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Tech and Homebrew => Turbo/PCE Game/Tool Development => Topic started by: nodtveidt on February 20, 2016, 03:04:05 AM
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So I figured I should probably make an "official" thread for this, considering how far along it's come. This is a game originally developed by Studio Piña back in 2011 apparently as a homage to the MSX. I am not sure of the details of what happened between then and now, but somehow, Gregarious Games LLC picked it up, along with its artist, Keith Erickson. Anyway, I had been in contact with a gentleman named Anthony Di Masi, who was looking for a coder to work on a project. I agreed to do it, but he said that I would not be needed for some time, so I just went back to work on Lucretia for the time being. A few months ago, however, John Lester (some of you might know him as Gamester81) decided that Sydney Hunter needed a PCE port. Anthony had been working with John on another project, The Adventures Of The Tiny Knight, and recommended me to John to take up the reins of a PCE conversion. Well, we worked out a deal, they sent me the assets, and I started production. Originally, this was meant to be just a HuCard game, but John inquired about a possible CD version as well, using Benjamin Allen's arranged soundtrack. I told him that it should work, but that I was going to focus on the HuCard version first and then convert to CD.
So yeah, that's the backstory as far as my tired brain remembers it, hahah. :lol: Anyway, I have posted screenshots in an unrelated thread prior to this, but figured this needed its own thread as to not pollute other threads.
(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0030.html)(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0031.html)(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0032.html)(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0033.html)(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0034.html)
These are the shots I posted before; just reposting them here.
(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0041.html)
This is an actual gameplay image, as early as it is. There is no HUD nor any enemies or lighting effects yet... that all comes later once I have nailed down the player FSM and all collision algorithms, which so far have been 100% functional. One interesting thing about this game is that each room (yes, this is a screen-by-screen game) can have one of three different lighting schemes... fully-lit, half-lit, or dark. In fully-lit rooms, things are as you see in the above shot (though technically, that particular room should be half-lit). In half-lit rooms, all the areas outside of Sydney's torch range are dimmed. In dark rooms, all you can see is what's within the range of his torch. Rooms that have wall torches or lava flow are always fully-lit, and any room that was not previously fully-lit will become so if the lava flow reaches it.
(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0042.html)
This shot was taken a bit later, and I was using debug text for position checking. Climbable vines are everywhere in this game. Also, this game has a rather nifty feature, which is climbable ropes that extend between two uneven platforms. Sydney will climb across them when going up but slide on them with his boomerang when going down. Little touches like that make things more interesting, I think.
Now, this game is still a ways off, and I will be sure to post more screenies when they are available. Priority was given to the SNES and NES conversions, and that's what the Kickstarter campaign was based on, so I am pretty much on my own in regards to this conversion. The game engine I have developed for this game was built from scratch; I did not convert any of my previous game engines for it. That ended up being a good thing, as this has the most accurate collision routines I have ever coded, and also features variable jumping (jump height determined by how long you hold the jump button for, up to a max height), a feature missing from quite a few games from yesteryear (such as Exile). All in all, this is turning out to be a great little conversion. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to share demo builds with the community as per my contract with Gregarious Games, but it says nothing of screenshots or videos... :lol:
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I love you.
<EXTENDED BEAR HUG>
:)
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(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0044.html)
Sydney's in-game boomerang. Distance and whatnot will probably have to be tweaked at some point, but the system is so flexible that making small, or even large, adjustments is a breeze. This boomerang works way better than the one I coded for Jungle Bros.
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I love what I see. Love it.
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Very very cool.
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:clap:
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Awesome! We're starting to have a nice little library of good game coming out for PCE in the future. I love it.
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<BONUS HUG>
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Nice! Since it's originally inspired by the MSX, I'll assume it's something like La Mulana, which I believe was made(initially) on the MSX, though, I pray this game is nowhere near as hard! :D I played La Mulana on the PSTV, sheesh, cool game, but the difficulty challenged me to no end(& absolute frustration at times) so I did use a guide.....which made it so that I BARELY completed it! LOL
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Very cool and I hope that your contract was favorable for you because you have put so much effort into your games. However I do gotta ask, how far back do you think this will push Lucretia?
This looks really good and kudos to you for getting the engine running so smoothly... but Lucretia looks phenomenal!
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Nando instructed me to go ahead with Sydney Hunter while he finishes off the last of the game sprites for Lucretia. It's not really pushing Lucretia back at all... real life does a fine enough job of that already. :lol:
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Great news! It is looking good.
Guess it isn't an exclusive for the Coleco Chameleon then...
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Great news! It is looking good.
Guess it isn't an exclusive for the Coleco Chameleon then...
