Game most in need of being remade properly

[khisanth]

For me Wizball REALLY needs the excellent remake treatment. Just like Bubble bobble and R-type, if Wizball on the CPC can be remade like the C64 version I will die a happy man

[DARKGATE]

  sure, R-TYPE and BUBBLE BOBBLE remakes are outstanding, a real miracle, thank you to great coders, and greats men.
I think it is very difficult for the next future to have others remakes.

My dream list

IMPOSSIBLE MISSION
GHOST N GOBLINS
SALAMANDER
SAINT DRAGON
BIONIC COMMANDO
BLACK TIGER
OUT RUN
INTERNATIONAL KARATE
THE LAST NINJA 2 (mode 0)
SABOTEUR 1&2 with mode 0
STRIDER 1 with the graphic of STRIDER 2
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TOTAL CONVERSION OF NEWS GAMES
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FROGGER
GALAXIAN
GALAGA
PHONEIX
GYRUSS
TIME PILOT
POPEYE (THE ARCADE)
PARASOL STARS
KILLER GORILLA 2  or DONKEY KONG JR

an engine for create games similar to GALAXIAN or GALAGA

[ukmarkh]

I'm going with Outrun, Green Beret and Bionic Commando... then maybe Salamander.

[khisanth]

Outrun would not need too much changing to make a huge improvement.

I guess you could include all direct speccy conversion for a colour update at the very least!

[Xyphoe]

I think the biggest wrongs need to be righted!

OUTRUN
GREEN BERET (although I actually quite like it... the push scrolling is awful)
GRYZOR WITH SCROLLING!

I suggest that anyone thinking of spending the next 2 years doing an update picks a game that has the same popularity that R-Type and Bubble Bobble has.

[Puresox]

I think the Amstrad needs some of the old classics done with style to show it can do the basics well. Galaxians, Galaga, Scramble ,Qix, Asteroids or similar era stuff.


The exterminator's version of 'Frogger' is a perfect example of a showing the Amstrad's ability, absolutely first rate !

[ukmarkh]

I think the Amstrad needs some of the old classics done with style to show it can do the basics well. Galaxians, Galaga, Scramble ,Qix, Asteroids or similar era stuff.


The exterminator's version of 'Frogger' is a perfect example of a showing the Amstrad's ability, absolutely first rate !

Frogger is a bad example, as it only runs on a Plus model... I was playing my arcade version of Rastan the other day, thing of beauty, but the Amstrad version is piss poor. Now that could do with a re-make!!! Massive game!

[Puresox]

Didn't realise that it was cpc plus !
Never mind I still think an 8 bit computer should try and prove it can do the things well within its ability, instead of overreaching itself and producing non playable games that look good on photo shots, but play like dogs.

[khisanth]

Donky Kong is pretty spot on though, surprisingly so.

[Puresox]

Yeah Donkey Kong was really good actually !

[Puresox]

And  Kong Strikes Back. AKA. Mr Do,s wild ride.

[Gryzor]

Donkey Kong was pronounced best arcade conversion ever (I think - something like that) in RG, and rightly so...

[fgbrain]

I'd love to see a proper remake of PACMANIA. With mode 0, full screen and a hardscroll this would rock. And seems easy to do!

Same case is with SUPER CARS. A smooth scrolling would make this a master game!

Furthermore, LEGEND OF KAGE was quite well coded but lacked of good gfx. This could be easily fixed as well...

[Axelino]

I'd like to see on cpc most of the c64 's System-3 games like the three Last Ninja's episode and specially Myth !

[ukmarkh]

Myth could be an easy project, as the code just needs improving, more colour and some graphical effects. Haunting music for each stage and the shoot-em-up section that's missing from the last level.

[MacDeath]

Strider, BlackTiger and PacMania...

[Cholo]

Bubble Bobble Remake translated into Snow Bros in 10 minutes (fill in bubble sprite all white, then invert colours of all player sprites and monsters and reverse order of levels). Well, perhaps just as a 1st of april joke then.

