RE: RE: [stella] ET improvements

Subject: RE: RE: [stella] ET improvements
From: erik-dos486@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2001 18:28:20 -0500
> I liked E.T. as well, but there were certain things that could have made it
> much better:
> 
> - re-map the screen linkings so that you can use a cube as a map.  This
> would have been cool, because Atari could have included an origami-like map
> in the packaging that you could put together yourself

It already works this way, no?  The forest is the top of the cube, the "town" is the bottom, and the four pit screens go around the side.  Leaving a pit screen from the top always takes you to the forest, and from the bottom always takes you to the town.
 
> - the humans should have to walk AROUND the pits, just like you do

Pathfinding isn't all that easy to do in 128 bytes RAM.  Can anyone think of a 2600 game that had any?  None of the maze games really have pathfinding enemies.  Some like Crystal Castles fake it mildly well.
 
> - remove the "arrow" zones.  99% of the time, they merely transported you
> into an open pit anyway

Once you learned the screen and pit layouts, you can use the arrow zones safely about 80% of the time.  And arrows that lead to the forest or town are always safe.


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