You mean the SNES?
Looks solid Rover. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this develop further!
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How many projects do you make concurrently? It looks great but it makes me worry about: Lucretia, Mysterious Song II
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How many projects do you make concurrently? It looks great but it makes me worry about: Lucretia, Mysterious Song II
He is also working with me on Blodia Special (SCD).
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Looking as fantastic as expected from the home brew bar setter! Keep it up Rov, can't wait to play the finished product!!
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Love it...
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real life does a fine enough job of that already. :lol:
Ugh, I hear that!
How many projects do you make concurrently? It looks great but it makes me worry about: Lucretia, Mysterious Song II
He is also working with me on Blodia Special (SCD).
It's been re-titled, it's now Blodia Extra le Speciale(CD) ver. 1.0
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Looks fun. Good luck with 'er.
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Looks great :)
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I love this game, a rick dangerous like, it remind me my good old amiga time ..
after, snes/dreamcast/coleco, it's good to see a PCe version ..
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I love this game, a rick dangerous like, it remind me my good old amiga time ..
after, snes/dreamcast/coleco, it's good to see a PCe version ..
Ooooh ... now you've really got my attention, I'm a huge Rick Dangerous fan!
It's definitely great to see the PCE getting another new game, especially with The Old Rover doing it. :D
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This is great news!
I had planned to support the SNES Kickstarter, but I was broke at the time and couldn't afford to do it, so knowing that I can get the game on PCE works for me.
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(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0045.html)
So now the HUD mostly works, as does submap loading and screen transitions. This screen should have lava on the bottom, but that is not coded in just yet.
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(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0047.html)
Vine climbing has been partially implemented. The most important part of this is the fact that Sydney locks on to the vine and does not slip and slide all over it... once he grabs on, his X coordinate is corrected to the center of the vine, as it should be. Now... while on the vine, Sydney can throw his boomerang, as well as jump up or jump down (down + jump makes him let go of the vine and fall normally). There are many parts of the game where you have to jump from vine to vine... the vine lock-on algorithm makes doing this a hell of a lot easier.
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Good job on the conversion so far the game looks great and I am looking forward to playing it.
I remember seeing footage of this game for the snes kickstarer and it looked pretty sweet.
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John Lester made a post on Facebook about it, showing the game running on real hardware.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1033355840057827&set=a.549325068460909.1073741825.100001502633284&type=3&theater
If you can't see the post, here's at least the pic:
(http://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlt1/v/t1.0-9/12802768_1033355840057827_3367876132496098380_n6f0e.html?oh=aebed11ba159a675cf8ea279f242f92e&oe=5760797F)
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Rad, it looks really good in that shot man, nice job!
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I assume he's showing it on a test bench next to a scope to mock the VGS f*cktard. :lol:
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I wanna see it running on the scope instead...
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I assume he's showing it on a test bench next to a scope to mock the VGS f*cktard. :lol:
Needs more kitchen table
There's an Atari ST hidden inside that Turbo.
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I assume he's showing it on a test bench next to a scope to mock the VGS f*cktard. :lol:
Needs more kitchen table
There's an Atari ST hidden inside that Turbo.
Wait! There's a Speccy hidden inside that ST!
:)
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Is it gonna be a Hucard release ?
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Is it gonna be a Hucard release ?
Super HuCARD.
SADLY, I no longer have a SuperGrafx.
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Is it gonna be a Hucard release ?
Hucard and CD.
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Is it gonna be a Hucard release ?
Hucard and CD.
Ok. Will you use Ichigobankai's Hucards or will you 3d print them ?
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Ok. Will you use Ichigobankai's Hucards or will you 3d print them ?
CollectorVision is in charge of that aspect... I have no idea how they are going to make the hucards, but John and Jean both told me that they have hucard fabrication in place already.
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I would guess they are going to be using the dee-bee card:
http://www.db-elec.com/home/products/debee-card
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I would guess they are going to be using the dee-bee card:
http://www.db-elec.com/home/products/debee-card
I had not heard of this before. It really looks great!
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Looks great! Any ideas yet what differences the Hucard and CD version will (or may) have?
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How did I miss this thread?
Awesome news, Rover! Great to see more games coming.
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Any ideas yet what differences the Hucard and CD version will (or may) have?
At the moment, it seems like the only difference will be the usage of Ben Allen's arranged soundtrack on the CD version. I am not sure if they want to make additional changes to the CD version, but we'll see when the time comes.
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Two versions kinda smells of a cash grab, but as a collectard sucker I'll buy both.
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Any ideas yet what differences the Hucard and CD version will (or may) have?
