[C64] MAH released

Lots of additional work (about 16 months) has been poured into this game, so that it has evolved and expanded so much that I thought it deserved a proper release. In fact, it will be soon published on cartridge and disk, encloded in professionally produced packages. I'll post pictures once I have them in my hands.

In the meanwhile, here's the humongous changelog...

GENERAL

1. Simplified and optimized code massively (by both adopting more
efficient solutions and rewriting many parts in machine language),
with huge gain in terms of speed and memory.
2. Improved memory management.
3. Removed screen transitions between program parts (they were not worth
the memory they needed).
4. Restyled logo.
5. Replaced KERNAL loader with the COVERT BITOPS Autoconfiguring
Loader/Depacker V2.26.
6. Added a separate loader for each part to speed up loading when a part
is launched manually (disk version).
7. Added flashy and functional dir art to disk.
8. Adapted to the GMOD2 cartridge.
9. Adapted to C64BBF.
10. Deleted/renamed files.

FRONTEND

1. Made it work entirely in SBM + sprites.
2. Replaced text items with icons.
3. Replaced copyright line with cycling logos.
4. Added quit & return to BASIC function ([RESTORE] key).
5. Added hiscores reset option ([DEL] key).
6. Added music.

MANUAL

1. Increased scrolling speed.
2. Added half a second delay after initial whole-page scroll (to make
skipping a single page easier).
3. Updated/extended/corrected text.
4. Removed legalese stuff from text.
5. Touched up charset.
6. Made various minor changes.

INTRO

1. Improved/redrawn graphics.
2. Improved/extended texts.
3. Changed disappearance effect.
4. Made music play through interrupts.
5. Introduced music groove on the next-to-the-last image.
6. Kept logo shown and music playing during first part of game loading
(if the device the game is loaded from supports it).

