Bubble Quest - GX4000/CPC+

[Barjack]

We have cards that allow this, for years... It would be high time to exploit them

I also hope to complete uniload, more to democratize the cards than to have our old games on "Hard drive"

Having said that, having all the software in files on an ultra-fast support, from a menu, with patches so that you no longer have to return the diskettes would be a step forward similar to what whdload was for the amiga.

Kukulcan from cpc power is working on it too, I'll come back to it after Bubble Quest

2023 Bubble Quest.
2024 UniLoad + an old cpc prod with extension.

My roadmap

[kawickboy]

Your Gryzor sequel is not drop so ?

[Barjack]

All graphics for Gryzor Rescue have been completed for a long time, among other things I kept all of this a secret.
But it could reappear with more ram and less restrictive development.

There are also other things on my site, like the beat em up or the brick break... I don't know yet what we're going to get into with roudoudou on cpc old, but all that is possible.

First finish Bubble Quest

[HAL6128]

We have cards that allow this, for years... It would be high time to exploit them

I also hope to complete uniload, more to democratize the cards than to have our old games on "Hard drive"

Having said that, having all the software in files on an ultra-fast support, from a menu, with patches so that you no longer have to return the diskettes would be a step forward similar to what whdload was for the amiga.

Kukulcan from cpc power is working on it too, I'll come back to it after Bubble Quest

2023 Bubble Quest.
2024 UniLoad + an old cpc prod with extension.

My roadmap

+++ Yeah! Forget limits, kick the shit out the CPC Plus. +++

[Barjack]

ah ah, yes we are going to come back to cpc old, for me it is really my favorite machine

The cpc plus is still a superb 8 bits, Bubble Quest is a great adventure and the machine deserved to be pushed a little.

With gng from Golem and Hwikaa, maybe others will want to make software up to the task in the future, that's what we want.

[nanrc20]

Tengo los 2 sistemas. CPC antiguo 576K y 464 Plus 128K. Amstrad plus no solo mejora los colores simultáneos en la pantalla. paleta de 4096 colores... ¡No!, añade scroll de hardware y sprites de hardware, es una máquina muy superior en todo.

  Personalmente prefiero títulos que exploten la familia PLUS ya que el viejo amstrad ya tiene un gran apolo de toda la escena. Demostremos que Amstrad Plus es la máquina de 8 bits más potente.

Y vamos a darle un catálogo de juegos de su verdadero nivel

[XeNoMoRPH]

[nanrc20]

Espectacular!!! una demo de prueba?
Saludos

[roudoudou]

last animation engine on a test level

[darksteph]

Nice job, I'm expecting a physical version soon. I was able to try it at crocofest2023 and it was just awesome. Incredible gameplay

[Gryzor]

Oh wow this thing is gorgeous.

[GUNHED]

Well, well, at the right side we can see a c64. So is that real or a game from commodore.   Just kidding, c64 couldn't do it! 

[Maniac]

I'm just finishing reading my issue of Amstrad Addict where this was featured and wondered if there was an update on progress of this amazing game please?

[roudoudou]

I'm just finishing reading my issue of Amstrad Addict where this was featured and wondered if there was an update on progress of this amazing game please?

we were working on some levels this summer + proof of concept of underwater levels done
Barjack is supposed to work on GFX again since a few weeks

[MacDeath]

For my part, my approach to game development on cpc or cpc+ is simple.
I'm not nostalgic for games that are graphically or musically limited to 64kb

More ram allows more graphics, more work in number, but much less in realization to be able to make everything fit.
Likewise for music.
The coder no longer has to rack his brains to optimize everything and can focus on the essentials.
In the end, we have less development time and more content, more openings.

I don't want games from 1990 on my cpc, I want games from 2023.
Extra ram, ultra-fast loading on usb or sd, lots of different sprites, rich backgrounds, games that require a mouse, why not?

The Spanish platforms in 64k, do not amuse me personally, the gryzor or renegade are poor on the screen even if they are very good for 64k.
That's good if the devs want to keep producing 90s games on k7

It would also be nice if we did something else with our machines (like other machines do).

AMEN !

The main limit of the CPC was that its first iteration was a cassette based 64k-only machine.
Yes the palettes could have been more (like having attrribute characters and multiple palette banks, EGA64 or ST 512palette...), the sound could have been more (having 2x AY instead of 1)... but those were well rounded enough compared to the machines of the era and it offers a good resolution capability anyway...

The real culprit is the 64ko+tape limit, wich then limited the successor upgrades : CPU in wait-state when the Video is accessing the "64k VRAM", can't use the extra RAM banks as 'VRAM", can't get the CPU to do something else while the "VRAM" is displayed (oh, already told that)... There is basically not enough RAM to satisfy the CPU AND the graphics, a minima configurations would have been at least 80ko (64k + 16k) or 96ko (because double buffering or Fullscreen).

