OK, I didn't like the slower blinking so I went for an old solution - check this video out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z94sw_JvIRI
I'm not 100% sure yet: maybe I'll have to use a darker color for the unselected items.

@trixie

Are you sure it's the blinking? It isn't that fast and it only affects a single short string. Maybe its the background scrolling (which I've been thinking of replacing with something else for a while), instead?

Another maintenance release. A complete playthrough and a revision of the code revealed a few things to fix/improve.



CHANGELOG
* Made WEAPON bonus less rare.
* Fixed an AI-related bug.
* Fixed milestone when resuming (it was restored instead of being reset, which made sense only when points used to be restored as well).
* Made various other minor changes/optimizations.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

Maintenance release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4U02xatwAg

CHANGELOG
* Changed slightly darkening of arenas start screen background.
* Fixed (again) Gjawor's AI (it might get stuck due to a missing check).
* Fixed wor spawning delay calculation (it became negative on the last arena).
* Fixed layout of last arena.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

All wors are done!





(click to enlarge)

CHANGELOG
* Added Frowor.
* Changed Gjawor sound.
* Added points missing to milestone to HUD.
* Reworked HUD.
* Fixed Gjawor's AI (it could decide to turn when not allowed).
* Fixed/optimized trimming of most shadows.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

More steps towards perfection (that is, the perfection I'm able to reach).


(click to enlarge)

CHANGELOG
* Made Exxwor shoot.
* Reworked arenas start screen (darkened background, changed heading, added wors list).
* Touched up a few arenas.
* Touched up some Exxwor frames.
* Replaced scrolltext with cycling strings.
* Extended menu navigation controls with: [RIGHT] = select, [LEFT] = back.
* Updated manual.
* Made various other little changes.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

1 wor to go! The Exxwor, the wor that appears at THE WAREHOUSE stage, has been added, so now only one wor remains to be done!
Additionally, this build comes with a major bugfix and other nice improvements.

Video preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2ziVeuufNI

CHANGELOG
* Added (new) Exxwor (the wor specific to THE WAREHOUSE stage).
* Made score restart from 0 when a game is resumed.
* Added 32nd (and last) color.
* Touched up some graphics.
* Changed (again) background of arenas title screen.
* Fixed major bug that made the software-based 5x scaler crash (a whole line of code had disappeared by accident).
* Updated/extended manual.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

@BSzili

Very kind thought, thanks! :)
Once the game is complete, I'll enable the donation option on itch.io.

@samo79

Sorry, I still don't get it :p
Are you referring to the $VER string?

Stage-relative checkpoints added! When a new stage is reached, the whole game state gets saved so that it will be possible to resume the game anytime from the same state by means of a menu option.
Side note: I had considered giving the option to resume from any of the stages/arenas reached previously, but that would have made it way too easy to finish the game (and make big scores in the process) with repeated partial sessions, whereas the best way to enjoy the game is to play it from start to finish. Therefore, I went for an alternative that sits in between the two extremes.


(click to enlarge)

CHANGELOG
* Added option to resume from the last stage reached.
* Refined the fix to the handling of shadows.
* Made various other little improvements/fixes.
* Updated/improved/extended manual.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

@328gts

Thanks, but I decided to make the game available for free (as considered since its inception) because of what I explained in the opening post: I hope to reach as many people as possible. Of course, donations will still be welcome ;)

@samo79

Quote:
Thanks :)

Quote:
No, sorry: I'm not fond of (the abuse of) icons.

Quote:
I don't get it :p What do you mean?

THE MACHINE ROOMS stage is complete! A major step towards the completion of the whole game has just been made. Plus a few other little improvements.
By the way, I made a final decision: the full game will be free!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOi6ViYwxuc

CHANGELOG
* Added THE MACHINE ROOMS stage.
* Touched up graphics of the other stages.
* Touched up a couple of arenas.
* Improved walls tiles selection logic.
* Fixed handling of vertical doors shadows.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

Yesterday's northward-moving sprites were totally wrong and I had also forgotten to give all the sprites their own shadows. What a failure. Hopefully, I've fixed everything now.



CHANGELOG
* Improved Dmewor's graphics.
* Given Dmewor its own shadows.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

Dmewor, the wor specific to THE OUTER WALLS stage, is done! (So now only two remain to be done).



CHANGELOG
* Added Dmewor graphics and sound.
* Changed behavioural parameters of Czywor and Dmewor.
* Added temporary AI for Exxwor.
* Updated manual.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

I didn't know about this. Thanks klx300r for reporting it and, of course, thanks to Graham Humphrey for such nice words!

@jabirulo

Quote:
Glad you like it, and thanks for the feedback :)

Quote:
Technically it's possible, but it isn't necessary: the texts consist of just a bunch of simple (and common) lines, and the game can be played even without understanding a single word. Given the work that remains to be done and my other projects, I won't invest energies on localization (sorry!).

@328gts

Wizard of Wor is much less popular than I thought :/
Anyway, thank you :)


@all

Stage-specific wors! This feature remained in the queue for a long time, but it finally made it to the game! At the moment, code aside, there is only one new wor (shown in the animation) that makes use of it, but three more will come in the future.



CHANGELOG
* Implemented addition of a new wor on each stage after the first one (consequently, the names Dmewor and Exxwor are assigned to new enemies, and the enemies that carries those names are now called, respectively, Hodwor and Ikuwor; the wors names are now: Akrwor, Baqwor, Czywor, Dmewor, Exxwor, Frowor, Gjawor, Hodwor, Ikuwor).
* Created Gjawor (AI and graphics).
* Written AIs for Dmewor and Frowor.
* Touched up a couple of arenas.
* Touched up some graphics.
* Renamed THE CHAMBERS stage as THE MACHINE ROOMS stage and swapped it with THE CONTROL ROOMS stage.
* Updated/improved manual.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway

Lots of new content ready! THE CONTROLS ROOM (formerly THE LABS) stage is finished, and so are all the 50 arenas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8teBgfd40c

CHANGELOG
* Fixed some shadows of stage CAVES tiles.
* Added 31st color and improved graphics with it.
* Added THE CONTROL ROOMS (formerly THE LABS) stage.
* Added all the missing arenas.
* Improved/fixed a few arenas.

Demo download: https://www.retream.com/Blastaway (please note that since I'm considering launching a Kickstarter campaign, for the first time the demo is limited to the first 3 stages / 30 arenas).

I've been asked by email, on itch.io, on YouTube, and on various forums to port Blastaway to other platforms, and I've also read some misinformation somewhere, so I thought I'd better give a complete and clear answer everywhere.

I'm not going to port Blastaway to any other platform.

In general, other platforms won't be considered because:
* I can't take the burden of adapting the game and then of offering (future) support (two platforms are already demanding, and with BOH I've learned that increasing the number of supported systems beyond two is insane);
* porting is boring;
* help offers aren't of any help (terrible pun intended) because also collaborating, for several reasons, takes time and energies;
* I don't own all the machines I'm being / I will be asked to port the game to, and for money and logistical reasons I can't get more;
* I have many other projects (for classic Amiga and Commodore 64) waiting to be resumed, and time and energies are limited.

In particular, a classic Amiga version won't happen because:
* it couldn't be identical;
* it would require a huge development effort, as no direct port is possible: the code would have to be written from scratch and the data would have to be adapted;
* it would require an additional effort for testing, given the variety of hardware configurations;
* it would require again a big effort in case of updates (if any).