GAME

1. Renamed:
* phase A -> phase B(ITWALL), sub-phase B(ITBRICKS);
* phase B -> phase B(ITWALL), sub-phase P(ASSWORD);
* phase C -> phase P(ORT);
* phase D -> phase C(HANNEL), sub-phase K(EYS);
* phase J -> phase Q(UARANTINE);
* phase E -> phase S(WITCH);
* bitwall (as in "level") -> layer;
* Ghosthriller -> Ghostease;
* Ghonster -> Ghostorment;
* autopatch -> autofix;
* Malefica -> Magna (meaning of 'M' in "MAH").
2. Added phase D(ECRYPTION), with a new guard (Zig-Zagger, 3 new sprites
+ logo sprite reused).
3. [terminal] Added progress chart.
4. [terminal] Added display of the next layer defenses in a fashion
similar to the Reflex interface of the C64 game Sláine.
5. [terminal] Touched up color scheme.
6. [terminal] Changed game over and pre-ending messages.
7. [terminal] Made shield in logo flash.
8. [terminal] Made hiscores live, i.e. the player's entry is added to it
in real time (if the score is good enough).
9. [terminal] Fixed pause (a variable was trashed).
10. [phase B] Blocked icons from appearing on the first layer (for a
softer approach to the game).
11. [phase B] Made clones flicker, so that they can be distinguished from
the reference guards (which makes it possible to predict whether a
guard will bounce against a border or disappear and reapper on the
opposite one).
12. [phase B] Made Peekpoker freeze as soon as it starts turning into the
Super Peekpoker.
13. [phase B] Made patrols easier to see when the Super Peekpoker is
active.
14. [phase B] Touched up the graphical design of Super Peekpoker (and,
consequently, of satellites).
15. [phase B] Added halting of guards and disabling of clones to prizes
of home bonus.
16. [phase B] Added shine effect to the area surrounding and including
the home character during the home bonus flash effects (this makes
it easier to notice when the home bonus can be taken).
17. [phase B] Changed totally bitbricks effect: instead of animating a
single character containing several small 0s and 1s, two static
characters, one depicting a big 0 and the other a big 1, are used
and the bitwalls rows are randomized constantly (this produces an
infinitely better randomization and looks better on LCDs).
18. [phase B] Made thickness of trail and Peekpoker "arrows" even, so
that they match nicely the new bitbricks, eliminate the odd-looking
trail corners, and possibly make targeting icons easier to the eye.
19. [phase B] Changed partly the color scheme for less eye-straining and
clearer visuals (especially on LCDs).
20. [phase B] Flipped horizontally one of the password symbols to make
it more distinguishable from another one.
21. [phase B] Redrawn background pattern for when combosses are active
and avoided its vertical flipping.
22. [phase B] Changed palette of comboss in subphase P.
23. [phase B] Fixed Super Peekpoker mode break handling (due to an
unwanted change of the Peepoker sprite, the mode could end as soon
as it started).
24. [phase B] Fixed occasional and almost unnoticeable sprites jerks just
before switching to the next screen.
25. [phase P] Added a new ghost (Ghosthrill, 3 sprites) and changed the
parameters of the others.
26. [phase P] Ensured that no element of the combination is ever 0 (i.e.
invisible).
27. [phase P] Changed head color of the crawlers.
28. [phase P] Changed currents graphics, so that they display better on
real C64s (especially when connected to LCDs) and match the speed of
the pull the Peekpoker is subject to.
29. [phase P] Fixed points displayed on exit (they were not updated one
last time).
30. [phase P/C] Lowered phase Q counter position.
31. [phase C] Halved number of keys depending on the layer number (this
makes it easier to complete subphase K).
32. [phase C] Added sub-phase B(OSSFIGHT), with 4 new big and animated
guards (antiviruships, 7 sprites each).
33. [phase C] Improved palettes for combosses.
34. [phase C] Moved points counter to the usual position.
35. [phase C] Improved logic of horizontal positioning of keys.
36. [phase C] Fixed disappearing of caught/lost keys when the Peekpoker
horizontal position was greater than 250 (a +5 offset caused their
position to go beyond 255).
37. [phase C] Fixed graphical glitch of caught key icon, which at times
triggered fake (and unfavourable) collision detections (the sprite
was zoomed immediately but placed at the correct position only
later, so for a short while the sprite was drawn in the wrong place
and could even collide against the Peekpoker, causing a collision
that was exchanged for a collision against a comboss).
38. [phase C] Fixed handling of collisions against combosses (the same
collision was counted multiple times, with the consequence that the
penalty for the collision was applied as many times in a fraction of
second).
39. [phase C] Fixed a color check (the high nybble of a value taken from
COLOR RAM was not masked out).
40. [phase C] Fixed visual jerks when back from pause during subphase K
(a couple of variables were trashed).
41. [phase Q] Added simple flash effect when the Cobermann chases the
Peekpoker.
42. [phase Q] Fixed handling of jail opening (if the lock was opened
while Cobermann was still mutating and colliding, the jail opening
was cancelled).
43. [phase S] Made it easier to hit Guardian B's dyadem.
44. [phase S] Removed flickering of the Peekpoker (it was not consistent
with the rest of the game).
45. [phase S] Gave the Peekpoker a cross hair look for easier aiming.
46. Changed pause/unpause key to [F1].
47. Added hack modes (difficulty levels) - the player can choose between
"normal" and "assisted" (easy).
48. Removed phase C initial transition (it was the only phase that had
one, so it was inconsistent and consumed precious memory).
49. Added fade-out of sprites at the end of phases (except for phase C,
where objects are moved out of the screen).
50. Unified phases exit transitions into a single new one that also
keeps on playing music.
51. Added exit transition to terminal.
52. Reworked numbers printing (now they print cyclically, without
needing manual restart).
53. Removed sprite used for the pause screen.
54. Reworked game-loader.
55. Quadrupled the time-based points assigned upon game completion.
56. Embedded default hiscores.
57. Changed abort key from [RUN/STOP] to [RESTORE].
58. Added return to frontend from terminal (while choosing the name or
the hack mode) by means of [RESTORE].
59. Reworked memory map (apart from a few KERNAL areas in zero page and
between $200 and $333, the game uses the whole RAM).
60. Reworked variables allocation.
61. Reworked variables initialization (used a general function for
clearing).
62. Moved all HCS routines to separate source files.
63. Fixed collision detection at the beginning of some phases (previous
collisions could be mistakenly considered).
64. Fixed music playback started from ROM vector (the order of the code
blocks was inverted).
65. Fixed comments/labels.

ENDING

1. Touched up credits graphics.
2. Changed hidden message.