span this). Having Win7 and a gimpy card installed, and the fact that I have only one monitor, I have yet to test span mode, but I think I will have to put two pinched views (one for each screen) | |X| |X| | and expect they will stretch to the correct aspect ratio, centered in each monitor) Perhaps when I get Win8 I will get another monitor and put my nVidia in this and set that up.

Press 1 to start a one player game. This will show one screen on the monitor and a computer bot will control the hidden sub. Less aggressive when ahead in points, the bot will attack more often when the scores are the same and much more often when it is behind in points. The bot will also try to evade torpedoes.

I took the liberty to scale the game up for more area, and slow it down as compared to the original.

The game is not as easy until you learn to reference the radar. It is nearly exact, but given the difference in scale is by no means a pin-point. Also the fact that the scan only picks it up for an instance every 2 seconds, makes it harder to zero in.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

subs (1977 atari)... wow, i don't remember that, and don't have it in my old MAME versions, either.

from the youtube video it looks interesting, but pretty fast and intense. guess that's why you slowed it down.

 

[Shockman]

I first built a Ships based on subs. It is much slower still, but Subs progress farther and Ships needs to catch up. It has a larger area still (actually just smaller ships and islands) and adds a third island which is the radar source.
Ships was started just yesterday morning. It was converted to Subs starting just today. Ships lacks time in minutes and seconds, joystick support, and some other stuff.

Subs was a pretty good game, but I wanted something more strategic than frantic. The subs are more stealthy as well. They will never show except when hit. It takes time to turn, especially in Ships so you are only given away by a radar blip or by shooting (up to two torpedoes at any one time, both will score a point if both hit). So the object is to keep moving, perhaps trying to keep out of radar range which would mean corners. You can determine what is out of range by seeing where the enemy is on radar. Then to only shoot when you are fairly sure you have a chance at a hit, then to move quickly. If the other ship is hit, you have 2 seconds in which you can score another hit.

I think a good mod for this game would be to have the sub as the source of the radar (to actually have sonar) and to give it an adjustable range. Maybe to drop mines (invisible) and time limited remote sonar units (will show up on the other's radar, but they won't know where you are unless you were on their radar when you dropped it) and have a chance of finding the other ship while out of their range. And an over-sized map with 360* scrolling.

 

[Shockman]

This is the perfect game to learn some intermediate path finding and some more advanced AI.

So far the bot (second player computer controlled) wonders around, turning at the boundaries based on its angle, and goes around the islands. This is maneuver mode.

If it is behind in points it gets aggressive and turns towards and closes in on you, and shoots. It will win if you don't move around much. This is the seek and destroy mode.

Next I will made elude mode, where it will try to get adjacent, if ahead or not far behind. If far behind in points it will try to evade your torpedoes as well.

So the AI is adaptive, and will become more so. I want it to have phases that it plays well enough to dominate the player, but dumbs down if it get ahead.

I won't quit until it wins a 4:30 game with me trying, but does not win all of them.

 

[Shockman]

Updated with 1 player mode and coinage for time.