At the moment, it seems like the only difference will be the usage of Ben Allen's arranged soundtrack on the CD version. I am not sure if they want to make additional changes to the CD version, but we'll see when the time comes.
If the CD-ROM allowed users to switch between chiptunes/Red Book, that would be nice. :)
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Any ideas yet what differences the Hucard and CD version will (or may) have?
At the moment, it seems like the only difference will be the usage of Ben Allen's arranged soundtrack on the CD version. I am not sure if they want to make additional changes to the CD version, but we'll see when the time comes.
Will we be able to sample both soundtracks beforehand to see which of the two we prefer?
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Very likely then... maybe this is what they meant by hucard manufacturing capability. db's stuff is good quality so that's pretty cool. :D
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"Always show a working prototype #RetroVGS"
It's the gift that keeps on giving teh lulz. :lol:
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:lol:
The db card looks much nicer in this video than on their website.
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I would guess they are going to be using the dee-bee card:
http://www.db-elec.com/home/products/debee-card
It looks like this is now confirmed based on this FB post:
https://www.facebook.com/335391163273663/videos/864320143714093/
yeah you are right. i didnt notice but the picture posted earlier was the dbelctronics guy's photo. That is his setup with the crt tv hanging on the wall. you can see it in some of their other youtube videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLSGDXav1Fk
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"Always show a working prototype #RetroVGS"
It's the gift that keeps on giving teh lulz. :lol:
Hahahhahahajja.
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This looks really decent. Would be interested in both Hu and CD just to compare the music.
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I would be awesome if rover just recorded the chiptunes to redbook tracks. :lol:
Seconded...
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very intriguing.
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Rover, as a noob dev, I have a few technical questions -
1. When they provided the assets, what format did they provide? This could be interesting, because I'm not sure how the palette requirements/sprite size requirement for the SNES version match up with the PC Engine. Also, we are still struggling with sounds and music. I imagine that it is fairly difficult to port these from one platform to another.
2. Did they provide any code, or is this all scratch built? Does this mean every "port" of Sydney Hunter is really going to be its own game with its own feel? Generally, it seems that unless there are really tight specifics, such as the code on how jumping works, control in the air works, and etc, each game will have totally different control. They may end up feeling like totally different games at that point.
3. How much time is this going to take you? I think the answer to 2 changes this massively, if you are rewriting a game from scratch.
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Answers...
1. Everything was in PNG format. Not only that, but none of them were indexed correctly. It's not a whole lot of work for me to make adjustments, and I did not really expect the graphics to be PCE-ready anyway. Sprite sizes and whatnot was not a problem... things like that are almost entirely universal across all the old consoles, with a few exceptions here and there (such as the PCE not having an 8x8 pixel sprite size, but at least I understand *why* that is). Image2PCE was a tremendous help in doing the title screen. For sound, I am going to use Squirrel, and their musician better brush up on his MML. :)
2. No source code was provided. It was just "here's the game, code it". The original was done in Flash, so source code would not be particularly useful anyway. I have asked a few times for mechanical details but I'm still waiting... in the meantime, I'm just coding it the way I feel works best while trying to stay true to the original game mechanics... though I have added a couple of technical features that the original did not have (such as down + jump on a vine to release from the vine and just fall straight down).
3. Honestly... I am at a standstill at the moment because they have not provided me any further maps to work with. I did the first level entirely from my own screenshots of the Flash version... and that is an incredible waste of effort when you can just work from map data. Normally, a game this simplistic would only take a couple of months to code from scratch... if I had all the assets, I'd be done with it already.
This game engine is easily the most solid platform engine I have ever coded. I've since reused it as well; it forms the basis of the Henshin Engine game code... though I actually further improved the jump mechanics since then.
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Bumping because I'm hoping to hear about any updates :)
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Update time.
Well, they have provided me with more assets, including more maps... not all of them, but at least now the first six levels are in the game. However, they seem to be dodging my requests for technical details by telling me "just play the flash version". My time's at a premium as it is and I already have two other active titles I'm working on right now, so having me trudge through an inferior version and doing oodles of tests is just wasting my time. With any luck, I can at least get the last few maps.
If no technical details are provided in the end, I will simply keep improvising, as I have done up to this point, and the PCE version will simply play a bit differently than all the others (then again, the SNES version already plays differently than the flash version... and there is also a Genesis port... which I imagine also plays a bit differently than both).
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Update time.
Well, they have provided me with more assets, including more maps... not all of them, but at least now the first six levels are in the game. However, they seem to be dodging my requests for technical details by telling me "just play the flash version". My time's at a premium as it is and I already have two other active titles I'm working on right now, so having me trudge through an inferior version and doing oodles of tests is just wasting my time. With any luck, I can at least get the last few maps.
