Manic Miner achievements

[ParadigmShifter]

I'm thinking of adding secret bonus levels to my remake.

I have a few ideas

Central Cavern - do the jump from the conveyor to the higher platform first time (requires pixel perfect jump on a conveyor so quite tricky) then get to the exit without dying. Secret level warp to ZX81 version of Central Cavern (which is harder I think)

Cold Room - do the chimney jump to enter the exit from above rather than from the side. Secret: warp to Cold Store from JSW but Manic Miner style (I'd put the exit on the cliff to the right requiring a rope jump to get to it). Requires me to implement ropes though. Easy to get this achievement of course.

Processing Plant - make the jump to the exit at running speed (i.e. no lining yourself up), first attempt (that's another pixel perfect jump). Reward: Pac Man style cutscene with Willy chasing the pac man guardian.

Both Amoebatron levels: Never land on the platforms you don't need to step on cos you can make the jump from lower platform to middle platforms without stepping on them. That's not difficult especially if you can line yourself up. Reward: Dunno

The one that is puzzling me is whether it is actually possible on Eugene's Lair to collect the key on the right hand side last (instead of the obvious way of collecting key nearest to the exit)... every time I attempt it I fail by it looks like a single pixel lol. Is that actually doable? It would surly require Eugene to be right at the top or very near it on his path. I think it might be doable but I'm not good enough at MM lol

Also looking for more ideas for challenges (they don't all have to be really difficult of course, some could be only mildly challenging).

EDIT: So looking for unusual key collecting order/hard to make jumps etc. that makes the level significantly more difficult etc.

[akeley]

Also looking for more ideas for challenges (they don't all have to be really difficult of course, some could be only mildly challenging).

https://armorgames.com/play/2893/achievement-unlocked

[ParadigmShifter]

Was just about to report you for being a spambot there

Secret levels/Easter eggs are always worth adding for the WTF how did I get it to do that!? moment I think?

[ParadigmShifter]

Looks like it is possible though. I'm probs not good enough to do that though lol

[R-Tape]

Looks like it is possible though. I'm probs not good enough to do that though lol

Whoa! Me neither, and it's not for want of trying. I bet Matthew Smith didn't think it possible.

[ParadigmShifter]

I'll keep trying it (with my own remade engine though not the original, may be slightly different I suppose), if it is doable I will make a warp to a secret level if you do that.

So also looking for other things that are difficult to do for more secret/bonus levels.

[Morkin]

Complete Solar Power Generator without crying.

Not sure how you'd detect tears on the keyboard though.

[ParadigmShifter]

For Solar Power Generator secret I think I will do finish the level when you have 1 pixel of air supply left as the achievement. (Last Gasp)

[Sham Mountebank]

What about a Cheat! achievement for anyone who enters the old Bug-Byte or Software Projects cheat codes.

[ParadigmShifter]

Maybe, although it seems pointless checking for a cheat code which won't work since there will be an options menu where you can turn on cheat mode anyway. Storing an input buffer up to the length of TYPEWRITER (and the numeric one from Bug Byte version) and checking against it takes time too, and the aim is to run at 50fps if possible (I reckon it is).

Good outside the box thinking though!

EDIT: If I do store an input buffer it won't be the exact keys pressed it will be whether you pressed right, left or jump this frame instead of the character code. That will be for "instant replay"/"race against a ghost time trial" purposes.

[AndyC]

You could just get the achievement for turning on the menu option instead.

[ParadigmShifter]

I'm thinking more secret level/other Easter Egg unlocks rather than a list of achievements which doesn't actually do much (which would need text and code to check for them).

Secret levels/Easter Eggs I am all for. Ticking off achievements in a list - not so much I only have 40K to play with after all.

Most need to be hard and unlock secret levels/bonus levels.

Some should be easy so you discover them accidentally and realise there might be secrets on other levels as well.

[ParadigmShifter]

So my tentative list so far is:

Central Cavern: do the conveyor jump to the high platform first attempt (can use an event to check for that), then complete level without dying. Difficulty: moderate. I think one of Andrew Broad's mods has a more difficult Central Cavern which removes the lower platform on left hand side which forces you to do that jump.

Cold Room: jump into the exit from the chimney, falling all the way down into the exit: Difficulty: pretty easy, don't most people do that if they don't fall too far into the chimney by mistake?

Menagerie: ??? Maybe something to do with the crumbly tiles at the top (crumble all of them/most of them), or collect keys in some unusual order.