So just having proper Massdata capacity via RAMdisk/ROM/Cartidge or HDD/X-MASS can somehow show what the machine can do.

16bit sceners have no shame to ask for 4mb of RAM on any Amiga/ST, or special 8mb cartidges for Megadrive. Many commercial games from late80s asked to 1mb of RAM and used 2-3 disk on ST/Amiga. Games on 4-5 disk weren't uncomon on 16bits, and would also ask for HDD...

So many shitty games were had because the devs limited themselves to Speccy48 ports on some CPC464.

Hell SegaMasterSystem managed to get some Populous port to run... but couldn't be done on CPC because not enough memory.

Most 8bit machines were under-powered on the RAM department because good luck filling 256k with a tape driver. 

Thomson TO8 (256ko RAM) or PCW (256/512ko) are the only european 8biters with "enough" RAM, yet they lack at other stuff (poor shitty sound beeper for both, no colours for PCW...)
Japan had those NEC PC-88 that were quite good and could run heavily graphic adventures like Snatcher, alongside various Loli-rape-simulator, ah those Japs....

But again good luck filling 512ko with 178ko per face 3" disks that cost 25Francs each by 1985....

SymbOS shows what a modest 8biter can offer provided it is properly RAMed.

GX4000/PLUS are also failed mostly because the cartidges were limited to 128ko and RAM to 64ko(Gx4000 and 464+) either. Well, those weren't NEC PCengines anyway.
 

So yeah it is great to have projects like Alcon showing what a souped up ROM can do, and prods for PLUS/GX4000 with proper 512ko ROMs (Eery Forest, CRTC3, BubbleQuest).

[cwpab]

I see Bubble Quest continues his journey... I don't see it reaching the top, but I think a 2nd position is doable:

GAME_______________TIME FROM DEVELOPMENT TO RELEASE (IF ANY)
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The Key___________________________0 days
Sugar City________________________0 days
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Bubble quest___________________3.5 years
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Vespertino_______________________5 years
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Duke Nukem Forever__________14 years

[cwpab]

I wanted to write "TIME FROM ANNOUNCEMENT TO RELEASE (IF ANY)". 

I lost my initial message by the old method of selecting some text, pressing "DEL"... and accidentally being returned to the previous page after losing the textbox focus. 

[dthrone]

I wanted to write "TIME FROM ANNOUNCEMENT TO RELEASE (IF ANY)". 

I lost my initial message by the old method of selecting some text, pressing "DEL"... and accidentally being returned to the previous page after losing the textbox focus. 

haha, maybe you can do your table as a new topic, announcement timing is an interesting topic in itself.  Not as a way to pressure devs of course Sonic GX deserves an honourable mention I think, currently at 4.5 years since announcement.  6128+ Ghosts & Goblins announced something like 8 years ago now but is defo still in development so is possibly topping the leaderboard!

[BSC]

I have announced a Catweazle-themed game to my little brother around 35 years ago. Haven't written a single line of code yet. 

[andycadley]

Amateurs! I've got ideas and half baked projects for around '96/97 at least. #OneDay 

[Anthony Flack]

You really ought to hurry up and announce them so we can start being impatient.

[BSC]

Sorry for going off-topic. Bubble Quest looks impressive and I appreciate the effort people put into making great games for the CPC or Plus range, especially in the last couple of years.  

[Prodatron]

Anyway that's usual today:
People start new great impressive stuff. The scene freaks out, and so the developers want to release the coolest thing ever. Or let's say at least: The product should be as perfect as possible.
But as every developer knows, the first 90% of the development are hard but doable, while the last 10% require 10x more time than expected

I guess we already have countless of such projects, cwpab only mentioned the most famouse ones (e.g. you forgot Bombjack )

[roudoudou]

Anyway that's usual today:
People start new great impressive stuff. The scene freaks out, and so the developers want to release the coolest thing ever. Or let's say at least: The product should be as perfect as possible.
But as every developer knows, the first 90% of the development are hard but doable, while the last 10% require 10x more time than expected

I guess we already have countless of such projects, cwpab only mentioned the most famouse ones (e.g. you forgot Bombjack )

You should know that the code of BubbleQuest is done since years, i'm just waiting for GFX material (which is a huuuuuuuuuge task for Barjack, so it takes time AND it's boring for him). Numerous musics are done too (there is a "little" work left for sample adaptations). The good news is i have time to add many functionnalities to ACE-DL

[rexbeng]

Why are you making a game with boring graphics, then?