Moonwalker "The Amstrad CPC Experience Edition"-  now that i can hook up a usb-dancemat itll blow the lid on the smug c64 owners showing off their Guitar Hero game. Its going to be a bit basic tho with just going: "left, right, left, left, right, right, yell!" .. Nah! just kidding 

On a more serious note id say that Gunsmoke really could use a update. Kinda say as it is now as the game is technically working ok and it would have been a really fun game if it wasnt for the odd enemy spawning. One thing is spawning enemies behind the player another thing is even spawning enemies on top of the player as well. Loads of little bugs from odd collitions with the landscape to messed up boss battles (like sailing on land parts).

Mermaid Madness is another really good game that work 95% ok and could use a fixin'. Horrible annoing that you get stuck on every little pebble in the water .. also you cant pass thru other swimming fish (all other 8bit versions allow that). Fixing the air supply timer to something a bit easier than "impossible" would probably help as well. Oh and that final puzzle being broken and so preventing you from entering the final area and save the diver .. might need a fix as well.

[arnoldemu]

Myth could be an easy project, as the code just needs improving, more colour and some graphical effects. Haunting music for each stage and the shoot-em-up section that's missing from the last level.

unfortunately it never is "easy" to modify an existing game.

normally the memory is very tight, things have been done a particular way, so if you need to make small differences it can often end up meaning changing lots of code.

[MacDeath]

But would it be better to redo a game who was crappy or to simply do a game that never had a CPC version ?



Populous would be awesome if possible.


It existed on Sega Master system... I suppose the cartridge is somewhat boosted, with max available Memory, perhaps even some additionnal chips (Extra RAM perhaps ?) but it still runs on a Z80 based machine with even heavier Graphic Datas than CPC.

[Puresox]

I'd love Jet-Pac on Amstrad!

[ukmarkh]

unfortunately it never is "easy" to modify an existing game.

normally the memory is very tight, things have been done a particular way, so if you need to make small differences it can often end up meaning changing lots of code.

In its favour, and despite omitting the last level... Myth on the CPC played brilliant, so it'd only be the cosmetics that would need changing. I really can't fault it as a game, in fact it's probably one of the best games I've played on the CPC. 

[MacDeath]

The problem with Myth is that the commodores/amiga version are amazing.

In the other hand the speccy version is not bad, just well adapted to this so graphically powerfull machine... the speccy.

The Amstrad version is not bad, not even that slow for a straight speccy port.

The character based backgrounds with elements in foregrounds actually... and the well animated sprites, this get rid of the attributes clashes quite well but also only get the Amstrad to look amateurish and outdated with 1bpp graphics in 4 colours only on screen.

For once they wasted no CPU on useless rasters but really, the sprites could have managed more colours...

but just to get those sprites and tiles in 2bpp would get them weighting twice DATA and would efinitaly need a 128K version for a minor cosmetic gain.

A properly done CPC version would have no need to be in 256x192 actually...

The game doesn't need real scrollings if it is done the Speccy way, but C64 fanboyz would argue that no good game can be scrollingless...
(I beg to differ of course...).

There could be the way Midnight Resistance do scroll perhaps.



Midnight Resistance could be done properly to I guess...It is so slow, which is a guess, provided the screen is very small and reduced.

Basically it is the speccy version with fully implemented 2bpp graphics.
And it sometimes becomes really annoyingly slow.


To bad, the graphics get it looking like some metal slug... morel ike metal sluggish if you want my opinion.

perhaps a few details could get it faster...perhaps not.
It main problem comes from the bullets I guess.
Those are so slow that you simply run as fast (as slow) as them.

Also some way the sprites are displayed may be a bit too heavy.

=the triple gun : the big round bullets are far too big ! I mean, 16x16 masked sprites in 2 frames...that literally cover the screen. just to get those bullets smaller (=8x8 sized) could virtually divide the amount of masked sprite Data to process for them by 4 or even by 8 only if you get those in a 8x8 size with no colour change. I mean, some of the enemies' bullets are 8x8 and have no colour cycle... you could get away with "White bullet = player" and "orange bullets = enemies"...all in 8x8 size.


=Flamer : also poorly done, it litteraly gets  the amount of masked sprites displayed exponencially high... and it is too slow to be practical.

=When "humanoid" enemies die : they don't explode... they fall from the screen... (= longer animation) : a simple fast 2 frame explosion would be enough.

=Explosion : 4 big frames... really really big frames... that even look too cartoonish to be credible.