Abandoned Uranium Mine: Get killed by a seal Or jump over one or both (you can totally avoid them they are irrelevant to the level usually).

Eugene's Lair: Collect the key on the right last instead of the key nearest the exit. Difficulty: hard ( I haven't been able to do it in my tests though with my engine, would need proof it is possible)

Amoebatron levels: don't step on certain platforms, which involves making pixel perfect jumps. Difficulty: moderate to difficult. You have to press direction+jump same frame so it's harder than you think.

[Morkin]

Processing Plant - make the jump to the exit on the first attempt?

Menagerie: ??? Maybe something to do with the crumbly tiles at the top (crumble all of them/most of them)

You could switch this and have a 'light stepper' type achievement - e.g. only destroying a small % of that top platform (I usually destroy the carp out of it with standing jumps )

Or could do something similar with the Vat, lots of crumbly there.

Abandoned Uranium Mine: Get killed by a seal

[ParadigmShifter]

If you time the jump to the top platform in the menagerie you can run from one end to the other without stopping I think? Maybe that should be the secret.

I'm worried about what you get up to with carps though.

I think jumping over both seals is better than being killed by one You probably have to jump over them twice if you do that as well since you need to get back again.

EDIT: Ok I managed to jump over both seals but I failed to get back again. It's Jet Set Willy room level of difficulty that I think, but it is probably possible. Morkin, do you accept the challenge? Writing an event to check whether you jump over an enemy shouldn't be too difficult. Or I could just have an invisible non-required key on the left hand side which would require jumping over seals to pick up (probably easier than writing an event to check if you jump over an enemy). Nope, that wouldn't work you can drop off a ledge to reach the far left side so that's not a goer.

EDIT2: Yeah Processing Plant obvious one is making the exit jump first time and at running speed ( so no stopping to line yourself up on the edge which is basically the same difficulty as a pixel perfect conveyor jump).

[akeley]

Some of these, including the "Menu Unlocked" are actually featured in Achievement Unlocked

[ParadigmShifter]

Kong levels: don't kill Kong by switching the other switch. That could warp to a level "Kong Lives!" or something which is based on Donkey Kong level (so ladders and girders).

[Morkin]

Ok I managed to jump over both seals but I failed to get back again. It's Jet Set Willy room level of difficulty that I think, but it is probably possible. Morkin, do you accept the challenge?

Do you mean like this:

Spoiler

It's not overly difficult.

[ParadigmShifter]

Yeah that's exactly what I meant yeah. Well done. How long did that take you? Reminds me of several rooms in JSW (like the Forgotten Abbey one?) which I always found very hard.

Can you do it in the turbo engine though, that's harder than vanilla cos it is faster?

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... iner_Turbo

EDIT: You'll also need to complete the level without dying after doing that so your air supply will be lower of course.

EDIT: Your name is getting added to the source code as "Testing/Proof of Concept" anyway!

Anyone who is added to the contributors list will also be added to the scrolly message on the title menu.

[Morkin]

Can you do it in the turbo engine though, that's harder than vanilla cos it is faster?

Nah, I can't even get to the screen in the turbo version

[ParadigmShifter]

Nah, I can't even get to the screen in the turbo version

You can press D to skip to next level...

[Morkin]

You can press D to skip to next level...

No need, I can tell you now that I wouldn't be able to do those seal jumps in turbo...

[ParadigmShifter]

Ok

Spoiler

You big wuss lol!

Now I know it is theoretically possible I will give it a try later on. I think post it notes will be attached to the screen showing the guardian path extents.

[Lee Bee]

Maybe do a level with the piano keyboard at the bottom and Willy can jump on the keys to play the notes. Hitting the notes of the tune E3 E3 B3 D4 D4 in sequence unlocks something?

Whatever you do with hidden levels, I think you should make sure the player has some indication of how much they've seen of the total game and how much is still to find, such as saying "completed 74/80 levels" at the end. Or have a little indicator somewhere at the foot of the screen to show levels remaining.

[ParadigmShifter]

I like the idea of a keyboard level yeah. I'm not going to draw the keyboard like how Manic Miner does it (it's just a 2K bitmap of the middle third of the screen - waste of memory cos there's loads of blank space and repeating cells), I'll draw it with tiles instead.

What tune would those notes make? You can't jump a variable distance though in Manic Miner once you press jump you always jump the same distance unless there's a wall in the way. It doesn't matter whether you hold down the jump button or anything like that (so isn't like Mario jumping).