If no technical details are provided in the end, I will simply keep improvising, as I have done up to this point, and the PCE version will simply play a bit differently than all the others (then again, the SNES version already plays differently than the flash version... and there is also a Genesis port... which I imagine also plays a bit differently than both).
(1) I trust your judgement more than anyone else. I know it is frustrating that they are not providing guidance...it really is absurd.
(2) It will be charming, to me, if all the versions have unique qualities. As long as the mechanics are not fundamentally flawed/gimped in any version (most importantly the PCE version), then it will be OK.
(3) COVERT OPERATION: PCE version should have some PCE Easter eggs hidden in it, IMHO. Nothing that disrupts the integrity of the original game...just some wonderful little references/moments for PCE version. IF YOU WANT TO BE REALLY SNEAKY, some of these Easter Eggs can be aural...I can think of many fun things to do with sound alone. Visual treats are a bonus.
:)
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Update time.
Well, they have provided me with more assets, including more maps... not all of them, but at least now the first six levels are in the game. However, they seem to be dodging my requests for technical details by telling me "just play the flash version". My time's at a premium as it is and I already have two other active titles I'm working on right now, so having me trudge through an inferior version and doing oodles of tests is just wasting my time. With any luck, I can at least get the last few maps.
If no technical details are provided in the end, I will simply keep improvising, as I have done up to this point, and the PCE version will simply play a bit differently than all the others (then again, the SNES version already plays differently than the flash version... and there is also a Genesis port... which I imagine also plays a bit differently than both).
(1) I trust your judgement more than anyone else. I know it is frustrating that they are not providing guidance...it really is absurd.
(2) It will be charming, to me, if all the versions have unique qualities. As long as the mechanics are not fundamentally flawed/gimped in any version (most importantly the PCE version), then it will be OK.
(3) COVERT OPERATION: PCE version should have some PCE Easter eggs hidden in it, IMHO. Nothing that disrupts the integrity of the original game...just some wonderful little references/moments for PCE version. IF YOU WANT TO BE REALLY SNEAKY, some of these Easter Eggs can be aural...I can think of many fun things to do with sound alone. Visual treats are a bonus.
:)
It is ridiculous that they basically gave you a few screen shots and said "MAKE DIS." I am impressed you are as far along as you are, and can't wait til play.
As far as easter eggs, you should do something low key, such as make the playable character Bonk.
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It is ridiculous that they basically gave you a few screen shots and said "MAKE DIS." I am impressed you are as far along as you are, and can't wait til play.
That's how all Arcade conversions used to get done in the early days, which is why every machine's arcade game releases are unique and have their own feel.
It's a bit disappointing to hear that things haven't improved much in over 30 years, especially when porting a recent original homebrew flash game, and with John Lester and CollectorVision running a kickstarter campaign and getting paid money upfront for these games.
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It is ridiculous that they basically gave you a few screen shots and said "MAKE DIS." I am impressed you are as far along as you are, and can't wait til play.
That's how all Arcade conversions used to get done in the early days, which is why every machine's arcade game releases are unique and have their own feel.
It's a bit disappointing to hear that things haven't improved much in over 30 years, especially when porting a recent original homebrew flash game, and with John Lester and CollectorVision running a kickstarter campaign and getting paid money upfront for these games.
It's both a blessing and a curse depending on how you look at it, and it's the same at a lot of the bigger game companies not just the homebrew scene. I worked on a few cartoon network and disney games, and had zero reference other than "watch the show." I ended up making stuff they liked, and one of the things I made ended up going into a show down the road.
This is not uncommon, and might be an opportunity to flex your creative muscle :)
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Well, I am just kind of glad that my version does not seem to be a part of the Kickstarter for this game... or at least it was not the last time I checked... I don't really wanna be involved in any kind of mess with that... way too many productions funded by Kickstarter have failed.
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Well, I am just kind of glad that my version does not seem to be a part of the Kickstarter for this game... or at least it was not the last time I checked... I don't really wanna be involved in any kind of mess with that... way too many productions funded by Kickstarter have failed.
Not directly a part, but you've been mentioned as proof of their ongoing efforts ...
Hi Guys,
I wanted to let you know that we are continuing to work hard on Sydney Hunter and the Caverns of Death.
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Oh and we have recently found both TurboGrafx 16 and Sega Genesis/Sega CD programmers, so Sydney Hunter and the Caverns of Death will be ported to those platforms as well. Our obvious priority right now though is porting the game to the SNES and NES first.
Thanks,
-The CollectorVision Team