On the other hand, the game is supposed to run on a stock 64k machine.

The problem with the scrolling is that as the screen is really really small, it scroll once you reach the border, leading to the classical "Gryzor syndrome".
You have to shoot before you reach this screen border in order to be sure you kill whatever enemy would apppear in front of you.

So if the game could actually get the gamefield be 256 wide, but keep the same "playable dimensions", the scrolling wouldn't be activated at the border of the screen but before... hence you can see beforhand what comes next.
But such a bigger screen would need the game to be simplified on some details to ease the CPU too.

Bullets/explosions/deadenemies could be a part where a lot of CPU could be gained...
As the Engine must routinely manage a lot of those, while it is not especially better looking nor efficient.

But also to get it into an extended RAM game so the sprite sheet would be complete (Left/Right oriented sprites pre-calculated).

[steve]

If the CPC is too slow for some of these games then maybe a version for the plus would run faster.
It is a shame that there are no games specifically for the plus, it is about time there were some.

[MacDeath]

Seriously, a PLU game would not be actually faster just because it would run on a PLUS instead of a CPC.

A PLUS is only a CPC with even more stuff to handle...

Had it been Overclocked in 6-8mhz, this could have been otherwise...


But ok, some stuff would ease the CPU and be better looking.



Classical :
=Get a few DMA sounds to ease the CPU a little bit... this would actually enable to have slightly more sounds, while most CPC games had alsmot none.

=some HardSprites special Effects... usefull for explosions, bonuses, some shoots/projectiles and so on... but a real Hardsprite Heavy engine would be even heavier actually.

=a little gain on the Rasters... so many speccy ports used rasters to get 6 colour on the Mode1 screen, yet with a still monocolour game (BlackTiger...)

=get those games in ROM version, or 128K RAM version at minimum... no plain 64kRAM only game !

The Hardscroll is not that practical to begin with, and don't mix well with Soft Sprites, which is a problem as the Hardsprites are not good enough to get a proper game running 100% on them IMO.
But it is still better than nothing.

Well, the awesome palette is a good gain too...



But the main gain a CPC can get is to use a 128K RAM instead of the too severe 64K limitation.
Oh, and please, no more tapes !



Robocop2 is the typical example of how good could a PLUS game be...
But it still has a lot of flaws.

Being mostly Hardsprite based, you simply have almost no enemies to shoot at...
It is mostly a platformer with deadly traps only to deal with.

But yeah, it scrolls perfectly, and looks very good.



Switchblade on the onther hand, gives us a kool hint at another way to use those extra PLUS features...

Sadly it is a mode1 game, which limits the rasters possibilities a bit (IMO)...

but having those Hardsprites as Extra coloured scenery/foreground tiles is a nice way to get more colours in a mode1 game or some fine pixel extra details in a Mode0 game too...

To be fair, if Mode1 had something like 5-8 colours, it would have been perfect...



One thing I regret is that poeples are focused on Arcade games, but where CPC/PLUS could really shine is non action games.

Some decent RPG and Wargames are still to be done.

Heroquest or Spacecrusade per exemple were speccyported beyound reason...

why in hell would such games be in 256x192 on a CPC ? this is ridiculous, french companies would have ported those from the Atari ST or CGA PC I guess.


i also loved the Koei Wargames...
Those were japanese games an were ported on NEC machines, MSX (in 256x200x16 video mode, obviously on MSX2...) and I used to play l'Empereur on my EGA 286 PC.

It used the 640x200x16 mode (fixed palette, pehaps it could run on PC1512 custom CGA...) but actually being straightly ported from Japanese NEC PC88...  only 8 colours are used.

But the interesting part is : it ran on MSX... so it could run on an Amstrad CPC... provided some major Graphical changes.

It could mix Mode0 and mode1 and a few Hardsprites patches... and could even use some overscanned/full screen sized stuff.

[andycadley]

Not sure I really buy into that, the extra features of the Plus can go a long way to compensating for the speed of the CPC, cranking up the speed of the CPU might have been nice but it isn't really necessary. The hardware scrolling can certainly be used to effectively speed up things considerably and whilst it makes software sprite routines a little harder to write, it's by no means beyond doing.